VerSigh

Go to Versailles, they said. It’s amazing, they told us. The gardens are massive, the palace is gorgeous, and you won’t believe the decor, they promised. So, buying into the hype, we swung by our favorite little coffee shop, picked up some coffees and walking sandwiches, and descended to the working train station beneath the

A Contemporary Palace and a Cabaret Institution

Burlesque, what a word. The way the q balances the swing up of the l, could have been four syllables, but they did it in two. The playful bounce of the b with the sexy hiss of the s into the q and the sneaky u and e that show up at the end but

An Architectural Iceberg and Ramen in Style

I have a certain pace when it comes to museums. Since we’re in France, I’d invite you to speculate upon the snail. Now imagine this snail has an audioguide, a size 14 foot, and a brain that oscillates between super distraction and hyper fixation. Now present that snail with colors. Lots of colors, in close

Finding the Art in Montmartre

Today was a tagalong day for me and a sentimental journey for Erickson. The gang divided fast at the start of the day. Scynthia and Gina were headed to the airport to straighten up some difficulties with Air France, Marianna wanted to settle in to her surroundings a bit more and clean the apartment, and

Louvre and War in the Heart of Paris

Our late mornings offered us time to contemplate and assemble before bounding into the day. The slow morning shuffle for the shower and pulling on clothes was often punctuated by the speed and efficiency machine who operated as the motivational spearhead for the squad. Erickson more often than not would have croissants, both regular and

Luxembourg, Shakespeare, and the Frippes

A gray day calls for graveyards to some, and to others, gardens, life, and bubbling fountains. For two of the gang, the graveyards spoke louder than I, so happy to meet them at the garden, I had my walking espresso and a croissant and took a lovely solo twenty minute stroll to the Palais de

Back to the Basilica

I couldn’t sleep. All night, I tossed and turned, knowing what was at the top of the Basilica but shrouded from us, because we had gone on an overcast day. What the heavens had held back from us. What lay just beyond our control, what lay just outside the realm of possibility. To clear the

A Gray Day at The Sacred Heart Basilica

Overcast and chilly, we tried looking for a pick-me-up in comparing the weather to back home only to find it was a whole degree warmer in blustery Boston. Gearing up to face the day included layers on layers, a backpack, and a rough idea of making it to Montmarte. We wanted the HopOnHopOff Bus that

A Trip Around the Tour d’Eiffel

The gang was excited to get back to the Eiffel Tower. As alluring as it was the night before, they held off on going up and in, with what can only be described as either internal fortitude or unfortunate operating hours. Regardless, we booked tickets for the HopOnHopOff bus tour and enjoyed the tidbits and

A Day at D’Orsay

Three floors, two restaurants, multiple breakaway exhibits, and hundreds of pieces later, I retreated from the cultural mecca feeling much like a man buried by his own ambitions. Hungrily I poured over every piece I could find, I sampled the Pre-Impressionists, The Post-Impressionists, the Japonismes, Symbolists, and Synthesists. I read Baudelaire and gawked at Rodin,