I have decided to start a new weekly photo linkup called, “Hit the Road, Jack” to motivate me to leave the house. Each week I will go somewhere – anywhere – (I mean, I do live right near Paris, after all) and take pictures of what I see there. Maybe you would like to do the same? It doesn’t have… Read More
We visited Omaha Beach four years ago, and this is a condensed version of a blog post that appeared on my blog after the visit. It seemed appropriate for Memorial Day. A Germany that was humiliated and impoverished after World War I was ripe for someone as charismatic and patriotic as Adolf Hitler. On January 30, President von Hindenburg appointed Hitler… Read More
Hi friends! Want to take a virtual tour of the Louvre with me? I’ll give you fair warning that we’re only visiting the 1st and 2nd floors today because we have lunch plans in the Latin Quarter. But that’s fine. It’s not a wasted trip. The Louvre is never a wasted trip. When you go, take the train to Metro… Read More
Reims, sometimes spelled Rheims, is the largest city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, and is pronounced similar to ranse (like dance). It was peopled with the Celtic tribes, called the Gauls, before the Roman conquest; and afterwards, the city name changed to the Durocortorum. But legend has it that the name Reims comes from Romulus’ brother Remus who founded ancient Rome. As… Read More
In the Champagne region of France, you can stroll through a forest of fairy trees, called the Faux de Verzy (pronounced foe de vair-zee). A “fau” is an old gallic (French) word for the beech tree. It’s now called a hêtre in French, a word which originates from German. A fau (or plural – faux) describes the dwarf beech, oak, and chestnut trees that… Read More
Troyes is pronounced like the French number three (trois) – twah. It’s in the Champagne region and the only reason we went there was because it was so close to our hotel. It ended up being my favourite place that we visited. Its greatest charm is that so many of the houses and businesses are in medieval buildings. The houses… Read More
