Je Mange Paris, N’est ce Pas?

I must warn you that I’m typing while eating a pear tart and it’s making my computer keys sticky so excuse me one moment. There that’s better.

Delicious Pear Tart

Now where was I? Oh yes, food.

Food is everywhere in Paris. As long as you have a little money—you don’t even […]

Shopping Parisian Style

Today it is overcast and cooler—perfect shopping weather– so after class I head out on a shopping mission: to purchase a green scarf that I fell in love with in a shop near the Picasso Museum; to buy another pair of black flats because the pair I bought 9 days ago are already trashed from […]

O is for Museum: Orsay and Orangerie

I have looked forward to visiting the Orsay and the Orangerie with their important Impressionist collections. The Orsay Museum picks up where the Louvre collection leaves off—1848 to 1914– with the best general collection of Impressionist work: Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Gauguin.

Located in a former train station, the physical building […]

I Am a Picasso Painting

Located in an old building on busy Blvd Sebastopol, my French class is squeezed into a tiny classroom barely large enough to fit eight chairs around a table. The teacher, Sonita (pronounced Sue-nita) is from Martinique and at 24-years-old, she is already an excellent teacher. The other students are working on their third or fourth […]

Voila Le Velo!

A new bike service called Velib has over 20,000 bikes at over 1400 automated stations in Paris. The first half hour is free—after that a subscription for the day is 1 Euro. E-husband and I have seen the stations throughout Paris and today, while sitting at a cafe drinking un grand creme, we watched a […]

The Louvre in 27 Minutes or Less

At the Louvre, it would be possible to spend a lot of time looking at old stuff. I love art– but only the art that I love. Impressionism, Cubism, modern art, some Italian artists, some French.

The ancients–Roman, Egyptian, Greek, Arts of Islam, Arts of Africa—are somewhat interesting but they hold no particular fascination for […]

A Change in the Weather

The cab driver said, “It is 27!” We couldn’t calculate the conversion into Celsius fast enough so we just nodded and said, Mon Dieu! Since then we learned that it is 87 degrees but my e-husband says it only feels like 86. (Note: my e-husband, upon learning that he was mentioned on this blog as […]

A Moveable Feast

We’ve arrived! The apartment is located in the premier arrondissement, also known as the museum neighborhood, one block from the Louvre above a restaurant and flanked by a patisserie and a bistro—could we ask for more?

Pied A Terre

Tired after traveling 24 hours we seated ourselves in a bistro chair on the […]

Le Packing

My manicurist said: “I never have a problem packing. I put all my clothes in the suitcase and always have plenty of room but that’s where the trouble starts. I grab that jacket, another pair of shoes, and before you know it I can’t zip it.”

Well, that is not me. I created my color […]

Black Satin Bra Stash

Six days until I leave for Paris so I’m cramming Rick Steves Paris for helpful tips. He recommends bringing some cash, debit cards and credit cards—no Traveler’s Checks. (He said you’ll waste time standing in a line at banks.) He also recommends a money belt. Last year when my family traveled to Florence I […]