Yesterday, mom and I took an Uber up to Montmartre, leaving our quiet neighborhood in the 14th to join the throngs of tourists visiting this quaint, historic neighborhood at the highest point in Paris. I wanted mom to see the Sacre Coeur Basilica, that beautiful white cathedral that sits on top on Montmartre, but I […]
Tucked away in the 5th Arrondissment of Paris is a street that has hosted food merchants, shops, and restaurants since the early 1400’s — Rue Mouffetard. Best known for its twice weekly produce market, Rue Mouffetard is a delightful place to spend a few hours on any day of the week. We had visited Mouffetard […]
It has been on my “bucket list” for as long as I can remember, in fact even before I knew what a bucket list was. I saw this painting when I was in high school, during a visit to the National Gallery of Art in DC. It was part of a traveling Monet exhibit and […]
Yeah, I know it sounds weird. But bear with me… A while back, I was talking with my friend Garen about our plans to spend three months in Italy and take a side trip to Paris for a week while we were in Europe. Of course, that was the trip that we ended up cancelling […]
Yesterday was a big day for me: I celebrated my 65th birthday! And was able to do so with people I love and at an amazing restaurant in Paris. I first heard about Le Train Bleu a couple of years ago. Located in the Gare de Lyon train station, the restaurant has a reputation for […]
Happy Easter, everyone! France is an extremely multicultural country, with all the major religions well-represented and — as far as I can tell — all coexisting quite comfortably. But regardless of their faith or beliefs, there is one thing everyone enjoys this weekend: Chocolate! We returned to Rue Daguerre on Friday to shop for our […]
One of the highlights of our October 2022 trip to Paris was the Airbnb Experience we booked to make a custom handbag class in a leather studio. When we decided to book this year’s accommodation about 6 blocks from that Atelier, well, of course we had to return for another class. Ines, the instructor not […]
Our home away from home this month is an apartment on the 5th floor of an elegant 7-story, late 19th Century building in the 14th Arrondissment of Paris. Our street, Rue Ernest Cresson, is a short side street tucked off of a major boulevard, Avenue du General Leclerc. While the “Le Boulevard” bustles with lots […]
During our last trip to Paris in October 2021 with our dear friend Louise, the three of us took a purse class in an artist’s studio on Rue Daguerre in the 14th. I fell in love with Rue Daguerre that day; it was in a true “neighborhood“, far away from swarms of tourists, tour buses […]
We woke up this morning in Paris. What a way to start the day! It was a bit of a challenge to get here; our journey included a four-hour delay in Chicago on Friday evening due to severe weather conditions. And by that, I mean a Tornado Warning, which resulted in us spending about 45 […]
Everyday Discoveries 