Category: Paris
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Becoming an Art Lover in Paris
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to avoid becoming an art lover when you spend time in the museums of Paris. This trip has been a turning point for me – I can honestly say that I’ll be leaving with a sincere enthusiasm for exploring museums, enthusiasm that has replaced the vague dread I had when I…
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Paris Velib – A League of 20,000 Bikes
In 2007 the Paris Town Hall instituted Vélib, the biggest bike-sharing system in the world: 1,800 bike stations across the city (every 300 meters) for a total of 20,000 bikes. The bikes may be rented for 1,70 € per day ($1.87 US dollars). If you live here, you can pay 29 € ($31.87 US dollars)…
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The Eiffel Tower on a Clear Night with a Full Moon
When you think of Paris, do you immediately picture the Eiffel Tower? I do. Apparently some people hate it, but I think it’s beautiful. On many of our walks, we’ll see it in the distance down a street or peeking above some tall row of buildings. And today, a clear, warm fall day in Paris,…
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Day Trip to Monet’s Home and Garden
In my third year of college, I moved from the dorm to an apartment with a couple of friends. I furnished my bedroom with mattresses on the floor, two white plastic milk crates for nightstands and on the wall behind my bed, a 6 foot wide by 4 foot tall poster of a Monet water…
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Paris: Beside, Behind and Between
Keith and I love to explore cities on foot. It’s a wonderful way to get your bearings and gather a sense of the city’s people – how they dress, how they talk, how they interact with each other, even the pace of their walk. (Parisians have a swift pace!) We typically choose a destination or two and…
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The Louvre: Famous, Favorites and Funny
Do you remember the Hans Christian Anderson tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes?” If not, here is the condensed story from Wikipedia: A vain Emperor who cares about nothing except wearing and displaying clothes hires two weavers who promise him the finest, best suit of clothes from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit for his…
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Just A Peek: The 14th Arrondissement & Buying Cheese
I never imagined that buying cheese could be that fun. The city of Paris is divided into a spiral of 20 arrondissements, each is it’s own municipality complete with a mayor. And each is distinct not just in architecture, but in people and personality. Our apartment is in the 14th and the photo above was taken from our…