If Paris has its Seine dividing the city into Left and Right Banks, Lyon, France’s third largest city, is wedged in by two great rivers – the Rhône and Saône. From Paris, it’s a short …
June 26, 2022
France
France
Lyon, France: a city of sights, not just food
Paris and back again
After a couple cups of vino and an 11-hour flight, we land just outside Paris. Yael and I head out to catch the RER Train into the city center. It's about 10 euros each, and …
December 30, 2018
Get lost in Marseilles, France's second city
Marseille has never gotten its due as a vacation destination. Most people traveling to southern France pass through Marseille’s airport and move directly on to the more pristine and tony Provencal destinations, such as Aix-en-Provence …
August 5, 2018
Puccini's ode to Paris
In the opera La Rondine by Puccini, the young Ruggero arrives in Paris for the first time and Puccini lets him sing an ode to the City of Light. The aria is difficult to find. …
November 27, 2015
Who says you can't do Paris in two days?
Arriving in Paris without your luggage might seem like a huge damper for the start of a mini–Euro trip. But with the sights and sounds of the City of Lights, all thoughts of my lost …
August 28, 2015
Elegant and unimportant
Let’s get a little crazy and combine a summer piece of music with the esoteric pick of the week. The power of this concept is overwhelming me. It’s the perfect summer storm. Faure composed his …
July 20, 2015
France's Haute-Savoie: not the Riviera
On a steep narrow country road 3,700 feet above sea level, my travel partner accelerated the engine, heading toward the sound of alpine bells. As herdsmen rallied the cows to graze on the undulating pastures …
June 27, 2015
Marseille: stay for the soup
Bouillabaisse [bu.ja.bɛːs]. For first timers, getting the correct pronunciation is hard. And it’s even harder to spell it. For first timers, it’s also easier to have a bowl of soup in Shanghai, Japan or even …
August 28, 2014
Playing basketball on Mars
No visit to Paris is considered complete without a glimpse of the iconic Eiffel Tower. And if you want to truly capture the full romantic grandeur of the occasion, it's best to approach from the …
May 3, 2014
Skeletons in the armoire: Paris catacombs
The air was cool and exuded a musty, almost earthy odor. The passageway with squat ceilings no more than six feet high was lit by small dim lights, each bright enough to see only a …
May 13, 2013
An Apartment in Paris
It's funny how traveling somewhere foreign changes our tolerance for things. For a month-long sojourn to Paris, my family of three rented a cramped one-bedroom apartment in Montmartre. We – who are oozing at the …
May 10, 2012
The Allure of Paris: Eiffel Tower
PARIS! All the tour books, online research, talking with friends who have been there, and pre-trip planning don’t prepare you for the overwhelming feeling of immersion once arriving in Paris. On a recent business trip …
March 29, 2012
Place Django Reinhardt, Paris
New to Paris is Place Django Reinhardt. Well, the site isn't new, but the designation is. The site is where the gypsy guitariste et compositeur lived in his caravan, in the Saint-Ouen neighborhood of Paris's …
January 13, 2012
Annecy: Beauty in the French Alps
Upon his visit to a town in France, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote, “Now I have been happy, now I have lived.” No, he was not writing of Paris, but praising the beauty of Annecy. We decided …
Living Local in Paris
My husband, six-year-old and I spent a month in Paris. The best part was learning to live what the French call a "quotidien" life (just the day-to-day goodies) in the City of Lights. Since there …