Bonjour! What a glorious day to be alive! It’s reminiscent of a beautiful Parisian afternoon and evening which is what prompted me to send out a quick blog. Certainly, like many of you, we were devastated to watch the engulfing flames atop Notre Dame last week. I gasped in horror and disbelief as the spire […]
Bonjour from Paris for the final time this year. When most of you see this post, we’ll be on our way home. Natalie left on Tuesday at noon and had another frustrating journey with delayed flights, technical problems, missing but found luggage, etc. We miss her. Your comments, encouragement and support have meant so much […]
Bonjour mes amis It’s hard for one day to capture so much energy and enthusiasm, but yesterday accomplished that for us! Natalie is a sleeper and a night owl so we let her indulge until about 9:45 this morning. Paris time would work great for her body clock…up very late at night, breakfast at 10, […]
Bonjour, We tried to have an easier day yesterday and let Natalie sleep until almost noon, then took in a late lunch at what ended up being Les Deux Magots. Cafe de Flore is closed for renovation. These are the two very famous Left Bank cafes but always swarmed with tourists. Yesterday was no exception. […]
Bonjour mes amis, Time is limited but will try to get out a blog using a compilation of three different cameras. Nutso! But first will make you laugh. The weather is quite cool, set to be twenty degrees less than a few days ago with highs in the low 70’s. We’re grateful! Okay, we’ll see […]
Bonjour, My daughter Natalie graced us with her very first visit to Paris yesterday after a grueling day of travel. She got caught in a nasty storm in New York City which delayed her flight for hours, but amazingly, they didn’t cancel the flight. She was in unbelievably good spirits and just glad to finally […]
Bonjour, I had no intention of doing a blog today but decided to share our outing this afternoon. After finishing up our cleaning, we ate a light lunch, showered, and decided that we couldn’t stand the heat in our apartment for the next five hours. It was 98 today and the predicted rain for tonight […]
Bonjour mes amis, We’ve had an interesting weekend. I received an unexpected text from my daughter on Saturday evening saying that she had an issue with her back from a jet-skiing experience. Hopefully, you recall that she is due to arrive in Paris for her first visit ever on Wednesday, departing the States on Tuesday, […]
Bonjour mes amis, How delighted we were yesterday to have our now annual lunch with special friends from London, Malcolm and Antonia. There years ago, we happened to be seated next to them at the Jacquemart-Andre tearoom. We sat for the entire meal overhearing their wonderful British interchange, and finally I boldly made overtures to them. […]
Bonjour, Today has been our favorite kind of Paris day…discovering new areas by strolling around, not quite sure which way is correct or what may be around the next corner. But more on that in a minute. First, my rant. Yesterday was not our best day. It’s hot, very hot. It’s dusty and after five […]
Bonjour, On Monday morning we met our friend Ann Jeanne for breakfast which turned into a two-hour visit on a new street for us, rue du Parc-Royal…lovely area and a new cafe called La Petite Place near the Picasso Museum. It was quiet and out of the way, but they were out of croissants by […]
So…how observant were you? Did you figure it out? These photos are not from yesterday’s Tour final but rather from 2016. It was raining! Our total plan was foiled yesterday due to new security issues. We’ve probably been to this final day of the tour ten times over the years and always the same three […]
Bon Dimanche, Happy Sunday to you all from a much cooler Paris. The temp this morning is 67! We can now breath some fresher air. Friday evening brought a heavy rain storm with hail; however, it only lasted about 30 minutes. Though predictions said it would rain all night, it did not so the relief […]
Bonjour mes amis, The news from Paris is the same, le mime chose— hot, hot, and hot. Stifling, sweaty, dusty and producing a certain glow to one’s person! We hardly know what to do with ourselves. We were hopeful of a breeze along the river and decided on cool clothes and a picnic or piquenique. This […]
Bonjour, It’s 98 degrees today in Paris, and oh, how we dread the late afternoon. It certainly saps all the enjoyment out of our day. Supposedly, we will have a huge rain storm on Friday evening to clear the stagnant air and cool down the temps. We’re praying for it as my sinuses are about […]
Bonjour, Are we crazy or what? We picked the hottest day of the summer so far (95 F.) for an outside adventure. Wow, I felt like I was playing golf in the Alabama sun. We are pooped after walking about 3 miles in the hot sun. Despite the heat, it was our kind of Paris […]
Bonjour, On this very hot and dusty summer day, we treated ourselves to something spectacular. We’ve been reading about a very different art experience in the 11th arrondissement near where Bernie was born. In fact, this is the actual apartment where he drew his first breath…not in a hospital. This is a very long post […]
Bon Dimanche! Our visit extraordinaire comes to an end today. Sharon and Johnny Tyson left via taxi at 6:50am for the airport, and Dennis and Jodie Clements will depart in their taxi about 3:30 for Barcelona and another 12-day round of touring and cruising. BUT not before we whisk them to a church service at […]
Bonjour, I make a deliberate effort to post positive thoughts and images from Paris during our two-month summer stay each year. However, today I must call out the recent changes happening at the Eiffel Tower as incredibly unfortunate. The need for high security in one of the most frequently visited outside monuments in the world […]
Bonjour, First, let me thank each of you who make comments about the blog both on my website as well as on Facebook. They are so appreciated and even when I’m exhausted, spur me to keep writing and posting. It’s a fun part of being in Paris for us. Forgive me for not replying to each […]
Bonjour, The last few days on our side trip to Normandy have been exhilarating, exhausting, and emotional. The entire area is such a special place for Americans. I believe the trip exceeded everyone’s expectations…at least I hope so. The weather was absolutely perfect with cooler temps, a wonderful breeze, and of course daylight until almost […]
Dear Friends, As your weekend draws to an end, I bet it hasn’t been as busy and festive as what we’ve had in Paris… Bastille Day followed by a World Cup win! The city has gone crazy celebrating as Johnny said “in pure joy.” It was fun to watch from our windows and out on […]
Bonjour mes amis, Johnny Tyson had the best quote of the day yesterday as we experienced Bastille Day in Paris, “I think I’m on sensory overload.” And indeed we were. Our day started with the military parade on the Pont D’Arcole (bridge on the Seine) where we watched the fly-by for about twenty minutes, followed […]
Bonjour, The L & B Travel Company is now open providing daily tours all over Paris! We welcomed Sharon and Johnny Tyson on Thursday, joining Dennis and Jodie Clements. So now we are 6! What a fun few days we’ve had. Both couples flew over on our airline of choice – La Compagnie and loved […]
Bonjour, Finally…a nice cool day with the high around 74. Beautiful weather to enjoy our first full day with our guests Jodie and Dennis Clements. The day started slowly when our prearranged breakfast appointment of 7:30 slowly evolved into more like 11am. They were exhausted from the previous travel day, didn’t set an alarm, and […]
Bonjour, My blogs may be a little shorter as July company has begun. What fun! We welcomed Jodie and Dennis Clements to Paris yesterday morning after a scary misunderstanding. The hotel where they are staying told us they had no record of their reservation! We were scrambling trying to think of another hotel for them, […]
Bonjour, C’est dimanche à Paris. It’s Sunday in a very warm Paris! We were remarking about this last evening with a bartender about how much hotter June’s and July’s have become since we started spending our summers here. I remember days eleven or twelve years ago with jackets, scarves, and even one July with socks and […]
Bonjour! It’s a beautiful day in Paris on this first Friday in July with moderate temps which regrettably are set to rise again for Le Weekend. Yesterday was the best day ever when my suitcase was delivered about 12:30. There was celebration in the streets as Patrick, the proprietor of Le Petit St. Paul and […]
Good Thursday morning, How could I forget yesterday to say Happy Fourth of July?! I hope your celebrations were festive, the food delicious, and all your cook-outs not too hot. The temps have cooled here just a little but still no rain. I have two pieces of great news. We just got the call from […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was the perfect Paris day…idled away at sidewalk cafés… talking, eating, sipping with Carolyn Barnabo and husband Clive, new friends we met last year from England. Carolyn is a writer/blogger herself, Paris-enthusiast, and owner of a Paris apartment in the Passy area. I encourage you to enjoy her blogging at https://mysydneyparislife.wordpress.com. They, like […]
Bonjour mes amis, It’s Tuesday in Paris under slightly cloudy skies with a forecast high of 83 degrees, cooler than yesterday. It has been sticky and sweltering with little relief when air conditioning is not available. Even the locals suffer and tend to stay inside. We did receive some very good news later in the […]
Bonjour, Thanks for allowing me to whine and write out my frustration over my lost luggage. My son called it a “first-world problem” (so true, given the crazies that are happening everywhere) and Bernie’s comment was, “Linda, it’s not like your house burned down.” Yes, both are correct, but I as Woman needed a day […]
Bonjour on this Sunday morning, Well, the best I can say is that we are home after a very frustrating travel Saturday out of Norway. We all know how frustrating one person in an organization can be in the circle of travel, how bad customer service can derail everything. Such was the case yesterday out […]
Bonjour mes amis, Yesterday, I was under the weather and spent probably the best weather day in the hotel room. Bummer! Thus, there was no blog. I am better today, and we had quite an adventure to a quaint, old, and very remote fishing village on one of the many archipelagos near Harstad. Access was […]
Dear Friends, Despite miserable weather…wind, rain, fog and 49 degrees, we pressed onward today to discover the area around Lofoten. It’s truly a shame that the fog was so bad but we tried to get as many photos as we could to show off the region. We had hoped that it might clear after lunch, […]
Hello from Norway! We arrived in Harstad, Norway at midnight last night only to discover a few things we should have already been prepared for…cold rain, blowing rain, and 24 hours of daylight! I brought everything I could layer and have used every bit of it so far! This is the time of the midnight […]
Bonjour! C’est Dimanche. It’s Sunday morning after a festive, fun, busy week. We are resting up for a new exciting week ahead…a trip to Norway’s coastal region with Bernie’s French cousins, Pierre and Laurie Verdier. You’ve met them many times before if you’ve been on the blog for a while. We link up with them […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was our final day with the Shory’s who by the way are currently in Louisville, Kentucky. Bill is the news director for WAVE-TV, and Michelle teaches English as a second language. He and Michelle are wonderful parents to their extraordinary daughter, Isabella, who has captured our hearts. We are all tired from many, […]
Bonjour, First a word about yesterday’s post. About 7:25am, the crazy system took over from me and posted without my initiative a post that had only one paragraph and no pics. Some of you noticed and commented. Later, I updated that post to the real thing with commentary and lovely photos. It all depends on […]
Bonjour mes amis, If you’ve been on my blog for years, you know that Montmartre is my favorite spot in Paris. If you have our book, “Bernie’s Paris,” I invite you to reread the section describing my attachment to this little Eden of old Paris bliss. I worked diligently with each carefully chosen word to […]
Cher mes amis, Yesterday began about 9:30 when our guests, Michelle, Bill, and Isabella Shory came to us in Le Marais. They are staying in the beautiful and very Americanized Marriott on Les Champs, and we wanted to introduce them to true Parisian life in our apartment. After the “oohs” and “wows” to our 16th century apartment building, they […]
Bonjour, Monday morning in Paris was full of fun, at least for me. I convinced Bernie to seek out a concept store called Merci, rather famous it seems and right in our neighborhood. I was more enthralled than Bernie with the ambiance and unique displays. Here’s a quote from web site www.theinfatuation.com: “If you want […]
Bonjour, Sundays in Paris are my favorite as the morning quiet is unlike any other day. The traffic is minimal and many of the streets in the Marais become pedestrian only for Sunday afternoon shopping and strolling. There is an amazing desire for all good things to stay the same, but alas, they rarely do. […]
Bonjour mes amis, Saturday is always the busiest day of the week in Paris, especially in the afternoon, as people pour out on the streets for weekly shopping and playing. The weather is gorgeous right now…low 70’s with a nice breeze. Let’s hope it holds and we avoid the horrible heat wave we had last […]
Bonjour! It’s a very early day here for me in Paris trying to get body clocks, eating habits, and body systems reset. Always a challenge and more so with each year. Now, I didn’t say that we’re getting old, but that’s what we’re all thinking…Ha! It’s a lot for anyone at any age, but more […]
Bonjour mes amis, We had an awesome event last night for Le Dîner en Blanc in Decatur alongside the Tennessee River. The weather was near perfect though a bit warm at first. We felt raindrops only as we were departing on the bus at 10:15pm. The weather gods couldn’t have been nicer to us. Le […]
All – The link below will take you to the Mezza Luna promotion on the Diner en Blanc Decatur Facebook page! Please share with your friends and encourage them put on their favorite white outfit, to go to Mezza Luna and post a photo with #MezzaLunaHSV, #FlyHSV, #DEBDecatur2018 for a chance to win a […]
Dear Friends, Later this spring, a very special, exclusive, never-before-event is coming to our area…Diner en Blanc. You’ve heard me blog about this before from Paris… where everyone rushes to a secret, pre-arranged spot by invitation only to have dinner in the open air. Everyone dresses in white. We’ve gotten to see this twice in our […]
Dear Friends, Just a few more photos from around Vail village before we catch our plane out later this morning. A tip to those who plan to visit some day: fly into Eagle/Vail Airport if you can and not Denver International. DIA is a 2-hour drive to Vail and the smaller, regional airport is only […]
Dear Friends, I promised more photos from our trip to Vail so here goes. But first you might find it interesting to hear about what’s the same and what’s different about Vail from nearly a dozen trips through the years. What’s the same…the beautiful snowy trails on the mountain, the pricey shops and restaurants, the […]