Bonjour mes amis, Today in Alabama is absolutely lovely with a touch of fall in the early morning air as well as that distinctive “ciel bleu” blue sky that only fall of the year creates. This is Part Two of my series on the best exhibits we’ve attended in Paris. This one was special not […]
Bonjour mes amis, Over the many years in Paris, we have been so fortunate to see some amazing exhibits. I’d like to share some of them over the next few posts with you again. The best part is how moderately priced they are, usually under 25 euros per person. The arts are supported in large […]
Bonjour mes amis, I’m sure most of you watched the wonderful opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Magnifique! I watched it LIVE and then again Friday evening with Bernie. However, for some of the locals, it has not been a great experience. Our beloved neighbor shared the frustrations of scrambled metros, stores that are closed, […]
Bonjour, I have been remiss in capturing summer memories on my blog. The culprits are travel, a busy schedule and just plain laziness. As we approach the conclusion of this year’s Tour de France, I thought it would be fun to cycle back through some of our photos. This year’s finish will be historic, concluding […]
Bonjour mes amis, Many of you have probably been to see the Van Gogh art extravaganza which is playing now in Huntsville. If not, I hope you will. It’s a concept which has captured the world, and it started about 8 years ago in Paris in a not-so-well-known area of the 11th arrondissement. I read […]
Bonjour, Wow, how can it already be July! As we approach the celebration of our nation’s birth, I thought it might be fun to recap how the French do a similar celebration in Paris on July 14. It goes by many names Quatorze Juillet (14 July), Le Fete du Nationale, or Bastille Day. Oh, what […]
Bonjour mes amis, The heat is a killer for so many of us and I hope you are safe and able to stay cool. Paris would be tough in this kind of heat as A/C is not always available. When we’ve gotten caught in a “canicule” or heat wave, the only reliably cool spot is […]
Bonjour mes amis, Forgive the self-focus on this post, but I was on an early morning walk thinking about how I’m the luckiest gal in the world. Great family, great career, great retirement, great guy! You’ve heard me say this probably before. Though I had traveled a lot in my life, I had never been […]
Bon Dimanche, Happy Sunday and Happy Fathers’ Day to everyone. On this Sunday, it seems appropriate to highlight some of our favorite churches in Paris. Certainly most are Catholic but there are a few scattered around which are wonderfully different like the American Cathedral of Paris which is high Anglican. This is where we worship […]
Bonjour mes amis, We understand from several folks that Paris is “okay” but crowded, and full of construction. Not all subway lines are functional. First-time visitors won’t know the difference, but I’m thinking that we would. Well anyway, our decision not to go is made, and we are looking forward to our December/January visit. It […]
Bonjour mes amis, I was up early yesterday morning, and watched the ceremony live from the American cemetery in Normandy for the 80th anniversary. I cried. This blog really requires few words, just photos of the many times we’ve been there with friends and family. It is a sacred spot. There are just a few […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday, and we’re both wishing we were in Paris. Last year we celebrated together at the lovely restaurant atop Georges Pompidou museum. It’s a chic spot called Le Georges with an incredible view of the city. Carson, my grandson, ordered a piece of salmon and loved it. Not bad for […]
Bonjour mes amis, It was quite by chance twenty years ago that we found the Marais! Now it is our stomping ground and the very core of our love for Paris. Originally, it was a swamp. Imagine that? Now, we seem to know every square inch especially around the St. Paul, St. Louis church. The […]
Bonjour, Our Memorial Day weekend was delightful. We drove up to Louisville, Kentucky to see our friends, the Shorys. Bill was the News Director during some of my time as GM at WHNT; his wife, Michelle who just got her Doctorate and their precious daughter Isabella (Izzy) treated us to a wonderful holiday weekend. And […]
Bonjour mes amis! So many of you have asked if we are going to Paris for the summer. The answer is unfortunately “no.” We are choosing to avoid the huge crowds and the disruption associated with the Olympics. We believe we’ll have a better seat from our television at home, especially for the opening ceremony. […]
Bonjour mes ami, This is always a difficult post, and I work on it for days to find the right words graced with tenderness. It’s time to say good-bye to Paris, to you who have faithfully read the blog, to you who kindly made supportive comments (some almost every day), to our cherished local friends […]
Bonjour, It’s hard to believe that we are starting our final week in Paris for 2023. It’s flown by filled with many memories, lots of company, some challenges, a new apartment, and a bittersweet taste of Parisian life that ebbs and flows as the years pass. We will say good-bye to Pierre and Laurie this […]
Bonjour, This is a catch-up post from the past few days. We’ve been busy, and I have struggled with some health challenges, but better now. Monday was laundry day, and our Laverie where we dry our clothes is directly across from what has become one of our favorite local restaurants, Le Temps des Cerises. We […]
Bonjour, After a busy day of laundry and cleaning yesterday, we are in full prep-mode for our visitors, Pierre and Laurie Verdier. They live in Soultz Haute Rhin, France near the German border. Laurie is a retired anesthesiologist, and Pierre holds a doctorate in geology and worked for Elf Oil. It’s a great family story […]
Bonjour mes amis, Last days are emotional…sad that our time together is ending but oh, so glad for the memories. Yesterday was a slower day which started with an early-morning jog to the Trocadero for Bill. (Most of today’s photographs are his! Merci beaucoup. It doesn’t hurt to have a former news guy on your […]
Happy Sunday, Happy Father’s Day to all in America on this cool Sunday morning in Paris. It stormed through the night with thunder and lightening and much needed rain. It actually roused me from sleep about 2:30. Yesterday was a hit and miss day. We took the Shorys to the Marché des Puces (Fleas) at […]
Bonjour, The Shorys began their Friday with a morning tour of Le Palais Garnier and then joined us for lunch at Musée d’Orsay on the river. As most of you know, the museum was originally a train station and was magnificently repurposed by the French into a Parisian treasure in December, 1986 by President François […]
Bonjour, Thursday was a marathon day in the midst of a hot Paris. We all wore comfortable clothes and shoes in anticipation of the temps, the cobblestones, and lots of steps to climb. It was not the Shorys first time to Montmartre so we tried to do some different things. We started at a different […]
Bonjour, I will confess from the top that most of today’s photos were not taken by me. The Shorys had a marvelous day trip to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet and the water lilies. We went with other friends in 2022 so decided to sit this one out. It’s truly an exquisite place to […]
Bonjour mes amis, Knowing my own pockets of deficiency, I had several basic rules of leadership: always hire people smarter than I was. Such was the case with Bill Shory who served as our New Director for WHNT-TV for several years. Ethics in journalism was his hallmark. He was also my friend. And I remember […]
Bonjour, I’m constantly reading about what’s available to see and do in Paris. Occasionally, something pops up that we haven’t seen or is limited to a certain window of availability. After our lunch with Richard Nahem, his partner Vincent, and the patron of the restaurant, we took the Metro over to an area where I […]
Bonjour, Saturdays are extremely busy in the Marais because locals use this as their shopping day for goods, food and other services. Add to that the swirl and glut of tourists and the streets are almost impassable. I was just reading an article on CNN’s web site about how tourism is up dramatically all over […]
Bon Weekend, Weather here in Paris continues to amaze us but it did get quite warm yesterday, signs of hotter days to come into the summer. Still no rain after three weeks so the city is dusty and dirty. Shop owners work so hard to keep things clean…washing windows, sweeping and hosing down entrances, etc. […]
Bonjour, What glorious weather we are enjoying!! Day after day of cloudless skies, nice breezes and temps hovering at or just under 80 degrees. It is exactly as we had hoped for compared to last year’s July/August scorcher. Yesterday required changing bed sheets again which is a project. I caved and Bernie took them to […]
Today is D-Day and at the American cemetery in Normandy, French caretakers will have collected sand from Omaha Beach and rubbed it into the gravestones to highlight the names of the departed. They do this for all 9,388 soldiers who lay there.#DDay79 pic.twitter.com/dRrjG9MWQK — Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) June 6, 2023 Bonjour mes amis, My son […]
Bonjour mes amis, After 19 years of coming to Paris, it’s always a pleasure to discover some new places, and that’s what we did yesterday along Boulevard Montmartre. (It is not in Montmartre) It is often referred to as one of the Grand Boulevards created by Haussmann at the direction of Napoleon III. This effort […]
Bonjour, After running wide open for days, we finally crashed and have done little but sleep! Ten and eleven hours at a clip. We did not realize how tired we were and still like to pretend that we’re fifteen years younger than we are. Alas, it did catch up with us. I am still plagued […]
Bonjour mes amis, We are almost to the end of a fantastic visit with Carson and Natalie. They brought perfect weather after our unseasonably cool, rainy May. Actually, not a cloud in the sky while they have been here. For this Alabama gal, weather like this brings out the best of Paris. Yesterday was a […]
Bonjour, I’m an early riser so getting up at 9am tells you a lot! We had another marathon day yesterday and fell into bed after 11pm. (Natalie and Carson were out still prowling the Champs and Arc de Triomphe.) Between vertigo, snoring, late-night texts and too much caffeine, sleeping is at a premium. I always […]
Bonjour, I’m off to a late start today! We are running wide open and it’s hard to find the time to get the blog out. Here’s our delightful day yesterday on the Left Bank or Rive Gauche. We had a very late lunch or breakfast about 2:30 as we all slept in from the marathon […]
Bonjour mes amis, Alors…as the French would say…so, our eighth Normandy trip was anything but typical! I’m a big believer in signs and omens. This may not be the post you were expecting, but it was our day from start to finish. I’m guessing it will make you chuckle. We had mapped out the perfect […]
Bonjour, Just a quick blog today as we’re ready to depart to Normandy. First the train, then a rental car with Natalie as our chauffeur. Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Ours will be special and the weather looks very good—windy and a bit cool but better than stifling hot. Yesterday, the two “young people” slept […]
Bonjour, What better day could one have than to share a place you love with people you love! Yesterday was part of a holiday weekend in Paris. Pentecost Sunday is today in celebration of Christ’s ascension. And on Monday (our Memorial Day), we will be honored to celebrate by spending a day on the Normandy […]
Bonjour, Thanks to so many of you for the kind support in regard to this damnable case of vertigo I have managed to get. About ten years ago, I had this for one solid year and truly thought I was going to lose my mind. I tried every remedy I could find but nothing helped […]
Bonjour, Glorious weather graced our day with hardly a cloud in the sky and 70 degrees as the high. I’d call that about perfect unless you have vertigo and then, darn, it’s not as much fun. Bless Bernie for always holding my hand and telling me that everything will get better. Maybe home is where […]
Bonjour mes amis, Our day was built around some preparation for my daughter’s visit. We thought it a good idea to get laundry out of the way for a while which meant a trip to the Laverie to dry our clothes and another lunch at Le Temps des Cerises across the street. Our plat du […]
Bonjour, You may have noticed that I didn’t blog yesterday… quite under the weather with horrible vertigo and nausea when I got up. It slowly went away throughout the day, and we were able to walk around a bit in an area around the BHV (the large department store in the Marais) referred to as […]
Bonjour, The weather gods continue to shine down upon us! And I might say that it’s well deserved! Our day was beautiful, nicely cool and sunny. We thought it would be a calm, easy catch-up day, but there were surprises afoot. The visiting couple (Valerie and Derrick from Nashville) with their 4-year old called about […]
Happy Sunday to all, What a difference weather makes for all of us! It was a glorious day yesterday in Paris with temps pushing 70. No rain, very little wind, a great day for walking and spending hours at street-side cafés. Our Metro Line 1 has been closed so we have to maneuver a new […]
Bon Week-end to all! Yesterday was a blissfully wonderful weather day. Here’s a chuckle to start the blog. I had to slip into a “toilette” and disrobe a bit ending up with a sweater turtleneck tied around my waste, my jacket on my arm, and my scarf flapping in the breeze. I know the weather […]
Bonjour, It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve been here for 17 days already! And we’re still waiting on Spring, at least by our Alabama definition! It was a national holiday yesterday, Ascension Day, or as some referred to it, the bank holiday. The first part of our day was changing our bed, washing and then […]
Bonjour mes amis, Some days capture the joie de vivre completely, and today was such a day. Our friend Hannah will be leaving Paris soon for a return visit to the USA so we are savoring every bit of time we have remaining. She had never been to the tearoom at Jacquemart-André Museum or to […]
Bonjour, COLD is the only word to describe yesterday. Though sunny, we had a 12 mile-per-hour wind blowing all day. We gave consideration to a stroll through Parc Monceau, one of our favorites, but after a brief few minutes outside, we changed course, put on extra clothing, and just went to a local restaurant, Les […]
Bonjour, It was 43 degrees in Paris this morning after a cold, rainy day yesterday. Not much chance for interesting photos for which I apologize. Hopefully, “spring” will arrive soon! It is actually much, much cooler in mid-May than it was in February for my birthday. Hard to believe. At the suggestion of my friend […]
Bonjour, A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all who are following the blog. It was a glorious warm Sunday in Paris, but started out quite cool at 52 degrees as we walked up to the Bastille market. It was not Mother’s Day here in Paris which isn’t celebrated until Sunday, June 4, my daughter’s birthday. […]