Bonjour mes amis, It’s almost summertime and for us that means Paris! This is our twenty-second year, and we hope to share the next two months with you. Our travel day on Friday was less than the best with a 3-hour delay out of Huntsville because of a mechanical problem. Ugh! The rest of the […]
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, 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, 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, This will be a short post this morning as the big news is RAIN. It is 68 degrees at 11am and still raining off and on after a good solid rain last evening. I think the entire city is heaving a jubilant sigh. Our day yesterday was again very easy and for me all […]
Bonjour mes amis, Yesterday, I took a break from the blog because the day before we spent in two train stations trying to get tickets exchanged and rebought in preparation for Sharon and Johnny Tyson’s visit. They have decided not to go north to Rouen. Unfortunately, things like this in Paris become very complicated. Photos […]
Bonjour mes amis, Yesterday was incredibly beautiful without a cloud in the sky, a nice breeze, and slightly cooler temps, all in preparation for the heat surge on Monday and Tuesday. Natalie and Lisa were at DisneyLand Paris, and we have yet to get a full report. Hopefully, no news was good news. Bernie and […]
Bonjour mes amis, July 14 is a spectacular day in France, signifying the end of the monarchy and a day of liberty, equality and fraternity. Believe it or not, the temperature was fantastic with a cool breeze which blew all day. By the end of the evening at midnight, I was wearing Bernie’s sports coat! […]
Bonjour! Life is much better after 24 hours in Paris, and we do love our new apartment, though we’re struggling with the location. A good night’s rest, new friends, and good food made for a smile on our faces. I do apologize for the negativity in my first post as I try always to make […]
Bonjour for 2022, It would be an understatement to say that we’ve had better first days for our annual Paris visit! Travel is tough right now, but we’re trying to be positive and grateful for the experience. And we’re doubly grateful for those of you who have followed us for many years. Here’s hoping that […]
Bonjour mes amis, It occurs to me that I’m not doing nearly as good a job as some of my fellow bloggers who are sharing a new post every day. Shame on me. Some days are harder than others. Here are some daily Paris-related blogs you might enjoy: Eye Prefer Paris from Richard Nahem who is […]
Bonjour mes amis, We received our airline refund yesterday for our Paris trip which was great news and sad news all in one. Hopefully, next year, about this time, we’ll be able to return to Paris. France and Paris in particular have been hard hit so we hope they will be in recovery soon. Riots […]
Bonjour mes amis, Certainly not to be flippant during these very difficult days, I thought food pics from Paris might be comforting. You can partake without calories or weight gain! The “presentation” is always so magical, and photos of food seem to be almost as popular as Café chairs for our blog readers. There’s an […]
Bonjour mes amis, I had intended for this blog to bring only hope and smiles and beautiful images to all of you. I still hope that, but it’s very hard at the present moment because of the situation with Bernie’s cousins. Writing here gives me a personal outlet for my angst so please forgive me!! […]
Bonjour, No other blog series has ever been as fun or as popular as the one we did many years ago on the cafe chairs of Paris. Bernie thought I was crazy when I started telling him to take photos of chairs! Who knew it would become so popular? I have gone back through photos […]
Bonjour mes amis, Writers write during good times and bad times, sharing stories of the heart to help themselves and to bring joy, solace, and hope to others. I have decided to spend a few minutes each day to share fond memories of Paris, pulling photos from our voluminous archive. Unfortunately, unless a world miracle […]
Bonjour, If you’ve been on our blog for a while, you know how much we deserve cooler weather! Having suffered through some horrible heat waves over the years with no air conditioning, this feels a bit like heaven to us. The high yesterday was 72 and the low this morning is 52. I understand that […]
Bonjour, The first full day in our Paris neighborhood was met with change, some good and some quite sad. For reference, we are in the Marais area of Paris, known as the Jewish quarter and the gay quarter, but for us known more as an upper middle class area full of families, great boutiques, hundreds […]
Bonjour mes amis! We have made safe arrival in Paris as of yesterday morning after a VERY long travel day. We were so blessed to have no drama whatsoever, given that our travel times were tight. We flew out of Newark, NJ on La Compagne, a French boutique airline on a brand new plane which looked like […]
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, 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, 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, […]
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! 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, 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bonjour, It’s almost time to bid you au revoir until next year! Today, Sunday, after we pack, we’ll make a shortened trip to the Champs to see the parade and the gaggle of bicyclists as they make a few spins around the Arc de Triomphe for the final stage of Le Tour de France. I will not […]
Bonjour mes amis, Hasn’t it been fun being together for almost two months and allowing us to share Paris with you? We’ve loved it and hope we’ve taught you to see this wonderful city in a tender way. Life here is sometimes difficult, but so worth it in every regard. It’s not for everyone, I […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was wonderful…cool, breezy, and such a relief from the oppressive heat. Our plan had been to have a picnic lunch down by the river but some rain thwarted that just as it was almost time to go. We will try again today. Speaking of the river, we are a bit dismayed that the […]
Bonjour, Early yesterday morning, we got a few drops of rain which only served to create a steam bath outside for the rest of the day. It’s too hot to sleep or even to eat much. We resent these hot days as our visit winds down because it prohibits our usual circulation. We chose to […]