Tired Feet in the City of Light, Paris with Two Teens

Group shot under the Arc de Triomphe, Paris

We’ve been walking quite a lot, the three of us. Hannah and I have been joined by Sarah, the teen daughter of close friends, here in Paris. John and Marlie have gone on a river cruise adventure of their own, exploring from here to Normandy, and I [...]

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Foto Phaves: Gargoyles of Notre Dame de Paris

As I was going through my photos from walking about Paris today, I was most taken with the gargoyles of Notre Dame de Paris. Gotta love ‘em!

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Internet. Not Really an Addiction; Connectivity in Vacation Rentals.

Internet. It has become such a central part of our lives, even more on this trip around the world than at home. Its reach is beyond the time spent in front of the computer at work or school, it shapes where we stay and our days when we are there. It is a love-hate relationship, [...]

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Chateaux and Catherine d’Medici

Chateau Chenonceau, complete with scaffolding, from the garden.

The tower in the front of the Chateau Chenonseau, sheltering the nests of swallows.

Before we came, both Hannah and I read “The Confessions of Catherine d’Medici,” and it filled the halls we walked through with the people who lived in them. It also influenced our choice [...]

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Foto Phave: Cathedral Saint-Louis de Blois

We loved this view of the flying buttresses of the Cathedral Saint-Louis de Blois from the area in front of the castle. We’ve loved the history and castles here in the Loire Valley, although I have fallen a little behind in the blog here, as I’ve been under the weather.

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Nice is Nice

The flower market in Nice, France

Having time to explore the surrounding area of Nice, France this visit, we were able to get a better overview of the area. A long coastline with warm blue water and beaches, thriving small city, and history. Tourists lounging under a sea of umbrellas. Inland are small stone villages [...]

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Croatia, Monte Carlo, and Our Own Consumerism

Sailboats in the harbor at Korcula

Don’t get me wrong, we loved most of Croatia, and were awestruck by the preserved history in Rovinj, Dubrovnik, Pula, and Korcula. That said, when Hannah and I walked into the first convenience store just out of Trieste, Italy for a bathroom break and to pick up something to [...]

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Foto Phave: Hills Above Nice, France

Father’s Day dinner with a view. This is from our rental house in the hills above Nice, looking toward the Alps. The girls made chocolate lava cake for their Dad to top off dinner on the patio.

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The Land of Pay Potties

(Musings of a teenager on a trip around the world)

The day we arrived in France (early February, and our first stop), my dad said “Welcome to the land of pay potties.” I laughed, not taking seriously how honest he was being. Now that we have been on our trip for a while, I [...]

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Wandering Lyon

Lyon France

France, we explored the Rhone river area from where it flows out of Lac Leman past promenades and waterfront shopping and cafes through valleys sprinkled with small villages of stone houses and vineyards between them. And further downstream to the confluence with the Saone in Lyon. In Lyon, we spent several nights, [...]

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Lost in Language

Lyon from the esplanade of Fouviere

Traveling as a family, it is obvious that we are not French. As we walk into someone’s presence, we are usually talking and laughing, giving ourselves away. For many years, I have thought about language. In the game “If you were granted three wishes, what would you wish [...]

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River Through Time

Our own trip down the mountain was the reverse, other than the first few kilometers. In Les Trois Vallees, the largest ski area in the world, vacation rentals begin and end on Saturday. The drainage of departing skiers on Saturday gather from the individual resorts into a huge, slow moving current on the freeway which [...]

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Goodbye Chandon, Chalet Nikita

We stayed in an old world mountain village just down the Meribel Valley from the ski area. Our home for the stay was the Chalet Nikita, a renovated old house made comfortable without any loss of charm. It sits in Chandon, a small gathering of ancient buildings on the hillside looking up at Meribel [...]

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Au Revoir Russell, Goodbye Gear.

JB and Russell skiing on a bluebird day in Courchevel, France

We sent home our ski gear today. Russell was the first to leave for home of those who came along to Meribel to ski and send us off. A life lesson we’ve learned from skiing is to keep your knees bent. Being flexible makes [...]

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Redundancy in Awe

The Three Valleys, Fance, is the largest connected ski area in the world.

It is hard to describe or imagine the vastness without experiencing it. As you approach one of the 25 summits, another valley of skiing opens below. Run after run, we explore, never crossing the same ground twice. We find ourselves becoming redundant [...]

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