Now Playing: Paris and its Plentiful Expositions

Les Invalides

Whenever I visit Paris, I tell myself that this time I’m going to go to the Louvre. According to Statistica, it’s the most visited museum in the world. I feel like I should know it. Yet, something about its immensity prevents me from buying a ticket. The Louvre has so…

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Happy New Year 2023 to Friends and Strangers

New Year's Paris

As 2022 comes to a close, it feels more than ever like the pandemic is behind us. Perhaps the biggest indicator of our improving societal health is the return of social gatherings, both privately and in shared public spaces. This year, on December 31, Paris will once again ring in…

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The New Musée Carnavalet and a Renaissance Quiz

Cris de Paris focus

Whenever I’m in Paris, I make a point of visiting the Musée Carnavalet, which chronicles the history of the city. During my last pre-pandemic trip in 2018, however, the museum was closed for renovations. So, it wasn’t until June 2022 that I once again had a chance to wander the…

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A Rotating World Isn’t Good When You’re Sitting Still, and Free Museums

Free Admission at Musée Carnavalet

One of the best things about Michigan’s winter is that when spring arrives, every day is close to intoxicating. Adding to the exhilaration has been the return of all three of my kids. It was great having them all in town for a few weeks. Just when I was about…

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The Foremost Photographer Of The Belle Époque’s Superstars

Nadar by Nadar

I’ve previously written about Nadar, the colorful French author, artist, and entrepreneur who first made a name for himself in the middle of the 19th-century as a caricaturist. Nadar’s Panthéon is a colossal lithograph containing a long parade of 250 heralded writers of the day. It took Nadar two years…

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