Cross Promotion: Unfortunate Hotels

Hello one and all. I’m writing today to tell you that I’ve been cheating on your with my “other” blog. Because, you know, I don’t have enough to do and I don’t spend nearly enough time online, so I decided to just start up another blog. This one is called Unfortunate Hotels, and it was [...]

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French on Strike: Cry Me a River

PARIS, France (CNN) — A day of strikes dubbed “Black Thursday” in France looked more like “Gray Thursday,” with officials reporting a mixed impact across the country. Maybe it’s because they realize they’re protesting something that DOES NOT AFFECT THEM? This strike is about the French worrying over the lack of job security. IN FRANCE. [...]

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HALP! J. Peterman Photo Contest

If I remember correctly, the J. Peterman catalog was a running gag on Seinfeld. But I subscribed to that catalog back in the day, and reading it was my very own appointment television, as it were. I was enthralled by the product descriptions, which read like tiny Hemingway vignettes; I coveted a pair of wide [...]

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Anthony Bourdain in Venice

Oh my God you guys, I just watched the “Venice” episode of Anthony Bourdain’s NO RESERVATIONS, and I’m in love. With risotto.

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My Birthday in Rome

Yes, my birthday was a month ago. But, far be it from me to deny you the experience! Marco worked from midnight to six on my birthday, which meant that I was dead to the world when he came home. It also means I awoke to an experience not unlike the beginning of this scene: [...]

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Loving the Travel Blog Exchange

HI.  WordPress has a new nifty gadget wherein I can make a quick post about something I’ve noticed on the Web. I’m trying it out in the coming days, so be prepared for more, yet smaller, posts from me in addition to my usual, awesome, longer musings.  Let me know what you think! The Travel [...]

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A Trip to the Doctor’s in the South of France

Cal and I got up super early last week and went to Dr. Navarro to see what was up with this dry, hacking cough I’ve had since Paris. I don’t usually need someone to accompany me, but my knowledge of French doesn’t extend to medical terms. It turns out to be bronchitis; but, in the [...]

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Pictures: Winter Morning, South of France

Well, it’s winter, but today was sunny and almost 60. However, I am loving the trees without their leaves! Take a look:

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Père Lachaise Cemetery

When we first headed to Père Lachaise Cemetery on New Year’s Eve day, it was closed for reasons of security. There was no mention of this on the website, naturally. And, naturally, the site that has the most logical name has no actual affiliation with the cemetery, so you have to hunt around and find [...]

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Versailles

Fabulous Cousin and I decided to take advantage of the lack of rain, sleet, snow and fog and headed out to Versailles. We bought sandwiches at a marvelous bakery on rue Saint-Honoré and ate them on the train – it’s a short, cheap ride on the RER C from the Musée d’Orsay, and as you’re [...]

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Sacré Coeur

While in Paris, Fabulous Cousin and I decided to take the trek up to Sacré Coeur one day. We had a great time, despite the wet snow and generally hazardous conditions that made it nearly impossible to traipse around a steep mountain. (We are from New Jersey. Anything on an incline is a mountain.) A [...]

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New Year’s Eve in Paris

I have much to tell about my recent travels, but I think we’ll start with the one that was the most noteworthy: New Year’s Eve in Paris. I met Fabulous Cousin in Paris for a week of eating, drinking, talking, picture taking and more talking. It was decadence personified.  More on this later, but for [...]

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New Year, New Look

“Miss Expatria, where have you been?” I’ve been hearing this a lot. But now I am back from my travels – lunch in Barcelona, a night at a swanky hotel on the Italian Riviera, partying in Rome, a week in Paris – I am ready to blog in earnest, cherished readers.  Prepare yourselves! You might [...]

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