Prague. For whatever reason I just couldn’t hit that “book it” button.  I’d somehow managed to check off the rest of the key nights, you know the ones – gotta be there the night before the flight – nights.  Our upcoming trip is a 4-parter and while I had parts 2, 3, and 4 mapped out I just couldn’t seem to pull it together for part 1.

The Voice of Resistance

A recent conversation, on a recent winter’s morning, sounded a little like this.   Mine is the voice of resistance.

We were in the tasting room of G.H. Mumm’s Champagne Cellars in Reims, located in northern France, sipping and comparing the lovely bubbly in our champagne flutes when our guide asked us if we knew about Route 66.  “Of course,” we said, “as a matter of fact we’ve driven the route.”  His smiled broadened as he told us that Route 66 is very popular in Europe and many aspire to travel to the U.S. just so they can make the drive.  Who knew?

Marie Antoinette.  She was 14 – an age by which most would be considered a child.  She was handed over in marriage to the future King of France.  Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna was the 15th (of 16) child of the Empress of Austria, Maria Theresa, in 1755.  Surrounded by opulence the young Maria preferred music, art and the theater to the mundane academic studies.  As a result she could barely read or write, which would prove to hinder her later life.

Is there such a thing as smoke free travel?  Before I try to find an answer to my own question, let me say right up front this post is not meant to offend anyone who happens to smoke, it’s just my perspective; how it impacts my life and our travels.

Fat Bike Tour. We did so many fun things and saw such great sites while we were in Paris, it’s hard to pinpoint favorites, but our day pedaling around Paris is definitely way up on the list.

Chateau Fontainebleau.  The forecast for January 25 was a brutal 26 degrees, by far the coldest day of our stay.  We gave thought to whether it was a good idea to stay in Paris for the day, roaming, or get on the RER and head out to Fontainebleau.

G.H. Mumm Champagne. Here’s to the day of the bubbly!  Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience; touring the caves of the G.H. Mumm champagne cellars and then tasting and comparing pourings of the beloved bubbly.  Yep, makes for a pretty great day.  Oh, and what topped it off?

Paris.  Is all it’s cracked up to be or is it just another city?  If you’re a fan of Sex and The City you know how much Carrie romanticized life in Paris.  She turned down flying off to Paris with Mr. Big but did, after much deliberation, accept the offer to go with Alexandre Patrovsky and Paris was in fact all she dreamed it would be, until it wasn’t.

Versailles. How do you describe that which is beyond description?  That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out for the past 10 days.  We visited the Palace of Versailles on January 17 (2013) and I’m still trying to wrap my head around what we saw.  The Palace of Versailles is the epitome of opulence and a lesson in what can go wrong at the same time, while it has stood for centuries as a showcase of French history, art and culture.