I said it. I'm not harping on the Mona Lisa, she's cool and all. Actually, I could spend a lot of time examining her from different angles and pondering how her eyes can follow me wherever I go. But she's by far not my favorite thing to see in the Louvre. And I want to … Continue reading 10 Things to See in the Louvre that Are Better than the Mona Lisa
When we planned a trip to Switzerland in May, we pictured valleys sprinkled with wildflowers, spotted cows grazing in fields of green, and stunning views from every direction atop mountain peaks. Instead, after winding down highway after highway hedged in by such beautiful spring views that practically made our eyes pop out of our heads, … Continue reading Stumbling Upon Narnia in Furenalp, Switzerland
One of our first weekends in Paris, some of our new friends invited us to join them for Saturday afternoon jazz at a hip but classically Parisian coffee and wine bar. We loved the music, and it felt like the most Paris thing to do ever, crowded around a few tiny tables, enjoying good company … Continue reading Jazzy Paris
Alright. I've put it off long enough. I'm one of those people who starts a million different things and then leaves them unfinished because I get excited about something else in the meantime, or I feel overwhelmed that I don't have enough time to do it justice (aka perfectly), so I put it off until … Continue reading paris essentials: a love story
Back to our time in London. Do you ever see photos of a place and imagine what it's like to be there, but then when you get there it's so different from what you expected? That's what our trip to London was like for me. Usually when you have that experience, being in the real … Continue reading england – part ii: magical london
London was never really on my radar because it didn't seem that different from the US. They speak the same language, so what's the big deal? Let's go somewhere exotic instead! Then we moved to France and people told us we could take the Chunnel from Paris to London in two hours, so I figured … Continue reading england – part i: london in the fall
What were you doing in 1570? Oh wait, that was 37 years before your ancestors had possibly even come over on the Mayflower and 200 years before America was officially a country. But since then, for 448 years, Strasbourg has hosted the “Christkindelsmärik," the oldest Christmas market in Europe. Since my parents were with us for … Continue reading strasbourg, the capital of christmas
This year certainly had its ups and downs. Having worked in college ministry, being back in grad school, and then being on a college ministry schedule again, I tend to view each year in terms of the school schedule (i.e., September-June) rather than the calendar year. Until now I haven't really reflected on 2018 as … Continue reading 2018 recap
Located just around the corner from Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle seems unsuspecting. First of all, it's located in the middle of the block. If you look for it, you can see the gothic spire towering above the government buildings it's surrounded by. If you actually know about it and decide to go in, your first … Continue reading sainte chapelle
There's no treat in Paris as unique, elegant, and ubiquitous as the macaron. You can find hundreds of specimens in practically every corner patisserie. The edges may not be perfectly smooth, but you can find the dessert with the classic fillings - chocolate, coffee, vanilla, raspberry, pistachio - anywhere. Of course, there are the luxury … Continue reading macarons and makeup
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