I’ve been using the location-based social network Foursquare since 2009. Although it will come as no surprise to those who know me, my first check-in was at a Starbucks — although I was surprised to find it was in West Hollywood. Since then, I’ve checked in 4,456 times, across the United States and around the world. […]
travel
Au Revoir, Paris
Today is a travel day. Our driver picks us up in front of the apartment at 10am (Paris time, mind you). From CDG we take a short flight to Heathrow, then the long leg to LAX. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately?) there’s no wifi on these flights, and I’ve got to get ready to go. This […]
Day 19 in Paris: Love, Locked
If you look closely, you’ll find our lock on this bridge near Notre Dame. This is a wonderfully odd real-world meme. The story I heard from a guy in our cooking glass (who has lived here in Paris for the past nine years) was that the guy who started this was despondant over unrequited love. […]
Day 18 in Paris: Refuge des Fondus
One of the meals we wanted to enjoy was fondue. A quick search on Yelp turned up what sounded like a fun place in Montmartre called Refuge des Fondus. It’s small with a fixed menu. You get an apertif, an entree, your choice of cheese or beef fondue, wine (served in baby bottles to avoid […]
Day 17 in Paris: Old Bones in the Catacombs
On our 17th day in Paris, we visited the Catacombs. There’s a formal name for this which eludes me, because this is actually a cemetery of sorts. It was created in the late 1700’s when overcrowding at the graveyards which traditionally surrounded each church became a serious health problem. The catacombs were a network of […]
Day 16 in Paris: Opera Garnier
On our 16th day in Paris, we visited the amazing Opera Garnier. This Grand Foyer was designed with the thought that during intermission, the “performance” of life goes on… so why not provide a suitable stage to showcase the performance? Joan and I liked the Opera Garnier better than Chateau Versailles — which was great, […]
Day 14 in Paris: A Day Trip to Giverny
Giverny is a worthwhile day trip from Paris. You can tour Monet’s house, his studio, and the gardens and ponds immortalized by so many of this impressionist’s great works. While this may not the best photo I took today, it epitomizes the scenes painted by Monet and serves as a perfect “bookmark” for our day […]