Manga—comics or graphic novels from Japan—touches everything. It considers nothing sacred. Such is the reality that hits me at the current exhibit we attended at the Centre Pompidou, France’s national museum of contemporary art, Bande dessinée, 1964 – 2024 (Comics 1964-2024). It isn’t just manga, either. From its acknowledged beginning in the counterculture (like Art…
To most people who were in Paris this June, Paris 2024 meant the Olympic games. You could hardly escape the reference. The sign “Paris 2024” has been plastered on buildings all over the city, the most prominent of which nearly covers the façade of the Hotel de Ville, the Paris city hall. To me, however,…
Not until I’ve traveled to countries with centuries of civilization have I appreciated history. My early exposure to history didn’t leave me wanting for more. Memorizing dates and places without putting such facts into relatable contexts elicited mere indifference. My first ventures into foreign countries usually lasted a very short time, sometimes less than a…
Part 2: Impressions of my first visit decades ago I’ve since returned a few times, concentrating on certain places. Athens, Greek Islands September 3 I’m not exactly prepared for what I see in the airport. It’s small and understaffed. A lot of tourists visit Athens but it seems the city won’t coddle them. More surprises…
This June, I’ll be in France, a country I’ve been to many times, though most often, Paris was my destination. On my very first visit to Europe as a young woman, I was wide-eyed and wide open to new experiences. Once there, I wrote my impressions of the places I visited. But we were decades…
Munich: What a city! Beautiful, clean and orderly, and friendly. We both readily chose it over London. The good weather in April definitely worked in its favor as well as ours. On our way here, in a train trip with two long delays and more train changes than we had planned, time passed quite pleasantly…
‘We’ll always have Paris.“ Remember that famous line from Bogey to Bergman (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, in case you’re too young to know) in the film classic Casablanca? Done in black and white, it’s vintage Hollywood. A must-see for film lovers. Here’s a short trailer. Paris fascinates Hollywood. Hollywood fascinates Paris, by far the…
In Paris, amble along, without objective, but merely for the pleasure of watching and observing. Treat yourself to the unexpected.
Sounds We live directly across from L’Eglise Saint Louis. Right next to it is a grade school. We’re constantly reminded of these neighbors by sounds. Sounds that, to some, might be noise but to us signify the daily flow of life on the island. The bells of the church ring a few times a day…
Inside, the apartment is furnished in both vintage and Ikea. A cupboard proclaims its age on numbers carved on its middle door: 1779.
Ah, the freedom of getting vaccinated against covid. I’m looking forward to museum-hopping again. Preferably in Paris, to me, the museum capital of the world. Many visitors to Paris scribble art-viewing into their itinerary. Not as often, though, I think as shopping and eating. But museums are great on a rainy day. Plenty of them…
One of the first things we used to do after settling in a little in Paris was to scope out the neighborhood of our rented apartment. Our first objective—to find a bakery that offered baguette de tradition française. Made with a special kind of flour and given a long time to rise, its tangy goodness…
Artsy Rambler 