This view of the Denver skyline across the placid Sloan’s Lake was taken on a bike ride (my last one in Denver, as my bike is being packed up for shipping). I looked longingly at the calm surface and hoped that this would reflect my state of being sometime soon. As it is, I must …
Hello again! It’s been some weeks since my last post, and I wanted to update you on what is going on currently. The most positive news I have to report is that I obtained my long-term French visa! Hooray! There was a fair amount of paperwork required, and a certain degree of ambiguity in exactly …
Hello again, Faithful Readers! As promised, this week’s post is a status report of sorts. With spring in full swing in Denver, I thought I would also share some photos from the Denver Botanic Gardens, a truly lovely patch of flora (and even some fauna!) in the middle of the city. But first, my plans. …
Since this is my last post from France before returning to the U.S., I thought I would provide a look back at my time abroad, as well as sprinkle in a few last pictures of Montpellier. The above photo was taken the night before my departure, when I decided to take a long walk along …
On this next part of my “road trip,” if I may call it that when I’ve been traveling by train, I went from Aix-en-Provence to Vence, a town of 19,000 I had heard a lot about, and, thus, decided to visit. Nestled in the foothills of the Alps, it’s a half-hour’s drive from the bustling …
I decided to see other cities in the South of France while I’m in the area and reserved a rental car for a week. The idea was to leave Saturday. However, the weather gods had other plans. It seems that I was on track to leave town at the same time as an Episode de …
Before I start, allow me to acknowledge the horror of the events some 1700 miles away. People in France are highly aware of the war and have set up refugee centers, places to donate goods, and websites to help Ukrainians. It seems, worldwide, people want to help in whatever way they can. But, while being …
It’s hard to be excited about my own adventure when events to the east are unfolding in such a dire way. Being so close, relatively speaking, to the ongoing war, is different from observing it from the U.S. It seems more real, knowing this is happening only one time zone away, with no ocean to …
Things have really gone very smoothly for me thus far in my travels. I have been lucky. My flights were on time; train travel was straightforward, and I had a nice place to stay (at the apartment of friends of friends) upon arriving in Montpellier. This past week, however, was a bit on the challenging …
Last weekend, I enjoyed a classical music concert (Friday), attended a wedding (Saturday), and moved (Sunday). First, the concert, which featured the music of Fanny Mendelssohn (sister of Felix, rarely heard), Brahms, and Schumann. To enter the hall, you had to show your health pass, which guaranteed all in attendance were triple-vaxed. Even so, everyone …