Through the city streets

Paris has many charms.  Monuments, palaces, parks, amazing food, and great shopping.  But I’m more than content just wandering up and down the city streets, admiring the buildings, and watching the hustle and bustle of people going on about their everyday lives.  Those city scenes are what I love most about Paris, and what I most look forward to about going back.

Wanderings: Jardin du Luxembourg

After such a long and bitterly cold winter, it feels so amazing to be able to sit outside, feel the sun on my face and not freeze my toes off.  We whiled away several lazy hours in the Jardin du Luxembourg, admiring the tulips and the geometric rows of trees, but most especially the children sailing boats in the basin.  Most of them were…

Marché Baudoyer

An outdoor market is the perfect place to pick up a few things for picnic in Paris.  A baguette here, some cheese at the stall over there, a few fresh strawberries, and you’re ready to find the perfect shady spot along the Seine to watch the world pass by.  We stumbled across a few markets while we were in Paris.  This beauty was open…

It’s Friday, I’m in love

I’ve been having fun reminiscing about Paris through photos over the last few days, and have more to share over the coming weeks.  But still, I’m happy to be spending a weekend at home snuggled up to my Mister.  We first visited Paris together, and while I was happy to be there at all, many of my favorite places there made me miss him…

Wanderings: Le mur des je t’aime

It’s nice to visit certain places again and again.  Eventually you make your way through all the major sights and can spend your time getting to know the city itself.  The layout of the streets, the rhythms of the neighborhoods, and all the little details that lie just off the most beaten path.  I have that feeling for New York, and, slowly, I’m getting…

Wanderings: Awash in pink at Notre Dame

Notre Dame is lovely on any day, but haloed by these lush pink blossoms, it seems to have an extra special magic in early spring.  They were in bloom the last time I was in Paris, and I was happy for a chance to see them cast their rosy glow on the cathedral once again. This particular variety of tree was blooming on my…

The magic spell you cast

It’s hard to imagine anything lovelier than Paris in springtime, and my mother and I couldn’t have timed our visit any better.  The city was aglow with freshly blossomed trees and tulips, and we basked in their glow, spending idle hours sitting on benches and enjoying the sweet smell of blooms on the breeze.

It’s Friday, I’m in love (with Paris)

Today is our last full day in Paris and I’m a little sad that the week has flown by so quickly. We’ve had the loveliest weather and have taken full advantage by spending hours in the various gorgeous parks and sitting at outdoor cafe tables. I’ll be back next week with more photos from our travels, but for now, here’s what I’ve been up…

Springtime in Paris

Hello from Paris! It seems like every tree in the city is bursting with blossoms, and we’ve had a lovely time strolling around and relaxing on park benches.

It’s Friday, I’m in love

It’s the weekend at last and the Mister is finally coming home from California!  I’m super excited to see him, and we plan to enjoy the nice weather and have brunch with friends. One of the biggest draws of Buenos Aires was the amazing street art scene.  I noticed a lot of it on my own, but was also lucky enough to go on…

Wanderings: Recoleta cemetery

It was gray and drizzling the day I visited Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.  The rain kept other tourists away, and it was quiet and meditative to stroll up and down the pathways of the cemetery, with only a dozen or so stray cats for company.  I spent several hours reading the names on the mausoleums, admiring the stonework and marble carvings, and wondering…

Wanderings: Love and tango

Buenos Aires is the most romantic city I’ve ever visited alone.  At the time, I had just started dating the Mister and though I missed him, the early thrill of the relationship had me in a state of bliss and it was easy to get caught up in the allure of the city.  Every part of the Buenos Aires mesmerized me, whether full of…

Wanderings: Buenos Aires

The first few days I spent in Buenos Aires are a feverish haze in my memory.  I was recovering from a terrible cold or flu, and I’d spend about twelve hours a day sleeping, and the other twelve wandering around the windy, cobble-stoned streets in a mild delirium. I carried around a little black moleskin notebook in those days and it was amusing to…

It’s Friday, I’m in love

The weekend is here and I’m still missing my guy and counting the days until he is home. I’m on call Saturday and Sunday so I’ll mostly be spending time at home, watching bad movies on Netflix, eating avocado on baguette, and hopefully playing around with my new camera lens. Hope you have a great weekend!

It’s Friday, I’m in love

It’s been a long week.  I spent most of it in Dallas busy with a work trip, and I’ll talk a little about that next week.  Thanks for all your lovely comments on the posts about Spain.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be there right now?  Especially since there may be more snow in our future.  Oh well, I guess it means more time…

Wanderings: Daytripping from the mountains to the seaside

When traveling alone, I tend to pick a busy city with lots to do and easy public transportation.  For most of the trip, I’m energetically taking in the sights and exploring the local culture, but as the end of my travels near and my to do list grows shorter, I can’t help but wonder what there is to find just outside the city bounds. …

Wanderings: Making friends on the Gaudi Trail

As comforting and reassuring as it is to have a travel companion, there is nothing quite like the experience of fast friend-making that goes on between solo wanderers.  I made several friends while in Barcelona, the most memorable of which was Tim, a sweet, energetic Englishman about 20 years my senior.  Tim and I chatted a few times in the common room of our…

Wanderings: On my own in Barcelona

There is a period in my mid-twenties that I think of as The Brave Years—a short span in which, over and over, I stared down my own fears and started to live life the way I wanted.  Traveling to Spain is one of the standout markers of those days.  For years I had wrestled with frustration and impatience trying to get others to travel…

Wanderings: Isla Saona

The highlight of our trip to the Dominican Republic was definitely our visit to Isla Saona, a small tropical island off the south-eastern coast of the mainland.  Conjure an image in your mind of a tropical island and it would likely mirror Saona’s white sand beaches and clear green waters.  Saona is a protected national park, which is evident by the pristine beaches, dotted…

Wanderings: Horseback riding in the Dominican Republic

Though we spent most of our time in the Dominican Republic lazing around the beach, we were able to see a little more of the La Romana area via horseback.  Our resort helped us set up a horseback riding trip that meandered through the lush countryside and along the beaches. It was a lovely way to spend a balmy, breezy morning, and our guides…

Wanderings: The Dominican Republic

We’re well into winter now and I’m starting to feel the chill in my bones.  We have a lot of traveling to do later this year, so a warm weather getaway isn’t in the cards right now.  Instead I’ve been curling up under a fuzzy blanket with a stiff drink and browsing through photos of warmer days.  Right now, I’m loving these photos from…