Author: Christopher Bounds

After yesterday, I don’t feel like writing an essay. The drive to the Mont was longer than expected, so I’m a bit tired. It was, of course, awe-inspiring. It’s pointless trying to paint word...

It is hard to encapsulate this day in a simple diary entry. It feels at once unreal to have been told the story of two major military campaigns, nine hundred years apart, and then...

The day started with a surprise after breakfast: snow! We walked through the front door of Hotel Magenta for one last constitutional and found the footpaths white and the air full of small, feathery...

We were not in bed until 1.30 this morning, so we made a somewhat late start. Paula had a recurrence of her virus, which left her a bit second hand, so we began the...

I’m sitting in the Champ de Mars, cold as charity because my gloves are off, but enjoying a spectacular view. The fireworks were a non-event, but the tower was spectacular. The best shots are...

Sometimes, the best fun is what you make yourself. We were too peeved with mass humanity to want more tourism, so we spent the day wandering and catching experiences by chance. Our morning walk...

Every now and then one makes a decision that has consequences out of all proportion to the plan. It seemed simple: the last major tourist jaunt in Paris before some general site-seeing. Snow and...

Monday looked warmer than Sunday, but I think we have never been as cold (and we thought we had come well prepared). Our plan was to sort out some travel arrangements for the rest...

If I keep writing at this level of detail, we will need to wake early each morning to chronicle. Our goal was d’Orsay, but we found ourselves outside la Madeleine and popped inside for...

Of course, we woke far too early. Jet lag kicked in at five in the morning and Paula was ready to party. With the temperature at -4 degrees outside, we were’t going anywhere soon,...