Like in the US, stores milk Valentine’s day in Paris for as many sales of chocolate and hearts and roses and you name it as possible. Plus, Paris is for lovers so there’s no shortage of kissing going on. Still Paris has its own literature that conveys the spriit of Valentine’s Day in a more […]
Sight Seeing
Northern Ireland: The Troubles
Tour of “The Troubles” in Catholic Belfast As part of our Belfast visit we wanted to learn more about the conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles”. Anyone old enough can remember how from the early ’70s until well into the ’90s, year after year, every day there would be stories in the news […]
Northern Ireland: Tour of the Causeway Coastal Route and Glens
We dedicated one day in Northern Ireland to a bus tour of the Causeway Coastal Route and Glens, including a visit to Carrickfergus Castle, a drive along the Nine Glens of Antrim, a walk along the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, lunch at The Old Bushmill’s Distillery, a visit to the World Heritage Site known as Giant’s […]
Northern Ireland: Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast
The Belfast Visitor’s Center advised us to take the tour of Crumlin Road Jail (called Crumlin Road Gaol), so this was the first place we visited when we came to town. The jail was built in 1846 during the Victorian era and was home to more than 25,000 prisoners before it closed in the 1996. […]
Concerts at Notre Dame de Paris
We’ve attended several concerts at Notre Dame de Paris. According to the church’s web site, sacred music has been an important part of Catholic worship for 1500 years. There is wonder in knowing that there have been perhaps 35 generations of worship in that place – many more if you count the Roman religious sites […]
A Visit to the Assemblée Nationale
Like our previous articles about the Sénat, Hôtel de Ville, and Sorbonne during the special weekend for Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, we also went to the Assemblée Nationale, the French legislative branch lower house. The Assemblée Nationale is not normally open to the public. A little about the Assemblée Nationale – it consists of 577 […]