June 3, 2024
Hi from rainy, grey Paris....i am a bit tired of all of the rain, but one of colleagues stated that the weather seems to be two months behind this year....i replied....welcome to climate change 😜 who knew paris was such a rainy place....we are still rather chilly here as well...bleh....but when the sun is out, it is awesome....and that there are so many things to do....also awesome....so in the end, i will make it through the rain.....
the other two great things about paris, are the traveling i can do from here and that it is the number one tourist destination in the world.....so i have gotten to connect with so many folks who are swinging through or staying for a few days...it has been incredible...more that 40+ people have come by since August...unfortunately i do not really have the room for folks to stay, but will gladly meet folks for food, drink, museums, music, etc....so let me know if you are headed this way🎉
since my last update i have been traveling a lot....i was on the road for the weekends & some full or partial weeks for the past 2 months....sorry it has taken me some time to get another update out, but i have been catching up with people, places and things....living here makes this completely doable and easy & the trains, as long as you book them early, are quite cheap.....love it!!!🚄 this update will include some paris shots and some from my trip over easter to helsinki with my friend Cat.....it was new country for me and we had spectacular weather.....although we were told it was the first time they had really seen the sun for a whole day since last october 😉 feel free to drop a line if you have any questions and enjoy the pictures....
We will start and end in paris...as this is where i live and i really enjoy this city...the buildings ere are amazing....and you can be just walking down a random street and see something like the image above...not a sculpture garden or entrance to a museum....just an entrance to an apartment building....simply stunning...
this is my morning view from my school bus stop...where i get picked up every morning for work...luckily, i am allowed to ride the school bus to work and have been doing so since last december...it makes my commute so much easier....and the view isn't bad either 😉
this is the place de voges...one of the many beautiful squares in paris....this one is quite special, as there is a secret alleyway to get both ion and out of here if you know where to look...it is also the site of many amazing art galleries with works for sale...not that i can afford them...but i can still walk around and look 😝
and this is the view of the sunrise from my apartment on my awsome balcony...i love to sit out here with a cup of coffee...although now the sunrise is earlier than i need to get up fpr school and it has not been this beautiful due to all of te rainy, grey skies...gotta say, i am getting tired of the rain....
we had a presentation by andrew sean greer in the marshall room in paris....he wrote the book "Lost" and others....and was discussing his profession with our students....and then he presented to the adults...in this very famous spot....this was the historical spot where the USA signed and agreement with the Allies of WW2 to help them rebuild...in thanks, the french "gave" the states this very historic site to use whenever they are in town.....it was amazing....both the talk and the space....
this the sacre-coeur basilica at the top of montmartre...it has blue designs being projected on it the night i was there....why??? who knows....but it was lovely....this area of paris is one of the most visited by tourists...i have to say i have not been there a lot, because there are always soooooo many people...but it certainly is lovely⛪
this is the louis vuitton foundation....where i saw the mark rothko exhibit....such a cool building in a fun park...actually right next to an amusement park...just a really interesting space.....i hope to see something else there in the coming year....we'll have to see what they are showing....i do have to say...one of the best things about paris...the museums....so many, with so many amazing exhibits 🎨
the shows that come through paris are also amazing....i went to see rocky horror live twice while it was in town...l;et's do the time warp again....the theater it was playing in was beautiful....so much fun!!!
close by my house is one of my favorite museums of all time....the rodin museum....i was there in march and loved the amazing weather the day of the visit....you have the thinker and in the background invalides....the eiffel tower is also close by and you can see it from the museum, but not in this shot....i live in a pretty amazing neighborhood....
over easter weekend, i went to helsinki, finland, with my friend catherine (we worked together in romania, all those years ago) before romania, cat worked in helsinki, so this was a coming home for her....it was a new country for me (92)...and we had a spectacular saturday there....as you can see from the shot above....
you can see that there is still ice in the harbor, but that did not stop anyone from being outside....don't worry, the pool is heated....although they did have a plunge pool that the finns would use when coming out of the sauna before jumping into the heated pool or going back into the sauna....this is common practice by most finns....brrrrrrr🥶
the harbor itself was a lovely part of town and was having a saturday market, filled with fun things to buy and eat...the finns are a bit heavy on the meat and fish for me, but i could find tasty treats...and the finnish chocolate was amazing....a little known secret, as they do not really export it to other places 😁
some of the buildings were beautiful and had sculptures on them that reminded me of paris, like the one above....lots of cool architecture to be seen....
this was the outside of the newly renovated train station....very art deco feel...i really liked the statues on either side holding the marbles in their hands....actually reminded me of the egyptians and how they put statues on either sides of entrances....so cooooool....
we visited temppeliaukio church....a luthern church, built by two brothers in the center of town...it was a church that was built into the huge rocks tht they found in the middle of town....it is such a cool place, as it is using the natural resources it is built within to help make it acoustically amazing....
as you can see the architecture is incredible and definitely was amazing with the crystal blue sky we were experiencing that day 😮
and i loved the way they left the rock and put all of the candles and organ right into the rock face....it was circular and simple beautiful.....
helsinki is surrounded by water....so we walked up the lake to a coffee shop that was like a small sauna spot....we were not the only ones to have this idea....the place was packed....but it was lovely having hot chocolate by the lake on this beautiful day 🌞
the chocolate in finland is amazing....and these eggs were so cool...they were eggshells filled with solid milk or dark chocolate...they have been making these eggs, by hand, since1896....and they are amazing....the chocolate was some of the best i have ever had....just incredible...
on our sunday, it was not as nice, by we met up with some friends of cat's and went hiking in the woods close by the center of town....our reward for hiking in the still snowy and icy trail was a brew pub that made their own....it was such a cool spot and they has some tasty beer and pizza! 🍺🍕
afterwards we went to the top of the tallest tower in Helsinki to get a cocktail and see the view....unfortunately sunday was not as gorgeous as saturday...but in this shot you can see the square where we stayed....and in every direction we looked, we could always spot water, even if it was far in the distance....
a great reunion weekend with cat....first time to see each other since covid....she came to visit in panama...and then we were both stuck in asia...japan for her and china for me...either country was very open for the time we lived in them....so both of us are quite happy to be back in europe....so close we can have reunion weekends like this one 😎
the last cocktail bar we swung through had these cool wings....and i thought they were perfect to put here....especially now that it is pride month! ov erall, helsinki was a lovely town, that was awesome to visit in the spring...i can see things that the finns do to keep themselves happy, sane and fit during the winter, but am not sure i would want to live there with so many months of darkness....but it was a lovely city none-the-less⭐
when i got back to paris...the lilacs were in bloom....and i thought it was the start of spring....no such luck really...it has been chilly and rainy....but maybe this is spring in paris with climate change 😕
but the buildings....like les invalides, are still lovely to look at and visit, even when the skies are grey and cloudy....invalides is just up the way from me and where i will be seeing archery during the olympics....so excited for what is to come...although the current construction here to get ready for the games is insane....
i also made it to a retro art exhibit of paris in the 20's and 30's at le petite palais...i had no idea it had a wonderful courtyard in the back...the exhibit was great and so was the weather...mild and balmy....but not a ton of sun....
the first shot above of this building is from the front and this one above is from the courtyard....so many buildings in paris are like this...simply incredible to experience....
and it wouldn't be an update without me and a beer...one of the types of food paris does not really do well is indian....so we had some in helsinki that was quite tasty....they even had indian beer available with our meal...so of course i took them up on that, as i had never had this kid before....
so there you have it....another update from my life in europe....it has been been crazy with travel and i am hopeful to get another update out in the coming weeks, as i traveled around france, the baltics and amsterdam....even made my way back to london to see hamilton with my friend susanna....living here lets me be able to do these things...and with a little planning, even do them on the cheap side....so excited to be able to travel again and experience different cultures and countries once again....i am not throwing away my shot!!!!!
i hope everyone is doing well...and remember, if you have any question, please send them my way....or if the pictures do not work for you, let me know...i will try and resond soonish, but school at the moment is a bit intense with the end looming and coming up quick....
i will be in the states this summer for about a month....staying close to philadelphia and my family though, because it is such a quick month....then i am back in france and paris for the OLYMPICS!!!!! i am so excited about this and currently have tickets to 12 different events....am trying to get a few more, and still need to get tickets to the paraolympucs....so will let you know about how that all goes...
peace out....
dani🌟
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