Author Archives: viviennemackie
Enjoying Escargots
My husband and I love Paris (and France)—we lived there for a while many years ago and every year after that we visited, until the pandemic hit the world. And as we all know, the pandemic put an end to … Continue reading
Statues in the Gardens at the Palace of Versailles
I recently wrote about the Palace of Versailles, see here https://vivsfrenchadventures.wordpress.com/2024/03/10/chateau-de-versailles-turned-400-in-2023/ At one point, over 5,000 people could be accommodated in Versailles’ large living space, so it’s no surprise that the gardens are also monumental. The gardens of Versailles are some of … Continue reading
Paris: Lunch at Musée des Arts et Métiers
The museum is housed in an old building, the former Priory of St.-Martin-des-Champs, originally founded in 1060 by Henri 1, and given to the Abbey of Cluny in 1079. It has functioned as a museum since after the French Revolution, … Continue reading
Bouillon Chartier, a Paris Brasserie
5, rue du 8 mai (10th), near Gare de l’Est I wrote before about the wonderful Bouillon Chartier on Faubourg Montmartre. See here https://vivsfrenchadventures.wordpress.com/2023/08/17/paris-le-bouillon-chartier/ , where I also covered a bit of the history of the bouillon restaurants in general and of … Continue reading
Truck Graffiti in Paris
As my readers probably know by now, we are really interested in street art, public art, and graffiti. I’ve written about this in Paris before. See here: and here: Looking at graffiti on trucks in Paris (and other cities in … Continue reading
Paris: Christmas Market at Gare de lest
Many places in Europe have wonderful Christmas markets (such as Strasbourg), with special wooden stalls, mulled wine and other hot drinks, a variety of gifts and food items, music, holiday decorations, and a very festive air. Last year we went … Continue reading
Tower in Montpellier
A Modern “Porcupine” Building We spent two weeks in Montpellier in January 2023 for my birthday, our first time there. Not the best time to be there weather-wise, but it was still fun and we got around fine. We chose … Continue reading
Paris: Le Bouillon Chartier
In Paris, we frequently stay in the 9th arrondissement at the Hotel Aida Opera on rue Richer. When wandering around the neighborhood, we walked past a restaurant called Restaurant Chartier on rue du Faubourg Montmartre, and decided to try it. We … Continue reading
Annual Sales in France
Right from the first time we lived in Paris, we were fascinated by the red Soldes (Sale) signs that appeared regularly twice a year. In any other place that we’ve lived, the Sales or On Sale signs are not necessarily red. The annual sales in France … Continue reading
To-ing and Fro-ing in France 