Destination: Uncategorized

It’s so great to be in Paris. You know, I love great cities all over Europe. But, seriously, there is no place like Paris. Each morning I set out from our hotel with a list of sights to check for our Paris Guidebook. Today I was walking to the newly renovated Picasso Museum. Overwhelmed with the vitality and warmth of this city, I had to stop and make this little “feelin’ groovy in Paris” clip. It’s at the St. Paul Métro stop in the Marais neighborhood. (Little did I know that in 24 hours I’d fall victim to a pickpocket. That story is tomorrow’s post.)

This is Day 47 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences across Europe. Still to come: Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

France, like America, reached a fork in the political road in its last election. We turned one way (by about 80,000 votes in three key states out of a nation of 320 million) and France turned the other (by about 30 percent). They elected the candidate of hope, Emmanuel Macron — and rejected the Trump-like candidate of fear, Marine le Pen.

I’m in Paris, which seems to be breathing a post-election sigh of relief. In a park, being out and about with Parisians at play, I have an appreciation of the beauty of a society that chooses the collective good rather than a vast gap between rich and poor. This scene feels like a rejection of the angry, anti-Europe, small-government message of Le Pen for a festival of diversity and government-funded public spaces.

This is Day 46 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences across Europe. Still to come: Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

Photo: Me taking a research break along the Seine, by thetravelphile.com

I’m kicking off a busy stretch researching and updating my Rick Steves Paris guidebook with my co-author (and my guru for all things France) Steve Smith.

Each day, Steve and I “divide and conquer” — splitting up a list of places to visit and things to check for our guidebook. Then we rendezvous at the hotel to head out together to work on our restaurant listings. We spend two hours blitzing a long list of restaurants — either existing listings or new recommendations that need reviewing. Our reward: to eat at our favorite of the bunch at the end of each evening. That has us eating really late…and really well.

Photo: Steve Smith, by thetravelphile.com

Almost every one of our favorite recommended restaurants in Paris is what I call “personality driven” — the owner is out there making sure diners are well taken care of. This gives the place its inviting atmosphere, fun vibe, and unique energy. Many times, it’s a mom-and-pop show: with one cooking and the other serving. I love the idea that when you go to one of our favorite Parisian restaurants, you’ll likely be greeted by and served by the boss, as Steve and I were by Laurent Martin, who runs Le Florimond. Here we all are with his chef, Pascal Guillaumin.

From left: Steve Smith, Laurent Martin, Pascal Guillaumin, and me

When it comes to researching my best-selling Paris guidebook, eight heads are better than one:

Photo: Me at the Cluny Museum, by thetravelphile.com

This is Day 45 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences across Europe. Still to come: Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.