France | FindPenguins

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Trip start
December 5, 2021
France Traveler
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Louvre
December 5, 2021 in France ⋅ 🌧 6 °C
Day 1 of omicron travel. Saw the Mona Lisa (who was maskless), saw the Venus de Milo (she was armless). Also saw tons of rocks, mostly carved into naked statues. The glass pyramid was the coolest.
Traveler like your picture
12/6/21Reply
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France Traveler
Eiffel Tower
December 6, 2021 in France ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
The first two pictures are from Montemartre, a historic hilltop district that was a favorite of artists and expats, from Picasso to Hemingway (also, the movie Amélie (2001) was set here). I ate lunch at a hole-in-the-wall place—escargot, duck, and some pinot (sounds cooler than it was). Elbow-to-elbow with other tables; in the corner table to my right, an older man (a local/regular) talked with me about his divorced wife, what to see in the French Riviera, and agroecology. Anyway, then I headed over to see the Eiffel Tower. It looks heavy and has a lot of rivets.Read more
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France Traveler
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Château de Versailles
December 7, 2021 in France ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
Versailles began as a small hunting lodge constructed by Louis XIII in 1623 before the château was built and later converted into a royal palace. In the summers of the early 1800s, Napoleon lived here. I wonder how Louis XIV would feel about all the plebs wandering around taking selfies today?

For an early dinner, I went to Le Procope. Founded in 1686, it’s the oldest cafe in Paris (although it was closed for several decades around the turn of the century, reopening in the 1920s). If the food’s good enough for Benjamin Franklin, it’s good enough for me (also Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Thomas Jefferson…).

Finally, I walked along the Seine back where I’m staying, first making a quick walk-by of Shakespeare & Company before it started getting dark.Read more
Traveler a great little place to hang out and relax after hunting all day
12/7/21Reply
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France Traveler
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Le Mont-Saint-Michel
December 8, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
Tidal island with an abbey. UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mont Saint Michel has quite the history (that you can read about on Wikipedia). The big-ass stone columns beneath the floor of the gothic choir were the coolest, but I went through my photos too fast and accidentally deleted that one.

There’s one narrow road that winds through a small village up to the abbey. After visiting the abbey, I grabbed a crepe at one of the shops (apparently birds like them, too). When I got back to Paris, I had a nice view of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.Read more
Traveler Abbey cat!
12/8/21Reply
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France Traveler
Sewers Museum
December 9, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
This museum walks you through a 500-m stretch of operational sewers “under the guidance of sewer workers” (not really, but that’s what the pamphlet says). Unfortunately, tours by boat haven’t been a thing since 1975, otherwise that’d’ve been my first choice (there’re grates to walk on—it’s not like the alternative is wading through sludge). Anyway, I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t a gift shop (also promised by the pamphlet).Read more
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France Traveler
Paris Catacombs
December 9, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C
Sitting about 65 feet below the city streets, the Paris Catacombs are the largest underground necropolis in the world. Following a series of cave-ins in the middle of the 18th century, the forgotten tunnel system was ordered by Louis XVI to be explored and inspected (it was originally an underground quarry for Lutetian limestone in the Middle Ages). Then, in 1786, the Paris authorities began converting the area into an ossuary. Bones were moved from unsanitary or overcrowded cemeteries—the total is around 6 million skeletons. Walking through the catacombs… it’s a labyrinth, and it’s deathly quiet—you can hear water droplets falling from the limestone ceiling. When you leave, they check your bag to make sure you didn’t take any “souvenirs.”Read more
Travelerlooks just like the movies! (that's a first)
12/9/21Reply
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France Traveler
Reims
December 11, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
I’ve been taking a couple of low-key days as I catch up on work. I’m staying on the outskirts of Reims, in the heart of the Champagne region. There are tons of wineries headquartered in town. Instead of checking those out, I ate at a cheap Japanese buffet and went for a walk around the industrial park and back along the canal. I saw an abandoned circus that kind of creeped me out, but the old glass factory (complete with pigeons flying in and out of broken windows) looked pretty neat. And practically speaking, champagne needs to go in bottles… so I’m looking at what’s arguably the most important part of the winemaking process.Read more
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France Traveler
Rhône River
December 12, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C
An evening walk along the Rhône to the mini-mart to pick up some bananas, biscuits, and San Pellegrino. The neighborhood is Puvis De Chavannes - Le Lycée in Lyon.
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France Traveler
Vieux Lyon
December 13, 2021 in France ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C
The Renaissance architectural style of the old town is much different than the rest of Lyon, which is much more Parisian. In the old town, there are hundreds of secret passageways called traboules… push on a random door, and you might instead stumble into a small corridor that leads somewhere else.

I had lunch at a bouchon (homestyle cuisine with a friendly atmosphere) where I ate tête de veau. The signs hanging in front are an honest advertisement of what they sell. However, apparently only the “certified” bouchons have a sticker of a marionette in the window (mine did not).Read more
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France Traveler
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Annecy
December 14, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C
The Thiou River runs through a series of canals in the alpine town of Annecy, which is located on the northern edge of Lake Annecy. Both the lake and the river have some of the highest water quality in Europe.Read more
Traveler what a great picture!
12/14/21Reply
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France Traveler
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Monaco
December 16, 2021 in Monaco ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Traveler shaken, not stirred :-)
12/17/21Reply
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France Traveler
Nice and the French Riviera
December 18, 2021 in France ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
So, after seeing Cannes, Antibes, Eze, and Monaco, what’s there to do in the French Riviera? Sit outside a cafe enjoying a niçoise salad and a local rosé, get lost wandering the narrow streets of Vieux-Nice, grab an Italian-style ice cream, and take a sunset walk along the rocky beach.Read more
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Tende
December 20, 2021 in France ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
I took the train north to the medieval alpine town of Tende (which actually used to be part of Italy). There’s a beautiful hike through the mountains to a small, 13th century chapel (250 m climb).
Traveler how awesome!
12/20/21Reply
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France Traveler
Parc Güell
December 22, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
I suppose the architecture is interesting, but what I really enjoyed was watching the feral parrots fly around cackling like maniacs while bringing sticks back to their nests. Apparently the Monk Parakeet was introduced as a pet in the 1970s but has since established in Barcelona.Read more
TravelerThe dragon is cool but where is my picture of deranged parrots?!
12/22/21Reply
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France Traveler
Sagrada Família
December 22, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
This minor basilica has been under construction since 1882. The mix of gothic architecture and art nouveau/modernism at this massive scale is pretty intense, but I suppose that’s Antoni Gaudí for you.
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France Traveler
Museum of Natural Sciences
December 23, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
This natural history museum begins with several rooms showcasing the timeline of life on Earth before ending in three larger halls devoted to animals, fungi, and geology. Beautiful layout and excellent exhibits with fascinating descriptions (in Spanish, Catalan, and English). An added perk was how dark and quiet the museum was!Read more
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France Traveler
Industrial Park and Aquarium
December 25, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Parc de l'Espanya Industrial contains a variety of different trees, the city’s second largest lake (really just a pool connected to groundwater), and a giant metal dragon.

Surprisingly, the aquarium was open on Christmas. I particularly enjoyed the tiny, oft-overlooked creatures, like the feather duster worm. I was also amazed you could bottle-feed the koi fish.Read more
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France Traveler
Macarons
December 26, 2021 in France ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
The macarons in the bottom row are from one of the highest rated macaron-eries in Paris. Rose, red fruit champagne, raspberry, blood orange, and passionfruit… so delicious. The top row is from the supermarket—they’re a bit more “meh,” but still good.Read more
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France Traveler
Le Pigeonnier
December 27, 2021 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
Le Pigeonnier is one of a few dovecotes throughout the city established to help control pigeon populations. The box is subdivided into cases for ~200 pairs of pigeons. Because of the small size, each nesting pair only produces one egg. This kind of population control is much better for the environment—seed laced with contraceptive is no longer used since it can move up the food chain, threatening predators like peregrine falcons and Eurasian eagle-owls.Read more
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France Traveler
Around Luxembourg City
December 27, 2021 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C
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France Traveler
Bambësch Forest
December 27, 2021 in Luxembourg ⋅ 🌧 7 °C
An impressive 20% of Luxembourg City is forested. In the north, nearly 700 ha are protected woodlands, with the largest parcel being Bambësch Forest. The twisting networks of trails are easy to get lost in, but with every turn there’s lush moss and beautiful fungi—I even saw a snow scorpionfly!Read more
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France Traveler
Random Stuff Around Paris
December 29, 2021 in France ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
One last day walking around catching a few things I missed. Not pictured: Luxembourg Palace/gardens (senate building), the Pantheon (mausoleum), a replica of the Statue of Liberty, Duluc Detective Agency (cool neon sign)…Read more
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Trip end
December 30, 2021