Time-out from travel blogs, unless a trip to Culver City from West Los Angeles would qualify. In any case, I had to post a picture of the standing room only book launch on May 14 at Village Well Books & Coffee in Culver City. Meredith Louria, the distinguished literature teacher, moderated. Village Well Books & Coffee on May 14, 2026

The "Forest of Contemporary Art" consists of art installations throughout an area less than an hour and a half east of Bordeaux by car. Mostly there are wonderful sculptures that you can find with instructions obtained at the headquarters in the town of Sabres. Two days minimum would be well invested in seeing as much of the art as possible. Go to the museum (that's what I will call it) website by clicking here for all the information you will need. Be astounded by discoverin

There are a number of touristic train rides available in France. We have done a couple, including the Chemin de Fer de la Vendee. The train leaves from a small town (Mortagne-sur-Sèvre) between Nante and La Rochelle, heads through lush countryside, then stops on top of a scenic bridge where we are served a gourmet lunch before returning. And you will definitely feel like you are off the beaten path of American tourists, because the other passengers will mostl likely be French

We (two adults) were wowed by the huge mechanical elephant spraying water from its trunk. But there is much more at the Les Machines de l'ile in Nantes, including a remarkable carousel. I doubt kids would be any more gob-smacked than we adults were, although I am sure they would love Les Machines. Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huwdwkhjq9c So, as I have indicated before, you would enjoy France so much more if you rent a car. You can probably take a train to N

You will need a car for some of this - or a driver if you can afford one. One of the days must be the Saturday market in Sarlat-la-Canéda. Great fresh produce, local cheese, fois gras, clothing, crafts. The other must be a canoe trip on the Dordogne with one of the local companies that will drop you off up river where you will head to the downstream pick-up point. Along the way there are towns you can stop at for a visit. The third day would be a trip to the Peche-Merle cave

We were hooked when we saw pictures of the murals in Les Sables d'Olonne ("The Sands of Olonne"). What is unique is that the murals are composed of locally collected seashells mounted by a single artist. The murals are in a small neighborhood (le Quartier de l'ille de Penotte) near the beach. You can see all the murals in less than an hour or so, but it is well worth a special trip to the Atlantic coast to see them and enjoy so much more in the town which is also known for it

I plan to focus this blog on lesser-known and less-visited places in France, along with cultural tidbits. One might ask, then, why start with Paris? Well, by most accounts it is the number one tourist destination in the world. And for good reason. It is beautiful with art everywhere. And you don't have to go indoors to see it. So many buildings and even Metro stations are works of art. The food and shopping are amazing. I could go on and on, but you can get all that from webs