Posts in Europe
No one will tell you to take the bus in Paris (but why you should)

Taking the bus forces stumbling around a city, this breathing organism that one is simultaneously outside of as a visitor and yet temporarily a part of. You find things you weren't looking for.

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Opéra Garnier. The place to see and be seen.

And, oh, I would have loved to dress up for a night of opera or ballet at L’Opéra Garnier in Paris (also known as Le Palais Garnier)! As I was in Paris in late July/August, the only time when the performing arts takes a vacation, alas, “It was impossible,” as the French like to say. Le SIGH. I went anyway for a tour and I was very pleased that I did.

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Skulking around the midnight canals of Amsterdam with a DSLR wasn't the most dangerous thing I did

And what have we learned today, kids? Always listen to your gut. Give people time to show you their true natures with their actions, and not just with their words. And, like 80's slasher movies, don't ever, EVER go into the basement.

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Go See: Amsterdam by Bicycle, Canals, Windmills and Beer

One of the first things you’ll notice is thousands of bicycles propped and locked up along the canals’ guard rails. Practically everyone in Amsterdam gets around by bike. So in the words of popular kids in high schools everywhere: everyone is doing it, and YES, you should, too.

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Tell me about the Rijksmuseum, Jeroen: An audio tour by the Dutch Barry White

He's the Dutch Barry White. I am enamored of this man's voice. Because he's so clearly in love with, he's so passionate about what he's describing... every brushstroke, the treatment of light and dark, from the lace-collared wealthy in the paintings to the artists in their employ in the 16th century Netherlands.

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Relevant Right Now Art: Pussy Riot at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Extended Indefinitely

The women of Pussy Riot in their speeches at the close of their trial aligned themselves in the tradition of Russian thinkers, artists and political dissidents and even with Jesus Christ himself to underline their point that critique in and of itself - even and especially when governmental and religious institutions are its subjects - is not a crime.

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When You're Tired of Speaking French, Go to Jim's

At first, it sounded like a con. Call someone I didn't know from Adam, tell him "party of one, I'm traveling alone" and "yes, I'll bring the 30 euro in cash to your house"...?!?! But, I put stranger-danger cynicism aside and phoned Mr. Haynes up.

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What You Need to Know About Vélib, Paris' public bike share

Vélib, Paris’s public bike sharing program, for residents and tourists, would have everyone believe a few things. With a striped shirt and baguette in tow, I will bike on Velib all around Paris for a mere 1€70. I'll pedal past the Louvre and along the Seine on my Vélib, with unicorns and rainbows and puppies... RIGHT?

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Can I Bring Tulip Bulbs from Holland Home to the United States?

There's two things that grow in Holland that interest most tourists: Tulips and Marijuana. You can find them both in Amsterdam's Bloemenmarkt floating on the Singel canal.

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Museum of Letters & Manuscripts, Paris: Keepers of the Letters, Frail Histories of our Lives

Any writer, reader of good literature, history geek, folk fond of tactile correspondence, stationery freak or handwriting analyst should go immediately upon arrival in Paris to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts (Museé des Lettres et Manuscripts en français).

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