Travel, Happiness and Simple Living During Retirement
By Marie Sherlock I had the occasion recently to sit for some time at a “gaming machine” at an Indian Casino. A little backstory here: Casinos often allow RVs to park overnight for free – or almost for free, after you gamble just a bit. While I AM NOT (I hope the BOLD CAPS came…
By Marie Sherlock This is the fifth (and likely the last!) in my series of photo essays on The Arches of France. This time we’re traveling to the Burgundy region to visit Noyers-sur-Surein. Noyers-sur-Surein is a spectacular medieval village about two hours southeast of Paris. It’s a joy to saunter along its cobblestoned lanes while…
By Marie Sherlock Time for another installment in my series of photo essays on the archways/passages/tunnels of small town France. This time we’re visiting Sainte-Agnès, a small village in eastern Provence on the edge of the Italian border. Sainte-Agnès is, more or less, a sister city to Coaraze, with similar architecture and (like Coaraze) myriad…
By Marie Sherlock If you look up the phrase “the arches of France,” the Google Gods will reveal a number of famous “arcs” for you: The Arc de Triomphe in Paris (of course!). The Porte du Peyrou in Montpellier, Bordeaux’ Porte de Bourgogne. The Arc de Triomphe d’Orange. They are grand. They are elegant. They…
By Marie Sherlock Note: This is the last – for now! – in a string of posts on The Doors of France. I reserve the right to travel to France, take copious photos of amazing entryways – and continue this series. 🙂 If you are an aficionado – or, at minimum, a wannabe aficionado, as…
By Marie Sherlock Brittany – in the far northwest corner of France – is often overlooked by travelers. It shouldn’t be. Along with a rugged and breathtaking coastline, it is home to a distinct architecture and culture, even a second language (Breton) – it was, indeed, a separate country up until 1532. And it’s the…
By Marie Sherlock I had never heard of France’s Haute-Loire area before I planned to travel there – and only then because it was, more or less, a midway point between two other destinations. Turns out it’s a stunningly beautiful departement of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alps region. (French Geography Lesson: There are 13 regions in France –…
By Marie Sherlock I’m devoting this entire post to the doors of just one tiny perched village in the far eastern part of Provence, almost on the Italian border. Coaraze, a quick half-hour drive from Nice, is (IMHO) one of the most underrated plus beaux villages of France. This enchanting hamlet is a maze of…
I didn’t set out to put together a series of photographic essays on “The Doors of (Small Town) France.” In late 2017, I was working on several articles on “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France” (France’s Most Beautiful Small Towns) and found myself mesmerized and gravitating toward the whimsical, varied and sometimes inexplicably small, odd…
By Marie Sherlock Travel – if done correctly – is always a learning experience. Traveling to a country whose language is foreign to you and then attempting to absorb said language while there amounts to a learning experience – on steroids. As part of my half-century (!) attempt to master the French language, I’ve had…