Posts tagged travel blog
Postcards from Paris, No. 4: A Lazy Sunday on the Seine? You d'Orsay!

It may have been Sunday morning, but we had no plans to take it easy. In fact, we instead made our way downtown, walking fast, faces pass(ing) — we were museum-bound. Staring blankly ahead, just making our way, making any way, through the crowd …to get to Musee d’Orsay, another one of Paris’ fine art institutions.

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EuropeLogan T. Hansentravel, travel advice, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travelogue, travel diary, travel blog, travel writing, travel blogging, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel tips, travel ideas, travel itinerary, travel planning, travel facts, travel bucket list, France, Paris, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Europe, Eurot, Eurotrip, Euro trip, European vacation, Seine River, Vanessa Carlton, Terry Crews, City of Light, City of Lights, Simba, The Lion King, marathon, marathon running, art, 7th Arrondissement, The Louvre, Gustave Eiffel, Gare d'Orsay, Beaux-Arts style, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Coquelicots, Poppies, La Nuit étoilée, Starry Night, Starry Night Over the Rhône, Auguste Rodin, The Gates of Hell, French sculpture, Canal Saint-Martin, Bistrot Renaissance, Boulevard de Magenta, street market, street vendors, vintage marketplace, vintage clothing, Modern Family, Mitchell Pritchett, TripAdvisor, tripadvisor.com, Paris: Cruise on The Canal Saint Martin and The Seine River, Jardin des Plantes, Île Saint-Louis, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, Place de la Concorde, Statue of Liberty, Île de la Cité, Notre Dame fire, Notre Dame restoration project, Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada, Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Gothic architecture, Gothic church, Délicieux, French film, Le Marais, Lost in Frenchlation, Manon and MattComment
Postcards from Paris, No. 3: Show a Little Louvre for the Eiffel Tower, Eh?

Our third day in France was extremely top heavy, which is to say our two big to-do’s were in the morning and early afternoon. We’re talking about some heavy hitters here, too, as you may have deduced from the title of this post(card). Knowing what lie ahead, it was important to get the day started on the right foot.

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Postcards from Paris, No. 2: Glad Tidings from the Tidal Island of Mont Saint-Michel

After giving ourselves time to settle in on Thursday, Friday came in like a lion, and not necessarily the cute and cuddly kind. While you process that visual, allow me to paint another one: the two of us, my traveling companion and me, walking through the streets of Paris before the sun had even risen, racing across town to meet our tour bus.

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EuropeLogan T. Hansentravel, travel advice, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travelogue, travel diary, travel blog, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel tips, travel ideas, travel itinerary, travel blogging, travel bucket list, Europe, France, Paris, Mont Saint-Michel, Saint Michael, Mont St-Michel, Normandy, French countryside, bus tour, tourism, tourist attraction, history, French history, tidal island, Hôtel Chavanel, Paris Métro, Palais Garnier, Palais Garnier Opera House, Église Notre-Dame de Compassion, My Heart Will Go On, City Wonders, Celine Dion, La La Land, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Couesnon River, Aubert of Avranches, Saint-Gervais Basilica, Archangel Michael, Saint Aubert, Saint Aubert's skull, Avranches, Louis XVI, Mont Tombe, Richard I, Richard I of Normandy, Richard the Fearless, Duke Richard I of Normandy, Bishop Aubert, pilgrimage, religious tourism, religious pilgrimage, Duke Richard II of Normandy, Richard II, Richard the Good, William of Volpiano, Romanesque, architecture, French architecture, Romanesque style, Diagon Alley, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Beauty and the Beast, M.C. Escher, MC Escher, William the Conqueror, Hundred Years' War, English Channel, Bastille of the Seas, England, United Kingdom, French Revolution, La Nouvelle Terrasse, Ed Sheeran, castle on a hill, Arc de Triomphe, Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleonic Wars, Champs-Élysées, Remy, Ratatouille, Disney, Pixar, School of Rock, Jack Black, walkability, sightseeing, sightseeing on foot, wonders of the world, 8th century, 10th century, 11th century, 18th century, 19th century, 20th centuryComment
Postcards from Paris, No. 1: Caught in a Daze on the Champs-Élysées

It was a random Sunday in July when my traveling companion and I decided to write down a number of countries we might want to visit in the next year or so on little scraps of paper. We proceeded to toss said scraps of paper, maybe a couple dozen, into a Red Wings beanie. We then shook them all up and fished out three just to see what we’d get. We told ourselves beforehand that none of this was binding, but then gave each other simultaneous side-eye glances after saying so, as if to indicate that maybe we kinda wanted it to be, that perhaps maybe it was.

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Who's Up for the Penis Museum? The Strangest/Coolest/Most Memorable Museums I've Ever Visited

Let’s face facts: museums can be boring. Of the tens of thousands of museums the world over, they’re not all gonna be winners, okay? Somebody has to come in last; that’s just the reality. But we’re not here to talk about boring museums. No, no, no. We are here to talk about some of the most interesting museums I’ve stumbled upon in my travels over the years, the ones that burrowed their way into my brain and remained there long after I’d visited — and that I’d happily pay a return trip to.

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Au Revoir, Beauvoir; or, The Odd Experience of Visiting Jefferson Davis' Mississippi Mansion

While I do not in any way, shape, or form agree with the Confederate cause (because, you know, let’s just make that crystal clear), this was still a chance to see history in person, and I would be loathe to turn such an opportunity down. So, with a few hours to kill, I headed over to Beauvoir, where Davis lived from 1876 until his death in December 1889, to get a glimpse of the way in which the South commemorates the man whom many would consider one of America's greatest villains.

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New Orleans: Four Days of Beignets & Foul Play(s) in the Big Easy, Pt. 2

There they went, walking down the street in a straight line, looking like a high school football team warming up before practice with some high knees. There was Andrew, James, Michael, Patrick, Lucy, Bernadette, and, oh my goodness, don’t look now, but it’s Francis of Assisi himself. That’s right: it was Thursday in New Orleans and the saints were marching in. Or was I just hallucinating?

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North AmericaLogan T. Hansentravel, travel blog, travel advice, travel guide, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travelogue, travel writing, travel recommendations, travel reviews, travel itinerary, travel ideas, travel diary, travel blogging, New Orleans, Big Easy, Louisiana, The Natchez, Ruby Slipper, Saint Francis of Assisi, Oklahoma City, Dorothy Gale, The Wizard of Oz, eggs cochon, Dean Martin, Caesars, casino, Titanic, Titanic: An Immersive Voyage, RMS Titanic, Antti Wiljam Sihvola, Finland, Idaho, Bourbon Street, Bourbon Street Drinkery, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, Lafitte's, Jean Lafitte, Pierre Lafitte, Andrew Jackson, President Andrew Jackson, Battle of New Orleans, War of 1812, Purple Drink, Purple Drank, Sazerac, absinthe, Herbsaint, piano bar, Jason Kelce, Kylie Kelce, Kate Moss, Family Guy, Nicolas Cage, Adam Devine, Tennessee Williams, Jelly Roll, Miami Dolphins, French Quarter, French Quarter Ghost and Murder Tour, ghost tour, Ursuline Convent, Louisiana Supreme Court, Jacques St. Germain, LaLaurie Mansion, Delphine LaLaurie, Madame LaLaurie, American Horror Story, Kathy Bates, AHS, slavery, New Orleans Bee, Dr. Leonard Louis Nicolas LaLaurie, Pierre Trastour, Paris, Creole architecture, Creole cuisine, French architecture, French cuisine, National World War II Museum, World War II, Anne Frank, Campaigns of Courage, Road to Berlin, Road to Tokyo, The Original Pierre Maspero's, Napoleon House, Napoleon Bonaparte, Chicago, Northside Barbershop, Chartres Street, Governor Nicholls Street, Royal Street, Curio, Curio Bistro, beignets, Pierre Maspero's, Felix's, Felix's Oyster House, Hard Rock Cafe, Musical Legends Park, Airbnb, Deep South, Bon Jovi, Livin' on a Prayer, Jon Bon Jovi, Royal House Oyster Bar, MichiganComment
New Orleans: Four Days of Beignets & Foul Play(s) in the Big Easy, Pt. 1

Of all the iconic cities in the good ole U.S. of A. — New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville (to name a few) — New Orleans was one that I had yet to check off my list. That was rectified in the spring of 2025 when I ventured once more to the Deep South with my parents and two of my siblings for a little family vacay in the Big Easy.

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