Posts tagged travel reviews
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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2025, Can You Believe We're Still Alive? Travels Far & Wide From a Year That We Survived

Well, well, well; w-e-l-l. You know, that’s one of those phrases I picked up somewhere along the way that I return to again and again, but for which the source material is lost to the ages. Where the hell did I get it? Just like the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know. But can you guess what the world is about to know? That’s right! The deepest, darkest, most intimate thoughts, recollections, and reminiscences on the year that was right here on All Things Wanderful.

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General TravelLogan T. Hansentravel, travelogue, travel blogging, travel guide, travel recommendations, travel inspiration, travelspiration, travel ideas, travel writing, travel reviews, travel tips, travel appreciation, travel diary, travel planning, year-in-review, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, Jaws, Steven Spielberg, Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace, NPR, Las Vegas, Sin City, Luxor Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Cajun, Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis, Biloxi, To Kill a Mockingbird, Nelle Harper Lee, Harper Lee, Monroeville, Monroe County, Old Monroe County Courthouse, Gregory Peck, Mrs. Teresa' Homemade Treats, Los Angeles, City of Angels, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Dodger Stadium, Freehand Hotels, Freehand Chicago, Freehand Los Angeles, Freehand, hostel, hostel stays, Boston, Boston Calling, Harvard, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, All Time Low, The Maine, Cage the Elephant, Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, all-nighter, Disney World, Orlando, Florida, Tron, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Tower of Terror, Guardians of the Galaxy, Expedition Everest, Alice in Wonderland, Euro trip, cheap airports, cheap travel, Canada, Minnesota, Northwest Angle, Alert, Canadian Forces Station Alert, All Things Wanderful, Chicago, Miami, New York, George Washington Hotel, Flatiron District, Bourbon Street, French Quarter, Ruby Slipper, The Natchez, Oklahoma City, Dorothy Gale, Beverly Shores, Michigan City, Gary, Indiana, Michiana, Chicagoland, West Michigan, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, South Shore Line, Maycomb, Maycomb County, Truman Capote, Confederacy, 2026, 2025, ten-year anniversaryComment
The Revived Ruin That Perfectly Showcases Detroit's Ongoing Renaissance

Corktown is one of Detroit’s most eclectic neighborhoods, brimming with breweries, eateries, bars, and all kinds of inviting little shops and boutiques — a quaint little city within the city, with downtown’s skyscrapers plainly in view off to the east. While there are all kinds of reasons for visiting this part of Detroit, the true pièce de résistance is the newly-revived Michigan Central Station.

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Getting Hostel in the City: All (or Most) of What You Need to Know About Freehand Hotels

Finding accommodations in the heart of a major American city is generally going to be a pricey affair. If you want to stay right downtown where all the action is, that’s usually going to come with a heftier price tag. That makes perfect sense, of course, but what if there was a way to get around the higher cost without sacrificing location or comfort? Freehand Hotels are by no means a magical remedy to this conundrum, but they do offer a digestible solution.

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