This week “not” in The Pearl – June 18, 2026


We have been back in France now for 18 days, and in Paris for the last week. So how does it feel to be back in Paris? The first word that comes to my mind is ‘familiar.’ Though it is quite a different vibe than The Pearl, it does not seem foreign. I am doing…

This week “not” in The Pearl – Kotor and Aix


Friday was our last full day in Kotor, as much as we liked Kotor, we were ready to get back to France. We just hung around the city. I started the morning with coffee and a sketch, back at the same square. This is another of the views, from a different cafe this time. The…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday – Fine dining


“And asparagus? My father would sooner have carried a twenty-dollar bill to his grave than spend it on some glamorous weed coated in cheese. But for me, dinner at a fine restaurant was the ultimate luxury. It was the very height of civilization. For what was civilization but the intellect’s ascendancy out of the doldrums…

This week in The Pearl – April 24, 2026


We had some nice weather this week, with just a bit of rain to remind us that it is still spring, not summer. Walking is our major form of exercise and we are blessed to be in a place with so many options. Just a few blocks away is the Willamette River Walk, our favorite….

This week in The Pearl – April 17, 2026


Friday, I made something new, French-onion-stuffed mushrooms with gruyere, these are definitely on the do again list – with a blue-cheese and pecan salad it made a perfect lunch. Sunday, Alexis and Joe came over for Sunday lunch, and to celebrate Joe’s birthday. We started with one of Tricia’s best things, salmon chowder, this batch…