Settling in Avignon


We have been here a week now and are enjoying the south of France, we even think we are acclimating to the heat a bit; it has been hot – high 90sF. It is even possible the heat is easing some of Tricia’s knee pains, fingers crossed. Not owning a car is quite common in…

A diverse week of sketching


Over the years I have heard many discussions about finding your style as a sketcher. Some go so far as to suggest that once you find it you should nurture it and “perfect” it, assuming such a thing was even possible. Yet from many visits to artist’s museums – Picasso, Rodin, Van Gogh, Monet, etc….

Paris to Annecy


A couple of paintings from our time in Giverny, before heading to Paris. In Paris, the traffic was bad thanks to the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics crowd, but we finally made it to Gare de Lyon. We had a nice afternoon break. The next day, Friday, we took the train to Annecy. One…

A different time in Paris


One major lesson, or reality, of our time in France is that we are perpetually gazing into the future with only a vague vision of our destination. We have a few waypoints in the months ahead but the final destination is still unclear. Though we are staying in an apartment in the 15th arrondissement our…

Sidelined by a microbe in Nanterre


Last Wednesday the homeless viruses of the area decided they needed a place to hang out, and I was chosen to be their AirBnb. In spite of the efforts of the Airborne that we took I succumbed to their invasion for a few days of coughing and sniffing. Thankfully for me, they checked out yesterday,…