Bonjour Reader!

I hope your summer is off to a good start! Denver has had its normal hot-snow-hot-rain-hot late spring cycle and now we seem to have finally committed to summer. Maybe? It is Colorado, after all. 🌞⛄☂🌞

What's New

Since I last wrote, we've visited Hemingway at the Races, discovered how a Tudor Princess defied three kings, and determined if Gustave Eiffel actually lived in his apartment on the Eiffel Tower!

Inspiration Comes From Everywhere

As I mentioned in the Eiffel Tower apartment episode, the idea for that episode was inspired by a conversation with my brother. Who was graciously amused by my excitement over the topic. All creators—writers, podcasters, songwriters, artists, anyone who needs to come up with creative ideas for a living—have to find their ideas somewhere. A songwriter may write about her broken heart, a painter may paint and repaint a certain cathedral, and content creators have to use conversations with family members. 😄

Obliging siblings aside, sometimes I'm just curious about something (like who is buried under the floor at Notre Dame) or a news headline might catch my eye. For Mary Tudor, I wanted to do something for the Cluny re-opening, but didn't just want it to be about the building. While reading a quick history of the site, I saw the Tudor connection and ran with it. PS: I LOVE the Tudor dynasty. A lot. And not just because Henry Cavill was in the show. 😉

But often I find things while going deep down the rabbit hole. And that's what lies behind the next podcast. While I was searching for details about who could access Eiffel's apartment, I found a Frenglish "Practical Guide" to the 1889 Exposition Universelle. Its description of the brand new tower is so entertaining and so 19th century, I've decided to it must be shared! Stay tuned for the next installment!

Want all of the podcast episodes? You can access all the episodes on the website, on Apple Podcasts, and on Spotify Podcasts.

On The Blog

First, the reminder to check out the podcast show notes, if you haven't already. There is a lot of additional detail that doesn't make it into the episodes!

We also followed Hemingway and Hadley to the horse races, examined his (brief?) bout with gambling addiction, and confirmed that goatherds really did walk around 1920s Paris selling their goat milk! Homemade chevre anyone?

For the May France Virtuelle, the Château de Versailles gave us a cute animated history of the palace. In tribute to Hemingway, there is a tourism video from circa 1920. And for your sightseeing pleasure, we go to a not-so-famous church and on a boat ride down the Seine!

Coming Soon

Coming up in the next few weeks:

• We go back to the Eiffel Tower in 1889, via the Practical Guide to the Universal Exhibition, Paris 1889.
• The website will be seeing a few changes, including some updates to the home page and a new Book Boutique!
• In our next visit with Hemingway, we'll be closer to home, hanging out with Ms. Stein and other friends near the Jardin du Luxembourg.

I'm also still working on that Instagram thing. Thank you for sticking with me as I figure it all out. Follow the experiment over on Instagram!

What are your plans for the summer? Heading to Paris? Or just the local beach, mountain, or air conditioned museum? Drop me a line and let me know!

Merci beaucoup and à bientôt!

Michelle