• Europe,  France

    An Afternoon with Art: Visiting the Matisse Museum in Nice, France

    Matisse Museum Visit  Every year for my birthday since I had moved to Philadelphia I made the tradition to commence the celebration by spending an afternoon at the Barnes Museum, taking in the innovative mixed of styles of art, an amazing aesthetic of early modern and impressionist paintings alongside American antiquities, African art and Asian sculptures.  It’s a place of contrasts, the quiet calm of Albert Barnes’ home turned museum alongside the wild back story which leaves the history behind the art maybe more interesting than what is framed on the walls. (If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend watching the documentary, The Art of the Steal to…

  • Asia,  California,  Canada,  Europe,  France,  Ireland,  North America,  Northern Ireland,  Pennsylvania,  Scotland,  Thailand,  UK

    My 13 memorable moments of 2013

    It’s the last day of 2013!  What an amazing, exciting and rewarding year I’ve had and I can’t wait to see what awaits in the coming year.  Until then, here is a list of my thirteen best moments of 2013 in no particular order!  Enjoy and have a happy new year! 13.  Behind the scenes at Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, California. As a child you dream of being an oceanographer, a Sea World employee (until you watch Blackfish) swimming with the dolphins or in a job surrounding yourself with wildlife for your 9 – 5.  The Aquarium by the Bay in San Francisco makes you feel like…

  • Europe,  France,  Ireland,  North America,  Pennsylvania,  Scotland,  UK

    World’s Most Famous Cemeteries

      Why are we so interested in cemeteries? That eery feeling, the tragic stories or the spooky architecture? Whatever the reason, people have been intrigued by cemeteries for centuries and we have been visiting famous grave sties so frequently that the term “tombstone tourist” was coined to describe the millions of grave goers each year. Peruse through my personal list of the world’s most famous cemeteries.  Père Lachaise, Paris France “We die only once, and for such a long time.” — Molière Located in one of my favorite cities, Paris, this is possibly one of the most well known cemeteries around the world.  Famous musicians, writers, politicians and thousands of others…

  • Europe,  France

    Finding peace in Nice

    Why have I not been to the French Riviera yet?!? After having an amazing time in Paris, I said adieu to the City of Light and headed south for the city of sun, Nice the beautiful. Hugging the Mediterranean Sea, Nice has it’s warm tangerine and saffron buildings tipping their terra-cotta roofs towards the calm blue sea and the alps in turn peer from a distance over the town. In close proximity to Italy, Nice reminded me of Cinque Terre, a small area on the Italian Riviera. Founded by the Greeks, inhabited at one time by the Romans and then later vacationed by English aristocrats, there is a little splash…