I love cities. And the best way to see them is to get out on foot and wander around. I keep walking because I'm always curious about what's around the next corner. There was a time when strolling along looking at the world going by had a very fancy name -- flânerie -- and its practitioners were known as flaneurs.

I can't claim any such distinction. I just enjoy learning about people and places at the pace of a pedestrian. That's the way you experience the most delicious moments.  

Karen & Friend, 2009

One of my favorite such discoveries was in the Place des Vosges in Paris.  During the family's trip there in 1998, I came upon statues of a man and a woman made of tubular steel standing under the colonnade on the north side of the square.  There was some very sultry jazz emanating from somewhere nearby and the statues if even slightly nudged began to groove in time to the music.  It made me laugh out loud and I delighted for years in its recollection.  So much so that when I was in Paris with Anna about 10 years later, I went back to the same spot to see if my friends were still there -- and they were!

And so, as I resume my journeys, I've started this blog, not only as a more modern version of the journals I've always kept but also as a way to share my experiences with you.