Tam's Travels 2018 Recap: 4 Days in Paris

Having been to Paris twice, frankly I have to say I am not a huge fan. Granted, both of my visits were during late winter, the weather was cold, windy, rainy, and the streets were devoid of life and color.
On top of that, on my most recent trip, there was a "greve", one of France's famous rail strikes, throughout my stay.
I'm an extreme budget traveler, so the list of things I could do was limited.

I stayed true to my love of and search for history. I walked across the Seine to Ile de la Cite and around the exterior of Notre Dame studying its intricate facade. 

I strolled along the Seine bank to see how far the flood waters had receded since their peak before my arrival. It had been some of the worst flooding on record. 

Seine flood receding March 2018

Seine flooding, March 2018

I spent several hours marveling at the collections of The Louvre and admiring the architecture of the museum itself. The modern design of the Pyrmid entrance made for some interesting compositions.

I think my favorite experience of the entire 4 days, however, was discovering St Germain des Pres Church on the Left Bank. Although the colorfully painted interior is not the original, I still had the sense of living history.

Have you been to Paris? What are your thoughts on it as a destionation? What things did you like or dislike about it?

Moving Forward from September 2019

For those of you new to my blog, I thought I'd offer some who, what, where, when, why related to my life of travel to help you better understand what I do and why I do it.

I turned 51 this year. I've had to start thinking about what is really important in my life, what things bring deep value and meaning to my existence. Not that 51 is "old" (although some days it feelslike it!), but realistically I have to start doing the things which matter. Our time on the planet is not unlimited!

I have been passionate about travel since my school days and began wandering in earnest about 20 years ago. In 2009 I chose to become an expat nomad. My goal is to spend the majority of my time outside my country of origin. Since then I have lived in India and Nepal as well as done seasonal work at southwestern US national parks (Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, etc) in between.

I have a particular interest in places which hold deep spiritual meaning, strong historic ties, and/or a wild rugged landscape (even better, a combination of all three). Most of my posts will be about the reasons these places are important to me and why I feel they are relevant to the world/everyday life. Hopefully I can interest YOU to check them out further, whether in person or online! 

I hope to impart the knowledge that you do not have to be rich or even financially secure to lead a life of travel. You DO need to decide what you are willing to give up in exchange, however. I have never owned a car, have no permanent residence, and own little more than what I can carry with me.

You have to decide whether you need a travel experience where you can shop for souvenirs and dine in expensive restaurants, or whether you would rather focus on simply seeing destinations first hand and learning the local culture.

I work online and make just enough money to cover monthly rentals (which I now mainly do via Airbnb). I am blessed to have someone who helps me cover food/medical necessities. Hopefully that will not be necessary much longer once this blog and related projects take off!

In addition to posting here, I will be creating travel postcards, prints and other photo gifts from the road. I will be adding new slideshows and videos at my Tam's Travels YouTube channel Eventually I will publish photo books of my favorite destinations. I hope you will support those ventures too to help keep me on the road! 

For the next month, I'm stuck at that "in between" place of waiting for my next adventure, 4-6 months in Mexico, which will start 21 October. I will spend one month each in Puerto Escondido (beach in Oaxaca), Puerto Vallaera area, Mexico City and the Colonial Heartkand, and the Maya Riviera region. Beyond that, budget permitting, I am considering Xalapa followed by Guanajuato (although neither is as yet booked and subject to change at a moment's notice!).

Photo essay posts will resume this coming week. In the meantime, here's a look at a couple of test versions of a new banner. Your feedback on it is welcome, as I feel there is something not quite right with it that I can't place, but please be kind!