The first thing we saw when we arrived in Lens, France were two huge mountains that look like pyramids with grass growing on them. They were coal heaps, giant piles of tailings left over from some of the many coal mines in this part of northern France that all closed […]
I could feel my heart swell with joy as the train got underway, slowly gaining speed out of Reims bound for Amiens. I had tried to reserve on the TGV, France’s famous 265 mph train, but on a Friday, alas, it was sold out. It must be people like the […]
I met an ambitious, smart and bold young woman tonight who took me to dinner in Reims. She owns her own house in a small village, she’s the assistant to the director of the city’s important tourism board, and she’s traveled by herself to far flung places like Bulgaria, Egypt, […]
In front of a crackling fireplace sat an 87-year-old Champagne maker and his son. We were at Champagne Drappier, in the country village of Urville, where this family has been making fine champagne and other wines since 1808, seven generations of family business. They’re one of the biggest family-owned producers […]
Mustard is a big deal here in Dijon. I met a women today who makes mustard every day, showing tourists and locals how to combine the seeds, some salt, and verjus, the juice of green grapes to make the perfect blend. At La Cuisine de Madeleine, Valerie Grandet showed […]
There is no better way to get to know a country than to spend half a day with a group of tourism officials, especially if it involves sitting at a table with plenty of wine. Today among the things I learned about tourists and France is that there is a […]
I’m in my Dijon hotel room after a long journey starting in Boston and travel by car, TGV train and good old walking. I had some time to hang out at the Gare de Lyon in Paris after I took the Cars Air France bus from Charles de Gaulle Airport […]
There are a lot of things swirling around in my head on this sultry May evening. First, I had to abandon my notion of a totally green barbecue when my plan to use newspaper and small twigs inside a can didn’t light the briquettes right. So I trudged over to […]
I have made my living by publishing the GoNOMAD Travel website since 2005. It’s not something I fit into my life as a sideline or a hobby, it’s the main thing I do to bring bread to the table. When I bought the site in 2002, the travel articles were […]
Two nights in the Big City: I enjoyed the same Old Speckled Hen lager at McLadden’s Irish Pub two nights in a row after two different nights out in Northampton. Both were memorable and say a lot about the quality of our local nightlife and the arts scene here in […]
I have lived in the Valley since 1978. Most of my best friends are also 30 or 35 year veterans of this old 413, so most of them will get a big kick out of the show that’s being performed on Saturday night at Theater 14 at Smith College. Life […]
Regular blogging has its rewards. I am happy to report the fruits of my blogging that came through a couple of weeks ago. And this also speaks to the power of social media as a connecting glue that keeps people on other people’s minds. I say this because I am […]