We may be among the few visitors to Disneyland Paris today who have been to Walt’s childhood home in Marceline, Missouri. The power of Mickey and all the Disney characters and stories began under “the dreaming tree” in the middle of a very small town that no one much visits. But when you think about that young boy in a little farm community in the heart of America and then see the entire universe of fellow dreamers that his imaginings have reached, it’s rather stunning.

http://goknowdonjo.com/2014/10/14/the-town-where-dreams-were-born/#more-12784

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There’s something quite bizarre about being 20 miles from Paris and finding yourself in the middle of Disneyland. Continue reading →

We spent part of our day in the ancient town of Provins. At the beginning of the 2nd millennium, it was one of four towns in the territory of the Counts of Champagne that became the venues for great annual trading fairs linking northern Europe with the Mediterranean world, from the 11th to the 14th centuries. Provins is the only one to retain its original medieval fabric. Continue reading →

We are now in the Champagne region of France, and what better place to experience it than Troyes. They like to say that the city is shaped like a Champagne cork, and that’s certainly one way to interpret its interesting outline.

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We are somewhat obsessed with Joan of Arc, and the layers of political maneuvering around her mission. So it was with great interest that we visited her birthplace today in Domrémy-la-Pucelle. Continue reading →

Art, architecture and religion come together in a very stunning was in the town of Ronchamp where Le Corbusier designed and built the chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, completed in 1954. Considered one of the most important examples of twentieth-century religious architecture, it is an active church, and the convent of the Sisters of the Poor Clare. Continue reading →

Now that we have been driving a Peugeot since April, we are temporarily very brand loyal and just had to visit the Peugeot museum in Sochaux to experience its history.  Continue reading →

We may take it for granted now, but salt was a big business in the Jura region for hundreds of years. Today we went underground at Salin-les-Bains to get a glimpse of what mining salt was like. The saltworks here was active for at least 1,200 years, until 1962. The part of the mine we saw is an amazing underground gallery from the 13^th century, with a hydraulic pump from the 19^th century that still functions. It was hard work and very important to keep producing a steady stream of  that “White Gold.” Continue reading →

Time is a major theme in this city, the traditional center of watch-making in France. Continue reading →

Our eyes probably pass over some version of his name every day, but how often do we think of the man behind the science? Continue reading →