I would still rather be in Paris than just about anywhere, but for those of us who live near the tropics, we do have one … oh, let’s call it mild complaint … about Paris in late November/early December. It’s dark. It’s also a bit cold. By Abu Dhabi/UAE standards, most definitely cold. Around 50 […]

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We interrupt this Paris travelogue to weigh in on Tim Tebow. Yes, I may be the last person holding U.S. citizenship to be heard on the topic. In part, that’s because so many others reacted so quickly and so vociferously that I felt no need to join the shouting. I like Tim Tebow. I admire […]

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Has any city been the backdrop (or even the star) of more movies than has Paris? New York, perhaps. London probably is a distant third. Whether it is because Paris so often ends up on the big screen (Hey, that’s the street in the 7th where my friend used to live!), or because people here […]

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Neighborhood markets are an important part of life in Paris, as anyone who has been here more than a week can attest. The city sponsors 65 outdoor markets, according to franceguide.com. City workers show up at wide spots on the streets (often, the medians, but sometimes the whole street) the night before the market is […]

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Now it can be told. We skipped right past any sort of celebration of Thanksgiving Day, in Abu Dhabi, because we were hoping to pull together something in Paris two days later. Yes, it is possible to buy a turkey in Paris, and to round up most of the ingredients necessary for the infamous “fixin’s” […]

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Vacation days to burn before the end of the year, a low, late-autumn fare … the Salon des Vins des Vignerons Independants by noon of the first day. So has our 2011 stay in Paris begun. A valuable aspect of living in the UAE is proximity to places you might not get around to visiting, […]

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Only by leaving the country can Yanks grasp what a thoroughly American holiday Thanksgiving is. If the country an American expat has landed in has a Canadian community (like this one does), the locals will become particularly confused about this Thanksgiving business — because Canada has a Thanksgiving day of its own. But theirs is […]

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The UAE is having a hard time in soccer/football. Which wouldn’t be as big an issue if the game weren’t the national sport. The senior team is suffering through its most difficult and disappointing World Cup qualifying, with five defeats in five matches, and was eliminated before the final round of Brazil 2014 qualifying. The […]

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Today is the 48th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. I don’t recall how we got on to this, but a former colleague, who is about my age, and I were discussing the most memorable historical events from our childhoods. It always is interesting, and a snapshot into the minds […]

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Just when it looked safe — but premature — to get behind the Los Angeles Dodgers again … the club announced a promotional schedule for 2012 … with 10 bobblehead nights, led by a Sandy Koufax doll. And yes, I would do something as lame as pay $50 for a bad seat to an unappealing […]

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