Bayeux Tapestry Museum

The town of Bayeux in Normandy, France is famous for an 11th century tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England by William the Conquerer in 1066. The wall hanging consists of nine panels of linen cloth (measuring 70 meters  or 224 feet in total length) embroidered in ten different colours of wool thread. It was probably commissioned for a new cathedral in Bayeux and is now on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum.

Replica Detail from the Bayeux Tapestry

Paris: The Marais

My trip to France last month was a whirlwind of activity. I can't believe how much we saw and did in just two short weeks. Unfortunately, after a few busy days of touring, the entries in my journal dwindled to nothing. But I'm ready now to start documenting the journey while I can still remember the details. First stop: Paris.

Place des Vosges, Paris

Impressionist Art On the Move

London's Courtauld Gallery may be smaller than other notable art museums but its collection includes paintings by such celebrated artists as Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh. Due to a two-year closure of the gallery for a major redevelopment project, these important works of art are now on loan at other locations. 

Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Vincent van Gogh (1889)
Courtauld Gallery, London

The Lavender Museum

One of the many attractions for visitors to Provence is lavender, a flower beloved for its tranquil purple hues as well as its long-established medicinal properties and calming scent. Its tiny florets can also be used to enhance the flavour of foods like baked goods, chocolate and lemonade. During our outing to the Luberon I visited the Musée de la Lavande, Lavender Museum, in Coustellet to learn more about this iconic symbol of Provence.

Luberon Lavender Field

Picasso Museum, Antibes

In the years following World War II, Spanish artist Pablo Picasso spent a happy period of his life living and working in the south of France. He established a studio in Antibes at Château Grimaldi and in just a few months he created 23 paintings and 44 drawings. In 1966 the chateau became the first museum dedicated to Picasso’s work.

Musée Picasso, Antibes

Chagall Museum, Nice

Marc Chagall is one of the great painters of the twentieth century, known for his simple scenes, biblical themes and brilliant colours. The Musée national Marc Chagall was inaugurated in 1973 on the artist's 86th birthday and it's the first time a French national museum has been devoted to an artist while he was still alive.

Song of Songs III, by Marc Chagall
Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice

War & Peace in London's South Bank

Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum London

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Last fall I did a post about our visit to Greenwich but I didn’t tell you much about the exhibits at the National Maritime Museum, the largest of its kind in the world. Like many of London’s best museums, admission here is free. And the star of the collection is Admiral Horatio Nelson, the man who defeated the French and Spanish fleets in the Battle of Trafalgar and put an end to Napoleon’s plans to invade England.

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Sunday Morning on Trafalgar Square

A few years ago I saw Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in London’s National Gallery. Thanks to jet lag, the experience was a bit of a blur. But there’s something about this painting that lured me back. Perhaps it’s the expression of cheerful, positive energy from a man better known for a life of emotional turmoil and tragedy.

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square

3 of London's Top Museums

One of the big draws for visitors to London is the array of museums and art galleries, many of which offer free admission. It’s impossible to see everything these outstanding institutions have to offer so I spent a day seeking out some highlights at three of the best: the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum.

Model of the Extinct Dodo, Natural History Museum

The Great Fire of London

I’m very interested in the history of places I visit and the Great Fire of 1666 was a major turning point in the story of London. I toured the Museum of London’s Fire! Fire! exhibition which commemorates the 350th anniversary of this catastrophic event. Later I visited a notable victim of the inferno and Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest achievement, St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Fire! Fire! Exhibit at the  Museum of London

The Lady and the Unicorn

On Wednesday the world celebrates International Museum Day. I’ve been lucky to see some of the greatest works of European art in museums like the Uffizi and the Louvre, and I’m amazed that something as lovely as The Lady and the Unicorn, a series of medieval tapestries, came out of an age known more for Barbarian invaders and the Black Death.

The Lady and the Unicorn
Musée de Cluny, Paris

Ca' Rezzonico: Museum of 18th Century Venice

The name Casanova is synonymous with the city of Venice. The exploits of the notorious womanizer have become legend and I was eager to take a look inside one of the Grand Canal palazzos where Venetians like Casanova would have socialized. I got my opportunity at Ca' Rezzonico, the Museum of 18th Century Venice.

Great Art Museums of Florence

Our tour of Italy last summer first took us to Rome and Capri. Then we said farewell to the beautiful island of the Sirens and ventured inland and north to the region of Tuscany, a land of sunflowers, hill towns and the birthplace of the Renaissance. We arrived in Florence mid-afternoon and started our visit on a high note, touring two of the world’s greatest art museums: the Accademia Gallery and the Uffizi Gallery.

Tuscan Field of Sunflowers

The Vatican Museums

Our visit to Rome this summer included Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica. The Catholic church has amassed an incredible collection of art over the centuries including Greek and Roman antiquities and Michelangelo's Renaissance masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel. These treasures are housed in the the Musei Vaticani, the Vatican Museums.

The Dome of St. Peter's

3 Perks of the Paris Museum Pass

If you're planning a visit to the city of Paris you'll probably want to go to the Louvre to see Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, or the Musée d'Orsay for its collection of Van Gogh paintings. Or perhaps the 13th century stained glass windows of Sainte-Chapelle are on your agenda. You can pay as you go for admission to these sites but if you're planning to see a number of attractions, you may want to consider purchasing the Paris Museum Pass.

Entrance to the Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Paris - Right Bank

Paris, May 2010 - We arrived in Paris yesterday on Trafalgar's Contrasts of Europe train tour through England, France and Italy. And I was excited to find pains au chocolat on the breakfast buffet this morning to accompany my cafe au lait. We needed to fortify ourselves for the sunny but blustery day ahead of us that would start with a brief sightseeing tour, followed by a visit to the Eiffel Tower.

Les Invalides, Paris

London - The Adventure Begins

London, April 2010 - The day had finally arrived. We were on our way to London to begin Trafalgar's Contrasts of Europe train tour through England, France and Italy.

Fortunately, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland had stopped spewing ash long enough for our flight to safely cross the Atlantic to Heathrow Airport. The air traffic situation had been changing hourly in recent weeks, so we weren't sure that we would reach our destination until we actually touched down on the tarmac.

Big Ben, London