Author Archives: The Wife of Bath
ibis budget and easyHotel: your cheap chain hotel BFFs
Ambiance is overrated. There are times when sleeping in Granny’s rented spare room and being woken up by the singing of her parakeets is just the ticket. But more often than not, a cheap, generic, chain hotel experience is exactly what you need. Enter ibis budget and easyHotel. We’ve stayed at plenty of ibis […]
A love letter to silk long underwear
When my friend Greg asked me when I was going to write my first travel advice book, I told him I would call it “Shivering Through Europe”. I was only half joking. Since the cheap time to travel is winter, HOB and I have shivered our way through many a lovely European town. What makes […]
The Apocalypse Tapestry in Angers and why I’m glad I’ve studied Revelations
After several hours of gaping in awe at the Apocalypse Tapestry in Angers, France, I kept thinking “Why isn’t this masterpiece world famous?” Well, perhaps it is famous in France, but in the states you’d need to be a big medieval art nerd to have heard about it. The most likely reason is it’s a difficult […]
Bayeux tapestry: the best art always wins the battle
I suck at history unless there’s a great work of art involved. So, despite a general ignorance of French and British history, I can tell you all about the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066. Well, I can tell you the perspective as represented in the Bayeux tapestry: one of the best works of […]
A lively day in Tours
Nothing engages a train car full of French people than when an old lady tells two Americans that their country’s cheese sucks. On our way to Tours, France, an elderly woman took up conversation with HOB, and in finding that we are American, loudly and in great detail denounced our country’s cheese, much to the […]
Curious capital carvings in Chauvigny
By now you know I have a total ladybone for Romanesque art, most especially Romanesque sculpture. The column capitals in the Église Saint-Pierre in Chauvigny, France, have been on my must see list for a long time, and they certainly did not disappoint. The good stuff is in the 12 century choir, which was “restored” […]
Santa’s blackface helpers: culture shock in Ghent
At this time, four years ago, our train into Ghent, Belgium was just arriving. We were there to see the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb altarpiece, and it was even more amazing than expected. What was totally unexpected, was a hefty dose of culture shock, in fact my most disorienting and uncomfortable travel experience ever. […]
In which your budget traveler reveals her expenses: the price of a 10 day trip to France
I’ve heard the muttering : “It must be nice to afford Europe travel” and the insinuations about my entitlement, or even snide asides to my assumed elitism. Let’s get this straight –I am incredibly grateful to be able to travel, and I know it’s out of reach for a lot of people for financial, family […]
Abbey of Saint-Savin, romance, and Fresco Neck™
After hours of looking up at the frescoes in the Abbey of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, in Saint-Savin, France, we were developing a serious case of Fresco Neck™. (Fresco Neck™ is my trademarked diagnosis of the neck cramping and fatigue resulting from chronic fresco, mosaic, and stained glass viewing). Let me assure you, it was worth it. These […]
Green pâté and charred goat cheesecake: what we ate in Poitiers and Chauvigny
Wherever we travel, HOB and I try the local specialties. I can tell you the reason is because it’s a great way to participate in the culture, which is true. Also, it makes local people happy–we’ve had people gather around us in approval when we’ve sought out an unusual regional delicacy at a shop or […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 