Balzac's Paris

Novelist Honoré de Balzac's home
Photo copyright Peter's Paris

Add this to your list of off-the-beaten-track sights to see in Paris, courtesy of my favourite Paris blog...

"The house where the novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) lived for some seven years (1840-47) has recently been reopened after some restoration works. This is where he finalised a large part of his famous “La Comédie Humaine”, some 91 stories, novels, essays… How many have you read? I have only read one, “The Père Goriot” (Old Goriot). Balzac always lived beyond his means and, as he now and then had some unwanted visitors, he was happy to live in a house with several exits, including to the small narrow street on the back side. We are in the Passy area of Paris, in the 16th arrondissement, and this old little house is now surrounded by fashionable apartment buildings..." [read more on Peter's Paris].

Balzac's statue in
the Cimetière
du Père-Lachaise

To visit
The Maison de Balzac is located in the 16th arrondissement at 47, rue Raynouard (nearest métro and RER stations are Passy and Avenue du Président Kennedy) - open daily except Mondays and holidays (admission free)/
Maison de Balzac - Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau
Maison de Balzac Profile and Visitor's Guide - Trip Savvy
Back to Balzac - Literary Traveler


To learn more
Balzac's Paris - a Guided Tour - University of California
Balzac's Paris: History and Modern Walking Tout


Sponsored content (mine!)
Cruises - my cruise website
Feel free to contact me if I can help you with your travel plans

A step back in time to La Alberca

La Alberca's Paza Mayor

Perhaps the most enchanting step back in time I took on my 2009/2010 Europe trip was the village of La Alberca in Spain. I was staying nearby while volunteering at Pueblo Inglés (from which I have many memories but have not written much, except a brief post, Consulting My Pillow in La Alberca).

In Spain, every village has its own distinct design. My friend
Lisa Ch, sporting the La Alberca village ring we both bought there
(this pic from later that year, when we reconnected in NYC)

Anyways, it was with interest that I stumbled across this enchanting post by a traveller who has been there more than once, and though that I'd share it.

"When my parents came to visit in Madrid last year, they brought with them some of my old photos, a box of a few hundred slides I’d set aside years ago. It was a random sampling of the uncounted thousands of Kodachromes and Fujichromes I have sitting in the not-so-archival environment of my parent’s damp basement in Toronto.

There are a lot of things I prefer about digital photography over film, but film has digital beat when it comes to looking at old photographs. You get to hold the actual original thing, for starters, and you can see it without having to plug anything in. Slides can’t be perfectly copied in a keystroke, they’re one of a kind. And for that same reason, you see them only once in a while. They get put into deep storage and get forgotten about until they surface sometime later, like artefacts from the past.

Photo copyright Spain by Mike Randolf

There was one slide in particular that caught me eye. I took it out of the plastic sleeve and held it up to the window. My uncle Miguel had died the year before, but in the image, taken some twenty-five years ago, he looked not much older than I am now. We were in a village called La Alberca with my aunt and an old woman we met while wandering around..." [read more on Spain by Mike Randolf].

It's a great story.

Mike also has some great photos, they are really worth a look.

Sunset for the Travelling Boomer

The Travelling Boomer is signing off.
Photo copyright Paul Marshman

It was with a mix of both disappointment and understanding that I read the following announcement on one of my favourite travel blogs:

"For the past five years, I’ve been regaling you with stories about the pleasures of travel on this website. But today that comes to an end, and for a very good reason: it’s called climate change. Right now, the world is facing a climate crisis that threatens the future of all of us. And unfortunately, one of the things making it worse is travel. So I can’t in good conscience keep inviting you to go travelling and add to a problem that’s killing this planet..." [read more on the Travelling Boomer].

Paul is a brilliant man and has contributed so much the world of travel, but I think he has hit the nail on the head.


Thank you, my friend - and client - for all you have done. I look forward to learning about your next venture.