This past December (2019), I arrived in Strasbourg, France, almost exactly 20 years after my first and only other visit. There have been changes — new construction and the like — but the historic center is reassuringly much the same. Indeed, I can offer a few old photos below (scanners
Twenty-five French kings were crowned in Reims. These crowned heads included Charles VII with Joan of Arc at his side in 1429. The city’s cathedral, a gothic confection built between the 13th and 15th centuries, was the setting for 19 of those coronations; a stone on its floor identifies its
I’ve been clearing out old files, all to reduce clutter and, no doubt, to make room for more of the same. Rifling through old papers has jogged many a memory, recalling long-ago trips to destinations no longer safe to visit and, in particular, the trips I hosted to Europe for
