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Emily in Paris locations

Emily’s apartment on Place de l’Estrapade The first season of Emily in Paris was the most watched romantic comedy show on Netflix in 2020 with 58 million households worldwide watching the show in its first 28 days. Not everyone loved it but it was a great escape from a long period of self isolation due to the pandemic and our inability to travel. The good news is that the second season of this series will be on air soon.* Emily Cooper’s apartment is on the fifth floor. Chef Gabriel also lives in the same building. Place de l’Estrapade The square in front of Emily’s apartment is a few steps from the restaurant where Gabriel works as a chef. This is a nice and quiet neighborhood. Gabriel’s Les Deux Compère Restaurant and the Boulangerie Moderne The restaurant where Gabriel works is the Terra Nera in real life. The Boulangerie Moderne where Emily gets her croissant from is next door (it was closed when I passed by because it was Bastille Day). Emily’s office Emily is a marketing executive
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At Santa’s House in North Pole, Alaska

Here comes Santa Claus! Do reindeers really know how to fly? Oh tannenbaum your  branches green delight us. Rocking’ around the Christmas tree. Have yourself a merry little Christmas now. Frostie is  made of snow but the children know How he came to life one day. I saw Santa kissing Mrs. Claus Underneath the mistletoe last night. How to get to North Pole, Alaska from Fairbanks Catch the green line from the Transit Center in downtown Fairbanks located between 5th and 6th Avenues on Cushman Street. Fare is $1.50 as of this writing. Seniors (over 60 years old) and children up to age 5 ride free. Bus stops in front of Santa’s house. mactransit.com There are cookies and treats for sale if you want to relax a bit. I got a letter from Santa for my little nephews and niece which will be mailed to them directly from North Pole on the first week of December. ***** Images by TravelswithCharie
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Bourse Museum Pinault Collection

Untitled, Urs Fischer, 2011 The first thing that struck me about the Bourse Museum is the neo classical aesthetic of both its façade and Rotunda. The vast light-filled Rotunda draws the eyes to the metal and glass dome above and the panoramic fresco, Triumphal France, that surrounds the cupola. Without taking away the architectural integrity of a historical landmark, Tadao Ando restored and renovated the former stock exchange building into a museum for contemporary art for the collection of François Pinault, a French art collector. “The spatial layout of the Bourse de Commerce is designed to create an intense and more subtle dialogue between new and old.” Tadao Ando The wax sculpture by Urs Fischer, a Swiss artist, claims the central position in the Rotunda. It is a replica of The Abduction of Sabine Women by Giambologna. Fischer’s other works surround this sculpture. Even the birds love this museum. Wait a minute, are they for real? Others by Maurizio Cattelan, 2011. (Pigeons) Untitle
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Hundertwasserhaus

Friedensreich Hundertwasser, an Austrian painter, graphic artist and environmental activist, conceptualized Hundertwasserhaus. Together with the architect, Joseph Krawina, his ideas were realized with the creation of Hundertwasser House in Vienna’s 3rd District.  Hundertwasserhaus is a 52-unit apartment building owned by the City of Vienna.  Hundertwasser shunned straight lines. He thought they were “godless” and “is something cowardly drawn with a rule, without thought or feeling; it is a line which does not exist in nature.” Notice the uneven lines drawn across the façade of the building and how colorful paint defines each floor within the lines resulting in a wave of colors.  Tenants are allowed to decorate or alter their own windows. Hundertwasser believed buildings should coexist with nature.  Nowhere is it more evident than in this rooftop garden. The apartment building also has its own dome.       “Tree tenants” add to the natural landscape in an urban structure.  A little fores
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Train-ing to Denali

  Goldstar Service with Alaska Railroad Taking the train to Denali is one of the best ways to enjoy the Alaskan landscape. The trip from Fairbanks to Denali takes four hours and riding in premium class with its glass dome ceiling certainly adds to the total experience. There’s also an outdoor platform if you wish to take pictures with the glass windows out of the way. Goldstar service also includes breakfast if you leave early in the morning and two complimentary drinks. There’s a bar conveniently located in your car. And a guide who talks about the views and the few towns you see along the way. Your luggage is checked through to your hotel. On the way back to Fairbanks, I opted for an Adventure Class seat which is about half the price of the Goldstar seat. There is no glass dome ceiling but the windows are large and clean and the cleaning service stops at each car every half hour or so to clean the restrooms and empty the trash bin. There’s one downside to this train journey. While my
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By Sternwheeler on the Chena River

Sternwheeler Riverboat This three-hour leisurely cruise on the Chena River was one of the best experiences I had in Fairbanks. As our riverboat slowly made its way to the confluence with the Tanana River, I witnessed how life on the river evolved from the subsistence lifestyle of the nomadic Athabascan Indians to the arrival of riverboats that brought the villagers their supplies and correspondence which was replaced by sled dogs during the winter months when the river was frozen to the red-hot housing market by the Chena River today. There’s much to learn as the 100-mile long Chena River continues its journey through time and place. A bush pilot expertly lands his float plane on the Chena River. Bush pilots deliver supplies to remote villages and are also used for tourism purposes. At the Trail Breaker Kennel and home of the late Iditarod four-time champion, Susan Butcher, we had the chance to see a dog mushing demonstration and get up close with some of the huskies at the Athabascan
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