Stand in the spot where Henri IV was assassinated

Henri IV was the king of France from 1589 to 1610, right up until he went and got himself assassinated in broad daylight in the middle of Paris, in the bustling neighborhood known as Les Halles. A guy named François Ravaillac ran up to Henri's coach while it was stuck in traffic stabbed him to death. There are two different sights to check out that mark the place where Henri IV was killed. Both are located on the Rue de la Ferronnerie...
Read more ►

The tomb of Comtesse Marie Potocka / Princess Soltikoff

This is one of my favorite tombs in my favorite cemetery in Paris: it's the tomb of Comtesse Marie Potocka (and Princess Soltikoff, I guess? or Comtesse Marie Potocka was also known as Princess Soltikoff?) in the Cimetiere de Montmartre. I don't know anything about this lady/these ladies, and a few brief web searches haven't turned up much; mostly just other tourist's photos. But this ornate Russian-style tomb really stands out from all the traditional, drab, plain stone tombs in this and other Parisian cemeteries, and it makes me smile every time I wander by it.


Looking at the close-up photo, I just noticed the dates below the nameplate. It's tough to make out, but zooming in on the original high-res version of the photo, I believe it says she was born in St Petersburg in 1807 and died in Paris in 1845. I'm really stumped as to who's in this tomb and what their story is. The names certainly make it sound like there are two people, but the dates are clearly for just one person: the first one says "born" and the second says "deceased." Hooboy, I really don't know enough French/Russian history to be able to sort this out, and I'm certain as soon as I post this some brilliant reader will clue me in. Anyway, I like the tomb! It's a nice tomb.

Le Musée des Vampires, Le Café de L'Enfer, etc.

Hey folks! It's been a while! A few neat things:

I've just updated my article on Le Musée des Vampires, with a lot more information and a couple photos.

In other news, my article on Le Café de L'Enfer has become somewhat of a hit on StumbleUpon this week, and was also featured on Disinfo.com!

Another neat thing, American celebrity chef and author Rachael Ray linked to my site on her blog. She mentions having lunch at Le Café Tournesol and links to my article about it. So, not exactly a shout-out, but nice nonetheless!

So those things explain that recent spike in traffic I noticed! Great!

I have a ton of new articles in the works, so keep your eyes on this space. See ya!