Sightseeing in the Mindfields
Eurostarstruck: Sunday on the Seine, 28 September 2025
February 28, 2026
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Seldom have I had a more diverting Sunday than the one that I spent in Paris with Miri and HL. We began at The Panthéon and proceeded to the Musée de Cluny. We left the medieval museum in time to reach the Église de Saint Sulpice for a recital on the church’s grand pipe organ.
Unlike many churches in Paris, Saint Sulpice boasts little architectu...
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Eurostarstruck: Musee de Cluny, 28 September 2025
February 20, 2026
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One of Paris’ best and least known museums is the Musée de Cluny, within walking distance of the Pantheon. This museum of medieval art contains remarkable sculptures, paintings, reliquaries, armor and textiles. They are displayed in the former palace of an abbot of the Benedictine order of monks. The palace was erected in 1330 and rebuilt in 1515....
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Eurostarstruck: The Pantheon in Paris, 28 September 2025
February 13, 2026
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The Panthéon stands in Paris’ Latin Quarter, a few blocks from the Sorbonne. It was erected in the late 18th Century as a church to honor Sainte Geneviève, patron saint of Paris. Puvis de Chavannes illustrated the saint's legend in dramatic interior wall frescoes.
Probably it is superfluous for me to state that the architectural model for the stru...
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Eurostarstruck: Eurostar to Paris, 27 September 2025
February 06, 2026
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I had been curious and somewhat excited about crossing from London to Paris on the Eurostar, the train that passes beneath the English Channel. When our taxi deposited us at Saint Pancras Station on a Saturday morning, it was evident that our choice of transportation was an exceedingly popular one.
We passed through a series of security inspecti...
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Eurostarstruck: Of Libraries and Libations, 26 September 2025
January 28, 2026
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Friday was the coolest, most overcast day so far, with steel-colored clouds dimming the skies. The weather was what I had envisioned for London. We were not at all perturbed, as the wind brought no rain and our destination was close to our hotel.
The proximity of the British Museum increased its intrinsic allure.
Some sections of the Assy...
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Eurostarstruck: Late Night London, Thursday Edition, 25 September 2025
January 21, 2026
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I bolted from dreams at 3 AM, awakened by an alarm shrieking so loudly that the air itself was replaced by noise. As I dressed in haste, my first thought was that I may have left a hair dryer overheating, but then HL and I heard raised voices in the corridor. There was no doubt that the entire hotel was affected.
All had to be evacuated from the...
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Eurostarstruck: Westminster Abbey, 25 September 2025
January 14, 2026
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Westminster Abbey is one of the most solemn and fascinating tourist attractions in the United Kingdom. Though it was established as a Benedictine monastery over a millennium ago, the Abbey is not a museum but an active place of worship and pilgrimage. William the Conqueror was crowned there. King Edward the Confessor designated it a royal burial si...
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Eurostarstruck: Kings, Ravens and Dragons of The Tower, 24 September 2025
January 07, 2026
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We made our first Underground foray to the Tower of London. Here I must express my appreciation to HL for guiding our trio through the multiple Tube levels and subway lines so that we could ogle the Crown Jewels and marvel at the martial memorabilia of the English kings.
We were not, alas, allowed to photograph the Crown Jewels. Nor could we lin...
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Eurostarstruck: Loot in London, 22 September 2025
December 30, 2025
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There is a particular pleasure to be derived from having shared speculations become plans and then realities. So our trip was already a success when HL and I met Miri at Heathrow as Summer yielded to Autumn. Miri and I had not been together in London for decades. As we intended to proceed to Paris for the following week, she and I were revising our...
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Greece: The Cliffs of Meteora, 12 May 2025
September 03, 2025
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Our sole day trip outside Thessaloniki was to Meteora, a place remarkable for its unique combination of geology and history. By Monday morning, with the addition of Y.’s cousin from Romania, our small group had grown to include six friends. A tour bus conveyed us through the verdant hills of Macedonia into the even more rugged countryside of Thessa...
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© Star Arts by Tamar