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map-generator.net Several months before my trip to France and Italy, I entered into an email exchange with a series of press agents and academicians in an effort to obtain a private, curator-guided tour of Marie Antoinette's Private Apartments within t he Château de Versailles.  After providing my writing credentials and answering a questionnaire as comprehensive as any CIA screening, I was told a curator would be made available to take me on a tour of the apartments.  I was instructed to "reestablish contact a week before" my arrival in Paris to "receive a rendezvous time."  I printed the email and hung it on the bulletin board in my office, grinning like the Cheshire Cat each time I looked at it.  In fact, I spent the months leading up to my V isite Officielle imaging myself walking in the hidden rooms and corridors once traversed by my beloved queen, Marie Antoinette.  I felt like Alice in Wonderland - a humble human permitted entran...

The Hall of Mirrors by Leah Marie Brown Bonjour Mes Amies!  Yoooowhoooo? Is anyone there?   I have been such a woefully neglectful blogger, I would not be at all surprised if even my most faithful followers abandoned the hope of reading another of my posts. To that I can only say, Je suis  désolé .  Actually, I can think of one other thing to say, "Please come back!  I'll try harder, I promise." My personal life can be overwhelming at times, like an overbearing house guest it barges in and keeps me from that which I truly love (writing). Life can be like that sometimes, can't it?  Overwhelming.  Draining.  Myopia-inducing. We can get so caught up in our daily struggles that we forget to slow down, take a breath, look up . I've occasionally felt like that on my travels.  Take my first visit to Versailles, for example.  I experienced such overwhelming emotions I found it difficult...

There are many dangers associated with travelling the world.  One can become a victim to illness, injury, crime or a myriad of other unforeseen tragedies.  We've all heard about the infamous pickpockets of Italy who prey on unwitting foreigners as they gaze in awe at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the frequent  shark attacks along the Great Barrier Reef, the kidnapping of tourists in Mexico, and the frightening bird flu epidemic in China. And the media has terrified us with their relentless stories of plane crashes, tour bus crashes , airport shuttle crashes, helicopter crashes , lost luggage, stolen luggage , misdirected luggage, cancelled flights , overbooked flights, hotel fires, car bombs , volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, blizzards, capsized ferries , and insufferably rude Parisians . There is one danger, however, that is rarely reported. One of the least-known but most-insidious risks of frequent travel is the po...

I am thrilled to bring you a very special posting today!!  Noted French Photographer, Stephanie Gaveau Mounts , has graciously allowed Titillating Tidbits to publish several of her stunning photographs from her Versailles Portfolio.   In the article below, Mounts shares the inspiration behind the photographs ( SGM ) and journalist Leah Marie Brown explains the historical significance of the places featured( LMB ).  Mounts also shares the technical details of each photograph so budding photographers can attempt to reproduce similar images. The Dauphin's Chamber SGM :   "This room attracted me for several reasons:  the vibrant shade of green on the walls, the way the scarlet bed curtains contrast yet complement the walls, the way the light came through the massive windows.  It was an inviting and cozy space in spite of its large size." Technical Details:   Nikon D90, f/3.5 at 1/25 sec, 2...

"How delightful were these groves scented with lilacs, peopled by nightingales . . . the queen spent most of the fine season there." Baroness Oberkirch remarking on the grounds of Petit Trianon In, Rainy Morning with a Master , I told you about a sweltering summer day in 1978, when a frazzled librarian gave a biography about Marie Antoinette to an inquisitive, loquacious child. From that day on, I became obsessed with the tragic queen and with the notion of visiting the Chateau de Versailles. I imagined myself gliding through the  Hall of Mirrors, sunning myself on the green grasses of Le Hameau, inhaling the earthy scents that permeate the air in the Orangerie. Twenty-two years later, my dream of visiting Versailles came true.  Was it magical?  Did I feel exhuberant?  Not exactly. The moment I walked into the chateau I felt an overwhelming sadness, as if I had donned a mantle of meloncholy.   The gloom persisted through t...