T: Hi Katie. I know you’re a big traveler. I’m not, (though I have been a few places in my lifetime). With everything that has been happening around the world, I’ve been going a little stir-crazy. How about we vicariously visit a city and since I know that you like natural wonders, and that I like history (and shopping), we talk about the different places you and I would go respectively if we were traveling together?

K: Oh, I’m so into that. Kind of like our very own Atlas Obscura! What places have you been, by the way?

T: I’ve been to Canada (once, when I was little, which isn’t much, but, one of the places we visited had a secret passage, and I’ve been obsessed with them ever since), and Chicago (for Riot Fest every year) and that’s about it.

K: Where did the secret passage lead? And you’ve officially one-upped me because I’ve never actually been to Canada! But I hear they have lots of grizzly bears and poutine.

T: I don’t know where it led! I only know it existed and that became the coolest thing in the world to me which, sadly, has never changed. And I’ve only ever had poutine in America, oddly enough.

K: I’ve actually only vacationed in two countries outside of the United States – Curacao and Mallorca. Though I did have a layover once in Norway where I accidentally spent $30 dollars on a grilled cheese. I planned to go to Costa Rica this year, but then the pandemic happened and now we’re all stranded in the USA. Isn’t there a Miley Cyrus song about that?

T: I thought it was a Two Live Crew song! And I remember you texted me while you were eating your pricey grilled cheese sandwich! I could sense the regret. We are kind of stuck, it’s true, but hopefully this blog will be a way for us to feel like we’ve traveled somewhere exotic. Speaking of, I forgot to mention that I’ve been to Findlay once. Ok, twice. Now I’m just bragging.

K: Wow, I hope you bought a souvenir.

T: I got some Dietsch Brothers chocolate but, to be honest, I don’t think it made it past Bowling Green on the drive home. Let’s start this!

K: So, for our first edition, we’ve decided to focus on France (for no reason other than we threw a dart at a map, and that’s where it landed.)

T: (Co-author’s note: We did not throw darts.)

K: Yeah, I know, I stink at darts. It just sounded more fun than the truth, which is that we chose France for no reason. Who’ll start?

TRAVEL BOOKS FOR FRANCE:

Fodor's Essential France

100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning French

The Rough Guide to Paris

T: I’ll start! If I went to France, my first stop would be Place de la Concorde. I’m obsessed with the French Revolution (how did something so well-intentioned turn so horribly wrong?). This is where the guillotine was located.

The French Revolution: From Enlightenment to Tyranny

K: Ooooh, that’s definitely in my wheelhouse. Speaking of death, my first stop would be attending the Megavalanche event held in the French Alps. This is an event where athletes voluntarily race mountain bikes down a GLACIER. Admittedly, I don’t actually want to do this myself because it looks terrifying, but I do want to watch someone do it, and maybe witness a few injuries.

Mastering Mountain Bike Skills

The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond

T: Oh, that sounds brutal! And sadistic. *Segue alert* My next attraction is the Musée de la Magie. It’s a museum dedicated to magic throughout the ages. And it’s located in the Marquis de Sade’s old basement. Now if only I had a magician friend to visit it with.