We went with fifty friends on our latest women’s history tour to the City of Light! From a private nighttime tour of Versailles to a luncheon at Veuve Clicquot, through pastries shaped like apples at A. LaCroix patisserie, and an ocean of glorious onion soup, we filled our suitcases with treasures and our hearts with joy.
But perhaps the best souvenirs we all brought home were the lifelong friends we made along the way.
Instead of words, here’s a photo essay of the Field Trip!
Before the tour started we headed to this Antique Fair, Foire de Chatou– it’s a bit out of the city but worth it if you’re there during one of the couple times a year it’s held!The Field Trip, kick-off, open-air bus tour of Paris!Suzanne Valadon’s studio at Musee Montmartre, thanks Katherine!We went to the cabaret, Lapin Agile in Montmartre, one night, but this is Picasso’s vision of it from 1905 via wikicommonsThe horse that ran down the Seine at the Olympics opening ceremony. It rained, A LOT, but Paris is enchanting in the rain (and after a certain point, it’s not like you can get wetter, right?)Tina and Nancy at the wine and cheese tasting at Roger La GrenouilleAnd since we couldn’t get wetter, let’s go to the Eiffel Tower! (Cute umbrella from the parking lot vendors at Versailles.)Beth took this lovely shot of Libby at Monet’s Garden!If you succeed in climbing the 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triumph, this statue greets you. Patty took this at the catacombs.Paula’s view at Luxembourg Garden in the sunshine (it didn’t rain every day!)Nancy took a side quest to Musee Cluny to see the Lady and the Unicorn.Denise made sure she saw Hans Holbein’s Anne of Cleves portrait.
Time Travel with The History Chicks
The Women of Paris Tour Company lead our first-day excursion highlighting not only the women of Paris, but the women we’ve discussed! They have many tours available if you are looking for an informative and fun walking tour in Paris.
Our wine and cheese tasting was held by We Taste Paris, who also has other food tours and experiences!
If you find yourself in Paris and want some noshes during your visit or to bring back home as gifts, we love Le Grande Epicerie (as long as you’re not looking for American BBQ sauce.)
Anyone can point you to the biggie museums, but here’s two smaller ones that we loved: Musee Montmartre and Musee Marmottan.
In 2025 we will have three more Field Trips: Paris, in April, is already sold out, but we will be opening registration very soon for Philadelphia in June, and Italy in October. We’ll announce it on the show first, then on here (under EXCURSIONS) and through our social media. All the information and registration will be through Like Minds Travel.
Very happy travelers on Liberty Island, September 2024
Three times a year a collection of History Chicks listeners embark on a Field Trip with us, this September that adventure was to New York City! Our travel organizer, Laura Hart of Like Minds Travel, put together an itinerary of experiences and places that feature some of our former subjects, this time over a 5-day weekend.
Gertrude, circa 1922 in her WSA sweater via Library of Congress
They said it couldn’t be done; that the deck, and the odds, were stacked against her, but Trudy Ederle listened only to her heart during her record-breaking swim across the English Channel. She was the first woman to accomplish this feat, and her record would hold for another 24 years, but there was a lot more to her life than one phenomenal swim.
Emily dressed for court, circa 1894 by Charles-Émile-Auguste Carolus-Duran –she was more than “just” the bridge
Emily Roebling stepped in to facilitate the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband, its chief engineer, fell victim to a mysterious illness. Though her contributions were kept shadowed at the time, later generations have realized how critical she was to the project’s completion (and she did so much more afterward!)
