I was fascinated to find out about the Centre Pompidou being built in Metz. I think this “franchizing” of museums in different cities is fantastic. I visited the Bilbao Guggenheim several years ago, and I can’t wait to see the new Metz Centre Pompidou. But I do wonder whether it’s really necessary to attach an existing name to a new museum. If the same amount of money and effort were put into building a museum called Le Centre Degueldre, say, would it be notably less interesting?
Travel
CouchSurfing
Just found this site and I think it’s a brilliant concept. CouchSurfing is a community of tens of thousands of people in 200 countries who like to travel and to meet people. If you’re going to, say, Barcelona, you do a search to find people who live there and are willing to meet or even to offer you a couch for a night or two. It’s all free and there’s a system of verification and vouching to make sure it stays safe. Check it out!
Traveling Overseas
So far, I’ve been to 11 countries: Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, England, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, and Morocco. My favorite is France (of course), but I also love Costa Rica (for the natural beauty) and Italy (for the food and architecture). At the top of my list of places I’d like to see are Tahiti, Greece, and Australia. What about you?
Moving to France
Well, I’ve done it now… I finally got my act together (after more than 10 years) and figured out how to move to France. Basically, it just comes down to having enough money to obtain the long stay visa. OK, it’s a little more complicated than that, but the financial guarantee is what took me so long. After visiting the Consulate, I felt a rather unusual mixture of relief, excitement, and terror at the same time, but I think once I get over there I’ll feel like I’m finally home. 🙂