What’s the Paris Opera House Doing in New York City?

Paris, is that you? All signs would point to yes in this building, a bite sized double if ever there was one for the Opéra Garnier. Y’know, the one of Phantom of the Opera fame? With a dramatic double staircase made for cape swooshing, cinematic lamp posts and marble for days? Although the Beaux Arts…

Mother & Daughter Buy an Abandoned Chateau, Invite You to Stay as they Restore It

Back in 2013, we broke a story about a couple that bought an abandoned chateau and started a blog to share their journey. Widespread interest, longing and general FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) ensued on the internet. Several years later, we’ve found a similar fairytale: an architect from Austria, Elisabeth Herring, and her daughter Valerie, adopt a neglected 16th…

Step inside an Ali Baba’s Cave of Dried Flowers

Somewhere in between Paris and Provence in the small town of Bayet, a floral wonderland awaits. For 35 years, husband and wife team Véronique and Jean-François have been harvesting, drying and selling over fifty varieties of flower on their 7000m² farm in the countryside of Auvergne. And you’re invited to stop in anytime and frolic…

A Year of Not Being a Tourist with MessyNessyChic

It’s been a life-changing year for MessyNessy all thanks to four magic little words: Don’t Be a Tourist. So I thought I’d dedicate our “best of 2017” round-up to just that– not being a tourist. I’d like to make a New Year’s toast to thank you for being curious, independent, adventurous, and creative. Thank you for…

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Biblical Bad Girls and Their Ancient “Time’s Up” Scandal

Welcome to Rouen, France, a city where the cider flows freely (it’s a Normandy thing), and the streets are lined with crooked, half-timbered houses that send a singular, ye-olde message: you’re on some seriously ancient stomping grounds. Rouen’s power and influence can be traced from its founding by a sturdy Celtic tribe, to its pivotal…

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So Matisse, Chagall, and the Headless Horseman Walk into a Church…

Tucked along New York’s Hudson River is the town of Sleepy Hollow, where old carriage roads can still be walked, and the woodlands feel just a bit darker than they should. It’s also home to the Union Church of Pocantico Hills, a gothic style church built in 1921 by the Rockefellers. Oh, and it happens to…

You Can Blow a Kiss to the Real St. Valentine

That’s right, there really was a flesh-and-blood Italian behind the kitsch holiday we’ve got today, and he went by the name of Saint Valentine. Unfortunately for Valentine, however, the day-turned-holiday marked his tragic end, as the martyr was clubbed to death in Rome on February 14th, 269 AD. But you can still go blow a…

Japan’s Favourite Museum Is Dedicated to the Cup Noodle

If (noodle) Heaven is a place on Earth, we’re pretty certain it’d be at the CupNoodles Museum in Yokohama, Japan. Since opening its doors in 2011, the museum has become a veritable mecca for lovers of the instant noodles. CupNoodles, for those left scratching their heads, are the simple snack that have saved many a…

The Witch-Proof Windows of Vermont

Drive around enough of Vermont’s picturesque streets, and you’ll become puzzled over an architectural anomaly that even the locals can’t explain. Or, maybe it’s just that the explanation is a little too eerie for comfort. You see, the anomaly in question is called a “witch window…” Witch windows are cockeyed windows that have been a staple…

Vacation Inside the Belly of California’s Whale House

There’s a sleeping giant in the trees of Santa Barbara, California. Some call it “the Whale House”; others the “the Snail House” thanks to its hypnotic curves, which camouflage so well into the trees that they’re easily missed. The mansion is like a portal into a 1970s SoCal fairytale for locals, and the occasional tourist, of…