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13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXLIII)

1. This Dreamy Paris Artist Atelier For Sale The 38m2 space in the 11th arrondissement is asking 435,000 euros. Found here. 2. Edward Hopper in Paris Unbeknownst to many, Hopper moved to Paris in October 1906 where he found a room in a widow’s apartment at 48 Rue de Lille in the seventh arrondissement. These…

Curiosity du Jour: The Talking Victorian Bouquet

The Victorians loved their secrets. They hid them in the details but wore them on their sleeve with the help of a few small but elaborate accessories. The nosegay, also known as a posy or a “tussie mussie”, was one of the more discrete lady gadgets of yore that had multiple uses… For one, if…

Phone Home from London’s Original Red Phone Booth

They’re bright red kryptonite for tourists who can rarely resist a photo opportunity with London’s iconic phone booth, but few take their admiration further to find out just how they came about. The first London telephone boxes, or kiosks, were known as K1s. Introduced by the UK’s Post Office in 1921, they were considered to…

A Forgotten Ode to the Little Paris Shopfront

I was walking along the Seine this weekend, slowing my pace for the lonely bouquinistes (the open-air booksellers that have squatted the quays of the river since the 18th century), when a dog-eared paperback caught my eye. Inside, it was filled with the most delightful illustrations of French boutiques from the 1920s; each storefront’s name inspired…

A Bohemian’s Guide to Greenwich Village, New York, a Century Ago

I‘ve been digging through my fair share of New York’s archives while researching Don’t be a Tourist in New York and fell upon the photographs of a woman who, almost 100 years ago exactly, was doing the very same thing as I: seeking out the city’s local and off-beat gems. Oh ho, let’s go to…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DXLII)

1. Drive & Listen (a website you never knew you needed) Drive through your city of choice, with all the ambient sounds of the street, while also having the option of listening to the city’s local radio station. Start cruising on Drive and Listen. 2. London’s Thinnest House is for Sale The two bedroom on…

10 Virtual Gifts Your Valentine Didn’t Ask For

So Valentine’s Day is going to be a little different this year, but can we really remember a time when taking someone out for dinner on the 14th of February didn’t feel awkward, cheesy and generally kind of awful? Conveniently, we’re all seemingly living in a virtual world this time around, so when you’re sending…

The Great African American Escape to Soviet Russia

In pursuit of the African American story abroad, we often look to 1920s Paris, where jazz was first introduced to the French and Black culture was embraced with open arms. It’s a more familiar story than the one about Soviet Russia opening its doors to thousands of Black Americans in the 20th century, where they…