Bits by Lori Z

No, not the Paris Mob. I’m talking about l’Empire de la Mort - The Catacombs!

The Catacombs span the entire city of Paris. The tunnels and passageways spiral in an incredible distance of 186 miles! Yet, the legal tourist area spans only about a mile. For a very low entrance fee (2.5€ 26 and under, 5€ 27+) you can explore the sectioned off tunnels for as long as you want. Just bring a jacket, it’s 11 degrees C in there year round... More»

Window dressing seems to be an art form that is taken very seriously only in New York. Bergdorf Goodman’s window design department not only occupies an entire floor of their 57th Street store, but also inhabits a large warehouse across the river in Queens.

Each season, Director David Hoey’s elaborate visions enliven the corner of 5th Avenue and 57th Street- adjacent to Central Park and the Plaza hotel. The windows have become more than just a place for showing off the wares for sale at Bergdorf’s, but a venue for exquisite installation narrative art. Using designer clothing, antiques, original art works and other borrowed props (this Halloween features a skeleton horse!), the windows are somewhat of an art gallery on their own. I am a big supporter of art for art’s sake, which seems to be less common in the United States as opposed to Europe... More»

I’ve always been attracted to all things completely gaudy... well, art- and architecture-wise. So, of course, I had to witness the decadence which is Versailles when I visited Paris. Aside from being into the royals of the past, I will confess... I have a big crush on paintings of young Napoleon, and I wanted to see “Bonaparte à Arcole” and the larger than life “Coronation of Napoleon” painting with my own eyes! Oh yeah, and the acres of lush gardens, Hall of Mirrors and all the crazy statues and paintings... and stuff... More»

Until 1986, the site of the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens, was an illegal riverside landfill, abandoned and ugly.

Fortunately, a group of local artists got together and decided to turn the area into a park and outdoor museum. More»