Category Archives: europe

Trans Europe Express 1980s Paris Bruxelles

June 19, 2024 – 10:28 am

1985 Paris The Trans Europe Express Out of Gare du Nord Two hours plus To Bruxelles Moi et Christine Blonde Swedish singer A good laugh A friend Nothing more Nothing less Nous deux A Bruxelles. To record a 45 ‘Take Me Higher’. Train leaves the station Northbound Paris left behind Clackety-clack-clack Picking up speed Soon […]

By Peter | Also posted in PARIS, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

The Far West Of Ireland

March 16, 2024 – 3:16 am

My grandmother came from County Mayo. Her last name was Walsh. Nana sailed to Boston at the age of fourteen. That ocean voyage was so traumatic that she never returned to Ireland. My mother and her sisters often offered to fly Nana to Shannon. “I don’t want to travel on that sea again.” “Planes don’t […]

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Matterhorn 1985 Gucci Loafers

March 11, 2024 – 9:50 am

In late September of 1985 I traveled from Paris to Zermatt via Les Diablerets, my autumn refuge away from the nightlife at Le Balajo. Amazing to see the Matterhorn towering over the scenic village. The higher alpine meadows flowing with edelweiss. The gasthaus were demi-filled with elderly hikers and Swiss reservists on their yearly training […]

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THE BOUQUET OF RUINS by Peter Nolan Smith

February 8, 2024 – 9:22 am

Dec 1982 Some cities are best defined by songs such as APRIL IN PARIS or AUTUMN IN NEW YORK, but Hamburg defied music, especially as winter weather skimmed off the North Sea to besiege the harbor city with endless rain, cold, and darkness. Every day the night conquered a few more minutes of light and […]

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A WALK IN FOG by Peter Nolan Smith

November 12, 2023 – 4:02 am

On a murky November evening I attended the opening of the “Dream’ exhibition at Luxembourg’s Mudam Museum. Madame l’Ambassador bailed early for a formal affair. I was not invited for the dinner. “It’s a diplomatic thingee.” Madame l’Ambassador explained, as we walked through a thickening fog to the waiting Jaguar. “I understand.” A writer-in-residence has […]

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