The Thomas Jefferson Hour in Paris

The Palais Royal Gardens

Palais Royal

Clay Jenkinson as Thomas Jefferson

Mon dieu! My heart is still singing from a whirlwind trip I took to France this past week. I enjoyed six joyous days in Paris and two in the country, in Normandy and Versailles. My spirit remains light with all the love, culture and beauty I soaked up during my stay. I traveled with a dear friend for the marriage of my goddaughter and we had a marvelous time. I will be writing more about impressions, tips and recommendations from that trip within the upcoming month. I’m also posting beaucoup de fabulous photos on social media, so go ahead and follow me on Facebook (and also FB for A Tour of the Heart), Instagram and Twitter for images of an insider’s experience in France. (Remember that I lived in Paris eleven years, so this trip was largely about connecting with old friends.) La bonne cuisine française, wine, French savoir faire and the amelioration of Franco-American relations (translation:  lots of talking in French, English and Franglais) dominated the program. C’était merveilleux!

You can transport yourself there in this evening’s Travel Fun, my talk show on travel at 6:30pm MST. I taped an interview with Clay Jenkinson, scholar, writer, historical interpreter and creator of The Thomas Jefferson Hour, a podcast and award-winning NPR program, that features the third president of the United States just before I left Telluride. Mr. Jenkinson portrays Jefferson, a man of the Enlightenment, and answers questions about current affairs with all the intelligence and elegance of this renowned statesman.

Monsieur Jefferson embraced France with great passion and verve, which is why I found it appropriate that I have a conversation with both Clay Jenkinson and Thomas Jefferson about this great man’s time in France. 

Tune into KOTO.org at 6:30pm MST tonight to hear the interview I conducted just before I headed to Paris.

Clay Jenkinson

Best of all:  You can actually travel to France this fall with Monsieur Jefferson AKA Clay Jenkinson on a trip that takes you to Paris, the Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Dordogne, Provence and Burgundy, un voyage that highlights many of Jefferson’s favorite sites, including vineyards that please American wine aficionados more so than ever centuries later. (Jefferson was surely one of the first big importers of French wine in America.) 

There’s also a Canal du Midi add on to this trip, which is currently sold out yet I feel that Clay  will be offering it again. Be sure to peruse the program of other trips that Thomas Jefferson, or rather Clay Jenkinson, will be leading this year, too. If they are anything like Jefferson, expect lots of excellent food, drink, conversation, history and culture in incredibly scenic places.

I hope you like my selection of Paris photos that accompany this post. I took them at the Palais Royal gardens. Even though these buildings and gardens date back to the seventeenth century, I imagined Thomas Jefferson strolling here during his time in the French capital toward the latter part of the 1700s. Don’t you?

Les Jardins du Palais Royal

 Note that I will try to post this interview here soon as a podcast.