Leather-bound journals and fountain pens to record your journeys - real or imagined - along with binoculars and globes, Barcelona, Spain. Today's armchair travel destination: Morocco! The books: Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson. You may remember Johnson as author of "Le Divorce," on which the movi...

Changing history: One of two "magic" Obama flags my Canadian friend Gillian bought last month during our whirlwind trip to New York. The flag is perched on an architectural model. I wanted to photograph the Obama flag in various locations around Paris, but it rained. Come back tomorrow for the story...

An Albino peacock and ornate silver, Fifth Avenue, New York. Ode to René Lalique, French glassmaker (1860-1945) at Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue. Ice storm, Saks Fifth Avenue. Carmen Miranda at the Disney Store, Fifth Avenue. Ice skating at Wollman Rink, Central Park. Ice hockey at the Wollman Rink, Cent...

Preparing an ostrich for a holiday party, department store vitrine, Boulevard Hausmann, Paris. A team of mice work to bring out the bird's natural beauty. The makeup artists and hairdressers work their magic. Finishing touches. A white rabbit pops in to ask what's taking so long - the ball is about ...

Decorative ivy covers walls of a private winter garden at Entre Cour et Jardin, 24, rue Leon-Jolly, Sezanne, France. An urn surrounded by a chain of ivy. A table and chairs for fair weather dining, with sculptural accents. A small pond replete with fish. An ivy-covered arbor, with a wooden bench, vi...

Today in the heart of Champagne country, my friend Gabrielle showed me a secret garden, lit with fairy lights. We admired a landscaped maze and bright yellow Chinese porcelain ... ...and marveled at a hidden grotto, resplendent with a coral and shell chandelier. A blue mercury glass gazing ball punc...

This beautiful 18th-century bonnet belonged to Marie-Antoinette's daughter. Marie-Antoinette's duchesse satin shoe is to the right of the bonnet. The historical items are part of an astonishing museum-quality collection at a family chateau in the Loire Valley, France. The former Queen of France's sh...

"House on fire," Vancouver, British Columbia. This morning I was reading Katharine Mieszkowski's article in Salon about noise pollution. My poem "Nightingales in Berlin" was inspired by this excerpt: "Modern cities can be so noisy that ornithologists have found birds warbling at the top of their lun...

Coit Tower, the 1933 Art Deco marvel, was built with funds that Lillie Hitchcock Coit bequested to the City of San Francisco. The monolithic structure stands atop Telegraph Hill in Pioneer Park. Designed by architects Arthur Brown, Jr. and Henry Howard, the 210-foot tower is made of unpainted reinfo...

A 19th-century stone angel between a wing and a prayer at Sophie Pretelat's Anges et Demons at the brocante at Place Saint-Sulpice, Paris. Monday's the last day of the 31st Foire aux Antiquaires, so best get your skates on! Last chance until 2009! Take the Metro Line 10 to Mabillion, then walk two b...