Let’s Get Lost
The humbled guide
As sure as April showers bring May flowers, spend enough time traveling in Europe and someone’s going to pick your pockets. Take it from me. Or maybe I should rephrase [...]
Ah, Paris, so typical
The first time my travel companion had French fries in Paris, she looked at me wide-eyed and exclaimed, “These are the best French fries I have ever eaten!” “Ya think?” [...]
Bob Dylan wants a drink
The following is a "Crouch End Fantasy" based on a true story as told to me by the bartender at Banner’s Restaurant in North London. • Bob Dylan wants a [...]
Once atop the Pompidou
We met Kevin and his partner Scott in the vast public plaza outside the Centre Pompidou. It was a crisp October day. The sky was blue. We all wore scarves [...]
Europe, U.S.A
If you can't get to Europe, go to Georgia. Or North Carolina. Or Texas. There you'll find towns — small and smaller, some no more than a bend in the [...]
The kettle to Provence
Funny how everyday household items can become totemic, suddenly taking on new meaning well beyond their original utilitarian design. So it is with my electric kettle. A Christmas gift from a [...]
By night in France
A year ago in France I drove all night from Saintes to Lascaux, through sleeping villages with lit-up statutes of pilgrims, past castles with internal waterfalls, and through enchanted forests [...]
Oops (or, literal detachment)
One of the best pieces of advice I've never followed in my overseas traveling is to leave expensive smartphone at home and buy a cheap, disposable burner phone once you [...]
My dump in Paris
Columnist Jeff Schweers couldn't wait to get to the quaint French capital, until he did and charm took an unexpected form.
When rentals go south
In his new column, "Let's Get Lost," Jeff Schweers recalls how a road trip in France hit a wall, literally.
“Let’s Get Lost”

Jeff Schweers, Author
Jeff Schweers is an award-winning political and investigative journalist based in Tallahassee, Florida. A New York transplant, he has a passion for food, culture and travel, which he covers in a blog also titled Let’s Get Lost.