Author Elaine Sciolino gives us the history behind the famous women — both artists and subjects — to visit in Paris' grand repository. Then a Romani author shares what it was like growing up in her culture as we trace the lineage and influence of the vibrant Romani people. And the well-traveled Paul Theroux provides aspiring expats a realistic assessment of what it means to leave the US in the rearview mirror.

• Journalist Elaine Sciolino, author of "Adventures in the Louvre" (Norton)
• Madeline Potter, author of "The Roma: A Traveling History" (Harper)
• Author Paul Theroux

• Elaine Sciolino writes of her discoveries about French society from her home base in Paris. Her latest book is "Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum."
• Elaine spoke further with Rick about her love for the Louvre on Travel with Rick Steves program #786 in March 2025. She also told us about her neighborhood along the Rue de Martyrs on program #775 in December 2024. Elaine explored the famous bridges of Paris on program #607a in 2023, and reveals the backstory to the city's famous river in her interview about "The Seine" on program #593 in 2020.
• Madeline Potter explores her family background in her book, "The Roma: A Traveling History."
• Cameron Hewitt, author of the Rick Steves Central Europe guidebook, and Czech guide Honza Vihan write about "Europe's Overlooked Roma People."
• Paul Theroux wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times on "The Hard Reality American Expats Quickly Learn." The Times featured some of its readers' responses to Paul's thoughts, in a follow-up column titled "The Delights and Challenges of Expat Life."
• Paul Theroux also spoke with Rick about his most recent collection of stories called "The Vanishing Point" on Travel with Rick Steves program #787 in April 2025. In 2020, Paul reminisced about his lifetime of travels on program #614 and told us about his road trip adventures in Mexico on program #589. Paul also described what he learned on a road trip along the backroads of the American Deep South on program #445a in 2017.

Pgm 802 Haiku awards

Delta fine dining
pulled pork sandwich and salad
with comeback dressing

Highway 61
headlights pierce delta darkness
Crossroads at midnight
— Deborah Guy, Columbus, Ohio

I went for a walk
Twenty some odd years later
I came home again.

— Larry Berger, Sinks Grove, West Virginia

It's time to come home,
dear daughter, world traveler.
No more Skype for me!
— Sarah Tuttle, Corvallis, Oregon