I’m starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with me. We’re 26 days into the official confinement in France, it’s been 27 days since I had a conversation with another human face-to-face, and 29 days have passed since I saw anyone I actually know. Not that I’m counting or anything. But if I was, I... Continue Reading →
Winter Wistfulness
I know you’re not supposed to wish your life away (a favourite admonishment of my mother) and you’ve got to live in the moment, etc. etc. But right now, the moment is cold, wet, windy and grey, and franchement, I’d much rather think ahead a little. So I thought I’d put my wistful spring-and-summer daydreams... Continue Reading →
NYE à la Française (and A Beginner’s Guide To Raclette)
Bonne année! A new year, a new decade – though the same strikes, if you’re a Paris-dweller. Appropriately (and for the first time), I brought in 2020 in the most fantastically FRENCH manner possible, between NYE and New Year’s Day – both of which I spent in French homes, speaking predominantly in French, and enjoying... Continue Reading →
Paris is Broken (obligatory post complaining about les grèves / the strikes)
Forget the weather, the only acceptable topic of small-talk in Paris for about a fortnight now has been les grèves – aka the strikes. You don’t have to be living in France to have heard about them; it was via my family in England I first found out there’d been any kind of violence from... Continue Reading →
Single in the City of Love
Single for the first time since the age of 19, I recently ventured onto the dating scene in Paris - via the weird world of dating apps. And it really is a bloody weird world.
La Felicità: Literally, Happiness.
I want to tell you about one of my all-time favourite 'hidden gems' in Paris: La Felicità, at Station F. It was introduced to me last year by two of my closest friends (and fellow foodies) and if you are at all acquainted with the adventures of this anglaise, you won't be vaguely surprised to... Continue Reading →
Breakfast in Bordeaux
As part of my 2019 quest to take advantage of being based in Paris by exploring other parts of France, I spent last weekend in Bordeaux. I have actually been before, so it wasn’t exactly expanding my French horizons the way the “quest” is supposed to be, but my last (and only other) visit was... Continue Reading →
Curiouser and Curiouser
A warning: This is going to be a long one. A promise: It’s worth it. I’ve got a bloody weird story to tell you, and I simply couldn’t do it justice without the word count. I don’t mind if you want to go pop the kettle on and come back in five. Get a drink.... Continue Reading →
So British: A Taste of Home
Oh look, it's the end of the month already - which means I need to write a blog post, because as much as my publishing frequency has plummeted since I started out, I have still not left a whole calendar month devoid of an Adventures update. It's been bloody close on several occasions (here's to frantic... Continue Reading →
Gluten-Free Paree (aka Paris ‘Sans Gluten’ part 2)
Visitors are like buses: you don’t see anyone for months at a time, and then suddenly, everyone you’ve said “hi” to in the last fifteen years wants to turn up on the same weekend. As usual, I’m exaggerating somewhat – but I did have guests 3/4 weekends in April (and it was very nearly 4/4,... Continue Reading →