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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
I happened across the most fabulously random little gem whilst walking through the 8th arrondissement this morning: a side street with a 'ceiling' of suspended umbrellas. Real ones. The umbrellas spanned the full length of the street, hundreds of them in a variety of bright colours, creating a spectacle that was at once surprising and... Continue Reading →
I did it. This weekend, I finally took the plunge and went busking in the Metro! Now, if you read my post about obtaining my Musiciens du Metro license in the first place, you might be wondering why this announcement is coming a full two months later. I can explain: between three trips abroad, a... Continue Reading →
This morning saw the first frost of the year, at least as far as my own experience goes. Not in my neighbourhood - central Paris rarely sees frost at all. But arriving in Boulogne-Billancourt for work today, once I had managed to squeeze my way through the tangle of people inadvertently blockading the doors of... Continue Reading →
I made it! As of two-and-a-bit weeks ago, I have now been resident in France for a full year. I would have written about it on the day, but I actually celebrated my ‘anniversary’ by being in another continent – where I was a) making the most of every precious minute with friends and family... Continue Reading →
