Three years ago, I wrote a blog post entitled Paris is Closed. It was about how, every year, half the city packs up and migrates South (or abroad) for the summer - much like a flock of impeccably dressed birds - and, consequently, a lot of independent shops and restaurants close for several weeks. As... Continue Reading →
Solo travel is a special kind of time to yourself, when there’s no obligation or pressure to do anything specific or productive. How often, in the busy balancing act of grown-up life, do we get the opportunity to spend several (waking) hours in total repose, without any guilt or consequences?
Let’s face it, there’s been a lot more to complain about than there has been to celebrate in 2020. It really was one hell of a year, and I don’t mean that in the good way. For me, among other things, it’s included spending six months jobless, and three of those without seeing another human... Continue Reading →
I know, I know, I've been neglecting my blog again recently. I had such good intentions when I took up my figurative pen again this summer, but I can assure you, I have my best excuse yet for this most recent hiatus - I've been immersing myself in another writing project, one that I'm rather... Continue Reading →
I embarked on another food quest this week, deciding on a whim to dig out one of my (embarrassingly numerous) "to try" lists and settling on a little boulangerie I've been meaning to visit for at least two years now. The boulangerie in question is the Circus Bakery in the Latin Quarter, specialist purveyors of... Continue Reading →
It’s just gone 8am and I’m speeding towards the Channel Tunnel at 221 km/h. I have a whole carriage of the Eurostar to myself - talk about social distancing. The journey marks the end of a two-week trip back to England, the most time I’ve spent in my native country since I emigrated to France... Continue Reading →
Search Google for anything remotely related to repatriating in France and you will find a wealth of accounts whining about testifying to the nightmarish near-impossibility of navigating french administration/bureaucracy. In my mission to prepare myself as fully as possible for my new life, I read many (oh, so many) of these myself before I moved... Continue Reading →
*DISCLAIMER* If you're viewing this on a desktop, the formatting might be a little... erratic. It would appear to be a WordPress bug and I can't do anything about it. Sorry. On to the blog post. There is a genuine possibility that I have just had the most enjoyable Monday that anyone, anywhere has... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
