Under the Tuscan Sun: Anglaise in Italy

WELL. This anglaise has been having all kinds of adventures recently โ€“ although for the most part, they werenโ€™t occurring in Paris, or even France, so I initially decided against immortalising them in blog form. However, a good portion of those adventures took place in Tuscany, and I feel that the part of my heart/soul... Continue Reading →

Paris is Open

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 →

Flying Solo

Solo travel is a special kind of time to yourself, when thereโ€™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?

Cirque de Cinnamon

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 →

Homecoming

Itโ€™s just gone 8am and Iโ€™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 Iโ€™ve spent in my native country since I emigrated to France... Continue Reading →

Winter Wistfulness

I know youโ€™re not supposed to wish your life away (a favourite admonishment of my mother) and youโ€™ve got to live in the moment, etc. etc. But right now, the moment is cold, wet, windy and grey, and franchement, Iโ€™d much rather think ahead a little. So I thought Iโ€™d put my wistful spring-and-summer daydreams... 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 wasnโ€™t exactly expanding my French horizons the way the โ€œquestโ€ is supposed to be, but my last (and only other) visit was... Continue Reading →

Umbrellas in the Sun

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 →

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