While I may not be the sportiest/most adventurous of bloggers, I am really into tennis and used to play varsity in high school. So when a family friend visiting Paris asked me, “Do you like tennis? How would you like my extra ticket to the French Open quarterfinals?” I actually had tears in my eyes.
France
An Hour from Paris: the Beautiful and Tragic Château de Vaux le Vicomte
I headed to Vaux le Vicomte on a rainy Monday with my French host family, and if I were a Lonely Planet guide I would proclaim it to be, “The perfect day trip for those who tire of the crowds at Versailles and Giverny.” (Ahem, me.) And while the château is opulently beautiful, its most … Read more
The Most Parisian Park in Paris, the Jardin du Luxembourg
Spring is an undeniably beautiful phenomenon, especially when you live in Paris. After the long, overcast winter the sun finally shines, the flowers burst open in color and the city-dwellers stroll Paris’ many parks feeling a little… lighter. As I learned this spring, there’s nothing like feeling sun on your face after enduring months of living under eternally overcast skies.
Colmar: France’s Fairytale City
Colmar- the little Alsatian town that truly made me feel like I had stumbled into a storybook. Or maybe a film set. Because where else can you find princess turrets, rainbow-colored half-timber houses and romantic canals all in a few square miles?
Strasbourg: France’s Little Piece of Germany
Strasbourg can best be summed up by an argument I had with my German friend Julika while walking the street. Me: This town seriously looks just like Germany! Julika: No way, it’s totally French. Me: But look at the half-timbered houses! Julika: Have you seen the balconies? In fact, Strasbourg is kind of half and half- which … Read more
2 Days in Dordogne: Adventures in Foie Gras Land
So during our whirlwind road-trip down the French Atlantic Coast to La Rochelle, Île de Ré and Biarritz, we decided to take a vacation inside of a vacation in Foie Gras Land, more commonly known as the Dordogne.
The Dordogne is one of the many gastronomic heartlands in France, that specializes in foie gras, duck and truffles. (All of which I adore, for your information.) After so much travel, we were all ready for a few days of fluffy beds, relaxation and good old-fashioned gluttony. Let’s not forget- my poor mother drove a rental car from Paris to Spain!
Life as a Paris Expat
When Charles Dickens wrote the line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” he must have been living abroad. In fact, there’s a strong chance he was working in Paris as an au pair. Over the past year I’ve learned that expat life certainly has its ups and downs, which … Read more
The Real Cost of a European Road Trip
As much as I adore traveling by train in Europe, there’s nothing like having the flexibility of a car when you’re exploring a new region. So when my mom and sister flew over to Europe to visit me, we decided to renting a car was the only logical option for our week-long trip around France … Read more
Getting Ritzy in Biarritz
On my my fairly budgeted French road trip with my mom and my sister, I knew there was one destination where we would have to go all out- Biarritz.
Biarritz is a French resort town known for its glitzy past as a 19th century seaside destination, when it was graced by European royals such as Queen Victoria and American royals such as the Vanderbilts.
A Day Trip to Île de Ré, France’s Most Adorable Island
What’s better than a day spent on a sandy, windswept French island strewn with colorful lighthouses, ponies and daisies? Well as they say in La Belle France, absolument rien.