The French castle, Chateau de Martainville. Built in 1495, this renaissance castle in Normandy was a pleasure to visit. Each nook and cranny was filled with interesting and odd treasures from times gone by.…
-
-
An engagement 18 years in the making! During my first trip to Paris when I was 15 years old, the tour guide had us stand on the zero milestone in Paris, called Point Zero,…
-
In spite of failing to achieve my 2016 resolution and then reading this article about not setting too many resolutions, I have SIX resolutions for 2017. Yes, that’s a bit much. Yes, I think…
-
I’m not much for setting New Year’s resolutions, because most of them get set aside by February or March for other priorities that come along. However, at the beginning of 2016, I read an…
-
Now that I’m married to my charming Frenchman, I’ve been exposed to a whole new way to celebrate the end of the year. Sending Holiday cards In my family we always sent Christmas cards…
-
We planned our Thanksgiving in Paris for Saturday afternoon, so I woke up earlier than usual to pick up the second turkey at the butcher shop. I’m all about saving time, so I was…
-
My husband raves about this butternut squash soup. It has more ingredients than a typical butternut squash soup recipe, but I had such great reviews, I think they are all worth adding! Click here…
-
This Thanksgiving my husband and I will be hosting 7 guests in our tiny 350 square foot (33m2) apartment. We’ll have everyone over on Saturday, since Thursday isn’t a national holiday in France. I…
-
Thanksgiving in Paris is just a normal Thursday day at work. Having never had to construct my own holidays or traditions before in my adult life, I wasn’t prepared for Thanksgiving last year, and…
-
The French are surprised to learn I voted by mail. They have two options for voting while abroad: going to the local French embassy in the country where you are staying or naming another…
-
“Madame, you can go downstairs now,” the receptionist politely orders me to go to the dentist’s area in the basement. I have no idea where the staircase is. I apologize and also ask where…
-
Returning home to the US means passing through Customs, and trying to avoid saying just how many chocolates I have packed as gifts in my suitcase. Sometimes it’s the longest line that hasn’t…
-
It’s easy to spot the tourists in Paris. They have hiking backpacks, hiking shoes, pants with pockets near the knees and a metro map in one hand. Sometimes they are less assuming, and it’s…
-
It’s official! Today, I’ve lived in Paris for one year. I’m celebrating with a glass of Prosecco, and writing this article. Quite honestly this has been one super tough year. I hesitate to jump into…
-
I started running the moment I got off the bus. There was no way I could make it on time and the email reminder specifically stated that appointments could be cancelled due to lateness.…
-
So many things come to mind when I think about this question, but everything leads me to feel safe and say YES! There’s a lot to think about that brought me to that statement. I…
