Welcome to my blog where I document my adventures in Paris and beyond. Bon séjour!
All in expat life
Happy January my friends!
I hope the first few days of the new year have been treating you well.
As I mentioned previously, each month I’ll be doing a little roundup of all the little wins we’ve had in this new Parisian chapter of life. Again, I’m a few days late...
December was a fun and festive month. It was really eye-opening to not just read about, but see how the holidays are done in a country that's not ours. We brought a few of...
The lights are sparkling on rues all over the city. Chestnuts, or marrons, are in almost every pastisserie and boulangerie across town. And department stores like Le Bon Marché, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette have put their most magnificent trees on display.
We aren't heading home for the holidays, but...
When I first announced to people that we would be moving to Paris, the comments were always the same “The wine! The cheese! The bureaucracy!” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but in my research, one thing kept coming up: the dossier.
It’s essentially a file of documents that prove your value to various institutions (banks, landlords, utility companies)...
Though it’s our first Thanksgiving married, it's not the first one we've spent together. We’ve had Thanksgivings with other families, with groups of friends, and one on our own, prepping for a Big Sur road trip. But this one was a bit different - we are in Paris, France, and obviously, Thanksgiving does not exist here.
But like so many other Americans abroad, we wanted to do it anyway. We have...
Over the last few days, I keep stumbling upon petty declarations that say supporting France on social media is stupid, meaningless and egotistical. This refers to things like changing profile pictures, posting the Peace for Paris image, or uploading personal photos of the city.
I’m not sure what triggered the nastiness, but the mass of pessimistic press around Facebook & France bothers me. I suppose I’m just as bad responding to all these negative Nancys, but I haven’t....
Last night, we were sitting at home, watching the end of the France-Germany game when we realized what was happening in Paris, our new home. Suddenly, we were bombarded with messages from friends and family making sure we were okay.
With the French news on, we began to piece together what happened with help from the internet. Many of the attacks occurred in Republique, a mere 15-minutes from our apartment...
Saturday was a pretty perfect day in Paris. It was sunny with few clouds in the sky. The weather wasn’t too chilly and the half-bare trees stood tall. It was also my 30th birthday.
With the two of us halfway across the world, alone, there was no big bash on the books; Steve and I were planning to celebrate together with an easygoing day: coffee, a visit to Place de Vosges and a few glasses of champagne.
I did feel a little bit of cultural pressure to be angsty about “getting old,” but I wasn’t dreading the oh-so ominous 3-0. So I asked a good friend what...
I like to cook. A lot. I find the repetition of certain tasks relaxing, the smells intoxicating and at the end, I have something to show for my effort. Unfortunately, I haven't always been consistent in the kitchen.
While living in LA, I would only be motivated to cook something delicious when I knew Steve was driving down for the weekend. I'd find something online (Smitten Kitchen is my go-to). I would spend Friday evening prepping for dinner. My roommates would pull up a stool, watch me chop, mix and sauté. We'd chat and drink glass of wine, awaiting Steve's arrival.
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This weekend we moved into our new apartment! I am so happy that we finally have a home. And it's lovely: it's cozy, has lots of charm and it's ours. I will post pictures soon.
I bet you're wondering "how did you move across town?" We decided to do it the hard way and...
We've been here for almost two months. And while most days are good, filled with exploring, relaxing and eating, there are other days where I feel so out of my element. Today was one of those days. It started out like any normal Monday. I had plans to meet Steve for lunch...
How we spent a nice fall weekend in Paris.
This weekend, we moved around the city quite a bit, from Rue de Pot de Fer in the Latin Quarter for a few bieres up to Montmartre for fireworks and wine and back to our brand new apartment in the Marais - mostly by bike. Both of us finally signed up for Velib, the bike share program in Paris (only 30€ per year), and it turned out to be...
Nuit Blanche is an all night celebration of art. This year, all the action was on the right bank, rive droite, and showcased installations that started in Hotel de Ville and moved up to north, both nord-ouest and nord-est. The event was on October 3rd.
This year's theme was climate change in anticipation of the...
