Any cursory Google search on the rules of French etiquette can send you down a rabbit hole of exasperated forum posts on TripAdvisor or Reddit– […]
French Etiquette 101: Myths, Realities, & a Bit of History
Around France
5 Classic French Desserts & Sweets for Christmas
As this goes to press, December has snuck up on us– and I find myself craving a few classic French desserts and sweet nibbles typically […]
Bordeaux’s Cité du Vin: A Modern Temple to Wine (Making & Tasting)
It would take a 21st-century team of curators and wine experts for Bordeaux to get its Cité du Vin, a massive complex dedicated to wine […]
Lore & Legends: A Few Famous French Ghosts & Hauntings
Lore about ghosts and haunted places doesn’t figure prominently in French culture– at least not as much as it does in places like the US, […]
Voices from Drancy, one of France’s Most Important Holocaust Memorial Sites
In March of 2020, I made a short trip from Paris that was a long time coming. I boarded a train, then a bus, to […]
History of Champagne: How the English Helped Birth Bubbly, & Other Facts
There’s something deceptively timeless about raising a toast over a glass of champagne (or some other form of sparkling white wine). It’s easy to imagine […]
Why Brittany Butter is Salted (& Coveted): A Bit of History
My partner and I almost always have a block of salted Brittany butter in the fridge, and usually there’s a “backup” somewhere in the freezer, […]
Exploring French Basque Country, on Spain’s Doorstep: A Guide to Hendaye, France
Basque country is one of those fascinating “liminal” spaces that crosses cultural and linguistic borders. Straddling France and Spain, the area is in fact an […]
The 5 Best Places for Wine Tasting in Bordeaux: Bars & More in the City Center
A couple of years ago, I spent a little under six weeks living and working in Bordeaux, as I prepared to write a local guide. […]
A Short History of French Macarons, From Saint-Emilion to Paris
On a recent trip to the fortified medieval town of Saint-Emilion, my partner and I stayed in a lovely B&B plunged in the middle of […]
10 of the Best Day Trips From Paris by Train: Fantastic Getaways
Some might ask why it would be necessary to plot short excursions away from a city as diverse and interesting as Paris. After all, doesn’t […]
