Cultural Services of the French Embassy, New York

These past couple of weeks I’ve been puppy sitting in Manhattan and this past weekend, I was in New York for Open House New York.    The Venetian Room I didn’t actually realize it was a city-wide open house weekend; I had received an e-mail from the French...

Home Exchanges and Pet Sitting

There are a number of websites out there that allow you to list your home not for rent, but to exchange for a stay at someone else’s home. This is a great option for a lower cost vacation and oftentimes a nearly free luxury vacation! Some allow you to stay at...

Mallorca

The northern part of the Spanish island of Mallorca boasts spectacular scenery. You can view my photos from Mallorca here. My day-by-day itinerary can be found under Longer Trip Itineraries. For this 5-night/6-day trip, we flew out of Paris and back to Nantes as we...

A Week in the Azores

In January, my mom and I took a 6-day trip to the island of Terceira, in the Azores. Terceira combines colonial Portuguese architecture, Portuguese cuisine, green landscapes reminiscent of Ireland and a volcanic geological history that is still very evident today. You...

Photos from the Brittany Coastal Trail

My photos from my August GR34 hike are up! You can view all my photos from Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine) to Le Bono (Morbihan) HERE. Concarneau at sunrise I estimate that I’ve now hiked about 1,191 miles out of a total of approximately 1,500 miles of coastline,...

Paris Meetups

One great way to meet new people in Paris if you’re new in town or just sick of your current friends and want to meet new people is to attend a Meetup. There are hundreds of Meetups in Paris. You can create an account on Meetup.com and follow as many groups as...

Paris Newsletters

Did you know that each arrondissement has an e-newsletter that is packed full of information on happenings in the neighborhood, city government initiatives,  upcoming events and even discounts on certain activities for residents? Here is the sign-up for my...

Another Update from the Trail

I’ve made it home. Essentially. Lunch This past Tuesday morning, I hiked to the Le Bono, just next door to my Brittany home base of Baden. Pointe de Trévignon I had originally planned to finish this leg of the coast of Brittany on Sunday, August 13th in Lorient,...

A Must Try Paris Restaurant: Louis

I just finished a 3-hour dinner with friends at Louis, Stéphane Pitré’s restaurant, Louis, in Paris’s 9th arrondissement. Stéphane Pitré is an exceptionally talented chef who offers a truly creative cuisine, coupled with a warm and friendly welcome....

The Festival Interceltique de Lorient

The timing of this last leg of my hike could not have been better. On Sunday evening, I hiked 34+ miles to the center of the city of Lorient, the largest city in the Morbihan department. My feet would have preferred that I spend the rest of the evening in bed, but...