Tag: France
-
French wellness tips I swear by (and some bad habits I don’t)
The French wellness tips I swear by: Eat your meals away from screens. (I swear as I scarf a blueberry orange muffin while typing up this blog). Literally nothing is more compelling than a French woman writing or reading on a cafe terrace or tucked into a cozy booth on a rainy day. Meals, particularly…
-
What to know before you travel to France during a heatwave
This is the question we should all be asking ourselves: What does responsible tourism in France look like when summers look like this now? As American journalist Lindsey Tramuta put it: “Paris is boiling.” With temperatures regularly hitting 100°F+ (40°C) over the last two months, and with about 75% of French homes still not having…
-
Your perfect weekend in Paris: The Marais edition
For giggles, let’s imagine you’re spending a long weekend in the City of Light. My three-day itinerary is perfect if you love: excellent food, natural wine, bar-none (vintage) shopping without the couture price tag, art history, and mysteriously reading in cafés. Because that’s all kind of my thing. My husband and I will be in…
-
Who’s a good fit for my yoga retreats?
The women who come on yoga retreats with me are diverse in background, identity, interests, and life experience. What they share in common is a spirit of open mindedness to the new: new experiences, new foods, new cultures, new languages, new people. The kind of women who join my retreats are The women who join…
-
French faux pas: How not to be an ugly American in France
Congratulations! You’re an American traveling to France. Here’s how to act (and how not to act) so that you don’t offend every French person you meet. Must do’s in French politeness: ‘Faux pas’ en France / How not to act in France Come to the South of France with me! I’m a Francophile. I love…
-
The best brunch in Paris
Look. I’ve been to more than 100 of the hippest, coolest restaurants in Paris, but this one brunch spot takes the cake. Not only do most Parisian restaurants not really serve American-style brunch, but the breakfast food you’ll find on offer at most Paris bistros is a croissant and an ‘okay’ cup of coffee at…
-
The secret to Parisian (women’s) confidence
Parisian women (Parisiennes) are famous for their confidence, their beauty, their elegance, and their approach to life, art, and fashion. This image of Parisian elegance and confidence is a bit stereotyped. It’s a bit cliché. It’s pretty thin and white-washed. And it’s a bit watered down. Parisiennes, just like their city, are complex and a…
-
The best coffee shops in Paris
The coffee scene in Paris has progressed in leaps and bounds in the last ten years. (Not to mention the last fifty, as post-war Paris clung with a certain intensity to chicory long after the ration years of World War II had passed.) The most joyful part of these coffee shops for me? That the…
-
For better travel, travel mindfully
My yoga and meditation practice affect my experience of travel… for the better! My travels this fall in both Morocco (leading my yoga retreat) and in Paris have solidified this belief for me. I started consistently meditating a year ago. Every day my meditation practice asks me to appreciate the good. Even on hard days…
-
How I navigate international travel as the daughter of two moms
During a wine tasting we attended in Paris’ 11th arrondissement my partner and I met lots of lovely expats. Over the course of our conversation I learned that my neighbor had just gotten engaged to her French girlfriend. So, naturally I brought up my family: my queer, non-heteronormative, two-mom family. She asked the questions that…
-
How to allow yourself rest while traveling
Originally written Sunday November 13 Yesterday I went to hot yoga and afterwards met my partner, Ernie, for lunch at Bouche in Paris’ 11th arrondissement. From brunch we wandered around what is becoming a familiar region of Paris to us: the Marais and Canal St. Martin in the 11th, 3rd, and 4th arrondissements. Once the…
