It’s been heartbreaking to learn of the second terrorist attack on Paris during 2015. Our hearts go out to all who have been touched by this tragedy. It is devastating to see so much pain being inflicted on a city that brings great joy to so many. Since the Paris attacks, we’ve had lots of […]
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Some of my favourite photographs from our French travels have been the photos that convey the energy and the spirit of the country I love so much. And those shots often contain a whole lot of movement. While it’s gratifying to be able to capture crystal clear images without blur, sometimes it’s fun to convey […]
Want to Frenchify Your Friday and do us a huge favour at the same time? We really hope so! We genuinely get so much joy out of crafting Distant Francophile every week. Our only aims are to share our love and knowledge of France and to help anyone who wants to add a dose of […]
Last week on Facebook, Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat. Pray. Love. fame, and more recently the author of Big Magic, an inspiring book for creative souls posted a thought-provoking piece on how little we need to give up in terms of every day luxuries in order to fulfil our travel dreams. Liz’s argument goes something like […]
Well, I finally know what I want to be when I grow up. Yes, while it has taken me a little longer than most to work it out, I feel I now have clarity. I want to be Janelle McCulloch. And I figure I’m half way there – I’ve got first name covered. Obviously this […]
There’s an often repeated story of a photographer who goes to a friend’s house for dinner where the comment is made, “You take really good photos, you must have a really good camera”. At the end of the meal, the photographer thanks the host for the meal with “Dinner was fantastic, you must have a […]
It is safe to say that Scott takes the majority of the photographs that we share here on Distant Francophile. He has been a keen hobby photographer for a long time now and has learnt a lot – through both formal and informal learning – on how to take a great photo. Scott is also […]
If you’ve checked out our website lately, you might have noticed that we’ve undergone a mini makeover. There are some new photographs popping up here and there and I just have to share where they have come from. Scott and I had always dreamed of doing a professional photo shoot in Paris. We’d seen so […]
Regular readers will have guessed that I spend a fair bit of time researching all things French. I have a number of favourite magazines, Facebook pages and websites that I regularly keep an eye on – and one of these is the extremely helpful site Free in Paris. People are always quick to tell you […]
A trip to France can be big investment. Both in terms of time and money. Particularly if you are leaving from a far away land like Australia. Given this investment, you’ve got to make the most of it. See as much as you can. Squeeze everything in. Isn’t that right? No, it’s not right – […]
Our next trip to France is getting closer and for the first time ever, I’ve hit a packing dilemma. For all of our previous trips we’ve followed the advice of a close friend and travelled with large backpacks. While the flash hotels aren’t quite sure what to do with packs – we actually had a […]
Regular readers of Distant Francophile will know that I spend a fair amount of time looking for similarities between Australia and France. Well today, I’m deeply saddened by one of those similarities. The tragic shootings in Sydney’s Lindt Cafe and the horror of what’s happened at Paris’s Charlie Hebdo is one connection I just didn’t […]
I’m not much of a goal setter, but I do love the fresh feeling of anticipation that comes with the new year. Anything seems possible on the first day of the year. Personally, I’m looking forward to a year full of French fun both here in Australia and abroad. It’s started off nicely – French […]
Wishing all of Distant Francophile’s readers a Christmas that is more fabulous France – which would, of course, make it very fabulous, at least from our perspective! We really want thank all of you for your support of Distant Francophile during the year. We love sharing all the French things that come into […]
Anyone who enjoys reading Distant Francophile probably keeps an eye out for other sources of French inspiration. As such, you might already be aware of one of my personal favourites – the online magazine My French Life. I’ve been an avid reader for a very long time. Judy and her team of contributors do an […]
Over the weekend, I suggested that a Parisian dawn has the power to change you. And I believe that to be true. But let’s face facts here. Spending any time at all, anywhere in France, has the potential to change you.
A whole lot of different ways to think about France, and specifically Paris, have been jumping out at me lately. They are mainly coming from books, but of course, they are also coming from the on-line world too. Quotes. Comments. Questions. And I feel like I really need to dig deeper into some of […]
The French love lingerie. This fact, I know, does not constitute news. Reams have been written on the topic. Brands. Styles. Amounts spent. They all attract interest. But I have to admit being surprised (and amused) when we came across a men’s lingerie store in Lyon.
Last week, I promised that I would review the recently published ‘How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are – Love, Style and Bad Habits’. And today, I’ve finally got around to doing so. Now, before you continue reading, I should warn you that this hasn’t ended up being a ‘real’ review – it’s more […]
A little while ago, I was attracted, somewhat unsurprisingly, to a blog post on The Simply Luxurious Life titled ’10 Ways to Unearth Your Inner Francophile’. In the post, Shannon lists a variety of ways that you might be able to bring a little bit of the French way of living into your everyday […]