I love travelling. From the moment we leave the house until the cab drops us back home, I’m in high energy mode. Right now, we are exploring New York for the first time (one word description of our trip so far – sensational). And we’re in full planning mode for our next visit to France. […]
Travel
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A friend of mine is facing a packing dilemma. You see, he has agreed to go on a holiday with a large group of friends to celebrate a 40th birthday. He is very close to the ‘birthday girl’ and doesn’t want to miss her special day. But he is struggling a little. Because the holiday […]
A Distant Francophile reader got in touch with me recently. She is in the enviable position of heading to Paris during December and January and was looking for some advice on what to wear while experiencing the magic of winter in Paris. It’s no secret that I’ll happily travel to Paris at any time of […]
Time for a change of pace today. As I’ve shared so many times before, I love, love, love it when Distant Francophile readers reach out to me with questions. I’m always happy to answer these queries. After all, questions require answers. Regardless of the topic – style, confidence, packing for France, potential itineraries, French culture […]
I’d been toying with the idea of posting ‘styling tips for a long-haul flight’ for a while now. But when Vicki Archer – one of my favourite bloggers of all time – put the idea out into the universe via this post, I knew I had to publish my thoughts sooner rather than later. Interestingly, Vicki […]
I’ve just started reading the highly acclaimed book by author Elaine Sciolino, The Only Street In Paris. Life on the Rue des Martyrs. It’s far too early for me to write you a review. Given the way I’m struggling to find time to read right now, you can expect that in a few months – […]
How do you cope with the flights? That’s the question I get asked most often when I share that we are heading back to France. (Read how we deal with the other question we are regularly asked). Now, the question about coping with long haul flights is perfectly fair given we live in Melbourne. If […]
It’s time for the last instalment in our little ‘do-it-yourself tour of Champagne‘ series. And today I want to share our Ruinart experience with you all. Following our visit to Veuve Clicquot, we walked back into the centre of Reims where we ate lunch and visited the famous cathedral. We then wandered back to Ruinart, […]
While this post is still very relevant, just to be sure, we did Another Do-It-Yourself Tour Of Champagne on our last visit to France. You can check it out here. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve always been quite surprised by how long it took us to visit France’s Champagne region. Especially given how much we […]
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 […]
Over the weekend I suggested that, if you are new to Paris, it might be worth considering a city day tour. I’m happy to take that suggestion a step further and go so far as arguing that day tours are worth considering even when you’re a regular visitor to France. Over the years we’ve […]
People seem to either love or hate guided city tours. But to my mind, there is no better way to get your bearings in a new city. And this includes Paris. Many travellers seem to avoid Paris tours. I think it might be because Paris has such a long list of must-see highlights…if they choose […]
I’m counting the days until June, when we will be spending a few days in Provence. When compared to the time we’ve spent around Paris and Lyon, we’ve not spent much time at all in the south of France and I am really looking forward to returning. This time, we are headed to the village […]
It’s March already – I know it is a short month, but I seriously can’t believe how quickly February flew by! Given it’s the start of new month, it must be time for me to update you on some of the French inspiration I’ve been finding on the internet recently. It’s funny – no matter […]
I have a nasty little obsession with packing light. My goal is to one day leave Australia with less than ten kilograms of luggage. My record so far is just a shade over 11 kg. But I am also a realist, And I know that I will never achieve that goal when I am travelling […]
We adored our time in Lyon. It really is a magical French city. Lyon somehow manages to combine the romance of Paris with the endless charm of the south of France. And then there is the food! Lyon is a perfect the perfect place to sink your teeth into French culture and I firmly believe […]
I’m excited. It’s three months today until we next head to France. The ‘three months until we go’ date is always a special milestone for me as it signals two things – firstly, that I am officially allowed to start the countdown and secondly, that what I like to call the ‘booking window’ is about […]
Given my passion for France and all things French, it goes without saying that I love swapping French travel tales with anyone willing to share. I could literally chat for days about all the things I love about France and I absolutely adore it when I pick up some new tip or little French secret. […]
Confession time. There are stacks of things I’m happy to do in France that I tend to studiously avoid at home. Taking public transportation is one example. And climbing copious amounts of stairs is another. I’m always amused at how often we end up taking the stairs while we are in France and particularly Paris, […]