Working, skimping and saving, wishing a whole year away only to arrive in Paris, to leave it a few days later seems like an oxymoron but that is what I have tended to do over the past three years or so. A couple of days spent settling in and then I am off to a …
My stomach somersaulted like an acrobat and sank slowly to my groin as I watched the photos I had taken earlier in the day download and corrupt before my eyes. All that I could see was a haze of colours distorting into abstract shapes. Was this to be the impending ‘Annual Parisian Incident’? I couldn’t bear to …
A Room with a View and a Beam One of the first things that I managed to do after arriving in my Paris apartment was to run into a beam. This may sound a little crazy but the said beam that runs from floor to ceiling, on an angle, between the only two windows in the apartment …
Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. A. A. Milne Is it a coincidence that the past five years (barring one) when I go to Paris, my trip is peppered with a little drama? Would my adventures be more enjoyable without the …
Quite a few years back, before I launched myself into the world of blogging, I was vibrant and busy. Squeezing every minute out of the day and life. I loved to cook, enjoyed entertaining and embraced having people around me, which had me finding any old excuse to hold a dinner or a party. That was until my …
From the moment I saw the small square of blue sky from the kitchen window, I decided to swing into action, the dishes from last night’s dinner party can wait. I wanted to get out of the apartment and enjoy the weather. My time was running out and one thing that I definitely wanted to …
Having a large dining table, a reasonably equipped kitchen and a gas stove inspired me to invite a couple of friends over for dinner. The burning question is … do you cook French for the French? Especially when the French in question happen to be food lovers, with a discerning palate and not shy to be self …
This was my mission for the day. Two tiny buildings, sandwiched at a T-intersection on Rue Galande in Paris. I don’t venture over to this part of the left bank often, it might be the multitude of tourists or the kind of ‘je ne sais quoi’ that I can’t put into words but it feels like foreign territory to …
Paris Greeters is a great initiative. Local residents volunteer their time to take fellow visitors like myself around their neighbourhood and bestow a bit of culture, interesting facts and sites and warm Parisian friendliness. This is my third consecutive year to donate to the cause and learn more about the city of Paris through the eyes …
Cold and dirty, hobbling around with a broken toe and the wonder shoe makes me feel like a homeless person. My stylish brown coat albeit many years old now, has either stretched, or I have shrunk and the uneven, tapered hemline trails along the ground. I notice Parisians looking me up and down, look at the coat dragging …