Asking myself the question whether to cook French for the French, had me a little nervous. I opted for a combination of Asian and Moroccan flavours instead, with a hint of French culture. Last night I began the preparation for tonights dinner to take the pressure off me for today. Cooking in …
For some strange reason I tend to avoid Rue Montorgueil but now that the throngs of tourists have thinned out, I decided to take a little wander and a closer look. Over the last fews days, each time I drag open the giant heavy front door to my apartment block, I am confronted with …
I found myself faced with an unusual dilemma. Apart from a few last minute items, my suitcase was packed and ready to leave with me tomorrow. The lid closed easily, the weight seemed under and there was still plenty of room to spare. This problem needed to be rectified, tout de suite! If …
I guess au revoir can mean goodbye but literally it means to re-see you again. Parisians don’t normally eat until around 7.30 – 8pm but we decided to have an early dinner and an early night, Chicky Babe was leaving Paris tomorrow and I had a walk planned for 10am. Sitting in a …
When I woke this morning, I was clutching my mobile phone and it took me a few seconds to work out why. I needed to be up early this morning and somehow I must have turned off the alarm in my sleep and slept in. Throwing around a lot of expletives, pacing around in circles, …
My time in Paris is running out. I want to lie, face down on the apartment floor and bang my hands and feet in rage and scream I don’t want to go. Une enfant, the French would call me, a child, but that is how I feel. Now that reality has hit, I need to …
When I arrived at Galleries Lafayette, to check out day two of the sales in Paris, it seemed more crowded than pre-Christmas shopping. All the Christmas decorations and wonderful animated displays had been removed and replaced with very lush window displays dedicated to Chanel. If day two of the January sales in Paris was anything …
I woke to the sound of shopping trolleys, from the apartment above and the street below. Sunday is market day. Jumping out of bed, I walked to the Bastille Markets. It is difficult not to get caught up in the excitement, as shoppers, rugged up against the cold, with shopping trolleys and …
The temperature plummeted and a blanket of mist hung over the Seine today. Heading over to the rive gauche, the left bank, to explore the 6th arrondissement, with the chilly wind whipping around my face and the cold stinging my fingers, I pass the Notre Dame on the way. But not before a quick pause. …
As luck would have it, Christmas fell on a Sunday this year and that meant Christmas dinner at Jim‘s. As long as it is Sunday, Christmas or not, Jim still opens his home and his heart to anyone who wants to join in on the fun. One of Jim Haynes inspirations for his legendary Sunday dinners …