I didn't put it all together until I looked back at my photos from Bryan's stay that I realized two of the major places we visited involved burial sights. This is not to comment on personality or favorite pastimes at all, but rather the result of what remains on the to-do list of one who has visited Paris a few times and seen the blockbuster sights. For most, the Catacombs and Père Lachaise Cemetery fall below the art museums and glamorous spots like the Champs-Élysées of must-sees.
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise is a peaceful place to take a walk and explore. And it always has the additional benefit of being free of charge. I first mentioned a walk through this cemetery back in November on La Toussaint (All Saints' Day) when it was full of flowers, but any time of year when it's not too wet is a good time to go.
Many people seek out the largest cemetery within the limits of Paris to see the graves of the famous. Père Lachaise is the resting place of many greats like Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Jim Morrison, Georges Haussmann, Marcel Proust...and the list goes on and on.
Read moreNow that I've been back in Paris for over a solid month, it seems like chez moi is now open for the spring visitor season. I love spending time with my dear friends and family in Paris, and enjoy seeing how each visit is as different as the individual.
Enter in my good friend Bryan (the type of friend where "good" has been earned over the test of time, all the way back from those awkward middle school days), my first guest to have the Catacombs on the top of his list of things to see in Paris. It took two years of living here and many visitors in, but it was bound to come up at some point.
Read moreCelebrating my two-year anniversary of living in France has made me reflect on the ways this country has changed me. So this post is a personal look at how my view on food has been impacted:
March 15 is popularly known as “the Ides of March” but to me it will always signify the day I boarded a plane with a one-way ticket to Paris. As I celebrate my two year “Paris-versary” of living here, I can’t help but reflect on who I was two years ago and barely recognize the girl at the boarding gate that evening in Newark, NJ.
I can list off many ways I've changed. I arrived two years ago without a job, without speaking a word of French, without a notion of what living abroad really meant. An identity crisis later and constant lessons in patience and humility bear marks on who I am today. There is a badge of confidence and independence that I think all expats wear as the scars of fumbling through a different culture and making a fool of themselves fade (or just start to feel less severe).
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and there is way too much to share on how I've grown during the past two years. So today I’ll leave you with one aspect of life that French culture has pressed upon me, one I will take away with me whenever my time to leave this country comes.
Food. Eating. And the art of the meal.
Read moreIn the "Park it in Paris" series, I write about the city's parks - some of the best spots to relax, people-watch, and mingle with the locals.
It's only the second post of this series and already the title is a slight misnomer. Today's featured park is located just over the border in the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. But I say close enough - after all, you can still get to the park via the metro (line 10).
A friend mentioned that he read about a park in Paris that featured an abandoned Rothschild mansion on its grounds (check out the article on blog Messy Nessy Chic.) A ghost of the presence of the Rothschild family intrigued me and I had to head out to explore last weekend.
Read moreAnyone can travel. But to travel shrewdly takes time. If you do it wisely, you can avoid hassles, save money, and savor fresh pizza.
Here's how you can avoid my top five travel blunders along the way.
Read moreWhen the weather breaks in the winter with some sunshine, I grab my coat and walk. And walk and walk. (I'm not kidding - this walk ended up being close to three hours long by the time I was done.)
This past Sunday was one such day. I decided to switch it up and instead of walking near the Seine through the center of the city, I opted to walk up the often overlooked Canal St. Martin.
Read moreNew series has begun! In the "Park it in Paris" series, I write about the city's parks - some of the best spots to relax, people-watch, and mingle with the locals.
Living in Paris has not only taught me about living abroad, but has shown me what it is like to live in a city. I now understand the need to seek out parks for relaxation and a healthy dose of nature. (Something I never considered doing before with a backyard in the suburbs.)
While most of my friends and family back in the US are caught up in the polar vortex this winter, the worst we can say about this season in Paris (knock on wood!) is that it is overcast, gray, and comes with a fair share of rain showers. When the sun does come out, I stop whatever I'm doing and run outdoors for a fleeting moment to stock up on my vitamin D.
Which is exactly what I did last Sunday, on an abnormally beautiful and quite mild afternoon. Days like this make me boldly declare that winter is one of my favorite times to be in Paris. I love how the city empties out (relatively) of tourists as you have to really want to be here during such unpredictable and often dreary weather. I imagine a sort of solidarity between fellow locals as we defiantly huddle near heat lamps on cafe terraces, sipping a drink and in most cases smoking a cigarette. Parisians are a hearty bunch and I feel more "authentic" logging weeks of winter under my belt to earn the fruits of spring ahead.
Thankful for an afternoon of sunshine, I went to Parc Monceau in the 8th arrondissement for a short walk.
Read moreAbsence does make the heart grow fonder. After eight weeks away on an epic trip through Germany, Austria, Madrid, London, and the United States (NY/NJ), coming back to Paris felt comfortingly familiar, yet refreshingly new.
We landed in Paris on Sunday, February 9th with new visas in hand, mission accomplished. Once I came out of a jet-lagged fog, I realized that Valentine's Day was quickly approaching on the horizon.
What to do? As much as I love to eat out, I had been almost continuously chowing down at restaurants for two months. There were days of catching up with dear friends and family in the States that meant eating out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...and one exceptional day that included a coffee and dessert break. It was wonderful, but returning to Paris made me really look forward to getting back into my kitchen.
I started running errands off to some of my regular places in my neighborhood of the Marais (and the nearby Oberkampf neighborhood in the 11ème for an open-air market). Then it hit me - without intentionally thinking it through, I was frequenting some of my favorite spots to bring together a romantic meal chez moi.
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