I could (and have) spend hours on end ogling the windows at Ladurée, filled with macaron* pyramids in dozens of different colors, macarons dangling from fine clear wires, and macarons on holiday in front of painted postcards (if they haven't done that last one yet, I wouldn't put it past ... Read More about A Taste of (Homemade) Luxury
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Paris, (Almost) 70 Years Later
Today would have been Julia Child's 104th birthday. (Of course, it had to fall on a holiday Monday when all the butchers and fish mongers in Paris are closed, meaning my sole meunière and boeuf bourguignon celebrations must wait for tomorrow. But, as she would say, tant pis !) The first time I ... Read More about Paris, (Almost) 70 Years Later
Escaping the Empty Streets of Paris
In August, Paris is a ghost town. My favorite rôtisserie and boulangerie on Rue Mouffetard have boarded their doors, soon to be joined by many other restauranteurs and shop owners. The Place Monge market has become more and more sparse with shoppers and vendors. Everyone is leaving for les vacances, ... Read More about Escaping the Empty Streets of Paris
A Walk Through the Place Monge Market
Living in France as an American means also living under a very glamorous pile of paperwork: birth certificate translations, endless forms brought to you by the French government, hundreds of terrible Photomaton pictures that will, alas, ultimately go unused. When dealing with all of the ... Read More about A Walk Through the Place Monge Market
Eating to the Heart of Barcelona: Food Lover Tour
Before I begin, have you signed up for my newsletter? ;) I greatly prefer wandering hidden streets to navigating crowds at tourist destinations when traveling. My best traveling experience like this was last year in Sevilla, where my friend Sam gave me a list of must sees and eats, as if she were ... Read More about Eating to the Heart of Barcelona: Food Lover Tour
Eating to the Heart of Barcelona, Part I
Barcelona from Anne Elder on Vimeo. My Spanish level hovers between what I learned from a 5th grade general language class, Dora the Explorer, and the Taco Bell dog. This proficiency helps exactly zero percent when visiting Catalan, where Spanish rules are more or less thrown out the window. (In a ... Read More about Eating to the Heart of Barcelona, Part I