“It must be the finest summer salad of all.”  Chef Gordon Ramsay     It was in Nice where this salad originated, that I had my first “salade niçoise”. That was more than 40 years ago but I still remember that it was was lunchtime and I was dining with a friend in a restaurant facing…

  Have you got a  passion for Provence?   Look no further.   I consider my friend Dee Poquette the expert on Provence, who began an intense love affair with Provence more than a decade years ago.     Dee and three of her friends attended cooking classes at Julia Child’s home in Placassier nestled…

A favourite American writer of mine, Elizabeth Bard, recalls an episode when she went shopping with her mother in Paris. Elizabeth lives in Paris and her mother was visiting.   In one particular boutique, her mother barged in  eyeing something she wanted to buy.  She approached a salesperson to assist her and was subsequently given…

  “In travel, we explore who we are. Through jewelry, we reveal who we are! Isabelle Fish, Founder of Rue Pigalle   When someone told me I had to connect with Isabelle Fish, and that her business was called “Rue Pigalle”, I was definitely intrigued.   Rue Pigalle refers to the red-light district of Paris.…

Sundays are sacred in Paris. Work is never discussed as this is time reserved for families, long relaxing brunches,  reading, quiet reflection, short naps and the art of just being.     Since most Parisians live in small apartments, as the weather permits, many flee their cramped quarters to head out into the sunshine and…

“I empower women one bottle of champagne at a time!” Cynthia Coutu, Founder of Delectabulles Paris, France   What is more French than champagne? WOMEN drinking champagne — in Paris.  At Cynthia Coutu’s Champagne Club for Women. Cynthia calls her business Delectabulles and it offers visitors a diverse array of classes, activities and even retreats where…

  How did I find myself “French kissing” an Italian man I had just met in Rome?   I knew that would get your attention.   I was in my early sixties (so a few years ago) and no one was more surprised than me because I had not been kissed in a very long…

How do people in France greet each other?   They “faire la bise.” Pronounced “fair la bees.”   COVID curtailed this of course but now that things are a little better, people are back to using this greeting, although maybe a little more warily.   The first time I went to France many many years…

Margaret Ann Gendreau from Vancouver, Canada, was the winner of my Giveaway Draw for the beautiful travel-themed pink and gray silk scarf from Green Scarf Boutique. This week her gift arrived in the mail and it wasn’t long before Margaret Ann was posing for pictures! It looks great on her doesn’t it?     Paris…

Don’t you love French bistro chairs?  They are such an integral part of the ambience of the imitable Parisian terrace. And you could spend days photographing them without seeing two restaurants that have the same ones.     HISTORY OF THE PARIS OUTDOOR TERRACE   The Parisian terrace first began when families offered food and…