As far as beautiful sights go, this might be my favorite place in the entire world. The water is clear and blue. The mountains, green at the bottom and filled with trees, are covered with snow at the top. The fall colors were stunning while we were there, during the first weekend in November. The houses and chapels that line the lake are colorful, and add to the scenery instead of taking away from it. Even the rain and the low clouds gave everything a fairy-tale sort of feel.
Category: Travel Tips
La Maison Picassiette
Chartres, a tiny town not too far from Paris, is famous for its cathedral, which is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. But Chartres has a well-kept local secret: the Maison Picassiette. If you didn’t go looking for it, you’d never find it. It’s a small house (maison means house in French) Read More
La Promenade des Anglais
When I think back to my very first French classes in ninth grade, a few things I learned stand out in particular. One is that even if your pet cat is a female, always use the masculine form of the word when talking about it in French. Another is that you shouldn’t wear short shorts and Read More
A quick guide to sustainable seafood in the south of France
Best Choices: Albacore and skipjack caught in the Pacific Ocean with trolls or polls. Handline caught Pacific Yellowfin is also good. In the mediterranean coastal areas, avoid locally caught tuna because tuna caught in the Mediterranean Sea is not sustainable. If in doubt let it go, because most tuna populations are overfished. Summary: Look for imported Pacific Albacore. In French: “D’où vient le thon ? Je ne mange que le thon albacore de l’océan pacifique.”
One day in Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel as a day trip from Paris: can it be done? There is plenty of debate on the subject, and while some say it’s at least a weekend-long commitment, others say it makes a great single day excursion. The people in the first camp aren’t completely wrong; it’s true that if you planned to Read More
One day in Amsterdam
Doing Amsterdam from Paris in a weekend was easy. I thought my itinerary gave me a pretty good taste of some different sides of the city. The canal cruise was the perfect way to start it off, because I was able to get my bearings and generally get to know the layout of the city, while learning a bit about the history of the different neighborhoods.