Travel Journal
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Mdina (Malta): A fortified city frozen in time
If you ask me what I prefer in Malta, I’d say Valletta and Mdina. Mdina is just a dreamy place, where time seems to stand still. It’s the Dubrovnik Maltese version, a place where you feel like you’re in a movie, namely Game of Thrones 😉 Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Mdina doesn’t have many hotels, so we opt for a hotel right next door (Ir-Rabat), a 5-minute walk away. Driving here is not recommended; there are very few parking spots. So we come here by Uber and will explore on foot over the next few days. Mdina can be visited in one (long)…
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Visiting Malta by Car: Travel Diary 3/3
Let’s keep exploring Malta’s wonders by car. Today is December 23, 2022, and work is very, very quiet, so JB can take me to all the places still on my checklist. As usual, we’ll leave Valletta for last, when we have accommodation there, because it’s best explored on foot and by boat, not by car. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal As usual, we rent our car from Hertz for 3 days, and this time it’s a bright red one that doesn’t go unnoticed. I love Malta After circling the globe three times, I’m hard to impress now, but Malta is an exception. It’s sunny…
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Visiting Malta by car: the island of Gozo – Travel diary 2/3
Let’s continue our series of travel diaries at Malta, where we stayed in December 2022 – January 2023. This time, we rent a car to go to the island of Gozo. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal The ferry Between the main island of Malta and the island of Gozo lies the small island of Comino. Comino doesn’t seem to have much tourist interest to me, so I’d rather go only to the island of Gozo. We hesitated between renting a car on Gozo or renting a car in St Julian’s, but once we realized it was very easy to put the car on the…
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Visiting Malta by car: Travel diary 1/3
In December 2022/January 2023, we spent over a month in Malta, and here’s the travel diary you’ve been waiting for. We were staying in St Julian’s and then we found another Airbnb in St Paul’s Bay. From time to time, we rent a car to explore the island. The buses are good and cover all the points of interest, but they’re not frequent enough, so we prefer having our own car. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Our Airbnb in St Paul’s Bay It’s a fairly spacious Airbnb with two bedrooms and a living room overlooking the harbor (for prices and link, go here). The…
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St Julian’s & Portomaso Marina (Malta)
After France, we fly to Malta. JB’s grandfather is Maltese. Even though he never lived in Malta, he had a British passport and passed it on to his children, so JB’s mother also has a British passport. Thus, JB is 25% Maltese and according to his grandmother, he still has distant cousins in Gozo. JB has been there only once. For me, it’s the first time. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Paris – Malta Our luggage is a bit too heavy, but Air Malta doesn’t seem to mind. Our flight arrives too late (after sunset) for a nice view, but if you arrive during…
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Tour of the Louis Vuitton house & workshops in Asnières (France)
JB and I are LVMH shareholders and, from time to time, they organize exclusive (and free) tours for their shareholders. We’ve been lucky enough to attend a few of these, and we take advantage of them every time we’re back in France. This year, JB managed to get us two spots for the tour of the Louis Vuitton house and their workshops in Asnières. You should know that Louis Vuitton has a ton of workshops, but this one is the most prestigious because it’s here that they still make trunks (their original craft), one-of-a-kind pieces (like the trunk that carries the FIFA World Cup trophy), and special orders (custom requests).…
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I tried the Tea Time at the George V Paris (Four Seasons)
Several Parisian palace hotels offer tea time. We already tried the one at the Ritz Paris in a beautiful setting, so it’s time to try the one at the George V Paris. I know this palace by name, and I know for instance that they have a Hermès boutique (it’s the only hotel in all of Paris to have one), very well-trained estheticians (a facial or a massage at George V is on my wishlist). When JB suggested going there, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I’ve been so spoiled with many luxury hotels in Asia , and and in Dubai in recent years that the George V lobby cooled…
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Rouen, Harfleur, Le Havre (France): a little weekend away from the Parisian gloom – 2022
After a stopover in Germany, JB and I take the train to the Paris region, where we stay for just over two months for family reasons. The Parisian vibe is never extraordinary, especially when the weather is gloomy and gray. One day, on a whim, my friend M. and I decide to stop putting up with this bleakness and head off, leaving our respective husbands behind, for a girls’ weekend. It’s the first time we’ve traveled together, so I’m a bit apprehensive. We’re both picky, with our own travel habits—will we come back as best friends like before, or as worst enemies? Luckily, everything went smoothly. For the first destination,…
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Frankfurt and Mainz (Germany): Gutenberg Museum
After Vietnam, we had to return to France for family reasons. In recent years, the Vietnamese airline Bamboo has been offering very affordable tickets between Hanoi/Saigon and Frankfurt. We took the opportunity to spend a week in Germany before taking the train to Paris. I haven’t been back to Germany since the start of Covid (March 2020). Yes, if you still remember, I had to flee Germany, fearing that the borders would close for good and that I’d end up in lockdown alone in Germany (a fear that turned out to be well-founded!). On that solo trip, I didn’t get to fully enjoy Mainz, so I decided to go back.…
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Review of my (free!) lunch at Mallory Gabsi’s in Paris
With our card With American Express Platinum, we get a great perk every year: a €400 reimbursement for restaurant expenses at a selection of fine dining establishments. It’s even a perk you can enjoy twice, as this €400 is split into €200 in France and €200 abroad. While in Paris, we took advantage of this offer to have lunch at Mallory Gabsi’s, on Rue des Acacias in the 17th arrondissement. I didn’t know, but Mallory Gabsi is a Belgian chef who became known for reaching the semi-finals of the TV show Top Chef in 2020. Anh, who was supposed to join me, wasn’t feeling well that morning. It was too…
