France
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Attending a LOSC Champions League match in Lille
As much as I’ve attended football matches on three different continents, I had never yet had the opportunity to attend a Champions League match. Our arrival in Lille is going to be the occasion, because LOSC has qualified for the round of 16 of the competition and I can get tickets through my works council. There are advantages to becoming an employee again! I even managed to get two tickets, which allows me to offer our Lille friend A. to come along. Although Lille is not the favorite against the German club Borussia Dortmund, they got an excellent draw (1-1) in the first leg in Germany. So the suspense is…
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Paris [February 2025]: Lafayette Saltiel Drapiers & Restaurant Pavyllon by Yannick Alléno
A month and a half after settling in Lille, I think it’s time for a quick round trip to Paris. I’m sore all over and my favorite masseuse is in Paris (I call her “healer” because she has magic hands). Plus, I need to buy interfacing for my sewing projects, but the selection in Lille isn’t exhaustive. JB tells me he still has the Fine Dining offer with American Express (€100 credit at a selection of restaurants) that I can use in Paris. Appointments booked, I leave fairly early in the morning and take the TGV. A little over an hour later, I arrive at Gare du Nord. Lafayette Saltiel…
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[Back from World Tour] Our Move to Lille (2025)
We leave Jordan and the sun on a Thursday, only to find ourselves crammed into a Ryanair flight to Beauvais (it’s the cheapest direct flight we found to France from Amman). It’s with a hint of bitterness that we remember we started our world tour on a two-story Airbus A380 with Air France to Johannesburg. And we’re ending it on a Ryanair. It really feels like the end. We stay a night in Beauvais because after 6 hours on Ryanair, we don’t feel like doing the Beauvais – Paris – Lille train all in one go. Small consolation: before taking the train to Lille the next day, we visit the…
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Visiting the Sainte-Chapelle and the Little Prince shop in Paris (France)
Today, I’m sharing with you my photos of the Sainte-Chapelle, which we visited last year. There’s always a crowd in front of the Sainte-Chapelle, so I highly recommend booking your tickets in advance and coming with an ultra-light bag, as bags will be scanned and searched at the entrance. Then, you enter a kind of administrative courtyard, and you need to follow the arrows to know where to go. The ground floor is quite beautiful but dark, and the most impressive part is upstairs. There’s a small staircase leading up, don’t miss it! Nestled in the heart of the Île de la Cité, the Sainte-Chapelle is a treasure from the…
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2023 Rare Book and Graphic Arts Fair in Paris
It’s September 2023: For once, I receive invitations to the Rare Book and Graphic Arts Fair, after buying a second-hand book that reeks of smoke on a site for book lovers. Tickets cost 10 euros each, but thanks to these invitations, I can go for free with my girlfriend M., which makes up a bit for the smelly book I put in the “books to swap” box outside the metro. My friend M. is curious and interested in everything, so she’s already been to the gem and jewelry show with me, and now to the rare book fair even though she’s not a bibliophile. I am (a bit) bibliophilic for…
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Visit of the Château de Monte-Cristo (France) – Alexandre Dumas’ residence and park
We take advantage of a rainy Wednesday to visit the Château de Monte-Cristo with JB, my sister, and my niece. Nestled in the heights of Port-Marly, just a stone’s throw from the Seine, the Château de Monte-Cristo is much more than a simple historic residence. It’s a true green haven, where Alexandre Dumas, the author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte-Cristo, created his refuge away from the Parisian hustle and bustle. In 1844, after his first literary successes, Dumas decided to settle in a more peaceful setting, away from the city’s turmoil. He fell in love with the landscapes along the Seine and chose a plot on…
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Review of our (almost free) lunch at L’Oiseau Blanc – The Peninsula Paris
We had already tried the tea time at The Peninsula Paris (which I really enjoyed). This time, we head up a few floors to test their Michelin-starred restaurant (2 stars in the Michelin Guide) with a view of the Eiffel Tower. As every year, we get 200 euros per year with our American Express Platinum card (referral code here) to enjoy a gourmet restaurant. This year, to properly celebrate JB’s birthday, we chose L’Oiseau Blanc. The restaurant’s name pays tribute to the two French aviation pioneers, Charles Nungesser and François Coli, the first to attempt a non-stop transatlantic crossing in a biplane. They allegedly succeeded before disappearing forever in the…
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Diary of a GR20 Trek in Corsica
Last April, my brother sent me the following message. Last October, we had done together the Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal. But this time, it’s a whole different story: the GR20 is known as one of the toughest treks in Europe, and for the past few months, Vincent has taken up trail running! There was already a clear gap in fitness levels working against me. Now it’s not just a gap, it’s a chasm! After some hesitation and after making sure Vincent didn’t mind dragging a dead weight around for two weeks, I agreed – it was now or never! The GR20 is a trek of about 180 km…
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Two days in Amiens (France): following in the footsteps of Marcel Proust
Isn’t it funny? John Ruskin writes a book about Amiens Cathedral called “The Bible of Amiens.” Proust follows in his footsteps and finds the same beggars Ruskin pointed out, arriving from the south side just like Ruskin did. And here I am, following Proust… I’ve trailed him to Illiers-Combray, Cabourg… and now I’m back in Amiens. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Amiens isn’t unfamiliar to me; I went there once during our tour of France, and returned a second time for a few weeks in winter when we stayed in an Airbnb a bit far from the center. This time, I’m back with my…
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A Day in Cabourg (France): On the Trail of Marcel Proust
Any reader of In Search of Lost Time is bound to want to visit the Grand Hôtel de Balbec, or Balbec itself, sooner or later. This dream has stayed with me since I read Within a Budding Grove, where the plot takes place mainly at the Grand Hôtel de Balbec and the surrounding area of Balbec. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Balbec is always associated with Cabourg, even though Marcel Proust tried to incorporate elements from other regions to throw people off the scent. And Marcel Proust himself spent several summers at the Grand Hôtel de Cabourg. It’s now a hotel owned by the…
