Europe
-
The Best Facials & Spas in Paris [2025]
When I had a permanent job in Paris, I was so stressed and tired on weekends that I had to get a massage/pampering every week to relax a bit. And despite myself, I got to try quite a few spas and beauty institutes, plus the gifts people gave me, knowing my habit. I’m going to give you my non-exhaustive list of spas I really loved. Véronique Meissonnier I opted for the bespoke facial at Véronique Meissonier. A massage therapist and physiotherapist by training, she’s part of the French Facialists Club. She was trained by the master of Kobido (an ancient Japanese massage technique). Her one-hour bespoke facial is divine! She…
-
Mini road trip in the Netherlands: Tulips, Edam, Giethoorn, Zaanse, Amsterdam
Now that we live in Lille, it’s easier for us to explore the northern countries. From Lille, we can take the train, but it’s excessively expensive and takes forever. JB and I decide to go for a Flixbus, even if it means leaving the day before and adding a hotel night, it’ll still be much cheaper than taking the train or the plane. We’re even surprised that JB has vacation time while he’s still on probation, but his company wanted everyone to take vacation before a certain date, so here we are, forced to “go on vacation”. A concept we no longer knew during those 8.5 years of freelancing around…
-
[Practical Guide] Tulip Festival in Amsterdam 2025 (Netherlands): Keukenhof & Access to the Fields
That’s it, the famous park Keukenhof has opened its doors: from March 20 to May 11, 2025, the whole world comes to admire millions of tulips, of all varieties and all colors near Amsterdam. How to make the most of it? We have just spent a few wonderful days in Lisse and Amsterdam, and here are our best tips. Accommodation It’s better to choose accommodation around Amsterdam During tulip season, accommodations are sky-high. But Dutch public transport is plentiful, and shuttle buses are set up to make your travel easier. So instead of staying in the center of Amsterdam at a premium (count €200/night), you can choose the following cities…
-
Attending an RC Lens match at the Stade Bollaert
A little post to remember it by. A few weeks after attending a Champions League match in Lille, I’m looking into options for attending a match in Lens. Lens is renowned for having one of the best crowds in France, and there aren’t many matches left before the end of the season. I’m targeting the match between Lens and Saint Etienne, scheduled for a Sunday afternoon. Since I don’t drive, this means I can take public transport. My works council occasionally offers tickets for Lens, but unfortunately, this match isn’t included. The Stade Bollaert has a capacity of 38,000, with 29,000 Lens season ticket holders. That leaves only a few…
-
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…
-
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…
-
[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…
-
Where to exchange money in Athens?
In Athens, the day before we went to Egypt, we were worried about tipping. Having taken a first trip to Egypt a few years ago, we had the opportunity to realize how prevalent the culture of baksheesh is. Anyone who provides you with a service, no matter how small, will expect a tip. It’s part of Egyptian culture, and it’s surely amplified by the fact that you’re a foreign tourist, and therefore obviously very rich 😀 Anyway, not only does it need to be factored into your budget, but on top of that, we remembered the difficulty of getting small bills for tips, which caused a certain amount of stress.…
-
Visiting the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens (Greece)
On the day we arrived, we briefly passed by the Panathenaic Stadium (which means “stadium of all Athenians”) in a taxi. It was only two days before we left that I finally decided to visit it. It is a bit out of the way, but you can get there by public transport. This stadium has a (very, very) long history. Entrance to the site costs €10. If you just want to take a photo, you can do so from the outside. The stadium certainly no longer looks anything like it did in antiquity, but you can still feel the weight of history. Its stands, all in marble and with very…
-
The Island of Paros (Greece) in December
We’ve been in Greece for almost a month now (at Athens) but we haven’t been doing much sightseeing. The exact reason will be revealed soon, but let’s just enjoy this little travel journal. We did manage to find some time to visit a Greek island. The choices are endless, there are so many islands! We decide to visit the island of Paros, which is more accessible and less famous than the others, completely skipping Mykonos, Santorini… Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Paros is a 4-hour ferry ride from Athens. We could have taken a plane, but a ferry of that duration seems quite reasonable…
