TDM
-
[review] Exhibition: Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry at the Château de Chantilly
Apparently, it would be easier to meet the Pope or the President of the United States in person than to see the manuscript Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, carefully kept at the Musée Condé in Chantilly. Even researchers struggle to access this treasure. But we are very lucky because right now an exceptional exhibition is being held dedicated to Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry. This presentation, running until October 5, 2025, is a major event in the world of medieval art. A truly exceptional manuscript finally unveiled Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry represents one of the absolute masterpieces of medieval illumination.…
-
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…
-
Samsonite suitcase: disastrous after-sales service
In October 2019, I purchased a Samsonite suitcase. Since I was traveling a lot at the time, I was looking for a sturdy, reliable suitcase with a long warranty in case of problems. I really liked this suitcase, especially the quality of its wheels, which were much better than those of my previous travel companions. Gradually, I noticed the zipper starting to wear out until early 2025, when it became really problematic. I don’t know much about it, but in my mind, it must be a very common problem that should be fixable. I contacted Samsonite’s customer service hoping the repair would be covered by the warranty (in principle, 10…
-
[Reflection] #21: What Can the 0.1% Teach Us?
Finally, the time has come! Smart, rich, successful influencers, graduates of elite schools, after a top career, with plenty of dollars in their bank accounts… are starting to spend their free time on social media to give back. I follow the following Instagrammers: The problem with influencers who rely solely on partnerships is that they constantly censor themselves, for fear of losing a sponsor or offending their audience. They are forced to follow trends and end up all saying the same thing, respecting political correctness. So if you must follow someone, prefer those who have other sources of income, who aren’t afraid to lose followers. Those who repeat ten times…
-
How to Order on Taobao with CSSBuy (to France, Europe): My Review and Experience 2025
Today, I’m going to show you how to buy on Taobao using a Taobao agent, a middleman who receives Taobao packages and reships them to you anywhere in the world (France, Europe, etc.). The service I use is called CSSBuy, and you can use my affiliate link to sign up, which might get you some coupons. Why Taobao? Cssbuy CSSBuy is a Taobao agent, meaning they’ll receive Taobao packages for you in China and then send them anywhere in the world, to your home in France or elsewhere. If you have multiple packages, they can consolidate them into one. Packages are stored free of charge in their Chinese warehouse for…
-
How to order from Japanese sites and get delivery to the UK with Shipito?
If, like me, you drool over ingenious Japanese products, beautiful Japanese books, or cosmetics websites, telling yourself “one day, I’ll go to Japan,” know that you can get them without going to Japan. There are solutions! Why buy Japanese products? How to get delivery to the UK? You can simply use a package forwarding service like Shipito. These services give you a postal address in Japan, and they take care of forwarding your parcels to the UK. The good news is that they can even consolidate multiple parcels!! that way you’ll receive them all at once, and they’ll remove unnecessary packaging that serves no purpose. So you pay: Unfortunately, the…
-
My Current Favorites – [July 2025] – Japanese Stationery, Beads, Lipstick effect
Last month, I told you I brought back a lot of Vietnamese books. They are books about the Yi King, a very challenging subject, so I had to take out all the stationery I bought in Japan to highlight and annotate my books. In Japan, they are so passionate about stationery that there is a lot of innovation and even a stationery fair that takes place in several major cities in Japan in June/July. They regularly make rankings. In Japan, they love rankings and have rankings for everything. For cosmetics, for example, there is the cosmeranking, which is very famous; that allowed me to buy without thinking, given the immense…
-
2 weeks of vacation in Vietnam (2025): Ha Noi, Da Nang, Hoi An
JB, back to being a salaried employee is “forced” to take two weeks of vacation before August, and here we are “obliged” to go somewhere. We decide to spend two weeks in Vietnam, with the dates simply determined by the flight prices. Even though it’s not the best time for Vietnam since it’s the start of summer aka scorching heat. Since the goal is to rest, we have a very simple plan which involves returning to places we’ve already visited, where we’ve been several times, so there’s no pressure to sightsee and we can just enjoy these cities like locals. All the addresses & info of the artisans are provided…
-
Where to buy real silk in Hanoi? Visit Lua Lang Shop
The first time you touch this silk, you have a strange reaction: “What is this wonder?” It is neither shiny, nor thick, nor smooth like those from department stores. And yet, it is soft; it’s the silk of my childhood, the one I have been searching for for years. Real traditional Vietnamese mulberry silk. Today, I finally find it again thanks to Lua Lang. I discovered Lua Lang on Instagram and despite several years of ordering (remotely, even though I occasionally find myself in Hanoi), I never had the time to go there because it is a 30-minute scooter ride from my home. It’s a shop nestled in a peaceful…
-
My Current Favorites – [June 2025] Vietnamese Artisans (Silverware, Silk, Woodworking)
We just spent two weeks on vacation in Vietnam. These are our first long holidays since we became sedentary again. For the first time in a long while, we can afford to bring back lots of stuff because we can now allow ourselves to be a bit less minimalist and prioritize hyper-comfort. For that, JB and I went to Vietnam with two half-empty suitcases. One pair of shoes each. Speaking of Vietnam, my suitcase was filled only with purchases. We’re very lucky because the euro is very strong right now and it hasn’t impacted VND prices yet. We have +10% purchasing power just from the favorable exchange rate. Silverware One…
