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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…
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My Current Favorites – [December 2024]: Online Sewing Courses
I’ve mentioned in several posts that I need to completely overhaul my winter wardrobe (read more on my other lifestyle blog). There are at least 5-6 pieces to buy (I’m the type to dress from a capsule wardrobe), but since I can’t find anything in stores, I’ve decided to get back into sewing.. Fifteen years ago, I took 3 months of sewing classes for professionals in Vietnam. The goal was to pass the equivalent of the French CAP MMVF, but I came back to France in the meantime, so I never finished the training. To get back into sewing, I want to take classes from real professionals. But online. Tailor,…
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Geoffrey B. Small, the man who makes the best clothes in the world
As you know, I’m in the middle of refreshing my winter wardrobe. I haven’t set foot in a store in years. When I finally go shopping again this year, I realize that everything is plastic (polyester, acrylic, viscose…), and it’s impossible to find a decent piece of clothing even if I’m willing to pay the price. Why has the fashion industry sunk so low? I did my research, I read books… until I stumbled upon Geoffrey B. Small, an American designer based in Italy, in Veneto, the Hollywood of luxury brands. He’s the only one who can truly claim to make the best clothes in the world. Listening to his…
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DIY Novonappa Leather Belt for JB – Hand-stitched with Saddle Stitch
Even though JB doesn’t need a Novonappa belt at all, I showed him the Novonappa straps sold by my usual leather supplier, 3Q Leather, and convinced him it was a good idea. I love making belts because it lets me sew several meters, and I love sewing. After this project, I realize that sewing straight isn’t as exciting as I thought, haha. The first thing to choose is the buckle. This buckle is called a ‘stirrup buckle’ and is a must-have accessory for horse riding enthusiasts. The reason I chose it is its simplicity. With this buckle, I’ll have less work and one big hole less. I also go for…
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Visiting the Acropolis of Athens, Parthenon & Shopping (Greece)
After about ten days in Istanbul, here we are in Greece for the first time! Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Oddly enough, we took a long time to visit some European countries. Since it’s close to France, there’s the “we can go later” side. That’s why a destination as popular as Athens has remained unknown to us after almost 8 years of traveling the world. This is the first time we’ve set foot on Greek soil. We were told to come to Greece with a lot of imagination because the archaeological sites aren’t as well preserved as in Italy. And indeed, they are less…
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Luxury at Its Finest: Understanding Cashmere and Silk
The world of luxury natural fibers is fascinating, and I have a soft spot for two of them: cashmere and silk. I’ve been using them for a very long time. During a shopping trip with a friend, she asked me why I was splurging on the best materials and quality. I hope this article will answer those questions. Why opt for 100% natural wool? First, let’s talk about the benefits of pure wool. There are many synthetic products that imitate wool, but I absolutely want to use pure wool because wool fibers have an outer layer made of tiny overlapping scales that are hydrophobic (tending to repel water). The inside…
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How to Translate or Summarize a Book with Claude AI and Its Anthropic API
A few months ago, I started translating a Chinese book using the OpenAI API, I talked about it here. Upon reviewing the translation, I noticed a few errors. Since the model I used at the time wasn’t precise enough, I tested the latest models from ChatGPT, ClaudeAI, and their corresponding APIs. Book Translation ChatGPT 4 and ClaudeAI Sonnet now offer high-quality translations, but the responses are always very short, and for an entire book, I need many “next” prompts to finish a chapter. So I preferred to go through the API. I had to split the text into chunks of 3000 Chinese characters at a time, to get responses under…
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My Current Favorites – [November 2024]: Books and Biographies of Paulo Coelho
You know I’ve been collecting limited edition books for a while now (2 years) and I have a modest collection of letterpress printed books from various fine press publishers (Suntup Press, The Limited Editions Club, Imprimerie Nationale). Like all collectors, I always keep an eye on upcoming books from a dozen or so publishers (fine presses) and this time, my heart skipped a beat when I saw that Lyra’s Books was releasing the first bibliophile edition of “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. It’s a book I’ve loved, so much so that I wrote a detailed review but I wasn’t sure about paying 175 pounds + 55 pounds for shipping, which…
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Istanbul (Turkey) in 2024: the Grand Bazaar & the Tiphane neighborhood
Novotel Bosphorus After a few days spent on the “Blue Mosque” side, we cross the bridge and spend a few days in the Tiphane neighborhood, which we know well because every time we go to Istanbul, we rent an Airbnb within 15 minutes max of this neighborhood. Since we’re only staying for a few days this time, JB books the Novotel Bosphorus for us (Booking link). First because we have Accor miles, but also because JB is still Gold and we might get an upgrade, and because the hotel has a very nice spa. We hesitated between Novotel and Marriott (JB still has his miles with American Express), but Marriott…
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Career story time: What my managers taught me
I’m currently volunteering to translate a book about the I Ching (I mentioned here). This ancient Chinese book believes that all life situations can be summarized into 64 hexagrams. Each hexagram has 6 lines, either yin or yang, and depending on their placement and nature, there are 6 personality types in a given situation. Many examples are set in the corporate world, which reminded me of my time as an employee, navigating my career in a fog and learning the political game at work. Let me share a few stories here. When I was in high school in France, I was very close to a girl whose father is the…
