Cinque Terre is about wandering around and enjoying the sea. There isn’t a ton to do in the way of sightseeing, which makes it a relaxing respite after the busyness of Rome and other major Italian cities. In Cinque Terre if all you do is lounge around eating and sipping wine and looking at the water then you would have done it right.
One evening we watched the sunset at the Terrazza del Pincio with cheap wine in plastic cups, toasting as the sky turned coral over Piazza del Popolo and its Egyptian obelisk. Later, we bought Neapolitan-style pizza and ate it at midnight in front of marble gods at the Trevi Fountain. We talked often about how crazy it was to be in Rome without crowds.
Another day, another coronavirus-related restriction. President Macron announced last night that a curfew will go into effect in certain cities in France— including my Lyon adorée— from Saturday until at least the next 4-6 weeks.
Visualize electric blue water so clear it hardly seems real. Chalky cliffs that cut a jagged line across the sky. A dry landscape of rocks and scrub that meet the vast expanse of the Mediterranean. These are Les Calanques. The Calanques aren’t super well known outside of France, which is surprising considering their beauty and majesty. “Calanques” means “rocky inlets” in French, and this is exactly what they are— peaceful coves and inlets. The water is calm, and the hills…
A weekend exploring the French Mediterranean Friday night in Hyères, we arrived at the restaurant to the sound of live music as the sun was setting. We had to walk down a forest road for half a mile before finding the hip place, which sprawled over the beach and had tables a stone’s throw away from the water’s edge. I felt so happy: sipping cocktails, sharing tapas in the violet dusk, listening to a band, gazing at the twilit sea,…
Quarantined in France I’m delighted that my essay on my confinement experience in France was published by The Culture-ist, a wonderful online travel magazine. It is passionate about covering topics that inspire its readers to travel widely, give back, and live well. Check out my article at this link if you are curious about my reflections on togetherness during this difficult time. Feel free to comment below and let me know how you are doing, beloved subscribers!
It’s hard to imagine right now with all the social distancing, but just six short weeks ago I was squeezed shoulder to shoulder with glitter-covered people of all ages, sipping sangria and swaying to samba music. This was an innocent time, when the supply of confetti was more of a concern for Spain than face masks or hand sanitizer. During my Barcelona trip, my friend Ana and I took a day trip to Sitges for Carnaval. Countries all over the…
The Facts When I imagined my year abroad in France, I never once pictured experiencing a level 3 nation-wide quarantine. But c’est la vie, I guess. It is day two of the official coronavirus quarantine in France, and life feels unreal. All schools, restaurants, bars, cafés, cinemas, etc. are closed— even parks. Only essentials are open: supermarkets and pharmacies (and the occasional boulangerie because it’s France and bakeries are vital). Everyone who can work from home is doing so. If…
Gaudi’s Casa Batlló On my second afternoon in Barcelona I sat on the terrace of a restaurant called La Bombeta with my friend Ana, sunshine hot on my skin. Ana was glowing, and not just because of the light but because she was so happy to be sitting in the sun after months of cloudy winter in France. Ana is an au pair too, and as she was leaving to spend a week with me in Barcelona her host kids…
In French you don’t say “I miss you” but rather tu me manques— “you are missing from me”— which I think is wonderfully poetic. Being in France away from home, it strikes me how accurate that phrasing is. Despite my love of being here there are moments when I feel an acute sense that home and loved ones are missing from me, as if a hollow space has been carved out from my chest. Sometimes when my mind drifts to…