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We’ve moved into the month of February and now we see bugnes in all the bakeries. What are bugnes, you ask? They are tasty little donut-like treats sprinkled with powdered sugar, traditionally served during the month of Mardi Gras, which…
Waking up between 5:30 and 6:00 before my family allows me to savor the tranquility of the early hours. Each morning is a solitary affair, embraced by the gentle glow of dim lights. With the onset of the Christmas holidays,…
Gamm Vert is a French chain of garden nurseries, but it’s much more than that. It’s a one-stop shop for French treats and gifts! The original reason for visiting Gamm Vert was that some friends had told us it might…
A New Chapter: Sacrifices RewardedWe arrived in France on 16 August. After being married to someone who was married to a restaurant, we both desperately longed for “quality of life”. No more setting my alarm late at night to be…
It was a warm Sunday and Olivier and I decided to spend the day in the charming towns of Tournon-sur-Rhône and Tain l’Hermitage. Just a short drive from our home, it was a pleasant change of pace. Tournon-sur-Rhône is a…
We stayed with my belle-mère (mother-in-law) when we first arrived in France. After three weeks, we finally moved into our own place in the Ardèche department. The Ardèche is known for its stunning scenery, including rolling hills, vineyards, and forests. We…
Closing a restaurant, selling our belongings, and giving them away; packing and cleaning up the house for renters was an exhausting experience. I worried for months about how the cats, Toby and Summer, would travel, hoping that they wouldn’t be relegated…
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse in Provence
Have you had confusing moments in a foreign language that still make you laugh years later? I can tell you about one of mine. It was my very first trip to France and the year was 1989. I had studied…
HAUTERIVES It was a hot day in the Drôme department, one hour south of Lyon, as we drove through a rural landscape, stone houses placed here and there along the road, getting closer to the day’s destination: Le palais idéal…
