I visited Iceland several times in the late 90s as Iceland Air often offered the best prices for Boston-Paris flights. You could choose to add a 24- or 36-hour layover free of charge. I enjoyed these layovers, exploring parts of the Iceland not too far from Reykjavik....
Thanks to my friend Daisy of THATLou (soon to be THATMuse as they are expanding to the British Museum as well!) I discovered a way to purchase semi-last minute Eurostar tickets at a fraction of the cost. For those who travel frequently between Paris and London (or...
Three years ago, some friends and I rented a wonderful chalet in Chamonix, at the base of Mont-Blanc, Europe's tallest mountain at 4,809 meters (15,777 feet). Last month, we returned (and wondered why it had taken us three years!) Lac Blanc hike It would be hard to...
I found an amazing fare on Norwegian for October/November: U.S.$461 Boston-->Oslo-->Paris (Orly) and back Paris (CDG)-->New York (JFK). For the same dates, it would have been U.S.$480 round trip New York (JFK)<-->Paris (CDG). The advantage (or...
I am still looking for housemates in Brittany--please help me spread the word! My 4-bedroom house is in the very center of Baden (56870). We're just a mile or so from the water, on the Gulf of Morbihan. The 5-minute ferry to the famous Île-aux-Moines is a short drive...
You may remember that one of my current "projects" is to hike the whole coast of Brittany. I'm guessing it's almost 2,000 kilometers (1,200+ miles) in total. But I'm not in any rush! I did seven more days in mid-August and although I'm probably only 1/3 of the way...
Last year, I wrote about my weekend trip to Champagne and posted the itinerary from the overnight. But for visitors with limited time who would like to get just a taste of Champagne, a day trip to the region of bubbly is also an option. Numerous companies organize...
In November 2014, I started a long-term project of hiking the coast of Brittany. The trail goes by many names: sentier côtier, sentier or chemin des douaniers, sentier littoral and grande randonnée 34 ("GR34"). I decided to start my hike at the beginning of the GR34,...
When I decided to move to France in 2007, my French was rusty. I had studied the language in middle school, high school and colleague, but then went almost a decade without using it. Not only did "use it or lose it" prove itself true, but classroom French is never...
As of March 1, 2016, taxi rates to or from the right bank (where my apartment is located) and Charles de Gaulle airport are now fixed at 50 euros per ride and at 35 euros to/from Orly. For right bankers, the rates are fixed at 55 euros for Charles de Gaulle and 30...
