Years ago, at a flea market in Paris I pickup up some old metal letters from a bakery in France that spelled out PATISSERIE. Being a baker, of course I was thrilled (although still despondent that someone else snatched up the matching BOULANGERIE letters…) and proudly displayed them on the shelf of my apartment. Since my apartment at the time was so small, shelf space…
It used to be that if you wanted ice cream in Paris, you went to Berthillon. While there were other notable places on my list (circa 2007), if you wanted a scoop of ice cream after dark in other parts of the cities, you were out of luck. Like bakeries, ice cream options tend to be few and far between in the evening, and there…
My Netflix queue has gotten out of control and is entirely too long. And to make matters worse, I keep adding to it. Being out of the U.S. for so long, I missed watching binge-worthy, must-watch classics like The Wire and Breaking Bad when they came out, and I’d love to sit down on the sofa for another few months and watch them now that…
Way back in 2008, probably before some of you were born, I posted a recipe for Panisses, chickpea flour fritters. They weren’t so well known outside of the south of France, and even in Paris, people don’t really know what they are. So it was fun introducing these Mediterranean specialties to a wider audience, even if some readers were scratching their heads as to how…
This week France rather quietly announced that visitors from the U.S. and Canada were allowed to come to the country without any restrictions. Things are still moving in the direction of getting back to normal, and while last year is still sort of a haze to me, I believe the markets in Paris remained open the entire time, operating under different conditions. Outdoor markets are…
Some people don’t like generalizations, but, well…that’s a generalization too, isn’t it? However, you sometimes need to paint a picture in broad strokes. And differences which are specific to certain cultures are interesting, which is why many of us travel, to experience them. (It’s also what makes us all delightfully different.) Most don’t come out of thin air, and often contain a kernel of truth,…
It’s been an interesting year, hasn’t it? I’ve been on a bit of a bender lately, getting rid of (or at least, reducing) paperwork that’s been piling up and holds little interest for me. I have so much that I had to buy more paper (as in, paper file folders) to store all that paperwork in which seems redundant, but living in a place where paper…
[UPDATE 1: As of September 12, 2021, U.S. citizens must be vaccinated before they can enter France. If you are not vaccinated, you must have a “compelling reason” for coming to France, such as diplomats, students, and health care workers, who may be able to come with a negative Covid test and must quarantine upon arrival. More here.] [UPDATE 2: France is now requiring people…
After Covid, Paris opened its doors up to visitors again, and shopkeepers are happy to welcome back visitors, including the spectacular fromageries, in Paris. Jennifer Greco is a life-long Francophile and French food and wine enthusiast with an especially strong passion for French cheese. After moving from the U.S. to the south of France almost two decades ago, she has steadily been tasting her way through…
Join me on my Spring 2026 book tour for my latest book, The Great Book of Chocolate
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