My Non-Parisian Life

Bonjour y'all and welcome to my non-Parisian life!

Check out my latest posts below or use the menu at the top of the page to view posts by category.

Happy reading!

Notes from a Spoiled Immigrant

There’s no two ways about it: I am an incredibly spoiled immigrant. There may be days when I gripe about French bureaucracy, bemoan the...

Eat, drink, hike, repeat: A weekend in the Périgord

If you are what you eat, then right about now, I must be fatty duck liver (or foie gras if you’re feeling fancy). And if you are what you...

A Franco-American Wedding Bonanza in Two Parts

When Nico and I got engaged, we decided that the best way to be able to celebrate with both of our families was to have two weddings: a...

Château de Nitray

Picture this: my parents and I on gimpy bikes jostling along a narrow path full of roots, very fresh piles of horse merde, and overgrown...

Loire Valley Daytrip: Chinon and Azay-le-Rideau

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a major difference between Europeans and Americans is that to Americans, 200 years is a long...

Why My Non-Parisian Life?

Why do I call my blog “My Non-Parisian Life”? Why the emphasis on “not Paris”? For those of you who have been to Paris, you probably had...

“Well, in MY country…”

As trite as it may sound, living abroad – and by that I mean truly LIVING abroad – changes the way you see the world and yourself, except...

5 Situations in Which Having an Accent is a Good Thing!

Having an accent can be annoying on a daily basis when at the grocery store, the pharmacy, the gym, or the bakery, eyebrows squinch...

5 “Weird” Things I Do When Back in the States

It’s amazing how quickly your brain switches when you live in a foreign country. Although I grew up and lived in the United States until...

A Swede and an American Go on a Walk

A few weeks ago, I came across a website listing dozens of walks in the surrounding villages and countryside, ranging from short strolls...