I’ve been reading Letitia Baldridge’s memoir, Of Diamonds and Diplomats, and I think it may be skewing my expectations a bit. If you don’t know Ms. Baldrige, let me fill you in: After WWII, fresh out of college, she landed a gig as the Social Secretary for the Paris embassy, then spent a few years…
Haute Couture Fashion Week is wrapping up here in Paris and I haven’t seen a single starlet traipsing around in high fashion. But I did find myself at the Salon International de Lingerie, where I saw many women (and one man) walking around in their underwear. This annual convention of undergarments is primarily geared towards…
It’s a little known fact that Julia Child and I are long lost soulmates. She liked food, and hey, I like food! She moved to Paris as a newlywed, and look at that, so did I! I am practically re-living her life, just a foot shorter and fifty years later. Plus I watch A LOT…
When left to my own devices, this is what’s for dinner: The creamy looking white one on the right is some fresh chevre that is out of this world. And also quite stinky. That big hunk of orange is something that tastes kind of like cheddar, but better. The multi-grain crackers are there to make…
Last week Paris was a bitterly cold and unwelcoming place. But I didn’t let that slow me down, no sir! It’s SOLDES season! It was my expatriated duty to brave the mean streets for the annual January sales, because hey, they’re a cultural tradition. And indeed, I was happily elbowing my way through the deal-hunting…
Every travel guidebook on the planet extolls the quintessential perfectness of Paris. Beautiful old boulevards lined with regal apartment buildings! Winding old cobblestone streets filled with open markets and cute old ladies! Grand monuments across the skyline! Champagne at breakfast, lunch and dinner! OK, that last one is a personal interpretation of Paris. But the…
Unlikely Diplomat 