Jackie du Monde

It was about that time again, time for a real vacation.  Forget the jam packed few days of discovering something tacked onto a work trip.  I needed a real break.  T he beauty of Europe is there are so many destinations close to home.  And I wanted something simple.  I wanted to take the train and see the countryside.  I didn’t want a city packed with sights.  I wanted the seaside, sunshine (it was a long winter), a slow pace and time to catch my breath and decompress from the hustle and bustle of city life. So I decided to head southwest, to see a part of France I'd never seen before,  Basque Country . Why?  I can't really explain it.  It was something about the way people talk about this unique piece of Europe that sparked my curiosity to discover it.  The coast is peppered with beaches and walking trails, people enjoying sand and surf.  The interior is filled with beautiful little villages.  The language ( Euskara ...

My friend Mike owns a champagne importing company in Connecticut, called Transatlantic Bubbles.  I met Mikey on an unforgettable trip to the Russian River Valley many years ago, when I was invited along to celebrate his and a friend’s 30 th birthday. Each year, Mike and his business partner, Jeff, put together a week-long trip to Champagne to visit some of their marquis producers.  They invite some of their best clients and an occasional charming American living in Europe (or three) to partake in some of the festivities. The bottle that started it all... This year, I was able to join the group at the end of their week to visit one of my favorite producers, George Laval.  Mike introduced me to Laval on a beautiful spring night in London, when he brought a bottle to our dinner picnic on Islington Green, a very small park, a patch of grass really, in the north of London, near where I used to live.  It was an unassuming bottle, with a simple label.  M...

I am not a fan of winter.  Cold weather always kept me inside.  And I always believed that if it was going to be cold, it should snow - snow so much that we get to stay home.  (Snow days are fun regardless if you're young or old.)  There is something calming about having so much snow, it makes the crazy world stop for a little bit.  Cold is just cold, however.  :) Bundled up for winter sightseeing. But then I moved to Europe, where you have to go outside.   You can't stay inside for long.  You have to go to work, you have to live your daily life.  If you tried to avoid the cold, you are bound to run out of food or toilet paper.  There is no Costco nor is there a place to store all the toilet paper you would have bought at Costco.  Outside into the chilly world you go lest you die in your flat.  And you can't throw on a coat and shimmy into your car with heated seats.   You have to dress for cold weather combat fro...

A couple of weeks ago (I need to get more timely with this blogging business), we informally inaugurated "Cultural Sundays" with my patchwork quilt of global expats from work.  Our first expedition was to Paris des Chefs , a food event.  My fave highlights: Truffle Flavored Cashews I mean truffled flavored anything is good (except when I make it of course - see Truffle Tales ), but there is something about combining the in-your-face flavor of the truffle with the smooth and crunchy texture of the cashew.  While normally I could consume my weight in cashews, the flavor is so rich and satisfying that it left me satiated after a few nibbles.  Or maybe it's because I got distracted by some of the other goodies to come. Learn more about Esprit Gourmande  (or at the very least be entertained by the translations on their blog.) Thienot Champagne Granted there was only one producer at this event and it's a group, not the delightful small pr...

Galette des Rois, or "King's Cake" is eaten on the feast of the Epiphany or basically all of Jan. Find the "feve", or small trinket (a bean or baby Jesus usually) and you're King for the day! (Yes, I struggled with pics for this post.) I love the new year.  People can argue that it is a superficial marker in time, but it's one of those things, like being part of a team or running a race - there is a communal feeling of being able to make a fresh start, of pushing yourself to improve yourself and seeing other people do it makes it feel like you can too.  I like that there is a moment to say goodbye to the last 365 days, the bad ones and good ones and to set yourself up for the best for the next 365.  In France, I like how the new year is celebrated.  We receive cards with new year's greetings instead of Christmas cards and though we're in the second week of January, people are still greeting me with wishes of love, success, health and adve...

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  Why?  Because it is the true spirit of what a holiday should be - it's not inherently commercial, it's just about spending quality time with the people who are important to you and it provides a time to reflect on what we should be thankful for.  Even on my worst day, I am still a pretty lucky person.  I don't think about that only on Thanksgiving.  But on Thanksgiving somebody makes me say it out loud, at a table full of people, and betray my tough exterior for the mushy gushy Jackie with tears in her eyes. While my favorite holiday, it is also, unfortunately, one of the holidays I've typically had to spend away from home.  This year, I Eurostared my way back to London to reconnect with my American crew.  We rented a house near the English coast and nearly reached 100 strings of back and forth e-mail while planning.  This year also marked my third Thanksgiving on a different continent, and s...

It's been almost four months since I moved to Paris.  I have yet to write a post about my Parisian life.  I've been trying to reflect on why I've been procrastinating with my inaugural Paris post. There is the usual speil -  the whole trying to find an apartment, trying to settle, too much work bit that has become part of my daily routine of excuses for things I have not yet found the time for.  Truth be told, there is a little bit of apprehension that I'm supposed to be an expert now.  I've had a few e-mails come my way asking "what's the best thing to do", which have the odd effect of stressing me out.  I still don't know what time the metro lines really close, where I can get bread on Sundays or even how I can make a doctor's appointment.  How can I possibly know all the hip and cool things to do?!  (Deep breath.)  I know I'm being too hard on myself, but I want to be able to embody the cool Parisian expat to its fullest. I finally fig...