Continuing our packed tourist agenda, we visited the Musée Rodin and Musée d'Orsay on August 16 and 17. On Tuesday, we visited the Musée d’Orsay. We had watched the Netflix series, Lupin, while in Fontainebleau so the boys were excited to see both the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay which feature prominently in the series (Xavier … Continue reading Paris: Musée d’Orsay and Musée Rodin — Days 41 and 42 →

I love Paris in the springtimeI love Paris in the fallI love Paris in the summer when it sizzlesI love Paris in the winter when it drizzles Here is a selection of photos from our trek through the city as it sizzled in the summer sun. Morning walk along the Seine. Alexander’s first impression when … Continue reading Paris: When It Sizzles — Days 35-44 →

“It closes in 15 minutes and we have 100,000 works of art to see … Are you happy now, dad? She’s dead.” The Griswalds at the Louvre Did you know that if you spent 24 hours a day looking at every one of the Louvre’s 38,000 visible pieces of art for 30 seconds each, it … Continue reading Paris: Musée du Louvre by Xavier Dupuy — Day 38 →

On Wednesday, we said goodbye to the best of friends Camille, Alban, Jerry and Marie (and of course man’s best friend, Boston) and took the train to Paris. Though brief, we realised again that seeing the people we've missed so much during the pandemic is really the best part of the summer. Arbitre en chef … Continue reading Goodbye Fontainebleau, Bonjour Paris by Josh Dupuy — Days 35-37 →

On Sunday, August 7, we visited the home of Jean Cocteau — the poet, filmmaker, director, and ultimate creative artist — in Milly-la-Forêt. He purchased the property in 1947, with his then-partner, Jean Marais, and lived there until his death in 1963. The house has been open to the public since 2010 due to the … Continue reading Forêt de Fontainebleau — Partie Trois: Maison de Jean Cocteau à Milly-la-Forêt (Day 32) →

August 17, 1661 was the historic date of “La Fête de Vaux.” The 1983 Smithsonian Magazine article that detailed this infamous soirée was the stuff of legend in my childhood home, a story that not only includes the Musketeers but also the Man in the Iron Mask. So we were very excited to be visiting … Continue reading Forêt de Fontainebleau — Partie Deux: Vaux le Vicomte (Day 31) →

We arrived in Fontainebleau on Saturday, so happy to stay with good friends Jerome, Marie, Alban, and Camille. They were leaving for a wedding on Sunday so we were on dog-sitting duty for Boston, their gorgeous black lab. We spent the first few days walking around the town, visiting the Château, the marché, and taking … Continue reading Forêt de Fontainebleau — Partie Un: Château de Fontainebleau (Day 26) and Barbizon (Day 29) →

The White Cliffs have always been on my bucket list so I was pretty insistent that we take the ferry from Dover to Calais to get to France, rather than the much easier route on the Eurostar. We had hoped to find a place to check our luggage and explore Dover Castle but there were … Continue reading The British Connection: Dover to Calais — Day 23 continues into Day 24 →

… And the children drank lemonade. And the morning lasted all day. All day. After an extremely long journey from Edinburgh, we finally landed in Whitstable, on the seaside in Kent, for several days of peace and quiet … and oysters. If you’re an oyster connoisseur, visiting the north-east coast of Kent is a true … Continue reading Life in a Seaside Town — Whitstable: Days 15-23 →

We woke up at 6:20am on Wednesday, July 20 on the same platform in the same city. Xavier had set an alarm when we got in bed, before we realized the train wasn’t leaving. I woke around 3am (all the various scenarios running through my head) and read on Twitter that we were supposed to … Continue reading The Day After — Day 14 →