The Blog
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This is where we work it out: routes and rhythms, the ethics of a cheap flight, the right way to miss a train. If it lands, Mise en Place is the same voice once a month, and the My Life in Burgundy waitlist is open.
Browse our articles…
Confidently Wrong: The Trouble With AI Trip Planning
(7 minute read)
AI can build a trip in seconds, but it can't call a château about your dog or ask a vigneron when the harvest will fall. Why verification, and answering for it, still takes a person on the ground.
Southern Burgundy: The Churches, the Chardonnay, and the Charolais.
(17 minute read)
Southern Burgundy is the department of Saône-et-Loire, an hour south of Beaune and a fraction of the price. A full guide: some 250 Romanesque buildings including Cluny, Tournus and Paray-le-Monial, Mâconnais Chardonnay and Côte Chalonnaise reds bought at the cellar door, Charolais beef and Bresse chicken, where to base yourself, how many nights you need, the best months to come, and how to arrive by TGV.
The Apéro Scale
(5 minute read)
In France, the word apéro covers everything from a glass of rosé before dinner to fifty people in a garden at midnight. Here is a Beaufort-style scale for telling them apart by what is on the table, what is in the glass, and whether anyone has plugged in a grill. Plus the Burgundy spread of gougères and jambon persillé, the three cassis drinks, and a word on the pace.
The Two Weeks Burgundy Goes to Work
(9 minute read)
The vendange is the two or three weeks when Burgundy stops being a wine region and becomes a farm racing the clock. We picked Pinot Noir for a Givry domaine in 2025: the clippers, the hills, the long lunch, the paulée at the end. Here is what the harvest involves, why premier cru is still cut by hand, and what it means for anyone visiting Burgundy in September.
Take the Blue Bike
(6 minute read)
Three days and sixty kilometers on a Vélib'. What the passes actually cost in 2026, why the electric bike is the whole point, the per-trip minutes trap that catches everyone, and what a backwards saddle is trying to tell you. From people who live here.
Trains Are Romantic. Missing One Is Not.
(8 minute read)
A rail regular's guide to the small European train rules that trip people up: ticket types, when a seat reservation is mandatory (and when a pass still leaves you standing), the validation and railcard traps that get you fined, honest connection buffers, and the two habits that prevent most disasters.
Less Luggage, More Europe: The Multi-City Europe Packing Guide
(8 minute read)
Packing for a multi-city Europe trip is different from packing for a single stop. This guide covers how to pack light, choose the right luggage, build a simple travel wardrobe, plan laundry, and handle trains, cobblestones, and changing weather with less stress.
How to Choose Your European Home Base: Neighborhoods That Work
(6 minute read)
A practical guide to choosing the right neighborhood for your Europe trip. Learn how to balance quiet nights, walkability, transit access, daily essentials, and smoother transfer days when booking hotels or apartments.
Museum Audio Guides: A Field Guide to the Voices, the Drama, and the Unexpected ASMR
(7 minute read)
Explore museum audio guides beyond basics: narrator styles, pacing, dramatizations, whisper tracks, and surprising sensory appeal (yes, ASMR moments). Learn how to choose guides for art, history, and niche exhibits so your museum visit feels richer, clearer, and more enjoyable.
Check In, Give Back: Fairbnb.coop
(6 minute read)
How Fairbnb.coop works and whether it's worth booking: the cooperative Airbnb alternative that sends half its platform fee to a local community project you choose at checkout, with no surcharge to you and no change to what the host earns. A plain look at the model, what you get, and where it falls short.
Two-Base Europe Trips: Fewer Hotel Moves, Better Vacations
(5 minute read)
The case for a two-base trip: pick two smart home bases, connect them by fast train, fly open-jaw, and add easy day-trips, so you pack once, move less, and spend the savings on better rooms. Includes six 10-to-12-day templates (Paris and Provence, London and Paris, Rome and Florence, and more) and a simple day-by-day rhythm.
A Field Guide to France's Train Stations: Vibes, Snacks, and Mild Existential Dread
(7 minute read)
A frequent rail traveler's honest, firsthand field guide to the French train stations we actually use, from Paris Gare de Lyon and Marseille Saint-Charles to Lyon's two, Dijon, Bordeaux, Pau, and the tiny rural halts. Where to be stranded, where to build in buffer, and which one to leave for the mall across the street.
Why Travel Makes You Feel More Like Yourself
(6 minute read)
Travel is sold on what you'll see, but the real gift is what it does to you while you're looking: the permission to slow down, the presence you can't fake, the strangers who become the trip, and the quiet confidence of handling yourself somewhere new. A traveler's case for the slower kind of trip.
Anthropology in Aisle Seven
(9 minute read)
What a French supermarket teaches you about the country, from someone who shops them in rural Burgundy: the multi-store circuit, the etiquette that trips up Americans, the butcher who knows you, the dairy wall, and a picnic blueprint.
Rail vs. Short Flights in Europe: Time, Cost & Stress Compared
(5 minute read)
Not sure whether to take the train or fly between European cities? Compare door-to-door time (airport transfers, security lines, baggage), real costs (bags, seats, station-to-hotel), and comfort factors. A simple rule of thumb: high-speed rail often wins on trips around 4–6 hours; short flights win when trains are much longer or require multiple connections.
Christmas in France, Like a Local
(10 minute read)
What Christmas in France is really like, from a France specialist living in Burgundy: the réveillon table, the truth about midnight mass in rural parishes, the Alsace markets, Provençal santons, and the galette des rois that carries the season to Epiphany.
How Far in Advance to Book Europe: Flights, Trains, Hotels & Activities
(8 minute read)
When to book a Europe trip: ideal windows for flights, hotels, high-speed trains, and timed entries, plus a copy/paste countdown from six months out to departure week. Book the hard-to-move pieces first and stay flexible.
Carry-On Only? Here’s How to Pack for 10 Days Like a Minimalist
(8 minute read)
Pack 10 days in Europe with one carry-on: pick the right bag, build a capsule wardrobe, master packing cubes, and plan a mid-trip wash. Includes copy/paste packing lists for spring, summer, and rainy shoulder season.
7 Reasons You Should Never Go Abroad (Unless You Like Joy)
(7 minute read)
A tongue-in-cheek case against travel: airports, jet lag, strange food, scams, and crowds, and the true stories that prove every "disaster" abroad is really the best part.
The Best Times to Visit Paris Museums: A Day-by-Day Guide
(8 minute read)
A day-by-day guide to visiting Paris museums with fewer crowds: Louvre late nights, Thursday Orsay, Orangerie at opening, plus closures, last-entry times, and timed-ticket rules.