The Blog
Like the way we think about travel?
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…
How to Choose Your European Home Base: Neighborhoods That Work
(6 minute read)
Where you stay in Europe can make or break your trip. This guide shows how to pick a neighborhood that matches your pace, budget, and priorities, balancing walkability, transit access, and local feel so your base works for both exploring and actually enjoying where you are.
Check In, Give Back: Fairbnb.coop
(5 minute read)
Imagine a booking platform where part of your fee funds the neighborhood you are visiting, at checkout. This look at Fairbnb.coop explains its co-op model, the 50% give-back to local projects, how to use it wisely, and the limits you still need to respect.
Two-Base Europe Trips: Fewer Hotel Moves, Better Vacations
(5 minute read)
Stop paying the “move tax.” For a 9–12 day Europe trip, two home bases often beat five rushed stops: less packing, fewer transfers, and more energy for mornings and nights that matter. Get a simple checklist, sample rhythms, and plug-and-play city pair templates.
Farm to Pillow: The Most Direct Way to Support Rural France
(8 minute read)
Wake to roosters, eat jam from trees you can point at, and hand your euros to the family milking the goats. Discover Accueil Paysan, France’s farm stay network turning travel into rural resilience, with table d’hôtes dinners, slow mornings, and real working landscapes.
How Far in Advance to Book Europe: Flights, Trains, Hotels & Activities
(7 minute read)
Booking Europe is less about rules and more about sequence. This guide shows the “hard things first” cadence, when to lock flights and bases, when trains and timed entries drop, and a copy-paste countdown that keeps room for strikes, heat, and spontaneity.
Trip Planner vs. Travel Agent—And When to Use Each
(5 minute read)
Confused about trip planners versus travel agents? This guide breaks down who designs the strategy, who books the inventory, and why incentives matter. Learn when a flat-fee planner is best for multi-city Europe, when an agent shines, and how to combine both.
The Bavarian Castle Where Your Stay Stays Local – Schloss Blumenthal
(7 minute read)
Stay in a Bavarian castle where your euros circulate locally, not into a distant headquarters. Schloss Blumenthal blends a small hotel with an organic farm and dairy, bio restaurant and beer garden, plus workshops and festivals. Here, you join a community, not a fantasy.
Where to Stay in London by Neighborhood (and Why It Matters)
(8 minute read)
London isn’t one city so much as a constellation of neighborhoods. This guide helps you choose a base that matches your style, from Covent Garden convenience to Shoreditch creativity and Kensington calm, so you commute less, sleep better, and feel the city’s rhythm.
Call Them. They Speak English.
(6 minute read)
Find it on the app, then leave the app. Google the hotel, book on their own site, or call them, because they speak English and it is a two-minute conversation. What we put clients in instead of Airbnb, why we still sometimes end up in an Ibis, and the one platform we are still watching.
Why We Broke Up With Airbnb
(7 minute read)
A flat in London with no kitchen, a client we moved out of a beautiful beach apartment in Marseille, and the reason neither story is really the point. Why two travel planners in France route around Airbnb on principle, why abstinence isn't the argument, and where we send people instead.