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…
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.
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.
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.
A Totally Subjective Guide to French Pastries That Could Ruin You (In a Good Way)
(6 minute read)
A biased, bakery-fed love letter to France's best pastries, from croissants and chou à la crème to gougères and the humble chausson aux pommes, written from a village in Burgundy.
How to Eat Well in Europe on a Budget
(6 minute read)
Eat like a local without wrecking your budget: when to eat, why lunch is the smart splurge, how to spot a tourist menu, and the small bill traps that add up.
The Ground Rules: Europe’s Coffee Culture
(4 minute read)
A country-by-country guide to Europe's coffee rituals, from Italian espresso rules to Swedish fika and French café life. What to order, when, and where to linger.
Knead to Know: Somebody Has to Get the Bread
(7 minute read)
There are no shops in our village, so somebody drives to the boulangerie every morning, and it is usually me. Two years of getting it wrong: the salt-free Italian loaf, the Thursday closure I never remember, the tradition versus the ordinary baguette, and the flour sack that feeds horses.