“There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.” – Ernest Hemingway.

My love affair with France and all things French began as a four or five year old child while watching Walt Disney’s ‘The Aristocats,’ a fantastic Disney classic set in Paris in 1910, (about a mother cat named Duchess and her three kittens, Berlioz, Marie and Toulouse – which could possibly explain my love for cats too!) and was cemented at the age of thirteen, when I took my first French lesson in High School.  As a teenager I was enamoured with the language, culture, food and of course Parisian fashion and French perfume.  What’s not to like?  By the end of the first lesson, I was determined that I would get to Paris someday.

I had to experience it firsthand.  I had to take in the ‘visual overload’ of Paris with my own eyes and see its beauty up close, to hear the natives speak French as they walked by me in the streets and hear the strangely comforting sound of sirens in the background. I had to taste the exquisite pastries, the fresh, warm, buttery, flaky croissants and its many delicious, traditional dishes. I wanted to smell Chanel perfume at 31, rue Cambon and to inhale the heady aroma of hot coffee whilst sitting  on the terrace of a brasserie and to run my hands over structures built hundreds of years ago and imagine a life long gone.   And I have!

I decided to begin writing this blog whilst sitting on my balcony, watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle in all her glory.  It was a moment I will never forget – how could I?  Watching her sparkle on the hour can literally bring tears to my eyes.  That view never gets old!  It occurred to me that if I love France so much, then there must be other Francophiles out there who would be interested in reading my blog and at the same time, allow me to indulge in my passion.  A famous Hemingway quote that resonates with me is: “There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.”  It sums up how I feel and what this blog is about perfectly!  So here it is: my blog, my way, sharing my love of France with you, sharing ‘That French Vibe’.

Bisous de Paris 💋