Pan! A restaurant review.

Time for a lovely dinner with my best bud in Paris. But where shall we go? I checked out My Little Paris, full of good ideas for things to do in Paris, a sort of Paris for Dummies With Good Taste. And I found this. A bit hidden, looks like sort of an antique shop from the street. Intriguing. The first impression doesn’t do it justice, because on the inside, it is just RIGHT. Warm, welcoming, stylish without being hipstery (though I do like hipsters). Feels like home. The owner looks like a tall, healthy, tanned, slim happy farmer. And the food! The flavors are not delicate, they are intense, powerful, intriguing (again), deliciously intricate. Go for it. We paid 18 euros for the main course and 6 euros for a glass of dry yet fruity white wine.

Mountain fix

Grenoble (here) sits at the feet of 3 mountain ranges: Charteuse, Vercors and Belledone. I have a soft spot for Belledone, it is utterly gorgeous and photogenic (see the 3 top pictures). I used to herd sheep and goats there. Vercors is where I used to spend family holidays. The top picture is the view from my friend Pascaline’s garden, whom I visited last December. Chartreuse still is a complete mystery to me.

Blast from the past in the Aravis Range

In Fall 2008, after completing an internship in the Alps and graduating from my Master degree, I took a job as a mover (!) for Rossignol (the ski brand), to be able to stick around in the Alps for a couple months and SKI. And skiing I did! I spent a few weeks in the Aravis range near Annecy, in the La Clusaz resort. I felt light, free and bad *ss. This winter the prodigal wannabe skibum returned to La Clusaz and went on a piligrimage all over the mountains.

Lightning trip to London

A couple weeks ago, lightning strikes on the Eurostar rail network turned a quick business trip to London into a proper 30-hour mini-holiday. Delightful, I say.