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    For those who don’t just travel, they experience.

    • Posts by Yvonne:

    • Left: tables and chairs are stacked outside of a brasserie in Paris. The chairs are red and white striped and the tables are cream colored. The brasserie has a wooden façade. Right: a woman stands in a outdoor corridor near the Louvre Museum. The girl is visible by her profile and she is looking up. The Louvre Museum is visible in the background.

      Paris Lockdown: One More Time

      The first French confinement, back in the spring, was eight weeks long. That’s a long time for such an intense shutdown, but at first, there was a sense of novelty, a thrill of danger, and a purpose: to save lives. President Macron had promised we wouldn’t go into another lockdown, but the overloaded hospitals were a huge issue. To keep us from going bonkers, and to keep the economy afloat, the government found some ways to do things differently this time. But there’s still a big difference between Confinements 1.0 and 2.0: my attitude.

    • Left: a woman standing in front of a staircase outside in Paris. She is wearing white pants, a white sweater, and a white coat with a brown cap. She has sunglasses and a mask. Right: The exterior of an empty Parisian cafe. It has an orange awning and there are several tables and chairs. It is called "Le Central."

      Lockdown in France Part 2: What You Need to Know

      Listen up, people. France is in Confinement 2.0 and the rules are slightly different. Pay attention so you don’t get charged the €135 fee for first-time offenses, or the whopping €3,750 fee and six months jail time for repeat offenders. Police could ask for your attestation, and maybe your ID, and they might ask you to open your bag for them. France is not eff-ing around this time.

    • A couple sitting under an umbrella on the banks of the Seine River in Paris. The city is lit up in an orange glow and there are clouds in the sky. The city's street lamps are visible.

      The Best French Dating Apps

      All right ladies, whether you’re looking for Mr. Right or Mr. Right Now, there’s an app for that. Right when I got ready to date again earlier this year, Covid struck. Cruel twist of fate! Or, maybe not. I reassessed my quarantine situation: I had plenty of time for self-care, nobody’s catching Covid (or anything else) online, and I had lots of time on my hands. Why not try something new? Here are some apps that I’ve found useful in France.

    • People lay in the park while doing yoga in Paris, France

      Outdoor Yoga in Paris Parks

      With a world-wide pandemic, America’s Pacific coast fire apocalypse, the economy crashing, and us being trapped far from our loved ones (or cooped up with them), we’ve got to find small pleasures wherever we can. I found one this week. Outdoor yoga in Parc Monceau.

    • People sit in the Paris metro while wearing required face masks.

      Learning to Speak French with a Mask

      I moved to France three years ago, speaking rusty high-school French and ready to live large. By the beginning of 2020, I was getting the hang of it. One thing I couldn’t do, though, was talk on the phone. Then Covid-19 happened. Now, we live in masks. And it’s like talking on the phone all the time.

    • Paris Restaurants Are Taking It to the Streets

      I can’t speak for everyone in Paris, but all I really want to do now that the quarantine is slowly lifting is go outside. Eat outside, drink outside, walk outside.

    • End of Lockdown: Freedom (Sort of) in Paris

      There was nothing magical about May 11 in France. But, it felt magical. It felt magical because we no longer need the attestation.

    • A woman, wearing a blue sweater and her hair in a ponytail, stands at her open window in Paris. In front of her is a planter box of green leaves, and she looks out at the apartment across the way.

      Walking in Paris is Different Now

      Since I moved to Paris three years ago, I’ve loved walking here. Now, we’re confined to a one kilometer radius of our homes. We can only go out for exercise before 10 a.m. and after 7 p.m., for one hour.

    • Parisian customers buy baked goods in a beautiful, bright boulangerie

      Who’s Making My Paris Life Bearable Right Now? My Petits Commerçants

      I love living in my quartier. There is a wonderful shopping street just around the corner, Rue de Levis, where I’ve gotten to know my merchants, and my food shopping is often a highlight of my day. Now, we have coronavirus restrictions.

    • Paris under lockdown: A mostly empty street and closed café as solitary shoppers scamper to their destinations.

      Paris Under Lockdown

      I’ve lived in Paris for three years. This lockdown is the most intense thing I’ve experienced. We’ve been given greater and greater restrictions over the past few days, and now as of Tuesday March 17 we all had to stay home.

    • SOS Medecins: French House Calls 24/7

      Americans may not have done house calls since Little House on the Prairie, but if you’re sick in France, SOS Médecins will give you 24/7 access to a doctor at home.

    • The Art of the “Bonjour”

      What’s the most important word in the French language? Bonjour. In France, it’s the key to a pleasant encounter.

    • Cute striped black and brown kitten lying on the floor, looking ahead like a Sphinx

      Paris Cats Part 4: Finding a Pet Sitter in Paris

      The hardest part of cat care in Paris, in my opinion, is finding a sitter while you’re on vacation. Our Paris neighbors are aloof and sophisticated, unlikely candidates for dealing with poop. The first time we went on vacation in France, Sam asked the vet about sitters, and he recommended several cat hotels.