Author: Yvonne Hazelton

Yvonne is an American writer living in Paris. She blogs at Escaping the Empty Nest.

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… …read more

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. …read more

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… …read more

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. …read more

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

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. …read more

Vacation Rentals for Those Who Don’t just Travel, they Experience. they Experience.

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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. …read more

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. …read more

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. …read more

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

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. …read more

Moving to Paris is already an adventure, but we decided to make it more exciting by adopting kittens. I had to utilize my high school French skills and even lie a little bit, as described in Parts 1 and 2 of Paris Cats. Today, we discuss cat care in the city of light. We adopted… …read more

I didn’t want cats when we got to Paris, but my husband, Sam, and the last remaining kid at home, Caleb, talked me into it. I was tired of fur and destroyed furniture and paw prints on the kitchen counter, but in a moment of weakness, I caved. Sam and Caleb called me from the… …read more