France

  We were not that far south of Lyon, when we stopped at a gas station on the Autoroute du Soleil. As I rolled down the window, I was surprised to get a whiff of a strong natural fragrance, instead … Read More

  Imagine roadtripping through France, driving from fairytale castles to romantic Renaissance châteaux. Climbing up ruined fortresses and wandering through enchanting royal gardens. If you are a history buff or love exploring châteaux, France is actually filled with splendid castles to … Read More

  From afar, we spotted the glitter of the Royal Monastery of Brou’s glazed patterned roof tiles. Its burgundy, terracotta and emerald mosaic gleaming in the July sunshine.   I pulled over at the next intersection and found an empty … Read More

  Mei turned down the volume when we almost reached the Arcachon Bay. I was going to make a right turn to head towards the town of Arcachon, when I suddenly spotted the road sign “Dune du Pilat”. I hit … Read More

  Metz! Ici, Metz! The snappish female voice repeated it twice. Insisting on the triple s at the end of the word. We looked at each other and bursted into laughter, imitating the SNCF voice by adding a few other … Read More

  Imagine strolling around snow-covered wooden chalets scattered all over the city. While sipping on a cup of mulled wine and watching quaint half-timbered houses lit up with thousands of festive winter lights. The scent of choucroute here, the savour … Read More

Why don’t you like to visit the major European cities? My sister seemed confused when I told her that we prefer to spend our weekends in smaller and lesser-known towns in Europe. It’s not that we don’t like metropolises. Rome, … Read More

  Are you sure this is the hotel you’ve just booked? Because this looks like a castle, a real Château ! Kerstin stopped the car at the entrance way, and looked at me. The wrought-iron gate was open, but we … Read More

 1. Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here. – Sue Monk Kidd   By the end of 2016, we had two choices: we could … Read More