Travel Journal
A blog about some of my favorite travel stories, trips I’ve created and some insights about life in France. Get inspired by underrated destinations, unique cultural events, memorable restaurants, wild swimming spots, and unexpected places to stay. Designed to engage travelers looking for a more thoughtful, personalized way to explore France.
Discovering the Tarn department in Southwest France
The Célé Valley (or la Vallée du Célé), in the Occitanie region is one of the most picturesque yet least touristy places we’ve discovered in France. Though we enjoy “les plus beaux villages” along with all of the other travelers, it somehow feels extra special to happen upon these types of hidden gems.
La Gacilly Photo Festival—an entire village is transformed into an open-air gallery where incredible photographs are blown up to cover entire buildings, walls, gardens and forests throughout the town.
From Étretat to the Cotentin Penisula, there are so many wonderfully varied destinations to discover in Normandy. I’ve included my top spots that we visited along the coast.
If you’re looking for the best places to stop on a French Basque Country road trip, look no further. We’ve got the quintessential places to go as well as some hidden gems.
Shhh… keep this secret swimming spot between us! It’s heaven on earth.
A tucked away treasure, the Vallée d’Orb is a true gem in the Haut-Languedoc Natural Regional Park. I’m sharing 3 of my favorites discoveries in the area.
A secret spot we found in the Pyrenees Atlantique where horses, cattle and sheep roam freely. It’s the ideal place to spend a day & night by camper van.
What better way to spend a summer pandemic than buy a camper van and tour France off the beaten path!
A few observations on what it’s like to move from the US to France.