Alexx Nov 10, 2018 4 min When Words Fall Short (Apple Pie) “And this, what does this mean? ‘Flipping,’ I thought I understood, but not in this sentence.” My neighbor Genevieve slid the English nov...
Alexx Oct 23, 2018 4 min Truffles in Provence: Partake (Part 2) “The truffle must always be the queen of the night,” Johann caught himself as he poured champagne, “well, unless your wife is there.” He’...
Alexx Oct 15, 2018 6 min Trust Paris (Macarons) Paris. Is there any place in the world more dreamed of, more longed for, more romanticized? Hemingway claimed that if you’re lucky enough...
Alexx Sep 22, 2018 3 min Ratatouille is Tian (Tian) I re-watched the end of Ratatouille last night, the movie that so wonderfully inspired so many to recreate a Thomas-Keller-cum-Remy-the-R...
Alexx Sep 21, 2018 4 min Places Are Not Foreign, You Are (Ratatouille) Places are not foreign, you are. You always will be. The imprint of your individual presence on a faraway land, no matter how hard you pr...
Alexx Sep 4, 2018 5 min Awe, Altitude & Abrupt Ascent (Raclette) "I'm living in the French countryside." I have no illusions about how romantic that sounds, how romantic that is. But a house this old, b...
Alexx Aug 30, 2018 5 min Monologue & Dialogue (Socca) When sharing my plans to come to France, the reaction was surprisingly formulaic. I'd be met with a rush of excitement, a pause, and then...
Alexx Aug 22, 2018 5 min Wander More, Especially in Nice (Pissaladiere) As the train jostled back and forth, I couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. Rough-and-tumble Marseille was behind me and ahead: Nice...
Alexx Aug 19, 2018 5 min Visit Marseille Anyway (Bouillabaisse) Wrinkled noses, pitied sighs, fallen smiles: these are the reactions I met most often when telling people, "je vais à Marseille." "Marsei...
Alexx Aug 6, 2018 4 min Running Parallel to Falling in Love (Banana Bread) Week one in two words: solitude, scrambling. Most of my time has been spent learning, exploring, traversing--quietly and alone. Here, the...
Alexx Jul 29, 2018 4 min It's your second night in Provence (Clafoutis) So you bake Julia Child's clafoutis (because let's be real, on your first night you couldn't stop sleeping). Sometimes the best thing you...