AlexxNov 16, 20185 minLisbon is a Feast (Pasteis de Nata)The time? Summer, 2003. The place? New York City. The local wisdom that shakes me by the shoulders to this day? “Stop looking up, it’s a...
AlexxNov 10, 20184 minWhen 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...
AlexxOct 23, 20184 minTruffles 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.”...
AlexxOct 21, 20185 minTruffles in Provence: Harvest (Part 1) “I never wanted to be a farmer.” Straw-hatted and heavy-booted, Johann is first and foremost a businessman. Not an inch of the farm he...
AlexxOct 15, 20186 minTrust 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...
AlexxOct 5, 20183 minConversations: Chiara in Palombara“I’m sorry I can’t open the castle today. I have the key, but they’re doing work inside.” Standing at the royal peak of Chiara’s hilltop...
AlexxOct 2, 20183 minPower in Origin (Cacio e Pepe)I was racking my brain for the word “Corinthian” and picking images out from the Pantheon’s Rorschach marble when Paulo struck up...
AlexxSep 4, 20185 minAwe, 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,...
AlexxAug 30, 20185 minMonologue & 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...
AlexxAug 22, 20185 minWander 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:...
AlexxAug 19, 20185 minVisit Marseille Anyway (Bouillabaisse)Wrinkled noses, pitied sighs, fallen smiles: these are the reactions I met most often when telling people, "je vais à Marseille."...
AlexxAug 6, 20184 minRunning 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...
AlexxJul 29, 20184 minIt'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...