Bienvenue!

In case we haven't met...

First of all, I’d like to give a warm welcome to all my new subscribers. It’s really great to see so many of you join me and to receive such positive feedback as this newsletter grows. I started writing here in the hope of inspiring those who are interested in France and in good living. This platform allows me to reach a larger audience and do cool things like post videos or even start a podcast. Podcasts are not really my thing, but I’ve started posting culinary videos every Friday, often supplemented with other interesting (nerdy) tidbits. For example, last Friday I launched a series of video recipes on French desserts and pastries which also includes a look at a food painting. With the first recipe, a raspberry & strawberry clafoutis, I briefly discussed a painting by Jean Béraud and touched upon the life and work of Carême. This week, we’ll be discussing food in Vincent van Gogh’s art, and I’ll be sharing the best recipe for financiers (not kidding, it really is)! 

This series is a follow-up to the one on ‘Cooking with Vegetables’, which we shot from Burgundy, the land of noble wines, escargots and my favorite cheese — Époisses. Please note that these video recipes as well as other exclusive posts are only available to paid subscribers. For less than a crappy cup of coffee to-go, you’ll learn to make delicious French recipes and will be able to impress everyone with your knowledge of art and French culture!

Besides food, wine and travel content, I will also be documenting my move to France in my exclusive posts. And, I won’t be sugarcoating things or only sharing the good parts. We started this process last year, and it’s already been a rollercoaster.

Here’s a picture taken last February, when we embarked on our first house-hunting trip. Viewed way too many houses in four short, tiring days and thought we found the one. It turned out the whole trip was an (expensive) waste of time. Little did we know when we sat down to lunch at a cute terrace in Brantôme that first day. PS: It was 18 degrees Celcius, and the sky was so blue it almost hurt my eyes. Did I mention it was February?

Moving to a new country isn’t easy. The upcoming move has given me my fair share of jitters and sleepless nights. I sometimes awake at 3 A.M. going over all the worst-case scenarios. What if we can’t find the perfect house? (The wish list isn’t short.) What if something goes wrong during the process? (Oh, the horror stories I’ve read.) How will I be able to deal with the infamous French bureaucracy? (I’ve been told rosé helps with that.) But I’ve done this before, and I am convinced I can do it again. Plus, it’s not a cliché: life really is too short to have regrets. Non, je ne regrette rien.

If you’re not in the loop, let me fill you in.

I moved to the Netherlands from New Jersey, USA in 1997, for what else but love. Though it wasn’t my intention to permanently stay in Tulipland, one year turned to two, two turned to three, and before I knew it, I had studied at the School of Journalism in Utrecht, obtained a BA in Dutch language and culture from the University of Leiden with a minor in Dutch art history (so now you know why I’ll also be writing about art), got married and had a baby.

Here I am when I received my propaedeutic diploma (given in the Netherlands after the first year of university studies). Jeez, I was such a spring chicken! PS: Quite thrilled that the cute little girl on my lap (my daughter) is now studying in Leiden as well. Law. Proud mom here.

I guess you could say that through my studies and time here (25 years to be precise) I became an expert in all things Dutch, which helped me find my place in this country, have a near-native command of the language so that I could write for Dutch media and even landed me a fabulous job as editor to the only magazine about the Netherlands, DUTCH, published in the US and Canada. From my little office not far from Amsterdam’s historic canals, I have created every issue of the magazine – from brainstorming to publication – since 2013. It has been one of the most rewarding jobs, though in reality, I can’t call it a ‘job’ because it’s something I truly love doing. The Netherlands may be small, but it has a beautifully rich culture and is an endless source of inspiration. It’s no wonder I’ve stuck around. The image below was taken in Leiden, where I spent some of the most memorable days of my life.

So, you may be wondering why the heck I’m selling my lovely house, moving to France and starting from scratch again. The answer is quite simple: France has always had my heart. Even as a little girl, I was convinced I was French. And who knows? Maybe in a past life I was. How else can I explain such a strong desire to be there? Despite living in the Netherlands for so long and being raised in the States (I should mention that I was born in Colombia, though unfortunately, I hardly know the country), France feels like home more than anywhere else. Especially, southwest France, or more specifically, the Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne, where we’ve been spending our summers for more than a decade. I really can’t put my finger on why I fell in love with this piece of paradise, but I sure did. Head over heels from the moment I first set foot there. Of course, this magnificent region also happens to produce some of my favorite wines and is a culinary cornucopia with everything from the sweetest strawberries to most fragrant truffles. Pictured below is the one and only truffle king, Auberge de la Truffe’s Pierre Corre. I’ll be posting about him later this year.

Another reason for the move is my work. Over the past decade, I have written about French food, wine and travel for a wide variety of publications in the Netherlands, the UK and the US. Especially in recent years, it seems as though I am there more than I am here. Just as I round off one business trip, I’m already planning the next. And although my work has taken me to every corner of the country, a large chunk of my writing on France is about the southwest. Being there will make things a whole lot easier. In case you’re wondering, I will not be giving up my job as editor to DUTCH, nor my work for other Dutch publications such as En Route (where I have a culinary column on French food and drink) and Inside Rotterdam. Luckily, I can do all of this from France, too. And, of course, I will visit the Netherlands often, to see my daughter, spend a morning at the Rijksmuseum, and eat bitterballen (among other things).

I guess you could say this newsletter will cover a broad range of subjects. I’ll even be writing occasional posts on other destinations. There’s a business trip to Abruzzo scheduled for September and possibly one to Norway in October. Side note: I’ve stopped calling these trips ‘press trips.’ People generally have the misconception that ‘press trips’ are all-expense paid vacations. For an ‘influencer’ who only has to post selfies, perhaps. If you have to pitch stories and make a living based on these trips, it’s a whole other ballgame. More on that in another post.

Additionally, I will be sharing inspirational stories about others who followed their dreams to France. To kick things off, tomorrow I’ll be posting a story of an Anglo-French couple who traded a life in Paris for one in Dordogne. I met them last November, stayed at their lovely B&B and dined at their restaurant, which made Gault & Millau’s Sélection 109 soon after opening. One and all inspiration!

So, once again, bienvenue, and thank you for subscribing. I’m so happy to have you along!