Coming to a Parisian Bistro Nowhere Near You

MK has booked her flight! She’s coming over for a weekend. Arriving Friday, leaving Monday. MK is a dedicated friend and most honored travel addict. Either that, or she just really likes red wine and baguettes.
I simply got a forwarded email of her flight details, but a screen shot speaks a [...]

The Cost of Things in (My) Europe

This article proposes the unthinkable - skipping a trip to Venice because of the decline of the U.S. dollar.
My advice, in a word? DON’T. Venice is just too amazing to pass up.
But, this article got me thinking about the cost of being in Europe, whether on vacation or living here. As I [...]

French Bakeries: A Love Story

I don’t love France. It’s perfectly fine. There are as many breathtakingly amazing things and dark depressing things as any other country. But, Italy has stolen my heart, and isn’t giving it back.
That being said, if I were to choose one thing from France to bring back with me to Italy,it would [...]

Blatant Self-Promotion

Y’all should BUY MY BOOK. It’s awesome.
If you’re still on the fence about it, check out more of the book on Google Books. You can read random excerpts from it and become TOTALLY CONVINCED that it is a necessary addition to your personal library.
And, if you know Miss Expatria personally, you can GOOGLE [...]

World Maps, Pregnant Women in the Antarctic, the Azores, and Flags

As my gentle readers will know, Miss Expatria has a deep and abiding love for maps.
I particularly like having a map of the world very near my bed. I fall asleep looking at it, and laze around in bed after waking up, looking at it. And when you do that as much as [...]

Blind Date With The World - Global Scavenger Hunt

Miss Expatria is not rugged.
I do not own a backpack of any sort. I prefer heated towels in my lavish hotel bathrooms. I have never, ever slept on a mat, or outside in nature. Nature is something you gaze at from your balcony whilst holding a cocktail.
But oh, oooooooh, how [...]

Thanksgiving Dinner in France

This evening, Cal and I went to Brasserie du Theatre (with 900 accents on that last word, but I can’t be arsed) for a non-Thanksgiving dinner.
(That last link is just because I like the phrase, “Cooking without pants.” Cal started off with a gin and tonic, which in France means they give you a lowball [...]

Giving Thanks Where Thanks Is Due

Cal and I are lazy and the only two Americans we know here, so we’re going to go out for a swank dinner in a couple of hours and eat copious amounts of exquisitely prepared French food.
On this day, a day of giving thanks, I am going to give myself some time to really appreciate [...]

Italian For Tourists: Advanced Guide

We’ve already had the pronunciation guide and the basic phrases you’ll need to get by. The following will show you how to be taken more seriously.
Never say “ciao” to anyone unless they say it to you first. Ever.
If you’re looking to get off a train or bus, and someone is standing in the [...]

How to Sound Like an Italian, Miss Expatria Style

As promised, I’m including some phrases one should know when one visits God’s living room, also known as Italy.
This has been a favorite obsession of mine ever since I was in Rome in 2001 with Pavlov Memento, the ex. We had just finished dinner and were walking down via Cavour, when we passed a [...]