Currently: November 2024

Bonjour from France! I am currently writing this during a trip to Bordeaux and Paris with my husband, my mom, and my sister. It’s a bit wild to think that we have been to Bordeaux 4 times in the last 12 months, but that just goes to show how much we enjoy it! November, like many of the last few months, has been a wild ride for me professionally. I had a last minute trip to Houston that required a lot more of me than I was hoping. On Election Day, we hosted PD for some of our newer staff. And, before I left for Paris, I went to New York City for work. I had the opportunity to speak a huge fundraiser that was hosted at Sotheby’s and was able to preview the $6.2 million dollar banana before it went on sale. Wild. I am excited to spend Thanksgiving abroad and see what some of my favorite French people have to say about recent developments. With all that said, let’s get to it!

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links for tours and products I love at no additional cost to you.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Wearing:

Since we just talked about the Sotheby’s dinner, I have to share photos from it. The attire was cocktail, and I was stressed about what to wear. I called my personal shopper, Susan, and I put her to the test with less than a week before the event. She helped me find this amazing dress by an emerging designer who started by designing costumes for the Houston Ballet. Nothing about this dress would have enticed me to try it on, but Susan was spot on. (If you need her contact information, let me know. She and Avery are amazing to work with and made me feel so confident for this event.) I hired GlamSquad to come do my hair and make-up from the comfort of my hotel room. Both artists did a fantastic job and were beyond professional.

You may remember that I enlisted Susan to help me with clothes for my trip to Paris, Florence, and London with my in-laws in March 2023, and I am still wearing every single thing I purchased for that trip.

Sarah Flint Shoes Black Friday Sale

Reading:

The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli

This book is hauntingly well-written. I love Laura Morelli’s books – and they often strike a fantastic balance between helping you imagine the beauty of art against the backdrop of beautiful places and the moral quandaries that exist within society. The Keeper of Lost Art is different from that. Yes, you read about the Italian masterpieces in one of the many depots they used to protect art, but the background is fraught with tension and the daily challenges that everyday people faced during World War II and the Fascist regime in Italy.

Morelli’s characters are deeply complex. It’s hard not to relate to Stella, the angsty teenager who is trying to make sense of her world – an absent immediately family, an overstressed extended family, and the problems plaguing humanity. Sandro is lovable – the affable outsider who is able to find beauty in the very things that cause so much stress for everyone around him. Morelli does a fantastic job of creating deeply human characters who must all navigate life in remote, German/Fascist controlled Tuscany as best they can. The frustration and tension is palpable throughout the book, and it would serve no purpose to pretend otherwise.

In some ways, I think Morelli struggled to wrap up this story because there was not a neat ending to the reality. Florence was devastated by bombs, and it was difficult to return the artworks to their home. Stella finds her way, but I’m not sure what that future truly looks like for her. Sandro found a place in the world, and I am left wanting more of his story. Ultimately, I suppose life goes on for us all, and it rarely wraps up neatly. I suspect my next visit to the Uffizi will be a bit different, having seen some of these more famous works through Sandro’s eyes via Morelli’s captivating tale though.

Note: I received an advanced reader copy of The Keeper of Lost Art through Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Travel Planning:

We have finalized our Christmas itinerary for this year! We are flying into Paris and out of Rome, which is pretty typical for our December travels. We will spend a few days in Paris to take a buche de Noel class, have dinner with a friend and his wife, and get over the jet lag. From there, we will spend a couple nights in Krakow, which will be both a new city and a new country for us! (My sister has spent a lot of time in Krakow and many of her poems are set there. I am excited to experience it! We will fly from Krakow to Milan to see The Nutcracker. Christmas and New Year’s will be spent in Florence. Though we have spent the past few New Year’s Eves in Florence, we have never been there for Christmas. And, we will begin 2025 at Castiglion del Bosco in Montalcino again. This is a slower itinerary than we usually have over the holidays, and I’m excited about the prospect of visiting somewhere new.

I mentioned this in October, but we booked a trip to Chile for March. It seems like we are absolutely going to keep that trip. (We had considered New Zealand when a flight deal dropped, but I think Chile makes more sense right now.) We are trying to decide if we are going to stay in Santiago for the entire trip or if we will try to find a wine resort in the Chilean wine country for a few days. I’ve been steadily working my through this travel guide for Chile to figure out what makes the most sense for us!

Secret Food Tours Black Friday Sale:

It’s no secret that we love a food tour when we travel. (I have an entire tag set up just for our food and wine experiences from our travels!)  Secret Food Tours runs some really incredible experiences. You can save 21% with Promo Code: BLACKFRIDAY24 until supplies run out. I used this deal to book a food tour in Milan and a market tour of Sant’Ambrogio in Florence for our upcoming travels. We’ve also taken food tours in Florence, Bologna, Rome, Strasbourg, Verona, and Bordeaux…. just to name a few that come to mind. If you’ve been looking for a great way to start to better understand the culinary scene in a particular place, a food tour is your best bet!

Photo Editing:

I have not spent nearly enough time on this little space lately. As I always, say, I need to be more deliberate about carving out time because there’s so much I want to share and write about! The only thing I’ve done in the last month is write about our Paris buche de Noel class, which was lovely and I’m looking forward to doing again this year! I’ll definitely update my post with the latest creation. I did also update my Paris culinary experiences post with an update from the cooking class we took on this trip, though sadly I have no photos to share from it!

I finished the post about our 5 days in Beaune last summer and our 2 nights in Saint Emilion. Our Saint Emilion stay this fall was really lovely. While I was growing a bit antsy with Bordeaux, I’m excited to return to Saint Emilion, if not just for the hotel! It was so lovely and relaxing. And, I’m excited about working on my post about our 2 nights in Reims. I just can’t ever seem to make enough time for this space.