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Small Secret Garden in the Marais, Paris

Jardin des Roisers Joseph Migneret, Paris

I stumbled across a small secret garden with a big story to tell the other week as I was going to one of my favourite English bookstores in Paris. Just near the Smith & Son bookstore in the Marais district, hidden behind buildings and with only a narrow gated entrance, I found Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret. Stopping to read about the garden on the City of Paris information sign, I then slipped through the open gate, to be quickly enveloped in freshness and lush leafy shade.

Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret - A Small Secret Garden in the Marais

Let me share more with you about this wonderful secret green space in the 4th arrondissement - where you'll find it, who the garden honours and my personal photos and a YouTube clip to watch. Be transported to this little slice of Parisian heaven hidden behind shops, office buildings and apartments.

Gâteau Breton or Breton Cake Recipe

Brittany is a region with a rich heritage that is divided into four departments: Finistère, Morbihan, Côtes d’Armor and Ille et Vilaine. It's Celtic past is full of legends including Merlin, Arthur and the knights of the round table in the forest of Brocéliandes. The dramatic coastline, medieval towns, thick lush forests, colourful markets and traditional food draws lots of visitors to Brittany.

Gâteau Breton or Breton Cake

Food our region is famous for includes crêpes and galettes, fresh seafood, Plougastel strawberries, Guerande salt and Saint Malo’s Bordier butter. Pastries that are unique to Brittany are the Gâteau Breton (Breton Cake), Far Breton and the Kouign-Amann. Sweets that originated in the region include Salted Caramels, Niniches (artisanal lollipops from Quiberon), and Gavotte (a lacy golden mini crêpe). One of our family's favourite desserts is Gâteau Breton or Breton Cake. It travels well so is easy to take for picnics or to friend's homes when invited for lunch.

Château et Domaine de Quintin – Quintin Château

The department of Côtes d'Armor is well known for its abundance of exquisite gardens and elegant châteaux that are still owned and lived in by their ancestral families. Recently I toured Château et Domaine de Quintin (Quintin Château) in the ancient town of Quintin which has been a family home for the last 800 years.

Château et Domaine de Quintin - Quintin Château

Nestled between Pontivy and Guingamp, and halfway between Rennes (110 kilometres) and Quimper (120 kilometres), Quintin is a centrally located town in the Côtes d'Armor department. Only 20 minutes drive from Saint-Brieuc, this vibrant beautiful Breton town holds lots of festivals and is a petite cité de Caractère that happily welcomes tourists.

I've wanted to see the château and have been visiting Quintin for years, but on occasions I’ve had somewhere else to be after visiting the town, or it has been winter, and the opening hours haven’t coordinated with my town visits.

29 Iconic places to see in Paris

Amazing, incredible, ancient, cultural and fashionable are just a few words to describe the city of Paris. There is a never ending list of places to see, things to do, experiences to try and people to meet in the City of Light. I love spending time in Paris and regularly visit to shop, visit art galleries and gardens, try out new cafes and restaurants and often just wander the streets admiring the architecture and ambience of my favourite city in the world.

29 Iconic Places to See in Paris

Everyone's adventures in Paris are different and we all have our own 'must-see' list, but with a city that has so much to offer where do you start? I've created a list of 29 iconic places to see in Paris that include some big ones, and others that might not first be on your radar, but what make Paris so special. All together they are why we are drawn to Paris to visit, live, work and love. Check out these 29 iconic places to see in Paris.

Musée du Louvre

We have to start with this one. The Louvre is the largest monument in Paris and the most visited museum in the world. There are 35,000 works of art hanging in the huge museum and they fill approximately 16 kilometres of galleries and halls. The Louvre was first a fortress in the 12th century, then a royal residence and then the palace was transformed into a museum in 1793.

Pont-Aven – What to See and Do

Pont-Aven - What to See and Do

Pont-Aven is one of those super pretty little towns in France that you see on postcards, calendars and books for sale on Brittany. It's easy to see why when you stroll through the centre of town, meander along secret paths, cross the flower-covered town bridge or venture out to the port. It really is one of the prettiest towns I've visited. Following in the footsteps of painter Paul Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School painters was also a dream come true for me.

After strolling through the town, harbour and woods, dining on a galette and crêpe, wandering the pop-up antique market, visiting the museum and doing a spot of souvenir shopping, I eventually left Pont-Aven vowing to bring my family back with me for another visit. Here's what I'll be sharing with them when we visit together, and what I think are the best things to see and do in Pont-Aven.

In the footsteps of Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School painters

In the footsteps of Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School painters in Pont-Aven

Pont-Aven is known the world over thanks to the Pont-Aven School and the genius painter Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin. It's long been a dream of mine to visit the town and walk in the footsteps of the painters and discover more about their art and where they created it.

The rustic charm of the river Aven running through the town, secret bridges, ancient watermills, stone houses along the estuary and boats bobbing on their moorings, is what I'd conjured up in my mind from paintings and photos. But, I was not prepared for just how delightful Pont-Aven would be. It is simply darling! The town is also included in the prestigious group of 'Petites Cités de Caractère' or Small Towns of Character in Brittany.

Following in the footsteps of Gauguin, the Pont-Aven School painters and the Nabis artists was an amazing experience and I want to share it with you too. Here's how to walk in the footsteps of Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School painters in the darling town of Pont-Aven in Brittany.

Kouign Amann Recipe

Kouign Amann - A Traditional Buttery Dessert of Breton

In Brittany, cakes and biscuits are known for their star ingredient, butter and ranking right up the top of Breton favourites is the Kouign Amann. Invented in Douarnenez around 1865 according to Bretagne Tourisme, this speciality cake is made with a few simple ingredients and is essentially a bread dough to which you add sugar and salted butter, and then fold repeatedly like making puff pastry. The quality of the salted butter and the resting time of the dough are both essential to the success of baking this cake. During baking, the butter-sugar mixture melts, and gives the cake a crusty caramelised outside and a soft layered inside.

This regional speciality that is sold in boulangeries all over Brittany, even has its own association, the Véritable kouigan amann de Douarnenez Association. The Association is made up of bakers and pastry chefs who promote the Kouign Amann.

French Street Signs – Famous people and Places

Have you noticed on any of your trips to Paris or around France, (or even just on photos) that many of the streets are named the same? It can be a bit confusing when searching in your GPS, and the same street name comes up in many different towns. That might be because the street is named after a person of interest or it simply describes a location or significant building that is on the street. Our early experiences of finding towns and streets that have the same names is something we still laugh at. You'll find more in our post Our Story #4 - Aussies in France.

French Street Signs - Famous people and Places

Examples are rue de la Mairie, translated as the Town Hall Street, or rue d'Église, which simply means the Church Street. These street names describe the main point of interest along the street. Interestingly, rue d'Église is the most popular name for a road in France.

Iconic French men and women are honoured with streets and squares all over France, but not everyone knows about some of the lesser known people, places and events which appear on plaques throughout the country. The French town planners do though and they love their politicians, presidents, philosophers and writers. Wars even made household names out of prominent soldiers!

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