where to — lyon
beaujolais, provence and how to euro summer in la
i didn’t know a thing about lyon before crashing my mom and my (honorary) aunt kate’s trip to france. but within minutes of “my research” (pushes up glasses on nose), i knew we were in for a real treat. i love to equate european cities with their u.s. equivalents, but i really couldn’t pinpoint lyon in a good way. we were such fans — it was clearly a city built for good food and drink. with its slow steady inclines and stairs built into nature, your calves would burn as you walked home after one too many glasses of vin de france. everything was priced incredibly well too. we wined and dined haaard for much much less than la or ny. we spent the majority of our trip in lyon so we really got to explore the ins and outs.
where to — lyon
fly into paris and take a quick high-speed train into lyon part dieu station. stop at magma coffee shop for a cappuccino + sesame cookie before checking into your airbnb. have a glass + small plates at jaja bistro just across the rhône. walk on up to shop and bop around at tiki vinyl store and le dadashop. vin + dine at odessa comptoir with a nightcap (or bottle) at the listening bar satriale. wake up with breakfast at la boîte à café before browsing the books at le bal des ardents. cross over the (other river) saône to vieux (old) lyon and its traboules. by now you’ve earned some vin so uber or train on over to beaujolais for a tasting (make an appointment prior to though!). we had a lovely tasting (of a lot of chilled gamay) in the cellar of domaine saint cyr. you can plan another tasting back to back or head back in time for dinner at microsillon. order a bottle to go (+ borrow some glasses) after dinner and sit and sip on a bench at pl sathonay. or if you’ve got a second wind, get your steps in and walk over the rhône again to have another glass at the lively turbine. grab a pain au chocolat at cocol before catching your train to your next destination (in our case — provence!).
where to avignon — provence
i didn’t have long in avignon unfortunately, but got the jist of it pretty quickly. closer to the italian border, it felt like a little town in tuscany from another decade. our first stop from the train station while we waited to check into our airbnb was café roma, a charming italian pop cafe next to an old cinema, jardin des doms and where the pope lived pre-rome (who knew). we stayed in villeneuve-lès-avignon, a very walkable village, but crossed back over the rhône (there she is again) for dinner al fresco at bèou bistrot. check the hours but you must visit la chartreuse-centre national des écritures du spectacle (a mouthful i know) for a glass of provincial rosé or a veggie-leaning meal to sit in the most peaceful gardens. we didn’t have time to see the lavender fields that provence is known for, but there was fresh lavender growing out of the gardens so that was enough for me. if we had more time, i’d love to have taken the train to aix for the market.
+ icymi, here’s my full where to — paris <333
how to european summer in la:
didn’t get to get away this summer and can’t stand the instagram stories of everyone and their mother sipping their little spritz abroad? here’s some of spots that’ll have you almost forgetting that you’re still in this disastrous country:
wear your lightest linen on your way to sip a cappuccino at canyon, pastry + scandi breakfast at clark street, shop for pasta at bucatini + fresh produce at your neighborhood farmers market, apertivo at bar bacetti + capri club, portuguese small plates + wine at barra santos, sidewalk sips + more small plates at both triste + seco
la openings + happenings:
kape - lasita’s daytime cafe with filipino coffee, pastries + sandwiches on sundays coming soon in chinatown
miznon - mediterranean pita shop just joined grand central market dlta. i’ve had a spiritual (saucy) experience at miznon in both paris + nyc and have even attempted to recreate their melt in your mouth cauli
cortado - daytime coffee concept opening this week at the bar siesta space in silverlake
men & beasts - plant based chinese + tea program with a patio in echo park
serpentine’s plant art - july 17th 6-8pm at the future perfect hosted by eric wareheim with all proceeds going to eaton fire fund
vino video - july 24th 8pm at whammy - wine + shorts (this one’s on tennis!) pairing with pours by scotty boy, deux punx + more
marleigh culver’s love blur gallery opening - july 25th 6-9pm at keystone art space gallery
film de france:
added a few french 35mm photo prints to my site available for purchase. paid subscribers, scroll down for your discount code
now playing:
blouge — my french-ish playlist that i can’t stop playing