Author: Diana

I Know Why Everyone Hates The Tortured Poets Department (And I Love It)

Published by Diana

I am a Taylor Swift fan but not a Swiftie. I have a ticket to see the Eras tour, but only because I was able to purchase one at face value. I have tried to convince a boyfriend, in Paris, that we should dance ’round the kitchen in the refrigerator light, while listening to Taylor Swift sing about doing exactly that, an exercise in imitation that I do not recommend, not least because how is this done? How does the refrigerator door stay open, so that it might shed its light? Do you stand there with one hand on the door and the other hand on your partner’s waist? Do you prop it open with a broom? Do you do this in time for the line to play while you are still dancing, rather than only figure it out in time for “22,” which is a completely different vibe, and not at all appropriate for dancing in a mostly dark kitchen in Paris? I did not seek out the leaked Tortured Poets Department tracks, or even stay …

25 Ways to Spend Taurus Season in Paris

Published by Diana

Paris is made for Tauruses: It’s beautiful, serene, home to a meadow of two, and the capital of luxury and fashion. (Also butter.) As my fellow Taureans know, there’s no better combination. Below, a variety of ways to satisfy a Taurus’s truest wishes:

le perchoir 15th

A Running List of the Coolest Places in Paris

Published by Diana

What is cool! Everyone’s cool is different from everyone else’s — so when I say this is the list of the coolest places to go in Paris, I definitively mean that it is my list. Ergo: more bookstores than restaurants, more shops than bars. Your list will be different from mine, but I stand by all these picks. Le Pavillon des Canaux: the sunniest, basin-side café/live music venue in the city. 39 quai de la Loire, 75019 La Recyclerie: Basically the same thing (a combo art space/café/brunch experience), but in the 18th, just below the flea markets at Saint Ouen. 83 bd Ornano, 75018 La Bellevilloise: Maybe one more? A live music/art space with more of a nightclub vibe than the two spots immediately above. 19-21 rue Boyer, 75020 Le Perchoir: This brand has four super-style-y cafés/bars — I love the rooftop one in Menilmontant, but I’m very interested in seeing the new one in the 15th at Porte de Versailles (pictured above), not far from the new Mama Shelter hotel, Mama West. Menilmontant: 14 rue Crespin …

people playing pickleball in paris

Pickleball in Paris: Everything We Know

Published by Diana

I’ve lived in Paris longer than I’ve played pickleball in Paris — but after two years on and off in the US, pickleball has weirdly become one of my favorite activities, so I’ve become dedicated to figuring out where to play it here.

iowa welcome center sign

17 Things to Do in Iowa City

Published by Diana

Iowa City is a funny little place: a small city with a major-league cultural side — there’s more than enough to keep you busy while you’re in town, whether it’s for a weekend or a semester. (It’ll help if you like to read.) Category 1: Activities! 1. Catch an Author Rreading Iowa City is home to the world-famous Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and as such, it outperforms other mid-sized Midwestern cities (and, to be fair, basically all mid-sized cities, in the world) to an exponential degree in terms of the local literary scene. Big-name writers come through town all the time — whether to teach at the workshop or just to give a reading at the local bookseller, Prairie Lights. Some authors read both at the workshop itself, on campus, and at Prairie Lights — the easiest way to stay up to date on both is their respective Instagram accounts [Prairie Lights Insta // IWW Insta]. 2. Go See a Women’s Basketball Game This will be much, much more exciting the longer No. 22, Caitlin Clark, …

A Year of Blooms in Paris

Published by Diana

Paris changes radically depending on its weather, and what’s blooming — or not. Here, you’ll find a quasi-chronological look at the city over the span of seven years, for an anecdotal take on when you’ll see cherry blossoms, fall color, and brilliant flowers at the Jardin des Plantes (noted here as the JDP). While the dates are chronological, the years are all messed up, so you might see cherry trees blooming in late March or mid-April — it just depends on the year. Something I really noticed is that with sunshine, fall is beautiful here — without it, wow. No one does dreary like northern Europe! If cherry trees are your thing, I have created a 5.5-kilometer, roughly hour-long walking tour through the very center of Paris (at the bottom of the page), with lots of opportunities for seeing them in bloom.  And if you like roses, there’s nowhere better than the Roseraie du Val-de-Marne, just outside Paris in L’Haÿ-les-Roses, and absolutely spectacular when they’re in bloom. Scroll down, or you can jump to the …

olympics tax

So What’s the Story With the “Olympics Tax” in Paris — AKA the Hotel Tax?

Published by Diana

Paris loves taxes. Loves them! They (literally) make the trains run on time, and fund the libraries, and support that wild and expansive social safety net we Americans keep hearing about. Now, with the Olympics coming up, those taxes are going up — at least one of them will definitely impact your credit card statement if you’ll be staying in Paris this year. The hotel tax — known in some quarters as tourist taxes, the taxe de séjour, and also as the Olympics tax — is going up. Visitors to Paris have already been surprised to see these higher-than-usual taxes on their bills — but the Olympics tax does not, of course, wait for the Olympics. Rather, they came into effect on January 1, 2024. In 2023, the nightly hotel tax started at €1 for one-star hotels, holiday villages, guest rooms and hostels, rising to €5 for “palace”-level establishments, like Le Bristol and the Four Seasons George V. Now, the cheapest tier is €2.60, while the palace level is €14.95 — and those are all …

aruba eagle beach view

Ask a Traveler: A Safe, Low-Key Spring Break

Published by Diana

In this week’s Ask a Traveler, we have a letter-writer in need of a low-key spring break with sandy beaches, a direct flight from New York, and, ideally, a Hilton points-friendly hotel. Our suggestion involves burrowing owls, a 19th-century gold mine, world-class windsurfing, and more. If you have a travel dilemma, please send it to me! The more parameters of travel desire, the better. Hello!  I’m looking for a spring break destination for me and my boyfriend, both tired and cold New Yorkers just hoping to spend a few days getting sunburned on a beach. I’m hoping for a warm-weather destination where you can stay somewhere nice without it being crazy expensive — I’m not interested in places like St. Barts or Anguilla. We’d also like to avoid all-inclusive resorts where the resort is really beautiful but you’ll never leave the resort and if you do it can be sort of stressy. We definitely want something beachfront, even if it means paying a little more. We don’t mind a big, corporate hotel for this trip — actually, …

interior of paris apartment

11 Big Problems With Your Paris Airbnb

Published by Diana

Planning to rent a Parisian Airbnb this summer? Coming for the Olympics, or the art, or the food? Parisian Airbnbs come with their own specific set of challenges: size, access, and more. Here, a run-down on a few of the most common concerns for living à la française — from burglars swooping down from the rooftop to seven-floor buildings without an elevator in sight. (Here’s a link to the Airbnb shown above.) 1. Am I Going to Be Burgled? Violent crime is rare within Paris’s city limits, at least compared to similarly sized American cities, but property crime is not. (My building, with nine apartments and in a very nice part of town, has had nearly a half-dozen break-ins in the past 18 months.) This problem is most apparent in late summer, when Parisians go on vacation and thieves…do not. Keep valuables well out of sight and always close and lock your windows when you leave — and don’t assume (as I did) that a top-floor apartment means you’re out of danger, since many break-ins are …