We’re zigzagging through streets beside the Seine River, and despite the fact that I’ve lived in Paris for the best part of a decade, I feel as if I’m seeing it all anew.
Read More“This adventure of mine was oriented around the Chinese heartlands and the core myths that are at the heart of Chinese history and modern society.”
Read MoreThese are all one-day rides fit for more advanced cyclists so you probably shouldn't attempt these on a shared bike (unless you're a sucker for pain). We've given approximate distances from the Chaoyang District area, but of course, you can modify the route however you like.
Read MoreI have signed up with the Hutong, a small independent cultural center and school based in Beijing, for a week-long cycling and cultural tour of Xishuangbanna, in the southernmost part of Yunnan province, which is itself in the far southwest of China.
Read MoreAt just 33 years old, French travel enthusiast Aurélie Gonet has achieved more than most people attempt in a lifetime. Since leaving her hometown of Dijon, France on Mar 3 this year, she has ridden over 7,000km by bicycle and traversed 16 different countries.
Read MoreMaintaining a healthy friendship at the best of times requires some work and commitment, and when one of you moves far away, things can get more than a little tricky. Over the years I have picked up a few tips about how to maintain friendships abroad, and specifically, from China.
Read MoreToday marks exactly one year since my husband and I arrived in Beijing. It’s been quite an adventure for us both, and as with any life change, I've learned, grown, and changed a lot. Mostly because I did everything ass-backward. There were moments when I've wished that a future version of myself could whisper the secrets of Beijing in my ear and smooth the path before me. But if I actually had the opportunity to go back in time and share such pieces of advice, what would they be?
Read MoreOnce I started jotting down ideas for this article, I couldn’t stop. It turns out that over the years, I’ve learned a lot about living abroad and what that does to a person.
Read MoreAfter 2.5 months in China, and before going back to my hometown of Perth for the first time in almost 2 years I reflect on what ‘home’ means to me now.
Read MoreArticles about how to dress like/talk like/date like a Parisian are a dime-a-dozen, and mostly complete BS, so I was hesitant to take on this subject. Instead of listing what colors to wear and how to get that sexy french girl tousled hair that everybody seems to want, I’ve just described how I actually lived, when I was in Paris. Enjoy!
Read MoreIn the first piece published from China, I examine the mistakes I’ve made so far, and lay all my cards on the table.
Read MoreI never expected to move to China, nor begin to learn Mandarin. Yet while the language may be totally unfamiliar, the process of learning a language from scratch is not. I wrote about how already speaking French has helped me to tackle this third language for Babbel Magazine, which is the official online publication of one of the worlds largest online language learning resources.
Read MoreWe are leaving Paris on Friday, and we gave everything away : an essay about moving, the emotional attachments we have with objects, and making a home.
Read MoreDuring our visit to Beijing in November, we spent a day hiking on an a beautiful and empty, 'wild' section of the Great Wall of China. This article was published in the Washington Post, and the grammatical error contained in the first sentence earned me a slew of annoyed emails.
Read MoreI spent 10 days in Beijing last November, and high on my list of things to do was the Lost Plate culinary tour. Driving from stop to stop by tuk-tuk, we dove head-first into the local food scene that is at the heart of the dense 'hutong' neighborhoods. I wrote about it for The Washington Post.
Read MoreThe Crazy Horse Cabaret in Paris has been setting hearts a-racing for more than 60 years. I finally ticked it off my Paris bucket list and attended the sexy, witty and iconic show, writing all about it for Marque Magazine in Australia. Check it out...
Read MorePublished in PrimoLife Magazine June 2017
In September 2016, I rode a wooden bike for 3 days through Athens and the Greek Islands. Jump in the saddle with me and explore this magnificent landscape in this most unusual way.
Read MoreOur target for the weekend is Château de Chambord. As the most famous and prominent castle in the region, can get very busy in the summer months, but after driving through the thickly wooded domain that surrounds it (and signs alerting us to wild boar and deer that roam about) we find it half-empty in the cold and crisp early December air.
Read MoreThere are about 15 young men in white, swarming over the sand, luring the bull this way and that. Psssst pssst they hiss and the bull swings his huge muscular body around, legs already splayed and hooves gouging the sand as he lurches forward.
Read MoreThe Palace of Versailles, approximately 20km south-west of Paris is one of the most visited sites in Europe, and is on everybody's to-do list while in the City of Lights. It is an absolutely spectacular place, and one of my favourite sites in the Paris region, but it's not the kind of place you should just pitch up to and wing it.
Due to its size and popularity, a day in Versailles can easily descend into a disaster of long lines, bad timing, long walks in the dust and cancelled trains.
As a tour guide I've spent thousands of hours in the town and estate, and I firmly believe that preparation is the key. So read on, because I'm about to share as much advice as I can.
Read MoreAnna Hartley is an Australian writer based in Paris.
