I love reading travel writing because it combines two of my favorite things, travel and food! It makes me hungry and has me fantasizing about travel adventures at the same time. So to get Natalie and Ryan in a further Paris state of mind I'd like to suggest some of my favorite books about the city of lights.
Immovable Feast: A Paris Christmas - John Baxter
This is a great book about celebrating Christmas in France. The author, is a native Australian, who marries a French woman, and learns to cook traditional French food in order to impress his new in-laws. If you like learning about French traditions, foods, and culture then this is a good book to read. Maybe save it for the holidays to inspire you into a festive state of mind.
A Year in the Merde- Stephen Clarke
This is a quite amusing tale about an English man, who is hired by a French company to help them open English style tea rooms in Paris. The book is about the author's experiences working and living in Paris. If you speak a little French you might know that merde means shit in French. As you can probably guess, this wasn't Clarke's favorite job experience.
My Life in France - Julia Child
I actually really loved this book, not only is it food writing, but also travel writing. Julia Child writes in such a casual, lively, and friendly voice I kind of fell in love with her. I was never a Julia Child fan before, but I was really inspired by her story. She found her calling later in life, and lived her dream. It gives me some hope that if things aren't perfect now, there's time for things to work out. Since reading her book I've acquired a copy of Mastering the Art of French cooking, and plan on giving her recipes a try. If your into French food I highly suggest reading her book to get you psyched about all the amazing food you can eat there. She obviously had a real passion for French cooking and you will too after reading this.
French Milk - Lucy Kinsley
French Milk is actually a graphic novel. It was written by a young illustrator, who spent a couple of weeks living in Paris with her mother while she was studying cartoon illustration in college. It's a really quick read, but it's a fun and unique take on travel writing. Lucy kept an illustrated journal while in Paris, so you get to actually see different scenes through her artistic style. If you want to take a break from reading traditional books I would pick this up for a change of scenery.
My all time favorite travel writer though is the one and only Anthony Bourdain, aka Tony Bourdain. He's one of the loves of my life, and I'll share more about him later.
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