A Taste for Europe

Yes, It is Me, Backpacking Through Europe, Circa 1976

The last couple of years with more time home due to the pandemic, for me it has been a time of organizing, sorting out, and simplifying. I organized by years and events all of my photos. More recently I scanned and digitized more than a thousand slides from my life, travels, and photography living and traveling in Europe in my twenties.

In a grand way it was an eye-opening perspective which actually surprised me. I looked at photos that I distinctly remember taking. People, places, and scenes that I vividly remember—that I hadn’t seen in decades. Wonderful memories, and kind of a gentle reminder of who I am today and why. One forgets, as life has hiccups and setbacks, and gets more complicated with responsibilities and everyday busyness.

I lived with my dear family in Europe outside of Brussels, Belgium and attended the International School of Brussels for my 10th, 11th, and 12th high school years. I also took a year off during college years, and traveled non-stop, funding my own way with babysitting and “au pair” jobs. An english-speaking responsible babysitter was “gold” in the day.

I traveled extensively with my family, school, friends, boyfriend, and even solo. I was an adventurer, savvy and smart about travel, yet somewhat fearless. Of course, Europe and the world, for that matter was quite different 40-50 years ago.

It was a very golden time for me, and it is still the very core of who I am, and what I write about in this blog and create on my website. I knew from high school days I was coming to California, because it was the closest to living in the Mediterranean and still be in the United States.

I have cultivated, with my beloved husband, a French country lifestyle here in Mediterranean North San Diego County, one day at a time. It is who I am, resonating from my passion, at my very core. My dream has materialized right in front of my very eyes, far bigger and brighter than I could have ever imagined. I am very grateful and thankful each and every day. I am very grateful when I hear from you.

Stopping Along the Rhine River During A German “Au Pair” Job

My hope, whether you are a long time follower or relatively new, is that you will enjoy and be enlightened by my writing, recipes, tips, musings, and information shared. That you will be encouraged to continue to follow your dreams. That you will reach back to your past to acknowledge what caught your passion and touched you to the core. Perhaps you know very well, but it is always nice to reflect wholeheartedly once again.

I hope that you will be inspired to embrace a “Taste of French Country Living,” which is really a philosophy you can live wherever you are of beauty, every day celebrating “little things,” living in the present, mindfulness, quality over quantity, seasonal living, simplicity and so much more! Merci!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie