After bidding Paris farewell, I spent the weekend in Luxembourg—its small but affluent neighbour. I’ve yet to proudly proclaim myself as well-off (though rich hopefully, by heart), thus when the only last-minute accommodation I could scavenge was a tiny top-floor room in a house priced at €130, I had seriously considered skipp...

I was beyond ecstatic to reunite with Élodie in France after nearly six years apart. We celebrated our long-overdue reunion with a 4-day road trip in the Loire Valley, visiting a total of seven châteaux. We fangirled over the ladies of Chenonceau (who Élodie endearingly described as “bosses”), marvelled at the gardens of Villandry (“I’d like that in my future house please”) and distressed over Count Xavier Branicki’s prized hunting collection at Montrésor (“Why did he have to show them off in hi...