Kristin Connors

If you only have one day in Bordeaux wine country, spend it in Saint-Émilion. I say that as someone who just did exactly that — one perfect, full, slightly indulgent day — and I'm still thinking about it weeks later. Saint-Émilion is the kind of place that sounds almost too picturesque to be real: a medieval village of honey-colored stone, winding lanes, and vineyards rolling out in every

There are trips you take for the place, and trips you take for the people — and every once in a while, you get the rare one that's equally about both. Clem and Ryan's wedding weekend in Clérac was exactly that. I've been to a lot of weddings. (At this stage of life, who hasn't — my calendar from May to October is basically a tour of other people's happiest days.) But a wedding in the French

Champagne had been on my list for years — the kind of place you assume you'll get to "someday" and then suddenly you're there, standing in a vineyard at sunrise with your dog, wondering why it took you so long. We based ourselves for two days in the heart of the region, and I want to be upfront: what follows is the highlights reel, not a rigid itinerary. Champagne deserves to be wandered, not

Paris in December is a specific kind of magic — not the springtime Paris of the movies, all blossoms and picnics, but something quieter and more elegant. Festive without being frantic. Twinkling without trying too hard. I went last December, and I've been meaning to write about it ever since. If you're thinking about a holiday trip to Paris, here's the thing I'd want someone to tell me: don't