June, Noted: Planning My Return to Paris, the Hotel Dilemma, and Other Slow Travel Conversations

Hello, dear travel friend,

I finally booked my return trip to France this month.

I spend so much of my time planning other people’s travels that I sometimes forget how much I enjoy planning my own. There’s something about opening a map of Paris, comparing boutique hotels, wandering neighbourhoods on Google Street View, and imagining what each stay might feel like.

This trip is extra special.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, a tradition of being in Paris every five years to mark the occasion that started decades ago. Most of my return trips to Paris are solo, booked last minute, and usually with work in mind. This one feels slower already.

Over the years I’ve returned to favourite neighbourhoods, like Saint Germain, but I also love choosing somewhere new each time. Right now I’m exploring the 15th, 16th, 17th and the 5th arrondissements, while trying very hard to find the most beautiful boutique hotels I come across.

For me, where I stay has never been just a place to sleep. It’s part of the experience. The neighbourhood, the atmosphere, the design, the café around the corner, the walk home at the end of the day. Together, they become part of the memories I bring home.

Anyway, enough daydreaming. Here’s what June looked like around here.

One thing I've been thinking about lately is how often I do things instinctively without ever stopping to ask myself why.

Every so often, someone asks a question that helps you better understand your own thinking. That happened to me this month while chatting with Leave It To Anna. We spent time talking about slow travel, why I think it's having a moment right now, and why I believe it has much less to do with how long your trip is than how you choose to experience it.

Funny enough, that wasn't the only thing I'd been meaning to write.

I’ve been saying for years that where you stay shapes your trip just as much as what you see. I don’t think I’ve ever planned a trip without thinking about neighbourhoods first, or its gorgous interior design.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that I’d never really shared how I make those decisions. So I finally did.

I gifted the Close Circle community (my paid subscribers) with a decision-making guide and a surprise offer that is too good to pass up.

Where You Stay Is Part of the Story

·

Jun 26

We arrived at The Siena House in Val d’Orcia on a spring evening, still carrying the fog of an overnight flight and a long drive from Rome through the Tuscan hills.

You know what I find myself thinking about long after I come home? It’s the small, simple things.

It’s the Sundays when locals slowly reclaim their city from tourists. The little shops I return to every visit. The rituals that somehow find their way home with me.

One piece explores why I love Rome best on Sundays. If you’ve ever wanted to experience a city beyond its busiest hours or days of the week, this one’s for you. It’s the Rome I look forward to returning to every single visit.

The other is about Astier de Villatte in Paris. Yes, on the surface, it’s a beautiful Parisian shop. But I think the reason I keep going back has less to do with what I buy and more to do with what it represents. Sometimes bringing home one small piece of a place is enough to keep the memory alive long after you’ve unpacked your suitcase. That is what this shop has come to represent to me.

A Slow Return: The Paris Shop I Never Leave Empty-Handed

·

Jun 19

This is one of three monthly themed newsletters. A Slow Return is my way of sharing what I’ve learned along the way: the pleasures of returning, the joy in small rituals, and the little discoveries that slow travel makes possible.

One of the nicest things about writing here is that it has introduced me to people and ideas I might never have discovered otherwise.

This month, I sat down with Riana of Riana | Teaspoon of Adventure for the latest edition of Just Between Us. We talked about travelling with young children, finding home while living abroad, and the places we’d both happily return to. I love these conversations because I always come away with a different perspective than when I started.

I’ve also been listening to the audiobook Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino. Have you come across it yet? If you love Paris, art history, or wandering through museums, I think you’d really enjoy it. I don't know about you, but I love books that change how I look at somewhere I've already been.

One of my favourite parts of this month wasn’t publishing. It was reading what came back.

Chris Englert (EatWalkLearn) added her own twist to one of my travel planning tips from Anna’s Coffee Talk: “Plan less than you think you need. Then remove one more thing.” Her reply? “Also: Pack, remove half.” I laughed because it’s true.

Ruby Tuesday | Postcards restacked my thoughts on slow travel, saying it was the clearest explanation of slow travel she'd come across. Beck Sharron took the conversation one step further, asking her own readers, “What brings you joy when you travel?” I loved that. That’s exactly the question I hope more of us ask before we start planning.

Lori Helke shared that my article about making travel too complicated had her rethinking how much time she spends researching before a trip. Emily Nova is giving my “Three-Block Method” a try. And Liane Townsend wrote simply, “I really have enjoyed your writing and learning about so many interesting places.”

Those comments meant more than you probably realize. I read every single comment.

This month we also crossed 1,000 subscribers.

For me, that milestone isn’t really about the number. It’s about knowing there are now more than a thousand people who care about travelling thoughtfully, asking better questions, and sharing their own ideas along the way.

Thank you for reading, replying, and making this feel like a conversation rather than a newsletter. I’m so glad you’re here.