The French tax portal is open
The taxman cometh 🇫🇷🇬🇧
Total eclipse of the sun
What happens when the quiet Moon steals the spotlight from the blazing Sun? In a fleeting cosmic moment, shadow meets fire—and the universe delivers a spectacle you’ll never look at the same way again. Click to witness the celestial photobomb you didn’t know you were waiting for.
Carcassonne 🇬🇧🇫🇷
Some cities get lucky. Carcassonne got strategic positioning. The result was two thousand years of invasions, crusades, and general unpleasantness—interrupted only by brief periods of prosperity and the occasional flying pig. Click here to find out more…
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Canal du Midi, Carcassonne, Cathars, Crusades, Fortified city, French castles, French history, Historical blog, History with a twist, Humorous history, Languedoc, Medieval architecture, Medieval history, Occitania, South of France, Travel France, UNESCO World Heritage, Viollet-le-Duc
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Canal du Midi 🇬🇧🇫🇷
Before the TGV, before the motorway, before even the steam engine, one obsessed Frenchman carved a 241-kilometre waterway through the south of France using nothing but a battered compass, 15,000 workers, and his entire family fortune. The Canal du Midi is the greatest engineering adventure you’ve probably never heard the full story of — until now.
Avant le TGV, avant l’autoroute, avant même la machine à vapeur, un Français obsédé a creusé un canal de 241 kilomètres à travers le sud de la France en n’utilisant rien d’autre qu’une boussole usée, 15 000 ouvriers et toute sa fortune familiale. Le Canal du Midi est la plus grande aventure d’ingénierie dont vous n’avez probablement jamais entendu toute l’histoire — jusqu’à maintenant.
Posted in Travel
Tagged * Canal du Midi, 17th century engineering, Boat trips, Canal travel, Carcassonne, Countryside, Cycling routes, French heritage, Nature, Occitanie, Pierre-Paul Riquet, Relaxation, Scenic routes, Sète, Slow travel, South of France, Toulouse, Travel photography, UNESCO World Heritage, Vineyards, Walking trails
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New logo?
Trying to design a new logo with my initials.
The week that was 14/2026 🇬🇧
Another week in the south of France where nothing happened — except a road trip to Sète, lunch in Carcassonne, a skirmish with the tax office, a friend escaping Iran, a rocket launch, and an epic supermarket bill. You know. The usual quiet week.
Posted in Weekly Journal
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A poolside meditation 🇬🇧
What starts as a simple mission to clean the pool ends in a humbling, sun-drenched reckoning with the body’s limits — and one man’s very reasonable decision to treat the afternoon’s dizziness as a medical prescription for rosé. Equal parts dry wit and genuine reflection, this poolside dispatch from the south of France asks the big questions (relapse or just the heat?) and arrives at the only sensible answer: when in doubt, open the cellar. Santé. Click to read.
Posted in Daily life
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Chronicles of everyday tech life 🇫🇷🇬🇧
When your ultra-connected smart home runs at 10 Gbps, you expect cutting-edge problems. What you don’t expect is a full-scale rebellion… from two-euro batteries. This week: alarms failing, shutters dying, technicians queuing — and a quiet realization that the weakest link in modern tech isn’t the network, but the tiny things we forget to check. Click to witness the great battery uprising.
Posted in Tech Troubles
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March 2026: The month that tried its best 🇬🇧🇫🇷
Ten days of Spanish sunshine, a maritime lunch in Sète, St Patrick’s Day navigated with remarkable restraint, and enough flights booked to Southeast Asia to confuse a travel agent — March had no shortage of plot. The clocks stole an hour, the elections stole my mood, and spring stole absolutely nothing because it hasn’t actually shown up yet. Click in for the full debrief.
Posted in Monthly reflections
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Escale à Sète
Sun-soaked canals, salty breezes, and a town that hums with raw Mediterranean charm—Sète isn’t just a stopover, it’s a feeling. In this story, dive into a place where fishing boats sway beside colorful facades, locals linger over long lunches, and every corner whispers something beautifully unpolished. If you’re craving authenticity, spontaneity, and a hint of wild escape, this is your invitation to step off the map and into Sète.
