Cooking soup for 7000 French

7000 people, from all over France, are wheeling in on a road that seems it will never end. Hairpin bends above sickening drops into gloomy valleys of Europe’s abandoned heart.

Revolutionary tourism in Paris

Rain was pouring from the sky. It formed rivulets that became unavoidable rivers that picked up the grime of the Parisian streets. Under the huge statue of Marianne in the centre of the Place de la République, there were more people selling kebabs than protestors.

Finding a home in France: taking the alternative

There is no sound of a bell. We wait in silence. Ilaria rings again. Finally, as we have almost given up hope, we hear footsteps crunching on a gravel path and there is a blundering, crashing noise as if the person on the other side of the wall has a log tied to his leg and is dragging it through bushes.

Beyond neutrality

The many terroirs of Switzerland’s Chasselas wine.

Bananas, bombs and bonding

Environmental conservation in the Indian Ocean.

Telling stories to outlive death.

How learning the art of storytelling in France helped me find solace from grief.