Who's Brooke

Where's Emily?  Who's Brooke?

I often joke that I moved to France for love, but I'm staying for Paris. I visited Paris four times over the course of my life, often with disappointment, before moving here full-time two years ago. During those early visits, I never quite had the coup de foudre that I was expecting. Instead, my love and appreciation grew for this city as I navigated its food markets, discovered secret halls in museums, and figured out how to tap into the joie de vivre that everyone else seemed to have around me.

Paris is a city to experience, not just to see. From traveling to over 55 countries and living in 10 of them, I've learned many times over exactly what makes a trip memorable. My deep interests in culture, migration, food, and understanding a city's pulse at a given time has me following too many newsletters to count, collecting cookbooks and travel guides from everywhere and everyone, and encouraging me to discover something new each week.

My friends and family, who have been the recipients (sometimes involuntarily) of my travel advice and guides for years, always said that I have excellent recommendations and a gift for putting trips together. For many years, they suggested that I offer my talent for designing vacations and offering spot-on suggestions to others. This has been a personal passion of mine for a long time, and now that I'm settled in a city that I love, it's a dream to shine light on the best that it has to offer.

Since stepping off the plane at Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2021, I have been getting utterly lost in Paris, but finding the quirkiest sights and yummiest spots along the way. I'm here to divulge all of the tips and tricks that I have living in France with you to make sure that your time spent in the City of Lights is absolutely spectaculaire. When in doubt, I have my Parisian-born partner, our diverse community of friends, and even the insights of my 70-year-old French teacher, Florence. 

When I'm not out exploring, my primary 9-5 is working for a non-governmental organization focused on humanitarian aid. My work has provided me with the privilege to live in and visit many places from Indonesia to Peru. It was actually in Sierra Leone where I learned about the art of fromage from my French roommate who would travel with a suitcase full of dairy products every time she returned from a visit home. I thus have a robust skillset in traveling and working with people of many different nationalities and cultures. In my current role, I focus on how NGOs can enter communities and engage with program participants without causing harm, remaining accountable, and adapting their programs based on feedback. These skills undoubtedly serve me well as a travel advisor as I’m organized and reliable, customer-oriented, and curious. 

Merci for reading! You can continue to learn more about my time in France and me by subscribing to my newsletter over at Substack. I look forward to getting to know you as well!