Welcome to the blog of a french globe trotter!

Hi there!

My name is Laetitia. I’m a french girl of 34, borned and raised in Paris.

After 10 years spent as a broker in the commercial real estate industry, the crisis finally made me change my plans.

At the end of last year (2009), I decided to quit my job and follow my dreams. I’ve always enjoyed travelling and have definitely much more ability in writing, rather than calculating investment rates…

Therefore, I decided to get a new job, and have been hired as author/reporter for a famous french travel guides’ editor called Le Petit Futé.

Passionately in love with Italy, I’ve been lucky enough to be chosen to write my first travel guide about Tuscany, Umbria and Marches, i.e. 3 central regions of il bel paese.

So I’ve spent my latest summer travelling in these 3 regions, which was quite a good thing, considering that I broke up with my boyfriend a couple of weeks earlier and all my holidays plans got cancelled.

Now that I’m a bit more experienced in organising this kind of trip, I feel comfortable and available enough to share it with you.

I haven’t completely finished the redaction of my first travel guide (Florence, Toscane et Ombrie by Le Petit Futé; and a part of the Northern Italy guide).

However, I’m already getting ready for my next trip : Washington DC.

This guide is a bit more challenging than the previous one, considering that it doesn’t exist yet, so it’s gonna be a brand new title for this editor.

I’m gonna fly from Paris on October 22^nd and remain in Washington (let’s call it “D.C.” like the insiders do) until November 3^rd.

The first step, when you write a travel guide, is to get informed about the region : the history, the area, the events, the culture.

After that, you can start planning your trip :

Get a flight ticket and organise your time schedule so that you get to see a maximum of stuff in a short laps of time. Of course, you need to pay attention not to plan your trip at the busiest time of the year (depending on the main events in the region). Otherwise, it’s gonna be a nightmare to find an accommodation and all the prices will rocket.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what is happening to me at the moment. Even if I managed to avoid the Thanksgiving week, I haven’t realised that so many events were incoming in DC when I get there. The Marine Corps Marathon (which gathers over 15.000 persons in town) takes place at the exact same period as tons of business seminars in DC… Damned it!

So far, I’ve contacted over 60 hotels, trying to find a place to stay. All of them were full. I’ve also contacted the tourist information center, the international visitor center, the Alliance française, the French embassy and so many other associations… unsuccessfully…

I’m kind of worried, considering that I can’t change my flight ticket and that I just can’t sleep in the streets with my heavy luggage! Just hope to still have my lucky star;-)

This is the first time I’m writing a blog. I chose to write it in English (considering that it would be more understandable for a majority), rather than in French or Italian. Hope it’s gonna be worth it! (And please accept my apologies for the mistakes I make, it’s not my mother tongue…)

I don’t know exactly what I’m gonna fill it with. I thought of sharing with you:

- My experience in terms of professional reorientation. I think many people wish to do the same at the moment.

- My travels of course : photos, tips and advice. 

Not the one you can easily find in guides or by yourselves (like museums, touristic restaurants…) but the one I really enjoyed (nice bars where the locals hang out,; trendy stores (fashion, accessories, decoration, food...), vintage and authentic spots; great food  & beverage specialities…)

If there are any other things you can think of, and you’d like me to write about, please feel free to add a comment!

Cheers and à bientôt (see you soon)!

Laetitia