About me
I share with my family a love of travel, a passion for language and culture, and a dream to live in France.
We soon realised that our dream would remain just that – unless we did something to make it happen. So, years in the dreaming, months in the planning; a little later in the execution than originally intended; weeks in the anticipation; finally our dream became a reality.
Increasingly dissatisfied with the humdrum routine of corporate life, we did what many only dream about: packing up to spend time living in the south-west region of France.
We first set off to live in France for three months in Spring-Summer 2014. Two years later we returned for four months in Autumn-Winter. In 2017, having fulfilled our long-held dream and experienced four seasons of family life in the Pyrenees, we took the plunge and bought a house.
We started a blog to share some of our experiences and to capture our ongoing adventures. Parallel Lives the book is based on this popular blog.
Diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s in 2019, I took up long-distance walking, which I use not only as a way to maintain my physical health but as a profound metaphor for overcoming life’s challenges.
My pilgrimages include the Voie du Puy (2022), the Voie de Vézelay (2023), and the 2,400 km Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome (2024). In 2025 I will walk the Via de la Plata and have plans to walk Rome to Santiago in 2026.
A lover of words and long-time Francophile, I now divide my time between New Zealand and France with my husband Stephen and three boys, who share my love of food, walking and travel.
Follow our ongoing adventures through our blog, and if you’re inspired, rent our house for an experience of your own.
