Carnet de Voyage: a Month in France 

Travel notes from the real France. Carnet de Voyage is a weekly personal travel story in France sent in by readers. If you’d like to write a story for Carnet de Voyage, head here for details on how to submit.

In 2023, I made the wise decision to spend the month of September in France. After intensely researching long-term rentals, I landed on a lovely apartment in the village of Fontaine-le-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne department of the Île-de-France region. I packed for a month, booked my flight from Toronto to Paris, and rented a Mini Cooper for the duration of what I hoped to become an annual excursion to immerse myself into a different region of France. This experiment included bringing my small dog, Pierre, to see if this dream could become a regular reality. 

The Seine-et-Marne department, named for the two rivers, was a revelation. In contrast to the dry landscape of Provence where I’d visited the year before, this area of France has a green lushness from the Seine that runs through it and the heritage forests that surround it. There was an unexpected boating culture along the river that at times reminded me of the summer lake district in Canada. It was hard to believe I was less than an hour outside of Paris, and that the Seine everyone was swimming in was the same one we cross over and over in Paris. There are endless green parks and hiking trails in this area, and every day I found a new one to take the dog. 

Unlike the treacherous Riviera coastline, the driving was flat and calm. Pretty villages of sunblasted stone buildings are connected by farmland as far as the eye can see. Farming exports include cereals, sugar beets and of course, cheese, with an entire region of ‘Brie’ towns in the northeast (Chatelet-en-Brie, Chaumes-en-Brie, Brie-Comte-Robert). The famous forest trails attract serious hikers and cyclists, and a few Tour de France champions have made this region their home.  

Popping up unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere are grand castles like the Château de Fontainebleau, in the nearby town with a namesake forest and an amazing outdoor market I frequented often. The historic fortress in Blandy-les-Tours was also worth the drive, popping up in the middle of town as if from a storybook. My personal favorite was Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte in the commune of Maincy, a castle so showstopping that when I drove a visiting friend there, she gasped as we arrived. It was the unmatched beauty of this château, owned by the King’s Finance Minister named Nicolas Fouquet, that enraged King Louis XIV so much that he imprisoned Fouquet for life and hired his architects to create something bigger and better for himself….Versailles.  

Whether because it was Fall or because these castles are under the radar, you feel as if you are on your own private tour and can wander around unbothered for hours. September was, overall, a great time to be in France. No lines and no reservations required. I also came to love the sound of schoolchildren gathering at the primary school next door to the apartment, chattering away in French. La rentrée, or back-to-school/return-to-work in September, has a broader meaning in France as the time for a fresh start, to begin new projects and set new goals with renewed energy.  

As I was in the Brie region, trying the famous Brie de Meaux was a must, and I did so unexpectedly in the town of Barbizon. An artist community, Barbizon is home to the Barbizon School of oil painters where artists including Millet and Rousseau lived and worked. The main street is lined with replicas of famous paintings, and there are lovely galleries, shops and restaurants. As an art enthusiast, Barbizon was a highlight that I returned to a few times during the month, including on my birthday. With a friend visiting, we stopped into the terrace of a local bistro for a prix fixe lunch and enjoyed entrecôte au Brie de Meaux, steak covered in the famous local Brie, followed by a fresh fig tart and cardamom ice cream. It was an incredible meal. 

In the lovely town of Moret-sur-Loing, we visited a Crêperie famous for galettes, the pancake-like pastry with savoury fillings. As I’m not a fan of crêpes, I chose a salade niçoise, frites and a glass of Chablis. Another perfect lunch. 

During the week that my friend was visiting, she would go to the local boulangerie every morning for an assortment of pastries while I walked the dog. Along with our coffee, she’d have buttery croissants, a boiled egg and some cheese, while I’d tuck into pain au chocolat and pieces of fresh, warm baguette slathered with that perfect French butter. Despite the regular indulgences that month, I returned to Canada lighter then when I left, fully embracing the French paradox and with an appreciation of quality food and eating for pleasure. 

On the morning of departure day, I sat with my coffee at the top of the steps taking in the view of the Seine one last time, a view I knew I would miss terribly. I began hearing a strange, bellowing animal sound that made the dog bark. I called my friend out of the kitchen to hear it. Could this be the stags we’d heard about? Sure enough, I got a text from the host saying that the “stags were rutting” in the Fontainebleau Forest, and it was echoing all the way across the river. As mating season approaches, male deer start locking antlers vying for the affection of the females, and emit loud, guttural roars to mark their territory. I’d never heard anything like it. I couldn’t think of a more memorable send-off to represent the region I’d called home for that unforgettable month. 

Read our other Carnet de Voyage entries here.

Kathy McLay is a Canadian writer, fractional agency executive, and art enthusiast with a passion for France. Kathy celebrates travel, lifestyle, and women in mid-life navigating their next chapter under her brand Labadie Boutique, an homage to her French-Canadian mother. Kathy is currently the part-time director of a UK non-profit supporting women in business; she also sits on the Board of Directors of her local Children’s Aid Society and is an art educator at her local museum.  

Labadie Boutique’s Newsletter: kathymclay.substack.com 

Contact: [email protected] 

Instagram @labadie_boutique & @labadie_art 

Lead photo credit : Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte © Kathy McLay