Last week, thanks to my friend Steve over at Twitter, we learned why we hadn’t found our perfect kouign amann here in the U.S. He linked us to posts from writer and baker T. W. Lim, who had gone on a pilgrimage to Brittany to try kouign amann and found that the traditional recipe did […]
Author Archives: Nicole Gustas
Caramel Patisserie: The Kouign-Amann Chronicles
After our post last week on our Colette experience, many people messaged us telling us that Flour Bakery make the best kouign-amann in the Boston area. This morning we got up early and trundled to Flour in the Riverside area of Cambridge. Alas, there were no kouign-amann in the case, so we asked a staffer. […]
Colette Bakery: The Kouign-Amann Chronicles
We’ve settled in the Boston area for now, but we still have pangs of homesickness for the many places we’ve lived as nomads. One place we particularly miss is Rennes. And one of the things we particularly miss from Rennes is the kouign-amann from the Marché des Lices. Locals have told us about many bakeries […]
Read About House Sitting in New Zealand in House Sitting Magazine!
The folks at House Sitting Magazine were kind enough to let me write an article for them about our experiences house sitting in New Zealand. You can read the whole issue here. An extended version of the article will go up soon on the House Sitting Magazine website, and I’ll have a direct link when […]
COVID-19 in New Zealand: What It’s Like to Get “Stuck” Here and What NZ Did Right
I was interviewed by journalist Elie Hunt last week about how we wound up marooned in New Zealand during COVID. In the article I mention that watching the world from here is like when you’re watching a horror movie, except in this case you’re screaming, “Don’t go in the mall!” I expanded on that a […]
What Managed Isolation is Like in New Zealand
I hear American media are discussing “NZ COVID Camps” – and since I’ve seen one I thought I should weigh in. This photo shows a COVID camp in downtown Christchurch: the Crowne Plaza. People who enter New Zealand stay at four-star hotels like this. I’ve previously stayed at several of the hotels being used for […]
COVID-19: New Zealand at Level 2
New Zealand has entered Level 2, aka “Slightly Distanced Normality.” You may have heard that NZ has “eradicated” the virus. That’s why the country is starting to open up. What happened, and what’s going on now? New Zealand started its lockdown with just over 100 cases, and it was much more stringent than the “shelter […]
Bloomberg’s Terrible Article About New Zealand’s Lockdown
Bloomberg posted a terribly inaccurate article about how New Zealand is handling lockdown. It is such crap that I won’t deign to link to it; you can search it on your own. Here’s the real story. (Tell your friends so they don’t believe the Bloomberg bullshit in the screenshots.) UPDATE: After being dragged by millions […]
COVID-19 and the Stockdale Paradox
Note: this is adapted from a Twitter thread and Facebook post I made that got shared around a lot. It may feel like it’s a good idea to tell someone who’s struggling, “Don’t worry, it will all be over by May!” That’s actually the WORST thing you can say. Here’s why, and here’s what you […]
People come first: How NZ is handling the COVID-19 crisis
I thought you might find it interesting to read how another country is handling this crisis. Here’s the view from New Zealand. Prioritizing People Over “The Economy.” What feels like months ago now but was probably a week, the government of New Zealand announced a huge package to support residents affected by coronavirus. People who […]