British-born Anna Brooke began her love affair with France on a camping trip in Brittany at age 13. After gaining an honors degree in French and European studies, she moved to Paris in 2000 and has spent the last 7 years becoming a full-fledged bohemian, juggling life between freelance travel writing (Time Out Paris, Frommer’s, Alastair Sawdays, and Dorling & Kindersley), TV presenting and voiceovers (Discovery Channel and Trivop TV), and acting (3 years singing in a cabaret, short movies, and ads). She is currently writing a one-woman show and dreaming of hosting her own travel program. Any offers are kindly welcome; contact her at annaebrooke@yahoo.fr.

Nathalie Jordi’s appetites keep her bouncing around among County Cork, New York, London, and the French Alps. When not slinging curd as a cheesemaker, she writes for Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Gastronomica, and her blog at www.autobiogeography.com. Her dream of a life spent baking, getting baked, and sitting in the sun are gathering steam during her current stint as a waitress in New York City.

Native Californian Lauren Sommer is a travel and environmental writer whose work has appeared in Sierra magazine, National Geographic Adventure, and various online publications. When not living as a downhill ski instructor or pursuing a croissant quest in France, she works in public broadcasting in San Francisco.

Anna Sussman studied French and Italian literature at Brown University in adherence to her belief that it is critical to engage with the literature of countries in which one plans to eat and shop. Currently based in Cairo, she keeps her mom, friends, and clothes in New York City while she hops around the Middle East reporting on human rights and women’s issues. She has written for the New York Times, The New York Observer, The Nation, and WomensEnews; and has lived in Brazil, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United States. (Photo by Christophe Katrib.)