One of the joys of travel is staying in someone else’s home, a stranger’s life briefly opened up to you like a book. In my experience, especially with older hosts, privacy isn’t a big concern. Their homes reveal so much: tastes, habits, memories, and they quietly invite you to observe and connect.

In Marseille, I stayed at the home of a retired French writer (let’s call him Mr. G).
From the furniture and what filled the house, you could learn a lot about him. The place carried the spirit of those who had lived in it. Framed photos and objects on the shelves told their own stories.

You could see what he loved and how he spent his time. His kitchen tools showed he liked cooking, and not just casually. The spices revealed his preferred cuisine and his attention to flavor. The tea and coffee told me he had taste. I also saw that he loved photography and was passionate about jazz.

The house was filled with antiques that had clearly been with him since they were new. They resembled him, carrying the charm of an era he loved.

I especially liked the many books scattered throughout the house, and the little library in the bathroom. It was full of light reads, trivia books, and “Did you know?” style collections. It felt like the bathroom wasn’t just a place for necessity, but for catching new ideas.

I never met Mr. G, but I felt he had told me a lot about himself.


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A film worth watching
What the Day Owes the Night

This film tells the story of an Algerian boy caught between two families, torn by a double identity and a love that never came to be. How do you try to belong? How do you love in silence? How do you bend under the weight of love, homeland, and history?

The film is based on a 2008 novel titled Ce que le jour doit à la nuit by Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra (the pen name of Mohamed Moulessehoul). He wrote it based on his experience as an officer in the Algerian army and his daily view of the conflict between Arab and French identities in his world.

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