Secrets of Conker Season in Paris

Author

Vanessa Grall
September 16, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

I still can’t resist pocketing shiny conkers from the leafy pathways of Jardin de Luxembourg – there’s arguably no better place in the city to get an exclusive sneak peek of the seasons shifting.

Catch a glimpse of the little Paris beekeeping school as their classes buzz back into session next week. And over by the Florentine fountain (folks often forget this is Paris’ own version of little Italy), sit with a good book and let the friendly ducks keep you company. When the chill sets in, my beloved bistro du coin awaits just outside the garden gates, with its cosy banquettes and unbeatable soupe à l’oignon.

Speaking of French comfort food, our Paris Writers & Readers Club returns this week with award-winning Paris based food writer Chis Newens as our guest author, who will be sharing bites of his first novel Moveable Feasts: Paris in 20 Meals.

I hope September is treating you well. The back-to-school season can feel a little overwhelming — like you’ve been dropped back onto the hamster wheel and all that promise and momentum of summer is slipping away. If you need a few diversions with a dash of inspiration, this week’s 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today is waiting for you.

And if in doubt, throw on a jacket with big pockets and go on a conquer hunt to clear the mind and cleanse the palate.

Stay curious,

Nessy

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 751)

A traditional feature of strawbale houses is the truth window – a small section of a wall that is left unplastered on the interior, and a frame is used to show the walls are actually made from straw bales for insulation. Truth windows often take on the role of an altar, bringing gratitude for the sources of our materials and reminding us of the reasons for the choices we have made.  

www.messynessychic.com/2025/09/09/13-things-i-found-on-the-internet-today-vol-751

The Little Paris Beekeeping School

Paris as you know, is like a jewel box, hiding endless little gems; another of which I'm going to share with you today, nestled in the iconic Jardin du Luxembourg.

www.messynessychic.com/2018/01/18/the-little-paris-beekeeping-school

"Moveable Feasts: Paris in 20 Meals" by Chris Newens

September's guest for the Paris Writers & Readers Club!

shop.messynessychic.com/products/moveable-feasts-paris-in-20-meals-signed-by-chris-newens

Little Tuscany in the Heart of Paris

The Medici Fountain, crowned with an Italian grotto and flanked by ivy drapes, is an impossibly romantic place alluding to the story of a troubled, homesick queen. In fact, throughout the iconic Jardins de Luxembourg, you’ll find clues to the legacy of a woman far from home, nostalgic for the surroundings of her beloved Florence. And this forgotten Italian connection is perhaps most evident in the near-replica of a Tuscan palace she had built right at the heart of Paris’ most famous park…

www.messynessychic.com/2021/04/09/little-tuscany-in-the-heart-of-paris

The Accidental Time Travel Incident with Marie Antoinette

Everyone can relate to taking a wrong turn on vacation – but few can boast taking a turn back in time to hang with Marie-Antoinette. That is, unless you’re Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain. It was 1901, when the two women, both academics hailing from Britain, decided to take a holiday to

www.messynessychic.com/2018/01/16/the-accidental-time-travel-incident-with-marie-antoinette

French Swag on Stilts

I assumed the impossible practice of walking on stilts was solely for the circus or a merry band of vagabond street performers. Alas, these 'impossible' contraptions were extremely valuable methods of transport to the French shepherds of Landes in the south-western farmlands.

www.messynessychic.com/2017/02/10/french-swag-on-stilts

The Secret World of Pageant Pigeons

They've been increasingly antagonised over the last century, reduced to nothing more than a plague upon Midtown Manhattan, Trafalgar Square, Notre Dame (we could keep going). But today at MessyNessy, your internet watering hole for misfits and chic oddities, we'd like to show you that pigeons, yes pigeons, can meet those two categories with flying colours. We’ll do our best to smash that stereotype, demonstrating that these little buggers are not only smart but seriously elegant.

www.messynessychic.com/2019/01/03/the-secret-world-of-pageant-pigeons

Men in Tights and Tutus: The Decadence of the Sun King’s Male Ballets

Louis’s passion for dance helped usher the ballet de cour (courtly ballet) into an era with real personality. There was beauty, and humour; style and emotion. There were men – and only men, for a while – in tight, tight tights. It played a huge role in the burgeoning art of ballet not just in France, but the whole of the Western world…

www.messynessychic.com/2020/03/31/men-in-tights-and-tutus-the-decadence-of-the-sun-kings-male-ballets

Tune into the Forgotten Dial-a-DJ Jukeboxes of Yesteryear

Behold the “Theatrophone”, set up in hotels, cafés, clubs and theatres across the city. Invented in 1881, the earliest telephonic distribution system could broadcast and transmit sounds to 48 listeners at a time through various telephone lines running through the sewer systems.

www.messynessychic.com/2023/09/29/stop-everything-and-behold-this-mini-art-deco-telephone-jukebox-circa-1935

What’s new in Messy Nessy’s Cabinet

Dig for treasures from our Paris cabinet of curiosities

shop.messynessychic.com/products/1930s-paris-souvenir-charm-bracelet