I once lived in Canberra. In the late 80s it was shockingly quiet. For a city overrun with public servants, diplomats and the entourages of politicians, it offered relatively little in the way of nightlife or culinary enjoyment. Seventeen years since I left, has anything changed?

Much delayed but newly relevant (as some friends were asking me about Lyon), it's high time I published a description of a city I visited earlier this year and greatly enjoyed.

There are so many reasons to visit Paris; so many reasons to enjoy the city and – most pertinently – the food. Lacking the resources to hop from one name-restaurant to another, it seemed much better do markets, shops, and luscious pastries while staying in modest lodgings…

It's three years since I was last in Britain and I was curious to see what might have changed in the food scene. It wasn't hard to miss the popularity of gastropubs, the growth of decent chocolatiers, and the burgeoning enthusiasm for organics. My impressions of markets, new shopping habits and some random bits.