Not Drinking in the Land of Wine

In May 2022 I gave up drinking. No big fanfare, no difficult decision, I just stopped. I’d been thinking about it for a while and there were a few reasons why, mainly that I was tired, run down and I didn’t enjoy it anymore. It’s a topic I get asked about a lot from friends and acquaintances who are considering it themselves so I thought I’d share a little about my experience. As you read please know I have no judgement (I’ve had this in my drafts folder for over a year as I don’t want it to be misintrepreted) towards anyone who still drinks - drink away! This is my personal experience only.

I grew up in Australia and spent my formative 20s in London so it’s safe to say alcohol was a pillar of any social engagement and probably the basis of many friendships. Until I moved to Paris I’d never even considered that another way was possible, that there were places you don’t spend every evening in the pub or where dinner parties are about conversation and food rather than playing mine-sweeper until every last drop is finished. I could accurately guess the price of a drink in almost any bar in London, knew which clubs I could score the most free cocktails and I had a champagne tower at our wedding (where we tripled the original alcohol budget and just scraped through with a bottle or two left over at the end). I was a drinker.