From a small farm town in Brittany to a hidden passage in central Paris, I've travelled with CNN's Great Big Story's teams as a translator, fixer and associate producer. Here are a few of my favorites:
Blending traditional Yoruba chants with soul, electronic, hip-hop and beyond, the French-Cuban, twin-sister duo Ibeyi has created a sound all their own. The daughters of Latin jazz legend Miguel Angá Diaz and French-Venezuelan singer Maya Dagnino, sisters Naomi and Lisa-Kaindé were born into music.
In one of his many road trips to Morocco, Emile Leray (nicknamed the "Doctor of African Mechanics" by his friends) hit a roadblock ... literally. Well, actually it was a rock in the middle of the desert, but you get the idea. With his car's front axel destroyed and a limited food supply, Leray faced an uncertain future.
Most people know Thierry Millet as "Monsieur Pep." That's because for the past 47 years, he has run a small business called Pep's-the only umbrella repair shop in France (and quite possibly all of Europe). Inside this tiny store, Millet has dedicated his life to keeping Parisians dry and shaded-to the tune of 10,000 umbrellas, sunshades and canes repaired each year.
Among the Pyrenees Mountains in the south of France, there is a group of people that have been keeping up a sweet tooth habit for centuries. The brotherhood of the Gâteau à la broche, or cake on a spit, was first brought to France by Napoleon's soldiers retreating from battle in Russia.