Sorry to toot my own horn but if I don’t do it, who will? Below is a lovely review of my third and latest book, Joie de Vivre, by John Pearce, author of the intriguing mysteries Last Stop: Paris and Treasure of St. Lazare. John’s third book is scheduled for publication in mid 2017; you […]
An American living the Paris life and writing “cultural dictionairies” Read More »
Why Do All Those Parisiennes Wear Black? I am sitting on the 69 bus going from our place near Place Gambetta to the Bastille and looking out the window at the grey sky. You know how you assign colors to places? I assign bright blue to Marseilles in the south of France even though it
Some Memories of “Don’t Eat Your Soup With A Fork” 40 years have passed since an irreverent, fun and sassy publication called The Paris Metro hit town. Tonight, in Paris, the founders of and contributors to that very special magazine, which unfortunately died after only two years and 64 issues, will be celebrating its 40th
Don’t Eat Your Soup With A Fork Read More »
The Bonjour Bullies and the Bonjour Drill What’s in a word? A lot, if you consider one of the most important ones in the French language and that is Bonjour. Here’s what you need to know about Bonjour etiquette when visiting France: if you ask directions of a French person and don’t preface your request
The Bonjour Lesson Read More »
Co-Ownership – A French Cauchemar If you are lucky enough to own a condo in Paris or elsewhere in France, once a year you’ll be convoked to a general assembly of all the co-owners. Accounts and all other matters concerning the property, such as upkeep and expenses, will be read out and discussed, supposedly
Parisians – Don’t Scowl at Me! Recently I’ve heard many tourists, mainly Americans, comment on how “nice” the French have become. “I heard they were arrogant and mean but they couldn’t have been kinder,” one remarked. “I was afraid to come to Paris because of the French reputation for being snotty,” remarked another, “but they
Parisians-Don’t Scowl at Me! Read More »
STRIKES, SOCCER, STRESS and the SEINE This post started with a phone call from Radio Sputnik in Moscow. In case you didn’t know – I didn’t – Radio Sputnik in 2014 replaced the Voice of Russia. They don’t seem to have a Paris correspondent and, as I’m a former journalist and an author who has
Strikes, Soccer, Stress and the Seine Read More »
Of ice cubes, Cherry Coke and other French things For quite some time I’ve been wanting to write and speak about changes in France and got a great opportunity to do so at the recent International Media Seminar in Paris where I have been invited to speak for the last few years on my favorite
Of ice cubes, Cherry Coke and other French things Read More »
After the tragic events of the past two weeks in Paris, it feels good to lighten up which is what I did this morning when reading an article about a “world’s worst mom” http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/advice-from-americas-worst-mom/?_r=0. The mom in question is Lenore Skenazy, a New York mom of two, who earned the title after reporting in a
Vying for title of worst American mom and worst French dad Read More »
It’s been a tough 13 days for France. On Wednesday, January 7, my husband stood transfixed in front of the television, saying something about « some shooting somewhere in Paris ». That soon became more specific : the shooting took place at the headquarters of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in the 11th arrondissement not far from
France’s forgotten youth Read More »