Hello dear readers, Unless you are French speakers, you are probably wondering what “la rentrée means. It is a word you hear a lot in France, especially at the end of summer vacation just before school starts. Literally, it means “the return” and although there are many vacations in France and hence many returns, “la […]
If you (a) like Matisse and (b) are in Paris, don’t miss the exhibition of his revolutionary painting, The Red Studio, at the Fondation Louis Vuitton which runs until September 9. The exhibition is popular and my friend and I were horrified to discover that we had reserved on “family day at Louis Vuitton” which
Matisse’s Red Room and a tale of Neuilly Read More »
Have you ever met a rock star? Or a famous scientist? Or, why not – the President of the United States? I have to say no to all three – but I can now say that I have met the man whose protest against injustice to Blacks shook the world. That man is Tommie Smith,
Tommie Smith in Paris Read More »
So there you are in Montparnasse dreaming of the heady days of Left Bank writers and artists as you stroll down the streets they frequented. You’ve seen the spots Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald lived and/or drank in and paid your respect to some of the literary lights buried in Montparnasse Cemetery.
A Paris Secret – Reid Hall Read More »
Ah, Emily in Paris! Emily the innocent (who hit Paris running with her open, smiling American face) and Emily the arrogant (who never seemed to realize why the French wouldn’t want to take lessons in marketing or anything else from a young woman who didn’t speak a word of their language) opened a new page on
Letter from Paris March 2023 You don’t need to be a Martian to find French behaviour strange and mysterious, sometimes charming and curious, other times vaguely unsettling. You can simply be a citizen of any other country that is NOT France! I have been observing and cataloguing the strange and mysterious, curious and charming aspects of French behavior ever since
A Martian in France Read More »
PARIS, March-April, 2022 The year was 1962, the month October. I clearly remember my 16-year-old self standing still in a state of shock as I listened to the alarming reports and speculation about a possible nuclear war after U.S. intelligence reports showed that Russian missiles had been secretly placed in Cuba. Less than an hour
So many of us dream of living in France! Champagne! Foie gras! Grand museums, charming villages, Paris! Oh yes, it’s all that and much, much more. Don’t forget the French people and the French language in all that is different. Cultural differences and the language are THE most important things to try to understand when
Harriet tells what it’s really like to live in France Read More »
Sorry, folks, but I’ve got a lot of press in my hometown and just have to share this one which was written by … me. The Shenandoah, Iowa Education Foundation asked to write about my high school days in Shenandoah High School for a column called “Alumni Reflections” and I was only too happy to
Saturday, December 4: The phone rings as I am going outside and my husband signals me furiously with the hand that isn’t on the phone. “Be careful”, he mouthed. His friend on the other end of the line had called to see how we were because he had just watched “casseurs” (thugs) running down our