For years, my primary source for looking up French words and expressions has been the online language forum WordReference.com. For any French word I don’t recognize, the platform provides synonyms, the English translation, sample sentences, and a range of expressions that utilize the word. If that doesn’t suffice, the same…
It’s been more than ten years since terrorists forced their way into the offices of the satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 of its staff members. Two of Charlie’s female contributors, Corinne Rey and Catherine Meurisse, survived the horrific onslaught. Yet, both women continue to ply their craft as…
Humankind’s propensity for dupery—the seemingly perpetual supply of scallywags coupled with an even larger supply of suckers—never fails to astound me. The idea that the grosser the distortion of reality, the more inclined some people are to believe it, doesn’t make a bit of sense, but this aspect of the…
Last week, I compared and contrasted day-trips to two of France’s most opulent palaces, Versailles and Fontainebleau. At the end of the post, I mentioned that Fontainebleau has the added bonus of being situated on the edge of one of France’s most extensive forests. Originally established as a royal hunting…
First-time travelers to Paris often dedicate a day to seeing the Palace of Versailles. I avoided the place for many years in favor of dozens of museums and monuments within the city limits. However, in 2018, I finally visited with my husband Andy and our daughters. The line to get…
One of the advantages of being proficient in French is the ability to consume media from sources originating in Francophone countries. U.S. news tends to anchor itself in shock and outrage, whipping the population of news junkies into two vehemently opposed camps. French news undoubtedly suffers from some of this…
A few weeks ago, I read an article about the diminishing number of children who ride bikes. Half as many kids pedal about these days as did in the 1990s. The story delved into myriad harmful effects of our youngest generation’s loss of independence. Then again, the article warns, there…
Last week, we bid farewell to our sweet kit-kat of 16 years. As fortune would have it, the weather was cooler and the days free from rain. So, Cleo and I spent our final days together outside—she dozing beneath the leaves of a crowded hosta bed, occasionally raising an eyelid…
