Several years ago, a friend dropped off a book for me to read. Translated from the original French and titled The Memoirs of a Breton Peasant, it sat on a shelf for many months before I finally cracked the cover, but I’m glad I did. I’ve read myriad memoirs and…
Each time I visit Paris I think, maybe this time I’ll make it to the Louvre. There are so many things to see and do, however, that I never seem to get there. A quick eyeballing of the swarms in the Louvre’s main courtyard and the throng serpentining in front…
I love my local independent movie theater but have to admit to being disappointed with their decision to show more Hollywood blockbusters, heavily diluting what used to be a steady stream of foreign and independent films. For this reason, I make an effort to attend every French film that brightens…
I love to cook and I love French bandes dessinées, so when I learned that the comic author and artist, Christophe Blain, had written a book about one of France’s top chefs, I wanted to check it out. Published by Gallimard in 2011, En cuisine avec Alain Passard is the…
I’ve previously written about Nadar, the colorful French author, artist, and entrepreneur who first made a name for himself in the middle of the 19th-century as a caricaturist. Nadar’s Panthéon is a colossal lithograph containing a long parade of 250 heralded writers of the day. It took Nadar two years…
A punishing 3-hour debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen on Wednesday revealed stark differences between the two candidates. Yet, many wonder if Macron has done enough to garner support from the disillusioned left. On Sunday, French citizens will head to the polls for the second and final round…
Two of the things that Paris is known for are the river Seine, adorned by a series of 37 unique and magical bridges, and romance. In 1955, Dean Martin celebrated these iconic features in his hit song Under the Bridges of Paris. Martin’s emotive vocals attracted fans around the globe…
Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, people around the world have found myriad ways to show their support for the besieged European nation. The French are no exception. The day after Putin’s first attack, the Eiffel tower was illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. A week later, Notre Dame…
