I’ve finally made it back to France! Won’t have much time to blog but hope you enjoy these pictures from a recent visit to the Parc Floral de Paris. Vertical Gallery Horizontal Gallery Ever visited? Let me know in the comments. Never been? It’s worth the trip and entry is…
For decades, my parent’s basement was the source of many chuckles, curses, and quandaries, along with considerable consternation. My mother, an only child, and my father, the only surviving child, seemed to have inherited not only their own parents’ belongings but also those of many of their grandparents, aunts, and…
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…
One of the best things about Michigan’s winter is that when spring arrives, every day is close to intoxicating. Adding to the exhilaration has been the return of all three of my kids. It was great having them all in town for a few weeks. Just when I was about…
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…
On May 18, 1922, one of Paris’ grandest hotels was the site of a legendary dinner party. Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, James Joyce, and Marcel Proust, were among the attendees. The evening is featured in a book, titled Proust at the Majestic: The Last Days of the Author…
In today’s political climate where bipartisanship is increasingly rare, I found this relatively obscure story about the French Resistance to be particularly hopeful. In 1943, under the iron grip of German occupation, an improbable group of 19 Frenchmen met in secret to design a plan of retaliation as well as…
My mother would have been startled by the extent of her memorial service but not half as much as I was when an unexpected guest came to speak. After nearly a year of witnessing my mother’s slow and steady decline, the day had finally come to discuss her funeral. In…
