by Anne Swardson | Jul 12, 2021 | France
“Very often Paris is considered a museum-city, frozen in its elegant Haussmanian avenues, monuments, and upscale districts…..But when you stray from the beaten track, you realize this is not the case at all: Paris innovates and reinvents itself every day.” – Nicolas... 
by Anne Swardson | Jun 28, 2021 | France
I’ll come out and say it: Voter ID is a good thing. That’s a controversial view in the U.S. But I have seen it work here, not once but for every one of the 10 times I have voted in France. All voters carry their national identification card (a passport will do too)... 
by Anne Swardson | Jun 14, 2021 | France, Rouen
Charlie and I celebrated the phaseout of lockdown recently with a trip to Rouen, a lovely city with a knockout cathedral. The trip was also a reminder that France isn’t just Paris. In the past we’ve traveled widely in our adopted country, but the various COVID... 
by Anne Swardson | May 31, 2021 | France
Did you ever try to attend several parties in one evening because they all sounded so fun? I was given a similar opportunity via an email from the U.S. Embassy the other day. “Multiple protests on Saturday beginning at noon. Demonstrators are expected on a variety of... 
by Anne Swardson | May 19, 2021 | covid, France
It was the most-awaited day in France since the pandemic began: Restaurants and cafés could finally open. Closed by government decree since Oct. 26, eating and watering and caffeinating places had survived only by offering takeout, and by a dose of government aid. For...