Mixing It Up in Paris Real Estate
The façade of the Defense Ministry building on the Boulevard Saint Germain bears the holes and pockmarks of German bombing in 1918. It’s one of many reminders that wars have time and again been fought in France’s capital city. The ministry moved to a modern complex in...
Sink or Swim in the Seine
I’d been thinking about my friend Joel Stratte-McClure ever since I heard that some swimming events of the Paris Olympics will be held in the Seine. A river that, right now, contains “alarming levels of bacteriological pollution,” a nonprofit foundation said last...
Aren’t Fountain Pens Fun? No.
Reprinted with permission from The Washington Post. See below for a response from the grown-up Louise. October 5, 1997 PARIS -- Less than a month into the French equivalent of second grade, my daughter has met the enemy and it is a fountain pen. Wrestling with...
You Toucan Go Birding in Panama
I used to think birding was ridiculous. Tramping around all day with a big camera and binoculars to find small flying creatures whose goal is to stay unseen? Then I tried it. In Panama. This is not as strange as it seems, or least, no stranger than choosing Panama for...
Voyage to the Heart of Paname
When a French person tells you’re they’re going to “Paname,” they don’t mean the country. For reasons that are in dispute, Paname is a slang word for Paris. While Charlie and I didn’t travel to Panama-the-country by mistake, we enjoyed seeking out the many French...
Guest Post: Finding a Nuisance-Free House in France
Ahhh, the infinite joys of French. The irregular verbs! The exceptions to every règle! The rarely used (but aptly named) imperfect subjunctive! And, as Anne explored here in August, the veritable feast of words that strike native English speakers as vague,...
Guest Post: A Forgotten French Cultural Icon
When preparing for my French citizenship interview, I had to learn all the major symbols of the Republic. La Marseillaise. Marianne and the Phrygian cap. The Gallic Rooster. One could even throw in the Fleur-de-lis. Or the Eiffel Tower. No matter which list I studied,...
The Long Tail of World War II
I’ve written before about how Paris is filled with war memorials, especially for World War II. I was reminded recently that stories also bring that war home to Europeans. At a time when horrible violence is rising anew on this side of the planet, war memories have...
My Triumphal Return to Paris
France is buzzing during the fall rentrée. King Charles and Queen Camilla spent two days in Paris in a blur of ceremony and bonhomie. The Rugby World Cup is being played everywhere. It’s Fashion Week. Museums are busting with popular exhibitions, and Pope Francis was...
Normally, Nothing is Lost in Translation
“Every sensible and rigorous theory of language shows that a perfect translation is an impossible dream. In spite of this, people translate.” – Umberto Eco, “Experiences in Translation” Now, they tell us, AI will take over translation from people. Tourists in Paris...