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Garbage In, Garbage Out

Garbage In, Garbage Out

During our years in Paris, I've always downplayed France’s frequent strike and demonstrations, especially when I’m asked whether people should cancel their planned trips. No, I say. That’s still true this time around, even though masses of French people are protesting...

For the Love of Gardens

For the Love of Gardens

It's getting warm in Paris, after a winter that seemed grayer and colder than usual (with apologies to those experiencing blizzards, flash floods and the like in the U.S.). I love walking around the parks and seeing preparations for the blooming season. Every time I...

The French Are Not Shy About Retiring

The French Are Not Shy About Retiring

There is a genre of French film that rarely crosses the Atlantic but is very popular here. The theme: the hell of the workplace and the nightmare of layoffs. I count at least 15 movies on that topic in the past few decades, most featuring laid-off employees fighting...

A Piece of Childhood Comes Home

A Piece of Childhood Comes Home

One of the few drawbacks of living in Paris is the feeling of being separated from your roots. I don’t mean family, who can almost always visit or be visited. I mean not being in the place where most of my cultural references were formed. Instead, I live where aging...

The Best Food Market in Paris

The Best Food Market in Paris

Scratch a Parisian, and they will tell you why the food market where they shop is the best. Tourist guides also make recommendations, such as here, here and here.  Open-air food markets are an essential part of cooking and no one who wants fresh, tasty ingredients...

Going With the Flow in Paris

Going With the Flow in Paris

I’ve always thought of Paris as a city that flows, and not just because a river runs through it. Living here teaches you a kind of malleability and adaptability, in transport and otherwise, that is arguably less present in my confrontational native land. Driving in...

All of Paris Stops Here

All of Paris Stops Here

Second of two parts This post has been corrected, see below. To some people, the symbol of Paris is the Eiffel Tower. To others, it’s the Arc de Triomphe or the Louvre. To me, the symbol of Paris is a train station: The Gare du Nord, North Station. It represents...

Train Station Or Shopping Mall?

Train Station Or Shopping Mall?

First of two parts Paris train stations and I have never gotten along. Years ago, for instance, I was leaving on a ski vacation with my kids, then little, and my parents, then healthy. For some unaccountable reason, I decided we should take the Métro to the gare where...

  
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