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...
The Back of Backstage at the Opera
We had walked by it many times, and the hidden treasures inside had always intrigued us, especially since they were stored in what looked to be a dilapidated old armory. The building, in fact, was on the site of a fortified wall that had ringed Paris in 1841, under...
How I Rediscovered Paris
The joy of my return to Paris after two months away began with a movie on the airplane. “Diplomatie,” a 2014 Franco-German production, is set on the night of August 24, 1944. Nazi General Dietrich von Choltitz, recently arrived as governor of occupied Paris, is under...
Hiding in Plain Sight
Originally published in Something Is Going to Happen, the blog of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. My short story, "Uncaged," will appear in the magazine next week. My husband and I have lived in three neighborhoods since we moved to Paris 26 years ago. Each time we...
The Magic Mountain
Like many Americans who are long-timers in France, I’m often asked what led me to choose a life overseas. There are many reasons. But the origin story begins on an Alpine peak in Switzerland. I spent my high-school junior year in Leysin, a village in the...
The French Language, Unmanned
The appointment of France’s new prime minister – or perhaps I should say prime ministress – has touched off a linguistic debate that many think should have been settled long ago. President Emmanuel Macron, who was elected to a second five-year term last month, last...
How I Took the High Road in Paris
There is something extraordinary about viewing a city from 30 feet above the ground. You are at once removed from the daily struggles on the street and yet eyeball-to-eyeball with residents of second-and-third story apartments. I was reminded of this during a recent...
Translating the French Presidential Election
France's presidential election has me reflecting on the French language. Over the past few months of campaigning, I’ve heard words I didn’t know but could learn, words I didn’t know that were hard to translate and words that even French people didn’t understand. When...
A Walk Made for Ewe
I’ve found the ideal walking companions to see Paris’s outskirts. They don’t need bathroom stops, don’t argue with your itinerary (unless they find a yummy clump of grass), don’t need to stop for lunch (as noted), don’t care if it rains and don’t have a language...
France Unmasked
I saw something startling in the grocery store the other day: A human face. It was a consequence of the government's recent decision to lift many COVID-19 restrictions. Most notable among them: the requirement that masks be worn in public indoor places, including...