by Anne Swardson | Aug 9, 2021 | covid, France
In my 25 years in Paris, I’ve always resisted the temptation to declare the city “empty.” Not in August, not during the pandemic. No matter how many people have fled or can’t enter, there were always enough residents and visitors to occupy the cafés, shop at the... 
by Anne Swardson | Jul 26, 2021 | France
“You’re moving to Paris? It’s a dirty, dirty city.” So said a high-school classmate at a reunion in Ohio 25 years ago, after I excitedly told her of my upcoming relocation. I’m not sure she’d even been to Paris. But it’s true that the level of filth in the City of... 
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...