by Anne Swardson | Apr 11, 2023 | food, France, Paris
Thank you, Chris O’Brien, for this lovely tale from French Crossroads. The big news in France this week was that I found eggs with white shells. Living abroad means constantly trying to find the right balance between embracing a new culture and holding tight to the... 
by Anne Swardson | Mar 30, 2023 | France, Paris, Strikes
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... 
by Anne Swardson | Mar 13, 2023 | France, Paris, Parks, Walking
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... 
by Anne Swardson | Feb 22, 2023 | France, Paris, Strikes
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... 
by Anne Swardson | Feb 6, 2023 | Antique, Colorado, Paris, Virginia
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... 
by Anne Swardson | Dec 23, 2022 | Christmas, France, Paris, Poverty
A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honour; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is...