The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Choochie Face

Introducing... Maddie! The new addition to my sister's family, they were able to bring her home just this weekend. They have been very lonesome without a dog since our darling Abbie's untimely passing in March, and I'm so happy that they found the right new 4-legged "baby" to love and care for. She looks wise beyond her age (I think she's only about 6-8 weeks old). More photos of Maddie with her big sister, big bro & his girlfriend, and Nana: ............................................................................................. And speaking of new arrivals, a ginormous hug of congratulations goes out to Dr. and Mrs. B in Wisconsin (formerly Mrs. B in Paris) on the arrival of their beautiful and long-awaited daughter, Rowan Amelia. (Thanks Aimee, for sharing this first glimpse with us! We know the new mom and dad are a bit busy right now!) Read more →

Lifestyles of the Blogged and Famous

Check out Frog With a Blog's first fab video of the weekend Blog-nic. FWaB, you continue to amaze and impress me with your cinematic genius... I can't believe you put this together so quickly, and it's wonderful! More of my favorite highlights du jour: Katia and Rhino singing "Xanadu", singing "Crazy" with Vivi and Katia, cuddling in a brief ménage à trois with FWaB and Petite, letting FWaB feel my freshly shaved leg while we talked about my recent "when to kiss a Frenchman" question, and laughing harder than I have laughed in weeks. I would like to know how the rest of you managed to get locked in the park after I left, and how you managed to get out again? And yes, I said "schmuck" on camera. Context: saying that I wanted to believe that all Frenchman are not complete schmucks (like one I once got involved with some years ago). This should really improve my chances of dating said non-schmuckified Frenchmen. Also check out the growing photo pool for more behind-the-scenes goings-on. Try and identify your favorite Paris bloggers. Prizes will [not] be awarded for the most correct guesses. Read more →

Picnic Haze

I'm just back from the Paris Bloggers' Picnic which was PHENOMENAL! Thanks to our hosts, Petite Anglaise (Cath), Frog With a Blog (Mickelino), Bookpacker (Rhino), and Paris Blageur (Meg) for bringing about 70+ fabulous people together in the Buttes Chaumont for hours of decadent Parisian fun! I'm still in a semi-wine-induced post-picnic haze so here are a few highlights: The day started out very iffy, weather-wise, but turned out to be lovely. In fact, some people got sunburned (I remembered to put on my 40 SPF before I left the house, thank God). I forgot my camera so sadly, no photos of my own, but a Flickr page has been set up here. And see if you can spot The Bold Soul in some of Negrito's pix. I finally got to meet FWaB, Vivi, and Polly Vous Français as well as a lot of other interesting bloggers. Which means I now have to start checking out all of their blogs (Yay! More reasons to procrastinate about work!) Stay tuned for a link to FWab's site because I got interviewed on-camera along with Petite and it's no telling how THAT will turn out (I'm fully prepared to be deeply embarrassed). Katia... Read more →

An-ti-ci-PAY-YAY-shun

Tomorrow I am attending my very first blogger-specific event in Paris - the Paris Bloggers' Picnic. I am almost giddy with anticipation. And I typically don't "do" giddy. Is it wrong that I am almost too excited about this? Generally, I am able to display a bit of decorum in social situations; i.e., I know how to play it cool even when I'm all a-flutter inside. But there is something about knowing I am going to finally meet a few more of the talented bloggers I've been reading, listening to and admiring for the past few years that is making me act like I'm about to go on a really hot date. Like, I'm planning out what I'm going to wear (but of course, a Bold Soul t-shirt!) and making sure my bare legs and feet look presentable (since I'll probably be wearing shorts and sandals with that t-shirt). And having some breath mints on hand (lest I o-ffend). Yes, it's just that special! I even got such a kick out of the South Park-esque avatars our Fab Four picnic hosts created for the event's blogsite that I created my own version of my Inner French Girl (she is minus... Read more →

As time goes by

Since I've been dipping my toes into the Parisian dating pool in the past six months, I have had several friends share a particular cautionary tale with me: that of the cultural meaning of a kiss. And I'm looking for some further clarification on this. I'm not talking about the standard, harmless French two-cheek social kiss. I'm talking about a romantic kiss between a man and a woman. According to my sources, I'm told that in France, I must remember this: a kiss is NOT still a kiss and a sigh is NOT just a sigh. Some fundamental things apply... in terms of cultural differences that should not be overlooked. In America, if you go out with someone and you both decide to kiss each other goodnight, it might mean something significant if there's some serious chemistry there, but it equally could mean nothing at all except you were curious and felt like kissing that person. You're essentially trying that person on for size to DECIDE if there is enough chemistry to proceed further. You're taking the new car for a test drive. A kiss, in this cultural context, most definitely does not imply a binding social contract, i.e. you... Read more →

Having a ball in Paris. Wish you were here

A modern fountain at the classic Palais Royal. There were lots of kids playing in the parks at the Palais on the day I took this photo. The addition of this fountain and the black-and-white striped tier pillars have turned this very traditional space into a nice place for families to gather on weekends. Read more →

A peek into Diane's world

Diane de Poitiers bedchamber at Chenonceau. Diane was a noblewoman by birth (1499), who at the age of 15 married a man 39 years older than herself. After her husband's death, she managed to retain her late husband's property and the income generated by it, which was unusual in those times. She later became the mistress of Henri II (who married Catherine de Medici) and was a powerful influence in his life, even being permitted to write and sign many of his official letters with the joint name "HenriDiane". Henri's love for Diane caused Catherine great jealousy (but of course), especially when he gave Diane the Crown Jewels of France and the beautiful Chateau de Chenonceau. She was very attractive and was often painted nude or topless as well fully attired. (This painting is by François Clouet.) After the king's death, the sun began to set on Diane's power and popularity. Catherine was finally in the position to get rid of her rival and she banished Diane from Chenonceau, taking the castle for herself. In Diane's chambre there is also a book written in her hand and with her signature: I always enjoy learning about these strong, charismatic, powerful women... Read more →

Paris: Just One Beautiful Distraction after Another

Procrastination has been a recurring theme in my life as a writer, and never more so since I moved to Paris last November. The problem with trying to be a working writer in a city like Paris is that there are just too many wonderful things to do with one's time when one is supposed to be working. On the one hand, I do need to work so that I can afford to live here (and I also enjoy the work I do), but who could expect me to stay home and write when my adopted city is constantly calling me to come out and play? When I relocated here, I spent the first few months working very little and playing tourist a lot. It didn't help my wavering work ethic that I had a string of friends from home coming to visit Paris during those early months, which gave me even more reasons to go out and experience the city. As a newcomer myself, I was still getting the lay of the land and discovering the city, and it was fun to be able to do that with my good friends since I knew virtually no one in the... Read more →

La Première Bicyclette

Leonardo's rendition of the first bicycle. At Chateau du Clos Lucé, DaVinci's last home near Amboise, you can tour the house, see where he lived and worked, and also see over 40 of his inventions in "real time", thanks to the efforts of a team at IBM who took the original sketches and built the machines. Some are in the house itself on a small scale (including some of the flying machines, the first "car", and two rather scary-looking early machine-guns), while others are spread around the grounds and gardens where you can interact with them (the groups of school children were thoroughly enjoying THAT!) The man was a true genius and so multi-talented it makes my head spin to think about it. If you're planning to do some castle-hopping in the Loire Valley in and around Tours, this is one place you should really take the time to visit. We had less than an hour to see the whole thing and I would have liked having more time to walk around the grounds to see the other machines (so I suppose I'll just have to go back some day!) Read more →

Keeping French nobility warm for centuries

A stunning (and still-working) cheminée at the chateau at Amboise (I did some castle-hopping in the Loire valley a few weeks ago) casts a warm glow into an otherwise cold, long, large room which I think was probably a reception room. There was another fireplace at the other end of the room to provide additional heat, but still it makes one realize how difficult (and cold) it was to live in these grand palaces. Amboise had two distinct architectural styles: the original Gothic section where this fireplace is located (as you can tell from the arches above), and the more recent Renaissance portion where this beautifully decorated (and much warmer-feeling) room is located: More pix from Amboise: The private chapel, seen toward the left of the chateau itself, is where Leonardo daVinci is now buried. He lived just a little way from here in a home given to him by François I, who lived here at Amboise. There is a tunnel that connects the chateau with DaVinci's house, which is quite an accomplishment considering the distance between the two (at least a mile!) Another room at Amboise, a dining room or another reception room perhaps, in the original section of... Read more →