The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Sunset on Melon Beach

Stereotype? Or ruder than ever?

I just read this article in the AP about how the French are allegedly fed up with their own rudeness. As I was reading it, my initial reaction was that this article was just another way of perpetuating what I often feels is the "myth" of French rudeness. I say "myth" because in my nearly six years in France, I can count the number of times someone has been rude to me on fewer than my 10 fingers. And at least half of those incidents were more like French civil servants being cold and uncommunicative rather than out-and-out rude to me (you know, like the time a bitchy fonctionnaire made me cry). And honestly, I don't know that I've ever felt that people in France were being rude to me simply because I am foreign, and that's another reason I feel this "the French are so rude!" thing is frequently just blown way out of proportion. Are some waiters in France rude? Probably. But most of the ones I've met have been polite and professional, even if not warm and friendly. And really, is it a server's job to act like my best friend? Not really. I think Americans in... Read more →

Eat with your feet in the sand

This is the Sandy Plage beachfront restaurant, just next to our "Melon Beach". Excellent restaurant (although the prices have gone up). And if you reserve in advance, you can have the comfortable beach chairs, umbrellas and a cabana boy to bring you a drink all day long. Sure beats having people park their beach towels 2 inches from yours on the regular beaches (something I understand in principle, being that the beaches here are small and Europeans have a smaller "space bubble" than Americans do, but which still bugs the hell out of me). Read more →

Peaches and Lavender

A neighbor just brought us this plate of fresh peaches with lavender and honey sprinkled on them; we are to bake them for about 15 minutes. I never knew you could eat lavender! A Provençal delicacy; I can't wait to try it! Read more →

Wish you were here

Tiki Plage, 12:33pm on a Tuesday Read more →

I can't wait...

... to blow this popsicle stand called "no-summer Paris". Don't get me wrong, I still love Paris. Just not all of the time. Like, I don't love the Paris with dog poop everywhere, so you can't walk safely without looking down all the time. I do love dogs and how in Paris the dogs can go practically everywhere; I just hate the owners who don't think they ought to pick up the poop. I don't love the Paris with the cigarette butts littering the sidewalks and street gutters... but I DO love the Paris where you can now go to a restaurant and enjoy your meal without a side order of other people's smoke. And this dreary Paris weather this summer is just for the birds. We had two really good days this week, and now we're back to the crap weather. But there is hope on the way for us! We leave this weekend for the sunny sud: Saint Raphael and our own "Melon Beach"! We are both more than ready to get out of the city and have a change of scenery and climate, and we're staying for 3 weeks (the Little Guy will be with us, too).... Read more →

If you want to follow more Paris blogs...

So there's this web site I only now just discovered, called Blog Lovin'. (Maybe you all already know about it, but I'm not always so au courant with these things.) It lets you find and follow blogs you like. Since you're already here, you might not need to "follow" me there - but feel free to check it out. And maybe you'll find some other cool expat-in-France blogs to read, too. (There are HUNDREDS of them. Not as good as mine - heh heh - but you could be reading for days, if not weeks!) Follow my blog with Bloglovin Read more →

Cimetière de Montmartre, Part II

So, continuing our tour of the local cemetery here in Montmartre... These tombs located under the big, blue bridge seem so sad and neglected. The communal resting place of an order of monks; latest "arrival" in 2010. On the opposite side of the bridge is the larger section of the cemetery, and you'll find this rather elegant mausoleum there. I have no idea who's inside. "J'accuse!" Emile Zola's monument is here... but Zola isn't. While members of his family are interred here (many of whom have the middle name of Emile)... ... Emile himself was initially buried here, but was later moved to the Pantheon along with other great men and women of France; he now shares a crypt with none other than Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas père. Zola unfortunately died of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a blocked chimney at the age of 62. A very old marker, now enveloped by a tree. Instead of a heavy stone or marble cover, this grave was decorated more simply with stones, plaques, artificial flowers and a small statue. The deceased was awarded the Legion d'Honneur. That's something special in France. Waiting for the rain to stop (it didn't, which is... Read more →

Cimetière de Montmartre, Part I

I have now lived in/near Montmartre for 4 1/2 years and have never, for some odd reason, taken a walk in the Montmartre Cemetery. It's one of those big Parisian cemeteries, like Père Lachaise and Montparnasse, where famous people have been buried, and where you can usually find interesting grave markers. Assuming you like that sort of thing. And I do. At last, Georges and I took a brief stroll through part of the cemetery on Saturday afternoon, to walk off our lunch. We didn't get too far into it though, because a storm blew through and we decided to just head home (we now live 5 minutes away, thus removing my last excuse for not going). But here's some of what we did manage to see... and I'll have to discover the rest another time. Sacha Guitry and Lucien Guitry, well-known actors in France. Sacha was also a prolific screenwriter and director. Interesting and a little bit creepy, these parent-and-child effigies complete with TOES peeking out (click to enlarge). Very odd imagery on this one: spiders, butterflies, bats, pyramids, roses, grapes and owls. The singer Dalida, an icon in France and in Montmartre especially (she lived here at 11... Read more →

Carrousel du Louvre

Walking to the bus after watching the Bastille Day fireworks from the Tuileries Gardens... I love Paris at night. Read more →