The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

La Mode

Overheard on a Paris city bus, two friends talking. FRIEND A: "Look at that weird polka-dot outfit on that billboard." FRIEND B: "... said the woman wearing the Yoda-Mickey Mouse ears hat". Read more →

The Pancake Gallery

Latest edition to my growing stack of pancake (heh-heh) images: Every time I make pancakes, I try and make one special one for the Little Guy and so far I have never had to repeat myself. I've done a heart (Valentine's), a turkey (Thanksgiving), a Christmas tree, and recently even a giant "C" for "collège" the week of the school rentrée. Since we weren't celebrating anything in particular this week, but it was a cold and rainy night when we decided to make breakfast-for-dinner (for some reason even he can't explain, Georges has always called this a "dîner Suisse" or "Swiss dinner". But to our knowledge no one else does this.) So I thought a good pancake theme would be "home". The best place to be on a night like that, safe, warm and dry, with the ones you love at the table with you. Read more →

Serene Seine

I don't know about you, but I had an unexpectedly rough weekend... dealing with a horrible bout of la Gastro (luckily I was the only one in the family). Since it's Monday I figured we could all use something serene to start our week. Read more →

Love under lock and key

Over the past few years, a new tradition has started on some of the Paris bridges: couples putting a padlock, often with names, initials, dates or other inscriptions on them. On the one hand I think they're a bit of an eye-sore, but in the sunlight they do seem to glitter. The city regularly cuts them off but they can't really keep up. This is the Pont de l'Archevêché just behind Notre Dame. I noticed that one of these locks has a future date: Married 4/1/2013. Maybe they got engaged and set a date here on this bridge? Read more →

Sieze the carp

As you know, I've been preparing to apply for French nationality (while retaining my American citizenship, of course). According to the current laws in France, after four years of being married to a French citizen, I am now technically eligible. But starting in January of this year, the government (under former President Sarkozy) added some new hurdles for people like me to leap over before we can become French: a language requirement and a history test. After having paid all that money and taken that very difficult French course at the Sorbonne 18 months ago, where I tested at level B2, I initially felt pretty secure that I had already met the requirements. So when I went to the Sorbonne to request an attestation, I was unpleasantly surprised to learn that THEIR say-so meant rien to the government and that I'd have pay to take yet another test to prove my level of French comprehension. Geez, you'd think being able to name-drop "the Sorbonne" would count for SOMETHING, wouldn't you? Mais non. When I took the test on August 25th, it was harder than I expected and harder than I recalled the Sorbonne's test being. In fact, I was a... Read more →

Isn't she lovely?

Picnic at her feet yesterday evening. It's moments like this when I really feel the magnitude of my decision - SIX years ago now - to change my life and move to Paris. Read more →

More lolling about in Lille

More of our tour of the old city in Lille this past weekend... Another angle of the Grand Place One of the many different types of architecture, this one more ornate than some of the others. Lille definitely has a mix of architecture. This was the back wall of one of the renovated factory buildings. I liked the brickwork and the iron accents. Sneak peek into a courtyard These bicycle wheel rims wtih ribbons are the Lille version of "dreamcatchers"! We saw them in several streets around town. Last but not least, a short video clip of our walking tour... That's what happens when you accidentally hit the "record" button on your iPhone while sightseeing. The drumming noise you heard? A street drummer (of sorts). Turns out that I've got enough photos to do an additional post (or two). So... tune in tomorrow! Next time we go to Lille, we'll get out to some of the local attractions and museums. For our first visit, though, it was enough to just wander around the historic city center and be with our girl on her turf. Read more →

Lolling about in Lille

So, I promised to tell you all more about our weekend in Lille. It takes just over an hour to reach Lille from Paris via the TGV high-speed train, and that's nothing. It takes me longer to get into NYC by train from NW New Jersey and 45 minutes to drive to my best friend's house back home, so an hour's train ride to visit a whole new part of France? Puh-leez. I really knew nothing at all about Lille before G's daughter told us she was thinking of going to university there, more than two years ago now. I knew it was one of France's larger cities, that it was "somewhere up near Belgium" and that the region was known for being a bit industrial, but that was about it. In my mind I couldn't quite understand the attraction because Paris is so fantastic, but to her Paris was her home town and she wanted a new adventure. Who could argue with that? Turns out that Lille seems to be quite a lovely town, at least the part of it we saw on our short visit, and it's also a very student-friendly city as well. Plus, things are much... Read more →

I remember

I've shared this before, I'm sharing it now, and I'll surely share it again in the future, in honor of this very sad day of remembrance. I wrote it on September 11, 2001. It still reflects my feelings and impressions, even 11 years later. Last night on French television, I saw a 9/11 documentary with all the usual film footage. It focused a lot on the reactions of people in the streets, the faces of people all over the city and in the surrounding areas. There was no commentary, the filmmakers let the footage speak for itself. Powerful stuff. I'm one of the lucky ones who can say that I didn't lose a friend or family member in the attacks, but nonetheless, each time I see certain images, my heart drops to my stomach and for a moment my eyes well up with tears. The skyline over NYC is changing now, and I'm glad to see the new buildings rising from the dust each time I go back to my family in NJ... but it will never, ever be the same. The lack of the original Towers is, to me, the most powerful "memorial" of all. To all those who... Read more →

In Lille

Georges and I are in Lille this weekend, with the Little Guy (who turns 11 tomorrow!) visiting G's daughter and her boyfriend. La Fille has been living here for the past two years, studying International Law, but this is the first time we've been able to organize a visit. The young couple just moved into their first apartment together, and it's fabulous! It reminds me of something you might see in one of those old New York City brownstones, with glass-paneled doors between rooms, and even old (now non-functioning) marble fireplaces. They really scored big when they found this place, it's a lovely home about deux pas from the old town center, which has a great pedestrian shopping area and lots of cafes and restaurants. (I told Georges he should be glad we don't live here, as I'd be out there every single day cruising the shops, buying cool stuff we probably don't need anyway, just because I love the ambiance there.) The photo shown here is of the Lille Opera, and the tall tower on the left is actually the building next to it: the old PTT (Poste, Téléphone et Télégraph) building, now simply La Poste. I love the... Read more →