The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Wind and wisteria

The weather here in Saint Raphael has been a bit bizarre. On Sunday when we arrived, it was so chilly and raining buckets. And today, it warmed up enough that when we took a walk after lunch, we all had to take our jackets off because it was positively balmy. We even had ice cream at one of our favorite places, called Pinocchio. Which made it feel like summer has officially begun - even if it hasn't. The wisteria still looks and smells wonderful, though The wind has been so strong, though, that when we tried to sit outside on a bench to enjoy our ice cream, the wind actually BLEW drops of pink and blue ice cream off the Garçon's melting cone and onto my jeans! That's some damn strong wind. We moved to a table inside. We walked down our usual "first day walk" route (even though this is the second day) toward the main beach. The skies remained quite gray but it was warm enough to peel off our shoes and socks, roll up our jeans and put our feet in the sand. The boy put his in the water and said it wasn't all that cold.... Read more →

Half a decade

Five years ago last week, Georges brought me to Saint Raphael for the first time. He introduced me to his sister. He brought me on a walk through town to show me around. We bought a melon in the outdoor marché in the old town. We went down to the beach to admire the view. And then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Our special place: "Melon" Beach I am such a lucky, lucky girl. Read more →

To remind myself what season it really is

I took this photo in Paris on Saturday, near a little park next to the Cluny museum. I love the presence (and scent!) of the lilacs in the city parks each spring; not only do they remind me what season it is, but that nature is still out there, somewhere. Pity I can't cut myself a huge bunch of them and then bring them home, mais c'est interdit. Read more →

Blogcation

This is what blogging looks like when I'm on vacation. We arrived here in Saint Raphael (visiting G's sister) around 11:30 (after a 5:15 wake-up and a 6:49 train from Gare de Lyon) to POURING RAIN, chilly temperatures, and the collective heat in the apartment building already cut for the season. After all, it IS the end of April and it's normally a lot sunnier and warmer here. Luckily, Georges and I are the snuggly-type couple and we won't mind keeping each other warm. The weather report for the rest of the week? I'd call it "sucky with a chance of sucking". If we're very lucky we may see a little sun the last day, day and a half. But not warm enough to really bask in the sun on the beach as we'd hoped. We'll make the best of it (a nice beer or a pastis certainly helps) but right now I think I've got a better chance of getting a heat wave in England next week than I do here. Read more →

Sun or Moon?

The Garçon and I took a ride on a bateau-mouche yesterday, as the weather was exceptionally fine and it was too nice out NOT to spend some time basking in the sunshine. We weren't the only ones soaking up the light: And yes, the sky really was that blue! Our funniest moment on the cruise? When a couple of the young guys hanging out on the river quai decided to MOON our bateau. The Garçon missed it as he was taking a little siesta in the sun himself; I couldn't stop laughing as the rest of the boat applauded! Read more →

Oh the noise, noise, noise, noise

I think the Grinch expressed it best (click to listen): No wonder he was such a cranky prick. Those Whos were pretty damn loud, if you ask me. In Paris, every building is required to undergo a good cleaning every 10-15 years. So on nearly every street, you will see at least one building covered by scaffolding so that the ravalement can take place. The buildings look great when they're done, so pretty and bright and fresh, you can see the lovely details in all the stonework, if there is any. But the process? Is sheer hell for the residents and neighbors. Clouds of dust hover over the street and fall onto cars. Dusty, dirty water cascades onto the sidewalk and leaves residue for passers-by to step around (or in). The people living in the building can't open their windows for weeks, because they are sealed shut by protective plastic (not to mention that you've got workmen peeking in your windows all day long). But the worst? Is the noise. The NOISE! Oh the noise, Noise, NOISE, NOISE!!! It begins shortly after 8am every weekday, and continues unabated until about 5pm or so, except for the lunch break (which, being... Read more →

Gourmet vs Gourmand

Follow Frogeo on a trip to a French supermarket in this "slice of a frog's life" episode of Frogeo and Mouchette™ in Paris! Read more →

Mystère et boules de gomme

The French school system has long been thought by some to be superior to that of other countries... America, for instance. After 7+ years in this country, I am still undecided about whether or not this is true. On the one hand, I have been impressed by the subjects my French step-kids have been required to study during their public school years. The now-20-somethings both took English and German as foreign languages, and in addition they studied both Latin AND Greek. (Insert obligatory "It's all Greek to me" remark here.) They studied classic French literature and are remarkably well-informed about their own country's history -- far more than I remember in high school, when I used routinely Cliff's Notes to study for tests on Dickens and Shakespeare and where I don't recall ever being taught any American history at all after the Civil War era. They are also quite well-informed and interested in politics and world events. And of course they took all the usual maths and sciences as well as studying their own language. The young Garçon started learning elementary geometry in elementary school, and has continued to get more complicated math lessons this year, his first in collège... Read more →

Bébés

It's a pleasant Sunday in Paris, cool but with sunshine (more and more of that lately). I haven't been out much in the past week, being rather stuck in the house with a rare bout of sciatica, so haven't had the opportunity to get around the city and take any new photos. But yesterday, Georges shared something really funny with me and I decided to share it with you. Because after the week's tragic news from Boston and Texas, I think we could all use a few giggles. These are an ongoing ad campaign from Evian, "Live Young", that wants us to believe their water is like a "fountain of youth". (Yeah, don't we wish?) Regardless, they've got some creative advertising going on. Perhaps you may have seen some or all of these, but they're so funny they're worth seeing again. Gotta love it. :) This was the original, from 1998: Then came this one, which is even better: And finally, this one launched just this week: Love that last baby (the old lady) with that "Huh?" expression at the end! Read more →

Glittering

I love how beautiful the Opera looks in the sunlight, especially the gilded statues. The Opera Garnier is a stunning performance space. It is still used for concerts and the ballet, although there is a newer and larger Opera over at Bastille. If you're in Paris and have the time, there is a tour you can take of the interior, including the Chagall ceiling in the auditorium. And if you're not in Paris? Guess what - there's a virtual tour! Read more →