Châtelet-les-Halles is located in the centre of Paris – the 1st arrondissement, and it’s pronounced (pretty close to) shot-lay-lay-all. It’s one of the oldest parts of Paris, the “halles” part referring to a covered market. In 1137 Louis XII decided to build an open-air market in a place outside of the old walls of Paris, called Champeaux – a former… Read More
My husband and I celebrated thirteen years of marriage by shipping our angels off to their grandparents, who stoically bore the exceptional amount of noise very small people can make. On Sunday night we went to see Mortal Instruments and ate Haagen Dazs ice cream . . . just because we could. We were free! But on Saturday night, we… Read More
If you’re not a big fan of casinos, there’s honestly not a whole lot to see in Forges-les-Eaux. (If you are a big fan of casinos, this city is ranked one of the top 15 in France). However, as with most places in Europe, the area is imbued with history. Forges-les-Eaux was called “De Forgis” in the Middle Ages because… Read More
This past weekend we went to Normandy for a church retreat – to Forges-les-Eaux. It was a lot of fun. There was this old structure in place that I erroneously took for a sheep shearing centre – especially with the word “mouton” written on top, which means “sheep” and a big wheel that looked like a horizontal loom. Makes sense… Read More
Finally! The wonderful day when life falls into its natural rhythm again. The children are occupied. My mind has peace and quiet to think again. It’s back to school in France! C’est … la Rentrée. Juliet is nine, so I think she’s in 4th grade now. Gabriel must be in 2nd grade, and William is in the last year of kindergarten…. Read More
When a blogging friend comes to Paris – whom you’ve known for over two years online (and with whom you’ve already had two aborted attempts to meet up in the past, except that you couldn’t manage to extricate yourself from the daily grind) – you get over your hermit tendencies, and you GO INTO PARIS! You go to the Champs Elysées,… Read More
