The Paris subway has a nostalgic smell (when I’m not near anyone’s body odor). It reminds me of when I used to live in Paris instead of being a desperate suburban housewife. I used to walk and walk for miles, absorbing the different architecture, and imagining what it would be like to marry a Frenchman and have children that would… Read More
La Rentrée is pronounced “la ron-tray” and it means “back to school.” Except the meaning is more precise than that, because it means the first day of school or the first week of school – precisely. Once, a parent to one of my English students scolded me because she showed up to class the first week after the New Year… Read More
Bordeaux used to be called “The Black City” because everything looked like this: Now it’s beginning to be get a reputation as “The Quai of Lights,” which we’ll get to in a minute. If you would like to get there by car, the smartest way is to park in the parking lot of the tramway at Les Aubiers (a nearby… Read More
They had just about extinguished the forest fire when we arrived in Lacanau-Océan. The trees here were still smoldering when we drove by the first evening. And the fire-trucks full of firemen were everywhere – 200 of them on duty at once, relieved every 12 hours by the next batch of 200. They did their job, though, because the fire… Read More
My friends – I was going to tell you all about the interesting history of Lacanau on the French Atlantic coast – and I will! But when I was choosing the photos, I was arrested by the numerous pictures of the sunset, each more beautiful than the last. So I decided to settle for a photo montage (for now). I… Read More
I am posting Part Two early (see here for Part One). For one thing, I simply can’t leave you hanging! And for another thing, we’re spending the entire day in the city of Bordeaux tomorrow so I fear I will be late if I don’t actually post early. Enjoy the rest of this delightful and adventure-filled post! * *… Read More
