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A few iconic views of Paris
Most of this recent visit to Paris, I just wasn't interested in taking photos. It seemed too clicheed, too... I don't know what to call it. Everybody and their brother are taking photos of everything...
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A lorgnette from Paris
My most chic acquisition during my Paris visit was a lorgnette.Wandering the stalls of the Marche aux Puces at Vanves, I was enthralled at all the offerings but tiring of needing to take my reading...
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Post Cards from Paris: a Thought and a Kiss
Vintage post cards of Paris (or anywhere, for that matter) are delightful, and are easy and unique souvenirs to bring home.This is a sweet one -- Une pensée de Paris, a play on words since pensée means...
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Les Liaisons Dangereuses, signed Malkovich
Wow.Tonight was opening night of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, directed by John Malkovich, part of the Lincoln Center Festival.Actors warming up on stage before the play beginsWow.I was all wound up in...
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Fermeture Annuelle: photos
We all know by now, don't we, that Paris more or less shuts down in August. Some of us revel in the peacefulness of a quiet Paris. Others are challenged by the many, many boutique and...
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That first magical summer in France, 40 years ago?
Forty years.Forty years ago today, I boarded an Air France flight at Orly to return from France to the U.S. It had been a magical summer. My first time ever in France. A life-changer.That June I had...
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Le Crocodile in Paris
Paris vitrines (store windows) never fail to delight and inspire.More often than not, they make me stop in my tracks. And snap photos if my camera is handy.A few weeks ago I spotted this one, featuring...
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This dog takes the phrase "leche-vitrine" to a new level
It's the holidays! Time for some shopping, or at least a little window-shopping, n'est-ce pas?This Manhattan pooch must have some French blood, as he demonstrates, literally, comment faire du...
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Season's Greetings
from a postcard I boughtSouhaits de Bonheur. Happy wishes of the season. Which is of course, what I wish to all of you.But take a look at this image. Is it me, or do I depict an existential lack of...
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10 Little French Words to know for Valentine's Day
Ah, the language of love. It's just so... fundamental!So I bring you some of the basics, in French.A is for aimerA is also for affection and affectueux or affectueuseB is for baiser. The noun,...
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Valérie Trierweiler’s Brother Recounts the Break-Up with François Hollande
[Vanity Fair France has a great article about the Hollande-Trierweiler split, explained by a family member, which hasn't been published in the anglophone press. Since I am a professional translator, I...
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Boulevard Clichy, 1950s
This painting of Paris, entitled “Boulevard Clichy, Paris,” hung in our house all of my childhood. To me, it was Paris – everything that Paris could and should be. The café –its servers and clients –...
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High-flying Sunday on the Seine
Denis Josselin photo © Caroline HENNELIf you are in Paris this Sunday, April 6, do yourself a favor and hightail it over to the 12e arrondissement to the Quai de la Rapée to see acclaimed...
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Lessons from Mrs. Goodfellow
When I was in college, I spent summers waitressing in a perfect, perfectly charming historic inn in Maine.One of the delights was to be assigned to a table of summer "residents" -- guests who came to...
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Looks like Paris
I'm a huge fan of the blue doors in Paris. Some days, when I was living in Paris, when I didn't quite know what to do with myself, I would just wander the streets for hours snapping photo upon photo of...
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Suggestions for Celebrating New Year's in France
How to celebrate New Year's in France? Here are mouth-watering and intriguing suggestions ...from 60 years ago. The 1954 December issue of Plaisir de France had the following delightful column,...
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Heureuse Année!
A lovely, if somewhat dark, 1928 carte de voeux that I found at the Marché aux timbres in Paris.Bonne année cards haven't always been images of popping champagne corks, fireworks, and glittery Eiffel...
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Stealing Paris
Today I received a notice from a reader that someone was using a photo from my blog, which had been doctored and captioned, for a hateful and racist post on a Facebook page.Steam poured out my ears....
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Booksellers on the Seine (Post card version)
I love my collection of vintage Paris postcards. I add to it every time I am in Paris, usually at lingering but somehow way-too-short trips to the Marché aux Timbres or the Marché aux Puces at...
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O Panic! O Thrill! I'm Moving to Paris (History 2006 version)
Is it possible to imagine the sheer excitement and thrill and bone-chilling what-the-hell-am-I doing anxiety when you are about to embark on a move to Paris?Well, that was me, one decade ago...
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Seating Arrangements
Today I was at a meeting of French and American dignitaries to discuss French/American cultural activities. Just my cup of thé!The American organizers asked the ranking French diplomatic officer to...
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L'hexagone dans le Triangle
It's been a while since I have posted to Polly-Vous Francais! I am happy to report that I am now in the "Triangle" area of North Carolina, where there is a vibrant French and Francophile community....
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What do you do with your exhibition posters?
I have been traveling to France for more than four decades and argh, I am an inveterate collector of exhibition posters. So timely! But what to do with the collection? Wallpaper a bathroom? Donate,...
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