Two Paris expos you don’t want to miss this month

Ode to Joy

Judith Bluysen, a relapsed street photographer now shooting in Paris, presents her work the last weekend of May in a collective show with 65 other artists. She is the author of several photography articles on the FUSAC site and the former owner of the American Grocery and Restaurant that we all loved, Thanksgiving.

In the late 1980’s Judith arrived in Paris, 34 years old, with 15 years of New York City in her baggage, two cats and a French husband by her side. She’d sold her darkroom equipment and stored her artwork and photos in her parents’ attic, and was allowing herself one year to decide how to remake her life. Expectation exists even in unplanned lives, and rarely unroll as envisioned. After that first year they were faced with returning to New York or finding the means to remain in Paris. Determined to stay, they created and nurtured a retail business for over 25 years. As online sales in their sector caught on, J…
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  • 18 mai 2025
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Paris Opera Quiz

Just for fun, test yourself on your knowledge of the Paris Opera Garnier...

1. The Paris Opera Garnier has 1900 seats A. true B. false

2. The crystal chandelier weighs A. 4 tons B. 8 tons C. 10 tons

3. The Opera Garnier is the... A. 1st B. 10th C. 13th ...opera house in Paris

4. The Opera Garnier was constructed under which leader A. Napoléon III B. Louis XIV C. Napoléon 1er

5. Charles Garnier, whose name is still attached to the building was the architect who won the contest to design the opera. He was A. 55 years old B. 40 years old C. 35 years old

6. The French opera and ballet were founded in 1669 by Louis XIV A. True B. False

7. The Grand staircase is made of A. alabaster B. several kinds of marble C. granite

8. The Opera Garnier offers guided tours daily. A. True B. False

9. The other Opera in Paris is called the Opéra Bastille. In what year was it built? A. 1989 B. 1969

10.  The official n…

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  • 13 mai 2025
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Why is it called? Part 2: French place names

Why is it called… Part 2: French place names or toponyms Have you ever asked yourself why something is called by a particular name? Place names are also called toponyms. We've learned Paris was named for the Celtic tribe the Parisii who lived in the area (why the Parisii were called that is still up for discussion), that the Seine was named for the nymph Séquana. Here are some other topoynms from the Paris area. Feel free to add your town in the comments. Versailles: The most likely origin of the name Versailles, first mentioned in 1038 as land belonging to a person named Hughes, comes from the Latin word versare which means to turn over (verser, reverser in French) and probably referred to Hughes’s agricultural efforts of clearing and preparing his land for planting. “Un versailles” or “versail” in old French refers to cleared land. Stains: The name of the town of Stains, a town north of Paris, rings strangely in anglophone ears because we hear a noun that means "a mar…
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  • 7 mai 2025
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