Lisa

Laughter in France

Laughter is the best medicine they say. According to scientists, we laugh an average of 18 times a day. Laughter is therefore an important part of our everyday lives and even the French know how to rire. Here's a few reflections on laughter in France, the land of La Vache qui rit! By the way, La Vache, a French institution, (She was 100 years old in 2021) has her own maison and museum in Lons-le-Saunier.

The city of Bordeaux seems to be the center of laughter in France

One might say Bordeaux likes to laugh more than elsewhere in France (is it because Bordeaux is also the rainiest city in France?). The city is host to the Festival Les Fous Rires de Bordeaux in March each year http://lesfousriresdebordeaux.fr/. The city also presented an exhibition called "Rire!" in 2019 at their science and nature Muséum. But Bordeaux doesn't own the market there are many other spots are also holding annual festivals and for some funny reason most are in…

“French Louie” and his Hotel de Paris: a gourmet in the Wild West

“French Louie” and his Hotel de Paris: a gourmet in the Wild West After the wave of French trappers who participated in the first exporations of western North America there were relatively few French people who emmigrated to the USA. But those who went brought a part of France with them. For example Louis Dupuy founder of the Hotel de Paris in Colorado. People in Georgetown, Colorado know very little about Louis du Puy. His obituary starts “Death of Louis Dupuy Man of Mystery”. He simply arrived one day with a donkey named Florette, a tent and camping equipment. He had come, like so many, in search of the quick riches of the silver boom. In March 1873 he was nearly killed in a mining explosion and that ended that career. He said in later years that he chose hospitality as his next reincarnation simply because a good cup of coffee was not to be had in Georgetown. He launched his dream by washing dishes in another establishment. He saved his money and finally in 1874 began to…

Pounds and Ounces, Stones and Gallons

Pounds and Ounces, Stones and Gallons: Exploring Their Origins Pondering Pounds Have you ever wondered why the abbreviation for pound, both as a unit of weight and as currency, is “lb” or represented as £ (an L with a line through it)? The answer lies in the Latin word “libra.” In astrology, Libra, the seventh sign of the zodiac, is symbolized by scales due to its association with balance, weights, and measurements. In ancient Rome, the standard unit of weight was "libra pondo," which meant "a pound by weight" in Latin. The English word "pound" is derived from the "pondo" part of this phrase, while the abbreviation “lb.” comes from "libra." Similarly, the symbol for the British pound (£) also traces its origins to "libra pondo," as the value of the pound was once equivalent to the price of a pound of silver. Interestingly, other currencies, such as the former Italian lira and the current Turkish lira, also have their roots in "libra." Then there is the pound symbol (#), al…

Our favorite 8 Museums just outside Paris

Whether you are a tourist or a Parisian, you have most definitely visited museums such as Le Louvre or Le Musée d'Orsay. Yes, they are absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth a visit but we are lucky enough to also have some hidden treasures Museums just outside Paris ! Not only you can discover some amazing things while getting some freqh air out of town but also a lot of them are free or inexpensive and you don't have to queue for hours to get in! In fact for some you need to reserve in advance so check the websites. These are all accessible by train or car. Here are our 8 favorite museums just outside Paris, many of which have the "Maison des illustres" label which signals their importance in French culture. The * distinguishes them. Musée Rodin * This beautiful estate in Meudon includes an extraordinary park overlooking Paris. It has the "Maison des illustres" label as you might expect. The visit begins with the Villa des Brillants, Rodin’s home for the last 20 year…

The Saints on the map of Paris

Whether you walk across Paris or look at the metro or street map, you often see places named after a Saint. Such familiar names as St Genevieve, St Denis, St Vincent de Paul etc... Have you ever wondered who were these saints on the map of Paris and what their history was? We did! Here is a bit of history on the Saints on the map of Paris.

Sainte Geneviève

Logically the patron saint of Paris, St. Geneviève, is the one you come across most often. Her statue by Paul Landowski graces the Pont de La Tournelle in the 4th district. There is also one in Jardin du Luxembourg. She is on the front of Notre Dame as well. The Catholic church is celebrating the 1600th anniversary of Genevieve this year. A relic, her index finger, and her sarcophagus is in a chapel dedicated to her in the church of St Etienne du Mont a church in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte Geneviève where she lived and prayed.

She was born in Nanterre in about the …

Christmas Poem

A Christmas poem? How about two ! To wish our readers a “Merry Christmas to all et Bonne Année à tous!” One is two centuries old and the second a contemporary piece that shares the same rhythm.

The first is the famous Christmas poem thought to be written by Clement Clarke Moore "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Moore was a 19th century American writer and scholar and is mostly remembered for his Christmas poem which was originally title "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" which legend says he wrote on Christmas Eve in 1822 during a sleigh ride home from Greenwich Village (imagine riding in a sleigh in New York city!) after buying a turkey for his family (no doubt fresh from the farm). The poem is known for having defined our now timeless image of Santa Claus and for naming the eight reindeer! It was published (in English only and anonymously) the first time on December 23, 1823 by a New York newspaper, The Sentinel, one of the first daily newspap…

English speaking Musicians in France

Here's a set of English speaking musicians in France that we think you'll want to discover. Three of our selection of rising musicians in France are female Americans. They offer distinctly different styles all inspiring and uplifting. Our fourth selection is a British expat who has just wrote his first song in French.

Emma Doucet Having grown up with a father as a musician, Emma has been singing and listening to music since she was born. During her years of traveling the world, she developed a capacity to sing divinatory songs. People, places and intentions create these songs. Sometimes you recognize the name of an ancestor, the spirits of a culture, trees or other familiar words. Sometimes words are not understandable and only vibrations and syllables can be felt. Emma performs spontaneous melodies or classics in her sweet airy voice. She's a multi-talent musician with a special love for the guitar, the Celtic harp, the voice and percussion. She performs…

Speak Easy – Etre marteau

Time to do a Speak Easy puzzle! The Speak Easy Puzzle was a popular feature in the FUSAC magazine for more than 25 years. Readers liked them so much they would cut them out and save the whole collection. It is widely used by teachers of English and French as well. Because they were so popular we combined them into a lively book illustrated with watercolors. This Crazy Speak Easy Puzzle is one of 150 puzzles in a 3 volume collection which is available exclusively at Bill & Rosa's Book Room or by email : BRBookRoom@gmail.com There are more sample Speak Easy Puzzles on our website.

Bicycle visibility

Darkness is here: Visibility for biking and pedestrians

" ' Dans les jours qui suivent le changement d’heure, le nombre de morts parmi les piétons augmente de 42 %, entre 17 heures et 19 heures ', ajoute la Sécurité routière. " Quote from Le Parisien 26 October 2024

The months of "darkness", October through January, are the deadliest for pedestrians and bicylcists as busy traffic during commuting times takes place after sunset. In particular there is a 42% increase in fatalities right after daylight savings time ends. When daylight savings time ends and you have daylight from only 8 am to 4 pm there's a lot of bike riding and walking that is done in the dark. How can you put the odds of being seen on your side? Wear light colored and reflective clothing. According to highway security if you wear black you are visible at a distance of 20 meters, with reflective clothing you can be visible at a distance of 150m. That makes a huge difference…

The Prix Goncourt, France’s prestigious literary prize

The Prix Goncourt, France's prestigious literary prize The Prix Goncourt is a French literary prize given each year to an outstanding work in prose. Usually, novels are preferred. It is the most prestigious literary award in France and in literary circles it is considered the French equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize and it was awarded on November 4th this year. The prize is named after the Goncourt brothers, Edmond and Jules, known as art critics and writers of novels and diaries in the 19th century. Their relationship was quite unique, they not only never spent a day apart in their life, called themselves Juldemond and claimed to be twins (although they were born eight years apart) but they also wrote together all of their novels and non-fiction and even their journal, which they wrote using the « dual dictation » technique, where one brother dictated to the other. Their style of writing was so similar that it was impossible to tell which brother wrote a particular passage. T…