Hints and Hindsights – FFFFFF. F to the sixth power.

Hints and Hindsights. FFFFFF. F to the sixth power.

The six Fs. Fascinating, Fun Facts and Figures about France and French.

They come in handy more often than you’d think: during lulls in parties, as intros or outros to speeches, when you need to prove to some arrogant twit that at least some foreigners know there’s a world beyond Main Street and a timeline that precedes 1776. But let’s not get too arrogant ourselves - even for the most cultivated among us, some of these are real jaw-droppers:

-> When was the last guillotining in France? No, it was not during the 1793 Reign of Terror. It took place in Marseille on September 10, 1977 (that’s nineteen seventy-seven!) to end the life of Tunisian immigrant Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of having tortured and murdered his 21-year-old his former girlfriend, Elisabeth Bousquet. (France abolished the death penalty in 1981.)…

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Lumieres en Seine is back and that’s good news

Monsieur Fusac has some advice. Don't miss the fabulous wintergarden-cum-light trail called Lumieres en Seine opening November 18th and running to January next year on the edge of Paris at the Parc de St. Cloud, a few steps from metro Pont de Saint Cloud. Take my word for it : you will not be disappointed. Au contraire, delight awaits.  Just listen to what these historical figures are saying... " Enchanting ! Magical ! " --Buffalo Bill, scout and showman " Stunning like a bull elk! " --Rosa Bonheur French painter " Wonderful Photo Memories" --Phineas Barnum, circus founder " Charming pop-up chalets with sweet and savory treats " --Julia Childs, chef "A must-see attraction! " --Gustave Eiffel, engineer "Wouldn't trade it for all the crackers in Kalamazoo! " --Mr. Fusac, king of classifieds All the juicy details : https://www.lumieresenseine.com/en/ @lumieresenseine Seriously, this is a great show. Lumieres en Seine won over more than 130,000 visit…
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Hints and Hindsights: La Rentrée

Hints and Hindsights: La Rentrée by Shari Leslie Segall In France, September is the Monday morning of the year. You’ve just had a 60-day weekend and it’s time to get up, grope your way to the figurative and literal shower and go to work. Even if you didn’t take all of July and August off, it’s likely that almost everyone you had to deal with during that legendarily sacred span of time was away for at least part of it, in effect giving you a double vacation: yours and the forced unproductiveness produced in your universe by theirs. Now comes la rentrée (a word for whose English translation the French desperately scramble: it literally means “reentry,” can mean “back-to-school,” but is a general reference to returning to reality after those month-long strolls on the sand, hikes in the Himalayas and reunions with relatives). And the strategy for facing it is like that of ripping off a band-aid as quickly as possible to minimize the skin-scraping pain: “Just let me get throug…
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Two obelisks and a giraffe

Two obelisks from the entrance to Luxor Temple were offered to France by the Viceroy of Egypt in 1830. One thrones on the place de la Condorde still today. But did you know there was another precious gift from the Viceroy just a few years earlier? Rosa Bonheur moved to Paris from Bordeaux, she was 7 years old at the time and did not like Paris at all until she discovered Paris' latest phenomenon... Zarafa. In 1826 Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Viceroy of Egypt, gave Zarafa (Arabic for «Giraffe», literally «charming» or «lovely one»), the first living giraffe to set foot on French soil, to Charles X as a diplomatic gift. She was separated from her mother at 3 months of age, traveled 2000 miles down the Nile, then across the Mediterranean by boat, arriving in Marseilles, where she would spend her first winter acclimatizing. The following spring, she left for Paris on a 41 day walk (880km) accompanied by 55 year old French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Each stag…
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Views over Paris without waiting in line

For a great View over Paris without waiting in line visit The Saint Jacques Tower After ten long years of restauration the Tour Saint Jacques near Châtelet has become one of the sweetest spots for a view over Paris. The 54 meter tall tower is the last remaining piece of the Church of Saint Jacques de la Boucherie. Boucherie? Butchery? Odd as it sounds to our ears today the church was so named because in the 16th century the area was home to the butchers of Paris and thus they had their own church. The church was built between 1509 and 1523 in the flamboyant gothic style which is still quite visible on the tower in the elaborate sculptures of 13 gargoyles and other creatures plus leafy decoration. On the four corners are sculptures of Saint Jacques and animals representing three of the four evangalists: an eagle for Saint John, an ox for Saint Luke and a lion for Saint Mark. The Revolution brought an end to religious celebrations in the church and in the 1790s and it was dis…
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The Fabulous TASTE OF PARIS

Head's up ! The Fabulous TASTE OF PARIS is back From May 12 to 15, 2022, Taste of Paris is back at the Grand Palais Éphémère for a 7th mouthwatering edition. Now a must-visit event, the festival brings together the best of the Parisian culinary scene and announces an unprecedented cast of more than 40 chefs from all horizons -- from starred chefs to figures of the avantguard, including several leading pastry icons. Behold ! Festival-goers will have the opportunity to taste 86 creations offered in 17 pop-up restaurants and patisseries. They will also be able stroll through a huge gourmet market, attend masterclasses by great chefs at the Laurent-Perrier Theater and learn about eco-responsible cooking at the Atelier Dine for Change. Let the party begin ! Taste of Paris overview in numbers:

30 CHEFS

11 PASTRY CHEFS

59 DISHES

27 DESSER…

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PARIS/FRANCE and the CLASSICAL ELEMENTS

Per our May 4, 2019, post, “Paris/France and…” is a new series wherein “and” leads us to categories whose subcategories link to the city/country we know and love. Having explored Paris/France and Body Parts as well as Paris/France and Colors (July 27, 2019), we move on to Paris / France and The Classical Elements (earth, water, air, fire [and ether, which we won’t be discussing here]), starting--floatingly, flowingly, gushingly, splashingly, streamingly--with Paris/France and…

…water: traveling on it, drinking it, splashing around in it, stepping on planks several feet above it *.

TRAVELING ON IT: Do not sell the Seine short. As exquisite as it is, as sublimely as it threads through Paris monuments like a silk cord through necklace gems, it has for millenniums (Is the Neolithic period old enough for you?) been crucially more than background or playground, as you will discover here (read and click on everything you have time for and then some) and here …

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Discover 90+ Ways You Know You’re Becoming French

90+ Ways You Know You're Becoming French This cute little book that fits in your hand was inspired from the original article 20 Ways You Know You're Becoming French The article got such good response from our readers that author Shari Leslie Segall had the great idea to make it into a book. We teamed up with an artist  for watercolor illustrations and thought up more than 90+ points that are ways you know you are becoming French. Such as: would never conceive of a holiday menu without foie gras, oysters and glazed chestnuts ask everyone you know about their recent/upcoming vacances know who Marianne is Judith, an American in Paris since the 1990s, had this to say after reading the book 90+ Ways You Know You're Becoming French:

"This is really funny--I actually improved my quality of life from "Becoming French". The one about saying bonjour to the bus driver and not your neighbor? I realized I didn't often greet the bus driver so …

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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 …
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Celebrate Mother’s Day in France

An outing for Mother's Day might be to the Mothers monument in Paris 13th. Some consider the Monument aux Mères Françaises in the eponym park at 21 boulevard Kellermann to be austere and soviet-styled, but we must take into consideration that it was inaugurated in 1938 and thus view it in context of the between the wars depression era.  The sculptures laud Mothers after the tragic loss of so many men and boys in the first world war and encourage them to stay at home to care for the family.The monument was renovated in 2013 and the cleaned sculpture is much less sad looking. There are 5 sculpted groups by artists Pierre d'Euville, Henri Bouchard et Alexandre Descatoire. The three texts on the momument are by Albert Lebrun, Edmond Labbé and Victor Hugo. Plants and flowers brighten this little garden in the 13th arrondissement. It is perhaps not the prettiest sculpture from today's viewpoint, but do you know any other cities that honor their mothers with a monument? In that way Fr…
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