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Do you know these French facts and tidbits…

the western most point in France is the Point du Raz at the tip of Brittany. The department is called the Finistère… do you hear it? Fini-terre? The end of the earth. these town names in France that will make an English speaker giggle: Plaisir, Bitche, Les Cars, Brainville, Contest, Le Sap, Stains, Dangers, Brest, Hompes, Bard, Félines, Linge, Facture, Le Barp, Condom, Anus, Ars, Seix, Tendon, Bard, Nevers, Grouchy, Le Bugue, Saint Hilaire-ious! this jingle by British Victorian poet Erskine, c.1850:

The French have taste in all they do,

Which we are quite without;

For Nature, that to them gave goût

To us gave only gout.

the Buttes-Chaumont were built on a mound of clay where …

The French use the word "cake" or quatre-quarts (four quarters) or sometimes even fondant for what English speakers call a pound cake. Like muffins it can be either savory or sweet. The sweet version is in fact four ingredients (eggs, flour, butter and sugar) in equal quantities measured by weight (the French cook using weight not volume), so each is a quarter of the total, hence the name quatre-quarts. It is best to start with the eggs because you can't use just part of an egg! So whisk and weigh your eggs (4 - there's that number again - will make an average loaf) then weigh out the same amount of each of the other ingredients as you have eggs. Whisk the sugar into the eggs for 4 (!) minutes, then gently mix in the flour and lastly the melted but cooled butter. Some people like to add a sachet of levure chimique as well for a fluffier loaf. Add a bit of vanilla, rum, lemon peel, orange flower water to the batter... for extra style! Pour the batter into a loaf pan and pla…

Meringue : A small patisserie made from egg white and sugar. Historians of cookery say that this little patisserie was invented in 1720. This invention is attributed to a Swiss pastry cook called Gasparini from the small town of Mehrinyghen, hence the name. Was meringue a prefered food of the royalty? The first meringues made in France were served in Nancy to King Stanislaus who praised them highly. It was he no doubt who gave the recipe for the sweet to Marie Leczinska who also enjoyed it very much. Queen Marie Antoinette had a great liking for meringues as well. Court lore says she made them herself at the Trianon, where she also made vacherins which are similar. One of the current shops dedicated to meringue in France, Les Merveilles de Fred, continues the royal aspect of the pastry using massive crystal chandeliers, gold, mirrors and royal silhouettes to decorate their rather baroque shops. Their products are handcrafted in each boutique in full view of the …

The Escadrille Lafayette  Memorial, just outside Paris in Marnes-la-Coquette, is located within the gates of Domaine National de Saint-Cloud and is open to the public. The site commemorates the birth of American combat aviation, and serves as a symbol of the Franco-American comradeship during World War I. This site honors the American volunteer pilots who flew with French squadrons during World War I, and is the final resting place for some of America’s first combat aviators and their French Officers. An escadrille is the French word for squadron. Each year on American Memorial Day a commemorative ceremony is held at 10am. What was the Escadrille Lafayette ? Some Americans volunteered their service to France during World War I. They were ambulance drivers (remember Hemingway) and soldiers in the French Foreign Legion. By 1915, many volunteers began to lobby the French government to create a squadron composed of American pilots. The French finally agreed, and on April 20, …

Sacagawea was the Shoshone woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their journey to the Pacific. She and her husband Toussaint Charbonneau (French-Canadian) were hired as guides and interpreters. Sacagawea was particularly important to the Corps of Discovery in that she knew the terrain, the native plants as foods and medicines and she knew the Shoshones who provided horses to cross the mountains. You could say they expedition might have failed if not for Sacagawea. Today she is honored on a one dollar coin and her name graces many natural features in the Rocky Mountains. We never thought we'd come across Sacagawea's name in Boulogne-Billancourt! But she has been selected as part of an exhibition on women travellers called ÉTONNANTES VOYAGEUSES AUTOUR DU MONDE honored for International Women's Day. For a long time, the woman who traveled alone was considered an “adventurer”, in the sense of spy and courtesan. Despite social pressure, many have managed to overcome the pr…

It's Ground Hog Day again! I get such a kick out of this day - it just makes me laugh and yet its origins are ancient and no joke - so that I want to share its background with you, dear reader, once again. --Lisa Selon le dicton écossais: If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, There'll be two winters in the year. La version anglaise: If Candlemas be fair and bright, Come, Winter, have another flight; If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Go Winter, and come not again. Quand un animal hibernant sort de son terrier le 2 février (Le Chandeleur - Candlemas Day) et le soleil brille l'animal aura peur de son ombre, rentra sous terre et l'hiver continuera encore six semaines. La marmotte d'amérique est devenue aux Etats-Unis le météorologue le plus suivi pour ses prévisions de l'arrivée du printemps. Le plus célèbre des marmottes est Punxsutawney Phil, qui fait son entrée chaque année depuis 1887 à Punxsutawney, un village de Pennsylvanie. Toute la semaine du 2 février…