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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Bicycle visibility

Darkness is coming: Visibility for biking and jogging When daylight savings time ends and you have daylight from only 8 am to 4 pm there's a lot of bike riding that is done in the dark. How can you put the odds of being seen on your side? Bicycle visibility = Shine! Some things are pretty obvious: florescent shirt or jacket, reflective vest, headlights and tail lights. That's the minimum. But you can do more and with more panache too! I ride with multiple forms of light and reflectors and for that matter I use all of my visibility techniques during broad daylight too. The way I see it you can never be too visible. The next FUB 'Cyclists, Shine!' ‘Cyclistes, brillez !’ Campaign will be held from November 1-7, 2021. The FUB (FÉDÉRATION FRANÇAISE DES USAGERS DE LA BICYCLETTE) invites its associations, partners and all defenders of active modes to mobilize and make cyclists aware of the importance of good lighting: in fact, in autumn and winter, cyclists without lighting o…
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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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Furnishing your Paris apartment creatively and on a budget

Furniture

Ikea is practical, intelligent, not too expensive and usually looks good. It is not a bad way to furnish your Paris apartment. But you do have to first bring it home then spend hours putting it together (unless you call someone to do it for you – see the Services section). But perhaps you’d like something different in your Paris apartment, after all everyone shops at Ikea - it is far from unique. Here are a few ideas for some personalization that doesn’t cost too much.

FUSAC For Sale ads and other websites are a treasure trove of used items. If you find an ad for a moving sale just after it goes up you can possibly furnish a whole Parisian apartment at once! And more than just furniture you’ll find the practical items like small appliances and ironing boards for a song. If you find more than you can carry give a quick call to one of the man with a Van ads to schedule a pickup (again see the Services section).

Izidore: Is the online « garage sale …

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Click and Collect at Bill & Rosa’s Book Room

Follow the links below to view pdf files of the current inventory of Bill and Rosa's Book Room. More than 7000 titles!

Available for Click and Collect pick up or delivery, just email fusac.office@gmail.com with your selection, we'll send you a link for payment via CB (or take check or cash when you get the books) and arrange for pick up. 

Are you in the Yvelines? Free delivery to these towns: Villepreux, Les Clayes-sous-Bois, Plaisir, Feucherolles, St Nom-la-Bretèche, Rennemoulin, Fontenay-le-Fleury, Noisy-le-Grand, Bailly. Minimum order 25€.

Anyone who orders 5+ books will receive a free copy of Elaine Sciolino's La Séduction (A book about France and the French and how seductions of all types, not just sexual, make them tick.)

The inventory list is organized by Sections and within the section by author. To find out more about a particular book you could copy the ISBN number and do an internet search. Nearly all of them …

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Rental Lease and contract in France

The City of Paris is constantly trying to better or at least adjust the rental system. In an attempt to make Paris less expensive to live in, they are now reinstating rent ceilings for a 5 year test period for all new or renewed leases signed as of July 1st, 2019. You can find out the average price of rent in an area given in price per month per square meter based on the address, size and age of the building which you put into the rent calculator (in French). 

More information:

https://www.service-public.fr/

https://www.paris.fr/

Also recently created is also a new type of lease called the Bail Mobilité. This rental lease applies only to furnished rentals that are a maximum of 10 months. There is no security deposit and rents must be within the regular ceilings. The lease must state why this type of lease is needed. If the rental goes past ten months, it becomes a normal furnished apartment lease renewable annually.

Once …

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Made in France – Innovative, ecological

Laëtitia Van de Walle created Lamazuna already way back in 2010, well in advance of the current Made in France wave. It all started with the idea of being a better consumer and finding ways to consume better. She decided to stop using five disposable cotton pads and a toner to cleanse her face every day. She wanted to use ultra-soft microfibre cleansing wipes that could be reused hundreds of times. A great idea but ambitious. She then shared it with friends who all loved the idea!

Despite being a Made in France product, the name obviously does not sound French. But what is its origin? It is a Georgian name! “Lamazuna” means “pretty young woman” in Georgian.

Lamazuna currently has 47 full-time employees, who work together as a team and believe in the values and ethics of the brand.

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Brighten your day. Books are the perfect antidote for the gray and gloomy.

At Bill & Rosa’s Book Room, we have the perfect antidote for the gray and gloomy winter weather: books, a lot of them, to suit all tastes and demands! Iasmina has selected a few to help pass the time and brighten your day. All our books are pre-loved so you'll love the prices too!

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (4€), The Full Cupboard of Life (3€) The Kalahari Typing School for Men (4€) by Alexander McCall Smith

There’s nothing better to take your mind off the cold and the rain than a plunge into the world of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, a series of detective novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Travel far away from rainy days with this novel set in Botswana and featuring Precious Ramotswe, the founder of the first and only female-run detective agency in the country. With unique characters, a good dose of kindness and vivid descriptions of Botswanan life, these are detective novels like no other. These thre…

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