Bonjour à tous! Do you know what day it is? It's Fête du Muguet! My favorite French holiday, when everyone gives little bouquets of lily of the valley to their friends and family. (It's also French Labor Day, when everyone protests. The two holidays aren't related.) In any case, I'm trying to ease back into … Continue reading Lily of the Valley Day
Holidays
2019
Bonne Année! Happy New Year! Colin and I just spent a wonderful few days ringing in the new year with friends in Spain. It was a multicultural celebration—we brought our favorite French champagne, another pair of French friends brought traditional Provençal desserts, our Belgian friends brought chocolate, and our Catalan friends introduced us to the … Continue reading 2019
What we ate for Christmas dinner
At French class last week, Laurine asked each of us about our plans for Christmas, specifically what we’d be eating. (The French really love food.) She started with me. I told her I’d be staying in Paris and eating Christmas dinner with some French and Belgian friends. I said that we’d decided to eat all … Continue reading What we ate for Christmas dinner
Casse-noisette
Although I love living in Paris, the language barrier means that daily life is often baffling. I never quite understand what's going on around me, and my brain is usually a minute or two behind where the conversation is. When I try to speak, I find that my vocabulary sounds like that of a kindergartener. … Continue reading Casse-noisette
Countdown to Noël
Well, it's been a week since my unfortunate tête-à-tête with a pigeon, and I've only had one nightmare involving birds since, which seems like a win. I haven't had anything quite as interesting to talk about at French class, but that's a price I'm willing to pay for personal space. Also, thanks to all of … Continue reading Countdown to Noël
American cuisine, according to the French
For the holiday season, our local department store (the Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville, or BHV) has added a few displays of international cuisine. Here's the American one: French's mustard, Hellmann's mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, Tabasco sauce, popcorn, pancakes, Star Wars potato chips, Reese's peanut butter, and Marshmallow Fluff. I'm so disgusted that I don't know … Continue reading American cuisine, according to the French
Thankful
Happy Thanksgiving! Today isn't a holiday in France of course, but Colin and I are lucky enough to have his parents here to celebrate with us. Although I should specify—here is Barcelona, Spain. We're off adventuring again, taking them to explore a new city and country. So even though our Thanksgiving will probably include more … Continue reading Thankful
Beaujolais Nouveau: il est arrivé!
Yesterday - Thursday, November 15th - was a totally French holiday. Not the kind of holiday that gets you out of work but the kind that warrants drinking wine just because. It was Beaujolais Nouveau Day, which is the day - always the third Thursday of November - when that year's vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau … Continue reading Beaujolais Nouveau: il est arrivé!
I ain’t afraid of no ghost
Halloween isn't really a thing in France, so Colin and I decided to celebrate on our own in the most spook-tacular way: by going ghost-hunting in the catacombs. The Paris catacombs, created in the late 1700s to address problems with overflowing cemeteries, are hidden deep underground and are full of artfully arranged human bones, mostly … Continue reading I ain’t afraid of no ghost
A Day Without Cars
Over the last few weeks, between visitors, I started exploring some new programs and tools that seem like they might be useful professionally. It's been a lot of fun to learn something that's not French! Since I didn't have an actual project to work on, I tasked myself with using Esri's Story Maps tool to … Continue reading A Day Without Cars
Practice Makes Parfait 