The Fabulous New Roman History Museum in Nîmes

Posted on June 5, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

For lovers of Roman history, the city of Nîmes in southern France is a must-see. It was once a major metropolis in Roman Gaul and today boasts a plethora of important sites: there’s the beautiful Maison Carré temple that Thomas Jefferson used it as a model for the Virginia state capital building, a large and well-preserved amphitheater, a massive Roman guard tower, and more.

There are plenty of reasons to visit Nîmes and now here’s another: the Museum of Romanity that opened in 2018. This museum exhibits thousands of fascinating artifacts and covers over 2,500 years of life in the city. And it’s great for kids as well as adults.

Val and I visited it a few weeks ago and had a great time. You can read my report on this terrific museum in France Today.

Book Review: The Arab of the Future

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

Want to read a terrific book? Want to try your hand at reading in French? Have I got something for you!

The Arab of the Future is one of the most popular books to come out in France in the last few years, the story of a boy growing up between two cultures. It has been translated into more than a dozen languages so you can read it in whatever language you want. But the French is easy, really easy, because The Arab of the Future is a graphic novel.

I’m not usually a fan of graphic novels, preferring “real books,” but sometimes the format is the perfect way to tell a rich and fascinating tale. This is one such tale.

Read my review of The Arab of the Future in MyFrenchLife!

Van Gogh in Paris and Provence

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

If you are visiting Paris or Provence this year, don’t miss the fabulous sound and light shows at the Carrières de Lumières (Provence) and the new Ateliers des Lumières (Paris). They feature the works of Vincent Van Gogh, projected onto massive interior walls and choreographed with beautiful music. You’ve got to see it to believe it!

The Carrières de Lumières is in Les Baux-de-Provence, near both St-Rémy and Arles, where Van Gogh did much of his most important work. You can combine a visit to the Carrières with a visit to those towns, even seeing the room where Van Gogh lived in the asylum in St-Rémy; it’s a beautiful place and very moving.

Read all about it at The Good Life France!

Book Review of I’ll Never Be French (no matter what I do)

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

I love memoirs by people who have moved to a new country. Some are funny (A Year in Provence), some are personal and moving (Under the Tuscan Sun), and my favorites are both.

One of the best I’ve read in a long time is Mark Greenside’s I’ll Never Be French (no matter what I do). It combines hilarious stories of his adventures in France with lovely observations about how life in a new country has changed him.

A few months ago I reviewed Mark’s book titled (not quite) Mastering the Art of French Living, which I loved. I loved this second book just as much. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys travel memoirs with a lot of humor and a lot of heart, especially those set in France.

You can read my review in My French Life!

New Rules for Sex in France

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

Sex permeates French society, including the language. All nouns have genders—either masculine or feminine—though it’s sometimes unclear why a word is one or the other. Chemise (shirt) is feminine, for example, while chemisier (blouse) is masculine. Go figure.

And just when you think you’ve figured out the gender rules, somebody goes and changes them. That somebody is the Académie française, the arbiter of all things having to do with the French language. And the new rules they just announced are such a big change that some consider them “true barbarism.”

Only in France!

Read all about it at Frenchly!

Did Mary Magdalene live in Provence?

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

A crippled ship bobs helplessly on a storm-tossed sea and those on board face certain death…but then a miracle occurs. Guided by the hand of God, the ship arrives safely on the shores Provence. Out steps Mary Magdalene, ready to spread The Word throughout France.

Mary Magdalene landing in France…wasn’t that in The Da Vinci Code? Well, not quite. It’s from the legend of Mary Magdalene in Provence, a rich vein of tradition that author Dan Brown almost certainly tapped for his bestseller. Monuments to Mary and her shipmates abound in Provence and her legend stretches back nearly 2,000 years.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

From California to Provence

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

My French Life, one of the most popular sites for France-lovers, has begun interviewing people about their life in France. I was lucky enough to be interviewed about the part-time life in Provence that Val and I have built. You might find it interesting.

Here’s the interview at My French Life.

You Couldn’t Make This Up

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

One day our Provence friends Xavier and Marie-France decided that Val and I should join them at an avant-garde theatrical performance. They said it would improve our “cultural appreciation.” The show was being put on by a private group, the kind that rarely opens its doors to foreigners like us, so we were thrilled to be invited. But I have to say, it was about the strangest piece of theater I’ve ever seen!

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence.

What Do the French Think of the Gilets Jaunes These Days?

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

Since November, thousands of people known as gilets jaunes (yellow vests) have blocked roads and marched through cities to demonstrate against the French government. What began as a protest against a gas tax quickly metastasized into a general protest against rising inequality, lack of economic opportunity, the elitism of the French ruling class, and more.

After months of sometimes-violent protests, what do the French people think of the gilets jaunes these days? The answer might surprise you. Read all about it at Frenchly!

The Transhumance of St-Rémy

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Keith Van Sickle

In the old days in Provence, flocks of sheep were marched hundreds of miles, to cool mountain pastures, where they would graze during the hot summer months. They passed through village after village in what was called the transhumance, and all the villagers would come out to watch the spectacle.

In the 1960s and 70s, the transhumance faded away as shepherds began to transport their flocks by truck, but then towns like St-Rémy-de-Provence revived the tradition with annual festivals. Held every year on Whit Monday, the modern transhumance features thousands of sheep circling the town, along with shepherds, sheepdogs and the occasional goat. It is like a river of sheet flowing past, a sight not to be forgotten!

Read all about this link to the Provençal past in The Good Life France.

Life in Provence

Keith Van Sickle

Category Archives: Culture