This is the time of year for holiday gatherings with friends and family. Val and I find that our social calendar is pretty packed between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
When you are invited to all these events, what should you bring for the hosts?
The French make an art of this, so Val and I try to follow their example. Would you like to thank your hosts in the French style? I’ve written an article with some tips for you, and you can read it in Frenchly!
You have probably seen the news about the French Crown Jewels. A few days ago, thieves broke into the Louvre in a brazen daylight robbery. With them went many of the crown jewels, a terrible loss.
People are often surprised that France even has crown jewels. Didn’t those go away with King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette?
I wrote about this a few months ago, but I thought it might be timely to republish that story. You can read it in France Today.
All across the English-speaking world, book clubs are thriving. Those in America have more than 10 million members, and there are comparable memberships in Canada, the UK, and other countries.
They generally follow the same model: everyone reads a book, then the group meets to discuss it. But the French have a different take. In a cercle de lecture, or reading circle, everyone reads what they like. Val and I are members of a cercle de lecture in St-Rémy and it’s a fun twist on a classic formula.
Read about how French reading circles work and why you might enjoy one in France Today!
How important is French in today’s world, which English dominates in so many ways?
Is French useful or just a fun hobby for dilettantes? Is it a practical major for college students? And if you want to learn the language, what is the best way to go about it?
Let’s see what My French Life has to say about all this!
Where did the metric system come from? If you order lobster thermidor, what does “thermidor” mean? Who would design a clock that had 100 minutes in every hour?
These all go back to the French Revolution. When the zealots weren’t busy chopping off heads, they decided to remake the world in a more “rational” way. Hence the metric system, new clocks, and a calendar where months had names like brumaire and thermidor.
Read all about these, er, “interesting” innovations in French Today!
It’s the Year of Cezanne (“Cezanne 2025”) in Aix-en-Provence, with a series of events, exhibitions, and site openings celebrating Aix’s most famous son. One of them, “Cezanne’s Aix”, features an exhibition of over 200 photographs dedicated to the life and times of the great artist.
Organized by the CEPPIA Foundation, it immerses visitors in Cezanne’s world, allowing them to understand the environment, life, and history of the late 19th century, and explore the painter’s inspirations and iconic locations. They can view some of Cezanne’s most famous paintings, along with photographs of their actual subjects.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!
I love French words and expressions, and especially how they vary by region.
When I was a kid, if someone was wearing pants that were too short, we’d say he was wearing “floods.” The French have the same idea, except that what you say depends on where you live. You might say that someone “has water in the basement,” or is “going to fish for mussels,” or (my favorite) “has a floor on fire.”
Read about some of these regional terms in My French Life!
Every year, the Carrières des Lumières creates a magical sound and light show inside a giant cavern near Les Baux. It usually features an artist, and this year it is all about Claude Monet, one of the original Impressionists. The program is so good that Val and I saw it twice! If you are in Provence this year, it is not to be missed.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!
Vincent van Gogh spent two years in Provence, first in Arles and then at a mental asylum in St-Rémy-de-Provence. In his works we see the people and landscape of the time, filtered through the lens of his unique artistic style. But what did they really look like? A new photographic collection now lets us see for ourselves.
Sisters Emile, Alexandre, and Augustin Sicard were talented amateur photographers at the turn of the last century. They took hundreds of photos in and around St-Rémy just a few years after Van Gogh lived there. Looking at their photos gives us a picture of his world.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!
St-Rémy’s most famous former resident is undoubtedly Vincent van Gogh, who spent a year here as a mental patient after cutting off his ear in Arles. While in St-Rémy, he painted several masterpieces, including Irises and The Starry Night.
The place where Van Gogh was interned, Saint-Paul de Mausole, has recently been refurbished. So, you can now see it much as it was during Van Gogh’s time, with not only Van Gogh’s room but also where other patients lived, his doctor’s office, some of the “treatment” rooms, and more. It’s a must-see for visitors to the area, especially those interested in the great artist’s life.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!