People dream of moving to France, but what’s it really like? Can you make friends? How does it change you?
My Frenchly colleagues Karen Karbo, Catherine Rickman, Philip Ruskin and Caitlin Shetterly have all taken the plunge. Two did it as young adults and have since returned to the US. Two others, both middle aged, moved a few years ago and see France as their permanent home. What have their experiences been like?
Read all about it in Frenchly!
A few months ago, headlines ricocheted across France: “30% of French Women Don’t Want Children” and “Nearly One Woman in Three Doesn’t Want Kids.” They were the result of a survey for Elle Magazine by France’s leading pollster.
If a third of French women is not having kids, the media surmised, then this is a demographic earthquake!
So, what’s actually going on and what will it mean for France’s future? I spoke to one of France’s leading demographic researchers and learned some surprising things about the survey (hint: the devil is in the details.)
Read all about it in Frenchly!
The Grotte Chauvet 2 is one of the wonders of France. Called “the cave of forgotten dreams,” it is the near-perfect replica of a grotto filled with paintings made more than 30,000 years ago—the oldest ever discovered. Not only is the art recreated, but the entire cave is replicated down to the smallest detail, with stalagmites and stalactites, and bear skulls scattered on the ground. Walking through it, and seeing paintings of lions and rhinos, is like stepping back in time.
And now there’s something new—tours by torchlight. Small groups are led by guides armed with torches, viewing the stunning artwork in their flickering light. Visitors can see the paintings as our ancestors did, with the works coming to life as the shadows play on the walls’ nooks and crannies.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!
Thousands of French families hunch over their Scrabble boards every weekend, as it’s the country’s favorite board game. But did you know that French Scrabble is different from the English-language version? And that its highest-scoring word is the name of a Scottish tipple?
And…it’s hard to believe…the French Scrabble world champion doesn’t speak French!
Read all about it in France Today!
France has a long and rich literary tradition, and the country has won more Nobel Prizes in Literature than any other. But that doesn’t mean that all French books are stuffy and boring–there are plenty of ripping good reads coming out of France!
But where do you find them? One good place to start is by looking at the winners of France’s literary awards. Many of these winners later get translated into English and are widely available. I’ve read a number of these books and really enjoyed them.
There are six big French literary prizes and they’ve all just been awarded. I’ve written an article describing them, to give you an idea what they are all about. If you want to skip the article, here’s on thing to remember: the Goncourt Prize. It’s the biggest of the Big Six awards and the books that win this are almost always great.
Read all about it in My French Life!
In 1991, Henri Cosquer made a remarkable discovery: he found a grotto filled with prehistoric paintings. Even more remarkable is that the cave is only accessible via an underwater passageway.
Cosquer was a professional diver, leading underwater tours near Marseille. He also dove for pleasure, exploring the nooks and crannies of the rugged coastline.
One day, Cosquer noticed a narrow underwater passageway. Intrigued, he followed it and found himself in a labyrinth of tunnels going here and there. Over multiple dives, he followed these tunnels until, one day, he surfaced inside a cave filled with prehistoric paintings.
This has now been recreated so you can visit it (no swimming required, thankfully.) The French are brilliant at this, having previously recreated the caves at Lascaux and Chauvet. It’s a must-see sight in Marseille, and is an easy walk from the Old Port area.
Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!
Graphic novelist Riad Sattouf has lived a fascinating life. Born in 1978 to a French mother and a Syrian father, he spent much of his childhood in Libya and Syria before moving to France for his teenage years.
Sattouf dreamed of becoming a pilot, but his talent as a cartoonist took him in another direction. His first graphic novel (bande dessinée in French, or BD) was published when he was just 21, and he soon joined the staff of the famous French magazine, Charlie Hebdo. But it was his BD, The Arab of the Future, that catapulted him to nationwide fame, making him one of the most successful authors in France today.
BDs are a big deal in France, much bigger than in the US. They are not comic books, but rather cover a wide range of subjects, from humor to history to politics and more. Remember Persopolis, the Oscar-nominated animated film? That started as a BD that sold more 2 million copies worldwide.
Sattouf’s Arab of the Future is now a series of five BDs, all of which have been translated into English. They are a fascinating look into two sometimes strange societies, including France’s!
Read all about it in Frenchly!
When tourists take day trips from Paris, it’s usually to Versailles or Fontainebleau or maybe Giverny. But a hidden gem is the Château de Chantilly. It’s as elegant as Versailles but more intimate, and is just a short hop from Paris.
The château and its vast grounds were the main estate of the Duke of Aumale, son of the last king of France and one of the country’s richest men. He donated it to the Institut de France in 1884 and it has been a tourist attraction ever since.
What’s there to see? Lots! There’s the château itself, in pristine condition, which houses one of France’s most important art collections. There are the exquisite gardens with their mile-long grand canal. There is the equestrian center with its racetrack and fabulous stables. And you can have strawberries with, yes, chantilly cream!
Read all about it in Frenchly!
Val and I are traveling around Europe and have been in France for the last month. I am responsible for doing the laundry in our family, and French washing machines present a special challenge.
Every time we land in a new place, I have to figure out a new washing machine. You would think they would be standardized—or at least kind of similar—but you would be wrong.
Charles de Gaulle famously said of the fractious French, “How can you govern a country with 246 types of cheese?” He could easily have been talking about French washing machines, but I suspect it was Madame de Gaulle doing the laundry while Monsieur le Général sat around eating cheese.
The trick is to find a wash cycle that doesn’t take all day, because French washing machines are a lot like French bureaucrats—they take a long time to get anything done.
Read all about my French laundry adventures in The Good Life France!
I still remember walking into that cave. There wasn’t much light and I could barely make out the stalactites, one of them twisting its way all the way down to the floor. As I walked further in, I could see bones scattered about—not human, I hoped. Then I saw bear skulls, arranged in a semi-circle. Spooky!
I kept going, stepping carefully, and suddenly there they were, straight ahead of me: paintings, beautiful paintings. I could see horses and buffalo and rhinos that almost seemed alive. It was mesmerizing.
I was in the Grotte Chauvet 2, a nearly-perfect recreation of a nearby cave. It’s like the famous cave at Lascaux, only the paintings are older–the oldest ever found. How old? Let’s just say Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals were still duking out for control of Europe (spoiler alert: we win.)
A trip to the Grotte is a must-do if you are in the area. Read more about this fascinating place in Frenchly!