March 4, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
“Tu es tout en foufelle aujourd’hui!” That’s Ch’ti (or Picard, a language spoken in Northern France) for “You look great today!” To hear it pronounced, click on the video below starring two former Parisians, photographer Maxime Dufour and Pascal Biencourt, … Read More
March 4, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
VIVE LE MINITEL! Believe it or not, the clunky Minitel, the forerunner of the Internet introduced by France Telecom 26 years ago, lives on. A million of the networked boxes, now used mainly as telephone directories, are still in use, … Read More
March 4, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
STREET PARTY The area around the Canal Saint Martin, known for its community spirit, has been blossoming with new boutiques, restaurants and cafés for the past 10 years. On Friday, Sept. 12, the shopkeepers on the Rue de la Grange … Read More
March 4, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
ROOM WITH A VIEW No, a flying saucer has not landed on the roof of the Palais de Tokyo; that green capsule perched atop the contemporary art museum is the Everland, a temporary one-room futuristic hotel designed by Swiss artists … Read More
March 4, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
SUNDAY SONGS Alexandre (Castagnetti) and Clément (Marchand), two scruffy, good-natured thirty-something French musicians, have won the hearts of the French with their Chansons du Dimanche, bouncy, humorous songs composed and recorded on Saturday – often while the pair sits cross-legged … Read More
March 3, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive
“I hope you realize that your reviews are subjective?” queried a food-loving friend the other day. Duh. And you can also catch a place on a bad night. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t like reviewing poor meals. … Read More
March 2, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
Without wishing to minimize the very real plight of those immigrants to France who are denied papers and (all too often) living quarters, I did note a wonderful side to the French approach recently while passing a group of homeless … Read More
March 2, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
Without wishing to minimize the very real plight of those immigrants to France who are denied papers and (all too often) living quarters, I did note a wonderful side to the French approach recently while passing a group of homeless … Read More
February 24, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
Jean Marais (1913-1998) is justly famous for his cinematic career and for his creative and personal partnership with Jean Cocteau (the two remained together from 1937 until Cocteau’s death in 1963). Far less is known, however, about his… Favorite
February 24, 2009 | By Paris Update | Archive
Everybody starts their articles these days with a nod to the crisis, so here’s mine. One of the first victims of real-economy meltdown in Britain was Woolworths (affectionately known to Brits as “Woollies”). All 807 stores in … Favorite