Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth
A Flâneur Discovers a Changing Paris Street
I was born and bred in Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Triangle, so when a friend told me that renowned French pâtissier Philippe Conticini had made a fancy rhubarb tart for springtime, I had to try it. The closest shop was at 31, … Read More
Ferdinand Brunot
Is That a South Parisian Drawl I Hear?
Listening to early recordings of voices or sounds from the past is always intriguing, as it gives us an auditory glimpse into moments of history. However, sometimes the sounds captured on the earliest recording devices can feel strangely alienating or … Read More
Paris Regained
Rediscovering the Art of the Flâneur
At a time when so many of the usual pleasures Paris offers – cafés, bars, restaurants, theaters, cinemas, museums – have been denied us, I have rediscovered a quintessentially Parisian pastime: flâner. Meaning to stroll or to wander without any … Read More
Jean-Pierre Bacri
An Appreciation
The very sad news that Jean-Pierre Bacri died earlier this week at the age of 69 has resulted in a flood of tributes in France for this much-loved actor and screenwriter. Some have looked at the wide range of movies … Read More
Paris Regained
Return to Café Life
With the devastation and terrible loss that Covid-19 has wrought across the world, it might seem churlish to bemoan the lot of anglophone lovers of all things Parisian, but communication by Zoom and its equivalents with my British and American … Read More
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