As I seem never to tire of pointing out, English business names, most of them terrible, are becoming more and more common in France every day. I’ve written some two dozen articles lamenting this trend and still, for some reason, … Read More
Seeing the exhibition “The Spirit of the Bauhaus” at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is the next best thing to going to the famous school itself, which would, of course, be impossible, since it was shut down in 1933 after Ludwig Mies van der Rohe refused to submit to Nazi conditions, which included the dismissal of one of its professors, Wassily Kandinsky, considered a “degenerate artist.”
I’ve been living in France long enough now to become accustomed to most of its quirks and eccentricities. Some of them took me a while, like the mid-day store closures, the frequent strikes and the apparent extension of diplomatic immunity … Read More
Here are six words that you don’t hear very often: I don’t have a cell phone. I know that this is tantamount these days to saying “I don’t have a life,” but it’s true. When I reveal this peculiar quirk … Read More
Inside the Closed Doors of Interior Decoration Show Maison & Objet, Paris’s biannual home-decoration trade fair, celebrated its 20th anniversary in September by changing its approach, focusing less on specialization and more on broad-based trends and lifestyles in an attempt … Read More
While everyone else was relaxing and sunbathing and eating rosé-drenched lunches by the pool this summer, I actually learned something. Here’s what I learned: not all writers love France as much as I do. It has come to my attention … Read More
C’est Ironique Sign of the Weeque I think I know why this store on Rue Rochechouart went out of business. The name is okay, but the motto doesn’t quite achieve what one would call commercial appeal. Let’s see — what … Read More
C’est Ironique Sign of the Weeque Spotted by me AND reader Pierre Tran, apparently on the same day. Photo by Pierre, who’s a better photographer. Sometimes Paris shop owners obviously don’t know, or don’t care, what their signs mean in … Read More
C’est Ironique Sign of the Weeque Spotted by Nancy Li. Two stores in a row, one letter each away from being an Anglophone preteens’ giggle fest. And the little dots on the Mini Nippes sign don’t help any. I sometimes … Read More
C’est Ironique Sign of the Weeque You know all those Italian restaurants in English-speaking countries that call themselves “La Trattoria”? As though it’s supposed to be some kind of clever, evocative name even though it just means “The Restaurant”? Did … Read More
