French culture

The art of dining in France

While working as a waitress in Nice, we once had a huge lunch rush, resulting in a longer wait time for main courses than normal. (The Snug only has one chef in a teeny-tiny kitchen!) One of the tables was a group of young French professionals, who were a bit frustrated at the wait—they had [...]

November 30, 2010 Continue reading…

Why the French don’t celebrate Thanksgiving

For starters, the food isn’t anything worth being thankful for. Cranberry sauce out of can–either whole or jellied–just wouldn’t cut it next to fresh confiture. Oven-warmed rolls don’t stand a chance against a baguette, fresh from the boulangère. And why, mon Dieu, would you ruin good sweet potatoes with a load of brown sugar and [...]

November 25, 2010 Continue reading…

Women in France don’t get fat…right?

The numbers have been slowing creeping upwards on the scale–but they’re in kilos, so they mean very little to someone who worries in pounds. Even so, my skinny jeans are feeling a bit TOO skinny—and I know that all those three-course meals, cheese plates and pains aux chocolats have to go somewhere. But French women [...]

September 15, 2010 Continue reading…

Please, Mr. Postman, some customer service

The post office often gets a bad rap. Long lines, grumpy workers, and ever-more-expensive postage. Despite this, I love snail mail: the little joy of opening up a card or package is one that I enjoy giving and receiving. My grandma sent me cards every week when I was growing up, enclosing comics and a [...]

September 3, 2010 Continue reading…

Why the whole world wants to be French

Gone are the days of freedom fries: the world is having a love affair with France. Non-Frenchies want to know how to not get fat and how to pull off an outfit with attitude without even trying. French women have it good: why the whole world envies us. That’s the headline on a feature story [...]

September 1, 2010 Continue reading…

A French woman’s view of NYC

I doubt there’s an account of an American woman braving a year in Paris or Provence that I haven’t read. Before I embarked on a similar journey, I lived vicariously through these memoirs of falling in love with the French lifestyle (and perhaps a French man) despite the language and cultural barriers. So it was [...]