Category Archives: French customs

The Emergency Department in a Paris Hospital

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I hate wasting time, probably because I never have enough. To me, the emergency department of a hospital is the epitome of wasted time, to be avoided at all costs. So far, I’ve managed to do so.

Stage 2 emergency room taken from my bed
Stage 2 emergency room taken from my bed

I wake up one morning in Blois with slight pain in my middle back. Hmm, that’s a new one. It disappears when I get up. Back in Paris next morning, the pain is more severe, like a bar across my back. I feel a tension in my chest as well. Once again, it goes away quite quickly. It continues for the next 3 days, appearing earlier and earlier in the night and forcing me up well before my usual wake-up time.

I call the doctor but learn she’s on holidays. Of course. It’s August and the great exodus has already taken place. I’m not keen on seeing a locum now that I’ve learnt that 6th year medical students can do the job. I want someone with more experience. I decide to wait and see.

Next day, when I wake up the back pain has disappeared but my chest feels as though it might explode. I call my doctor again and learn there is no locum so I phone SOS Médecins, the French emergency service. I explain my problem and am immediately put through to a doctor. He says he’ll send someone within the hour.

By the time the doctor arrives, the pain has almost disappeared. She examines me and says she doesn’t think it’s a heart problem but more likely to be digestive. However, to rule out the cardiac factor, she takes an electrocardiogram.

“Ah”, she says, “I have a problem. You have an unusual electric signal in your heart that means I can’t be sure of what the electrocardigram is telling me.” She calls the SOS Médecins service and asks if they have a cardiologist available. They don’t, of course. It’s August. “You’ll have to go to the urgences,” she says. “You really do need to check it’s not a heart problem.”

Without hesitation, she sends me to Saint-Antoine Hospital in the 12th arrondissement, which at least is on my metro line. I get ready, try to contact Jean Michel and discover he’s left his mobile phone at home. I leave a message on his work phone. Showing great foresight, I take my Kindle and charger.

The emergency department seems deserted. I hand over my prescription and my Carte Vitale (the French medicare card) and am told to sit down, that I shouldn’t have to wait too long.

Within minutes, I am called in. A friendly male nurse introduces himself and asks me to lie on a gurney (lit à roulettes) while he does an electrocardiogram.  I’m feeling quite zen and relieved not to have already spent an hour in the waiting area.

He checks my previous electrocardiogram and says, “There’s something I don’t like. We’re taking you into the emergency ward. Stay put.”

I’m wheeled into a long room next door and parked in a bay next to a nursing station. Several people come and introduce themselves and perform their different tasks: electrocardiogram, drip, chest X-ray, auscultation, including a very timid 6th year student who takes so long to listen to my back with her stethoscope that I get cramps in my feet.

The nurse looking after the drip is having problems with the vein in my hand and it’s very painful. Also, my watch is in the way, so they take it off along with all my other jewellery which they put in a sealed bag with my cash and credit cards to be retrieved later from the front desk. None of this is very encouraging.

My phone rings during the chest X-ray so I can’t answer it. It turns out to be Jean Michel who has now gone off to a business lunch. What if they decide I need to be operated on immediately? I start feeling very sorry for myself.

Eventually, a very jolly doctor, who seems to be in charge of the ward, comes over to see me. She explains that there probably isn’t a heart problem but they need to check it out. She prods me more effectively than the student and I wince (well, it’s probably more like a repressed scream) when she digs into my ribs.

After a couple more prods, she says that she thinks I’ve strained my intercostal muscles. I try to think what could have caused it and can only imagine gardening. After falling off my bike in Germany and crashing into the bushes, I have been saving my knee so maybe I have been stooping over too much.

I ask how long this is going to take. She explains there is an enzyme test that is performed again after six hours which they may have to do. Six hours! But in the meantime, they are going to take me to the stage 2 emergency room, she tells me. I ask for something to relieve my headache and she gives me paracetamol, despite the fact that I tell her it has absolutely no effect on me. I need something with aspirine or codeine. Sigh.

There are about six or eight beds in the next room, all in a row and separated by folding screens. I’m in the one closest to the door and can see relatives coming to visit the patients. I try phoning Jean Michel again but it’s only 2.30 pm and he’s still at lunch. I’m starting to feel hungry myself but can’t have anything to eat.

About fifteen minutes later, he rings to commisserate but can’t come to the hospital because he is doing his technical roster this week and can’t leave the area in which we live. I’m still hoping I won’t have to have the 6-hour enzyme test.

By now, my Kindle is charging on the nursing station but the cord is long enough so I can still read it. I’ve already downloaded a new book. There is no pillow on the emergency bed so despite the pain from the vein in my hand, I manage to fold my blouse and three-quarter pants that had been stuffed uncaringly into a plastic bag and hung on the end of the bed, and place them inside the bag to form a makeshift pillow under the sheet. It’s not very comfortable but it’s better than nothing.

I dose and read, read and dose. I have a FaceBook conversation with a friend but the painful vein makes it difficult to type with my left hand and I’m afraid of dropping the phone with my right hand. She offers to come and see me but I am still hopeful of leaving shortly.

An old man further along the row is arguing with the nurses because he wants to go home (don’t we all?) but he fell and has a brain haemorrhage so they understandably don’t want to let him go. They finally say they’ll phone his son in Germany to see what he has to say. That has the required effect and he calms down.

I need to use the bathroom and don’t want a bedpan so they unsnap all the electrocardiogram leads and put my drip onto a portable stand. I’m dressed in one of those non-woven bedshirts so the nurse makes me a toga with a sheet and I shuffle down the room and into the corridor, wheeling my drip stand with the hand that has the painful vein.

I come back to bed and discover it’s been reorganised and my makeshift pillow removed so I start all over again. My headache is worse than ever so I ask for stronger medication. It’s too soon after the useless paracetamol, I’m told. I lie in my bed feeling very lonely and have a little weep before going back to my Kindle.

At about 6 pm, a nurse comes to check on me and I tell her I’ve had enough and am ready to go. I’ll sign myself out if necessary! She is very understanding and says that the worst is over. Only a bit more and they’ll do the second enzyme test. I ask for a timeframe. Eight o’clock at the latest and you’ll be out of here, she says.

TWO MORE HOURS. I insist on the headache medication again so someone eventually comes along with another drip. This time it works.

At 7 pm, the blood test is carried out and after 20 minutes, since the results are positive, they take out the drip and unsnap my leads. I can get dressed. I take a while to remove all the adhesive snaps from my body (I discover more in the shower that night) and put my wrinkled clothes back on.

The doctor comes along and says I’m clear (but really should have an ultrasound of my heart – you gotta be kidding!), gives me an envelope with my X-rays and cardiograms and a prescription for codeine … There is no doubt in her mind that the problem is due to intercostal strain.

I pick up my jewellery, ring Jean Michel to tell him on my way home, and walk outside. I’m FREE after almost 8 hours! I see a bakery next to the metro station and buy a croissant au beurre. The best I’ve ever tasted!

Friday’s French – livret de famille, fiche, fichier

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When I first got married in France and saw our livret de famille I thought it was very neat although I didn’t realise its importance. It’s a little book in which the details of your marriage are written and which is completed with each child. When you get divorced, your livret is updated as well. If you are not married, you are issued a livret de famille when your first child is born. If you separate or divorce, you get another one.

Each town hall chooses its own cover. The Paris one is velvet!
Each town hall chooses its own cover. The Paris one is velvet!

The first thing I discovered when my children when to school was the fiche d’état civil which was a piece of paper delivered by the town hall containing the information about an individual child taken from the livret. I even needed one when Black Cat started ballet! What a waste of time. What busy mother (or father) wants to go to the town hall and sit around waiting for a civil servant to copy information by hand onto a piece of paper?

At the time, the only ID in Australia was a drivers licence or passport and children certainly didn’t need ID if they stayed within the country! Fortunately, the fiche d’état civil was abandoned in the year 2000 and the carte d’identité became compulsory and free even for children.

Inside the livret. If you're not married, it starts with the mother's or father's details of birth. If the parents are separated or divorced, each can have a livret.
Inside the livret. If you’re not married, it starts with the mother’s or father’s details of birth. If the parents are separated or divorced, each can have a livret. The one on the right shows my divorce details.

So what exactly is a fiche, you might be wondering (état civil = civil status). It’s one of those funny words that has several meanings and no satisfactory translation usually because we don’t often have an equivalent concept.

The fiche d’état civil was a flimsy bit of A4 paper. A fiche can also be made of stiff paper or cardboard such as a fiche-cuisine which is a recipe card. Those cards we used to take notes on and put in a filing box in the old days were called fiches. Index cards, if I remember rightly.

At the doctor’s, you might be asked to fill out a fiche which I guess we would call a form. But there is also the word formulaire. I asked Jean Michel to explain the difference between fiche and formulaire. “Bonne question”, was his typical reply.

Its seems that a fiche is used to contain basic data whereas a formulaire is used to make a request, such as a passport or enrolment formula (fiche d’inscription).

Another popular fiche is the fiche de paie or pay slip which you are supposed to keep for your entire life if you want to get your pension.

A fiche technique is a specification sheet or spec.

A fichier is a set of fiches and therefore a file and that includes computer files which are also fichiers. If you want to be specific, you can say fichier informatique. Although ordinateur means a computer, the word informatique is used in most other contexts: informatique = computer science; il est dans l’informatique = he’s in computers; l’industrie informatique = computer industry.   By extension fichier d’adresses is a mailing list.

And to go back to livret, when else do we use the word in French? A livret de caisse d’épargne is a savings bankbook (pretty rare these days), and a livret scolaire is a report book, though I don’t know if they have those any more. Livret can also be used to describe any booklet and even a catalogue for an art show, for example.

An opera libretto is a livret d’opéra.

Perhaps you know other meanings of the word fiche?

 

 

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: the San Pellegrino headquarters – Le Crotoy flea market – Gourd festival in Nice –

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In this week’s Blogger Round-Up, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris takes us to Bergamo in Italy where she was given a special guided tour of the San Pellegrino art nouveau building, while Janine Marsh from The Good Life France takes us to a flea market in Le Crotoy in the lovely Somme Bay on the coast of Normandy, one of our favourite cycling spots. To end up, Margo Lestz from The Curious Rambler introduces us to the gourd festival in Nice, “the perfect place to see all things Niçois”. Enjoy!

The Casino of San Pellegrino Terme – a magnificent Art Nouveau building reminiscent of La Belle Époque

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

san_pelligrinoIf you’ve ever ordered a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water while seated on the terrace of a Parisian café or purchased a six-pack of the distinctive green bottles from your local grocery store, you may have noticed the elegant building on its label and wondered about its history. Thanks to a special guided tour of the Casino (Grand Kursaal) of San Pellegrino Terme yesterday afternoon, I now know that the building is one of the most famous examples of Art Nouveau (or Liberty Style as it’s called in Italy) structures in Europe. Recently restored at a cost of 10 million euros, it’s also one of the most impressive buildings that I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. Read more

Le Crotoy on the Somme France

Written by Janine Marsh from The Good Life France, an independent on-line magazine about France and all things French, covering all aspects of daily life including healthcare, finance, utilities, education, property and a whole lot more.

le-crotoy-2It was a lovely spring weekend in the north of France – perfect to indulge in the national French pastime of visiting a brocante. France is famous for its second hand markets, bric-a-brac markets, marche au puces, braderies and vide greniers – flea markets are known by several names and they are held in all regions.

They take place throughout the year but the majority are from March to October when better weather means stalls can be laid out in the streets of towns and villages. Some are small with just a few sellers and some are huge like the Lille Braderie with 10,000 stalls. Read more

Celebrating the Gourd in Nice

by Margo Lestz from The Curious Rambler, who lives in Nice, France where she likes to bask in the sunshine, study the French language and blog

painted-gourds-02Nice is a French city, of course, but it also has a strong and proud culture all its own. It was Niçois long before it was French and the people work hard to keep their Niçois traditions alive. It has its own language, anthem, traditional costumes, dances, songs, and food. The language is taught in schools and there are dance groups that perform at many events throughout the year. These associations ensure that the traditions are passed from generation to generation. And the calendar is dotted with several events each year that are typically Niçois. Read more

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Love Locks in Paris – Developing a wine palate – Exercising apparel in France

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Already time for my Weekly Blogger Round-Up. I’m sure you know about the love locks on the Pont des Arts in Paris. Lisa Anselmo and Lisa Taylor Huff, guest posting for Out and About in Paris, explain why they are causing a problem. Chrissie from Riviera Grapevine gives us very helpful information on developing our palate in the world of wine, while Bread is Pain reflects on the differences between Anglosaxons and French when it comes to clothing and physical exercise. Enjoy!

Why We Need to Unlock Our Love from the Bridges of Paris (Guest post by Lisa Anselmo and Lisa Taylor Huff of No Love Locks™)

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

pont-before-afterYou’re in Paris on the Pont des Arts with your sweetheart. Maybe it’s your anniversary. You hang a lock engraved with your initials on the bridge, and toss the key in the Seine. Then you walk away.

It’s a year later and that lock is corroded by rust, buried under thousands of other locks and covered in graffiti. The piece of the parapet where you hung your lock gives way, over-burdened by the tonnage it was never designed to hold, and lands squarely on a sightseeing boat passing below, full of tourists. Read more

Help, I’ve lost my palate!

by Chrissie from Riviera Grapevine, a Sydney girl living in Nice with an insatiable thirst for the wines of the Var, Alpes Maritimes and Liguria. She happily sells, drinks and blogs about wine

Rose-LineupPallet, palette, palate: Three of the English language’s most commonly confused words, which all have a place in our wine vocabulary.

For instance, if you sell wine in Southern France, it’s not inconceivable that you may order a pallet of rosé from the AOC Palette in Provence.  Yep, definitely confusing.

Of the three, however, the one which has the most resonance with wine lovers worldwide is palate, or that part of our mouth which receives and defines taste sensations.

And I think mine went AWOL at birth….. Read more

Sweating in Jeans Town

by Bread is Pain, a 30-something American living in the Rhone-Alps, getting her master’s degree, learning French and slowly eating and drinking herself through the country

Oh.  Okay,” I think to myself as I wave at the friend I am meeting.  “So THAT is what we are wearing.”  I walk across the street, briskly, in my spandex pants, sports bra top, and tennis shoes.

After the obligatory kisses hello, we begin our stroll towards the Bastille.

“Are you going to be able to hike in those,” I ask her, looking at her feet.  She is wearing ballet flats, skinny jeans, a fashionable sweater, and a floral scarf whereas I look like I’m about to rip open a protein pack with my teeth while simultaneously checking my heart rate. Read more

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: French Lingerie – Cycling in France – Louis XIV’s portrait in Chenonceau

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This week’s blogger round-up starts with Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, who takes us behind the scenes of French lingerie, Maggie LaCoste from Experience France by Bike shares her favourite cycling itineraries in France while Susan from Days on the Claise presents a portrait of Louis XIV, “The King of Bling” by Hyacinthe Rigaud in Chenonceau Castle. Enjoy!

“Behind the Seams of French Lingerie” with Paris Lingerie Tours

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

simone_pereleLet’s start with a quick survey. Raise your hand if you think that lingerie is a rather silly subject, something that doesn’t merit your attention. Even though I’m ashamed to admit it, that’s exactly how I felt before the start of Kate Kemp-Griffin’s highly informative “Behind the Seams of French Lingerie” tour yesterday morning. When Kate, The Lingerie Journal’s Associate Editor for France,  asked why we had signed up for the two-hour tour, I quickly denied any personal interest in the subject by explaining that I was planning to write a blog post about lingerie. It was a misguided attempt to distance myself from what I incorrectly considered to be a frivolous topic. Read more.

Bicycling in France 2014: Itineraries to Consider

by Maggie LaCoste from Experience France by Bike, an American who loves biking anywhere in Europe, but especially France, which has the perfect combination of safe bike routes, great food, great weather and history.

P1050053I’ve had a really hard time narrowing down my favorite itineraries in France this year.  So many regions of France are improving existing bicycle paths and building new ones and great choices are springing up across the country.  This makes it really tough to narrow down possible choices to a manageable few.  At this rate, I could miss the whole summer bicycling season, mired in route research and conversations with local tourism officials!  It’s time to get the list out!  I’ve made a big pot of coffee, and am ready to make some decisions.  With the list complete, I can settle down to providing you with details on each of the itineraries, and why each of them would be a perfect choice for an upcoming bicycle trip to France.  Each choice will be featured in an upcoming post including:  top ten reasons to choose the itinerary, bicycle rental options, and best resources for trip planning. Read more.

The King of Bling

by Susan from Days on the Claise, an Australian living in the south of the Loire Valley, writing about restoring an old house and the area and its history and running Loire Valley Time Travel.

louisXIVIt doesn’t take much knowledge of history to guess correctly that this is a portrait of Louis XIV. The more is more frame gives it away even if you don’t recognise the man. It hangs in one of the salons at the chateau of Chenonceau and was originally a gift from Louis to his uncle Césare de Vendôme, once owner of the chateau. Like the rest of the objects at Chenonceau, it hasn’t always been here, but has been acquired by the current owners because of its significance to the chateau.The portrait is by Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis’ court portraitist and painted about 1700. Like any of Rigaud’s portraits it is a magical mixture of completely accurate character representation and ideal ego boosting likeness. I don’t know how he did it. Couple that with his superb technique with luxury textiles, and any portrait by Rigaud is worth looking at, drooling at the silks and velvets and musing about what the artist thought of the sitter. However, I’d be willing to bet most people hardly give the portrait itself a second glance. It is totally overshadowed by the astonishing carved gilt frame, which was created for the painting. Read more. Read more.

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Visiting Lisbon – Parliament House in Budapest – Being Polite in French

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This week’s Blogger Round-Up takes us to Lisbon in Portugal with Jenny and John in Brittany, a place that is definitely on my shortlist while Adelina from Pack Me To visits the inside of the Parliament Building in Budapest which we didn’t see on our visit to Hungary last summer. Margo Letsz from The Curious Rambler, whom you met last week explains the importance of being polite in France, which you may remember from my post on bonjour. Enjoy!

Things to see and do in Lisbon, Portugal

by Jenny and John in Brittany, who recently left Stockport, England to live in France where they are renovating a house to create a B&B.

lisbonLisbon is an amazing city, there is so much to do and so many places to visit, I am not going to go into much detail as the pictures say more than a thousand words.

The one thing I would recommend though is to go on the trams, we did not work them out and just jumped on one we saw, you can pay on the tram or get a day pass (the day pass is highly recommended as this allows you to travel all day and costs approx the same as two rides when you pay on the tram).

We travelled to the end of the line and then back again, the tram ride is fascinating as at times you can touch the buildings you are passing it gets so close. Read more

Inside the Hungarian Parliament Building

by Adelina from Pack Me To, a Chinese American who’s been traveling for as long as she can remember and has lived in the Netherlands and Hungary. She loves telling stories, and eating and exploring her way around the world.

budapest_parliamentVisiting the Parliament building in Budapest has been on my to do list for a long time. I had seen photos of the inside of the Hungarian Parliament building, which looked spectacular, and I wanted to see it for myself. A building that looks so magnificent on the outside is sure to look glorious inside right? I was not wrong.

I had a bit of a false start on my visit to the Parliament. The first time I went, I was informed that the tour for the day was only 30 minutes long instead of the regular 45 minutes, but the price was the exactly same. I decided to go back another day. Read more

It pays to be polite in France

by Margo Letsz from The Curious Rambler, who lives in Nice, France where she likes to bask in the sunshine, study the French language and blog

At this café in Nice, France, minding your manners can significantly reduce the price of your coffee.

question-010Of course, this was meant as a humorous way to remind customers to be polite, but it’s a great illustration of the French attitude toward good manners.

In France the “courtesy words and phrases” are very important and NOT optional.  Fortunately, they’re easy to master, but if you can’t manage them in French, at least say them in English.  More than likely, the French will understand you and think that you’re a polite person who doesn’t speak French – which is, of course, much better than being thought of as a rude person who doesn’t speak French. So if you want to be polite in France (and I’m sure you do), here are some easy words and phrases (along with my attempt at phonetic pronunciation) to help you on your way. Read more

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Carnival time in Nice – The Bay of Angels in Nice – Van Loos’ The Three Graces

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This week’s Blogger Round-Up starts in the city of Nice on the French Riviera with Phoebe from Lou Messugo who shares her stunning photos of Nice Carnival. And to give you another view of Nice, Margo Lestz, writing for The Good Life France, explains the origin of The Bay of Angels and other place names. In a different part of the country altogether, Susan from Days on the Claise tells us the fascinating history of Van Loos’ painting of The Three Graces in Chenonceau. Enjoy!

Nice Carnival 2014 – a photo essay

by Phoebe from Lou Messugo, a traveller, francophile, expat, mum and foodie now living in Roquefort les Pins where she runs a gîte after many years of travelling and living in Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia.

carnival23We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to go to Nice Carnival 2014.  Under the bluest of blue skies we spent a fun afternoon watching the the creative, witty and satirical floats pass by united under the theme of gastronomy.  Being our 5th or 6th time at Carnaval we recognised some of the regulars – the roaring dragon, the confetti seller who comes to the school fête, the OGCN (Nice football team) supporters with balloon boobs, the man dressed as a caveman hauling a ragdoll around, the Italian flag throwers – we felt like real locals.  As always the floats represented contemporary issues and cultural icons. Amongst others Angela Merkel could be seen devouring Portugal, Spain and Greece. Read more

Adam and Eve in the Bay of Angels, Nice

by Margo Lestz writing for The Good Life France, an independent on-line magazine about France and all things French, covering all aspects of daily life including healthcare, finance, utilities, education, property and a whole lot more. Margo  lives in Nice, France where she likes to bask in the sunshine, study the French language and blog as thecuriousrambler

bay-of-angels-the-bayMany rich and famous tourists visit Nice every year, but according to a legend, the first visitors were actually Adam and Eve – yes, the ones from the Bible.

As the story goes, after they were kicked out of Paradise for being naughty, they were standing outside the locked gates looking at their new hostile surroundings.  Everywhere was barren and inhospitable. They had no idea where to go or what to do. Then they heard the sound of rustling wings, looked up to see a band of angels flying overhead motioning to them.  The angels flew across the waters and hovered over a certain spot – they were showing the couple a glorious bay, in front of a land that was as lush and beautiful as the Eden they could no longer enter. Read more

The Notorious De Nesle Sisters

by Susan from Days on the Claise, an Australian living in the south of the Loire Valley, writing about restoring an old house and the area and its history and running Loire Valley Time Travel.

graces_vanlooThere is a large painting depicting three naked women hanging in one of the salons of Chenonceau. It’s called The Three Graces and is by Carle Van Loo (not his brother Jean-Baptiste, despite the frequency you will find it attributed to him on the internet). It is widely believed to depict three of the five de Nesle sisters, but since it is clearly a picture of three attractive young women, there is a certain amount of debate about the identification of the notorious sisters and the subject of this painting. The de Nesle sisters, with the exception of the youngest, were not considered to be beauties, were all long dead by the time the picture was painted and Van Loo wasn’t known for being kind to his subjects. Read more

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Advantages of Paris in Winter – Surprising Things about Istanbul – Eating Rules for French Children

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In this week’s Blogger Round Up, Carolyn from My Sydney Paris Life shares nine big reasons to love Paris in winter (even though it hasn’t snowed this year); Jo Karnaghan from Frugal First Class Traveler takes us to Istanbul in the first of a series of posts, while Mind Body Green gives ten very interesting eating rules followed by French children. Enjoy!

Nine Big Reasons to Love Paris in Winter

by Carolyn Barnabo from My Sydney Paris Life, writing about global families and change and life in special geographic places that have captured her heart.

eiffel_tower_reflectionWith our global family and so many destinations on our ‘we should go there’ travel list, I’m often wishing we could physically be in more than one place at one time. I miss family members, I miss my share of special events, and I miss Paris.

Paris is a favourite destination any time of year. Here are nine big reasons I’m missing Paris in winter. Read more

Three things that surprised me about Istanbul

by Jo Karnaghan from Frugal First Class Travel, an Australian who loves to travel – especially in Europe – and who has gradually learned how to have a First Class trip on an economy budget, without missing out on anything!

istanbulI don’t know about you, but when I travel to a new place I always some preconceived ideas about what I am going to experience.  My trip to Istanbul was no exception.  I was delighted to discover some of my preconceptions exceeded my expectations, and some of my negative preconceptions were just plain wrong!

Visiting the hammam was heavenly

I wrote previously about how much I enjoyed my hammam experience at Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamami.  While I was looking forward to going to the hammam, I didn’t realise just how enjoyable it would be.  A good session at a reputable hammam really is like a wonderful treat at a very exotic spa.  If you like massages, facials and other spa treatments, I thoroughly recommend a trip to the hammam – there really is no experience like it! Read more

10 Eating Rules French Children Know But Most Americans Don’t

by Rebeca Plantier writing for Mind Body Green, CEO and co-founder of Fit to Inspire, an online and offline community inspiring women to greater fitness and well-being regardless of their age, shape or level of fitness.

How the French eat, age, dress, raise their children and live in general is a real talking point these days. So, as an American mother of three half-French kids, I figured I’d add my two cents to the conversation.

I lived in France before becoming a parent, but eventually it was my kids who taught me everything I need to know about eating like a French person: Eating, and staying slim and healthy, isn’t just about what you eat, but also how, when and why. Yes, French people enjoy junk food occasionally, and sometimes they eat between meals, but people don’t just let loose every day. There’s a code of conduct for food, for big people and little ones alike. Here, in 10 quick life lessons, is what my kids taught me about food. Read more

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Colmar in Alsace – Zadar in Croatia – Saint Valentine’s Day in Paris

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In this week’s Blogger Round-Up, Carolyn from Holidays to Europe takes us to Colmar, which is one of my favourites places in Alsace, with its picturesque canals while Chasing the Donkey gives us an insider’s tour of Zadar in Croatia with it’s famous Sea Organ. To finish off, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris gives us lots of unique ideas for Saint Valentine’s Day in Paris. Enjoy!

A Short Guide to Colmar, France

by Carolyn from Holidays to Europe, an Australian based business passionate about sharing their European travel expertise and helping travellers to experience the holiday in Europe they have always dreamed of

colmar-franceWith only a couple of days in the Alsace region of France, I didn’t have much time to spend in Colmar but in the few short hours I was there, I quickly realised why it is such a popular town with tourists from all over the world – it is absolutely gorgeous!

Thanks to its history as a major trading post and river port in the 16th Century, Colmar is one of the prettiest cities in France. Wealthy merchants built spectacularly colourful houses alongside the canal, and even today, centuries later, they ooze charm. With a mix of French (the window shutters) and German (half-timbered facades) architecture, the houses of the former trading areas of Colmar are a reminder of the heady days when wine from the neighbouring Alsatian vineyards was shipped along the canal. Read more

What to see in Zadar

By Chasing the Donkey,  a Mum & wife, now Australian expat who packed up her very typical Aussie life in May 2013 and shifted it along with her Croatian Husband and Son to rebuild the old house they inherited in Croatia & make it their home.

sea_organ_zadarBe sure to to make a stop in Zadar if you plan to explore Northern Dalmatia, it’s a great destination to spend  time in, its a great choice to use as a base to see Plitvice, Paklenica or Krka National Parks. So, what should you see while you’re in Zadar?  We’ll there is no doubt that you’ll enjoy drinking coffee overlooking the Grand Roman Forum that is over 2,000 years old and the Church of St, Donatus among the many sights – but I guarantee you’ll end up being drawn to 2 of Zadar’s most unique attractions. The Sea Organ & the Greeting to the Sun. Read more

Love is in the air: lots of unique ideas for Valentine’s Day in Paris

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

valentineWhether you’re single, married or divorced, there’s a lot happening in Paris on February 14:

Feel like a star – For Valentine’s Day, the RATP is offering you and the person of your choice a FREE glamor shot. Five Harcourt Studio photo cabins will be available from 12:00 – 6:00 pm at the following stations: Gare de Lyon, Denfert-Rochereau, Villejuif-Louis Aragon, La Motte Picquet-Grenelle and Jaurés.

One minute to “spread the love” at the Louvre: At precisely 14h14 (2:14 pm) on February 14, a flashmob will gather in front of the pyramid at the Louvre to kiss their lover, best friend, stuffed animal, dog or bicycle. Couples, families, friends – everyone is invited to share a minute of love. KISS Flashmob in Paris event page. Read more

President Hollande’s Marianne

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If you read my post last week on green stamps, you may have noticed the drawing on the stamps.

Green and red stamps
Green and red stamps

When I saw it, I was somewhat intrigued because the previous Marianne stamp was a little different.

So I checked it out and this is what I discovered.

Marianne, who is the symbol of the French republic, has been used on stamps since 1944. Each president chooses a new Marianne who is used on ordinary (non collection) stamps (known as mariannes) throughout his presidency (sorry about the “his” but so far there have been no women presidents in this country).

Six previous mariannes from my stamp album
Six previous mariannes from my stamp album

François Hollande announced as soon as he was elected that he would leave it up to French high school students of all people to choose the new Marianne from a selection of drawings by all the artists who had already worked for the French post office, in a major campaign across France called Mon premier vote pour la République.

And guess who they chose? A Marianne mainly inspired by Inna Shevchenko, the leader of a feminist movement called Femen, a Ukranian who arrived in France in August 2012 and was granted political asylum in 2013. The Femen who “use their bare breasts as weapons” were obviously delighted to become the “official symbol of France” while Shevchenko sent a tweet saying “Désormais, tous les homophobes, extrémistes et fascistes devront lécher mon cul pour envoyer une lettre”*, which didn’t stop her from sending another tweet (later removed) which was blantantly islamophobic.

I once visited the Conseil Constitutionnel during Heritage Weekend and the council president, Jean-Louis Debré, gave a very entertaining presentation of the different Mariannes since the French Revolution in 1789. She has been inspired in recent years by Brigitte Bardot, Michèle Morgan, Mireille Mathieu, Catherine Deneuve, Inès de la Fressange, Laetitia Casta and Sophie Marceau.

Marianne inspired by Catherine Deneuve
Marianne inspired by Catherine Deneuve

When I checked the French stamp list, I discovered it was different. The plot thickens. During the same period, the Mariannes have different names: Marianne de Cheffer, Marianne de Béquet, Marianne de Bicentenaire, Marianne du 14 juillet, Marianne des Français, Marianne et l’Europe et Marianne de la Jeunesse. It appears they are not based on real people, but are fictional.

It seems that there is no official Marianne model. While the stamp Mariannes are chosen by the president, the busts found in local town halls and other public places are chosen regularly by AMF, the association of French mayors.

Marianne inspired by Brigitte Bardot
Marianne inspired by Brigitte Bardot

Olivier Ciappa, the artist behind the current stamp, claims that he combined several different artistic styles including the Renaissance, comics, mangas and Walt Disney films, to give his Marianne an “unique aspect”. If that’s the case, maybe he shouldn’t have advertised the fact that Shevchenko was his main inspiration.

Just another example of François Hollande and his relationship with women …

* lécher = lick and cul = impolite word for rear end

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