Category Archives: French customs

French customs, Paris

Bastille Day or 14th July

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Outside of France, everyone celebrates “Bastille Day” while the French call it “le quatorze juillet” (14th July). The very first year I was in France (in 1976, the summer that has gone down in French history as the hotest in a century – this one could well be remembered as the coldest), I celebrated 14th July watching the fireworks on a beach in Biarritz. Unforgettable. And the fireworks have remained  the highlight of France’s national holiday for me every since.

 

Planes flying over the Palais Royal on 14th July 2012

When Leonardo was little, I can remember taking him into Paris to see the fireworks at the Champ de Mars but found the crowds horrendous. After that, we always went to our local fireworks in Fontenay sous Bois, near Vincennes in the east of Paris. To start off with, we could walk there and secondly we could sit down and chat to all our friends. There was a different theme each year and the standard was usually pretty good.

But now that we live in Paris, we have a secret venue. We watch the fireworks from a vantage point on the top of a six-story building. We don’t get to see them close-up of course, but having Paris spread out unhindered before us is pretty exciting. We take our bincoculars of course and in addition to the fireworks next to the Eiffel Tower, we can see others in the distance. But the weather report is not looking good for tomorrow night so we may be staying home …

American blogger Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris has given an excellent run-down today of all the celebrations in Paris. Here’s her post:

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie down! The official schedule for July 14, 2012. National Day in France.

I took this photo this morning. Do you notice anything different about the Eiffel Tower?

Take a closer look. Those of you who have an acute sense of observation and were alive in the 1970s and early 80s will probably recognize that big sphere as a disco ball. That’s right! Paris is getting ready to boogie down to the tunes of “It’s Raining Men”, “YMCA” and “I Will Survive” when it celebrates National Day on July 14. Put on your platform shoes, bell bottoms and tank tops and join the fun at the Champs de Mars.

Here’s the official schedule, compliments of the Tourist Information Center. Read more

 

French customs, Loire Valley, Paris, Restaurants, Sightseeing

Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire’s International Garden Festival – Paris Day Two. Chantilly – The Audacity of Age

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For this Wednesday’s bloggers’ round-up, I’ve chosen Kathy Stanford‘s description of the highly original international garden festival at the château of Chaumont-sur-Loire, Denise from Bolton‘s visit to the Chantilly race course, which definitely seems a worthwhile excursion and Bread is Pain‘s very amusing story of an elderly woman jumping the queue at the Orsay Museum.

Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire’s International Garden Festival

by Kathy Stanford from Femmes Franchophiles, who has an ongoing passion for France and the French language

The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire covers an area of approximately 32 hectares and is located between Blois and Tours in the Loire Valley.

The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire is the foremost Centre for Art and Nature entirely devoted to the relationship between nature and culture, artistic creation and the impact of landscape, our heritage and contemporary art.

The Domaine not only includes the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire (15th to 19th century), its gardens and parks, but also from April to the end of October, the stunning International Garden Festival. In addition, there are many exhibits and installations by contemporary artists. Read more

PARIS DAY TWO – CHANTILLY

by Denise from Bolton, another francophile from the town of Bolton in the UK who spends as much time in the City of Light as she can

Chantilly racecourse is in a lovely setting, with the châteaux on one side, the forest in the distance. Even if you are not into racing it is a pleasant place to have a picnic, and the chateaux is worth a visit too.

20minutes on the train from Gare du Nord, it makes a nice day out.  On a previous trip I watched an interesting dressage show in the famous Grades Ecuries, which legend has it, was commisioned to be built like a palaceby Henry, Duc de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, because he thought he would be reincarnated horse.

My husband had “bribed” me to accompany him, with a reservation at the stunning Panoramic restaurant overlooking the course.  The set “outsiders” menu was pricey at  42 euro each, but was very good and the entrance fee to the racecourse was only 2 euro,( as opposed to a lot more for British racecourses) so we were not complaining. Read more

The Audacity of Age

by Bread is Pain, a 30-something American living in the Rhone-Alps, and slowly eating and drinking herself through the country.

Standing in line at the Musée D’Orsay with my Mother who is visiting.  We are about thirty minutes back from the front of the queue.  An old lady has recently shoved past us in line and we are watching in disbelief as she speedily makes her way through the five or six rows of people in front of us.    

Mom:  This is too good to be true!

Me:  No way she is going to pull this off.

Mom:  I think she is.  Look at her go!

Read more

France, French customs

How to Look French

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Since I’ve started writing this blog, I’ve heard so many discussions and read so many posts about the French look that I decided to write my monthly guest post on the subject for My French Life, the Australian-based online magazine & global community of French & francophiles.

How to Look French

They learn when they’re very young of course. Even our bi-cultural children, strongly influenced in their early years by our ‘foreign’ tastes in matters of clothing and comportment, turn out looking French in the end!

I can still remember being on a secluded beach one day in Australia with my 20-year old daughter, born and bred in France. She had just spent six months studying at the University of Queensland. A long way off, we could see a group of three people.

“They’re French,” she said.

“How do you know?”

“I can just tell.”

And when they came closer, her guess proved right of course. Two of them were French.

Continue reading

 

 

France, French customs

La Fete de la Musique

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The music festival celebrated in France on the 21st June, which corresponds to the summer solstice in Europe, was created by French culture minister, Jack Lang, in 1982. It’s also celebrated in other parts of the world where it is known as World Music Day. Until we came to live in the Palais Royal seven years ago, we mainly went to local manifestations. Now we have one literally on our doorstep. Unfortunately, it is a little loud for my liking. Loud booming music from a stage down the other end of the gardens began this morning at 9 am, vying with the percussion tools of the workers renovating the balcony next door.

When I looked out the window later in the morning, however, I was surprised to see some large white objects around the newly cleaned up fountain. I took a photo and tweeted it. Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris (who’s been taking us to the Paris races recently) tweeted back “They’re 40 pianos! For the big concert this afternoon! “Play me I’m yours”. I plan to be there.” I am a little embarrassed to say I knew nothing about it! I checked it out though and phoned Brainy Pianist to check that he knew about it.  Mary Kay informed me that it was on from 4 pm to 7 pm. That was around lunchtime.

Until  4 o’clock, I had booming music interspersed with percussion tools, rain, occasional sonatas and concertos, rain, percussion tools and booming music. The percussion tools then went home for the day. The first three pianos were unveiled and the booming music disappeared. The sky gradually cleared and the sun came out intermittently. All the other pianos were uncovered and the music began for real!

Mary Kay dropped by around 5 and we both took lots of photos from the balcony. At 7 pm, however, they brought the booming music back which somewhat silenced the pianos. What a wonderful initiative! More information on Mary Kay’s blog: http://outandaboutinparis.blogspot.fr/2012/06/play-me-im-yours-40-street-pianos-in.html

Art, French customs, Paris, Sightseeing, Travelling

Roland Garros 2012 – Back in Paris with a “Grand Slam”! – Père Lachaise Cemetary and Brocante – Travelling Alone. Solo Travel. What you need to know.

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From before the Paris sky turned dull and gloomy, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris describes her Roland Garros tennis experience, Kathy Stanford from Femmes Franchophiles goes to the Père Lachaise Cemetary and gets swooped on, and Johanna Castro from Zigazag Magazine, whose aim is to “champion voyages of discovery to dream places and quiet spaces. Helping you to “Live for the moment, Love adventure and Do something awesome” gives helpful tips to people travelling solo.

Roland Garros 2012 – Back in Paris with a “Grand Slam”!

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris

Stephane and I live within walking distance of Roland Garros, the home of the French Open. His favorite sport, aside from soccer, is tennis. Yet, there we were, fresh off the plane in Paris, without any tickets for the tournament. Standing forlornly outside the stadium on opening day, we wondered what had happened. Read more

Père Lachaise Cemetery and Brocante

by Kathy Stanford from Femmes Francophiles

Being the ‘season’ for brocantes I visited the Père Lachaise brocante nearby to the cemetery of the same name. I was actually filling in time until the cemetery opened. It opens later on weekends. Brocantes are where individuals and dealers sell second hand and antique goods. You can buy everything from crockery and glassware to furniture to knick knacks. It was a funny moment when I tried to disengage myself from discussion with a dealer who was keen to shout me coffee at the local café. He was amazed that an Australian would learn French and come to France. Read more.

Travelling Alone. Solo Travel. What you Need to Know.

by Johanna Castro from Zigzag Magazine

Must Know tips for Travelling Solo

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the fastest-growing household type in Australia is ‘lone-person households’ which are anticipated to grow to about three million by 2031.

With that in mind tour companies and hotels will be wanting to attract this new demographic, so do your research before you pay a hefty single supplement. Read more

 

France, French customs, Loire Valley, Uncategorized

Small Town Fame

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I’ve finally cleaned up the honeysuckle that’s been nagging me since we got to Closerie Falaiseau in Blois. It’s just beginning to flower and is a wonderful complement to the climbing roses on the stair rail. We’ve had our barbecue and eaten outside in the garden comfortably for the first time since we bought the house. Well, comfortably except for the mosquitos who adore me. We’re going for an after-dinner walk so that I can show Relationnel how I want our front courtyard/garden to look in the future.

It’s still light, despite the fact that it’s after nine thirty. We’re walking briskly along the road, not a car in sight. We go round the bend and a large dog rushes out behind a fence, barking madly. I dutifully say “T’es beau, t’es beau” as Relationnel has taught me.  It seems that telling dogs they are beautiful is two syllables is what you do in France to calm them down. I’m not sure it works but I have no comparison.

Suddenly, we hear frantic yapping and a tiny ball of fur comes hurtling down the open sloping garden opposite and onto the road. A man about our age appears  lumbering after the dog, telling it to come back, to no avail. He explains that it’s a pup, only 6 months old.

“Oh, so that’s its problem”, I say. Relationnel introduces us as his new neighbours.

“Then you’re the people who’ve bought the big house around the bend.”

“Yes, do you know Mr and Mrs Previous Owner?”

“No, I only moved here two years ago myself. I only know the neighbours on each side of the house and across the road.”

“We’re not living here permanently yet. Relationnel isn’t retiring for another two years”, I explain.

“Yes, you’re going to turn it into a gîte or a chambre d’hôte or something”, he says to Relationnel.

“That’s right.”

And turning to me, “And you’re Australian”.

My fame has gone before me.

Dieting, Food, France, French customs, Paris, Sightseeing, Wine

Can Bacon be a Vegetable? – Free Walking Tours given by Parisian Volunteers – Sipping on Saturday

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Welcome to Wednesday’s other blogs! This week, Bread is Pain talks about the problems of weight gain and loss when living in France, while Kathy Stanford from Femmes Francophiles describes a novel way of getting to know Paris. Gwen Evans, guest posting on Like a Home in Paris, which features vacation apartment rentals in Paris, describes a wine tasting session in the capital. Thank you to my fellow bloggers!

Can Bacon be a Vegetable?

by Bread is Pain

“Mwah!  Look at me, I am a big sausage!”  I am walking through the room dramatically, landing hard on each of my feet.  “Watch out, my fat sausage tread might bring the house down!”

“Quoi?”  MB is amused but not sure why.

“What do you mean “quoi”,” I ask.  “I’m a sausage person…obviously.”

“I don’t know what this is, a “sausage person”.” Read more

Free Walking Tours given by Parisian Volunteers

by Kathy Stanford at Femmes Francophiles

Always looking for an opportunity to combine practising French and to visit parts of Paris that I have not previously seen in detail I decided to do a walking tour of Paris with ‘Parisien d’un jour – Paris Greeter‘.

Contact is made through their website specifying what language you want to do the tour in, availability and interests. The walks are provided free of charge by volunteers who are all Parisians passionate about their city. You can however make a donation to the association if you wish. Offers for various tours of 2 of 3 hours based on your interests are emailed to you and you choose which one you want. The group is limited to 6 people. Read more.

Sipping on Saturday: French Wine Tasting class with Preston Mohr

by Gwen Evans guest posting on Like Home in Paris

If you are like most American visitors to Paris, one of the big pluses is being able to sample wonderful French wines at very reasonable prices.  The downside of that is that it can quite confusing and intimidating when faced with so many choices — many of which are unfamiliar to us from the States.  Add to that the fact that a lot of the wine labels have very little if any helpful information, and it’s a bit of a gamble when you are at the store. In my 20 plus trips to Paris I have tried (mostly at random) lots and lots of different wines, both red and white, and have never really had a bad bottle; for between 4 and 10 euros you can get some amazingly good wine. Even the equivalent of “2 buck chuck” here is a whole lot better than the stuff back home. Read more.

 

France, French customs, Loire Valley, Paris, Travelling

Chateau de Chambord – Metro Maze in Paris – The Presidential Debate

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Already Wednesday again! All those public holidays in May make the time just disappear! This week, we have a description of Chambord castle (just next to me in Blois) by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, a great new phone App for the metro along with some lovely photos by Petite Paris of B&B fame and a very pertinent description of the French pre-election debate between the two final candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande by Finding Noon still worth reading even though we now know that François Hollande is the winner.

Château de Chambord – the largest castle in the Loire Valley

By Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris

While visiting the Loire Valley, I was reminded of how justifiably proud the French are of their rich cultural heritage and how this sentiment is passed down from one generation to the next. After overhearing some parents explain to their children that Francois I built Château de Chambord as a royal hunting lodge in which he only spent a mere 72 days during his 32 year reign, I teased Stéphane about his country’s lack of opulent castles. His immediate response was that while the Swiss may not have any extravagant châteaux, they also didn’t incur staggering debts. Sensible, but not quite so romantic… Read more

Metro Maze in Paris

by Petite Paris

Bonjour or bonsoir friends; depending on where you are in the world 🙂

We have just been sent a link to a new iphone app on the Metros in Paris and just wanted to share it with you as a bit of a helpful resource for your pending, upcoming, (one day soon hopefully) trip to Paris 😀

Its from Kemtro and its the only one that gives the exact location of all the entrances and exits of all the metro stations and it works offline – no roaming needed! (and we all know how expensive roaming can be). Read more

The Debate

by Finding Noon 

It is still the Presidential elections in France and last night was the great debate, which I didn’t find so great, but I did find rather fun to watch. French political debates are very different from my memories of US Presidential debates. Instead of standing officially at lecterns, each candidate is comfortably seated, with their notes. They face each other, not the voters, which helps tensions rise and makes for some great tv moments. As does the fact that the candidates do not have a set time limit for each answer. From an anglo-saxon perspective, this is not a debate, but a moderated argument, that turns into an intellectual free for all. Read more

French customs, Loire Valley

The Weather Vane and the Nightingale

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Mr and Mrs Previous Owner came to visit this morning on their way back from voting and I learnt some interesting facts about the weather vane on the top of the garage. We were talking about the aspect of the house, which Relationnel was convinced was south-facing. It seems it actually faces south-east. Mrs Previous Owner pointed out that you can tell from the weather vane. Relationnel was not convinced because he thought it only indicated the direction of the wind as it doesn’t have an N on it.

We then learnt that Mr P.O., a locksmith by trade, made the weather vane himself. It bears two symbols – a key for Mr P.O. and a feather for Mrs P.O., who was a secretary. And there is a cross indicating the cardinal points. According to Mr P.O., in mediaeval times, the landowners didn’t want the peasants to learn how to read and write, so didn’t use letters on signs and weather vanes. Instead of saying “east wind” and “‘north wind”they talked about “low wind” and “high wind”. Not too sure how much of this is just hearsay though …

They also indicated the best market to go to. We went to the main market in Blois yesterday. It was very attractive and the people were friendly but we were horrified at the prices which are even higher than those on Rue Montorgueil in Paris and we thought they were bad! It seems there are two markets on the outskirts of Blois in the high-rise areas where there are a lot of North Africans, that are much more reasonably priced. We’ve already noticed in the past that the “hallal” butchers sell very tasty lamb for half the price you pay at a regular butcher’s. So next time,  we’ll  be going there.

I also asked them about the delinquent birds. At 2 o’clock in the morning, you can hear birds outside our bedroom window chirping away like nothing on earth. They don’t bother me, but I think it’s very strange. When we got back from The Shaker in Amboise on Friday night (our very first social outing since we got the keys to the house) where we met up with a group of Anglophones and Anglophiles who meet there regularly (first Friday of the month), you would have thought it was broad daylight. It turns out they’re rossignols (nightingales). If you click here, you can here what they sound like – it’s definitely them! I’d recognise them anywhere.

The other thing that Mr and Mrs Previous Owner helped us with is the safe. When it was explained to me initially, I thought I understood but when I tried to use it when I was locking up the house for the first time on my own, all I did was make it freeze up completely. I couldn’t even get it open. When Relationnel came, he was afraid I’d somehow put another combination on it but you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s working again and I can now leave all my rubies and diamonds safely behind and things might stop disappearing and reappearing!

Amboise from The Shaker on L'Ile d'Or, just before a storm

 

Food, France, French customs, Paris

Best Brocantes and Flea Markets in Paris – Tea, wine or cocktails – National Garlic Day

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It’s Wednesday again and I’ve found you some more great posts from other people’s blogs, starting with Vingt Paris Magazine giving us the best brocantes and flea markets in Paris, followed by Girls’ Guide to Paris with suggestions of places to have your favourite beverage, and a very interesting description of National Garlic day by Llamalady from Blog in France.

Best Brocantes and Flea Markets of Paris

by Anne at VINGT Paris Magazine, devoted to the 20 arrondissements of Paris and helping you get the most out of the city.

We were so pleased with Meg Gagnard‘s roundup of the best vintage clothing shops in Paris, we invited her back to share some insider secrets of Paris’s flea markets and brocantes -the best places to find vintage goods and antiques around the city. The list is a mix of trinket and furniture shops, as well as where to go to find out about weekly neighborhood brocantes. Thanks, Meg! Read more …

Tea, wine, or cocktails

by Girls Guide to Paris, an all-encompassing online guide to Paris

Here is an assortment of places where you can lounge and enjoy your favorite beverage, often with some excellent food as a bonus. Note: The term wine bar can be a little confusing in Paris. All wine bars feature wine, of course, but the bar part is a little more flexible. Some have a counter and tables, and you can show up anytime for a glass of wine and a snack. Others resemble restaurants more than actual bars. In many cases, reserving in advance is imperative. Some are cavistes (retail wineshops), which is good to know if you need a bottle to go. Read more …

National Garlic Day

by Llamalady from Blog in France who blogs about her life in rural France where, amongst other activities, she raises llamas and alpacas

Today, believe it or not, is National Garlic Day. And since garlic is irrevocably linked in most people’s minds with France, well, I had to blog about it.

Garlic, Allium Sativum, is originally from Asia. China is still the world’s biggest garlic grower, producing more than 12 million tonnes of it a year! Garlic is something of a wonder plant, because not only does it have the blood cleansing properties most of us know about it, it’s also anti-bacterial. Surgeons who ran out of anti-septic during the First World War would use garlic instead. Read more …