Weekly Get-to-Know-Paris Challenge #6!

Now that you’ve read about the origins of the poisson d’avril, it’s your turn to become the prankster! Print out a few of these April fish and try to tape them to your friends’ backs this Sunday, April 1 without them knowing!

What’s This About an April Fish?

The English-speaking world knows it as April Fool’s Day, but the French (and also the French Canadians) call it poisson d’avril (“April’s fish”), the day when you are allowed to mess with other people’s heads. In France, the...

La Ferté-Milon and the Canal de l’Ourcq

I had visited La Ferté-Milon briefly about four years ago by car, but inspired by Annabel Simms’ write-up in An Hour from Paris (and now realizing that it is also accessible by public transportation), I went back to La Ferté-Milon last weekend for a walk along...

Weekly Get-to-Know-Paris Challenge #5!

This is the first official week of Spring! And the flowers are already blooming in Paris’s many parks. This week, take some time to visit a park – walk or jog around, picnic, sit and read a book, or visit a park you have not been to yet. Jardin de...

My Brunch Picks for Easter in Paris!

For many people, Easter is a religious holiday, for some an opportunity for spiritual reflection. For some it’s about dying and hunting Easter eggs and gorging on chocolate bunnies. And for some, it’s about BRUNCH. If you fall in the latter category, here are some...

When Friends Come and Go

In the last month, two of my very best friends left Paris. They moved away. As “expat bloggers”, we talk so much about opening bank accounts, dealing with visa issues, finding an apartment, negotiating with the cable company and other important yet...

Weekly Get-to-Know-Paris Challenge #4!

This week’s get-to-know-Paris challenge is for anyone, whether you live in Paris or on the other side of the world: Pick up a new book on Paris! Galerie Vivienne Yesterday, I posted my thoughts on David Lebovitz’s The Sweet Life in Paris. Now it’s...

The Sweet Life in Paris: A Book Review

David Lebovitz’s latest book, The Sweet Life in Paris, is a tell-it-as-it-is account of a foreigner’s experiences in Paris, a personal account and yet an account that could be the story of any one of us expats in Paris. Minus the expert pastry chef part of...

St. Patrick’s Day à la Parisienne

St. Patrick’s Day is only five days away, and fortunately for the partiers among you, it falls on a Saturday this year. That means more time to rest up in preparation and more time to recover. Galway, Ireland So where in Paris should you head for some good Irish...

Weekly Get-to-Know-Paris Challenge #3!

How often do you jump on a Velib’ ? If you’ve never used a Velib’, one of Paris’s point-to-point rental bikes, make it your challenge for this week to try it out! And if you are already familiar with the Velib’s, why not see if you can go...