Sedulia

LATEST ARTICLES ( 315 )

• Café with Lunch? Ha Ha Ha

  

  A woman I met works as a translator and was telling us how difficult it can be to translate cookbooks and travel books from English (or "American") into... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• You Know You've Been in Paris Too Long When....

  

  "Mais... on se connaît*!" said the taxi driver. He started telling me a story I had told him last time I was in his cab. I remembered him, too. Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• More Flower Thieves

  

  As you may know if you've been reading this blog for a while, it is very important in France to stay faithful to your local merchants and professionals. So I... Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Flower Thief

  

  Today I saw a blond young woman of about 25, in expensive clothes, standing on a corner near the Bois de Boulogne with her fancy dog, waiting to cross the... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Air Raid Sirens

  On the first Wednesday of every month, at exactly noon, Parisians hear a god-awful wailing noise that goes on for one minute. It's the monthly test of the Frenc... Read more

  Posted on 07 March 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The M'rach (rose-water Sprinkler)

  

  A few days ago I went to a North African restaurant I like. Recently it's been harder to get a reservation because it has been listed in several restaurant... Read more

  Posted on 04 March 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Power of Words: Nègre, Jew, Breton

  

  Last week I met some older French people, in their seventies, at a dinner party. They were regaling us all with stories of how easy it was to park in Paris... Read more

  Posted on 29 February 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Siberia in Paris

  

  It is cold right now in Europe-- there is a vague de froid from the east, an unusual direction, that has killed hundreds of people in Russia and Ukraine. Read more

  Posted on 07 February 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Anomalies of French Life: Loving Obama

  

  In general I try to avoid politics on this blog, partly because I have relatives and even friends of extreme persuasions in both directions. Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Anomalies of French Life: the Code

  

  Standing in front of our outer gate this evening were two shivering girls I didn't know. It's been really cold in Paris, below freezing. They looked relieved... Read more

  Posted on 01 February 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Anomalies of French Life: Reverence for Psychoanalysis; Or Le Mur, Autism, and...

  

  In the past few days and weeks, a French documentary about the use of psychoanalysis to treat autism, Le Mur, has been raising hackles and consciousness all ove... Read more

  Posted on 28 January 2012 EXPAT, HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGY, SELF EXPRESSION

• Quai d'Orsay, the Cartoon

  

  I have just been reading the bande dessinée, or rather graphic novel, Quai d'Orsay* (volume II), and laughing all the way through. Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2012 EXPAT, HUMOR, SELF EXPRESSION

• Anomalies of French Life: La Gastro

  

  Every winter since I've been in France, like clockwork, there is an épidémie de gastro ("stomach flu"). People disappear for days at a time and reappear... Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2012 EXPAT, HEALTH, HEALTHY LIVING, SELF EXPRESSION

• The King is Dead. Vive Le Roi!

  

  The king was executed in what was then called Place de la Révolution. Last Saturday night, Virginie, a very pretty teenage girl I know, was invited to an... Read more

  Posted on 25 January 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Elephant House: U.K., U.S.A., France

  

  Birthplace of Harry Potter, Edinburgh, Scotland Lucy the Elephant, still there in Margate City, New Jersey Did you know that Paris might have had an enormous... Read more

  Posted on 18 January 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, HISTORY, TRAVEL

• Dîner at Eight (-thirty)

  

  An American woman I know here was complaining that she invited some people for dinner at 7:30 p.m. and that at 8:30 p.m. they were just arriving. That is becaus... Read more

  Posted on 15 January 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Well-dressed? Parisian Style is ...uniform

  

  A lot of what foreigners think of as Parisian stylishness looks a great deal like conformism. When I first moved here, I thought the other mothers at my... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2012 EXPAT, FASHION, LIFESTYLE, TRAVEL

• Christmas-tree Recycling Center, Paris

  

  I am slightly embarrassed to admit that my Christmas tree is still up and twinkling. I haven't had time to take all the ornaments off, and as long as it's... Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Madeline's City

  

  I was shocked when I got here to discover that the French had never heard of Madeline. The little red-headed Parisian in a cape, who says "Pooh, pooh!" to tiger... Read more

  Posted on 08 January 2012 BOOKS, CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Anomalies of French Life: Marrons Glacés

  

  The first Christmas I was in Paris, which now seems very long ago, a friend of ours showed up for a Christmas party chez nous with a huge box of marrons... Read more

  Posted on 07 January 2012 EXPAT, FOOD & DRINK, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL