The Ranting Frenchologist
French politesse, lesson two: the written rituals
In which I explain how the French are among the best-mannered people on Earth. At least on paper.
France
French politesse, lesson one: the spoken rituals
In which I examine the ins, the outs and the treacherous culs-de-sac of French politesse.
France
Before France was France: what’s left of Lutèce
The Roman city was dubbed Lutetia, which the Gauls, who even then couldn’t be bothered to pronounce the final syllables of most words, immediately shortened to Lutèce. It spread out south from the Seine, covering the area now occupied by landmarks like the Sorbonne, the Jardins de Luxembourg and the restaurant Polidor, whose toilet dates from this period.
Paris, France
Getting social: tales from French bureaucratic hell
In which I brave the treacherous quagmire of the French fiscal system, and emerge sadder but wiser. Or do I mean sadder but more of a wiseass?
Paris, France
Going postal in France: tales from French bureaucratic hell
In which I summon up the ghosts of French post offices past — one of those things that were definitely worse in the good old days.
My (imaginary) life as a monk in medieval France
In which a trip to the Abbey of Cluny inspires me to speculate on what My French Life would have been like a millennium or so ago.
Paris, France
On French wine: how much is too much of a (really) good thing?
In which I confess to a fondness for one of France’s finest products. And then wonder how much fondness I should confess, and to whom...
Paris, France
The Ranting Frenchologist: not quite a native
Are you a foreign resident of France? Do you think you’ll ever feel like a native?
Paris, France