15.35 - Making the most of France at this time of year: Nancy, Languedoc, & Paris
This FREE le Bulletin takes us to France: August is here, the sun’s out, and you’re taking it easy, some are taking it easier than others... let's check them out.
Today at a Glance: Your FREE weekly newsletter
Bonjour mes amis !
It’s wonderful to have you back here with me today! Bienvenue !
In this newsletter, you’ll find fresh articles, “Making the most of France at this time of year”
Watch out for and don’t miss the PAID subscriber edition of le Bulletin on Saturday this weekend: “15.35.a - When the Heat Gets Too Much: French Kitchens & New Beginnings.- It’s not too late to subscribe←
AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR YOU, yes, all of you.
Here is some important information about changes in le Bulletin newsletter and this Substack site. Please read the full article.
À bientôt !
Warmly,
Judy - 30.08.2025
1. MyFrenchLife™Magazine new articles
“There are many talented contributors to MyFrenchLife Magazine and I thank all of you for sharing your experiences with us in such an engaging manner.
You take us right across France & deep into many worm-holes. We delight in discovering
and learning more about France beyond the cliché”
Merci
Judy
Introducing New Contributor Pamela Clapp
I’m delighted to announce that Pamela Clapp has joined us as a contributor to MyFrenchLife Magazine.
I’m Pamela, a Belgian-American living on the Left Bank of Paris.”
I write With Love From Paris, a Substack exploring French culture, style, and the social codes that shape everyday life. My essays blend small Parisian moments with cross-cultural reflections on parenting, belonging, and beauty. Join me here: theparisialite.substack.com,” says Pamela.
Bienvenue, welcome Pamela, it’s wonderful to have you join our fab contributor team, mainly based in France.
Now it’s my pleasure to lead you to Pamela’s first article in our magazine.
a) Paris Without Parisians
by Pamela Clapp
There’s something almost enviable about a place that agrees, all at once, to slow down. Few cities in the world could pull this off without a crisis — and yet here, it happens every year.
The butcher tapes a handwritten note to the door: Fermé jusqu’au 2 septembre. The florist is dark. A boutique is papered over in brown kraft, with a promise to reopen after themer.
It’s nostrike. It’s not a downturn. It’s tradition.
Every summer, the same shift: a city that runs on routine collectively pauses.
Imagine if your own city did this — if your favorite coffee shop, the local bookstore, and the corner grocery all closed for the month…” writes Pamela Clapp.
b) Exploring Nancy, the French City of Elegance
by Pierre Guernier
Let's explore the capital of the Dukes of Lorraine, which is also my birthplace.
Let me warn you: Nancy isn’t just “a pretty city in the east of France.”It’s an explosive mix of royal grandeur, medieval charm, daring Art Nouveau, and leafy corners where you can breathe.
Not forgetting a few gourmet specialities that could easily lure even the most disciplined visitor away from their carefully planned itinerary.
Right then, lace up your comfortable shoes (cobbled streets may be pretty, but they’re not forgiving), and let’s explore my hometown as if you were right there with me.” writes Pierre Guernier
c) Les grandes vacances
by Debora Robertson
As the towns and cities empty for the summer holidays, our village is filling up.
Today was market day, and the pavements were full of visitors in their flip flops and bright new T-shirts, babies in new hats, older children temporarily delighted with cheap plastic toys from the stalls. The man selling hammam towels is doing a brisk business, and the man selling bathing suits is giving a couple of ladies an impromptu seminar on the art of the tankini.
It’s hard not to catch their enthusiasm, their happiness.” writes Deborah Robertson.
3. Merci mille fois
“Thank you for subscribing to ‘le Bulletin’, the newsletter of MyFrenchLife Magazine.”
Judy MacMahon
Chers amis (dear friends)
As I put the finishing touches on this edition of le FREE Bulletin, I'm struck by how perfectly our three featured articles capture the essence of France in summer.
Pamela's beautiful meditation on "Paris Without Parisians" reminds us that sometimes the most profound experiences come when we slow down enough to notice the poetry in empty streets and handwritten shop signs - there's something so deeply French about a city that can collectively agree to pause.
Pierre's passionate tour of Nancy shows us that French elegance isn't confined to the obvious destinations; it's waiting in every carefully planned square and Art Nouveau detail, ready to surprise visitors who venture beyond the beaten path.
And Deborah's warm observations of village life during les grandes vacances perfectly capture that infectious summer energy - the flip-flops, the bright T-shirts, the impromptu tankini seminars that somehow embody the simple joy of French summer living.
These stories transport us to different corners of the French experience, but they all share that unmistakable summer rhythm that makes France so magnetic during these long, languid days. Whether you're planning to wander Nancy's cobblestone streets, hoping to experience your own version of Paris in pause mode, or dreaming of market days filled with hammam towels and holiday happiness, I hope these glimpses into French summer life inspire your own adventures - whether they unfold on French soil or simply in the quiet corners of your imagination.
Until next time, keep exploring France through whatever window you have - your next trip, your memories, or simply these weekly moments of French inspiration that remind us why August in France feels like the world's most civilized conspiracy to embrace the art of living well. May your days be touched by that special French summer magic, wherever in the world you happen to be.
Bien à vous,
A bientôt
Judy
judy@myfrenchlife.org
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Bon courage for the tech side of things 😘.
I like the new format - thanks;)