16.08 - Look Down, Look Up, Look Back — France Has Something to Show You This Week
From foraging in Brittany to revolutionary cobblestones to a Louisiana girl's 36 truths about Paris — this week's FREE edition is full of the good stuff.
Today at a Glance: Your FREE weekly newsletter
Bonjour mes ami(e)s !
It’s wonderful to have you back here with me today, at the beginning of a new year! Bienvenue !
In this newsletter, you’ll find these wonderful fresh articles taking you to France beyond the cliché,
Don’t miss the PAID subscriber edition of le Bulletin in your inbox: “16.08.a - The Kind of Week That Makes You Fall in Love With France All Over Again.“ It’s not too late to upgrade & read it←
À bientôt !
Warmly,
Judy - 28.2.2026
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
Our list of valued Contributors →
a) Where the Weeds Know Your Name
by Keith Christiansen
Chickweed in France - a humble spring herb, a new country, and the old practice of eating what’s underfoot
When we moved to France, I didn’t expect to find chickweed (mouron des oiseaux) waiting for me. But there it was—sprawled along garden paths in Brittany, just like it had been in Brooklyn, popping up in community gardens and through schoolyard fences. This piece is about that small plant and the larger things it opened up: food, medicine, folklore, and the way we learn to see nature. There’s a salad recipe, a soup I still don’t fully trust, and a few thoughts on what it means to know the plants where you live.
Chickweed starts to show up in April here, mostly on sunny stones with southern exposure, but it’ll be coming in the next few weeks.
I’ve also included some App suggestions…” writes Keith Christiansen.
b) 20 Streets of Paris #2: Rue Saint-Honoré
by Pierre Guernier
Second Episode—A journey of discovery through Parisian history, one street sign at a time - Let’s go!
Think you know Rue Saint-Honoré? You know its designer windows, its discreet doormen, and the quiet hush of serious money. But do you know why it carries the name of a saint who watched over bakers? What revolutionary crowds once surged along these same stones? Why this single street once connected the hunger of Les Halles to the grandeur of Place Vendôme? Pierre Guernier does — and this month, he’s peeling back the gilded surface to reveal the centuries hidden beneath. Fair warning: you’ll never glance at a blue street sign here the same way again…
c) 36 Things
by Victorine Lamothe
What I’ve learned about Paris in 36 years
I turned 36 in January last year —an event that called for some reflection in more ways than one. For me, birthdays have always been moments for taking stock, for pausing to consider what I’ve learned after another trip around the sun. Paris has been my home for nearly four years, but my relationship with this city began long before that: as a teenager from Louisiana spending summers in France; then as a university student; and now as a permanent resident. Like an onion, Paris reveals itself in slow layers.
What follows is a collection of insights—both good and bad—on my relationship with this endlessly complex city, one for each year I’ve been alive.”
2. Merci mille fois
“Thank you for subscribing to ‘le Bulletin’, the newsletter of MyFrenchLife™ Magazine.”
Judy MacMahon
Bonjour mes ami(e)s
I never tire of weeks like this one.
Keith Christiansen spots chickweed on a Brittany garden path and turns it into something far larger — a story about home, habit, and the quiet joy of knowing the plants underfoot wherever you find yourself.
Pierre Guernier continues to astound with 20 Streets of Paris, this week revealing everything Rue Saint-Honoré has witnessed and refused to forget.
And Victorine Lamothe gives us thirty-six truths about Paris — one for every year she has been alive, earned across a lifetime of knowing this city in all its complicated, layered, irresistible glory.
Thank you, as always, for being here. This community grows more extraordinary every week, and it is because of every subscriber.
And if you are curious about what our PAID subscribers are reading this week, it is very much worth a look. The Writers’ Room alone is worth the upgrade.
À bientôt dear friends,
Judy x
judy@myfrenchlife.org
PS: What is the Writers’ Room? The Writers’ Room is a paid, exclusive feature on individual MyFrenchLife Contributor profiles, offered one-by-one. Contributors interview each other about their lives rather than their work. I’m loving it, and both Contributors and subscribers are too. Why not give it a try?
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