J’etais en train de regarder cette photo quand je me suis rendu compte que j’ai commis une grande faute d’orthographe pendant cinq années. Le nom de la ville où nous sommes restés en France n’est pas “Levellois” mais “Levallois.” Avec un “a.” Plus précisément, le nom est “Levallois-Perret” (bien que il semble que on utilize “Perret” de moins en moins). Donc j’ai modifié l’orthographe dans tous les posts et toutes […]
We’re back in Sonoma County after a long, stressful, long, hard, long, hectic, hard day of travel, which started when I woke at 4:30 a.m. in Paris and ended 25 1/2 hours later when I finally climbed into bed in Santa Rosa. In between, it was a combination of stress, boredom, irritation, and anger … anger like I haven’t felt in a long, long while, at the rude, smug, arrogant, […]
Several times during previous trips to France, we got caught up in horrible traffic while returning to Paris. About the only good that had come from those experiences is that we learned the two French words bouchon (literally, a cork) and embouteillage (something bottled up), both used to describe congested traffic. Suzie had timed our trip to Normandy to avoid a repeat experience. Unfortunately, as we were having breakfast our […]
Yesterday we visited several of the sites associated with the American invasion of Normandy in June 1944. We didn’t know what to expect; we supposed that they would be touristy and crowded with Americans. Much to our surprise (and delight), it was nothing like that at all. We began by driving to Omaha Beach, below the small village of St-Laurent-sur-Mer. What we found was a long, curving, peaceful expanse of […]
I’m drinking coffee in advance of our second day in Normandy. We had an uneventful trip from Paris, in a great rental car (a brand new Renault Kangoo, which had 4 km on it when I picked it up, and which uses diesel fuel which is not only more energy per km but also less expensive and, best of all, is spacious enough for the four of us). We’re staying […]
It didn’t disappoint, but like all good travel days, this one was improved make more memorable by the several wonderful people we accidentally became acquainted with along the way. I had researched suggestions for the best viewing spot. The Champs Elysees is obvious, since you can see the riders go both ways each circuit, but it is also the most crowded. Several sites suggested the Rue de Rivoli, adjacent to […]
Sur France 2, cette émission m’a bien eu! Je l’ai regardé le premier avril avec ma femme, et je l’ai dit, “je me demandais souvent si les éoliennes pourraient ralentir la rotation de la terre.” J’ai vraiment cru cette emission! Mais aujourd’hui je découvre qu’elle était un “poisson d’avril.” Heursement, je ne suis pas seul … regardez le 114 commentaires ici. Bien fait France 2! This report on France 2 […]
At least I think that’s how you’d translate La Figaro’s paraphrase (“de ne pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué”) of Segoline Royal’s reaction to Martine Aubrey’s declaration of victory, in the middle of what looks to become a really donneybrook between the two over the election for leadership of the Socialist Party in France. What’s happening is exactly what you’d expect — lawyers are getting involved, […]
Being a political junkie, I’ve followed the contest for the leadership of the Socialist Party in France closely. Since the summer, it’s been apparent that the party is split between a more moderate faction, who are amenable to a coalition with the center-left “MoDem” party of Francois Bayrou, and a hard left faction, who believe the party should sharpen its differences with the right. The more moderate faction is lead […]
Funny-and-sad-at-the-same-time article in the Times Online today about a discussion in August between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang [Georgian Prime Minister] Saakashvili […]