Book Review: The Existential Englishman: Paris Among the Artists
…It seems to me that The Existential Englishman is first and foremost a love letter to Paris, and it is an extraordinarily rich, complex, substantive, and thoughtful love letter to the city indeed…
Bonjour, Arras!
I often tell people that one of the best things about France is the incredibly rich array of choices there is in terms of places to go, and things to see and do in this relatively small country. The diversity of landscapes, types of architecture, cuisines, local languages and dialects, and local and regional history, not to mention climate and geography, is quite simply amazing…
A Place to Be Alone, with Others
I wrote this piece as a contributor to a new initiative seeking to Save the Paris Café. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you will “like” and follow Save the Paris Cafe also. It’s a good thing to do…
by Janet Hulstrand
When people ask me what they should be sure to do while they’re in Paris, I always say the same thing: “Just be sure you leave some time to simply wander—walk, sit in a park or café, and take some time to just watch the world go by.”
I say this even if the person asking me is only going to be in Paris for a day or two. It seems to me to be even more important if you only have a little bit of time in Paris to have this very Parisian, and most wonderful experience—that is, to take the time to do “nothing” and just enjoy the beauty and the inherent interest of the world surrounding you.
The French have a word for this kind of thing: flâner is the verb, and it is variously translated. Most often it is translated as “to stroll,”…
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Edith’s Cafe Spotlight: Les Deux Magots
Save the Paris Cafe is a wonderful new initiative launched by the energetic, imaginative, healthy-community-minded Lisa Anselmo. And this is the first essay in a series that will be presented on this website by the inimitable, knowledgeable, and witty Edith de Belleville. Take a look everyone, and join in this effort–we’re all needed to help keep Paris’s wonderful cafe culture alive and well! Janet Hulstrand
Parisian storyteller, historian, and licensed tour guide Edith de Belleville shares the history behind her favorite places around Paris to sip a coffee or glass of wine and watch Paris go by. We’re launching the series with the venerable Les Deux Magots in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
[La version française ci-dessous.]
There are cafés in Paris where you can’t just do whatever you want. There are rules. Les Deux Magots is one of these. But do not be put off by this. As soon as you pass through the majestic revolving door of this mythical café, you’ll understand what I mean. You are now in the hallowed halls of the Parisian Intelligensia.
On the wall are black and white photographs of the famous artists and writers who came before, and sat in the same comfortable banquettes where you are now sitting: Ernest Hemingway with Janet Flanner; the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire; the…
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Summer in Essoyes: Vernissage a la Maison Renoir
An exhibition entitled “Evocation de l’exposition Renoir de 1934 par Paul Rosenberg” is on display at the Maison Renoir in Essoyes through October 30…
Springtime in Essoyes (2019)
With the opening of the Renoir home to the public two years ago, the village has been able, for the first time, to offer visitors to Essoyes the pleasure of seeing original works of art.
The Fire at Notre Dame
A beautiful, heartfelt response to the terrible fire at Notre Dame de Paris last night by someone who knows it well..
I had just arrived at the American Library when I was told there was a fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. I envisioned a small fire–not to worry about. I didn’t respond with much drama. We were walking on the sidewalk of rue General Camou in search of our two speakers for the evening. She stopped me and said ‘Look’. She had her iPhone in her hand and after a bit of a wait–it turned out everyone in Paris was on Wifi at that moment–showed me a photo of the fire at the back of the Cathedrale. NOT a small fire. As I often do at moments like that, I freeze a bit. I could tell by her face that she was very upset. I had yet to get there.
I was volunteering at an author event at the Library. I often get the job of greeting people as…
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Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road 