Standing in my kitchen, I cursed a man I have never met.  It was pure provocation on his part, I felt, and so I cursed him.  Damn you, Monsieur Gomez!

Let me start at the beginning.  In an effort to support small farmers, to buy locally and organically and to… Read full post »

I'm not perfect.  I make mistakes, all the time in fact, and I'm ok with that.  I have to be; I live in France, and even after eight years here, my day-to-day is riddled with linguistic misunderstandings, administrative quagmires, and social faux-pas. Got a weird look from my daughter's ped… Read full post »

A long time ago, I made the green student traveler's mistake of visiting the Côte d'Azur in February.  I thought I'd beat the crowds, save my precious pennies and still relish the sunshine and the swaying palms.  Instead, I shivered through the Mistral winds and brooded in empty caf&e… Read full post »

Wednesday in France is unofficial "family day".  Children don't have school on hump-day, and so very often one parent makes the choice to work a bit less to take care of the kids during this mid-week break.  In our family, that parent is me. I… Read full post »

I am not so green as to serve a bunch of French guests a cheese plate with crackers before the start of the meal.  At least, not anymore.  While I remember this was the height of sophistication at my parents' gatherings in rural 1970's Ontario, I… Read full post »

Charles de Gaulle summed up France rather succinctly when he wondered how anyone could govern a nation with two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese.  In fact, the General underestimated his countrymen's passion; there are over three hundred and fifty recognized French varietie… Read full post »

It's cold out.  OK, maybe the temperatures are not on par with what you're shivering through in the Northeast, but for Paris, this is about as cold as it gets.  So it was pretty tough to stick my feet out from under my duvet and put them down… Read full post »