Welcome to the French Today Blog

Welcome to the 17th arrondissement, the neighborhood that first saw the Statue of Liberty. From 1882–1884 the Atelier Monduit et Béchet—the foundry on rue Chazelles—cast the statue’s copper sections. During construction a walk past the atelier became a favorite promenade for Parisians.

Le Neuvième Jour – Voyage de la Sage à la Cabane de Moiry

Nous nous sommes levés tôt parce que nous avions une longue journée devant nous.  Nous avions calculé que la marche durerait sept heures.

These French verbs are confusing for English speakers because they cannot be translated from their English counterpart: to bring and to take. You have to understand the meanings of "porter" and "mener" and the prefixes "a" and "em".

As we round the corner into the 16th we see where the wealthy like to hang their hat, and run into a park—the Bois de Boulogne—that is more than twice as big as New York’s Central Park.

Le Huitième Jour – Voyage d’Arolla à la Sage

Nous avons pris notre temps ce matin-là parce que la distance pour aller à la Sage était courte.  Nous avons pris notre petit-déjeuner et nous sommes partis en direction des Haudères.

(Before we start just a reminder that the French don't call it Bastille day but "le quatorze juillet" or, less often, "la fête nationale". If you say "Jour de la Bastille" while in France, you will get some strange looks!)

Since Camille and I just returned from a week in Paris, I wanted to share some of my observations with you. Now of course, if you want to experience Bastille day in Paris, then, that will obviously be the best time for you to go. For all others, avoid that time of year if you can...