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Encore un moment!
The last official mistress of Louis XV, Jeanne Bécu, better known as the comtesse du Barry was born on August 19, 1743. She was the illegitimate daughter of a seamstress and possibly a friar. Mother...
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Une maîtresse
Diane de Poitiers, noblewoman and mistress of King Henry II, was born on September 3, 1499. As a girl, she was a member of the retinue of Anne de Beaujeu, who served as regent for her brother King...
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Sous le manteau
My brother forwarded me a link to a story about an audacious group of French POWs who escaped from their camp during World War II. I grew up watching Hogan’s Heroes, a comedy about a group of...
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Le Roi Citoyen
Quick. Name the last French king. If you said Louis XVI, you’d be wrong. The final king of the French, Louis Philippe I, was born on October 6, 1773 and reigned from 1830 to 1848. He was a young man...
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Siècle d’or de l’éventail
Our favorite exhibit during our weekend in Paris was not one we’d planned to see, but one we happened upon. We were supposed to fly out on Sunday morning, but an airline strike canceled our flight. We...
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Ligne jaune
I’ve long heard about the Maginot Line, the military fortifications meant to prevent France from ever falling again to German invasion, but I didn’t know anything about the details. The ill-fated line...
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À cheval donné, on ne regarde pas la denture
The story begins in 1829. The viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet-Ali, wanted to thank France for the aid of engineers sent by King Louis-Philippe. What’s the appropriate gift for helping to modernize a...
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La Mystère de Tjipetir
For the past year, from Spain to Denmark, mysterious rubbery tablets with the word “Tjipetir” inscribed in them have washed ashore on European beaches after storms. In February 2013, a family from...
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Au destin
When I get to Paris in June, I’ll be just on time to see Joséphine at the musée du Luxembourg. The former Empress of France was an interesting woman. Born on the island of Martinique to a family of...
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Un Aide-mémoire
The exhibit that I liked the best while I was in Paris this summer was Paris Libéré, Paris Photographie, Paris Exhibé at the musée Carnavalet in the Marais. Although it’s particularly pertinent right...
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Qui ne continue pas à apprendre
I have a 3 x 5 card on my desk at school with a quotation by Gaston Bachelard that says, “Qui ne continue pas à apprendre est indigne d’enseigner” (key nuh kohn-tin-u pah ah ap-ren-druh et an-dean-yuh...
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Napoléon avait 500 soldats
Our apartment for our Paris sojourn is going to be in the Marais, one of my favorite neighborhoods. And in that neighborhood is the always interesting musée Carnavalet. Until August 8, they are hosting...
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Vétuste
Right around the corner from our apartment in Paris was a strange little door to nowhere. It made me curious. What was the story behind this battered, graffiti-spattered wooden door. Barely visible...
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La chance sourit aux audacieux
A seldom-told story of bravery during the Holocaust was the decision of the rector of the Grand Mosquée de Paris to protect Jews. Si Kaddour Benghabrit provided refuge and certificates of Muslim...
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Qu’ils reposent en paix
June 6, 1914 marks the beginning of Operation Overlord, the battle to liberate France from Nazi occupation. After the dramatic landing on the Normandy beaches, the Allies continued to battle inch by...
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France- Normandy D-Day : Sword Beach, Ouistreham and Pegasus Bridge…- 50...
The beaches of Normandy are the place where the Allied Forces Landing took place in WWII. More than 60 years after the D Day, the Normand Coast and its seaside resorts are nowadays peaceful but remain...
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Le Zouave
I’m sure you’ve heard about the tremendous flooding going on in France. Many towns are half-submerged under muddy water and tearful families are taking stock of sodden treasures. In Paris, the Louvre...
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Ce que j’ai lu
I’ve enjoyed some good reads lately that were either in French or that had a francophile angle. Each was a book that I’ve owned for a while. I’m commited to finishing all my backlog of books before I...
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Le Bic Cristal
The summer program I work for in Paris had a daily newsletter with bad jokes, a skill-testing question about French culture, as well as the details of upcoming activities. I was generally able to ace...
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Le patrimoine culturel
This week, all of us have been riveted by the tragic fire at Notre Dame. We were in a small town in New Hampshire, grabbing a quick bite, when we saw the horrible images on a muted TV in the corner....
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