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Tribute to Michel Delpech Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jan 4, 2016
Michel Delpech, a famous French singer, songwriter, and actor, passed away on January 2, 2016 after a long battle with throat cancer. Delpech first gained attention in the 1960s and became a beloved musician to the French. In the mid sixties, Delpech grew famous from his interpretation of “Chez Laurette,” and his version of the…
La pièce montée Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Dec 28, 2015
The holiday season is usually filled with delicious treats: sugar cookies, cakes and tarts, and even, for Italian-American families, struffoli. I’ve done my fair share of baking (and eating!) holiday desserts this week. All of the sugar got me thinking about another celebratory dessert tradition in France: la piéce montée. Have you ever heard of la piéce…
La Guerre des étoiles Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Dec 21, 2015
As many of you may know, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has recently been released to both great anticipation and great acclaim. In fact, in the US data suggests that The Force Awakens might be the highest US grossing film…EVER. That’s not to say that Star Wars films are limited to the US, either. Star Wars, also…
French Accents Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Dec 14, 2015
Accents are essential to correctly using the French language, but for those of us who aren’t familiar to writing with accents, they can be very tricky indeed. In French, the pronunciation and meaning of a word can change with or without an accent. Sometimes, accents aren’t included when the French type online…but that’s another story…
La Cheminée Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Dec 7, 2015
This time of year in New York, as the temperatures drop, our best friend is…the fireplace! In our house, we have a wood-burning stove so its not just for decorative purposes, it also provides heat in the house. (We still have the heat on, but keep it on low. Our converted fireplace pushes out hot…
Zep sur Lemonde.fr Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 30, 2015
Les bandes dessineés sont très populaires dans le monde francophone. On dit même que les bandes dessineés sont uniquement Belges d’origine. Comics are very popular in the Francophone world. Some people even say that comics are uniquely Belgian. The list of French-language comics is indeed impressive: Tintin, Babar, the Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Asterix, Titeuf, and many…
On t’aime, Paris! Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 23, 2015
I was left shocked, like so many people around the world, after the attacks on Paris last week. These attacks certainly hit “close to home” for me, as my husband’s family lives in Paris and we have many friends there. The initial shock soon turned to fear for the safety of our loved ones, and…