Tag Archives: France
French Current Events – Les gilets jaunes Posted by Tim Hildreth on Dec 4, 2018
I have been doing my best to avoid the news recently, so it was with a shock that I discovered the recent news of nationwide protests rocking France. From Paris and into the countryside, these past few weeks have seen growing unrest which culminated in a rash of burned cars, smashed store windows, and injuries…
French History – World War I bis Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 27, 2018
Last week I shared a short excerpt from the Bulletin de Lille, a biweekly paper printed under the direction of the German Command in Lille. I love how the exchange illustrates the delicate dance between occupied and occupier that can arise in such situations. This week we look at a another except that highlights another…
French History – WWI and the Occupation Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 20, 2018
Last week the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended la Grande Guerre which ravaged Europe from 1914 – 1918*. As a young man living in France, I heard much more about la deuxième Guerre Mondiale since my host parents had lived under that occupation**, but the recent anniversary got me thinking about that previous…
French Culture – Candy Commercial Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 30, 2018
I was poking around online this week and came across a great video about the first French TV commercial. And since, as John reminded us last week, it’s almost Halloween, I thought it would be fun to look at a cute recent pub (short for (la) publicité / ad or commercial) about les bonbons (candy). La Pub à la télé en…
French Travel – Montmartre Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 23, 2018
Even after all these years and all the many trips I’ve made to Paris, I’m always delighted when I go back to find that there is still more to see, to learn, and to do. On this most recent trip, I took my son William up to the Sacré Coeur de Montmartre and was enchanté…
French Culture – Don’t lose that ticket Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 2, 2018
As I recently shared, there are more ways to get around Paris these days than ever. With all the choices though, the metro, buses, trains, and RER remain the most common and convenient*. In fact, riders make almost 3 billion** … yes, billion! … trips a year on the various lignes de trains, de RER…
French Culture – Bretagne bis Posted by Tim Hildreth on Sep 25, 2018
I’ve written before about the lovely French region of la Bretagne. And of course, last summer I shared a whole series of post following up on my trip to France for my step-daughter’s amazing wedding. Well my son and I recently got back from another amazing trip there and we discovered a wonderful new coin (corner) that I…