"All art is but imitation of nature." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca
A lot of the arrangements this year featured the same textures, colors, and flowers. I was also surprised by the art that was selected, but the installation above was my favorite.
« La vraie nouveauté naît toujours dans le retour aux sources. » — Edgar Morin
It’s a little fuzzy, but wonderfully familiar. It has always been there, but it seemed just out of reach. French Fridays were a regular feature on this blog from June 2014 through June 2020. Like so many of my favorite places and experiences, the series paused during the global pandemic. Due to my nearly three and a half year absence from travel, I didn’t have new images and ideas to to share, yet I always knew that I would resume this series as soon as I able to return to Paris.
When I stepped onto this beautiful balcony on the wonderfully palindromic 3/23/23, my inspiration returned and so has my French Friday series.
« Manger un macaron c’est un petit excès sans le sentiment de commettre un pêché de gourmandise. » — Chantal Thomass
I know it’s not polite to play with your food, but I just can’t resist the temptation to arrange them and photograph them. They are a treat for the eyes as well as the palate.
Le Macaron at The Corners of Brookfield just opened last week. I’ve been staying pretty close to home, but it seemed worth it to don my mask and set out in search of these French beauties.
They have French pastries too. That Napoleon is calling my name!
« La pivoine est-elle moins sublime du fait qu'elle va faner ? » — Amélie Nothomb, Métaphysique des tubes [Moi, je dis bien-sûr que non!]
It’s peony season! All over Paris, markets and flower shops, as well as my Instagram feed, feature a perfusion of pivones, perhaps the “Frenchest”of flowers. Fortunately, I only have to walk through my own garden or drive through town to enjoy these fragrant beauties.
« Le virus nous rappelle à notre humanité et à notre condition d'êtres profondément sociaux, inséparables les uns des autres. » — Edgar Morin
Fermé (photo prise en octobre 2019)
Due to outbreak of le virus corona — le Covid-19, France, like many countries around the world, imposed a lockdown to protect citizens and to prevent the virus from continuing to spread at an astonishing pace. Le confinement was initiated on March 16th and lasted until a gradual déconfinement began on May 11th. As the French begin to ease into a new “normal” that includes continued practice of la distanciation sociale, all cafés, restaurants, and terraces remain closed until at least June 2nd. Yet, despite the closure, l’apéro (short for l’apératif) remains an important cultural tradition. During le confinement, l’apéro became a welcomed respite from isolation as friends and family shared un verre via Zoom, Skype, Facetime, or Google Meet. As further proof of the importance of this evening ritual, some French markets are now offering a un panier apéro, a basket containing beer or wine, cheese, hummus, and fruit, available for home delivery within an hour. Now more than ever, we eagerly raise a glass to each other’s health — Santé!
Fermé (photo prise en octobre 2019)
“This is unbelievable! Look at this! There's no city like this in the world. There never was…Imagine this town in the '20s. Paris in the '20s, in the rain. The artists and writers…” - Gil Pender, Midnight in Paris
Imagine sitting on these steps when the clock strikes midnight…
You look down this street to see a vintage Peugeot approaching. The car pulls over to invite you into Paris of the 1920s — Hemingway, Scott and Zelda, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Dali, Josephine Baker, Man Ray…
Completed in 1626, the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is located around the corner from the Panthéon on the top of la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement. In addition to the magical steps, the church contains the tombs of St. Blaise, Jean Racine, and Jean-Paul Marat.
The church is mentioned in Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast: "I walked past the Lycée Henri Quatre and the ancient church of St-Etienne-du-Mont and the windswept Place du Panthéon." Seems like Woody Allen did his homework!
