Victor Hugo’s words come true as Notre Dame burns…

Margo Lestz – The Curious Rambler
Bringing History to Life
Victor Hugo’s words come true as Notre Dame burns…
New book about France makes a great gift…
The fleur de lys has a long association with the kings of France…
If you’re looking to add a bit of Frenchness to your wardrobe, a blue and white striped knit shirt could just do the trick…
France’s rousing national anthem is called the Marseillaise and was written during the French Revolution…
When the French are unhappy about something, they don’t keep quiet – they draw attention to their cause…
Every country seems to have its superstitions, and France is no exception. Which ones have you heard of?…
Coco Chanel was queen of fashion until Elsa Schiaparelli rolled into town…
You may know the traditional Biblical Christmas story, but in Provence, there is a bit more to it…
We have to go back to the twelfth century and start with a fox…
Find out why the rooster represents France…
How could a fabric that originated in India, was copied by Armenians, and outlawed in France become a symbol of Provence?
Who would have thought that one of the greatest 19th century French writers would have anything to do with a 20th century American cartoon villain?
Southwest Provence, around Arles and the Camargue, has a very distinctive horse and bull culture…
Find out why you should never lay bread on the table upside down…
There is more than meets the eye to these slender, conical cypress trees. They have a hidden meaning…
Provence claims thirty-two different winds, but the mistral is master of them all…
When the warm days of summer arrive in Provence, the air is filled with the song of the cicadas, or cigales in French…
Saint Martha isn’t the only slayer of ferocious beasts whose name is associated with Tarascon. The town’s other celebrated hero, who also participates in the annual Tarasque festival, is Tartarin of Tarascan…
Saint Martha washed up in Provence and wandered into a village with a dragon problem. The Tarasque was terrorizing the town, but Martha wasn’t afraid. ..
In the mid 1900s, if you had asked nearly any British person what a Frenchman looked like, you would have gotten this description: He wears a beret, and he rides a bike with onions hanging on the handlebars…
The French beret, that little pancake of a hat, has become the recognized symbol of all things French – at least among those outside of France…
As our taxi entered the city walls of Avignon, it was evident that something was happening. I had seen online that a festival would be
What does the month of May have to do with the call of distress? Nothing really, it’s just an example of how words slip from one language into another. The distress call actually came from the French phrase, “m’aidez”…
*Published April 1, 2015 Ahh Paris… Just the mention of its name brings up images of sophisticated people in sidewalk cafés surrounded by elegance. It’s
Marianne’s Story – Did you know that France has been led by a woman ever since the French Revolution of 1789? It’s true!
For any book-lover, the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris is a must-see. It’s been the centre…
The French love their holidays. There are lots of them scattered throughout the year but July and August are the months of les grandes vacances when business almost comes to a halt….
French jazz developed under some interesting circumstances during the Nazi Occupation of World War II….
Some animal and plant related French sayings illustrated with photos from a day in the park….
There’s no Tooth Fairy in France so who collects the children’s teeth?…
“A cup of coffee” – € 7.00″A cup of coffee, please” – € 4.25″Hello, a cup of coffee, please” – € 1.40 At this café in Nice, France, minding
Recently, when I was at the Christmas “santon” fairs looking at all of the little figures that make up the Nativity scenes in southern
In many parts of the world, Nativity scenes make up a part of the Christmas decoration but in Provence, they are taken to the extreme…
I’ll soon be off to Italy to start studying the Italian language. I know what I have to look forward to because I remember my