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Margo Lestz – The Curious Rambler

Bringing History to Life

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Category: FR History

When Napoleon Met His Bunnyloo

28 February 2020 Margo Lestz

Several years before Napoleon’s ill-fated battle at Waterloo, he suffered another humiliating defeat. This time at the hands (or paws) of little, furry bunny rabbits.

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Tarasque Festival in Tarascon: There Be Dragons There

30 June 2019 Margo Lestz

A quirky Provence festival not to be missed…

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Rennes-le-Château: A Tiny Town, a Problematic Priest, and a Massive Mystery

7 February 2019 Margo Lestz

You’ve probably heard of The Da Vinci Code, but did you know that the story started with a poor priest in the south of France?

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New Book: Berets, Baguettes, and Beyond

9 November 2018 Margo Lestz

New book about France makes a great gift…

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Restore Yourself at a Restaurant

20 October 2018 Margo Lestz

There have always been places to eat outside one’s own home, but they weren’t always called restaurants…

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Fleur de Lys: The Iris of Kings

7 October 2018 Margo Lestz

The fleur de lys has a long association with the kings of France…

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The Marseillaise: The French National Anthem

13 July 2018 Margo Lestz

France’s rousing national anthem is called the Marseillaise and was written during the French Revolution…

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The Calisson of Provence: A Sweet Story

1 February 2018 Margo Lestz

The calisson is a Provençal treat linked to Good King René and Queen Jeanne…

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Boney Napoleon Scares British Children

12 January 2018 Margo Lestz

How “Boney” Bonaparte went from being a little pest to a child-eating ogre…

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The Provence Christmas Story

2 December 2017 Margo Lestz

You may know the traditional Biblical Christmas story, but in Provence, there is a bit more to it…

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Renart and Chantecler: Two Animals that Shaped French Culture and Language

2 September 2017 Margo Lestz

We have to go back to the twelfth century and start with a fox…

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The Gallic Rooster of France

21 May 2017 Margo Lestz

Find out why the rooster represents France…

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Gaspard de Besse, Robin Hood of Provence

Gaspard de Besse: Robin Hood of Provence

11 August 2016 Margo Lestz

Just like Robin Hood, Gaspard de Besse robbed from the rich and gave to the poor…

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Napoleon Bonaparte and canned food

3 Useful French Inventions

8 April 2016 Margo Lestz

Today, we are looking at three French inventions that make our lives easer…

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Madame Tussaud: Ahead of Her Time

11 March 2016 Margo Lestz

During the French Revolution, Marie Tussaud was forced to make wax casts of severed heads. Later she took them to England and set up her Wax Museum…

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French Asylum Azilum Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania French

26 February 2016 Margo Lestz

In 1789, aristocrats started to flee revolutionary France. One group of these refugees ended up in a most unlikely place – the wilds of Pennsylvania.

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The Crazy Calendar of a Revolutionary Republic

16 January 2016 Margo Lestz

The French Revolutionaries weren’t content with just changing their government. They wanted to change everything – even how they kept track of time.

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Marie Antoinette’s Adopted Children

5 December 2015 Margo Lestz

Marie Antoinette is usually characterized as aloof and uncaring. However, she was very motherly and adopted several children…

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First Thanksgivings, Huguenots, and Alligators

20 November 2015 Margo Lestz

The Pilgrims are credited with serving the first Thanksgiving meal… but could the French have beaten them to it? And what was on their table?…

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Marie Antoinette’s Cats and an American Rescue Attempt

6 November 2015 Margo Lestz

Marie Antoinette almost escaped to the USA. Of course, she didn’t make it – but maybe her cats did. Could that be the origin of the Maine Coon?

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Berets, Onions, and Stereotypes

2 October 2015 Margo Lestz

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…

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God Save the Royal Derriere

10 September 2015 Margo Lestz

It seems that the British National Anthem could be yet another link in the intertwined histories of the United Kingdom and France…

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Women's_March_on_Versailles01

The King is no Match for the Women of Paris

25 July 2015 Margo Lestz

At the beginning of the French Revolution, when the Parisians had nothing to eat, several thousand women took things into their own hands…

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Bob was a Woman of Many Talents

19 June 2015 Margo Lestz

In early 1900s Paris, Madame Bob was a thoroughly modern woman: She had many professions, but is best remembered for helping young lovers elope…

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The Changing Face of the French Republic

7 March 2015 Margo Lestz

Marianne’s Story – Did you know that France has been led by a woman ever since the French Revolution of 1789? It’s true!

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Bread Delivery: Les Porteuses de Pain

24 January 2015 Margo Lestz

If you like bread, then when you’re in France you probably stop by the boulangerie, or bakery, every day to buy a baguette, croissant, or

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The Mad Farter or “Le Pétomane”

10 January 2015 Margo Lestz

The highest paid performer at the Moulin Rouge at the end of the 19th century had a very peculiar talent…

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Societe-Generale

Who wants to be a Bank Robber?

23 November 2014 Margo Lestz

Well, I think I’ve done it!  No, I haven’t robbed a bank – I think I’ve finished my book! I still have to wait to

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Tearing down the Bastille

Pierre the Patriot

20 July 2014 Margo Lestz

When the French Revolution started with the storming of the Bastille, one man saw his chance for fame and fortune….

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Louis Armstrong disguised as a French man

French Jazz Fans outsmart Hitler

9 July 2014 Margo Lestz

French jazz developed under some interesting circumstances during the Nazi Occupation of World War II….

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Cole Porter in Sara's pearls and Gerald Murphy's cap

The Murphys, American Trendsetters on the Riviera

30 June 2014 Margo Lestz

In summer, it’s hard to find an open space on the beach, so It’s hard to imagine that up until the 1920s there were no summer tourists here, no open hotels….

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was Nice part of Italy

Nice, France: Her Relationship with Italy and How She Became French

20 January 2014 Margo Lestz

Normally, I write about the city of Nice, but in this article, when I mention Nice, I am speaking of the historic “County of Nice”

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