At one time there were around 150 of these beautiful covered passageways tucked throughout the center of Paris. Several spectacular ones have survived that offer wonderful glimpses back into the past. Only by chance would a tourist find them, as they are never really one of the first things to see. Maybe if you have …
Catherine de Medici, who was married to King Henri II, was indeed one of the most shadowy and diabolic queens of France. She was implicated in murders, including a massacre, poisonings, child abuse, favouritism with her children, and last but not least ignoring an incestuous relationship amongst her children. Some recent historians have tried to write …
Catherine de Medici; A Most Ruthless and Cruel Queen Read More »
Wherever I travel, the most important and the first things that I research are the restaurants! It becomes practically an obsessional search, looking here and there, and then cross checking reviews or reports for the best places. Athens though, was more of a challenge. If it is in France, it is a lot easier of …
Every once in a while, I find myself drawn to go back to a particular place, and this time it is Greece! It’s probably a longing for the sun and smell of the sea, though that can be had a mere two hours away from me at Deauville, minus perhaps a strong sun like in …
One of the most bizarre, yet totally fascinating mental illnesses is erotomania. It is not something a therapist sees often in their practice, so I felt lucky to have had the privilege to have had one of the most intriguing of cases. It is sometimes known as Clérambault syndrome, named after the French psychiatrist Gaetan …
I really debated if I should even write about this topic, frankly because it was so minuscule in comparison to the Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans that I grew up knowing and attending since childhood. I hate to make a comparison here, and there really can’t be, because it sounds down right uppity, and …
I had no idea what kind of concert I was going to, except it was to be commemorative of the Shoah. All of France along with other European countries had recent events of remembrance of this extremely horrifying atrocity in the history of humankind. My invitation to the Hungarian Institute of Paris to hear …
Seems like the whole country goes to crêpes on February the 2nd ! Chandeleur (Fêtes des Chandelles) is what they call it and the tradition goes way back. The French consume crêpes quite often as a snack or for a complete meal, but even more so today! The history of Chandeleur or festival of lights …
I have to admit that I was completely unaware of and pretty skeptical the first time I even heard about thermal cures, either balneotherapy or thalassotherapy. Of course I was a mere 20 year old American student who had just set foot on French soil to pursue studies, that ended up more around love, romance …
Last weekend was the birthday of my daughter Aimée. This happy event unfortunately fell this year in the aftermath of the tragic events that consumed Paris. Celebrations were subdued this year in that they were confined to home, rather than go out in a city already traumatized. We initially were thinking about celebrating in a …
Galettes Des Rois, Monkfish and Crustacean Butter Read More »
The day started with clear blue skies and only a few wispy clouds. A wonderful winter’s day in Paris. If was as if Saturday’s rain clouds parted to offer a perfect day of homage to the seventeen innocent people who were coldly massacred by four terrorists. We started out over an hour early, but that clearly …
I am very sickened and extremely sad about the tremendous evil unleashed yesterday in Paris that killed 12 innocent human beings. This deadly intolerance of others, fueled by vile and evil hate is everywhere of epidemic proportions. Any of us could be victims, of these heinous incarnations of evil, masking as human beings, who feel …