Cécile’s New Wheels! Vespa…Guêpe…What does a wasp have to do with the Italian scooter by Piaggio? + se faire chaler

You see two-wheelers ("les deux-roues") everywhere in France, whether scooters, mobylettes, bicycles, or trottinettes–this compact form of transportation is one way of outwitting traffic in Marseilles and Paris. Read my belle-soeur, Cécile's, story in today's all French edition. Today's word was supposed to be guêpe, but in a last-minute switch-a-roo, it is now the more interesting phrase "se faire chaler", which I bumped into while editing Cécile's … Continue reading Cécile’s New Wheels! Vespa…Guêpe…What does a wasp have to do with the Italian scooter by Piaggio? + se faire chaler

Zipper politics in France (!)

Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise. You can't help but want to snap a picture of the sign when ambling through Shakepeare and Company in Paris. But did you know it's forbidden to take pictures inside the famous bookstore? Then again, the French are not known to behave in public. Case in point: France's president–who was spotted in the wee … Continue reading Zipper politics in France (!)