Un esprit à l'etranger

The photos below are a couple months old now, but I was reminded of them the other day when I noticed the same three types of street signs on the corner of another street. Despite being interesting as a reminder of the city’s age, a few other things are worth…

One thing that struck me soon after arriving in Paris was the popularity of scooters – not motor scooters, but the small “Razor” push-scooters that were popular briefly in the United States several years ago. In the U.S. they were essentially a fad, and really only among kids. Presumably they…

I used to think that it was necessary to learn a language completely if you wanted to speak it competently. I thought it was necessary to memorize every word, become familiar with every idiom, and study every rule of grammar, until thoughts leapt from your brain to your tongue without…

Paris is a big place. The metropolitan area has a population over 12 million, putting it on par with cities like London and Los Angeles. I moved here from San Diego, which has about three million in its urban area. In other words, I am living in a city four…

Last Sunday, the final leg of the Tour de France finished in Paris. I am not a huge road biking fan, but I’ve always felt a kind of attachment to the race, mainly because my dad has always been an avid bike rider. I have fond memories of watching the…

Every year on the 14th of July, the French celebrate Bastille Day, a holiday commemorating the success of the French Revolution and the rise of democratic ideals. In both circumstance and substance, the holiday is very similar to Independence Day in the United States: both celebrate the move towards democracy…

I’ve posted some new photos online, here: https://picasaweb.google.com/104158199159964308047/ParisMiscellaneous02#

Many buildings in Paris are “signed” and dated by their architects. The signatures usually look approximately like the one shown here – usually in a similarly prominent position on the façade of the building. Not all buildings have them; but many do, particularly the more ornate ones (for example, the building…

Today I was walking back from the one Chipotle in Paris with a friend (gotta celebrate American Independence somehow…), and we stumbled on this little 4th of July celebration outside of an American Restaurant. Everyone was dressed in 50’s outfits, there was live music, dancing, a mini statue of liberty,…

There was a time where the French toilet experience consisted of “squatting over a hole in the ground” – the same way that is still done in most developing countries. In fact, if you do a Google image search for “French Toilet,” it is clear that the reputation has yet…