The French

Notre Dame  (click to embiggen)  

Marilyn at Simmer Till Done got me thinking about

Paris since she has visited there recently.  Not a thing I 

like better to think about and dream about.  I have so

many books about France and French in general.  I have

only visited there once and would love to return soon.

Here are some bits of information that might prove 

useful to you when you travel to France.

"The French are different from you and me.  Theirs

is not a puritan country.  We speak with an air of detachment,

even distrust, of the pursuit of happiness.  The French just

go ahead with it--and they've organized a country and a 

great city to make sure they catch what they're chasing...

What I mean is that the French have developed the arts of

leisure to a higher degree than we have.  Eating, drinking,

gossiping, just enjoying--the French do it with unique style...

An American has more of a chance to become the person he

or she aspires to be.  A Frenchman is more locked in by where

he was born, what his father did, how he speaks the language.  

But, God, the French know how to live.  And thank God the 

rest of us can share life with them for a while..."  

~Richard Reeves-"An American in Paris"

According to Polly Platt in her book, "French of Foe?", there

are certain codes one must adhere to when visiting or living

in France.  

Code 1:  Don't smile.  "French people don't smile blandly

as they walk down the street.  They don't smile without a 

reason."  De-smile your public face.

Code 2:  Flirt.  It can come in handy when it comes to

receiving help.  You do it with your eyes.  

Code 3:  Use the ten magic words!  The first five are:

"Excusez-moi de vous deranger, monsieur (or madame)..."

"Excuse me for disturbing you, Sir, or Madam.."

"This is the charm that warms the hearts of impatient 

Parisians on the street.  The five magic words click with

Frenchmen like the responding smile with Americans."

The five magic words work wonders and if you add five

more:  "J'ai un probleme" ("I have a problem"), you 

qualify as a person to be respected and helped to the

very limit of the Frenchman's possibilities.  

Code 4:  Add "Monsieur" or "Madame" to "Hello."

You must always say hello and goodbye to all of the

strangers that you have an exchange with in the stores.

"Bonjour, monsieur (or madame) and au revoir, monsieur

(or madame).

Code 5:  Shake hands!  You shake hello and goodbye.

This is more for people living there and working.

Code 6:  Watch out at the door!  Just because you

got to a door first does not mean that you should go 

through it first.  It's called the bataille de la porte (the

battle of the doorway) and also takes place at the elevator.

Rank and sex are key here.  

Benjamin Franklin said:  "Everyman has two countries,

his own and France."  

Let Sleeping Lions Lie

Willowtree has a post today with a much closer picture

of the lion statue in Trafalgar Square, London. I love

this scene I took from a distance.



Speaking of sleeping lions, here lies an heroic lion.

The Swiss Guards' honor was put to the test in 1792, when--after trying to escape the French Revolution--King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and their children were hauled back to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. A mob of working-class Parisians stormed the palace in search of aristocratic blood. More than 700 Swiss officers and soldiers died while defending the palace, without knowing that their royal employers--like Elvis--had left the building.

In the early 1800s, the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen was hired to sculpt a monument to the fallen Swiss Guards. The sculpture was carved in a sandstone cliff above the city center, near Lucerne's Glacier Garden and the Panorama, and it has attracted countless visitors since its dedication in 1821.

Louvre {loov'-ruh} — a French palace and the national art museum of France.

Located in Paris, the Louvre is one of the largest palaces in the world and, as a former residence of the kings of France, one of the most illustrious. It exemplifies traditional French architecture since the Renaissance, and it houses a magnificent collection of ancient and Western art.

This is Canova-Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

There was so much to see at the Louvre.  We could not

possibly have seen it all.  We just had to pick and choose

where we would go.  I don't remember and cannot find

what the name of this statue is.  Someone please tell

me in the comments if you know. 


Here is my daughter in a panoramic view of Lucerne.

The most beautiful city ever, I think.