Dec 06
As I mentioned earlier, we timed this trip to Lyon to coincide with La Fête des Lumières. It’s held every year around December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. As the story goes, her intercession prevented a 17th-century plague epidemic in the city. We figured that we’d have a better …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/12/06/lyon-pre-festival/
Dec 06
I opened the New York Times website on my computer this morning and saw that Johnny Hallyday had died. For those of you unfamiliar with the name, Hallyday was a popular singer and actor in France. Most of his works were covers of others’ tunes. The Times obituary links to a 1970’s video of him …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/12/06/france-in-mourning/
Nov 25
Next week we leave on our long-awaited vacation. Julian started planning this trip back in February. (Who, us, obsessive-compulsive?) We’ll be in Hannibal for a few days to visit my family, then we’ll fly to France. To avoid being a magnet for every scammer and pickpocket in Lyon, Colmar, and Paris, my goal is simple: …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2017/11/25/getting-my-french-on/
Sep 27
In the last post I listed five things Americans can learn from the French. This post lists five things Americans can teach the French. Integrate your immigrants into society. These people have much to offer an aging workforce. Shuffling them into ugly suburbs called banlieues with little opportunity is counterproductive, given the violence that’s occurred …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/27/five-things-americans-can-teach-the-french/
Sep 25
Although I’m All-American, I have a soft spot for France. There are many things that it does well, just as there are many things America does well. Here are five things that we Yanks can learn from our French counterparts: Les plaîsirs de la table (the pleasures of the table). The French do not wolf …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/25/five-things-the-french-can-teach-americans/
Sep 21
The homestretch of the French pilgrimage was on the Riviera. On Wednesday we landed in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. The view from our room at the Hotel Deux Frères was stunning. We saw the crescent-shaped harbor with Monaco in the distance. We also saw a flotilla of megayachts moored in the harbor, poor souls. Dinner at the hotel …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/21/bonjour-riviera/
Sep 18
Everyone has heard about the Grand Prix of Monaco. However, there’s a more popular motor sport here on the French Riviera: Parking Derby. We were told that there were plenty of parking spaces near our hotel in Viillefranche-sur-Mer. There were, but they were all occupied. Finally we found a space about three blocks away. That’s …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/18/riviera-motor-sports/
Sep 15
I’m not going. This is the most amazing scenery. The combination of the hills, sea, sky, and vegetation is unlike anywhere else I’ve been. Throw in the history of the region and the cuisine, and you have the whole package.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/15/if-heaven-isnt-in-provence/
Sep 14
We spent three nights in the Gorges du Verdon. This is France’s equivalent of the Grand Canyon. The Verdon River doesn’t look like much now, but in its heyday it carried large amounts of water from receding glaciers; hence the canyons. Although the area is popular with other Europeans, we didn’t meet any other Americans …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/14/gorgeous-gorges/
Sep 12
Family, friends, and I have been patients in emergency rooms (ER’s) many times. I work in Quality and Patient Safety in a large hospital, and my office overlooks the ER parking lot. My recent experience in a French ER for a dislocated finger has allowed me to reflect on how all ER’s can treat patients …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2016/09/12/lessons-learned-from-being-an-er-patient-in-two-countries/
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