Alysa Salzberg 
French humor is a funny thing. Okay, I started this article with a lame play on words – but I promise that (this time), it’s on purpose. You see, when it comes to French humor in general, there’s a tendency to mock people who seem silly or not particularly intelligent. You can see this in …
What do you picture when you think of France? For most people, it’s either Paris, or a vineyard or château in a picturesque countryside. Neither one of those images are incorrect, but there’s so much we overlook in between. 82% of French people live in a metropolitan area. This very much includes greater Paris, which …
When I met the man who would become my first serious French boyfriend, the first thing I learned was how to master flirty text messages in another language. The second was how to say “I miss you.” It wasn’t because those flirty text messages failed — I had to go back to America. We …
An estimated 12 million French people go to their boulangerie (bakery) every day. But what do they buy there? Baguettes (in many different varieties) are still the top-seller – the French really do love and eat them as much as stereotypes seem to suggest. But among other boulangerie staples are viennoiseries — pastries like palmiers, …
Paris has 4 distinct seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall – but each month has so many features that make it stand out, that it’s often difficult to divide the year into such large portions. I’m not the only Parisian (native or otherwise) to think this. Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, the famous …
Sortir (to get out) is a verb full of exceptions. It’s irregular, and it can have either être or avoir as an auxiliary verb, depending on the meaning you want to convey. Like that one friend we all know, it may be complicated, but it’s also really helpful. So, let’s take a closer look at …