Category Archives: Opal Hush

Dreaming of Building Your Castle in France? Author Gerald Doucet offers advice. 

Dreaming of Building Your Castle in France? Author Gerald Doucet offers advice.  French author Gerald Doucet offers much serious and hilarious advice in his book Building Your Castle and Living Like a King in France. Admittedly, it is dated now (1995), but much of the advice is still very current in his memoir of collective castle-buildingContinue reading “Dreaming of Building Your Castle in France? Author Gerald Doucet offers advice. “

How did The New York Times International Edition come to Paris?

How did The New York Times International Edition come to Paris? The New York Times (NYT) is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper owned by The New York Times Company. As the name suggests, it is from New York City, founded in 1851 as the New-York Daily Times by journalist and politician Henry Jarvis Raymond (1820-1869) and banker GeorgeContinue reading “How did The New York Times International Edition come to Paris?”

The French café: open ‘like a lighthouse in the night’

The French café: open ‘like a lighthouse in the night.’ A photography exhibition in Paris is a tribute to the women and men across France who keep cafés open ‘like a lighthouse in the night.’  Along the railings of the park next to the Town Hall of the 14th arrondissement in Paris is a photographyContinue reading “The French café: open ‘like a lighthouse in the night’”

Rosa-Luxemburg Garden, Paris: green corridor transformation

Rosa-Luxemburg Garden, Paris: green corridor transformation. The Rosa-Luxemburg Garden in the 18th arrondissement of Paris is an example of the urban renewal of a transformed abandoned space – a green corridor transformation. It is an active railroad space transformed from wasteland to a semi-open green corridor. The abandoned warehouse of 9,500 square metres has become aContinue reading “Rosa-Luxemburg Garden, Paris: green corridor transformation”

Paul Auster: four years in Paris and high-wire reflections

Paul Auster: four years in Paris and high-wire reflections. American author Paul Auster lived in Paris for four years from 1970 to 1974. He wrote an article about it in an introduction to French aerial artiste Philippe Petit’s 1985 book On the High Wire which was reprinted in The Paris Review on 3 June 2019. Although most noted forContinue reading “Paul Auster: four years in Paris and high-wire reflections”

French quiche to commemorate the British coronation of King Charles III

French quiche to commemorate the British coronation of King Charles III. King Charles III of the United Kingdom will be coronated on Saturday 6 May 2023. The official coronation dish is the vegetarian Coronation Quiche – a traditional recipe of shortcrust pastry with a cream and egg filling of spinach, broad beans, and tarragon. TheContinue reading “French quiche to commemorate the British coronation of King Charles III”

Boulangerie, crêperie, fromagerie … just add ie

Boulangerie, crêperie, fromagerie … just add ie. Many shops in France take the ending “ie” just as in English they take the ending “y” – bakery is boulangerie, laundry is laverie – but not every artisanal store in France has a direct “y” translation.  La bijouterie = the jewellery store  La blanchisserie = the laundry La boiserie =Continue reading “Boulangerie, crêperie, fromagerie … just add ie”

Abandoned Paris train tracks – now walking tracks

Abandoned Paris train tracks – now walking tracks. To cater for visitors attending the first Paris World Fair in 1867, a circular rail route was established for train travel around the capital. Rail was already introduced in France since 1828, beginning with mining companies to transport coal, and from Paris to major cities from 1855. Continue reading “Abandoned Paris train tracks – now walking tracks”