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Froggy News - August 2007

Le Bois de Vincennes – harmony amidst urban bustle

Le Bois de Vincennes
Le Bois de Vincennes


The rapid pace to life in any major city is a phenomenon whose consequences can very often place huge pressures on one’s daily routine. It is therefore nice to know that a huge expanse of idyllic wilderness is only a ten minute walk from my newfound place of residence – a 32m ² apartment situated in the far east corner of central Paris



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August 29th 2007 @ 19:27

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Neuilly sur Scène – C’est la richesse

La Defense, Neuilly sur Scene
La Defense, Neuilly sur Scene


Upon my first working day at the International Herald Tribune, the scenes on the Scène in Neuilly were as eye-opening as they were isolating. The expansive stretch from La Défense down to the Arc de Triomphe is an area where Paris’ habitually sophisticated and romantically construed architecture meets the modernizing world of investment bankers and immaculately donned financial wizards, all of which seem wholly contented with their privileged existence



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August 28th 2007 @ 13:21

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No Internet



I am temporarily and officially in a world of no internet. The joy of moving into a new apartment and installing a telephone line certainly takes its toll on one’s blog


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August 22nd 2007 @ 14:08

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10th arrondissement hairdressers have their own style

Afro hairdresser in the 10th arrondissement
Afro hairdresser in the 10th arrondissement


The world of hair styling in Paris’ tenth arrondissement is a bona fide community of black African professionals whose daily routine is hugely dissimilar from high street salons such as Jazz or Tony and Guy. Traditionally speaking, the tenth arrondissement is the quartier immigré, inhabited by people of African origin. Young and sometimes middle aged crowds of French citizens from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, the Ivory Coast and Senegal fill the streets creating an atmosphere of euphoric scissor cutting hype


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August 18th 2007 @ 20:16

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Allons au cinéma – Film goers in Paris have it all

MK2 cinema at Odeon
MK2 cinema at Odeon


The days of small rickety cinemas whose red upholstered seats and proscenium arch facades have created a nostalgic aura in the cinematic world have disappeared – or so I thought. Choosing a film in Paris is a decision that nobody takes lightly and everyone seems to indulge in. Parisian outings to the cinema are somewhat of a past time which retains an important role in terms of the country’s national heritage. Whether it is morning, afternoon or night the cinema salles across Paris are always packed to the brim


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August 17th 2007 @ 14:31

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Le Boudin – a French shot at black pudding

Le boudin
Le Boudin


It has been a little while since the idea of eating black pudding or blood sausage in the morning has sprung to mind. For some reason, the idea of cooked meats fried bread and beans in tomato sauce – although very tasty – fails to tantalise my taste buds in the hours before midday. The Scottish dine on this blood drenched sausage on a regular basis, and have even been known to throw it into the deep fat fryer. Additionally, black pudding in Britain is often served with small bits of onion and pigs fat scattered throughout the sausage’s main body; a decision whose justification I have always failed to recognise


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August 15th 2007 @ 10:39

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La Place de la Contrescarpe – Hemmingway’s Hideout

Place de la Contrescarpe
Place de la Contrescarpe


Ernest Hemmingway once said: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” Indeed, in every sense of the word Paris is a feast – both gastronomically and intellectually. Up the road from the former house of Ernest Hemmingway is La Place de la Contrescarpe; an idyllic square incorporating the haute classe of Parisian café culture and the underground world of privately owned book shops. On every street one passes an ageing book worm slowly sifting his way through the dusty pages of first time editions of books by authors and poets such as Louis Aragon


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August 13th 2007 @ 11:39

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A trip down ‘history lane’

Original sounding street name in Paris
Original sounding street name in Paris


The roads and grands boulevards of Paris emit an array of permanent reminders to history’s greatest events and personalities. At every junction, crossroads and street corner, pedestrians and motorists are bombarded with names, dates, historical references and colourfully constructed sentences painting a range of quirky images. Walking through central Paris, one can wander down Rue Victor Hugo, cross the river to Place Charles de Gaulle and gently stroll down Rue du Chat qui Pèche or the fishing cat. It is an impossible feat to escape contemporary society’s link with the past. Roads and streets in Paris name themselves after the notions of peace, truth and even bribery; not to mention those names which describe anything from smoking dogs to flying birds


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August 10th 2007 @ 20:53

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French Maman lays down the law

French children are taught discipline from a young age
French children are taught discipline from a young age


Touching down at Charles de Gaulle Airport, a French mum grabs her child by the ear lobe and directs him forcefully outside the terminal building. Then, while crossing the street adjacently from Les Galaries Lafayettes another prim looking Parisian mother drags her child along the street behind her ignoring his every protest. Interestingly, passers-by do not seem at all startled by this kind of behaviour. In the event of such hard-handed measures in Britain, groups of meddlesome individuals would conspicuously turn their noses up in disgust and shock. The stark differences between Anglo-American and French style parenting are something to which I am yet to acclimatise


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August 8th 2007 @ 14:23

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Sarkozy the celebrity politician – he’s almost there!

Sarkozy on holiday in America
Sarkozy on holiday in America


In recent times, leading western politicians have become more and more histrionic, increasingly pragmatic and extremely aware of their money making potential as a celebrity politician. Moreover, it appears that Nicholas Sarkozy is attempting to join the band wagon of star struck leaders who spend their time flaunting their physical ‘prowess’, luxurious life styles and speech delivering capabilities. Tony Blair and ‘New Labour’ appealed to today’s modern voter who is often submerged in a consumerist, celebrity driven society whose youthful ambitions are to make the front pages of some overzealous tabloid. Blair would borrow villas and mansions from the likes of Cliff Richard and Bee Gee Robin Gibb. Sarkozy is well acquainted with the same kind of person. After his victory in the French presidential elections, he spent three days on board the luxury yacht of French businessman Vincent Bollore. Politicians seem intent on acquiring celebrity status as they befriend a wide ranging concoction of society’s popular personalities


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August 6th 2007 @ 23:02

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Friday Night is Roller Night

Roller Night in Paris
Roller Night in Paris


To fully understand the idiosyncrasies and unique characteristics to Parisian life, it takes time, curiosity and a beady awareness. Much like a fine wine, one must regard its body, inhale its bouquet and of course sample its distinct flavours in order to recognise its true brilliance. Exactly two years ago yesterday, on my third Friday in Paris, I was sitting on the corner of Rue Monge in a cheerful café called Les Arênes. Les Arênes is situated in the heart of bourgeois territory and a five minute walk from the best schools that French education has to offer – Lycée Henri IV and Ecole Polytechnique. Yet this unobtrusive little café holds on firm to its original clientele of lonely wine drinkers, poor bachelors living in small studio apartments and the odd dishevelled student


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August 4th 2007 @ 16:37

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Farewell to the folkloric smokers of Paris



Romance, philosophy, intellectualism, poetry, art, love, and truth have forever been intertwined and caressed by floating clouds of tobacco smoke. Twentieth century Paris magnetically attracted the world’s artistic and intellectual elite thanks to its charm, atmospheric intensity and aesthetically vibrant café culture. The drugs, sex and rock and roll of the United States was unable to side track Paris' addiction to art, love and bohemianism. The brilliant and inspirational works of many a Parisian philosopher have traditionally been nourished by a continuous plume of cigarette smoke. Smoke and creativity went hand in hand. With hindsight, it was no coincidence that the first word I learnt upon arrival in Paris almost two years ago was cendrier or ash tray


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August 2nd 2007 @ 16:13

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First encounter with l’administration française



Having always benefited from contacts when searching for an apartment in Paris, I have until recently avoided the torturous journey through the congested network of French administration – a bureaucratic haven of rules, regulations and excessive amounts of paperwork. Very soon I will be returning to Paris to find an apartment with my girlfriend. Thus, to add to my ever growing list of things to do, I received an email highlighting the documents I would need to provide when using the facility of a housing agency in France


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August 1st 2007 @ 23:58

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Summer celebrations - demonstrating for the right to strike

Demonstration outside the French Parliament


Following my previous remarks on French attitudes towards demonstrating and striking, today’s events in France can only be described as perfect timing. They (the French) have today oiled up and flexed their muscles in front of the Assemblée Nationale. The French parliament has met to discuss the proposed implementation of a law known as le service minimum. The law will oblige, or rather insist that public services provide basic amenities during periods of strike action, calling into question the robust nature of the French constitutional right to – yes you guessed it – strike


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August 1st 2007 @ 01:13

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