Nice, a nice place to visit

Bonjour tout le monde!
I have come back from 10 days in France.  It has been awhile since I was in France in the fall, and I was excited to be there when the crowds were a little lighter.
The tour started in Nice. Our hotel was at the end of the Promenade du Paillon, which is a park created when the Paillon River was placed underground.  It is lovely.

We wandered around Vieux Nice and had lunch at a really cool place, l'Atmosphere.  My fellow travelers had salads, but I can't resist moules frites!  They were delicicous, a perfect way to start our time in France.

Tourist traps in France

Bonjour tout le monde!
Sorry I have not been very prolific lately, however that will change next week.  In the meantime, I found this list of 10 Top Tourist traps in France.  I have not been to the Mont Saint Michel since they took out the causeway, but I think it is still worth the visit as long as you are well prepared to be really flexible.  The lines for the Eiffel Tower are massive, but if your heart is set on visiting the most popular monument in Paris, you should reserve your tickets and times online, thus saving you at least one line.  Try going after dark, when there are a few less people, but if you are going to the third level, be prepared for a long line on the second level to enter those lifts.  You will do the same thing on the way down, so make sure that you have reserved enough time to really enjoy your experience.
Do you have any other places that you consider a tourist trap in la belle France?  Tell us about it in the comment section.
http://www.thelocal.fr/galleries/travel/frances-top-ten-tourist-traps

Le Francais Partout - day 3

Today's theme was boutons - buttons.  Boutons are also zits, like acne, but not today!  Tomorrow?  Le bricolage, or DIY projects.

Le Francais Partout

Bonjour tout le monde!
I came across this at the end of August, and I did ignore it, but now I'm all in.  How about you?
Join the September Twitter/Instagram: #lefrancaispartout challenge with your students. Use Twitter or Instagram (or both!). Take a picture of the theme listed for the day of the month and post it with the #lefrancaispartout hashtag AND the theme. Students, teachers, anyone can participate. Questions? 
Bonne rentrée et à vos appareils!
Here are the themes - it's not too late to join in the fun!

C'est la Rentree! School is in!

Bonjour tout le monde!
It is that time of year again, both in the US and France.  As usual, there are those who want to change the status quo, to make things better.  Here in the US, there are experts who theorize that adolescents need to sleep longer, so they want to start school later.  A great idea, but the logistics sound very formidable.  Start school later, classes end later, and then there are sports?  Or does one do away with sports?  Practice less? Start games later?
In France, schools are changing also.  Historically, French school children went to school full time on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday.  Then they went to classes half day on Wednesdays and also on Saturdays.  After classes on Wednesday, French school kids often went to the museums, which were free. As a student in Paris, I thought free museums were awesome.  Until a couple of times at a museum with lots of school kids had me running for the exits!  Being an art history student, I had a card that allowed me to visit museums at any time; that is what I did.  However, that did not include two hours at the Louvre every other Thursday.
Several years back, the Minister of Education declared an end to classes on Saturdays.  There was an outcry from parents and teachers alike.  What are we going to do with our Saturdays?  However, the prospect of being able to have entire weekends away at the family villa sort of overcame most arguments.
Now, the Minister of Education is doing away with free Wednesday afternoons, something that was in place since 1882. The school week will have a full day of classes from Monday to Friday.  The change seems to be just for the little ones, elementary school kids.  They will have their classes spread out over five days instead of four and a half days, and will have extra curricular activities until the regular end of the school day.
Since France has a centralized almost everything, that goes for school holiday schedules, too.  There are three zones throughout continental France, with separate schedules and some different holidays for the overseas departements. Check out the schedules for yourself: http://about-france.com/school-holidays.htm

No, not a school, it's Napoleon 1er's tomb.  He organized the first educational system

To read the article about the new five-day week schedule: http://www.thelocal.fr/20140901/france-school-reform-schedule-change

The Best ice cream in Paris

Bonjour tout le monde!
Earlier this week, I read that Raymond Berthillon died at the age of 90.  He was the founder of Berthillon's, home of the best ice cream in Paris.
Many Paris fans know all about Berthillon's, located on the Ile Saint-Louis.  The ice cream shop has been in the same place for 60 years, just at the end of the bridge that links the Ile de la Cite and Ile Saint Louis at the back of Notre Dame.  Normally, the shop is open continually from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm, however if you are gong to be in the capital during the month of August, you are out of luck.  That is because the famous ice cream spot is closed from 27July to 3 September.
Every time we go to Paris, a visit to Berthillon's is on the must do list.  In 2012, Michael and I were in the city with my last Prep student travel group.  It was a free day, the kids had given me their itineraries so the adults had the day to themselves.  Michael's cousin Tommy and his now wife Wanda were also with us, so after cruising by Notre Dame, we walked across the bridge to Berthillon's.  Sometime during the morning, I inherited one of my students, so our group of five found ourselves standing in front of the shop trying to decide which flavors (parfums in French).
Berthillon's renown goes far and wide.  If you look at the Trip Advisor, it is the #4 top attraction on their Paris list, and for good reason.  The ice cream is delicious.  There are over 70 different ice cream flavors, in addition to the sorbets.  My favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla, but there are contenders - amaretto and grand marnier come in second!  Wanda loves ice cream, so that day in Paris, we spent almost 45 minutes at the shop, because the minute that she finished one flavor, she was back in line to try another.  I can't tell you how many different tastes we tried that day, except to tell you that they were all really good.
If you have been to Paris, but not to Berthillon's, then you have not experienced all there is.  If you have been there, what is your favorite flavor?  Rum raisin?  Lavender?  Let the commentary begin!

And, just to let you know all about the place - http://www.berthillon.fr/

Unfortunately, every time I go to Berthillon's, I spend the time eating ice cream., so here are some photos from other fans...

La Grande Arche - 25 years later

Bonjour tout le monde!
I was cruising the net, and found an article on the 25th anniversary of La Grande Arche, or the Grand Arch of La Defense.  I have written about it before, because it "closed" the axis of history that starts at the other end with the Louvre, goes through the Tuilerie Gardens and the Place de la Concorde, follows the Champs Elysees, and crosses the Arc de Triomphe.  The Arche de la Defense was opened in 1989 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution.  The big "picture frame" was a draw, and I took several groups of students to see the Arche.  We climbed the steps, admired the views of Paris in the distance; Michael and I even went up the elevator to the observation deck that offered a fabulous view of Paris and that axis of history.
Alas, the Arche hasn't aged well.  Marble tiles have fallen off one side, the elevator that sped tourists to the roof top observation area has fallen into disrepair - the observation deck has been closed since 2010 - and much of the interior office space goes unused.
It is still worth visiting the area, and seeing just how big the Grand Arche is.  A pilot has flown through it, and the interior space is runored to be big enough to contain Notre Dame.  There is a cool mall right there, and of course, there is the big thumb.  Why is it there?  I am sure that the artist would say, "Why not"?
It is sad to think about a building that started out with such promise and fanfare, but hopefully in the near future, there will be a happy ending to this story.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20140805/paris-the-not-so-grande-arche

The Arche up close

thumbs up!

The view from the now closed observation deck

Looking along the axis of history

The view from the other side of the Arche