When assessing options for French language instruction, after weighing the merits and shortcomings of la Sorbonne against those of Alliance Française, I was able to find my niche in the classroom.

Three little words that slip off my tongue with ease, I love you, prove to be disquieting to the family of my husband. Instead, they are replaced by the sweet, familiar French saying bisous.

Not without intricacies, the café is as much a part of French culture as wine and cheese. Though tact is required to evasively dine amongst the French, these stolen moments often become the most memorable.

A sampling from Madeline Vionnet’s repertoire is on display at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs. The exposition follows her career through the 20's where women were liberated from their corsets. Her style, using pure lines and a bias cut to hug curves, drastically changed the face of high fashion.

The difficulty of communicating what you want is only half the battle when you step into a French salon. A coiffeur is an artist and realizing their vision of you is what powers the scissors. I’ve learned to be very articulate in what I expect before the cutting begins.

The novel, historical fiction set in 1930’s Paris, is delivered by 12 year old Hugo who lives within the train station walls and spends his days winding the clocks and pouring through his journal in an attempt to mend a robot that may carry his father’s last words.

Mad Vicky’s Tea Gallery near Montmartre is a mingling of art forms and creative spirits where rhyme and reason are traded for spontaneity. An art installation served as occasion enough for a basement serenade from Diane Cluck.

In 1890 an overworked Vincent Van Gough escaped to Anvers-Sur-Oise. After several months in a rented chamber of the Ravoux Inn he took his own life. He lies beside brother Theo in a graveyard beyond the sprawl of yellow wheat.

The Nice carnival feels like a cleaned-up version of New Orleans Mardi gras where costumed children throw confetti and the parade route traces the Mediterranean sea.

How to create an urban garden answered by Paris’ landscape architects and exterior designers in a dozen ephemeral vignettes that cropped up for the Jardins Jardin festival in the Tuileries.