In 2009, I met my mom, aunt, grandmother and cousins in Djerba, Tunisia for a relaxing Mediterranean family vacation (you can read more about that trip here). I had to leave before everyone else because well, I'm the only one who lives in a country that doesn't have 6-weeks of paid vacation days a year (grrr USA!) but did meet up with my dad in Paris for a quick 24 hours before flying back to D.C. My dad and I both have a mad sweet tooth and truly appreciate fine desserts, so these 24 hours turned into quite the pâtisseries marathon. And it was good timing: Éclair Week was in full swing at Fauchon, leading me to rediscover a forgotten childhood favourite. Fast forward to today. Saying ...
French in DC
French Offerings at the 25th Washington Jewish Film Festival
Joyeux anniversaire to the Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF)! This year, the WJFF celebrates its 25th year with 11 days of film programming, and cultural events exploring the diversity of the Jewish experience across the globe. Between February 19 and March 1, 2015, D.C. audiences will be treated to some 100 movie screenings and related events across the DMV, including many premieres and an exciting roster of filmmaker and cast appearances. To honour the festival's past, former festival directors have also selected a special line up of retrospective film screenings that includes the heartbreaking classic Louis Malle film Au Revoir les Enfants (on Feb 21 at the Goethe Institut and Feb 24 ...
January 11, 2015 – Far from the Eyes, Close to the Heart
This past week, the news hit very close to home. 300 meters close to home to be exact. Understandably, it was a difficult week. But living abroad when the eyes of the world are turned to dramatic events in your home country is not just difficult. It's frustrating. In moments like this, you long you be home and share in the collective sorrow, not just read about it in the news. I wish I could have been home this week, with my family, with my people. But I'm here. So on Wednesday evening, I did the next best thing. I gathered with friends and fellow expatriates outside of the Newseum, to mourn the 12 people murdered earlier that day in the Parisian newsroom of Charlie Hebdo and to make a ...
Melt for Raclette: Throw a Raclette Dinner Party
Raclette is a hearty dish, meant to be enjoyed after a day on the Alps slopes. Even without the skiing, it's a fun meal to share with friends and requires very little actual cooking. That makes it ideal for the busy hostess, so I love hosting raclette dinner parties in the winter. If you don't already know raclette, let me introduce you to one of Switzerland's signature dish. Raclette is four things really: A pungent washed rind cows milk cheese. The dish you make with that cheese. The grill you use to melt the raclette (cheese) for the raclette (dish). The dinner party where people get together to eat the raclette (dish) made by melting raclette (cheese) on the raclette ...
French Movies at the 2014 AFI-EU Film Showcase
The 2014 AFI-EU Film Showcase opens today at AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI) in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to the United States and EU Member States, the festival showcases the best in current European filmmaking and this year's selection includes more than 50 films shown throughout the month of December (the 27th edition of the festival runs from December 3-21, 2014.) French and French-language films are well represented, as always: The Dardenne brothers' "Two days, one night" (showing Fri, Dec 12, 7:30 and Sun, Dec 14, 3:40), Belgium's official selection for the Oscars Girlhood (Thu, Dec 4, ...
Finding Your Identity at DC’s First Films on the Green
Since 2008, Francophile New Yorkers have been able to enjoy French flicks al fresco through Films on the Green, a free outdoor French film festival produced annually in New York City Parks by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy with the City of New York Parks & Recreation. This summer, they had the opportunity to catch Purple Noon at Central Park's Cedar Hill, The Women on the 6th Floor and La Haine at Tompkins Square Park, Les Tontons Flingueurs at Washington Square Park and The French Minister at Columbia University. This year, thanks to American University and the Cultural Service of the Embassy of France in Washington, DC, we're getting our own (shorter) edition of this ...
Wine Tour de France: Discover the Pays d’Oc IGP
The 2014 Tour de France is making its way through the Languedoc-Roussillon this weekend. That part of the country, which encompasses the Mediterranean coastline stretching from the rugged Pyrenees mountains to Provence, happens to be one of the largest wine producing region in France. Soil types and terroir vary widely throughout the Pays d’Oc IGP and winemakers there have more than 56 grape varieties to play with, so this enormous wine region produces very diverse wines. I don't follow the Tour de France as religiously as I do the World Cup (though to be fair, if the Tour de France happened only once every 4 years, maybe I would...) but I do like my wine, and in the summer I especially ...
Give Your DC Summer a French Twist
Stuck in the city for the summer? Luckily, there are a ton of events across town to help you pretend you're in France. CHEER FOR LES BLEUS DURING THE WORLD CUP Head to Redline on game day to join the French Expat Meet-Up and L'Union des Français de l'étranger de Washington in supporting l'Equipe de France as they fight to get out of Group H. And if you want to learn more about Les Bleus, head to l'Alliance Francaise after the game on Friday, June 20. Sports historian Lindsay Krasnoff will moderate a panel of sports journalists on the history and importance of the 1998 World Cup champions in French society. LA FETE DE LA MUSIQUE It's one of my favourite events every year. New York goes ...
Patriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick in DC November 5th
How do I even begin to explain Patrick Bruel? Today he's Patrick, a respected actor, singer, soccer fan and poker player. Back when I was une adolescente, he was Patriiiiiiiiiiick, idol of an entire generation who reinvented himself in 2002 with Entre-Deux, an album of duets filled with tracks from the 30s and 40s. More recently, he was in this hilarious French comedy called "What's in a Name" / "le Prenom" which you can and should rent on Amazon! (you can also stream A Secret on netflix) But back to Patriiiiick, the singer, who is coming to visit us with 6 US concerts this fall (surprisingly, there isn't a date in Vegas, though I'm sure he'll be paying the poker mecca a visit ...
Stromae Announces US Tour Dates
Now that's a US tour!! French artists rarely come to the US and when they do, it's usually only for extra date or two (typically New York and Los Angeles) before or after a show in Montreal. So I'm really excited to see that, fresh off his cover of Time Out New York and just ahead of his sold out show at the Best Buy Theater, Stromae announced a REAL US tour. The tour includes Washington, DC, which I'm stoked about, obviously, but also places that probably rarely see a French artist perform like Colorado and Utah. Here are the full dates and concert venues: 20-June New York, NY Best Buy Theatre (sold out)17-Sep Philadelphia, PA Trocadero18-Sep ...
