The sounds of silence

The romantic image of rural France is that it’s a haven of quiet peace and tranquility. For the most part it is, but it’s not a vacuum and of course it has its own characteristic sounds. Bizarrely, some people – incomers, obviously – have felt moved to complain that it’s actually too noisy in the…

Don’t mention the Bastille

Tuesday was a public holiday in France. Arguably, it was the public holiday: July 14th, the Fête Nationale. You may even think it was Bastille Day. Wrong. We were surprised to discover that French people don’t refer to it by that name and would quite likely have no idea what you were talking about if you…