Now we are in heaven. The French use herbs like a magic wand. Not just the common ones – basil & bay leaves, cumin & curry – but the more exotic sounding gingembre moulu, pesce, estragon coupe and a few hundred others. Forgive me ladies if some of these are also ordinary because when I get past pepper and salt I am in a foreign land. But I can taste and I can smell and, well, I never remember tasting or smelling such majestic fare or exalted aromas before. Paradise.

Original appearance May 16, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 011, OO 16, RD 13, YP 30/8-13

498. I counted them. 498 utensils stuffed into 4 drawers, 2 bins and a butcher’s block in a small French kitchen. Many of them I had absolutely no idea what their function was. She says they are all necessary. She says she needs more. By the way when I asked her how many she had, first she guessed maybe 10 or 20 – even after she knew I had counted them – she ventured 120 as an estimate. Then she claimed that cutlery aren’t utensils. Still the results are magnificent. The output from that kitchen is savory and luscious. As we say, the proof is in the pudding. In a couple of weeks I am sure I will be able to count 502. Happily.

Original appearance May 16, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 080, OO 16, RD 13, YP 30/8-13

The second time is the charm. The first time I visited the Hotel Sully my notes said “tiny, nondescript” and I wondered why they ever mentioned it in the guide books. I knew I was in the right place because just down the street I could see the commanding Church of St-Paul-St-Louis, right where it was supposed to be. Don’t get me wrong the hotel wasn’t really horrible, the trouble was it was just a hotel. At the time I didn’t know the difference between a Hotel and a Hôtel, and didn’t notice that the Hotel Sully didn’t have a de. A year or so later and a tiny bit wiser I found the real Hôtel de Sully about three doors down and housing The National Office for Historic Monuments and a major bookstore. It has a rather large door that had been closed at the time and a little obscured by the banners announcing some exhibition. Mostly though it had been my ignorance of what a difference a de makes. Behind those doors was a double courted Renaissance mansion built in the 1620’s and well worth visiting.

Original appearance Feb 11, 2006, © 2006 / SULLY / HÔTEL DE SULLY, (MANSION) / 62 RUE ST-ANTOINE, 75004 / NONE OR NL / KEYS : MANSION, MUSEUM, LATE-RENAISSANCE, PETIT THOMAS, DUC DE SULLY, 1634 / CIP 193 OO 18 RD 11 YP 30/7-11

It took the movie Titanic to dethrone the 1966 film ‘La Grande Voudrille’ as the most popular film ever in France. 17 million tickets sold! It attests to the star power of Louis de Funes who was voted France’s favorite actor in a 1968 poll. His nickname was Fufu and he was the voice of Toto as befits this comic actor, writer and director. Before he died in 1983 of a heart attack, he received an Honorary César in 1980, something akin to a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars. His manic gestures were amply displayed in almost 150 different films between 1946 and 1982. Burlesque comedy was his early forte and he often played the accident prone gendarme. Most Americans were unfamiliar with him as he never earned international recognition though he probably deserved a kinder fate.

Original appearance Nov 11, 2005, © 2005 / Louis de FUNES / 1914-1983 / actor, comic / good / C- / 17 / CIP 317, OO 18, RD 11, YP 30/7-11

At age 80 and after 70 years in show business he is still motoring along. He has composed 600 songs and sold over 100 million records. He has been married 5 times and sings in 5 languages, though I am not sure those two facts are connected. Charles Aznavour has been in 75 movies between 1936-2005, most notably Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player (1960) which is still a classic. He was a good friend but only a friend of Edith Piaf for whom he wrote a number of songs. She was instrumental in launching him, and she even called herself his “sister of the pavement.” In 1996 he entered the Hall of Fame for Songwriters, and in 1997 won an Honorary César and the Légion d’honneur. But here is the capper: while he is often called the Frank Sinatra of France, in 1998 he won the CNN Time online poll for Entertainer of the Century. He got 18% of the total vote and edged out Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Charlie Chaplin, John Lennon and, oh yes, Frank Sinatra.

Original appearance Nov 11, 2005, © 2005 / Charles AZNAVOUR / 1924- / musician, singer, actor / better / B- / 29 / CIP 329. OO 18, RD 11, YP 30/7-11

He once said “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” The Little Prince (1943) was perfect. Antoine de Saint Exupéry, aviator extraordinaire, wrote another five or six books, one of which, Wind Sand and Stars (1939), was close but not quite perfect. It was the song of flight, the lyric beauty of the early days of aviation. But then he was gone. Literally. Disappeared on a wartime reconnaissance flight (1944). Like Amelia, gone. In 1998 a fisherman found his silver bracelet, in 2003 they recovered the plane. But let’s go back to 1945. Consuelo, his Salvadoran wife, writes a book. Theirs was a tempestuous marriage, turns out she was the barbed and difficult rose in The Little Prince. Then it’s gone. Her book, Tale of the Rose is gone. In a trunk, in an attic, gone. Not found till 1979, not published till 2000. Best seller in France, and now available in English. The other side of the story. You might need a grain of salt, and it’s far from perfect, but women will love it, and believe.

Original appearance Nov 11, 2005, © 2005 / Antoine de SAINT EXUPERY / 1900-1944 / author, aviator / best / A+ / 35 / CIP 335, OO 18, RD 11, YP 30/7-11

She was named for her resemblance to Heddy Lamar in the film Sampson and Delilah (1949). Her real name was Yolanda Gigliotty, and she was born of Italian parentage in Cairo in 1933. Dalila was her original stage name but the French changed it to Dalida. In 1954 she was crowned Miss Egypt and she immediately moved to Paris to become a movie star. Her movie career was sporadic but in 1956 she recorded ‘Bambino’ which became a huge hit and launched her singing career. 55 Gold Records later she committed suicide. Between 1956-1970, with the Barclay label, she did mostly French versions of American, British and Italian hits from the likes of the Drifters and the Kingston Trio. After that, with the Carrerre label, she did a little more original material. It was in her personal life that tragedy hounded her. Two husbands and a boyfriend committed suicide and she tried it once or twice before she succeeded. Of course a cult grew up around her and many millions of her record sales came after her death in 1987.

Original appearance Nov 11, 2005, © 2005 / DALIDA / 1933-1987 / musician, singer, Egyptian, one word / mixed / D / 58 / CIP 358, OO 18, RD 11, YP 30/7-11

Yes, it is way off the beaten track. Yes, there is nothing to do but enjoy le Crestet. From the main road D938 through a Provence valley you can barely see it perched high in the Dentelles de Montmirail, across from Mont Ventoux. Take the little D76 and wind up the hill. Find a truly picturesque medieval village overlooking the vineyards of Vaucluse. This is a tiny 11th to 12th century hamlet with a population, in season, of maybe 450 (we visited in October 2004 and the count was closer to 50). It is quiet, it is beautiful, the views are captivating, and it is real. There is a bonny little church, St Sauver, and the Stahly Foundation Contemporary Art Center. Wander the small cobblestoned byways. There is nothing else there, but I bet you can’t leave without a dozen photos.

Original appearance May 13, 2005, © 2005 / CRESTET / OUTSIDE PARIS / STILL IN FRANCE / CIP 116, OO 15, RD 10, YP 30/7-10

There are basically three railroad systems in France: RER (short haul), SNCF (long haul), and TGV (fast haul). I love the TGV though the SNCF isn’t bad either. The TGV is very modern, fast and comfortable with sleek aerodynamic design and trademark blue the length of the train. There are six major railroad stations in Paris each, in its own way, an architectural delight and each serving specific destinations. They are quite well organized except for the beggars. Mostly though it is riding the TGV that is so pleasurable: quiet, fast, comfortable and with almost endlessly interesting vistas passing right before your eyes. Once past the immediate environs of the stations (which tend to be a little less visually delighting) you come upon panoramas of ever changing mosaics – each a picture postcard.

Original appearance May 13, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 015, OO 15, RD 10, YP 30/7-10

A château was originally a castle or a fortress in France. The Louvre and Versailles started as chateaux (the x ending pluralizes many things in French). The grander ones became palaces, and the lesser ones mansions or manor houses. Many actually started as hunting lodges for the kings and nobles. With the nobility they often became largely self sufficient family seats with their own lands and peasants. The Loire valley boasts over 300 château. While many of them are private, on occasion, the few that are open to the public, are worth visiting. Perhaps the most preeminent architect associated with them is François Mansart. Of course not every chateau is a mansion – in Bordeaux, if there is a vine associated with it, even a shack can be a chateau.

Original appearance May 13, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 087, OO 15, RD 10, YP 30/7-10