Agu. 6, 2010 – Every culture has its own way of offering a public apology while keeping their fingers crossed. The Japanese have their ritual shame, the French go on the I’m-not-half-as-bad-as-the-other-guy offensive, the Russians have their hit squads. The American version is to appeal to a higher cause, the classic “I failed to live up to the standards of the Church thereby letting down all those whom I’ve helped throughout my years of selfless service” apology. The business… Read more

Dec. 2009 - I had lunch this fall with the Count of Breteuil, after which he gave me a tour of his ancestral home, the Chateau de Breteuil, 21 miles southeast of Paris in the Chevreuse Valley. It was a fascinating, friendly, informative afternoon in the company of a man of easy-going charms who introduced himself with an “Enchanté, call me Henri.” I’m fascinated, both personally and professionally, by the way individuals, place, culture, and history fit together and/or play… Read more

May 7, 2009 – I went to Philadelphia last week to attend, along with about 55 other guests, the friendly Francophile ceremony by which Joanne Silver received the decoration of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques, the most prestigious honor a scholar or academician can receive from the French Government. Adding further weight to the decoration is the fact that the French ambassador to the United States, Pierre Vimont, in person came to Philadelphia to pin the palms on Joanne. The… Read more

I don’t get much of a chance to dig into the soil in Paris. In fact, there are few places in the City of Light where one can even walk on the grass. Not that I was much of a gardener before moving to Paris, but I do recognize the pleasure, at least in theory, of crouching in the soil, digging, weeding, and watching things flower, grow, take form. My planting thumb, though rarely exercised, turns out to be inadvertently green to judge from the plants on the small balcony of my apartment in… Read more

April 2009 – Gary Lee Kraut and Words Travel International, Inc., publisher of France Revisited, are proud to announce their sponsorship of the arts in Philadelphia through a significant donation to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the occasion of the museum’s April 18 charity event entitled “Art After Dark: Vintage Paris,” a très chic soirée parisienne whose proceeds benefit the museum’s Division of Education. By donating nearly $5000 worth of Gary Lee Kraut’s book “Paris Revisited: The… Read more