Contributor blog post by Jemma: The cover of our local newspaper tells the story of Paradise Lost: The artist Mesia puts it even more touchingly: Such a bleu-blanc-rouge waves outside Bellevue, too. The flag is an ever-present sentry at the tip of a quay jutting into the Mediterranean bay. …Continue reading …

Tania Laveder had hoped to write her own story, but over the years she has lost some of her Russian. She learned German only for the purposes of survival. The Italian of her in-laws remains fairly non-existent. And the French that has governed her life for almost 70 years now …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: Il y avait très peu à manger, Arlette says, her voice bearing the gentle crackle of a woman in her mid-80s. There was very little to eat back then. Each day my parents put little tickets on the bread with our names on them – …

Contributor blog post shared by Jemma: Last winter Antibes came to us in Toronto. Lolo’s friend – a former classmate from her preschool days in Juan-les-Pins – passed through town with her family. One snowy day in early March, Lolo brought Anaë to school for show-and-tell. Anaë was a superstar …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: We’re overstaying our welcome. The sand on Antibes’ long beaches has become visible once again. The city’s gridlocked traffic has mutated back into its usual rush hour pattern. The Austrians’ house – the one across the road from Bellevue that never sleeps – is all …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: As the Côte d’Azur rounds out the highest part of its summer season, French Lessons escapes the urban madness and sticky beaches for the high seas. A few weeks ago we cruised together from Antibes to Monaco, and I’m happily reminded by several readers that …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: Some of our most memorable summer days in the Côte d’Azur are spent looking back at it. Several years ago, in a feat approached with unusual seriousness, Philippe bagged his French motor boating license. My husband may have been running a Fortune 500 company at …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: French Lessons is delighted to welcome back the ever-engaging Philippe for his annual musings on what makes France, well, France. “UberPop should be dissolved and branded illegal, and cars should be seized.” This recent declaration came from none other than Président François Hollande. His words …

Contributor blog post by Jemma: Christelle backed her taxi into Bellevue’s courtyard the other morning and popped out with a bright smile and breezy bonjour. She is, quite blatantly, anything but the typical French taxi driver who lashed out across the international headlines last month. Equally striking is Christelle’s dress …