A year after arriving in France, Englishman Paul West is still struggling with some fundamental questions: What is the best way to scare a gendarme? Why are there no health warnings on French nudist beaches? And is it really polite to sleep with your boss' mistress? Paul opens his English tea room, and mutates (temporarily) into a Parisian waiter; samples the pleasures of typically French hotel-room afternoons; and, on a return visit to the UK, sees the full horror of a British office party through Parisian eyes. Meanwhile, he continues his search for the perfect French mademoiselle. But will Paul find l'amour eternel, or will it all end in merde? In his second comedy of errors, Paul West continues to sabotage the entente cordiale. Author's apology: "I'd just like to say sorry to all the suppository fans out there, because in this book there are no suppositories. There are, however, lots of courgettes, and I see this as progress. Suppositories to courgettes - I think it proves that I'm developing as a writer." Stephen Clarke.
I grabbed this book at bootfair back in September. I thought I have read this, but I having read it now, I have now recollection of it, it could be I read a different book in this series.
The main character, Paul West a British twenty-something, chronicles his year living in France while working for a company that wants to open a chain of tea rooms in Paris called "My tea is Rich". I do like those kind of "fish out water" genre books.
It is funny and hard to put it down book, peppered throughout with various observations on French culture and life. I have never lived in Paris, so I cannot relate as much but I still found very interesting, for people who have lived there this book must be hilarious.
I already bought the second part, Merde Actually, on amazon and if it's any good, I might read the whole series.
I needed a book to read on the beach during my sunbathing session, so I grabbed Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl.
I started reading it a while ago and never finished for some reason. I managed to read it all during the one sunbathing session. When I was little, I was kind of obsessed with France. I'm not sure why, but it might have something to do with all the Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne books that I read. or maybe the obsession came first, who knows! Entre Nous is about the essence of French living or more specifically observations about French women from an American point of view. It is a lighweight chick non-fiction, so if you have low tolerance for these, stay away from this book. I can handle a bit of chick lit so I enjoyed it.
It mainly discusses differences in clothing, shopping, eating and relationships. It is quite fun to read even though you could say it is over glorifying the concept of French girl and relies on stereotypes. It's full of suggestions on books and films and some interesting quotes. I would really like to watch the films mentioned, I quite like French films, even though I'm not so keen on reading the subtitles! Overall, I'd say give it a go, especially if you're interested in French culture but don't take it to seriously!
Late night pinteristing led me to Thomas Saliot works. I love the colours and modern style of his portraits, some works have that instagram feeling, that's because his works are based on pictures he finds online.
When I look at his works, I feel like I should really start painting again. Just purely for my own enjoyment.
I couldn't care less about alcohol but these Stella Artois adverts are quite something. Very stylish, vintage and French, I guess. I just simply love them ;)
I had a good movie night yesterday (yay!). It is a really lovely French movie about a guy whose dreams, imagination and reality mix up. This film somewhat reminds me Inception but they are at different ends of the same continuum. The Science of Sleep is very warm film. I loved that they used old techniques for special effects, it must have taken ages to do it all but it looks amazing and so surreal. It reminds me old cartoons. The other thing I liked about it, is characters talk in Spanish, French and English and they go from one language to the other. Also, the main female character Stefanie is just so adorable. Her tiny flat is also very cosy and boho. Nice sets in general, I'd say! The only downside, I think the storyline was a bit underdeveloped. My overall verdict - definitely worth watching.
These are some pictures from a French 60s films based on Angelique book series. I loved these books and films in my early teens. It is probably not very known in English speaking world. I would love to watch it again. The book series is not finished yet, it's been decades.