FOR THE LOVE OF VERSAILLES

Unattractive utility boxes in Versailles are more often than not turned into decorative

pieces, often with historical references, thanks to the masterful works of staff and students

of l'École Supérior d'Art Mural et Décoratif de Versailles.

 

AROUND TOWN

 One of the perservering founders of the 1980's Parisian street art movement known as Zig-Zag,

Jerôme Mesnager, will soon be featured in a Versailles gallery for a couple of weekends. Mesnager's signature work,  the ethereal "Corps blanc" figure was once a fairly familiar sight on abandoned buildings and construction sites during the coming of age of French urban art. Some which have been either carefully preserved through the years, or perhaps commissioned by property owners, can still be seen on the streets of Paris. 

©2025 P. B. Lecron

IN PERFECT HARMONY

 This interpretive panel or panneau d'interprétation blends harmoniously with the natural and protected site it describes, le Sillon de Talbert. It's a long accumulation of sand, gravel, and stones about 100 meters wide that stretches for 3.2 km on the Brittany coast, starting at Pleubian, a commune in the Côtes-d'Amor department. The panel depicts sea cabbage along the shore or rivage.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

BAREFOOTIN'

 Unlikely footprints on the sidewalk of rue de la Paroisse in Versailles.

Someone working with plaster in a building renovation on a very hot day left these powdery tracks.

Vocabulary

aux pieds nus: barefoot (adjective)

nu-pieds: barefoot (adverb)

être pieds nus: to be barefoot

Speaking of footprints...

Reading children's books in a foreign language, at no matter what age, is a great jump-start for the acquisition of a second language! If you're learning French, or simply looking for a children's book in French, then here's our own recommendation, a story which highlights the importance of helping others, complete with charming text and aquarelle illustrations--with plenty of footprints and tracks twisting and turning in the snow! Follow the adventure in

Le Lapin à la recherche du Printemps, available worldwide on Amazon.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT

La marelle--French hopscotch

 Usually French children use colored chalk to mark the spaces to play "la marelle" or hopscotch, but as you can see here the city of Paris provides permanent, waterproof hopscotch patterns for neighborhood children and light-hearted adults. Notice that the starting point is "terre" or earth, and the ultimate goal is to make it to "ciel" sky. 

Vocabulary

sauter à cloche-pied: hop 

une craie: a piece of chalk

un caillou: a stone

©2025 P. B. Lecron

PILE IT ON

 Whenever pounding shredded cabbage with a sprinkling of salt to make sauerkraut, I can't help but think

of Brigitte Bardot. Why? Because in the 1960's when the famous French actress piled her blonde hair on top of her head in a casual mess, the result was a coiffure nicknamed une choucroute.

Choucroute of course is French for sauerkraut. The hairstyle en choucroute became emblematic not only of Brigitte Bardot, but also a sign of the times of greater social and fashion freedoms for women.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

A VERY COMMON DESCRIPTIVE WORD

Locals in Versailles call the triangular stretch of land where these horses are summering le fichu.

In French, when used as a noun speaking of clothing, un fichu is a triangular head scarf, thus

the charming borrowing of this word to name the area.

The word fichu used as an adjectif has a completely different meaning, however. It means damned, wretched, washed up, ruined, pitiful, rotten...the list could go on and on. It's a highly elastic and often used word to negatively describe a situation or thing.

Photo taken in the park of the Château de Versailles bordering le Domaine de Trianon.

©2025 P. B. Lecron 

 

SITTING PRETTY

 Sleek, comfortable, contemporary, practical, and sober are the adjectives I use to describe the new seating at the restored Notre Dame de Paris. The solid oak chairs are the work of talented French designer Ionna Vautrin, who originally hails from the Morbihan department of French Brittany. They are stackable, yet can be attached to one another with brass fittings to form rows. I've tested them myself and can confirm that the comfort they afford is both organic and spiritual.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

FROM MAY TO OCTOBER

 Hydrangeas or in French, hortensias, flourish in Bretagne's gardens, roadsides, and fields--like that above. Native to Asia, the plant was introduced in France during the 18th century. The generous perennial shrub blooms from May to October and is so prevalent in French Brittany that it is considered to be the region's emblematic flower.

Photo taken outside of Paimpol in the Côtes-d'Amor department.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

FRENCH KITSCH

 This life-sized, fiberglass vintage chef statue outside of a seaside restaurant in Bretagne's Côtes-d'Amor seemed like an anomaly--une anomalie. A perusal of Internet images and websites has lead me to surmise that this statue is a repainted version of an American import that has been installed in various 

eateries around Europe.

Expression

Rendre à César ce qui à César; Donner du crédit à qui le mérite:  Give credit where credit is due

©2025 P. B. Lecron

SPEAKING OF DAISIES

Daisies have long inspired an old French metaphor for flowery speech--les marguerites meaning

les discours fleuris, that is to say comments loaded with flattery or compliments.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

AWAY FROM THE CROWD

Loin de la foule

 Summer stillness on an early evening stroll around one of the two Étangs de Corot in Ville d'Avray, 

a western Parisian suburb. The artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot rendered the ponds famous when 

he painted them in 1865.

Vocabulary

un étang: a pond

loin: far

la foule:  the crowd

©2025 P.B. Lecron

ALL SPIFFED UP

Among the residual benefits of Paris having hosted the 2024 Summer Olympic Games are the 

facelifts that were given to the suburban train cars. Cleanliness is next to godliness. La propreté

est proche de la piété.

Vocabulary

la propreté:  cleanliness

la piété: godliness

un lifting:  a facelift; a cleaning; a renovation

embellir: to embellish; colloquillaly to spiff up

©2025 P. B. Lecron

ON SECOND THOUGHT

This figurine of Tintin sitting in one of the discreet shop windows of the Galeries du Palais Royal in Paris caught my eye, and after some reflexion I decided to use the photo to illustrate French expressions such as après réflexion, maintenant que j'y pense, or finalement. All can be translated to "on second thought."

This collector's statuette is undoubtedly a limited edition from the early 1990's of the Leblon- Delienne

pop sculpture workshop. 

Les Aventures de Tintin by the cartoonist Hergé is the most popular European comic series of the 20th century. Its protagonist, Tintin, is a brave young Belgian reporter and adventurer.

Vocabulary

un atelier:  a workshop

une vitrine: a shop window, a showcase

©2025 P. B. Lecron

LIAR, LIAR

 Raconter des salades

dire des mensonges

Raconter des salades is a colloquialism which means in French dire des mensonges, or

to tell lies. 

Vocabulary

mentir: to lie, to dissimulate

un menteur, une menteuse: a liar

un mensonge: a lie

raconter: to tell

©2025 P. B. Lecron

MORNING DELIGHT

In-the-know morning walkers in Versailles like to stop for a cup of coffee at La Flotille, their general headquarters in the park of the Château. The iconic brasserie in a buculic setting along the Grand Canal charms clients with its late 19th-turn-of-the-century character.

Expression

QG: abbreviation for quartier général, or general headquarters

Dans le coup; au courant: in the know

See more about it, including an endearing resident cat dubbed Kitty Quatorze: Here Comes the Sun

©2025 P. B. Lecron

SOME FRENCH ZEN

A calm, modest sized city park typically described in French as japonisant in the heart of Reuil-Malmasion, the Parc d'Amitié. A happy spot to relax or read for lucky residents of this well-heeled western Parisian suburb. The term japonisant is used to describe an object, a work, or a food preparation which has been inpired by Japanese culture.

Vocabulary

aisé(e):  well-heeled, well-off, comfortable

un pont: a bridge

©2025 P. B. Lecron

UNIDENTIFIED FREE ARTIST

Every now and then I notice that the anonymous French mosaic tile artist known as Invader has affixed another one of his works on a Versailles wall. This recent one is on a building next to the parking area of the Gare Rive Droite, a train station in the city center. Though installing his quasi-permanent works on public and private property without permission may be punishable by law, there seems to be an attitude of tolerance, indeed de l'indulgence bon enfant toward this urban artist's mosaics. Originally inspired by the pixelation of the old Space Invaders arcade game, Invader has been at it for some 30 years and, according to an article posted by Christies, has works in 80 cities including Paris, New York, London, and Tokyo.

Vocabulary

bon enfant:  good natured, easy-going

©2025 P. B. Lecron

HOW TO SAY PARTY POOPER IN FRENCH

The look on the faces of these two family members will suffice to illustrate the French expression 

rabat-joie which translates to killjoy, party pooper, stick-in-the-mud, or any such adjective describing someone who casts gloom on or resists the fun.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

LEMON SUNSET ON THE SEINE

Look where dilettantism will lead you; I only paint on canvas once in a blue moon. When my son, above, asked me to paint something to hang on a bare wall in his apartment, Lemon Sunset on the Seine, or Coucher du Soleil Jaune Citron sur la Seine, emerged. It started out as a non-objective abstraction, but today I see it as a sort of scrapbook culmination of more than 40 years of living in France.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

STARING DOWN A MARTINI

This is an entry-level tip for social drinkers ordering a martini cocktail for the first time in a French bar:  if you ask for a martini you will likely be served a glass of Martini Rosso, which is a sweet red vermouth, rather than the classic martini--gin and dry vermouth garnished with an olive--that you were expecting. Be specific about what you want so that the vermouth brand, Martini, is not confused with the mixed drink.

The above photo was taken looking straight down into a martini cocktail.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

A LENTIL WITH A PEDIGREE

Prized by chefs

Cooperative building in Puy-en-Velay

Photo courtesy of Ian Byrd

It's the darling of the Haute-Loire and the favorite lentil in France--la lentille verte du Puy.

Grown high upon the volcanic plateaus of Velay in France's Massif Central, the compact, shiny, dark-green marbled lentil has been cultivated for more than 2000 years. The lentil plants' exposition to cold, heat, and hydric stress at high altitudes accelerates the seeds' maturation process--conditions that give them their characteristically small size, fine skin, texture, and flavor.

In 1996 it became the first legume to enter the closed and prestigious circle of A.O.C. label bearers, which until then had been the exclusive reserve of French wines and cheeses. The A.O.C. label--an acronym for appellation d'origine controllée, is a governmental guarantee that a traditional food product, specific to a defined geographical area, meets strict standards of quality, origin, and conditioning. A sort of pedigree, if you will.

What sets the green lentil of Puy apart from its more humble cousins--the brown, red, or blond varieties?

It has deeper flavor and retains its shape and color when cooked, making it ideal for salads.

Neither fertilizers nor irrigation are used in this hardy plant's cultivation. And, because it fixes nitrogen in the ground it's used in crop rotation to naturally enrich the soil. It's an all-round great and sustainable source of proteins, minerals, and fiber.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

NAPOLEONIC INFLUENCE

One of the more memorable statues of Napoleon Bonaparte symbolising his impact on the world. 

The work is in le Parc de l'Amitié, a park in the city center of Reuil-Malmaison. Napoleon's first wife, Josephine, owned an extravagantly decorated château in Reuil-Maison, which today is a museum and considered to be a "destination" for history buffs fascinated by the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Reuil-Malmaison is about 20 kilometers west of Paris.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

 

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

A light breeze swept up this peacock's tail feathers to create a very singular fanning out of its plumage.

With the rose garden in full bloom of the Parc Bagatelle as a backdrop, we felt we were at the right place at the right time to snap this photo. Bois de Bologne, Paris.

Expression

Le bon endroit au bon moment: right place, right time

©2025 P. B. Lecron

OH, FLACK IT!

More street-art photo-ops

The activity is called flacking, a creative and street-artsy way to repair cracks and shallow holes in sidewalks with mosaic tiles. The above is undoubtedly the work of a French urban artist and ceramicist known as Ememem. He has been fastidiously leaving his mark on pedestrian ways in France and Europe, but mostly in Lyon in Paris, since 2016. His cheerful works are generally welcomed so that now Ememem has the support of local cultural organisations.

The reparations seem to be in the spirit of the traditional Japanese art of kintsugi in which a broken porcelain or cermamic object is decoratively pieced back together and given new life. In the practice of kintsugi the fissures are painted with gold powder to highlight them, making esthetic what had once been broken. And so goes flacking. It's a happy event to look down at the pavement and discover that the scarred, gray asphalt beneath one's feet has been, so to speak, reinvented with a pretty, polychromatic touch. I randomly happened upon this example near the Musée de Cluny in Paris. There are so many more.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

REMEMBERING MISS.TIC

 A carefully preserved stencil created by the sensual and poetic street artist Miss.Tic. 

Her civil name was Radhia Aounallah (1956-2022).  

We happened upon this stencil in the 8th arrondissement on our way to the elegant Parc Monceau. From 1985 onward, the legendary Miss.Tic became the darling and a pioneer of Parisian graffiti street artists. Her pithy stencils grew to be some of the most sought after in the category of local urban art--on the streets and in galleries. Her career as an artist evolved from the early days of illegitimately "defacing" property to having her works sought after by businesses for commercial purposes. Even the Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquired one her pieces. It's worth mentioning for philatelic fans that the French postal service issued a series of 12 stamps bearing her auto-portraits and epigrams. Rest in peace, Miss.Tic. 

INCENSE AND SENSIBILITY

 An eye-catching 17th-century incense burner in feline form from the Parisian Musée Cernuschi's collection of bronze Japanese animals. A decorative item that was intended for domestic use which was both light-hearted and sensitive to the emotional attachment to cats. A universal sentiment.

Vocabulary

un brûle-parfum: an incense burner

joyeux, joyeuse, enjoué: light-hearted

©2025 P. B. Lecron

WAITING

En attente . . .

Waiting for a good grooming and restoration is this pair of sphinx at the Parc Bagatelle, Paris.

Vocabulary

en attente:  on hold; pending
se toiletter : to groom (oneself)

être soigné(e):  to be groomed

©2025 P. B. Lecron

LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW

We happened by this barn or grange in the village of Rennemoulin that had its doors wide 

open on the side opposite to this window, creating the illusion of a mirror. The bucolic village 

is one of the smallest in the department of les Yvelines, and a favorite venue for a leisurely stroll.

Rennemoulin is about 10 km west of Versailles.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

 

INDUSTRIAL TOURISM OR POSTMODERNISM?

Standing tall and forlorn

The unusual and emblematic tour-marteau or hammer tower, once used for coal extraction in 

the mining community of Folschviller in the Moselle, was erected in 1948 and stands 58 meters high.

In use until 1979, it was saved from demolition and registered as an historical monument in 1992.

A unique--and today ironizing sculptural--example of French industrial patrimony in Lorraine. 

©2025 P. B. Lecron

 

HONORING PAEK YOUNGSU

Home sweet home

A time and space of tranquility

Time still remains to immerse oneself in a touchingly exquisite and intimate grouping 

of works of the late Paek Youngsu (1922-2018) at the Musée Cernuschi in Paris. The museum,

dedicated to Far Eastern arts, has on display paintings of the Korean contemporary artist who lived 

and worked in France from 1977 to 2011. Whether Paek Youngsu's paintings be described as intentionally naïve or Minimalist, their sheer simplicity evokes moments of comfort, vulnerability, and innocence. 

Exposed in a small, glass-enclosed space, the discreet character of the exhibit recalls the nature 

of the subject matter--the serenity of the home.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

A BURST OF YELLOW

Dent-de-lion or pissenlit, call it what you may, it's the sturdiest and brightest of spring blossoms.

Yes, blossoms, not weeds! Median strips along roads in France are often joyfully carpeted 

with them this time of year!

In the language of flowers, the dandelion symbolizes childhood innocence, family, and sharing.

 A springtime diuretic, thus the vernacular piss- en- lit, this comestible plant is loaded with nutrition. 

Vocabulary

un éclatement:  a burst, a pop, an explosion, a flash

©2025 P. B. Lecron

QUACK-QUACK, COIN-COIN

Speaking of ducks. . .

 A nasal coin-coin is the French onomatopoeic sound for the anglophone quack-quack.

Bucolique window dressing in this Versailles boulangerie-pâtisserie sets the 

tone for April weather.

Aux Pains de la Ferme, 9 rue Royale, Versailles

©2025 P. B. Lecron

HEAVEN SCENT

 Très parfumé...

Heaven Scent is the name of this pink magnolia blooming today in a local park.

How would its name translate to French? Senteur de paradis,  senteur du ciel

or even parfum du ciel?

Vocabulary

le paradis:  heaven

le ciel:  sky, also heaven

©2025 P. B. Lecron

LIKE A FLEETING THOUGHT

Comme une pensée fugace . . .

Photo taken at the Parc Bagatelle in the Bois de Bologne, Paris

©2025 P. B. Lecron

XXL STREET ART

The sky is the limit

French street artist known as STeW painted this approximately 50-meter high 

blue heron on a high-rise in the Paris Chinatown in the 13th arrondissement. 

"Le Héron Bleuté," realised in 2014, is at 8 Place de Vénétie.

Over the years the mural's original strong, deep blue tints have faded  

making it today a more delicate visual for the passer-by.

Vocabulary

délavé(e):  faded

©2025 P. B. Leron

A WAVE OF SPRING

 Resident Canada geese wade through a wave of narcissuses after an early morning rain in Paris'

bucolic Parc Bagatelle in the Bois de Bologne. Impossible to miss, the cheerful and bright narcissus is a

favorite symbol of the end of winter.

Vocabulary

immanquable:  unmissable, impossible to miss

Boost your language skills!

Get cosy with a children's bedtime story that my French daughter wrote, Le Lapin à la recherche du Printemps. Reading children's stories in a foreign language is an excellent way to boost linguistic skills because they are easy to understand, and like this one, fully illustrated. A mysterious and late snowfall leads Papa Lapin on an adventure full of ups and downs to save springtime. Available in French or English on worldwide Amazon sites. Click here to discover!

Below, an illustration from Le Lapin à la recherche du Printemps, by Marianne Lecron, illustrated by P. B. Lecron. All rights reserved.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

PRINTEMPS!

 ©2025 P. B. Lecron

BOLD AND ELEGANT

 

The bold and simple forms of these terra cotta standing horses exemplify the earthy elegance 

of the Chinese later Han Dynasty (I-III centuries). They are displayed in permanence at the 

Musée Guimet in Paris, the most important collection of Asian arts in Europe. 

Plan to spend an entire day!

Vocabulary

un cheval debout:  a standing horse

©2025 P. B. Lecron

TOO CUTE!

 Trognon!

Trognon is familiar French and a combination of trop which means "too" and mignon which means

"cute." Trognon, however, is also the word for the core or what is left of a comestible, as for example an apple core.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

AHOY!

 Ohé ! Ohé !

From a distance, this recent but already iconic sculpture looked so real that I thought he was alive!

The bronze sailor or marin is the work of Anne Smith, who is not only a talented sculptor, but

also the third female artist ever to been named as a Peintre Officiel de la Marine.

The statue is located in Belz, and looks across to the nearby 

fishing village on the Île de Saint-Cado in the Baie de Quiberon, Bretagane.

Expression

Ohé! Ohé! :  Ahoy! Ahoy

©2025 P. B. Lecron