Fill in the Blanks of these Untold Time-Travelling Detective Stories

Each one of Blaise Arnold’s characters are highly suspicious. The Parisian photographer takes us on a journey back in time through the 20th century, discovering scenes of untold mystery, expertly composed to fully immerse us in the past. Despite his French scenery, there’s Hollywood quality to Arnold’s series called “Stories“and a desire to know more of the story…

Colour Photos of the Legendary Parisian Food Market, Les Halles in 1956

It was known as the “Belly of Paris”, as famously christened by the French novelist Émile Zola; Les Halles was the food market of 19th century Paris, the hub of all food distribution in the city and one of the true wonders of working class Paris. These photographs taken by American Life photographer Thomas Mcavoy in 1956 were taken in the…

French Phrases Hidden in English Words (A Cartoon Crash Course)

I think one of my proudest moments in grade school was the time my teacher asked the class if anyone knew where denim came from. I over-excitedly raised my hand and blurted out, “Nîmes! The city in France!” My grandparents were from Nîmes and they had bestowed me with the rather obscure fact that the English word “denim” was a play on…

Spotting Cute French Guys on the Paris Metro

I have a friend who used to leave her house for work at the exact same time everyday to make sure she caught the same train as her Paris metro crush. She never mustered the courage to speak to him and one day he just stopped taking the same train and she never saw him again. It…

An Illustrated Guide to the Human Race circa. 1960s

The internet is a little bit like a maze of doors, some that lead to a spiralling descent of procrastination and some, though not many, can lead to forgotten treasure. Today I picked the winning door and found one of the most impressive online collections of vintage ephemera I’ve ever had the pleasure of stumbling across. Pages and…

Monsieur Hulot’s Parisian House

There are some things that just make me tick. I can’t exactly explain why; what first catches my eye, but it seems we have quite a few of these things in common, you and I. I’d like to share with you this very short and simple clip from a 1950s French film that for some reason…

The Great Parisian Waiters Race

If ever you’ve had an unpleasant experience with a French waiter (I’m guessing that’ll be just about everyone reading this), perhaps you might not be averse to some light entertainment at their expense. A bizarre sporting event that dates back more than a hundred years, the Waiters Race, better known to the French as the…

Snooping Around Charles De Gaulle’s Abandoned Cruiser

You probably wouldn’t find any warships that personally escorted Winston Churchill across the seas rotting away in a shipyard somewhere. But in a French maritime graveyard, the warship that famously accommodated France’s most significant leader in recent history, has been left to severely decay as it waits in line to become navy target practice. Nicknamed…

Weekend Guide: Pay money to get kidnapped in France

You can find anything in stock imagery. For today’s weekend guide, I was originally going to suggest some wine tasting but then I thought, nah, let’s go for the kidnapping instead. A French company called Ultime Réalité is offering customers a ‘basic abduction package’, which involves your own kidnapping, ‘Taken’ style (à la Liam Neeson), for…

5 Unforgettable Artist Ateliers

What is more enchanting than an artist’s studio? When these painters, sculptors and creators make a space their home, it changes the environment forever. The living space inevitably becomes a rich source of inspiration for the artist; from the furniture, the objects and books to the colour of the walls, floors and most importantly, the…