Author Archives: Parisian Fields

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About Parisian Fields

Parisian Fields is the blog of two Toronto writers who love Paris. When we can't be there, we can write about it. We're interested in everything from its history and architecture to its graffiti and street furniture. We welcome comments, suggestions, corrections, and musings from all readers.

The Twelve Fleas of Christmas

A little less than twelve days before Christmas, my true love and I made a trip to the Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt. It was a chilly December Saturday morning, so the first order of business was to fortify ourselves … Continue reading

Posted in Paris flea markets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

What a croque

It all started so innocently. I was going to write a blog about a simple and unremarkable café meal, the sort of thing that warms one up on a cold December day with a glass of vin chaud, and before … Continue reading

Posted in Paris food, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Mystery of the Missing Suspension Bridges of Paris

In the first half of the nineteenth century, France was a world leader in the design and construction of suspension bridges. And yet today not a single one of Paris’s nineteenth-century suspension bridges over the Seine remains. Why? It was … Continue reading

Posted in Paris bridges, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

A French family in wartime

Today, November 11, is the anniversary of the end of the First World War. In France the Jour de L’Armistice or le Jour du Souvenir is a day of military parades and ceremonies. But there is more to remembrance than … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris postcards, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Other Great Nineteenth-Century Tower of Paris

The story begins in a photograph shop in the Village St-Paul. I was browsing among the stereograph cards, when I came across something that looked like this. It captivated me. I say “looked like,” because this is not the same … Continue reading

Posted in Paris civic functions, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A virtual walk through old Paris

In the novel Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Emma Bovary does something that may sound as familiar to some of you as it does to me. She lives in the countryside, but she wants to be in Paris. So what … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris maps, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Technology of Compassion

I had just finished typing when typewriter collector Martin Howard took the photo below. If you read Braille, you will see that it says “parisian fields.” The Pantheon is the final resting place of France’s heroes: Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Émile … Continue reading

Posted in Paris history, Paris typewriters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

On reaching 100 – blogs, that is

When we posted our first blog on July 27, 2010, called “The Sounds of Paris,” we had fairly simple objectives. We wanted to use our photographs of Paris, our shelf of books on the city, and our small collection of … Continue reading

Posted in Paris markets, Paris postcards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Lost (and found) in translation

Among the pitfalls in learning French are what is known as “faux amis” (false friends) – that is, words that sound as if they ought to mean the same thing in English and French, but don’t. Like librairie, which is … Continue reading

Posted in Paris popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Everyday Hats of Paris

While there is a Paris of high fashion, there is also the Paris of everyday life. And what could be more everyday (quotidien) than dry cleaning or having a dress or pair of pants altered? This little bellhop with his … Continue reading

Posted in Paris flea markets, Paris popular culture, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments