David Jaggard
The French Lottery: My Take on Getting Taken
It’s Easy to Win: Just Fill in the Right Blanks
When I was a young man, my father took me aside one day and gave me some advice that has served me well throughout my life. “Son,” he said, “Usually there are two or three little metal hooks in the … Read More
Money Flying Up the Flue: Chimney Maintenance in Paris
What’s Long, Hollow, Dirty and Surprisingly Expensive?
I never really thought about chimneys until I moved to Paris. Like everyone else, I had sat in front of the occasional roaring fire, dimly aware that there was this long, hollow, flameproof pipe running from the top of the … Read More
In Over Our Ankles: When’s the Next Paris Flood?
Water, Water Everywhere (But Not a Drop of Wine)
One of the things that make Paris a paragon of urban beauty is the way the Seine is incorporated into the municipal landscape. The Seine, of course, is the river that runs through the heart of the city, dividing it … Read More
The Revolution Revisited: What Little is Left of the Bastille
When They Storm a Prison, It Stays Stormed
As everyone knows, the French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, when a mob of anti-royalist insurgents, high on a sugar rush from eating too much cake, attacked a government building in an event that is now invariably described as … Read More
Beyond the Periphérique (and the Pyrenees): Christmas in Southern Spain
Orange Alert! Sweet ‘n’ Sour Life in Seville
I had never been to Seville before, so when Nancy and I went there for Christmas, I saw it as an opportunity: an opportunity to discover a legendary city, to learn about its traditions, sample exotic foods, massacre an unfamiliar … Read More
The Law of Averages: How Parisian Can You Get?
How Parisian Would You WANT to Get?
A couple of weeks ago, in the course of conducting online research for an upcoming article (which, to judge from my browsing history, will be about “French history,” “French population growth,” “demographics of France” and “French nudists wild beach party”) … Read More
Who’s Minding the Bank? Money Matters in France
Death and Taxes: Pick One
As regular readers of this column know, I grew up in the Midwestern United States and have been living in France for close enough to three decades to round up. Lest anyone wonder, here is a partial list of reasons … Read More
The American Invasion: Black Friday Comes to France (Sort Of)
Some Traditions Are Best Left Unshared
I was in the Midwest for Thanksgiving this year. As I mentioned last year, this is a holiday that doesn’t exist in France, and, as an American and an avowed Thanksgiving enthusiast, I am often called upon to explain its … Read More
Shock Around the Bio-Clock: Notes on Jet Lag
Dazed and Disoriented (Even More than Usual)
Lately I’ve been keeping irregular hours, sleeping in my clothes, neglecting corporeal hygiene and letting my teeth get all fuzzy. Not because I’ve been evicted and am living in the Métro, but because I’ve been on a trip to the … Read More
An Election Night Memory: A Portentous Party in Paris
Were We Having Fun Yet?
The night these guys faced off, I was facing down a guy in Paris, trying to get some face time in the hopes of getting faced. I failed. Okay, I lied. In my article three weeks ago about following the … Read More