Sheron Long's Blog, page 16
December 18, 2017
Angels of Paris
The angels of Paris are abundant (from the Church of Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre).
© Rosemary Flannery
The Most Celestial of Cultural Symbols
Happy holidays to all! This festive season surrounds us with sparkling lights, fir trees of all shapes and sizes, menorahs, wish lists, santas, elves, mangers, jingling bells, and heralding angels. We celebrate with a variety of cultural symbols at this time of year.
One of these symbols, however, has more than just a holiday presence. Angels can be full-time residents, finding a home in history and architectural design, especially in a city such as Paris.
Take a closer look, often toward the sky. Oh, I see. Angels are everywhere—in plain view and in some magically surprising places.
An armored angel at the Louvre
© Hemera Technologies/Ablestock.com
Angels of Paris
In Paris, these celestial spirits play many roles. They are...
December 12, 2017
A Very English Holiday Ramble
For Revelers with Wanderlust
Albermarle Street in London inspires holiday wanderlust.
© Joyce McGreevy
On a cold December morning, the London sky is gray, the sunlight as stingy as the fire in Scrooge’s counting-house. But the air is fresh, our hearts are filled with festive wanderlust, and we’re off on a Very English Holiday Ramble. Come join us in search of “Oh I see” moments, magic, and a seasonal surprise.
Holiday flats are charming (and rents less alarming) south of the Thames.
© Joyce McGreevy
We begin our ramble in Elephant and Castle, a vibrant, hardworking neighborhood named for a long-gone tavern. The tavern’s name, in turn, was a playful tribute to La Infanta de Castile, who was once engaged to Britain’s Charles I. Good to know if we’re ever in a pub on “Trivia Quiz” night.
For the festive season, exploring on foot is a must. Why? It’s...
December 4, 2017
Paris Honey: The Bees Knees
Paris Honey: The Bees Knees
© Shaiith/iStock
Urban Beekeeping Amid the Monuments
A hint of red berries. Deep molasses notes. A whiff of lychee. A dash of wet earth. A long clove finish. Are we tasting a Burgundy, a Southern Rhône, or a Bordeaux?
Actually . . . none of the above. In fact, we are talking about another kind of liquid treasure. Honey. Pure and (not so) simple.
In a city such as Paris, where gardens are a tradition and where residents tend to make the best of vertical space, bees are all the buzz. Paris honey is in.
Hives atop the Paris École Militaire
Photo Courtesy of Le Miel de Paris
Paris would like to be the capital, not just of light and love, but of urban beekeeping.
The wide variety of flora, the frequent plantings in the city’s gardens (and private flower boxes), and the lack of pesticides allow bee colonies to thrive—a hopeful sign when...
November 28, 2017
The Hidden Hearts of Bruges
Bruges by night is safe and serene.
© Joyce McGreevy
Where Being Bilingual
Is Just the Beginning
So, you’ve practiced your French to visit Belgium. Well, not so fast! Here, being bilingual is just the beginning. In this country the size of Maryland, only 40% of the population speaks French.
The Other 60 Percent
Now how’s your Flemish? Because we’re bound for Bruges. Known locally as Brugge, it’s arguably Europe’s most picturesque small city.
This World Heritage city welcomes 7.5 million visitors a year.
© Joyce McGreevy
Wait, did I say Flemish? Silly me. I meant West Flemish. Although to get truly local, you really should learn Brugs . . . In Brugge (where everyone’s also fluent in English), being bilingual is just the beginning.
Now I know what you’re thinking. “Aren’t Flemish, West Flemish, and Brugs all just slight variants of...
November 20, 2017
A Game of French Wordplay: Les Bons Mots
Proper baguettiquette begins with the selection of the right baguette.
© Meredith Mullins
French Language Puns Offer Stories about the Culture
You can often step into French life through its language. Sometimes you can even invent new words to expand the boundaries of French language and culture. All it takes are some bilingual puns and a fun sense of French wordplay.
What word inventions come to your mind?
Observing Baguettiquette
What are the rules and traditions surrounding that oh-so-French symbol, the baguette?
Hardly a day goes by in France where a baguette doesn’t show its crusty face—tucked under someone’s arm in the street, paired with cheeses and a good bottle of wine at a riverside picnic, or at home eaten fresh from the oven of your local boulangerie.
Just sling the baguette over your shoulder and keep walking.
© Meredith Mullins
...
November 14, 2017
Visual Wordplay for the Bilingual Brain
“Ouch! You’re pulling my leg!”
“¡Ay! ¡Me estás tomando el pelo!” (“Ouch! You’re grabbing my hair!”)
© drawing by Eva Boynton
Spanish and English Proverbs in Pictures
While living in Mexico, I heard phrases whose literal translations created odd visual images for me and confused my developing bilingual brain. For example: “Me estás tomando el pelo!” (You are grabbing my hair!”). My initial bewildered response? I checked to see if my hands were minding their business at my side.
With further explanation, I soon understood that such strange phrases were proverbios y refranes (proverbs and sayings), wise and colorful ways to make a point. In this case: “You are pulling my leg.”
As I started collecting Spanish proverbs, something else began to appear. Oh, I saw that the essence of a...
November 6, 2017
“Blistering Blue Brussels, Tintin!”
Hugely popular in Belgium, Tintin and friends race down a wall in Brussels’ Rue de l’Etuve.
© Joyce McGreevy
Where Comic Books Are
a Cultural Tradition
Remember watching Saturday morning cartoons and reading Sunday’s comic strips? Settling in to reread stockpiled comic books? And how your parents—those draconian disciplinarians—made you go outside to play?
In Brussels, you can have your comics and play outside, too. Just follow the Comic Book Route.
Léonard, a zany caricature of da Vinci by cartoonist “Turk,”
paints Brussels’ Palais de Justice.
© Joyce McGreevy
Launched in 1991, this citywide project turns buildings into comic-book panels to celebrate one of Belgium’s most popular cultural traditions—l’art de la bande dessinée, the art of the comic strip.
Meticulous cartoonist Francis Carin, creator of spy...
October 30, 2017
Traveling the World in Search of Weird Animals
A parade of the weirdest Halloween animals
© Bastetamn/iStock
Creatures Destined for Halloween Fame
It all started with a Jerboa sighting . . .
This desert hopping rodent recently won the heart of the internet (and my heart as well). More cute than scary, Jerboas inspired me to expand my fauna horizons and begin virtually traveling the world in search of weird animals. And, apropos to the season, the results are creative fodder for last-minute Halloween costumes.
The Jerboa—Who designed this fella?
© Reptiles4all/iStock
The Jerboa—An Experiment in Mix ‘n Match
Long-eared Jerboas are such a mixture of parts, it’s as if they were drawn by a halluncinatory cartoonist. A rat head, cat whiskers, owl eyes, jackrabbit ears, kangaroo back legs, prairie dog front legs, and an oddly long tail.
They are found in Asian and African deserts. When fleeing from predators...
October 24, 2017
The Egg and “Ei”
Finding our voices in Vienna: Catrina, Cedric, the author, Nicky, and Adah. (Oh, and “Albert.”)
© Joyce McGreevy
What Four Viennese Teens Taught Me
About Speaking Two Languages
I was sitting on a park bench in Vienna when they approached me, speaking two languages.
What’s more international than the Volksgarten? An Austrian park in formal French style around a replica Greek temple, it attracts visitors from around the world.
The Volksgarten (“people’s garden”) blooms with roses and buzzes with languages.
Norman Davies (public domain)
I’d been thinking about language, about the surprising fact that I’d found it easier to speak Hungarian than German.
Let me explain. One of my travel pleasures is taking language lessons and then practicing every day with native speakers. Picking things up little by little. Savoring the...
October 16, 2017
The Paris Wall of Love
The many ways to say “I Love You”
© Meredith Mullins
How To Say I Love You?
Let Us Count the Ways
Te amo . . . Sarang Hae (사랑해) . . . Nagligivagit . . . Ég elska pig . . . S’agapo . . . Mina rakastan sinua . . . Phom rak khun . . . Aishiteru (愛してる) . . . Je t’aime . . . Ya tebe kohayu . . . Rwy’n dy garu di . . . Ani ohev otach . . . Ik hou van je . . . Nakupenda . . . Wo ai ni (我爱你)
What does this parade of phrases have in common?
They are all ways to say “I love you”— language gems that are important in today’s world of far too much disaster, violence, mistrust, and hate.
What else do these terms of endearment have in common? They are all words that appear on the Wall of Love in Paris.
Can you guess the languages? (See the key at the end of this story for the answers.)
The glint of metal says “I love...
