Côte d’Azur Culture
Christelle of Antibes: The World from a Taxi

July 2, 2022
Bienvenue to the 16th season of French Lessons! This summer we answer readers’ requests to “meet” the people who populate our lives in Antibes. We test drive the new series with the fabulous Christelle in her red taxi – from a Présidential tête-à-tête to a dash of Stephen Colbert.
continue readingFRENCH IMMERSION IN ANTIBES: A TEEN’S EVOLUTION

August 27, 2021
As French Lessons bids readers au revoir from its 2021 edition, we review Lolo’s choice to immerse herself in real French life over the summer. Certainly our teen found the option more palatable than the alternative, an online French class, but with what results?
continue readingWhy is the Riviera razing its beach restaurants?

August 15, 2021
The Côte d’Azur has been bulldozing its beach restaurants. The demolition began a few years ago, wiping out celebrated haunts and their too-permanent installations. The image is shocking – but as ever, this coin has two sides. As the upheaval moves closer to home, French Lessons tries to understand.
continue readingDomotique: Small firms light up French life

August 1, 2021
Returning home from dinner late one night, French Lessons found our home worryingly dark. Somehow Bellevue’s electricity had been cut. An improvised gadget, a can-do spirit, and neighbourly ties eradicate our latest gremlin and cast light on the ongoing dilemma of local business owners.
continue readingLuck in Antibes: It’s not for the birds

July 22, 2021
When Philippe got plastered by a well-fortified seagull, we laughed over his dumb luck. After Lolo’s and my near-misses – and a couple four-leaf clovers in the garden – we wondered: Did these things mean bonne chance in France? And why did we need so much of it? We soon found out.
continue readingLESSONS FROM A PADDLEBOARD: The Riviera’s 2020 Season

August 25, 2020
Gliding over Antibes’ bay on a paddleboard, French Lessons sizes up the unusual 2020 season. The pandemic may have deflated the Côte d’Azur’s legendary froth, but in these waters the spectacular and the princely still mingle among simple pleasures and a renewal of humanity.
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Seeing blue: July 2020 in the Côte d’Azur

July 20, 2020
What’s life is like in the Côte d’Azur during this extraordinary 2020 season? French Lessons readers want to know. To answer travelers’ queries, or to bring the season closer to francophiles around the globe, we offer a glimpse of the area from our first days back.
continue readingA Return to Antibes – Ready or Not

July 13, 2020
As the pandemic continues to mushroom and borders come cautiously down, we wave au revoir to a quiet, socially-distanced life in Toronto and thank our lucky stars as we return to Bellevue, our summertime home in France’s Côte d’Azur. French Lessons returns – ready or not.
continue readingGrab Bag: Bloopers and More from Summer 2019

August 31, 2019
As French Lessons wishes readers au revoir until Summer 2020, we share a few stories from this past season that didn’t make our feed. Gossip, blackout, and glut: Did the springtime omen of nesting doves on Bellevue’s rooftop bring the sort of luck we needed?
continue readingGeoffrey’s of Antibes: You are what you eat?

August 13, 2019
It’s called Geoffrey’s of London, but the British commissary of the Côte d’Azur, based here in Antibes, is more than a place to stock up on impossible-to-find essentials and favourite foods. Is the shop also a reflection of our true selves?
continue readingCôte d’Azur Heartbreak: Ode to the Fig

August 1, 2019
. . . or shall we call this post “Fugue to the Figue”? When we planted Bellevue’s figuier 13 years ago, we’d unwittingly reconnected our home with its past. This year’s stupendous crop of figs yields its traditional, French delights – and new heartbreak.
continue readingLes Fêtes: The Côte d’Azur’s Space Festival

July 19, 2019
France is known for its fêtes, which pay homage to everything from jazz to the simple chestnut, but one festival is simply out of this world. Join French Lessons at the biennial Nuit Coupoles Ouverts, the Night of Open Domes, when the Riviera’s research telescopes welcome public eyes.
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