Côte d’Azur History

Madame Lucienne Frey: How to be ageless

August 30, 2022

Good genes, a positive attitude, and a formidable streak of independence – Madame Lucienne Frey offered the mayor and cardiologist alike these essentials for a long and beautiful life. To round out this season’s tête-à-têtes with people in Antibes, French Lessons celebrates the grande dame’s life and her enduring wisdom.

continue reading

Why 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 reading

Rebonjour: From my eclectic pandemic muse

July 11, 2021

We’re late, we’re late, for a very important date! The date? The first edition of French Lessons, version 2021, of course. We’re excités to say rebonjour – and have a good excuse for our tardiness: an all-consuming, slow-burn, pandemic passion.

continue reading

PRINCES AND AN ANTIPOPE: THE 1300s RETURN TO ANTIBES

July 31, 2020

Antibes is the lucky new owner of four, long-lost parchments from the princely House of Grimaldi.  French Lessons is the first visitor to glimpse these priceless pieces of heritage – decorative 14th-century documents, negotiated between princes and an antipope, and now on display at the city’s Archives Municipales.

continue reading

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 reading

Antibes 75th: What happened at Libération?

August 24, 2019

As Antibes marks its 75thanniversary of Libération from occupying forces during World War II, French Lessons shares details we have gleaned over the years from websites, books, and the local archives.  We bring you into the streets on this pivotal day:  August 24, 1944.

continue reading

Les Fêtes: When the Saints Come Marching In

July 6, 2018

The Côte d’Azur is in celebratory mood.  Parades and fireworks abound, but French Lessons discovers a whole lot of confusion.  What, exactly, are we celebrating – the patron saint of fishermen, the protector of sailors, or France’s continuing wins in the World Cup?

continue reading

WWII: Antibes’ 75th Tribute for HMS Unbroken

August 24, 2017

As World War II parades and wreath-laying ceremonies dot the Côte d’Azur this week, we mark 73 years since the area’s Libération from the occupying forces. Antibes, though, already has celebrated a 75th wartime anniversary, thanks to a daring, undercover operation that unfurled in its inky bay.

continue reading

Unexpected Email: Bellevue’s Earliest Residents

July 22, 2016

French Lessons receives an unexpected gift: an out-of-the-blue email that introduces us to the earliest residents of our seaside home, Bellevue. After years of research and forged connections, often from unlikely places, we introduce readers to the family who may have been Bellevue’s first occupants.

continue reading

Profile: Tania Laveder, World War II Survivor

August 28, 2015

In a special post to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Côte d’Azur’s Libération, French Lessons interviews a local woman who was drafted and captured, and who ultimately survived the war to reestablish her life here, four countries later, on the Cap d’Antibes. Her story is, at last, in print.

continue reading

Bellevue: A Tale of Two 10-Year Olds

August 21, 2015

When my daughter Lolo tags along on a visit to elderly friends, we compare the lives of two 10-year-old girls living within the walls of our home, Bellevue – stories that are separated by a full 75 years. An iPad and a runaway apple remind us of today’s prosperity.

continue reading

Photo Essay: Côte d’Azur by Sea (Part 2)

August 13, 2015

French Lessons sets sail on Part 2 of our photographic journey along the Côte d’Azur, this time leaving Antibes’ port in the direction of St-Tropez. Colourful histories, offbeat innovations and a secluded beach pepper our sun- and salt-soaked journey – as do James Bond and a small-time king.

continue reading