Alysa SalzbergI survived the Siege of Paris and all I got was this token.Okay, let me start by saying that the title of this post is sort of a joke. I am going to talk about a commemorative souvenir token that…12 min read·Apr 26, 2024----
Alysa SalzbergWalking LessonsThe perils (expected and otherwise) of walking with a toddler8 min read·Mar 25, 2024--2--2
Alysa SalzbergFour things I wish I’d had when I was learning FrenchAutumn has finally come to Paris. In the Tuileries Gardens, I admire the flowers the gardeners have planted and savor the cool air on my…8 min read·Oct 23, 2023----
Alysa SalzbergTime traveling, basements, and other newsResearching the past isn’t easy — and I’m learning that certain time periods are even more difficult to visualize and understand than I…4 min read·Feb 28, 2023----
Alysa SalzbergMaking a Siege of Paris holiday dessertParis, December, 1870: Under siege by the Prussians since September 19, the city has run out of a number of basic cooking ingredients…11 min read·Dec 18, 2022----
Alysa SalzbergLet’s check out the Musée de la Poste’s impressive collection of Siege of Paris artifacts!Located near the busy Gare Montparnasse (Montparnasse train station), le Musée de la Poste (The (French) Postal Museum) contains one of the…11 min read·Oct 15, 2022----
Alysa SalzbergStrange Paris history bonus: Marat’s bathtubI’m going to interrupt this blog’s usual content about life during the 1870–1871 Siege of Paris, to travel back nearly eight decades from…10 min read·Sep 18, 2022----
Alysa SalzbergThis modern-day boulangerie commemorates a famous Siege of Paris hot air balloon escapeAmid the bustle of the long, tree -lined avenue Gambetta in Paris’s 20th arrondissement is a particularly eye-catching sight. A bakery with…8 min read·Aug 20, 2022----
Alysa SalzbergFrance’s 2022 mustard shortage and Paris’s 1870 cheese shortageSometimes, war and natural disasters end up influencing everyday life in unexpected ways. During the 1870–1871 Siege of Paris, for…7 min read·Jul 6, 2022----