Embellishment or Street Art?

Buildings and Architecture

On a small, unassuming building by the Canal Saint-Martin… I almost missed this detail… It’s not graffiti…this has been applied, not painted. It’s not trompe-l’œil. So how would it be classified (other than by adjectives like...

Marché aux Chevaux

History, Marchés

I walked by this creperie: and then doubled back… what was down that alleyway? Is that a horse’s head on the building? Yes indeed-y! But this doesn’t look like the usual horse butcher shop (boucherie chevaline), so what’s the story? A little...

Found French

French Language

What does this photo have in common with the next photo? Both show une punaise. Yes, a punaise is both a bedbug and a pushpin or thumbtack. It’s also a verb (punaiser means to pin or tack something up).  

Smurf = Schtroumpf

Cartoons, Jokes

 Did you know that the Smurfs are Belgian and actually named Schtroumpfs? Yes, like Tintin, the Smurfs were created by a Belgian. Georges Rémi created the Tintin empire, but it was Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, pen name Peyo, who gave birth to the...