Learning French is tricky for English-speakers: you can learn the words, but there will be times when the words you so carefully pronounce in your best spoken French draw reactions that range from amusement to shock. American expat Judith Reitman tells of one such experience at her local grocery store in Provence.

…and, most important, Fraternité, in San Francisco’s renowned French Quarter. If you’re thinking it’s too early to make a reservation for Bastille Day at one of the cafés or bistros on Belden Place and the surrounding French-flavored areas— trust me, it’s not.

Here in Canada we spent hours ‘pitching horseshoes”. In Italy they play Bocce. The British play lawn bowling. But in France, Boulles or Petanque rules the day. It’s seen on quiet streets, in parks (where special areas are set out) or back yards. There is a degree of skill involved as a player tosses a ball underhanded with an arc to make it land softly. Closest to the tiny cochonnet wins points.

I’ve always felt that no matter what route you drive along in France, you’ll always discover something exciting. I’ve tried so many but one of my favorites is the trip along the Dordogne River valley from Bergerac to Beynac (where 1920s jazz dancer Josephine Baker lived) Sarlat and beyond. Of course it depends on the time you have and how long you want to spend in each place. Here’s a perfect week or more of wandering in the Dodogne Region in Southwest France.

For a country that offered many wonderful painters during the late 1900s and the years that followed, a group of women painters seemed to have taken a back seat. But they soon emerged and are worth studying.

I’m riding the bus in Paris, capital of one of the world’s most artistic and cinema-oriented societies. Not surprisingly there are advertising posters above the windows. One publicizes a just-released movie about famed French fashion designer Coco Chanel. Another signals a new exhibition devoted to the career of revered but long-deceased French movie comedian Jacques Tati.

Remember when your children were small how much fun it was to play the license plate game?  The kids in the back seats (before they had to be safety-belted down) used to vie with each other about who could most quickly could spot a new plate on an approaching car.   There’s a Nebraska plate. There’s one from Pennsylvania. There’s one from Florida. No. That doesn’t count. We’ve already got a Florida.