Category: France

France 2017 (From the Archives)

Published on by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

I often use this blog as a memory jog and one of my favorite “jogs” is to review Melinda’s and my trips to France. Melinda left PSCS in June of 2017 and that summer we took what we intended to be our annual trip to France

The idea of an annual trip to France got blown up in 2018, the year I left PSCS. Instead, we moved to the Bay Area and stayed there until 2019. We came back to Seattle and bought a little fixer-upper house. But we really hadn’t made any money over those 12 months. And living on savings and then buying a house that needed a LOT of work, well, annual trips to France were out. Besides, in 2020 there was a little thing called a global pandemic…

Still, all was quite innocent during the summer of 2017 and Melinda & I made our annual trip to France. This trip included some extended time in Amsterdam with Christine & Bérnard, celebrating Bérnard’s parents’ 60th anniversary in Normandy, and lots of fun times with Laurent & Frédérique. One downside was that my beloved tram line in Nantes, Line 2, was closed in our old neighborhood. To help me cope, Bérnard took me dumpster diving to find some Line 2 souvenirs to bring home.

To easily see all the posts from 2017 in reverse order, click this link.

Taylor Swift TTPD – Ella’s Thoughts

Published on by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

(Note, all of the photos here are of Ella from our sabbatical in Nantes, France in 2010-11.)

My daughter, Ella, introduced me to the music of Taylor Swift when our family was on sabbatical in France during the 2010-11 school year (I searched my blog for any references to Taylor Swift and found just this one from 2011 when I referenced Ella being a fan, as well as one of Melinda’s and my “projects,” thus providing her time-stamped evidence of her fandom). This, of course, makes her a longtime “Swiftie,” ahead of the curve. I think she should take great pride in this. I know I do, as her father. For instance, I’m a huge fan of Jeremy Messersmith. Haven’t heard of him? Just wait. When you do, I can say that I’ve been listening to his music for years. And then won’t I be cool?!

Okay, maybe not.

Still, Ella is a big Taylor Swift fan and she does take pride in being a fan before her sister, Chloe, who used to tease her about it while we were in France. These days, I think Ella is simply so pleased to be sharing this Swiftie love with her sister that she doesn’t give her too hard of a time about being an early adopter and Chloe catching up later.

Anyway, Taylor Swift recently released a new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The initial release had something like 191 songs on it. And then two hours after that dropped, the marketing savvy Swift released something like another 438 songs. Ella’s been in Taylor Swift heaven since. A week or so ago, she told me that some friends of hers asked her to summarize her thoughts about the songs on the album, something she was working on when she dropped by. I asked if she’d share these thoughts with me and for permission to share them here.

So here you have as a guest blogger, my daughter, Ella Shaw, the longtime Swiftie, more than half of her life, in fact, on Taylor Swift’s latest release, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Take it away, Ella!

Taylor Swift TTPD – Ella’s Thoughts

  • Fortnight
    I really like this one. I like that it references a lot of the other songs too. Also Post and her voice go well together. “I loved you it’s ruining my life” favorite line of the song 

  • The Tortured Poets Department
    Not my favorite song but I do think it’s an important one for the sound of the album. Favorite line “But I’ve seen this episode and I still love the show”

  • My boy only breaks his favorite toys
    Love this one. Love singing this one in the car. Favorite line “He saw forever, so he smashed it up” also “I felt more when we played pretend. Then with all the Kens” I like this lyric since we know she was writing this album last year when the Barbie movie came out. So it feels like you’ll truly get the lyric if you were there with all of that. 

  • Down bad
    I like this one. I like the way she compared being in love with being abducted by aliens. Favorite line “cause f*&! it, I was in love. Cause f*&! it if I can’t have us. Cause f*&! it, I was in love”

  • So long, London
    Track 5!!! LOVE IT! But so sad. I like that it’s a little bit like replacing his name with London. And the way she sings is so angelic but the tempo feels almost manic. Favorite line “how much sad did you think I had. Did I have in me” “and I’m pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free” Honestly almost ever line is my favorite it really feels like a letter being written or a diary entry

  • But daddy I love him
    Like it. Favorite line “I just learned these people just try and save you. Cause they hate you” “I’ll tell you something about my name. It’s mine alone to disgrace”

  • Fresh out of the slammer
    Like this one. Favorite line is when she repeating “fresh out of the slammer” when she’s echoing herself

  • Florida!!!
    LOVE!!! Together they sounds AMAZING! Also one of my favorites to sing alone to. I think she said she wrote this song after watching dateline and everyone seemed to flee to Florida. Favorite lines “My friends all reek of weed or babies” “FLORIDA (drums) is one hell of a drug (drums) FLORIDA (drums) can I use you up” 

  • Guilty as sin
    Really like this one. This sound is my favorite kind of her songs. Favorite line “Am I allowed to cry” also like that this song is like her fantasy of this guy she likes

  • Who’s afraid of little old me
    LOVE THIS SONG!!! I keep replaying it all the time. Love singing along. “You don’t get to tell me about sad” “you don’t get to tell me you feel bad” love that these two sentences are similar but just a little changed.  “so they tell me everything is not about me. But what if it is? Then they say they didn’t do it to hurt me. But what if they did? This feels like intrusive thoughts. The whole bridge is so good! 

  • I can fix him (no really I can)
    Like this one but not my favorite. Kinda reminds me of like a continuation of Cowboy Like Me. The western twang to it is really cool. Favorite line “woah maybe I can’t”

  • loml
    Love this one. Super sad. I like that the acronym stands for love of my life and he keeps calling her love of my life and she calls him loss of my life. When she says “a con man sells a fool a get love quick scheme” I think she’s referencing her Out of the woods music video. Favorite line “Mr. steel your girl then make her cry. You said I’m the love of your life” Again the bridge is just amazing lyrics. 

  • I can do it with a broken heart
    LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! This might be my favorite. I love how upbeat it is but the lyrics are about being so sad and depressed. Best song to sing along to. Favorite line “Cause I’m a real tough kid. I can handle my shit”

  • The smallest man who ever lived
    Like this song. I like that this song refers to the song before it by talking about her sparkling summer. Favorite line “and I’ll forget you, but I’ll never forgive. The smallest man who ever lived” the bridge is also amazing!

  • The alchemy
    Love this song. The two songs before this are talking about her summer and so is this one kinda with it being about her starting to be happy with Travis. Favorite line “Where the trophy. He just comes running over to me” Also her talking about coming back a little like coming back to her roots. 

  • Clara bow
    Like this song. I like that she has all of these very famous women in different decades that everyone is being compared to. I also like that she says herself cause that is so true. And with the person being told they’re like her but with edge. Favorite line “You look like Taylor swift. In this light, we’re loving it. You got edge, she never did”

  • The black dog
    Love this song. Another sad song that’s really good lyricly and fun to sing in the car to. Favorite line “And your location, you forgot to turn it off” Like that when she sings  “old habits die screaming” then the music gets loud till the last time she says it and it gets quiet

  • Imgonnagetyouback
    Like this one, not my favorite though. Favorite line “Whether I’m gonna be your wife or smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet. I’m gonna get you back” I like that gonna get you back has a double meaning here. 

  • The albatross
    Like this song. Super pretty sounding, her voice is really nice in it. Favorite line “she is the albatross. She’s here to destroy you” 

  • Chloe or sam or Sophia or Marcus
    Like this song. Favorite lines “just say ‘I loved you the way you were’ if you want to tear my world apart. Just say you always wondered” “cooler in theory, but not if you force it to be. It just didn’t happen”

  • How did it end?
    So good! Kinda feels like the other end of her song Lover with “we herby” as some wedding imagery like the song Lover does. Also this song is a little bit seems poured at the fans who think they deserve to know what happened between her and her exes but she’s only telling her friends. It seems like there a couple of times in the song reference it’s. “We must know how did it end” and “guess who we ran into the shops? walking in circles she was lost. Don’t you hear? They called it off. One gasp and then how did it end?” Favorite line “sitting in a tree d-y-I-n-g” “I can’t pretend like I understand. How did it end”

  • So high school
    LOVE! It feels like it should be in a 2000s movie. One of my top favorite. Favorite lyric “you know how to ball, I know Aristotle. Brand new, full throttle” “you know what you wanted and, boy you got her”

  • I hate it here
    Might be my favorite song. I loved playing the game where we pick a decade to live and I also would be like without all this and this. Love the escapism of this song. I really relate to it. Favorite line as you can guess is “My friends used to play a game where we would pick a decade.We wished we could live in instead of this. I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists and getting married off for the highest bid. Everyone would look down ’cause it wasn’t fun now. Seems like it was never even fun back then. Nostalgia is a minds trick. If I’d been there, I’d hate it. It was freezing in the palace”

  • thanK you aIMee
    I like it but not my favorite. I do love the pettiness of it if it is about Kim. Favorite line is “and one day, your kid comes home singing a song only us two is gonna know is a about you”

  • I look in peoples windows
    Like this song. Is it from the perspective of Peter Pan? With the song Peter from Wendy’s? Also it seems like it could be from her perspective of being such a big star that she’s looking in on other people having normal lives. Favorite line “I look in peoples windows. Like I’m some derange weirdo”

  • The prophecy
    LOVE LOVE LOVE this song!!! Favorite line “I guess a lesser woman would’ve lost hope. A greater woman wouldn’t beg. But I looked to the sky and said. Please. I’ve been on my knees. Change the prophecy. Don’t want money. Just someone who wants my company. Let it once be me. Who do I have to speak to. About if they can redo the prophecy?” I really like how she says knees with it sounding like she’s begging. And the strumming of the guitar through the whole song is just so so beautiful. 

  • Cassandra
    I like this song. I like the use of Greek mythology with also referencing her life, especially the reputation and before era with the “room with snake” and “when its ‘burn the bitch’ they’re shrieking. But when the truth comes out, it’s quite”. My favorite line “so they killed Cassandra first, cause she feared the worst”

  • Peter
    Is this Wendy’s point of view when she’s all grown up? She references the lost boys, fearless leader. “You said you were gonna grown up, then you were gonna come find me”. In Peter Pan I believe he grows up at the end of the story. Favorite line “But the woman who sits at the window has turned out the light” I like this line as it shows that she also grew up. 

  • The bolter
    LOVE!!! Love the guitar and like the upbeatness of it. I like that at the end it switches from ‘him calling her a whore’ to ‘her having the best stories’. Favorite line “there’s escape in escaping” it’s funny but also resonates. 

  • Robin
    It’s good but not a favorite. I think I’ve heard this is about her co-writers child? Favorite line “you have no room in your dreams for regrets”. The song is a really pretty song about the innocent of childhood. 

  • The manuscript
    Love this song! It’s so beautiful!!! It’s a perfect end to the album with her being like these songs are no longer about who I wrote them about/I’ve moved on from it. These songs are yours now. It’s so beautiful with piano in the background. Favorite line is the whole song but having to pick it would be “now and then I reread the manuscript. But the story isn’t mine anymore”

    • 31 July 2023 : Al Smallman (1934-2023)

    Published on by Andy Smallman11 Comments

    My dad died yesterday, having suffered a stroke overnight. Due to my mom’s awareness and fast-thinking, he was transported to the emergency room where local family members were able to be with him at the moment he passed away. Melinda & I were able to be with them all, and him, from France via FaceTime.

    My dad turned 89 in July and had a marvelous life, including his marriage of nearly 65 years to my mom, raising three sons, being involved & seeing his seven grandchildren become adults, and knowing three great-grandchildren.

    And as deaths go, his was pretty good. Having set the table for breakfast on Saturday night for him and my mom, he awoke at around 2am Sunday in a somewhat disoriented state that quickly deteriorated. He left his body less than five hours later. The doctor told us he didn’t suffer.

    You could say he had a great life and a good death.

    I’m including a few photos below as an initial tribute, captioned for context. And for anyone who’d like to know him a tiny bit better, here are some other times I’ve written about him:

    On July 4th, my parents (along with Melinda, Ella & me) got to babysit Remy. This picture, from Remy’s house with Alex, Remy & Chloe, may be the last photo I took of my dad.
    Last night in Nantes, soon after my dad had died, my buddies Bérnard, Laurent, & I toasted him in the best way possible – with three IPA’s.
    Given my dad died early on Sunday, the local family accompanied my mom to church while I watched along via Zoom from France. I took this screenshot of the minister moments after she referenced my dad.
    After the church service yesterday, the family returned to my parents’ apartment for lunch. My mom got in some “Remy Therapy.”

    30 July 2023 : 365 Faces of Celeste (2023 Edition)

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    Celeste is the third child of Christine and Bérnard, although she was the first of their children that we met back in 2010 (as memorialized in this post when I thought she was a mermaid). Quite quickly back then, and as the months & years have passed, Celeste came to hold a special place in my heart. Quietly, to her and sometimes her parents, I call her “my favorite French person.”

    Back in 2015, Celeste came to stay with Melinda and me in Seattle for over five months. She attended the first semester at Roosevelt High School and lived in Ella’s room while Ella was attending culinary school in Portland.

    This year, we weren’t sure if we were going to get to see any of the four Bertail children. All grown, they have their responsibilities to attend and these have currently taken them away from Nantes. Celeste lives and works in Paris, as an example.

    So imagine our pleasure at learning that Celeste would be arriving in Nantes this weekend. She is beginning a 3-week vacation that will take her to Italy and decided to have it start by spending time in her childhood home with her parents and saying hello to Melinda and me. The five of us, Christine, Bérnard, Celeste, Melinda, and I, went out to dinner last night and in the process we got to get caught up on Celeste’s life. What a joy this was.

    When Celeste was living with us in Seattle in 2015, I joked that I should start a special blog called “The 365 Faces of Celeste.” She is very expressive and extraordinarily photogenic as you can see from these two photos I snapped last night. And below the photos are all the links to the prior posts under this title. I invite you to enjoy getting to know my favorite French person.

    Celeste 2023

    3 October 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste I

    5 October 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste II

    6 October 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste III

    15 October 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste Circa 2010

    17 October 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste Circa 2010 Part II

    22 October 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste (Blue C Sushi)

    29 October 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste

    27 December 2015 : 365 Faces of Celeste is Back!

    5 January 2016 : 365 Faces of Celeste (circa 2011)

    28 July 2023 : Lunch Destination (Paradox of Choice)

    Published on by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

    So Melinda & I spent most of today out and about in Nantes, just the two of us. Since my beloved tramway line (Ligne 2) is closed for the summer for updates, we had to take bus #26 into town.

    After wandering around and stopping at various shops to look for things for our grandson, we got hungry. We started looking for restaurants.

    Which would you choose, if you were me:

    CHOICE #1:

    CHOICE #2:

    We actually went with none of the above, opting for a salad bowl.

    27 July 2023 : Dinner Out & 143

    Published on by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

    Last night, Melinda & I took Bérnard & Christine out to dinner as a thank you for hosting us, among other things for which we have supreme gratitude. I wouldn’t usually say how much a dinner out cost, but the fact that it was 143 Euros was profound for me. If you want to know why, please read this post.

    As we returned to the car, I snapped this picture:

    A few minutes before that, soon after exiting the restaurant, I had taken this picture:

    143

    I’m also lamenting the death of the brilliant Sinead O’Connor today. Talk about somebody ahead of their time. Learn more in this short essay about her song “Black Boys on Mopeds” from 1990 and then listen to the song below.

    26 July 2023 : Happy Birthday, Bentsen

    Published on by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

    Hello Bentsen,

    My name is Lupa. Christine and Bernard are my humans. I am a 6-month-old Akita Inu and spend my days teaching them how to give me treats when I do things like sit down and stay in one place. It’s really easy, but I have to make them think that it’s hard.

    Here I am helping Bérnard pick out some cheese.
    You may be wondering why I’m wearing this white bandage around my waist (see photos). Well, on Monday I went to the doctor and now, apparently, I’m not going to have interest in having any puppies. Whatever.

    I’m ready for a treat.

    Oh, sorry, I got distracted for a minute. A neighbor just walked by. How dare they! Who did they think they are? Good thing I’m on the job.

    Oh, do you know what “whisper” means? Christine keeps telling that to me right when someone is walking by the house. I’m busy barking loudly to alert her to the danger and then she says, “whisper” and my name. It’s really distracting.

    And here I am cleaning up the coffee table.
    Speaking of distracting, the reason I’m writing is to say happy birthday and I almost forgot. Andy and Melinda who have new smells for me to investigate told me it’s your birthday today.

    Can I come you to your party? Can you come to mine? Every day is a party, especially when you get a kong filled with cheese rinds. That’s the best.

    Sorry, I got distracted again. Bernard just got home and it’s a lot of fun to tell him how glad I am to see him.

    Have a great day, Bentsen. I think I’m going for a walk.

    With bites, barks & bisous,

    – Lupa

    PS – Bentsen, do you know why the humans are so obsessed with poop? They’re always picking up mine. Do they collect it? Sell it on eBay?

    26 July 2023 : Student Nurse Onesie

    Published on by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

    Okay, so this post may not be so much about our time in France this summer. Feel free to file a complaint although I learned from my father when I was a child and unsatisfied about something that “The Complaint Department is not open.” Looking back, I don’t think the Complaint Department was ever open.

    Perhaps there’s a lesson in there somewhere…

    CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
    Anyway, after going to bed (in France) last night, I received a series of photo texts from Chloe, the photos all of Rémy in an outfit I bought for him soon before he was born. As you can see in this photo (oh, that’s Rémy’s dad, Alex, in the photo, too), it’s a onesie with the name “Student Nurse” printed on it.

    Student Nurse was a Seattle-area band that I appreciated when I was in high school and just after. Learn more here and here. They were founded by John & Helena Rogers, John also going by the name Johnny Rubato. I got to know both Johnny & Helena a little bit because they ran Rubato Records, what was a fabulous used record store that began in downtown Bellevue. Typically, I had to head to the Ave in the U District to shop for used records so having Rubato’s in Bellevue, where I grew up, was a great nearby alternative.

    (As a quick aside, this feature from The Stranger, which includes a reference to Rubato Records, is a great read if you appreciate used record stores and the people who work for them.)

    Soon before Rémy was born in May, I was listening to some music online and came across the fact that Student Nurse had reunited to play a few dates last year. One click led to another (you know how that is, right?) and I found they had released a retrospective CD, that Helena was painting and selling art (I bought an original of hers of Big Mama Thornton that now hangs in my home office), and that I could purchase some Student Nurse merchandise.

    I snatched up this onesie for the soon-to-be-born baby. And yesterday, while going to bed (in France), Chloe sent me pictures of Rémy in the onesie.

    If we need to make this even more French-centric to warrant the “France 2023” tag I’ve affixed to this post, here’s Student Nurse and their song “C’est Tout” (French for “that’s all”) from that retrospective CD as posted on YouTube:

    PS – Support independent music by buying the retrospective CD on Bandcamp.

    25 July 2023 : Buying Clothes at the Grocery Store

    Published on by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

    So there’s this ongoing joke in my family that when I’m in France I go to the grocery store to buy clothes. And I admit, it’s technically true. I like getting SOME of my clothes at Leclerc, a large grocery store chain in France that is set up like the large Fred Meyer stores we have in the US.

    You can get groceries, to be sure, and at decent prices. Both Leclerc and Fred Meyer also sell household goods, even furniture and automotive things. There are sporting goods and electronics.

    And, yes, clothes.

    So every time we come to France, I make plans to head to Leclerc to check out the latest in men’s fashion. Or, better put, for the bargains that I might be wearing later this year.

    Staying at the Bertail’s, and with Melinda hanging out with Christine and with Bérnard at work, I decided I’d walk to the Leclerc where I did most of our family’s grocery shopping during the sabbatical year, the place where I’ve bought quite a few of my clothes over the years.

    Now one thing different about this year compared to past years, this time I’m a grandfather. In other words, I never really had reason to look at the baby clothes at Leclerc before now. And, boy, did I look. In fact, I was so taken by the cuteness I saw that I sent a text to Chloe, mother of Rémy, mother of my grandson!

    It was about 1pm here in France when I sent the text, what is 4am back in Seattle. And guess what? Chloe was awake, feeding Rémy. She texted me right back:

    Spoiler alert – Rémy will have some clothes from the grocery store. Just like me, Grandy, his grandfather.