#May 6, 1994: English Channel tunnel opens
The Channel Tunnel, or “Chunnel,” linking England and France,was officially opened on this day, in a ceremony presided over by England’s Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand, nearly […]
#April 20, 1887: in Paris, world’s first motor race!
Historic records show that on this day, April 29, 1887, Georges Bouton “won the world’s first motor race”. But it was a hollow victory and there was no champagne celebration. […]
#March 30, 1282: when Sicilian’s bells rang out for freedom
On this day, March 30, 1282 Sicilians decided that they had had enough and in a brutal uprising known as the War of the Vespers turned on their oppressors: the […]
Ramesses II: the first (and probably the last) mummy to receive a passport!
Ramesses II is often considered the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt: he reigned for over 60 years and his achievements were not matched by the pharaohs who preceded or succeeded […]
Paris through a Nazi’s lens: Propaganda pictures of Occupied France in 1940’s
André Zucca (1897-1973) was a French photographer and Nazi collaborator, popular thanks to his work with the German propaganda magazine Signal. Born in 1897 in Paris, son of an Italian […]
The splendid grave of the dancer Rudol’f Nureev covered by a rug like mosaic
A short distance from Paris is the Orthodox Cemetery Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, which houses many Orthodox Russians who died and were buried close to the French capital. Among these there is also […]
122 and not feeling it: the (unhealthy) Lifestyle of the longest-lived person in history!
Ms. Jeanne Louise Calment was born in Arles (France) on February 21, 1875, a year before the battle of Little Big Horn, and a year before Alexander Bell patented the […]
A splendid collection of rare color Photos of Paris taken about 100 Years Ago
For most of us are normal to see historical photographs in black and white, due to the diffusion of monochrome films during the early years of photographic technique. The color […]
The Snow Child: a black humor medieval folktale
In medieval France a few different type of story was told as an alternative to the fairy tales or the popular fables, know as “Fabliaux”, in French, with a simple […]
A visit at the Cimetière des Chiens, the world’s oldest Pet Cemetery
The Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques, translated as the Cemetery of the Dogs and other Domestic Animals, in Asnières-sur-Seine, just outside of Paris, is the oldest pet cemetery […]
Pheasant Island: the only territory in the world that changes sovereignty every six months
You are not allowed to visit Pheasant Island, which lies near the Atlantic Ocean terminus of the French-Spanish border. But “it can easily be seen from the Joncaux bank, on […]
Goussainville-Vieux Pays: the post-apocalyptic remains of a bucolic town ruined by a plane crash.
Just to the north of Paris, under the flight path of the Charles de Gaulle airport, lies the remains of a little pretty French town. At least, until catastrophe struck. […]
The bizarre medieval trials against animals
Even if it might seem bizarre to modern observers, animal trials were commonplace public events in medieval and early modern Europe. Pigs, cows, goats, horses, and dogs that allegedly broke […]
Access forbidden for a century – the French “Red Zone”: a no-go area since WWI
If we think of France, we probably think of the magic of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the scents of Provence, the lavender fields, the glamor of the Croisette during the […]
The Annual world meeting of Gypsies in Camargue, France.
“Vive les Saintes Maries! Vive la Sainte Sara!” The celebrant on the altar, with the garment embroidered with the symbols of the Camargue, stylized profiles of bulls and horses on […]
France: Les Grottes Pétrifiantes which turn everyday objects into stone.
These limestone grottoes, located in Savonnières, France, in the heart of Touraine, turns everyday objects into stone and were used as former quarries of limestone in the Middle Ages. Objects […]
