It’s that time of year again. If you happen to be lucky enough to be in France between now (June 28) and six weeks from now, be sure to take full advantage of the fabulous sales! Only occuring twice a year, you can save anywhere from 30 - 75 % on just about everything, just about everywhere. The next sales period won’t be until January, so have fun!

The French are country line dancing? In Paris? So says Fox News. Now, anything on Fox News needs an asterix or a warning label next to it, because you never know if it is real or “faux”. But this time they have video. Of what? Of Parisian country line dancers, hats, boots, the whole nine yards.

They say it is taking Parisians by storm, and that it is influenced by Euro Disney. I have many -a - Parisian friend and they have not heard of this wave of country line dancing converting formerly sophisticated Parisians into “des cow-boys”, but …well….check out the video….c’est fou!

So, George W is in Paris? Big deal…the French are not exactly enamored with W, they are moving on…and they have moved on to “OBAMA”. They love him, love him, love him. Poor George can’t get any respect in his last whirlwind tour of this beautiful country taht he and his henchmen onced demonized with their “freedom fries”, references to “Old Europe” and whatnot. No, to the French, Obama is the man, and not only the man, the President if they could possibly have any say.

There was a great OpEd piece in today’s New York Times talking about the French point of view when it comes to George W vs. Obama. It’s a fun read and helps you understand their way of thinking!

If you live in a francophone country, or love keeping up with the most popular French music, the answer is probably “YES”. He has taken the music world by storm in France, he’s cute, soft spoken and pretty modest for a guy whose name alone elicits squeals of excitement from females of all ages.
Want to see what the fuss is all about? Here is an interview that was posted on CNN’s Web site.

Leave it to the French to have an organization devoted strictly to the promotion of the bicycle: La Comité de la Promotion du Vélo. I love the organizations in France that are all about the love of life, leisure and the pursuit of happiness. I want to join each one, especially those devoted to wine where you get to wear a costume and drink copious amounts of vin rouge…but that is another story.

So what is this Comité promoting, anyway? La Fete du Vélo!! If you are in France the weekend of June 7, look for the vélos! Vélos here, vélos there, vélos everywhere. More than 400 French cities will take part in this vélo-a-thon , with more than a million participants, all over France. What will you see? Everything from bike safety stands to bike rides in the city and country, races, lessons in dirt biking, games, competitions, etc. You name it, if it has to do with biking, you will see it this weekend.

In Paris, a meeting place for bike tours and other “velo info” will be located outside the Luxembourg Gardens. Roulez bien!!

Yves St. Laurent has died at 71, leaving Paris one fabulous designer short…