The SunBreak » france

SAM’s New Exhibit Reveals Gauguin’s Unrequited Wanderlust

RVO — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:55:03 +0000

No artist before or since, not even the enigmatic author Kurt Vonnegut, has ever had such a profound case of wanderlust. Now, a wonderful Gauguin exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum, "Gauguin and Polynesia: An Elusive Paradise," puts Gauguin’s travels and travails into wonderful focus, played out against the art of the people he painted. "Gauguin and Polynesia" is on view from February 9 through April 29, 2012.

The Plight of the Loud Kid in France’s School System

mindyjones — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:00:12 +0000

The kids are almost back in school. Thank God, say the parents. In France, this time of year is known as La Rentrée, and is also when all Parisians return from their month-long vacations in the South. Every parent in the school will be richly tanned on the first day back; I will be sporting my standard ghostly pallor. It’s just one more way I announce myself as a foreigner around here.

Polite Seattleites, I Give You…the French Wedge

mindyjones — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:00:05 +0000

My husband, Alex, and I recently went to a museum and stood in a lengthy line outside the most popular exhibit. This is where a lady I refer to as Helmet Hair pulled the most blatant line-cut I've ever seen. She just swung her foot around Alex's body and stepped in front of him. Alex is useless in line-cutting situations because he starts sputtering indignantly but laughing at the same time, so all he accomplishes is confusing everybody about his feelings.

How the French Solved Summer Vacation

mindyjones — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:00:18 +0000

Depending on whose version you believe, the centre de loisirs is either a pint-sized fight club full of giant spiders or a whirlwind of exciting activities that's a lot more fun than time with mom. (Hell no, I'm not taking him to the top of the Eiffel Tower--have you seen those lines?) Either way, the centre is a parent’s friend.

SIFF Six-pack: Cornichon’s Guide to France & Food

Guest Contributor — Sat, 28 May 2011 19:11:06 +0000

We asked Ronald Holden, Belltown boulevardier and Herb Caen of the Northwest food scene--read him over at the award-winning Cornichon--to let us in on what he was looking forward to at SIFF 2011. Herewith, a mélange of francophonie and food films.

Discovering the Foodie Appeal of France’s School Lunches

mindyjones — Tue, 03 May 2011 22:15:37 +0000

Knowing there is an intense focus on “the right food” at school creates anxiety in a foreign non-foodie like me. Once I had to pack Lucien a sack lunch for a field trip and I lost sleep for days beforehand. In this country of refined palates and toddlers who eat foie gras and duck gizzards, I had no idea what to put in a sack lunch that wouldn’t earn me a reproachful look and a talking-to from the teacher.