I was trying to think of the last time France stayed awake into the wee hours to follow the footsteps of one American man. It was probably July 20, 1969 - when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. It's an equally historic night and an equally historic journey. Tonight America...

My friend Axelle has a thing for cows. So it was only natural that I accompany her this past Tuesday to the annual Salon d'Agriculture in Paris.

The Salon d'Agriculture is a huge event -- imagine fashion week, but with fuzzier chicks. There are pavilions dedicated to farm animals, plants...

I recently returned from writing an article in Oran, Algeria's second city. When the Algerian Ministry of Culture heard there was an American journalist coming, they wanted to give me a bodyguard. I'm an art critic -- I do canapés, not bodyguards.

On the eve of Art Basel Miami, where...

How long before he turns up on the cover of People magazine with some suitably lanky actress on his arm? After decades of gentlemen's' agreements, Nicolas Sarkozy has finally thrown the French presidential undies into the media circus ring.

The French have always been good at keeping politics out of...

If I'm to willing to leave Paris for the weekend to eat and look at art, chances are I'm going to Italy.

Taking a flight on Easyjet is easier than getting on and off a bus. You can book your ticket six months in advance and change the...

My husband is in Spain right now, trying desperately to fit 6 weeks of meetings into two days. His Spanish clients will soon be off to their villas and beaches. The Italians are already there. The French have been off since Easter. They call it the week before the end...

I live in Paris, the food capital of the world -- but I EAT when I come back to the USA.

My trip usually begins with Chinese food straight from the airport, a sort of family tradition: order five dishes for three people and eat the leftovers for breakfast. The...

Nicolas Sarkozy is on a mission to bring the American Dream to France. His campaign slogan -- "Ensemble, tout devient possible" (Together, everything becomes possible) -- was certainly designed to appeal to France's latent ambitions. Since I moved to Paris five years ago, I've been waging my own little battle...

Because of the presidential election, France, in all its complexity, has been given an airing these past few weeks. But despite this recent reality check, writers who live here are almost always expected to write about France's charms, not its challenges

A quick browse in your local bookstore will give...

I should probably be pleased that Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president of France last night. My husband, a French entrepreneur (up until now a contradiction in terms), earns many times the national average, and we will probably pay fewer taxes. We own property; it would be nice if the interest...

The French love an underdog: Cyrano de Bergerac never gets the girl, but he is the brains of the operation. So four days after Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy advanced to the second round of the presidential elections, France is still talking about the guy who can't win. François Bayrou...

It is unlikely that the extreme right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen will repeat his 2002 upset to make it to the second round of the upcoming French presidential elections. But he is surely smiling on the inside, because this year everyone is running on his platform. "National Identity", which...