Bonjour Reader!

Summer has brought with it extreme heat and some annoying tech problems. At least the tech problems seem to be resolved for now. 🥵

What's New

In addition to the heat, this summer has also seen two new podcasts, lots of France Virtuelle, and a big update to the website!

I'm pleased to introduce the Paris Gone By Boutique!

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The Boutique offers a curated collection of books about France and French history to help satisfy your curiosity. As an added bonus, anything purchased in the Boutique from Amazon helps support the PGB cause (find out about the Amazon program here).

I've been updating it regularly with new items. If you have any suggestions for books, genres, or other products you would like to see, let me know!

A Bit About Bond

As you can tell from the episode and show notes, I do love James Bond! Despite Bond frequently being an anachronism, or perhaps because of it? In a way, he is "living" nostalgia.

Researching this episode gave me an opportunity to dive into the books in a way I hadn't before. And I was surprised at how much more relatable Book Bond is than his movie counterparts. He, of course, has all of the baggage of being a product of the 1950s UK: misogyny, racism, British colonialism, et al. But he and the other characters are generally less over-the-top and a bit more grounded.

James is also prone to self-doubt, melancholy, and regret in a way that the Movie Bond doesn't really touch on until Pierce Brosnan (a little) and Daniel Craig (a lot). And, though he's still wildly misogynistic, he's not forcing himself on women in the same way. It makes him more relatable and personally likeable. Still FAR from perfect, but in some ways more modern than the Movie Bonds. Especially those of Connery, Moore, and Dalton. Lazenby was, in my opinion, ahead of his time!

It was also a blast to visit the Paris of the past through the books! I don't spend a lot of time looking at post-WWII Paris on PGB because it's within living memory for some. And, frankly, copyright issues make it difficult to find safe media to share. So visiting 1950s Paris with the dangerous and charming James Bond was definitely a treat. Though I think I would stick with a fancy meal and skip the Terminus Nord to avoid an unsavory end. 😨

For a little Movie Bond, here is James (Roger Moore) chasing down May Day (Grace Jones), a henchwoman of the villain Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) in A View To A Kill. She has parachuted off of the Eiffel Tower and Bond is in hot pursuit along the Seine!

Remember when there was traffic along the riverbanks? I'm very glad they pedestrianized it. It was so loud and overwhelming before!

How do you feel about the 007th episode? Did you enjoy this diversion with Bond? Prefer something a little more historic? Drop me a line to share your thoughts.

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On The Blog

As always, first a reminder to check out the podcast show notes, if you haven't already. There is a lot of additional detail that doesn't make it into the episodes, including more history, links and advice for the locations, and the occasional tangent. Who doesn't love a good tangent? 😉

My recalcitrant equipment and launching the Boutique slowed things down a bit on the blog-writing side. There were, however, two France Virtuelles: one based on Adventure for June and on about all things French Revolution for July. Hopefully you find them a fun way to escape to France from the comfort of home!

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Coming Soon

The big news is that I am channeling the French and taking August off en vacances! Never fear, before I go, I will give a quick update on some of the history and tourist related news in France.

Through the power of social media scheduling, I will also share some throwback vacation images over on Instagram along the way. Be sure to follow PGB on IG to check those out!

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How will you stay cool the rest of the summer? My place lacks air conditioning, so I will be fighting with my cat for the precious air from the fans and the desktop "AC" (actually a miniature swamp cooler—any port in the storm). So far, she's winning. 😐

À bientôt and stay cool out there!

Michelle