La Seductive Croissant, watercolor, 9" x 11"
Just like the layered French croissant, we return to the many layers of French seduction PBers...
Yesterday I watched again Eric Rohmer's L'Amour Apres Midi/Chloe in the Afternoon for a crash immersion into the seductive arts (highly reccommended in Elaine Sciolino La Seduction)...
Then headed out to the Strand Bookstore to hear Sciolino do a reading..
In the book, turn to pages 117 - 21 for why we Americans go around smiling way too much in France. SVP PBers - restrain the toothy grins and don't fling it about so generously, at least over there! 
A somewhat reserved half smile (like the Mona Lisa?) is prefered. 
Use your eyes first and foremost to display 'La regarde' or The Look and you'll win far more battles over there. 
As a sidebar, dear Parisienne, French Girl, was in New York for a week of feasting on bagels and cupcakes (!?) 
Leave it to French Girl to nose out like radar a cardigan and T-shirt filled with enough Fr ruffles to sink a ship at Hollister Co. The French attention to detail is bred in the bones... 
Elaine could not have been nicer last night. She's a terrific observer of the French and their covert ways (Elaine Sciolino covered the CIA for the Times) but she isn't about to give up her smile for French savoir faire, completement. 
The French think so highly of Elaine, she's being awarded the Chevalier de Legion d'honneur this weekend. BRAVO Elaine! 
Elaine Sciolino's book is a delight filled with endless insights into what makes the French tick, particularly in the romantic/political arena. Open it anywhere and plunge in. You'll be enthralled like a quick trip to Paris. A PBer commented on my marking up my copy. Didn't you mark up your college texts to highlight the bits you want to remember? Same thing here. Another PBer was distressed at my attacking a croissant with an electric knife. The knife is in the drawer - not to worry. I even put home-made Peach & Elderberry jam on it.
Bonjour LA SEDUCTION!
Bonjour LA SEDUCTION!