Let me stop you in your tracks: no, an English-language comedy club is not illegal here en France, so that's not exactly the reason why the place is hidden. The venue, rather, is a tiny club you'd never expect to find at the top of a rickety, winding staircase, whose entrance can be found off to the side of a grander entrance to a large theater below with a posh restaurant sandwiched vertically in between. It's the kind of place you could walk past for years and never realize was there, the kind of place it takes knowing someone who knows to ever discover. Luckily enough, I'm starting to become Parisian enough that this time I knew someone who knows. Thank you, tongue-twisters.

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They do it every year, but for me, it never gets old: the French celebrate April Fool's Day with fishes (the poisson d'avril). Why? As it turns out, the origins of the tradition aren't very clear. It may be a celebration of the end of the sign of pisces, the last winter zodiac, or it may have roots in the Lenten tradition of eating fish and abstaining from meat during the forty-day period preceding Easter. It seems the real explanation may be lost in time. Whatever the reason, the French celebrate April 1 by sneakily pinning paper fish on the their friends' backs. Victory is measured by just how long said friend will walk around before realizing he or she is sporting the April Fool's version of a kick-me sign. (And no, before you ask, this post is no April Fool's joke!) Some boulangeries even get in on the fun, making seasonal fish-shaped pastries and chocolates. I can't help but wonder how many French people actually stop to think about how weird this tradition really is. And then I inevitably wonder—how many April fish moments did I celebrate back in the States without ever thinking twice?

Valentine's Day is finally over, much to the relief of many stateside. Here in Paris, however, the day passes remarkably unnoticed. Sure, storefronts fill with hearts, and the pastry shops may display a few extra red- and pink-frosted sweets, but despite the commercial infiltration, the holiday hasn't taken root culturally. Couples aren't expected to exchange gifts or insist on a special dinner out. In such a romantic city, the notion of a single day devoted to love just has not caught on. That's not to say that couples aren't fond of expressing their affection, though. While the kiss for which this country is famous can be seen on sidewalks across the city, my favorite sort of public affection in Paris takes a different form: a padlock. It seems that carving initials in trees has fallen out of vogue. These days, lovers declare their undying affection with a personalized padlock secured along a selection of bridges that traverse the Seine, such as the Pont de l'Archevêché (shown above). The cynics among us may note that unlike the carvings of yesteryear, the modern sentiment of devotion can be annulled quite easily with the simple turn of a key. Nonetheless, the padlocks crowded along the bridges still contribute to the fanciful romance of an afternoon's meandering along the banks of the Seine, even after years of calling this city home.

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