Before COVID-19 upended our lives I had a goal: learn French by the summer. The aim was to master the basics of a French 101 class—a gift to myself for my 33rd birthday—and then book a trip to Paris ...

Simply sign up to the Life & Arts myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox. The daily 45-minute session in the French language laboratory room is where the discipline is at full intensity.

On August 23, 1949, the De Grasse set sail from New York Harbor. Regular ocean crossings for civilians had just resumed the previous year on Liberty ships refurbished for tourists, and the departure ...