Today's story continues from Châteauneuf-du-Pape ("New Castle of the Pope"), the ruins are pictured here. . Bestselling books on/about France: 1. The Ultimate French Verb Review and Practice 2. Buying a Piece of Paris: A Memoir 3. Exercises in French Phonics en-tête (on-tet) noun, masculine 1. heading 2. headline Audio File & Example sentence Example, taken from the French version of today's story, listen here: Download … Continue reading en-tête
photos © Kristin Espinasse. The view of Mont Ventoux ("le Mont Chauve") as seen from the village of Sainte Cécile. "See it" from the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in today's new story column! RemerciementsTalk about flower power! The combined strength of your sympathies–via lilies, rosemary, snow drops… pansies–has put a smile in our hearts as my family and I continue to read each and every one … Continue reading rubrique
My grandmother is on a journey. I hope there are French bikes in Heaven! le paradis (pah-rah-dee) noun, masculine : paradise : the gallery, the gods le Paradis terrestre = the Garden of Eden le paradis fiscal = tax haven l’oiseau de paradis = bird of paradise aller au / en Paradis = to go to Heaven My Grandma Audrey passed away yesterday. My sister … Continue reading Celebrating Life: Virtual Flowers for Grandma Audrey
La mise-en-scène: doesn't this scene look staged? Walking through the villages of France sometimes makes you feel as if you've stepped back in time, to post war Europe… until you see the modern cars at the end of the lane. Photo taken two weeks ago, in the town of Camaret. I am excited to announce our first debate here at French Word-A-Day… and that's about … Continue reading mise-en-scène
On the outskirts of Camaret: Gallic Graffiti façonner (faah-so-nay) verb : to work, shape (metal); to fashion, mold (clay) Listen to the verb conjugation of the French word façonner: Download MP3 * Download Wav je façonne, tu façonnes, il façonne, nous façonnons, vous façonnez, ils façonnent =>past participle: façonné. I love it when my French aunt comes over on a Sunday, with her chestnut … Continue reading façonner
Welcome to Sunday morning in the French wine-making town of Rasteau, a smile around every corner… Read on, in today’s story column. All photos © Kristin Espinasse un sourire (soo-reer) noun, masculine : smile Just a smile for you today. For more about the French word “sourire” visit the smile post.. On a photographic escapade through the town of Rasteau, I … …met … Continue reading sourire
Sun-bleached in the town of Visan. photos © Kristin Espinasse. What do you see in this photo (and, re the word of the day, I promise you won't find a bear–or even a Big Dipper–hidden behind those lacey curtains!). Share your observations in the comments box. At the not-so-enlightened age of thirty-four, I learned that the Tooth Fairy did not exist …at least not in France. … Continue reading la Grande Ours
They say "when one door closes… une autre s'ouvre…" See another photo, below. photos © Kristin Espinasse souscrire (soo-skreer) verb : to subscribe A Day in a *Newsletter's* Life…They say "change is good" and I've been trying to subscribe to this mighty morsel of sagesse since last summer… when the email listserver for this newsletter doubled in price. Ouch! (Make that: Aïe!). Around about that … Continue reading souscrire
In the moss-covered village of Rochegude… a courtyard, above, located beside the writer's den that I mentioned in a recent post.. parole (pah-rol) noun, feminine : lyrics; word (spoken). Audio File: Hear Aunt Marie-Françoise pronounce the French word "parole":Download Parole Download Parole À la parole on connaît l'homme. –PA Manzoli Help translate today's quote? …or share one of … Continue reading parole
I wanted to move right in, on seeing this little gem (and writer's den?)–yesterday morning in the town of Rochegude. More photos after the story column, below. photo © Kristin Espinasse saisir (say-zeer) verb : to capture, to seize Audio File: Listen to the correct pronunciation of the French word "saisir", and hear the conjugated verb. Mille mercis to my brother-in-law, Jacques, for lending … Continue reading saisir
