A sight to behold in our seaside town of La Ciotat. The man riding the cart is Kaki Polizzi, an entraîneur de cheval, or award-winning horse-trainer. "au milieu de" : in the middle of Click here to listen to the following sentence Ne changez pas de cheval au milieu de la rivière. –Abraham LincolnDon't change horses in midstream. A DAY IN A FRENCH … Continue reading Au milieu + horses in the sea of La Ciotat!
Today's bilingual story was written by my sister-in-law, Cécile. Don't miss this report on an unusual café in Marseilles…. Today's word: un matou : tomcat Example sentence: Derrière un vitre je peux déjà voir un gros matou qui dort du sommeil du juste dans son panier. Behind a window, I can already see a big tomcat who is sleeping like a baby in his … Continue reading Un Matou + A Most Unusual and Creative Concept for Cat Adoption in Marseilles: Café “Le Coin des Chat’Mis”
One week ago we were walking in the countryside around Flavia and Fabrice's historic domain, where we enjoyed a traditional French meal with some Brazilian sizzle! Today's word: les ailes : wings une aile = a wing Click here to listen to les ailes and the following quote Les paroles sont comme des oeufs : à peine écloses, elles ont des ailes. –Proverbe … Continue reading The hidden Provencal estate where I learned the words, “Pour vivre heureux vivons cachés”
BORDEAUX AND THE DORDOGNE small group tour Sept 17-25 – culture, cuisine & wine. Click here for itinerary. PAR TOUS LES MOYENS : by any means Audio File: Listen to Jean-Marc read today's quote Click here for soundfile Tous les moyens sont bons quand ils sont efficaces. Jean-Paul SartreAll means are good when they are effective. A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE … Continue reading How to be productive (hint: par tous les moyens!)
Recently I was telling some new friends just exactly what it is I do for a living. Since October 27th, 2002, I have maintained an online personal journal in disguise as a French Word-A-Day. That is to say, in order to get people to read my essays, I've dangled a carrot outside of my writing window. That carrot is the "word of the day." And … Continue reading Pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés – to live happily, live hidden. But what does this really mean?
"For my part, I am constantly dazzled by the phenomenon of life." Pour ma part, je suis sans arrêt ébloui par le phénomène de la vie. – René Barjavel Do not miss the entire quote. Use the link below (when reading this by email) to click through to the online version of this post, where you will hear the recording in French. EBLOUI(from éblouir, to dazzle) … Continue reading Eblouir + A quote that will make you leap out of bed each morning
The world is violent and mercurial–it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love–love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is … Continue reading “The world is violent and mercurial–it will have its way with you.” Listen to this in French, don’t miss the lovely end. + Paint in Provence
In today's story, was it a flirt or a crush? le maraîcher (la maraichère) : one who sells produce at a farmers' market Audio File Listen to our daughter, Jackie, read this Wikipedia entry: Download MP3 file or Wave file Le maraîchage… est la culture de légumes, de certains fruits, de certaines fines herbes et fleurs à usage alimentaire, de manière professionnelle, c'est-à-dire dans le but … Continue reading Maraicher: Flirting with the produce guy? Non. C’était autre chose.
