Enjoy my daughter’s update—and don’t miss the book cover poll at the end of the post! We’re about to finish Volume Two, and your thoughts on the cover are part of the fun.
Bonjour, new readers—welcome! I’m Kristi, and I began this French word journal in October 2002, when my kids (two are pictured above) were 5 and 7. Today, my youngest is helping carry on the family journal. Enjoy Jackie’s update, and I’ll be back in a week with news from the south coast of France.
Une vague de froid
By Jacqueline Espinasse
December 27th, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Ricci, the birdies, and I are all saying bon voyage to my brother Max and Ana. They’re flying to New York, and guess where they’re staying? Vinny’s and my apartment.
Vinny had already left on the boat for two weeks, while I stayed behind in France for New Year’s Eve. So at 1 a.m., my phone rings. It’s Max.
“Jackie, I can’t find the locker near your apartment.”
They had just landed at JFK Airport and taken the subway to Brooklyn with their two sacs à dos and three suitcases. What you also need to know is that New York had just experienced its first real vague de froid. Snow completely covered the streets of our neighborhood, making it difficult for them to walk from the subway stop and to find the locker where the keys were hidden. It was a critical situation, considering they couldn’t stay outside in the freezing cold for very long.
Thankfully, Max still had a few minutes before his phone died, so I quickly switched the call to FaceTime and guided him, pointing to where he should start digging for the keys.
Now came the next challenge: Max desperately blowing warm air onto his frozen hands, trying to punch in the code. It took a while, but eventually, they made it inside. Ils sont sauvés !
A week later, Vinny and I were back in the city, excited to return to our petit nid and spend quality time with family. Max and Ana still had three more days before flying back to France. So we kicked them out of our bed and made a cozy one for them on the couch.
We had everything planned. The first day was game night at the Barclays Center: the Brooklyn Nets were playing Orlando. It was a tight game that ended badly for our team, which lost with 2.16 seconds left on the clock. The whole place was on fire, and so were we, setting a good mood for the next two days.
The second night was much more relaxing. We played a children’s board game, Chutes & Ladders, but added a rule: the loser had to take a shot of whiskey, because, once again, that game was designed for three-year-old kids. Vinny and I happen to own it because I used to play it as a child during Christmas holidays in Arizona.
The last night was jazz time at Django, in the Roxy Hotel in Lower Manhattan. If ever you happen to visit the city, I recommend going. Arriving in front of the hotel felt like a movie scene, and the jazz experience was fantastic. They had a singer! Sometimes it’s just instruments, which I personally like less.
And between all these nights were days to fill. I was working, so Vinny took on the role of animateur. One thing Max and Vinny had in common was their love for watching soccer and eating street food, so daytime was spent hunting down the best food in the city on a bike. After much thought and careful tasting, here is Max’s official New York street food ranking:
Chopped cheese
Halal food carts
Bagels
New York pizza
Tamales
What do you think?
FRENCH VOCABULARY
une vague de froid = cold wave
le bon voyage = goodbye / have a good trip
le sac à dos = backpack
ils sont sauvés = they are saved / they’re safe
le petit nid = the little nest
l’animateur = entertainer
EDITS WELCOME
If you spot a typo, mistake, or ambiguity, thank you for letting me know at Kristin.espinasse@gmail.com
REMERCIEMENTS
Thank you to the following readers for your donation this past week to this journal!
Pat L.
Joan S.
Wendy K.
I sincerely appreciate your help in keeping this little corner of France alive. For 23 years your care has made these stories possible. If you’d like to support my journal, here are a few ways to help out:
🌿 via Zelle – to Kristin.espinasse@gmail.com
🌿 via PayPal – Click here
🌿 by credit card – Click here
To gift a copy of my book, A Year in a French Life, to a friend, click here.
BOOK UPDATE FROM KRISTI
Volume Two is coming right along. I would be so grateful if you would help me pick a cover for this next one in the series. To vote, click over to my WhatsApp and find the most recent entry: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6sNOT1CYoSx2avxc41
Your comments are most welcome! But please don’t forget to visit the poll as every vote helps. You may need to sign in to WhatsApp to see the poll. I appreciate your taking the time: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6sNOT1CYoSx2avxc41
If you are unable to access the poll, please note your choice in the comments:
- Picket Fence along seafront
- Café in Paris
- Jackie walking Ricci
- Café in La Ciotat
- Girl in Red Dress
I leave you with the latest update from Jean-Marc, posted in our family chat this morning. He is biking in South Africa for 3 weeks, before he lends a helping hand at a local vineyard:
Hello my lovely family.
Staying in Witsand, a piece of paradise on the river/ocean tonight. Lots of birds and nobody around.
We did another 80 kms today
Miss and Love you all 💕
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Parisian Café
I would prefer that you add a lot more french words.
What’s Ap could send my vote….so here it is
1. Picket Fence along seafront
Love hearing about the young folk in New York which is teaching me about NYC.
Edit….could not 😁
Picked a “tree” for continuity!
Dear Kristi,
My choice is Cover 3. It seems a fitting continuation for Volume 2.
Very glad to hear news from Jean-Marc and Bernard!
What fun for Jackie, Vin, Max and Anna
to spend time together in New York. Love all the photos!
I like #1 the best and #3 second best.
I love the ocean so #1. picket fence along the sea front. they are all beautiful but #1 for me. Have a great weekend . Looking forward to your book.
I prefer the cover with the picket fence. But in my opinion, all of the covers are too “busy.” They have too much on them, without enough clear space. If the cover could be adjusted so the title is higher and the picture a little lower, with a bit of sky or ocean in between, I think it would look better. There is a distressing trend for many books to have the cover so “full” that one can hardly tell what one is looking at (this one is better than most). Particularly when there is attractive artwork, it is a shame to obscure it with text.
Thanks, Marianne, for your honest reply. I see what you mean. Because this is a series, the title format will remain the same, same font, same location. This brings up a few issues. I will see with the designer if some a the text (author names) can move.
I like cover 4 best as a companion/contrast to the first book cover.
#1 is beautiful, but I also like #4 since cafes are such an integral part of French life.
I like # 3 and I agree with Marianne about the text obscuring the lovely photo.
I love #1 because it is so mysterious and interesting and the usual type of cover, but on the other hand I love #4 because it’s your village and I feel that’s important because you are writing about IT throughout your book. Hope this helps. I had never heard of chopped cheese!
Jacki and Ricci for the cover. Love your writings!!
I prefer either 1 or 4. With 1, the reader feels as though they are walking with you along the fence at the beach. With 4, the figure is small, the red is a pop of color, and the street scene is lovely.
Thank you for asking us!
For the book cover, I like #4, Café in Ciotat.
Moi je préfère numéro 4!
#3 or #4
Our dears Kristi and Jackie,
Thank you for another wonderful post and pictures! We’re so happy,Jackie, that you,Vin,Max and Ana have this wonderful time together! We ourselves found that as time goes by,reunions with loved ones become more precious and memorable– special laughter shared together!
Please give JM and Bernard our best and tell them we keep them in our prayers for all their journey to go well.
Dearest Kristi, I really like cover number 3.
I agree with Chris, it does seem appear a fitting continuation for Volume 2 ,which we are all so looking forward to.
Blessings always,mes cheres.
Arms tight around you all.
Love
Natalia. Xo
I prefer #5