Today, photos and a bêtise or gaffe or no-no during Saturday's filming at Château de Pibarnon. (I hope this compte-rendu isn't a further no-no–as I don't want to end up on the cutting room floor!). Today's Word: La mise-en-scène     : staging   A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE When you gotta go, you gotta go! by Kristi Espinasse Recently, Jean-Marc and I had the … Continue reading Mise-en-Scène: A funny thing happened before the camera got rolling!

Random photo of Smokey and some lettuce as I don't have a politically-themed image for you! On November 6, 250 million Americans are called to the polls. A portion of the senators, the totality of the representatives, a group of governors and local elected representatives will be renewed: the stakes are high. (translated from the French, below) Today's phrase: être appelé aux urnes     … Continue reading My story: Political elections + friendship: The stakes are high (L’enjeu est de taille)

The perched village of Le Castellet, level with the moon My website is experiencing technical difficulties… Let's get straight to the story before the lights go out! Bananes flambéesbananes flambéesbananes flambéesbananes flambées …that's how many times we ate the rum-drenched dessert last week (and tomorrow's guests are getting more of the same–or du pareil au même). Now, I can hear of few of you chattering: "Rum-drenched … Continue reading Recipe for Disaster & “To return the kindness” in French

The sign on the back of the old truck says "(ride) in complete security…with Michelin tires". And in today's column, an oldie but goody from the archives–beefed up with extra vocabulary. Please share this post with someone who would like to learn French.  Today's word: "caoutchouc"     : rubber  Audio File: Listen to french word for rubber, via the following sentence L’essence sans plomb 98 est … Continue reading Sans plomb, essence, caoutchouc, and a gas station story on French nonchalance

There was just one eensy-weensy–tout rikiki–detail that would prevent a documentary film crew from interviewing an American about her French vineyard life: we no longer live on a vineyard. This logistical pépin was quickly patched up (filming will take place elsewhere…) only for another oops-a-daisy to arise: "Parlons-en," the journalist began, "de vin." Normally, at this point, I would've thrust my trusty side-kick, Chief Grape, in front … Continue reading Tout rikiki, fastoche, and the unexpected French word for “good luck” + my would-be 15 seconds of fame

We return home to France in two days. Here is a vocabulary-packed story from 2014. Bye for now…and wish us bon voyage! une fillette (fee-ette)     : a little girl Audio File: listen to the French word fillette (file by Wikipedia): Improve your French pronunciation with  Exercises in French Phonetics A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE     by Kristin Espinasse Waiting at the bus stop in Bandol, warm … Continue reading Fillette: A look back in time