La Rafale: The Gusts of France: An Ode to the Mistral Wind

Harnessing the wind in Hyérès, South of France, a kite surfer’s paradise. More advantages of the wind in today's story. First, our word of the day:  LA RAFALE     : gusty wind, bluster, squall A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse Brise, rafale, mistral…No matter how poetic it is in French, wind can be disruptive and annoying. My husband used to curse … Continue reading La Rafale: The Gusts of France: An Ode to the Mistral Wind

veuve de la vendange

I wrote the story “crush widow” two years ago. Were you reading then? (Photo of a modern cabanon with its carpet of white flowers taken in Sainte Cécile-les-Vignes. In wintertime, the old, leafless vines always look, to me, like upended chicken feet—as do all the pollarded trees.) la veuve de la vendange (lah vuv deuh lah von danzh)     : crush widow Audio file: Listen to Jean-Marc pronounce … Continue reading veuve de la vendange

la mère porteuse

Jean-Marc who earned the title "Chief Grape" after years of caring for his precious "babies". Read about them, in the following story.  la mère porteuse (mair-por-tuhz) n.f.   : surrogate mother (One who carries a child for a couple or for a single person is also called "une mère accoucheuse") Click on the following French sentence to hear it spoken by Jean-Marc: La législation concernant … Continue reading la mère porteuse