A basic grammar and vocabulary review of the French language, as well as some informal & slang vocabulary and a special section on vocabulary for English-speaking expatriates living in France. Also included is an appendix on French pronunciation for English speakers as well as IPA transcriptions for most of the vocabulary lists and all of the verb conjugations.
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Tags: beauty, chambery, france, french, french alps, lakes, mountains, Photos, savoie, Tarte, towns, vineyards
Posted in Chambery and Savoie | No Comments »
I bought a Christmas tree yesterday. My Frenchman wasn’t too crazy about it since he believes trees belong in the forest, but I just had to bring some of my traditions and Florida family memories to my new French home. I discovered that as we decorated it, helped by my Frenchman’s lovely 16 year old daughter, that in my mind I had a very specific ‘Christmas tree decorating criteria.’ After all, I’ve been expertly decorating Christmas trees for 45 years. I mean whoever heard of a paint can for a stand, pink and purple garland, and why aren’t those lights twinkling instead of flashing?!? And with the co-mingling of two families’ Christmas decorations, you couldn’t see the tree’s limbs by the time we were done. That poor tree! I tried to make some adjustments this morning so that the limbs don’t break off with all the weight.
That tree, in reality, is symbolic of my new journey living in France. At 50, I have a very specific criteria about what life should look like, just like that tree and its decorations - everything in its place, perfectly positioned, fastened on tightly so as not to risk falling, and surrounded by a touch of bling bling. Moving to another country uproots all of that. The tree leans a bit, you always feel at risk of falling, you definitely don’t feel comfortable in your surroundings, you feel the weight of all the changes and challenges, and the bling bling just doesn’t matter. There are more important things to focus on. Perhaps these are all good things – it encourages me to look at what is most important in life, what the priorities are, what’s worth fighting for, and perhaps more importantly, what’s worth risking so much for. The challenge is to grow again into that stable, strong, deeply-rooted tree.
Tags: bling, christmas, christmas tree, decorating, decorations, florida, france, journey, limbs, traditions, tree
Posted in Thoughts on the French Life | No Comments »
Lyon’s Fete des Lumieres, or the Festival of Lights, began in 1862 when people first placed candles in their windows in honor of the Virgin Mary on December 8th, the Feast of Lights religious holiday. It has been transformed into a major 4-day festival attracting more than 50,000 people each year. Lyon illuminates their finest architecture with fantastic lights, shows and music; the ‘light architects’ are chosen through an annual competition. It is worth a trip to Lyon for the event which is held during the weekend of December 8th every year. Travel Tip: If you plan to attend, make your hotel reservations at least 5 months in advance. The metro is a good way to get around to the light shows but after 9pm it gets frustrating because the lines become long due to security controling traffic in and out of the subway stops. Wear good shoes – there’s a lot of walking. Most of the shows are in the Old Town area of Lyon.
Tags: candles, december 8, feast of lights, festival, festival of lights, fete des lumieres, france, illuminations, lights, lyon
Posted in Things to Do | No Comments »
