Cultivate your French : Slow French, at the right pace.

When you have been living in the same neighborhood for a long time, there are people that you know. You might say hello  to some of them. But some you are just familiar with their face. 

I have been living in Bécon-les-bruyères for more than 20 years. There is a couple that I see from time to time. There are quite intriguing. 

In today’s notes, I highlight for you some sentences or expressions that are very natural in French. I also provide a special section with useful sentences when you are going to the checkout. À la caisse.  And there are photos of my neighborhood. Bécon-les-bruyères. 

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We spent last week week in Brittany, near Paimpol. We had a lovely week. We didn’t move too much as the girls had a lot of homework to do, but we had a long walks by the sea every afternoon. The house we rented was a the end of the big garden of the owner, a sweet old lady. 

On Sunday the 1st of May, we headed to Paimpol to buy some Lily of the valley as it is the tradition in France. 

In the notes with the transcript of this episode, I highlight for you some sentences or expressions that are very natural in French. 

There are also some photos taken during our stay in Brittany. 

www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Yes, the French finally chose Emmanuel Macron as our President, what a relief ! Sunday has been such a long day. 

I went to the bureau de vote early in the morning, then to the icerink in the afternoon with Felicia, I did accountancy, but time went so slowly. 

At the end, it was seven ! Pietro and I had decided to watch a  TV fiction on Arte… A special one !

All the information about the transcript and notes : www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Last week, we had a wonderful weather in Paris. On Thursday, when I left my friend Lorena with whom I had a coworking session, I decided to walk. I had to go to Notre-Dame de Lorette. 

We were in a Coffee Shop in rue du Château d’eau, in the 10th arrondissement. This neighbourhood near La Porte Saint-Martin is becoming so trendy. It’s different than la rue des Martyrs. La rue des Martyrs is more about food. 

In the notes with the transcript of this episode, we study the importance of the adjectives. How do you learn new adjectives? Where do you place them, etc. In this particular episode, which is the 3rd one and the latest about the adjectives, we ask ourselves how to say something different than « c’est interessant » or « c’est bon ».

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Last Sunday was the first round of the Presidential Election in France. The campaing was very different from the latest ones, it was almost invisible. The Russian invasion of Ukraine had taken all the media coverage. And between us, in my family for example, or with friends, we almost didn’t talk about it. 

In this episode, I tell you about first round of the election. 

In the notes that goes with the transcript of this episode, this week we will study the importance of the adjectives.

How do you learn new adjectives? Where do you place them ?

How to say something else than « c’est interessant » or « c’est bon ».

The adjectives study will take us 3 episodes and this is the 2nd episode of our study. 

www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Last week, my friend Anne-Laure and I visited the Marcel Proust exhibition at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris : Marcel Proust, un roman parisien.

The Musée Carnavalet is the museum of the History of Paris. The museum re-opened last year after several years of works. It’s a wonderful museum that tells the story of Paris from the Neolithic ages to nowadays. There, you can see the famous portrait of Madame de Sévigné (by the way, she used to live in the Hotel particulier that hosts the museum), a shoe that belonged to Marie-Antoinette or Marcel Proust’s bedroom. 

I really enjoyed the exhibition ! In this episode, I tell you about a specific painting, a big painting in front of which Anne-Laure and I stayed a long time to study it. It’s typical of the Belle Époque, when Marcel Proust lived in Paris. 

In the notes that goes with the transcript of this episode, this week we will study the importance of the adjectives. How do you learn new adjectives? Where do you place them, etc. Or how to say something else than « c’est interessant » or « c’est bon ». The adjectives study will take us 3 episodes. 

www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Two weeks ago, I had the chance to meet Margaux Aycard, the cheffe that created and runs the Bar à Brioche, a place in Paris dedicated to the brioche. There you could meet the cheffe, and have either sweet or savory brioches for a quick lunch or for breakfast. The Bar à brioches is close to La Gare Saint-Lazare and a few stops away from Les Champs Elysées. 

In this episode, Margaux Aycard tells us at what time she bakes her brioches and what could be the ideal breakfast of a listener visiting her place. Miam, miam !

In the notes with the transcript of the podcast, I highlight for you the expressions that are very natural and useful in French. Now, you can tell anybody about your ideal breakfast in French !

!

www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Today’s episode is both a podcast and a video on YouTube ! Micaela and her little sister Lisa have filmed Micaela’s morning routine, all the actions that she does before going to school. It has been a lot of fun for them. Then, we recorded the audio version with useful sentences.

Do you know what a « grille-pain » or a « penderie » is? Thanks to this video, you will be relieved to know that Micaela brushes her teeth after breakfast ! 

With the transcript of this episode, I will highlight for you all the expressions that are very naturel and useful in French. 

www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Our life changed last Monday! We don’t have to wear the mask anymore. The girls are a little bit nervous about it. And what about the teachers? Or the people at the café where I was writing this episode? This is what we are going to talk about. With the transcript of this episode, I’m going to highlight for you very natural French sentences and expressions of the text. Those are the ones that you need to identify and that you might use when you speak French.  

All the information about the transcript is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

It was a surprise for our girls. As my husband could not take some holidays, we decided to go to Normandy for the week-end. It was last week. The weather was incredible, sunny and just the right quantity of wind. We had booked a sand yachting session for them ! Have you noticed the colour of the sails? Blue and yellow. It was only a few days after the beginning of war in Ukraine. 

All the information about the transcript is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com