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

Pietro and I went to Brittany last week-end. We were invited to one of my kung-fu friend’s wedding, Ophélie. In the morning, there was the « mariage civil » at the mairie; Then, later in the afternoon we arrived at the party that was taken place in a typical breton manoir. It was a rainy day, the photos with the family and friends were often interrupted by the rain. Finally, Ophelie threw her bride’s bouquet. Threw, well not exactly…

You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. 

All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Have you heard about the Arc de triomphe being wrapped in silvery blue fabric? 

It’s a temporary artwork from the artists (now dead) Christo and Jeanne-Claude. 

The Arc de triomphe as we usually see it disappeared under pleated fabric and red ropes. The artwork will be dismantled on October 3rd. On a sunny afternoon, I went there to have a look at this artwork. It’s strange. I don’t know yet what to think about it. The Arc de triomphe is a monument mainly related to wars, so maybe it’s like a pause in its history and the chance to see it differently. 

This episode is recorded on the spot! You can hear the furious traffic of this enormous roundabout that is La place Charles de Gaulle where is located the Arc de triomphe. 

I also tell you about how the press reacted in France about this wrapping!

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France.

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France.

This week, I answer to the following question : how to work your French with Cultivate Your French podcast? 

The podcast is not a class or a lesson, it’s like an audio blog in French. I share with you a small slice of my Life in France. The aim is to keep up with your comprehension of the French language or to simply improve it.

Cultivate Your French is half way through your textbook and France!

But the podcast can also be a very good tool to work on your French.

In this episode I share with you 5 tips to work on your French with the podcast. 

This episode is longer than usual and is dense on the subject of learning. I will read the text to you slowly, one time.

Yes, this is La rentrée. My three girls are back to school, but as they are in lycée and collège their timetable changes from day to day. When they leave in the morning, they say « A tout à l’heure Maman! ». I have to quickly ask « A quelle heure? ». Sometimes it’s one hour later, sometimes 3 hours later, etc. 

Or they might not leave at all in the morning. For example, Lisa doesn’t go to the collège on Monday mornings. 

So, last Monday, she came with me to do some shopping at Monoprix. This is where we met La vieille dame qui faisait ses courses. 

You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France.

Last week, I went to Nathalie Iris’s bookshop in La Garenne-Colombes. This is close to where we live. 

Nathalie also regularly presents books on TV in the show Télématin. She’s also very active in her bookshop where there are often book signatures with famous authors. We met during the first confinement and since then, to our delight, she talks about books on the podcast One Thing In A French Day. 

We met last week to talk about « la rentrée littéraire ». This is a big event in France and this is the subject of today’s podcast. 

I’m sure you are going to enjoy meeting with Nathalie in this episode. Don’t you think that we can hear her smiling in her voice.

You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France.

La Défense is a big business district located west of Paris. It’s not far from where I live. It’s only 4 minutes by train. And this is where I was on Monday afternoon. I had taken the girls to the cinema inside the enormous shopping centre. I had two hours to spare so I decided to record this episode right at the foot of the Grande Arche, the building that ends the « axe historique » of Paris. Then I walked and took photos of the different works of art that I had just mentioned in the episode. Including the statue of La Défense by Barrias which gave its name to the district. It 

was erected in 1883 to the glory of the French soldiers of the 1870 war with Prussia.  

You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. 

All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. 

All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Last week-end, the weather was beautiful and I felt the urge to go to Dieppe’s market to buy some good things to eat and spend a nice day by the sea. The five of us woke up early, took a quick breakfast and took our place into the car. 

But before telling you more about this, here is the answer to the riddle. 

We were looking for a person, someone who was very serious and dark, but with an intense expression. Probably a woman. Someone who I mentioned in a previous podcast who became owner of a place by the river Cher. Ah, the place could be the Château de Chenonceau. Then, Diane de Poitiers or Catherine de Medicis? Well, Catherine de Medicis painted by François Clouet in her dark clothes. The painting is taking you by surprise on a narrow wall when you turn to enter a small corridor in one the of the Carnavalet’ rooms. No, she’s not smilling, not even looking at us, but I think there is a kind of pride in her face. Don’t you think?

My daughters, Micaela, Felicia and I are recording this episode in Paris. We are at the Musée Carnavalet for a visit. Have you ever heard of this Museum? It’s the museum of the History of Paris. it belongs to the city of Paris and it’s free to visit. It has a wonderful collection of paintings and objects from the very old times of Paris to nowadays. 

It’s located in the heart of the Marais in two hôtels particiuliers. One of them belonged to the famous writer of letters,  Madame de Sévigné. 

I have been to this museum several times before its renovation. It reopened in May 2021, we are very happy to visit it today. 

Today’s text is a riddle. Yes, you have to find something that can be seen in the Musée de Carnavalet. 

You can send me your answer to the riddle by Instagram, by email or by SpeakPipe.

https://www.speakpipe.com/OneThingInAFrenchDay

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. I have. 

All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Last week,  on Thursday, the weather was perfect for a day trip to Les Rousses, the largest ski resort of the Jura. Have you ever heard of the Jura? This region is situated above the Alps, going North. It gave its name to the Jurassic period. It was a tropical region a long long time ago, with palm trees and warm seas. This is where we are spending our holidays. We love this region. Maybe have you heard of its famous cheeses : Comté, Morbier, bleu de Gex? Well, you might hear some cows in this episode! 

As I did last week, I record this episode in the garden of the house we’ve rented for two weeks. I hope it won’t rain. 

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. I have also been running the podcast One Thing In A French Day since 2006

All the information about the transcripts, notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Since last week, we are on holidays and the podcast takes you with us. I’m recording this episode in the garden of our new home for two weeks. 

Our holidays started in the Loire Valley where we had a walk in the the gardens of the castle of Chenonceau by night. This is what I told you last week. A few days later, we came back to Chenonceau to visit both the castle, where every room is outstanding, and the gardens .  Our week in the Loire Valley ended with the visit of the castle of Montpoupon. A Renaissance castle where the owners (since 300 years) are still living. We loved it because the rooms are largely decorated with many objects of everyday life from the 16th century to the early 20th century. By the end of the week, it was time to go to Felicia’s concert in Pontlevoy where she was staying for a baroque music camp. 

My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. I have also been running the podcast One Thing In A French Day since 2006

All the information about the transcripts, notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com