Kristin Espinasse's Blog, page 51

Why visit La Ciotat? Let these photos endear you to this lively Mediterranean seaport

I just discovered a stash of photos taken in La Ciotat, the town in which we hope to move on July 29th. Let's use the photos to go on a stroll and discover this lively seaside town--while learning several more vocabulary words along the way. We begin with a sleepy minou and a rainbow truite (poisson? requin?), both enjoying the salty breeze as a few sweaters dry nearby and pedestrians walk along les rues pavées below.

TODAY'S WORD: le requin

        : shark

I hope never to have the occas...

Rebelote! Argile verte & How to remove a splinter or thorn - Comment enlever une écharde ou une épine

Today's folk remedy may also work for sea urchin spines. Ouch! Aïe aïe aïe!

TODAY'S WORD: une écharde

        : splinter

"un petit fragment qui pénètre dans la peau" (wordreference.com)
"a small fragment that penetrates into the skin"

Try Mastering French Vocabulary with Audio MP3


EXAMPLE SENTENCE & Sound File

Listen to Jean-Marc read the following sentence. Click here

Savez-vous les remèdes de grand-mère pour enlever une écharde ou une épine?
Do you know some home remedies for remov...

Find out what city we're moving to! La promesse d'achat

Our first bottles of Mas des Brun Rosé just made it to Houston. You can get some at our very good friends French Country Wines. Check with them as they could also ship, depending on where you are, to other cities. Cheers!

TODAY'S WORD: la promesse d'achat

        : promise to buy

Want to speak French fluently? 30-Day French will teach you everything you need to know to speak French on your next trip to France with 30 lessons based on real-life conversations. Try it out.

A DAY IN A FRENC...

Artisanat, Allez Hop! Come on let's get some beer at a new brasserie in Nice!

Allez, Hops! is a new "cave à bière" you don't want to miss when in Nice! Located at 15 Rue Défly, it's up the street from the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain

 Want to speak French fluently? 30-Day French will teach you everything you need to know to speak French on your next trip to France with 30 lessons based on real-life conversations. Try it out.

TODAY'S WORD: Artisanat

        : craft industry, arts and crafts, handicraft


EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Dans l’artisanat, rien n’est l...

Artisinat, Allez Hop! Come on let's get some beer at a new brasserie in Nice!

Allez, Hops! is a new "cave à bière" you don't want to miss when in Nice! Located at 15 Rue Défly, it's up the street from the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain

 
TODAY'S WORD: Artisinat

        : craft industry, arts and crafts, handicraft


EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Dans l’artisanat, rien n’est laissé au hasard, et la bière n’y échappe pas ! Avec notre sélection de bières, vous avez accès à un vaste panel de saveurs et de terroirs différents. text from the Allez Hops! website

In the cr...

Au pif, kale pesto recipe, and Bookshop for sale in France!

Making parsley pesto. In today's post I make another kind (without parsley): Pesto Manqué (find out what's missing...)

TODAY'S WORD: au pifométre - or simply "au pif"

        : at a guess, by guess work, off the cuff, off the top of your head


EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Au pif. Les grands chefs cuisinent au pif.
By guesswork. Great cooks cook by guesswork.

The following link does not work within this newsletter. Click the title of this letter to be taken to the blog.

Click here to listen: Au pi...

Orteil + Yoga & Wine? Oh, Those Frenchies!

I have no yoga pictures to illustrate this post. How about photos of water--something needed during our first yoga class! Here's a thirst-quenching body of water-La Seine, in Paris!

 

TODAY'S WORD: orteil (m)

        : toe

le gros orteil = big toe
le petit orteil = little toe
la bague d'orteil = toe ring

Say arrondissement the French way. Watch the demonstration, here, by David from FluentFrench.com

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

Il est possible qu'au début vous ne puissiez rester que quelques sec...

Gary and Tim's truffle hunt and curious term for "mutt" in French

Friends Gary and Tim (who have shared stories here before) are back to recount an unforgettable chasse aux truffes with Christophe (left) and  his dog Cacahuète (Peanut). 

La truffe would have been the word of the day but it was recently featured as one of the Hardest Words to Pronounce. So enjoy this new term, taken from Tim and Gary's story:

"PORTE et FENETRE"

    : a mutt, a crossbreed

Example Sentence & Sound File:

La dénomination bâtard, croisé, corniaud, coin de rue, porte et fenê...

L'Herbe in French & Les Tondeuses de L'Espoir (The LawnMowers of Hope)

Read Jean-Marc's story and pick out French words to share in the next Vocabulary RoundUp. (photo: Before he planted vines here, Jean-Marc sowed phacelia, a flower that attracts bees as well as being a good soil amendment. In the distance, you see a field of ancient olive trees. Today's bilingual story takes place there....)

TODAY'S WORD: l'herbe

        : grass

"Grassy" words and how they translate to French:

weed = mauvaise herbe
catnip = herbe aux chats
fleabane = herbe Sainte-Roch
bl...

Vocabulary Roundup + Listen to all the French words shared in February

If you read all 9 stories posted in February, you now own a herd of new French words! Let's go over the terms we learned. First, take two minutes to relax and listen to the list of words (you will have another chance at the end of the post):

=>Hear Jean-Marc read the vocabulary words listed below


1. Bilingual Story: Tondre, Domaine Tempier, and Tant Pis
(click on title to read the original post)

s'installer = to move in
un troupeau = flock
un berger = shepherd
concurrencer = to compete w...