French swap!!

I have been a member of Swap-bot.com for a while now and just recently I hosted a swap with a French theme. L'idee (pour chaque personne) etait envoyer plusieurs trucs francais a son 'partenaire' et, voici ce que j'ai recu!

J'etais folle de joie au-dela de la croyance!  Thanks Natalie!

Oh la la!!

Je crois que la Bretagne et la Normandie sont belles regions mais je n'ai jamais eu l'occasion d'y aller. Peut-etre un jour j'aurai de la chance!    Pour l'instant mon coeur est en Strasbourg ou dans la Cote d'azur.    J'ai beaucoup de bons souvenirs en ce qui concerne Alsace car j'y ai habite un an...je me souviens l'endroit bien .. La culture Alsatienne , la tarte flambee, Place Kleber, les marches de Noel...(Strasbourg en a un qui fonctionne depuis le 16eme siecle!)     Ailleurs, c'est vraiment pres de l'Allemagne (litteralement, un voyage quelques minutes de bus).

En effet, quand nous etions a Barcelone en aout 2010, j'ai decouvert a ma grande joie un Fnac et un Sephora (mes magasins preferes francais)....Sephora c'est un peu cher, mais c'est un delice pour les sens! A l'usine Fragonard., on peut voir la production effective des parfums et cosmetiques.  Ca se trouve a Eze (pres de Nice).
Sur un autre sujet, quelles sont vos chansons preferees francaises?
Quelqu'un a t-il entendu  'Je viens du sud' par Chimene Badi ?    Cette chanson me rappelle de l'ete dans le sud, vraiment merveilleuse!  J'adore Helene Segara aussi, sa voix est magnifique et sa musique, charmante!

Classic French Onion Soup recipe

French Onion soup is always a favourite of mine and is especially popular in northern France where the onions grow.

Ingredients:
4 large onions, sliced into rings
2 tbs vegetable oil or 50g butter
1 level tbs flour
1 litre of water
1 beef stock cube
4 slices of French bread
50g grated cheese

Here is what you do:

1. Heat the oil or butter in a large pan and fry the onions until they turn golden brown (about 15-20 minutes)
2. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon.   Add the water and stock cube. Boil, cover and simmer fror 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 190 C/375 F/ Gas mark 5. Place the bread on a baking tray, top with the cheese and bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.
4. Pour the soup into bowls and float the cheesy bread on top.

Et, voila!

J'adore Paris!!

Just thought I'd share this with all my fellow Francophiles.... there is a live web cam of the Eiffel Tower.       Check it out here :   Eiffel Tower Live web video

French sayings:

Comprendre, c'est pardoner (French)
To understand is to forgive. (English)

(De Stael.)

Le plus grand faible des hommes, c'est l'amour qu'ils ont de la vie. (French)
Man's greatest weakness is his love of life.(English)

(Molière)

Picture postcards of beautiful places in France

A huge thank you to ALL my penpals who have sent me these postcards!

There used to be a very good website called 'Everything Eiffel' - it sold everything from tea towels, to replicas and stationery to jewellery, it was a delight to the eyes.

Sadly, it has closed down.     I have a couple of Eiffel Tower replicas that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.   

More Frenchness...through pictures

My favourite wall art.

French cafe canvas

Pictures of France my French penpal sent me.

"Merci Chrystelle!"

The gorgeous Baie Des Anges on the French Riviera, I passed this on the train in 2005. 

The lovely Cote d'Azur!

The interior of the Conseil de l'Europe (European Parliament in Strasbourg) -  taken June 1996

My best photo of La Tour Eiffel....

et, finalement une carte postale drole!

Monte Carlo or bust!

Did anybody see this three part series/travelogue that was shown on British TV recently?  I wish the broadcasters would show more programmes like this because it certainly whetted my appetite to travel to France again!   It involved 3 pairs of celebrity couples who left England to go to Monte Carlo....and each pair had to compete and bring back objects related to 'head , hand and stomach' from each of the regions in France they passed through.  Having been to Monte Carlo myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this show and it even made me laugh at times!

Pensee du jour

Beaucoup de gens dans ce monde s'efforcent de bonheur. Etre heureux ne signifie pas que tout est parfait. Cela signifie que vous avez décidé d'aller au-delà des imperfections.
Je crois aussi que sans tristesse il n'y a pas de bonheur. Alors la prochaine fois vous vous sentez déprimé, rappelez-vous que le soleil brille toujours, même si les nuages sont toujours là.
 

Some great inventions by the French

The guillotine

Mayonnaise

The Bic Pen

Bicycles

The Statue of Liberty (USA)

Hot air balloons

The bikini

Stethoscopes

Braille

Sewing Machine

Is your language good enough?

French Proficiency Test

Having not spoken French in a few years now , I thought I'd give this test a try. How much French grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension do you know?
See if you can beat my personal score of 75% (113 points out of 150)!!
To get started, click on the link above.

One of the potential professions that I was interested in learning more about during my student years was becoming an interpreter.... I did well in French & Linguistics but, sadly not so well in the interpreting module at university.    There are basically two types of interpreting; consecutive and simultaneous and it was the latter that I found extremely challenging.    (Generally you sit in a booth and convert the language as it is spoken to you).

Are there many fluent speakers of French (learnt as a 2nd or 3rd language) out there?    I admit I had achieved near native fluency when I lived in France, but it takes constant practice and total immersion in the country in order to continuously maintain the fluency, in my opinion..    Long after I left France in 1996, I was able to hold quite an interesting conversation with a Senegalese woman whilst on a trip to French-speaking West Africa...


My tips for foreign language learning:

Ultimately, the BEST way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in the culture and country whose language you are interested in learning. 

Another tip is you could get lessons from a native speaker who knows their stuff. However, a tip that I have found helpful is when learning the language, study units (new vocab or grammar) for ...say 20 minute blocks at a time. In other words, frequently and often. This way of studying is more effective and makes language learning a whole lot easier. It helps if you do some study daily, make it a routine so it becomes part of your everyday life.

Listen to radio or music, read newspapers in the foreign language....
Or, find yourself a French penpal!   Above all, practise, practise, and practise!

Strasbourg me manque beaucoup.

I do miss France a lot. In fact I dream of the day I will go back...it's hard to explain in words but I feel 'whole' as a person when I'm there.   My boyfriend cannot understand for the life of me , my fascination with France (and I'm sure a lot of readers will be able to identify with me).         My experience as a student in Strasbourg left a long lasting impression on me. I had stayed in this wonderful city for 11 months during the 3rd year of my French degree course in 1996. I am forever grateful for my experience  -  I totally fell in love with the town and felt deep sadness when the time had come to leave.

Je me demandais toujours ou mes amis coreens que je connaissais a Strasbourg sont maintenant.....mon meilleur ami Eun Jin, dont le parfum prefere etait Jean Paul Gaultier Classique...qui a toujours parle de son futur mari.....!  Quels souvenirs!!      Quand je pense a ces souvenirs, il me rendent optimiste pour l'avenir parce que je sais bon temps reviendra!

Coucou Catherine!

Un grand boujour pour mon amie Catherine qui vit a Lille!  J'espere que tout va bien pour toi.....et tu as recu ma lettre, sans doute...   

Some things I love about France (in no particular order)

Croissants/baguettes

Pain au chocolat

The river Seine

The amazing architecture of the Eiffel Tower

Good French weather

Strasbourg (my memories of Alsace are as fresh in my mind as they were 14 years ago)

Street cafes

The Champs-Elysees
 
The language

Helene Segara

Le FNAC (music/bookshop)

Sephora (beautician's paradise)

Some old photos from the past....(my very first visit to France)

We were in Paris in 1994 (night view of the Arc De Triomphe)

Fountains at Versailles Palace, Paris -1994

View of Versailles Gardens, Paris - 1994

Inside of Versailles Palace, Paris - 1994

View from the top of the Grande Arche de la Defense

1994 was the year in which my sister and I visited Paris for the very first time.

We stayed for 2 weeks, and on the final day of our holiday we saw the final leg of the Tour de France

on the Ave. Champs-Elysees.

In total to date I have visited Paris 6 times.   Who can resist this beautiful capital of the nicest & friendliest country in the world?

More French Riviera pictures - 2005

The beach at Nice, France

(As you can see the sea is very blue, the weather was very hot too)

           The red carpet at Cannes

          (where the annual Cannes film festival takes place)

Joan Collins' handprint at the Cannes 'hall of fame'

(There were similar prints by other famous celebrities such as Bruce Willis, Richard Gere etc)

Monaco Castle

Monte Carlo Casino

Old French farmhouses (Iles De Lerins near Cannes)

Sculpture near Nice

Paris - City of romance!

I thought I would share with you a review I'd written on trip advisor some time ago:

''Paris IS undoubtedly the most romantic city to go to, whether it is to propose on the top of the Eiffel Tower , cruise along the River Seine, or to stand on top of Montmartre Hill & admire the panoramic view ........every where you looked there were couples embracing or kissing. We went for a long weekend - end of November time and it was especially romantic.....with the atmosphere of the Christmas markets....


The best attraction is the Eiffel Tower ....which can be seen from almost everywhere in Paris


Shopping is expensive in Paris (with the exception of souvenir buying) - one thing I was not surprised about was paying almost £4 for a cup of filter coffee in one of the many riverside bistros.


The metro (underground system) was a very easy method of getting around the city, and covered the main popular tourist attractions ( La Grande Arche de La Defense, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs-Elysees etc) .


A perfect break for a couple or a honeymoon destination!!''

SALUT!

I have always loved France, the French language and all things to do with this very interesting culture.  In fact I think I was French in a previous life......I was in the French Riviera about 5 years ago.  I had booked to go there with a close friend of mine Xiao Jo a good two months in advance , however my luck wasn't to be, two days before we were due to go we realised her passport was invalid.   Darn it!    I felt bad for her but at the same time told myself I wasn't gonna waste this opportunity of a great holiday so I ended up going myself - me being an established jet-setter, it wasn't that hard to do .

Panoramic view of the ' old town' of Nice

Monaco harbour

        Nice Marina     

                                                   

   View over Eze village

 Rules for entering the Monte Carlo Presigious casino

 Huge tank at Fragonard perfume factory

in Eze -  a guided group tour of the factory   

I remember this tour well - we all travelled to Eze by mini bus (4 Americans, 2 Indians and myself) and were shown around the factory at the end of which you had the option to purchase really nice but expensive perfume/soaps!

*          *

Hotel Du Centre was where I stayed in. For a 2 star hotel, the room was of a very high standard and in pristine condition.    I am still waiting for the day when I can go back there! 

The manager was very nice and even gave me a palm reading!