Archive for the ‘French culture’ Category

A virtual tour of some of the most famous French cathedrals

Jeudi, septembre 17th, 2020

Today, I am taking you to another region of France. Let’s have a virtual visit of one of the most beautiful cathedrals of France : the cathedral of Reims.

La Cathédrale de Reims vue du ciel:

http://www.cathedrale-reims.fr/Explorer/Le-monument-vu-du-ciel

On YouTube, type: “Cathédrale de Reims: l’intérieur en couleur”

The Reims Cathedral is located in the Champagne region (yes, champagne!!). This is a very important place regarding the French History as it is in this cathedral that the kings of France were crowned (and not in Paris). It’s an amazingly beautiful monument and it is definitely worth a visit, even if right now it is most probably a virtual visit.

The cathedral de Reims has two towers but no “flèche”. Usually, cathedrals have “une flèche”. Une flèche is the architectural name of a long and slender spire placed on the church (or cathedral) roof. I could not find (yet) a virtual visit of the “flèche” of a cathedral but I will keep looking because it is worth a visit.

I remember as a kid, we used to visit many cathedrals during our holidays and of course, we would visit the “flèche”. It was a “must-see” and no elevator of course!

I remember the beauty of the view as you walk the stairs in the “flèche” and at the same time, you can enjoy the view because “flèches” are carved… so it’s like walking to the sky. It’s an amazing feeling.

But, the truth is, so many tourists got stuck inside the “flèches” of the French cathedrals because they were scared of heights AND so many rescue teams were fed up with this kind of intervention that nowadays, most of the “flèches” are closed to the public… It’s a shame but I understand why it happened.

Anyway, enjoy this virtual visit to one of the most famous French cathedral.

I’ll be back very soon with new virtual visits to France.

Have a beautiful day,

 

Just for « le plaisir des yeux », here is another beautiful church. Not so famous but look at the scenery surrounding it. Amazing isn’t it?!

Eglise Voiron

Even in a medium size city, you’ll find architectural wonders, you do not need to go where everybody does… Enjoy the privilege of a relaxing visit!

 

Vocabulary / vocabulaire

Vocabulaire BlogPost visite virtuelle cathédrales

French History : l’histoire française

the king : le roi

Crowned : couronné

A crown : une couronne

Holiday : vacances

Be scared of heights : avoir le vertige

 

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Une visite virtuelle de la France

Jeudi, septembre 3rd, 2020

Exactement… exactly

Let’s enjoy a virtual tour de France as, right now, it is much safer.

If you really want to visit France but times are difficult right now, you can visit France virtually. And let me be your guide ;)

Technology is great isn’t it?

How can I visit France virtually?

Well, in this article, I will give you a few links and present some very places you can visit. This includes museums you can visit virtually.

If you like modern art, then you’ll enjoy the:

Musée d’art moderne André Malraux:

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dart-moderne-andre-malraux?hl=en

 

This museum is located in Le Havre in Normandy.

Enjoy a virtual visit of this French museum.

I’ve also found this link:

http://www.muma-lehavre.fr/en

You can also discover this wonderful museum. I have a crush for Monet (I love the “impressionnistes”) Waterlilies.

 

Le musée Monet et ses jardins, Giverny

Speaking of Monet, let me take you to another museum you can virtually visit in France. Let’s leave the coast of Normandy to go inside this region, between Rouen and Paris

es-nympheas

Le musée Monet et ses jardins, Giverny :

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/museum-of-impressionism-giverny?hl=en

Giverny is the city of Monet, this is where this famous painter lived in a beautiful home, now a museum. You can visit this museum and do not forget to take a walk in the wonderful gardens. You will find the spirit of Monet here, for sure.

And guess what?! Here is another virtual visit of this French museum:

http://fondation-monet.com/en/

 

I hope you will enjoy our first virtual visit of France.

I’ll get you another article with more places to visit from anywhere in the world. Enjoy your French virtual visits and see you soon!

 

Vocabulaire Visite Virtuelle France

museums : des musées

Virtual : virtuel

Virtually : virtuellement

A garden : un jardin

A home : une maison

 

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Tour de France & route Napoléon

Lundi, août 31st, 2020

Aujourd’hui, c’est la 3ème étape du Tour de France.

Today is the 3rd day of le Tour de France, between Nice on the French Riviera and Sisteron.

As I was watching the news, a journalist mentioned that today, a part of the race would be on « la route Napoléon ».

Well, well, well. First of all, I have to confess… I am not a big fan of le Tour de France. I feel too much pain watching these guys riding for hours and hours and hours ;)

But if it’s your thing, you’ll find all what you need here: https://www.letour.fr/en/ But, I thought it could be a good idea to use Le Tour de France as an excuse to discover a little bit more of France, not only from a riding perspective. So, here we are! La Route Napoléon! What????

I won’t be long, I’ll just give you a little bit of a historical background.

In France, we had kings for centuries and centuries. Then, during the 19th Century, after the Revolution, things became a little bit more complicated (as if is was possible…) and this time of the French History saw many political changes between the emergence of a republic, the come back of a king, republic again, and Napoleon who thought it was the right time to add an emperor on top of all of that. Crazy French ;) imageedit_9_7600106713

So Napoleon Bonaparte (also Napoléon 1er because he was the first… but not the last) has been the Empereur of France between 1804 and 1814. In 1814, he was exiled on the « Ile d’Elbe », the Eba Island, a tiny island in the mediterranean sea. He spent a few months there and escaped in February 1815. He then arrived at Golfe-Juan close to Nice and  started heading North. Close to Grenoble, a regiment meant to intercept him… helped him to march to Paris… and he became Empereur again (to make a very long story very short!).

imageedit_11_4751240870

So, all this to say, that today, the Tour de France will follow this Route Napoleon until Sisteron. And if one day you are in Nice or somewhere close to Nice on the French Riviera and plan to go North, if possible, take this Route Napoleon, sceneries are just gorgeous even if it’s longer than the highway. And if you want to learn more about our wonderful Empereur Napoleon Bonaparte;) I let you check the Wiki page. And I had no time to record the audio but I still give you some vocabulary.

Vocabulaire / vocabulary

Un empereur : emperor

Un roi : a king

Une armée : an army

Être exilé : to be exiled

Une île : an island

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Les parfums de Grasse

Jeudi, août 27th, 2020

 

If you enjoy French perfume “parfum”, then you have to check out the city of Grasse, still in the Provence region, close to Nice and Cannes. Grasse has been “la ville des parfums” literally “the city of Perfumes” since the 17th Century with some of the most famous French “parfumeries” like Fragonard, Molinard and Galinard.

And the good news is: you can visit them and buy your “parfum” directly from them!

huiles-parfumees

You will find more information on the following links (you can select your language):

Parfumerie Molinard:

https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/molinard

Parfumerie Galimard:

https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/parfumerie_galimard

Parfumerie Fragonard:

https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/parfumerie_fragonard

And “le musée international de la parfumerie” the international perfume museum:

https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/mip

flacon-de-parfum

When visiting Grasse, do not miss the cathedral in the “vieille ville” (literally “old town”) , you’ll be amazed by its beautiful paintings some by Rubens and Fragonard:

https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/cathedrale

If you want to learn more about art and history in the Provence region, then I highly recommend that you visit this museum: https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/node/144

And if you are interested in historical fashion, traditional costumes and jewels, do not miss this museum: https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/node/147

 

And if you want to escape the city and the beach and need to relax or go for a gentle hike « une randonnée », then you cannot miss the “parc naturel des Préalpes d’Azur”. It is a natural reserve where you can enjoy a beautiful nature:

https://tourisme.paysdegrasse.fr/fr/parc-prealpes-d-azur

Nature-et-riviere

Have a beautiful week and see you next week, and do not forget to check the audio I’ve prepared for you. Enjoy!Parfums Grasse

 

Sandrine

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Bormes-les-Mimosas, le carnaval

Jeudi, août 20th, 2020

Welcome back… again!

This week, I want to talk about a very famous festival. We are still in Bormes-les-Mimosas (but I promise, we will be moving soon). If you visit this wonderful French city, you cannot miss their « carnaval » carnival.

It takes place in Februray and it is worth a visit.

(suite…)

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Bormes-les-Mimosas, la savonnerie

Jeudi, août 13th, 2020

Welcome back to Bormes-les-Mimosas!

Last week, we visited the city of Bormes-les-Mimosas, this week we’ll have a look at « la savonnerie » (and by the way, this is what I wanted to talk about in my last article…). So, here we are: la savonnerie, Bormes-les-Mimosas.

« La savonnerie »? What?

Let’s start with a little bit of French.

(suite…)

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Quand manger les viennoiseries ?

Lundi, juillet 27th, 2020

Voilà une question très intéressante : quand manger un pain au chocolat ou un croissant ?

Et je vous comprends, vous avez bien raison ! Un bon croissant accompagné d’un café-crème, c’est vraiment top!

cimg0280

Pour les croissants et les pains au chocolat comme pour tout, il y a des règles.  Et je vous propose de les découvrir sur mon nouveau blog de perfectionnement en langue française. Je vous explique tout ! 

 Pain-chocolat-300x224

Bref, l’essentiel est de se faire plaisir, mais si vous voulez en profiter encore plus, ces quelques petits principes pourront vous aider pendant votre séjour en France.

Où acheter des viennoiseries ?

Principalement à la boulangerie, mais si vous allez dans les cafés le matin (on en revient toujours à nos histoires d’horaires et de coutumes ! ), vous pourrez sûrement en acheter directement sur place, en même temps que vos commandez votre café.

 

Alors, bon appétit, et surtout, bon petit déjeuner !

 

 

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J’aime la galette…

Mercredi, janvier 6th, 2016

Les Fêtes sont passées… enfin presque, car il nous reste le mois de janvier pour digérer les chocolats de Noël et nous régaler avec une bonne galette des rois.

La galette des rois et sa couronne

Galette des rois ?

Quels rois ?

Allez zou ! Petit cours de culture française pour comprendre le pourquoi du comment de nos très célèbre galette des rois.

Dans la tradition chrétienne, la galette des rois fait référence aux trois rois mages qui, guidés par une étoile, se sont rendus auprès de l’enfant Jésus à Bethléem.

Dans le calendrier chrétien, la date de l’Epiphanie est fixée au 6 janvier, soit 12 jours après Noël. Sauf que… pour faire coller tradition et consommation, il a fallu faire coïncider cette date avec un dimanche, quand les gens ne sont pas au boulot. Du coup, la galette se fête le premier dimanche de janvier.

Voilà pour la « version courte » de l’Epiphanie (ou disons la version gourmande avec la galette des rois). Mais si on creuse un petit peu l’histoire de cette tradition, on s’aperçoit que l’Epiphanie existait bien avant la naissance de Jésus et de la chrétienté. On pourrait penser par exemple que l’ancêtre de notre Epiphanie se trouve dans les fêtes de Dionysos dans l’Antiquité. D’autre sources évoquent également les fêtes païennes des Saturnales.

Comme souvent, on comprend bien encore une fois que cette tradition n’est pas apparue du jour au lendemain à partir de rien, mais résulte plutôt d’une longue évolution des croyances et des rites.

En tout cas, pour notre plus grand bonheur, car en ce mois de janvier, nous allons nous régaler avec de délicieuses galettes des rois dorées à point et garnies de délicieuse frangipane, cette divine crème au beurre et à la poudre d’amande.

Régalez-vous bien et bonne année à tous.

 

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