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My daughter Lisa, fourteen years old, dreamt of having her ears pierced. Around here, there’s one name that comes up all the time for ear piercing, and that’s Nico. It’s not the same atmosphere as at the jeweller’s, but the technique is much gentler and very professional. In fact, Nico is a star - people come from far and wide to have them pierced by him. Today, I’m going to tell you what it was like for Lisa.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we’re going to focus on three little phrases in the text that are very natural in French and whose construction is very useful for conversation in French.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

The other day, when Lisa left for school after lunch, I heard a dog barking. I thought this was strange because there are no dogs on our floor. On the first floor, there’s a quiet little dog called Lana. And there are also two dogs living with a family.  But there are other dogs in our building. I’m going to introduce them to you in this episode.  And we’re going to find out who the dog on our floor was, thanks to Lisa.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we’ll notice together at the place of adjectives in sentences, and I’ll tell you about my theory of the adjective carriage.  So if you’d like to ride with us, please subscribe. So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

A few days ago, my friend Alice proposed a sort of challenge: to go and buy a lipstick at the Chanel store on rue Cambon, the brand’s historic store, where Gabrielle Chanel had her apartments and haute couture workshops.  I knew the store very well, always had, but only from the outside. What happens once you open the door?  This is the mystery I propose to unravel today.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we’re going to focus on three expressions that sound simple, but are typical of the French language. You’ll also see the typical forms of spoken French in the text.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Last week, Micaela had a week’s holiday after her exams. She asked me if we could go away somewhere. I suggested we visit my friend Sylvie who lives in Bordeaux. Neither of us knew the city.  The city changed a lot in the 90s thanks to its mayor at the time, Alain Juppé. Under his mandate, the city acquired four tram lines, many areas were made pedestrian-friendly, the city was literally cleaned up (the city was known for its pollution-black walls), and the water mirror became the city’s emblem.  In today’s episode, I tell you about part of our guided tour with Bruno Beurrier, the guide from the Tourist Office with whom we took our tour. What a character! You’ll also hear me buying cannelés. Cannelés are small cakes typical of Bordeaux.  In the notes accompanying the transcript, you’ll find all the photos from our trip. We’ll also take a look at a complex sentence to understand how it was composed.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

My daughter Micaela has a friend, Sanam, who can make macarons as good as in a pâtisserie. Macarons are so good, and at the same time they seem so fragile, so complicated to make, so mysterious. So I was thrilled when Sanam invited me to make some macarons in her kitchen.  Sanam was right, it’s not that complicated, in fact it’s quite simple, but there is a tricky moment. This is when you incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites. You have to be slow, but not too much and make a large movement with the spoon.  So today, you are going to hear Sanam talking about the end of the recipe.  In the notes that come with the transcript, you will get all the photos taken during the recipe and I will highlight for you in the text all the typical oral sentences that you can hear today. You know spoken French and written French can be very différent.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Last week, I went to Paris to do some errands. I had to collect orders I had made at the Pharmacie du four and at Gibert, the bookshop. I love to place orders at these shops because I know that it means going to my favorite places in Paris : Saint-Michel, Saint-Germain, etc. In the notes that come with the transcript, I will give you the reason why I love each place that I mention in this episode. Maybe you already love them too, maybe you would love them too. But also, you will get a template of sentences that you could you use to tell your friends about the places that you love. So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Très bonne et heureuse année à vous, chers auditeurs du podcast ! On new year’s eve we were at home. We had invited our friends Isabelle and Thierry to have dinner  with us. Isabelle had offered to bring some cheese because she had been staying in Savoie and she also offered to bring the dessert. Lisa asked if she could make her delicious tarte au citron.  How many and what were the cheese that Isabelle had brought? What was the wine that we drunk?  All these mysteries will be revealed in today’s episode. In the notes that come with the transcript, we will stop on these sentences that start with « c’est » to see how they work and how they are built. C’est le programme !  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Christmas is coming ! It’s time to wrap presents. Don’t tell anyone, the Christmas presents that I bought are in a big box under my bed.  To wrap my presents, I use some wrapping paper, but I also use some papers that are recycled.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we will stop on these verbs that are conjugated at other tenses than present. Each time, there is a specific reason that is nice to be aware of.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.  I mentioned the December Calendar about Montparnasse. To receive it, please enter your email address on the home page of my website www.onethinginafrenchday.com It’s free and it’s in French !

As you may have noticed, the December calendar is about Montparnasse, the famous neighbourhood of Montparnasse where so many artists gathered at the beginning of the 20th century : Apollinaire, Modigliani, Soutine, Picasso, Brancusi, Blaise Cendrars, so many famous names.  Do you remember, two weeks ago when Anne-Laure and I recorded ourselves under the rain, again? And that we thought that Rachilde or André Breton could have been responsible for this? Well today, you are going to hear this specific recording. We were at the Villa Vassilief, a nice passage near Montparnasse station. This lovely Parisian passage used to have many artists’studio that are now used differently. This is where Marie Vassilief, a painter who came from Russia in 1910 had her studio and her famous cantine for artists during World War One. She made a small painting about a specific meal to celabrate George Braque’s return from war. The painting can be seen in Paris until April 14th, at the very nice exhibition at Le Petit Palais, Le Paris de la modernité.  In the notes that come with the transcript, I will highlight for you some tipical French expressions that are present in the text. There will be also a little devinette !   So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.  I mentioned the December Calendar about Montparnasse. To receive it, please enter your email address on the home page of my website www.onethinginafrenchday.com . It’s free and it’s in French !  www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Last week, when Anne-Laure and I were recording ourselves under the rain, we were in Montparnasse. Do you know this famous Parisian neighbourghood were lived Picasso, Modigliani, Soutine, Brancuse, Hemingway, Marie Vassilief, Man Ray and many others?  I’m sure you have already heard about La Coupole, the famous café that opened in the 1920ies ? Well, the place Anne-Laure and I are going to tell you about opened in 1912, rue Campagne Première. It’s less known than La Coupole and it a smaller place, but Modigliani enjoyed to go there.  I found a picture showing Rosalie in her restaurant. In the notes that come with the transcript, I will give you short and easy sentences that describe this picture. Describing the picture in French is an interesting exercice, but it also has the magic effect of almost transporting you into the picture.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is release, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.  I mentioned the December Calendar last week, it’s about Montparnasse. To receive it, please enter your email address on the home page of my website onethinginafrenchday.com . It’s free and it’s in French !

Last week, Anne-Laure and I had spent our day out in the rain. We also met this week to record some episodes in the same neighbourhood, the weather forecast were clear : no rain !  Well, it was only a forecast, unfortunately. But we may have found the reason why we kept on being under the rain. Maybe someone was unhappy about what we had said about her or him?  In the notes that come with the transcript, I will highlight for you some expressions that express the fact that you are unhappy with a situation.  And I’m afraid, you will also learn your first « gros mot », your first swear word if you had not learnt any before this episode.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is release, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.  Oh, before I forget, on Friday starts the new December Calendar : a short email is sent everyday. This new calendar will be about a Parisian Quartier and its artistic life. To receive it, please enter your email address on the home page of my website onethinginafrenchday.com . It’s free and it’s in French !

Last Thursday was a very rainy day in Paris. My friend Anne-Laure and I spent the day under the rain to record some episodes to come on the podcast. Our feet were wet, we were tired and cold when we started the queue at the museum. I won’t tell you which one not to reveal the subject of the coming episodes. The exhibit that we had planned to visit was supposed to be the best moment of our day, but an incident happened in the queue. This is what this episode is about.  In the notes that come with the transcript, I will highlight for you some little expressions that come naturally in French, we will also stop on a specific sentence to repeat aloud, I will tell you why this one, and you will have to guess the infinitive of a verb.  So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is release, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.  www.cultivateyourfrench.com