Dinan is an old, picturesque town in Brittany, and it’s pronounced Dee-non, with only a hint at that last n. Every year we go to Brittany for a 2-week extended family vacation, and every year we have a date in St Malo. This year we thought we would venture further and go to Dinan, though we had already been there… Read More
Happy Bastille Day everyone! We’re going to the beach to see the fireworks tonight, although it’s going to be late. It stays light until nearly 11:00. I’ve written about Bretagne before, but usually call it that rather than Brittany. But Brittany is the English word for Bretagne and this is also where Great Britain comes from – to distinguish it… Read More
Marché de Noel simply means “christmas market,” and the first word is pronounced “mahr-shay.” I was first introduced to the wonders of a European christmas market when I was visiting the Kirs Kringle Mart in Heidelberg oh, so many years ago. I tasted gluhwein (hot, spiced wine) and ate something delicious – probably breaded, fried meat – and I was… Read More
Would you like to know how to pronounce the “Champs Elysées?” For the first word, you say the name “Shawn.” But right before you’re about to touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth to make the “n” sound, you swap it out with a “z” instead. Still with me? So it’s like this – shaw(n)z – ay-lee-zay. It’s… Read More
This trivial post was inspired by a rainy Sunday afternoon, a camera in hand, the need for a blog post, and a house full of people . . . which meant I had to clean. In the kitchen, there are the new mauve baskets on my shelves. They hold all the opened bags of lentils and brown rice and dried… Read More
The French word of the day is pousser. It’s pronounced poo-say and it means “to push.” It also means” to grow” (as in plants), and it also means “to grow up” – as in – what kids do. A related word is poussette (poo-set), which means “stroller,” and now that Petit Prince has gone and pousser-d, we are leaving the… Read More
