Cultivate your French - Slow French Laetitia Perraut

Last week we were on holiday. We needed the perfect destination for this school holiday: to be in the countryside for a change of scenery, but not too far from a big city and other tourist attractions. I didn’t know whether the girls would have a lot of work or not. So I thought about the Strasbourg area. I really liked the city last year when I went there for the kung fu competition. So I found a gîte in a village half an hour from Strasbourg. 
We were warmly welcomed by the owners.
The lady had prepared an Easter speciality for us: a kind of sponge cake with a slight lemon flavour in the shape of a lamb. 
In this episode, I tell you about our holiday in Alsace. 
 
In the notes that come with the transcript, we’ll take a look at three very natural expressions in French. These are words or turns of phrase that you don’t necessarily notice, but which are typical in French. 
I’ll also share with you my collection of photos of blue houses and we’ll talk about colours: what are the most common colours in French, what are their shades, how do we talk about colours, how do adjectives agree. 


So if you want to colour up your French and improve it at the same time, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

A few weeks ago, during the summer, my friend Lorena and I went to Versailles. We were given the permission to record for the podcast in the gardens. Maybe one day, we will get it to record in the castle itself. 
We went to Versailles by train, it’s 30 minutes away from Gare Saint-Lazare. 
Did Louis XIV make the most of the gardens? This is the question I asked Lorena. 


You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 
My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. 
All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

The episode that you are going to hear today was written in September 2013. I read a few days ago, as I was searching for conjugation examples for the advanced French podcast One Thing In A French Day. I didn’t remember that little adventure and found it funny. That day, I was searching for a big one litter bottle at Le vieux campeur. This is a famous shop for camping equipment. In Paris. It’s also famous because, it’s not one shop but a maybe 5 or 6 different shops in the same neighbor hood. Each shop has its speciality, backpack, tents, ustensils, etc. 
Unfortunately, we lost the bottle last year. 


You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 
My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. 
All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

It was in 2019 that we first attended a concert featuring Julia, the niece of Isabelle, my Nordic walking friend. Her niece is a violinist. It’s a small world, because there was also a violist in the group: Stanley. He plays the viola da gamba. 


Isabelle suggested that this time we attend a duo concert by Julia and Stanley at a private home. And we’re big fans, so Lisa and I booked our tickets. It’s different from going to a concert hall: you go to someone’s home. We were staying with real patrons, in a Haussmanian flat in the 16th arrondissement. We were seated in a beautifully decorated living room with fine furniture and paintings, as well as two musical instruments: a grand piano and an organ. Finally, after the concert, you can chat with the musicians or the other audience members over a drink and some refreshments. There’s often so much you want to tell them. And on Saturday, we were very lucky, because you’re going to hear Julia talk to us about this concert.

In the notes that come with the transcript, we’ll be taking a closer look at how Julia structures her speech and what linking words she uses. We’ll also notice the difference in the use of ” nous ” and ” on ” and we’ll ask ourselves whether it’s possible to say ” on ” instead of ” nous ”. On connaît la réponse, you mightt say. No? 

Finally, we’ll look at how this collection of collections is also a good idea for your French studies. 


So, if you’d like to collect with us and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

The gâteau de crêpes, or crêpe cake, came into my life thanks to pastry chef Claire Heitzler, it’s one of her specialities. A few times a year, she makes a soufflé crêpe cake: with strawberries or mandarin marmalade, depending on the season, but also with a chocolate spread.
But I also came across the crêpe cake when I was in Nice for the kung fu competition, at breakfast time in the hotel on Sunday morning. I came across it during a conversation between two travelling grannies.  This is what this episode is about. 


In the notes that come with the transcript, we’re going to focus on three typical turns of phrase in natural French. These are turns of phrase that we understand, but don’t necessarily pay attention to, and therefore forget to use when we speak. This way, you’ll notice them and be able to use them in your next conversations in French. 

We’re also going to look together at some practical phrases for talking about an Internet search, as I do at the end of the episode. 
So, to cultivate your French and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

When we visited the Cité internationale de la langue française in Villers-Cotterêts last month, I came across an edition of Émile Zola’s Carnets d’enquêtes. The famous novelist took copious notes before writing his novels. His notes were sometimes bits of sentences, words or even complete and precise descriptions. The book was only there for consultation, but I was lucky enough to find a second-hand copy at the Gibert bookshop. This is a unique bookshop in Paris that sells new and second-hand books on the same shelves. I placed my order and went to pick it up this morning. I took the metro at Saint-Lazare. The bookshop is on boulevard Saint-Michel, not far from Odéon station. On the way, I noticed a lady reading. That’s what I’m going to tell you about today. 

In the notes that come with the transcript, I’ll focus on three sentence structures that are very natural in French. Often, these are expressions that we understand, that we don’t pay attention to, and that we forget to use when we speak. This way, you’ll notice them and be able to use them in future conversations in French. 
You’ll also find useful phrases for picking up an order in a shop, as I did myself today. 


So, to keep your own investigation diaries and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.