GET LUCKY

If you've been wondering why my blog posts have slowed considerably over the past year, there is a reason, and one which the curious can view on an AirBnB page. So, without any further ado, here's the link.

Vocabulary
un meublé:  a furnished apartment or furnished flat
sans plus de cérémonie:  without further ado

©2014 P.B. Lecron

ON A CAROUSEL

What better way is there to celebrate the Year of the Horse, and a zodiacal wooden year of the horse at that, than touring the new Musée du Cheval, opened in June 2013, at the Domaine de Chantilly? Horse history, art, and ethnology are exposed in a refined and valuable collection of 200 equine artifacts. Included are magnificent sculpted carousel horses, above; as well my favorite, a pair of polychrome terracotta ceremonial horses from the Wei/Tang Dynasty of sixth- to seventh-century China.

Vocabulary

chevaux de bois: merry-go-round horses

un manège de chevaux de bois: a merry-go-round

faire un tour de manège:  to go for a ride on the merry-go-round

©2014 P.B. Lecron

BLACK GOLD

Purse your lips when you say truffe and the word will have more of a French sound than you could have ever imagined yourself producing. The truffle season never lasts more than three or four months and is determined by meteorological conditions.  Friend Sylvia sent this snapshots from the Gard where the famous mushroom, which strongly resembles a dog's nose and is sometimes worth its weight in gold depending on world gold prices, is in full maturity from January through the end of March. We like truffes best diced in scrambled eggs and served with champagne. 

Vocabulary

une truffe:  a truffle; a dog's nose or snout

truffer:  to stuff

truffé de:  stuffed with, riddled with

une truffe au chocolat:  a chocolate truffle (not a mushroom)

©2014 P.B. Lecron