FLEA MARKET

The French don't have garage sales as Americans do. Instead, municipalities periodically organize events where private citizens, for a small fee, can have a space to sell old objects they no longer want. This one was held in the dappled shade of the Place aux Herbes in the very pretty city of Uzès, in the Gard. Photo contributed by friend Sylvia.

Vocabulary

un vide-grenier:  an attic sale, a swap meet

une foire aux puces:  a flea market

un grenier:  an attic

vider:  to empty

©2014 P.B. Lecron

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE

La Citroën Traction Avant

If you've seen war films or documentaries about the WWII Occupation of France, then you'll probably recognize the sleek lines of this car. Because of its good roadholding when turned sharply at high speeds, Citroën's Traction Avant was requisitioned and used by the Gestapo. After the war, gangsters as well had a predilection for the car everyone simply called "la Traction."  We came upon this gleaming limousine, with six passenger windows and equipped with rumble seats, in Conches-en-Ouche in Haute-Normandie. Citroën produced the car during the years 1934-1957,  finally replacing it with the famous DS series.

Vocabulary
la traction avant:  front wheel drive
un strapontin:  a foldaway seat, a jump seat, a rumble seat
luisant:  gleaming


©2014 P.B. Lecron

KNUCKLE DOWN

 A clever trick

To know how many days there are in any given month, French children are taught to make a closed fist and to recite the months touching their knuckles and the spaces in between. Starting with January on the first knuckle, all of the months that land on a knuckle have 31 days, and all of the months that fall in the valleys between have 30, except of course February which has even fewer.

Vocabulary

un poing:  a fist

une articulation:  a knuckle

s'y mettre:  to put oneself to a task; knuckle down 

une astuce:  a clever trick

©2014 P.B. Lecron

An update...

Learning a foreign language? Know that reading children's books is great practice...not just for youngsters, but for adults, too! They are a great jumpstart for the acquisition of  a second language. For starters, here's my own family's contribution to A French Education's Reading List:  Le lapin et la lune, écrit par Marianne Lecron, illustré par P. B. Lecron.  It's English version, of course, is The Rabbit and the Moon.  Both are available on worldwide Amazon sites.

THAT'S CRICKET

The old, human-powered carrousel in the Jardin du Ranelagh in the 16th arrondissement, is a nostalgia-loaded Parisian landmark, and a must for travelers with tots. Notice the name of this merry-go-round horse's breastplate: Cricri, onomatopœia for the chirping cricket. The merry-go-round slowly swirls around when either a crank is hand-turned, or here below, when it's simply pushed along. 

Vocabulary
cricri:  a nickname for cricket
un grillon:  a cricket

©2014 P.B. Lecron

HIDE YOUR SAVINGS UNDER A MATTRESS

Cacher ses économies sous un matelas

    This young Frenchman has quite literally stashed his savings under a mattress.

Expression

Qui offre un coussin trouvera un matelas

Who offers a cushion will find a mattress

Vocabulary

cacher:  to hide

les économies:  savings

un matelas:  a mattress

©2014 P.B. Lecron

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE

Wisteria gives a crumbling façade charisma in Versailles.

Vocabulary

florissant,-e:  flourishing, blooming; prosperous

la glycine:  wisteria

une plante grimpante:  a climbing plant, a vine

le charisme:  charisma

©2014 P.B. Lecron