"OUR" LE NÔTRE

  One of the many reasons why people love the city of Versailles.

Statue of André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV's landscape artist, on avenue de Saint-Cloud, 

one of the three main thoroughfares that lead to the center of town and the Château de Versailles.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

SCAT!

 Il n'y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat !

There's nothing to be mad about!

This expression can be translated in the literal sense to "there's no reason to beat a cat."

Vocabulary

fouetter:  whip, beat; whisk (culinary)

filer: to scat, to scram

©2022 P. B. Lecron

EVERY STAMP TELLS A STORY

Elle était toujours là

 A page from a French child's stamp collection

Collecting stamps is an activity that makes the philatelist, be he young or old, feel connected to a nation's history. 

Queen Elizabeth II will always have an important place in the pages of history, and a special place in the hearts of the United Kingdom's French friends.

A remarkable and much beloved global leader.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

YONDER-LAND

 La vie en pittoresque

A glimpse of mountain life in the French Alps on a trail near Pralognan-la-Vanoise.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Lecron

Vocabulary

la randonnée pédestre: hiking

faire de la randonnée: to go hiking

balader: to hike, stroll, walk, ramble

un aperçu, un coup d'oeil: a glimpse

©2022 P. B. Lecron

COME WHAT MAY

Stepping into surrealism

 Advienne que pourra

Come what may

The city of Versailles has a multitude of amazing monumental, high quality mural art.

Entitled Curious Botanist, the above is the work of internationally acclaimed Ukranian artist

Vladimir Manzhos, known professionally as Waone. It's a tribute to the famous 18th century naturalist 

Bernard de Jussieu, for whom this neighborhood of moderate rent housing in Versailles is named.

More to come!

©2022 P. B. Lecron

NOT EVEN A CAT

Il n'y a pas un chat 

Today's expression means there's not even a cat to be seen, or simply there's nobody around.

Southwestern French countryside sunset photo courtesy of Patrick Lecron

©2022 P. B. Lecron

ORCHID ENIGMA

Un mystère

How could a large orchid plant survive in a closed, all but abandoned house which had not been entered for years? That was the question we pondered as we looked with some elderly friends into the window 

of a house they had the duty of checking on. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the living room was a healthy orchid in a large cache-pot. The lady who had lived in the house had died several years before, and remarkably everything in the house had remained exactly in its place, untouched. 

Yet there was that orchid, alive and well. What was its magic? Then it occurred to me. The old house was in the Pas-de-Calais, a very rainy area and the large potted orchid must have been placed at some time in the past in a spot to catch the drip of a leaking roof.

Vocabulary

un cache-pot: a plant pot

une fuite: a leak

un toit qui fuit:  a leaking roof

un mystère: a mystery

Speaking of mysteries . . .

Marianne Lecron's latest children's story will

charm and intrigue French readers young and

old alike. In it, Papa Lapin follows a series of

curious tracks in a very heavy and mysterious 

snow that lead him to saving springtime! An 

adventure full of ups, downs and new animal

friends. For ages 4 to 99. Fullly illustrated 

with original aquarelle and ink drawings by 

yours truly.

Le Lapin à la recherche du Printemps is 

also available in English, The Rabbit in Search

of Spring. Both are sold worldwide on 

Amazon.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY

Quand on veut, on peut. 

When you want, you can--it's the underlying theme in a French children's story I wrote and illustrated, Une Véritable Petite Souris. In it Iris, an ordinary gray mouse, fantasizes about being the legendary French tooth fairy, known by French families everywhere as La Petite Souris.  

With ingenuity and an iron will, Iris overcomes obstacles to realize, in a way, her dream.

The above photo is of a page from the fully illustrated book.

Expression

Avec une volonté de fer, une souris peut renverser une éléphant.  This Tibetan proverb translated to French, means in English that with an iron will, a mouse can overturn an elephant. 

Available in French and in English, Une Véritable Petite Souris and A Genuine Little Mouse, are available on worldwide Amazon sites. Take a peek inside by clicking here and here.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

JUST SO

Un chat tuxedo

 A tuxedo cat in the Parc Bagatelle with a Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories look of  

The Cat Who Walked by Himself. He is undoubtedly fed by an association of kind souls 

who tend to feral cats living in the Parisian park. 

Kipling had a great fondness for France. Included in the British poet and novelist's body of work is Souvenirs of France in which he relates late 19th- and early 20th-century experiences. A must read about that epoch and the French people.

Vocabulary

une allure distinguée:  a distinguished appearance

©2022 P. B. Lecron

ALL'S WELL

 Sunset in the Ardèche

Another summer day comes to an end; this one was at the Château d'Urbilhac in the Ardèches.

Tout est bien qui finit bien. All's well that ends well.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Lecron

©2022 P. B. Lecron

TIDYING UP AT GIVERNY

Un travail à temps plein

Un travail à temps plein--a full time job, that is, to maintain Monet's gardens at Giverny.

Vocabulary

une barque: a small boat without a mast, a row boat

Expression

charger la barque: literally to load the boat; however it is used to signify being over ambitious and taking on more responsibilities than one can handle

©2022 P. B. Lecron

 

SUCCULENT FOOD STYLING

First impressions count

 Food styling. Eating less and eating better. An appetizing if not minimal first course mix of salad ingredients and sauces. Une belle entrée.

© 2022 P. B. Lecron

THE EYES HAVE IT

Pretty Aubrac cattle grazing near a forest, a very old practice called silvopasture, as opposed to open pasturing.  A particularity of this race of cows is the dark shading around their eyes resembling eye makeup. The photo was taken earlier this summer near Lamastre in the Ardèche department. Courtesy of Patrick Lecron

Expression

La vache la première au pré, lèche toute la rosée. This translates literally to "The cow first in the meadow, licks all the dew." It corresponds to expressions such as "the early bird gets the worm" or "the world belongs to those who rise early."

©2022 P. B. Lecron

SOONER OR LATER

Tous les noeuds viennent au peigne.

Roughly translated as "all tangles get combed out," this expression signifies that eventually the truth will be known. Photo taken on la Grande Rue, in the old village of Marly-le-Roi.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

DAY TRIPPING

 From an afternoon excursion to Monet's gardens at Giverny this past week. The most prevalent colors around the pond at this time are blues and lavenders.

Vocabulary

un(e) excursioniste: a day tripper

©2022 P. B. Lecron

PLEASE MR. POSTMAN

 Gold foil embossed postage stamps are always a score for the ardent philatéliste, even without the "obliteration premier jour."  The above set of fancy stamps commemorates the bicentennial of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

I was amazed to be able to buy this 2021 issue at an ephemeral post office stand outside of Monet's gardens at Giverny this past weekend.

Vocabulary

l'obliteration premier jour: on the first day of issue, an envelope is stamped with a postmark in which the cancellation indicates the date and location that the envelope was received into the post office

une boutique éphémère: a pop-up shop

©2022 P. B. Lecron

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

 One of five troglodyte churches in France, Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation, was excavated during the 17th century to serve as a place of worship for the village of Haute-Isle. We happened upon this site on a drive from Giverny toward Paris, following the backroads to admire the limestone cliffs that border the Seine with the succession of very much lived-in troglodyte habitations. Since prehistoric times these cliffs have been hollowed out with caves to provide shelter, which over time have been modernised to provide atypical and amazing dwellings.  

©2022 P. B. Lecron

Le 8 MAI 2022

 

LE SNACKING

Toward healthier eating

Les fibres naturelles 

 An exquisite and Frenchified alternative to the typical American peanut butter and jelly sandwich: whole grain bread with squash seeds topped with organic non-GMO peanut butter and strawberries, garnished with fresh mint. 

Une délice.

Vocabulary

un sandwich au beurre de cacahuètes et à la confiture:  a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

une tranche de pain:  a slice of bread

©2022 P. B. Lecron

SPLENDIFEROUS

 The English word "splendiferous" in French would need a more compelling translation than simply splendide. Wouldn't the French words mirifique or splendirifique say it better?

At this moment in May, virtually kilometers of very old--and who knows, perhaps wisened--wisteria, or glycine, are in full bloom in the lovely, royal city of Versailles. If only plants could talk.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

TO THE PADDOCKS!

 Aux paddocks !

Feeding time on a fine spring morning at the Haras de Jardy, a once renowned thoroughbred horse breeding farm, now the largest equestrian center in France, on the outskirts of Versailles.

Vocabulary

un haras: a stud farm

©2022 P. B. Lecron

WADE IN THE WATER

An English Cream Golden Retriever looks longingly back at his owners, pleading to take a dip 

in the iconic Baie de Somme on a fine Sunday afternoon at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. 

The Baie de Somme is on the Picardie coast and classed as a Grand Site de France, 

a prestigious label which needs no translation. This exceptionally beautiful bay with its

surrounding sanctuaries is a stopping point for thousands of migratory birds, 

as well as home to France's largest colony of seals, counting more than 600.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

WAITING

 En attente

Photo taken in the courtyard of the Château de Maintenon, once the private residence of Lous XIV's secret wife and love of his life.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

LITTLE BALL OF FUR

The family's little darling

Petite Boule de Poils

An adorable Cavalier King Charles puppy swept us all off our feet!

Il nous a fait perdre la tête !

Expression

faire perdre sa tête: lose one's head, sweep one of one's feet

Vocabulary

un chiot: a puppy

Of interest. . . to young and old alike!

Another captivating and illustrated French children's story is available!  Written by my daughter, Marianne Lecron, Le Lapin à la Recherche du Printemps is the latest adventure of the intrepid and kind rabbit, Papa Lapin. It's chockfull of ups and downs and surprises to delight all ages. And don't forget: reading children's stories in French is a great way to improve vocabulary, comprehension, and grammar!

Sold worldwide on Amazon in French, or in English, The Rabbit in Search of Spring. Click here to have a closer look.

©2022 P. B. Lecron

LOVE IS IN THE HAIR

 L'amour est dans les cheveux.

Vintage signage for a hairdresser in the old royal village of Marly-le-Roi, 

about 25 kilometres west of Paris.

Vocabulary

un salon de coiffure: a hairdresser, a hairdressing salon

une coiffure: a hairstyle; hairdressing

un coiffeur, une coiffeuse:  a hairdresser

un peigne: a comb

un jeu de mots: a pun (here, the pun only works in English!)

©2022 P. B. Lecron

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

Tout est bien qui finit bien 

Another happy ending in one of a series of charming French children's stories, Le Lapin et le Roi Grenouille, written by yours truly's daughter, Marianne Lecron. A talented storyteller and writer, if I do say so myself, Marianne continues to expand the circle of animal friends of her main character, Papa Lapin, a polite and empathetic rabbit always ready to give a hand or intervene to save the day. 

Reading illustrated children's stories in a foreign language is a great way to jumpstart the acquisition of a second language, whether you be an adult or a child. Marianne's books are available worldwide on Amazon, in both French and English. Click here to take a peek!

Expression 

sauver la situation: save the day

©2022 P. B. Lecron

THE GOOD MOTHER

 La Vierge du Vœu de Rouen

If you look closely at this photo, you will find the charming originality of this sculpture--the baby Jesus is sucking his index finger! 

I've admired Notre-Dame du Voeu by Félix Lecomte (1737-1817) before, but on my latest visit to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame Rouen, I was struck at how a recent addition of blue drapery on the stone wall behind had enhanced the statue.

Vocabulary

une mise en valeur: an enhancement

sucer: to suck

un vœu: a wish

©2022 P. B. Lecron