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