THE SKY IS THE LIMIT

La marelle--French hopscotch

 Usually French children use colored chalk to mark the spaces to play "la marelle" or hopscotch, but as you can see here the city of Paris provides permanent, waterproof hopscotch patterns for neighborhood children and light-hearted adults. Notice that the starting point is "terre" or earth, and the ultimate goal is to make it to "ciel" sky. 

Vocabulary

sauter à cloche-pied: hop 

une craie: a piece of chalk

un caillou: a stone

©2025 P. B. Lecron

PILE IT ON

 Whenever pounding shredded cabbage with a sprinkling of salt to make sauerkraut, I can't help but think

of Brigitte Bardot. Why? Because in the 1960's when the famous French actress piled her blonde hair on top of her head in a casual mess, the result was a coiffure nicknamed une choucroute.

Choucroute of course is French for sauerkraut. The hairstyle en choucroute became emblematic not only of Brigitte Bardot, but also a sign of the times of greater social and fashion freedoms for women.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

A VERY COMMON DESCRIPTIVE WORD

Locals in Versailles call the triangular stretch of land where these horses are summering le fichu.

In French, when used as a noun speaking of clothing, un fichu is a triangular head scarf, thus

the charming borrowing of this word to name the area.

The word fichu used as an adjectif has a completely different meaning, however. It means damned, wretched, washed up, ruined, pitiful, rotten...the list could go on and on. It's a highly elastic and often used word to negatively describe a situation or thing.

Photo taken in the park of the Château de Versailles bordering le Domaine de Trianon.

©2025 P. B. Lecron 

 

SITTING PRETTY

 Sleek, comfortable, contemporary, practical, and sober are the adjectives I use to describe the new seating at the restored Notre Dame de Paris. The solid oak chairs are the work of talented French designer Ionna Vautrin, who originally hails from the Morbihan department of French Brittany. They are stackable, yet can be attached to one another with brass fittings to form rows. I've tested them myself and can confirm that the comfort they afford is both organic and spiritual.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

FROM MAY TO OCTOBER

 Hydrangeas or in French, hortensias, flourish in Bretagne's gardens, roadsides, and fields--like that above. Native to Asia, the plant was introduced in France during the 18th century. The generous perennial shrub blooms from May to October and is so prevalent in French Brittany that it is considered to be the region's emblematic flower.

Photo taken outside of Paimpol in the Côtes-d'Amor department.

©2025 P. B. Lecron

FRENCH KITSCH

 This life-sized, fiberglass vintage chef statue outside of a seaside restaurant in Bretagne's Côtes-d'Amor seemed like an anomaly--une anomalie. A perusal of Internet images and websites has lead me to surmise that this statue is a repainted version of an American import that has been installed in various 

eateries around Europe.

Expression

Rendre à César ce qui à César; Donner du crédit à qui le mérite:  Give credit where credit is due

©2025 P. B. Lecron