251 — Dans notre loge à l’Opéra — mercredi 19 février 2025

Every winter vacation, we take the girls away for a few days. The destination is kept secret until the last minute. This year, it was Mont Saint-Michel. Micaela found our destination when I gave the following clue: it's a controversial place. Indeed, we like to play around in France with the geographical location of Mont Saint-Michel. The Bretons like to say that it's in Brittany, whereas it's in Normandy, because the bay of Mont Saint-Michel lies between the two regions. When you arrive by car, you have to walk three-quarters of an hour to get to the Mont via a footbridge. It's a lovely walk. Then you have to climb a lot of steps to reach the abbey, where we had booked a visit.  In the notes accompanying the transcript, we'll take a look at the pronunciation of the difficult words in this episode. There will also be three natural French expressions with examples and, of course, photos of our visit!  To cultivate your French, and take the bridge with us, the Slow way, I invite you to subscribe!   www.cultivateyourfrench.com

This week, I invite you to discover or rediscover an episode recorded in February 2020. It was after a period of strikes in the Paris transport system and a month before the start of the lockdown. Lisa was ten at the time. We were both taking Bollywood dance classes on Saturday mornings.  In the notes accompanying the transcript, you'll find cultural explanations, but also three expressions that are natural in French, with examples of how they're used.  So, to improve your French, the slow way, I invite you to subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyourfrench.com  

So last week we went to the Opéra Garnier to see Castor et Pollux, a lyrical tragedy by Jean-Philippe Rameau, directed by Peter Sellars. I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy the show. But what did it turn out to be? That's what I tell you in this episode. In the notes that accompany the transcript, we're going to make a list of practical phrases for giving your opinion of a show, rather enthusiastically, and discover a range of formulations that may be useful to you in other circumstances too. Of course, there will also be photos of this unforgettable evening! So you'll discover, as I did, that the Opera is a place where you like to take your time, the Slow Way. I invite you to subscribe to the transcript.  www.cultivateyourfrench.com  

A few months ago, Pietro and I were offered a ‘box’, a gift box, to go to the Opera. We chose to go and see Jean-Philippe Rameau's lyrical tragedy Castor et Pollux, directed by Peter Sellars. The orchestra is the Utopia Ensemble, led by the Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis.   Before going to this exceptional evening, tomorrow Thursday 13 February, I did some research on the composer, but I also read some reviews of this new staging. I don't know if it was a good idea.  By the way, when I say ‘the opera’, do I mean ‘the Opéra Garnier’ in central Paris, built by Charles Garnier in the 19th century, or ‘the Opéra Bastille’, inaugurated a hundred years later?  You'll find out in this episode.  The transcript is a very practical and effective tool for improving your understanding. It has a number of advantages, which I describe in detail on www.cultivateyourfrench.comThat's where you can subscribe to receive it and cultivate your French, the Slow Way.  This week, in the notes accompanying the transcript, you'll find a list of very natural expressions from this text and we'll be focusing on two words in particular with examples of their natural use in French. 

Lisa had a French assignment due on Sunday evening. She had to choose a poem from Book IV of Victor Hugo's Contemplations and then send in a ten-minute audio file in which she presented the poem, explained her choice, read the poem and finally suggested a parallel with a painting. All the poems in the collection deal with the same subject: the disappearance of Victor Hugo's daughter, Léopoldine, and how sad this death made him. The poem Lisa chose was entitled ‘A quoi songeaient les deux cavaliers dans la forêt’ (‘What were the two horsemen thinking about in the forest’). It was Sunday afternoon and I wanted to take a nap after my Nordic walking session, but Lisa wanted to read me her assignment before recording it. She was annoyed because she hadn't found a painting, but a piece of music to go with it. In the notes accompanying the transcript, we're going to look at liaisons in French. When do we do them? When don't we? And so on. Liaisons are particularly important in poetry, because they sometimes make it possible to obtain the required number of feet, for example to form an alexandrine. But what about in everyday life? We'll be comparing the liaisons in today's text and in Victor Hugo's poem. So to improve your French liaisons, the Slow way, I invite you to subscribe to the transcript. www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Last week, I visited the offices of the newspaper Le Monde. I had an appointment with Nabil Wakim, the journalist who runs the podcast Chaleur humaine. It's a podcast that takes an expert but relaxed look at the various issues surrounding climate change, with expert guests. Each episode takes the form of a question. For example, the last episode was entitled ‘How can we save the Mediterranean Sea? I met Nabil Wakim at the Human Heat Ideas festival last December. I was there with my daughter Micaela, who is particularly interested in the subject of climate change. We had a chance to talk to him and he agreed to be interviewed. So we met last week. I chose a passage in which he talks about the French approach to climate change.  In the notes that accompany the transcript, we'll look at the way Nabil Wakim constructs his answer to make it clear: he makes oppositions, he uses adjectives of different intensities, and so on.  So, to cultivate your French, the Slow way, I invite you to subscribe.  www.cultivateyourfrench.com

I hadn't really followed the story. Of course, I knew that transport fares were going to change in the Ile-de-France, that the price of a ticket outside Paris was going to be a single rate of 2.50 euros. I imagined some sort of magic ticket that would allow me to go further than Bécon if I suddenly changed my plans.  Then, one day when we were coming back from Nordic walking, Thierry mentioned the Navigo Liberté. The Navigo is a pass, with a photo, that allows you to travel throughout the Ile-de-France region for a single monthly or weekly rate. It's a season ticket. Until now, I didn't move around enough to take it. But we're going to talk about this in this episode. In the notes that accompany the transcript, we'll look together at three expressions or turns of phrase that are natural in French. We'll also notice which tense I use and how I compose my sentence when I give Pietro some advice in this episode.  So, to improve your French and learn how to give advice, I invite you (‘advice from a friend’) to subscribe to the transcript.  www.cultivateyourfrench.com  

Last week, I told you about our trip to the bakery before going to the theatre. We arrived at the theatre half an hour before the play was due to start. It was very busy, and the play was a great success. We showed our tickets and settled in. You could say that there was a performance before the performance when you take the time to watch or listen to what's going on around you. That's what this episode is about.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we'll look at three natural turns of phrase in French and we'll also look at a series of practical phrases for talking about theatre.  I'll also suggest that you send me a booking for an upcoming play at the Théâtre Saint-Martin by leaving me a message on the podcast answering machine.  So, to cultivate your French for cultural life, the slow way, I invite you to subscribe to the transcript.   www.cultivateyourfrench.com

On Friday 27 December, Pietro and I went to see La serva amorosa at the Porte Saint-Martin theatre. The theatre was built in two months on the orders of Marie-Antoinette. It is magnificent. The play is a very beautiful play by the Italian author Goldoni. It was performed by great actors, including Isabelle Carré in the lead role, that of Coraline. Before going to the theatre, we took a walk along the Canal Saint-Martin and stopped to buy a bite to eat at Du pain et des idées, one of the most famous bakeries in Paris. They make Pain des amis, a sourdough bread. It was almost closing time, but there was still a bit of choice.  In the notes accompanying the transcript, we'll note all the interesting expressions in this ‘bakery scene’. We're going to have fun varying them a little to discover new ones and get ready to buy bread at the boulangerie in French.  To practise your boulangerie French the slow way, Slow does not only mean slow pace, but also mindful learning, I invite you to subscribe to the transcript. www.cultivateyourfrench.com

Dear listeners, I wish you all une très belle et heureuse année 2025. I wish you a wonderful year filled with the joy of learning another language, opening up to another culture and meeting new people thanks to French! And, of course, good health.  In today's episode, we take a look back at our New Year's Eve party. We were invited to dinner at the house of our friends Isabelle and Thierry, who live in a house in Colombes.In the notes that accompany the transcript, we'll be trying to make resolutions to find our way around French in 2025, we'll also be getting curious by taking a closer look at the wine mentioned in this episode and finally, there'll be a phrase to repeat out loud! On ne perd pas les bonnes habitudes ! So, to cultivate you French in 2025, I invite you to subcribe to the transcript and get all the positive effects all the full experience. www.cultivateyourfrench.com