Cultivate Your French

Micaela and I are at Gare Saint-Lazare for a summer stroll. Since the last renovation, the station has become a real shopping centre. There are numerous stores selling clothes, shoes and beauty products, as well as fast-food outlets and fine restaurants such as chef Eric Frechon's Lazare. I'm dying to try his Paris-Deauville dessert. But our program was more geared towards sweets. There's plenty to choose from at Saint-Lazare! We bought macarons at Ladurée, we also bought some at Dalloyau and finally, we stopped off at Les Merveilleux de Fred. Do you know this meringue and cream dessert? They're a big hit in Paris.  So to cultivate your French, your palate, but also to discover this area of Paris and benefit from all the positive effects of the exact text and cultural notes, I invite you to subscribe.  One last thing: the podcast will be on hiatus next week, the week of August 15. I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday August 21. So if you'd like to improve your French, discover this part of Paris and be

Micaela and I are at Gare Saint-Lazare for a summer stroll. Gare Saint-Lazare is the oldest station in Paris, having been renovated for the 1889 Universal Exhibition, the same year the Eiffel Tower was built. After going up rue de Rome to the Pont de l'Europe, the site of two famous paintings: Edouard Manet's Le chemin de fer and Gustave Caillebotte's Pont de l'Europe, we'll head back down to the station via rue d'Amsterdam. Can you follow us?  So if you'd like to improve your French comprehension, discover this part of Paris and benefit from all the positive effects of the exact text, as well as the cultural notes, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

We're at Gare Saint-Lazare, in the Europe district, whose streets bear the names of capital cities. This summer, I'd like to invite you on a four-part historical, cultural and gourmet summer stroll!  Where were we?  Ah yes, Micaela and I were walking up Rue de Rome, the street that runs alongside the train station from the Cour de Rome up towards the Batignolles district. We're going to talk about painting today.  So if you'd like to improve your French comprehension, discover this part of Paris and benefit from all the positive effects of the exact text, as well as the cultural notes, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Gare Saint-Lazare is a star! What is it? A station that doesn't even have a TGV? A star? But why?  Well, there are several reasons. First of all, in terms of passenger traffic, it's the second busiest station in France (after the Gare du Nord). The station serves the western suburbs of Paris, as well as Normandy. It's also the oldest station in Paris. It opened in 1837. It has been painted by some very famous artists. Would you like some names? Gustave Caillebotte, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissaro, among others.  These are all 19th-century artists. The Saint-Lazare station was fascinating because it embodied modernity and technical progress. These were themes dear to the artists who settled in the new Europe district.  Micaela swiped her Navigo, I swiped my ticket, and you could hear the automatic gate open. We're at Gare Saint-Lazare, in the Europe district, whose streets bear the names of capitals. I'd like to invite you on a four-part summer stroll through history, culture and food!  So if you

This episode is a re-run of an episode from 2020, at the end of the lockdown when we started to be able to move around. But it's also a very summery episode!  This week, I'm on a kung fu course in Reims, the Champagne region!  In the notes that come with the transcript,I give you a list of words from this episode that I find interesting to know. We'll also take a look at three turns of phrase and you'll see how to use them with examples.  So if you want tobenefit from all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

We have some major political news in France with the legislative elections since the President, Emmanuel Macron, dissolved the National Assembly. We therefore have to elect new deputies. There is a rise in the far right in France, certainly because people feel misunderstood more than out of racism. Still, it makes everyone a bit nervous. This rise is mainly affecting rural areas. The second round of legislative elections takes place on Sunday 7 July.  My daughter Micaela is eighteen, so she voted in this year's European elections, the results of which prompted the head of state to dissolve the assembly.  She took part in the counting of the ballot papers, as the municipality had too many problems with the electronic machines used instead of paper ballots.  In the notes accompanying the transcript, we'll take a look at a few expressions. You’ll also find the election vocabulary and some sample sentences. This is very useful for following what's happening in France on TV, radio or in the press.  So if you want

For the Olympic Games, which start in Paris in a few weeks' time, we have a beautiful poster. It was designed by the artist Ugo Gattoni, who studied art after a spell in the sports and swimming studies section. The poster took two thousand hours of work, and was produced on a graphics tablet, but entirely by hand. Anne-Laure and I got together to talk to you about this poster. In the notes that come with the transcript, I invite you to try your hand at collecting adjectives based on the last blog post on the podcast. You can share your harvest with me, either orally or in writing.  So if you want to cultivate your French and harvest a good crop and benefit from all the positive effects of having the exact text of the transcript, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Last week, on Thursday to be precise, our friends Isabelle and Thierry, Pietro and I, got on our bikes for a trip to Paris. Our destination? The Centre Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg. Until 1 July, the museum is showing an exceptional retrospective of the sculptor Brancusi. It's an extraordinary museum, with one of the best views of Paris. On the way back, we took the rue de Rivoli, which is now reserved for bicycles (but still has a lane for buses and taxis) and runs alongside the Louvre and the Tuileries gardens. We turned off towards the Madeleine, then the Gare Saint-Lazare, the 17th arrondissement, Neuilly, the Levallois bridge and we were back home. We left at 1.30pm. So it was a nice ride, which of course also included a gourmet break, as you'll discover in this episode recorded on the spot!  In the notes accompanying the transcript, I'm going to suggest three sentences for you to repeat! Yes, three because I find them interesting. I'll explain my choice for each one, pointing out a few things alon

There was a change in the weather at the start of the week, with the sun that had finally returned giving way once again to rain. It's in keeping with the gloomy mood I've been in since the elections. I don't feel like listening to the news or the radio any more, so to take my mind off things I listened again to the concert by Lea Dessandre, Thomas Dunford and the Jupiter Ensemble, who played pieces by John Dowland and Henry Purcell last Tuesday at the Maison de la Radio. Felicia and I attended the concert, the theme of which was melancholy in love. I'd had the tickets for a long time, hoping that she would be able to come. Everything becomes uncertain as the end of the year approaches.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we'll look at three very natural expressions in French that I want to tell you about. I'll also share with you some practical phrases relating to culture: going to the theatre, a concert, etc.  So to cultivate your French without melancholy and benefit from all the positive effects

Last week, I dropped by the station in the early evening to drop off a book at the book box. I noticed that a florist had set up a stall there. The station is the focal point of the neighbourhood. It's on the border between Courbevoie, Asnières and Bois-Colombes. The railway line divides the Bécon district into two areas, the one on the Courbevoie side being the most commercial. But with the arrival of a new bakery and a new pastry chef, the area on the Asnières side is coming back to life. The florist was also on the Asnières side.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we'll focus on practical phrases for talking about prices in shops and three typical expressions of natural French and also three expressions that are interesting to notice.  So if you want to cultivate your French and benefit from all the positive effects of having the exact text of the transcript, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com. The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each

A few days ago, my friend Caroline asked me to go with her to see a play at the Comédie Française: Les Démons, adapted from a novel by Dostoyevsky. The Comédie Française is our national theatre. It's a very prestigious place. Being part of the Comédie Française company is a great honour for actors. I accepted straight away, because I'd never been there before. Caroline had got the tickets from neighbours who couldn't make it to the show. I'm going to tell you about that evening at the theatre.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we'll look at three expressions that are typical of everyday French and I'll show you how to use them with examples.  You'll also have a sentence to repeat. A single sentence that I've chosen for you and I'll explain why I chose this particular sentence. Getting into the habit of repeating sentences is an excellent way of improving your pronunciation, but also of naturally constructing sentences in spoken French.  So, to benefit from all the positive effects of having the e

When I need to get from one place to another in Paris, I have an itinerary in my head by metro or on foot. I can find my way around the city quite well. I could walk from one place to another without taking too many detours. Well, it depends on the area, of course. But on Thursday morning, my phone suggested a fairly simple route that I decided to follow. I was in Place Saint-Michel and had to go to Rue Yves Toudic to pick up an order. If I had decided to follow my route, I would have got off at République.  In the notes that come with the transcript of this episode, we're going to imagine that we enter each of the shops mentioned in this episode and say a sentence or two. Simple phrases, but very useful if you decide to go to du Cha^teau d'eau or elsewhere.  Of course, I'll also point out a particularly interesting phrase for you to repeat in a loud voice, explaining why I chose it.   So, if you want to improve your French, learn the right phrase, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text

Last week, American star Taylor Swift performed at La Défense Arena, Europe's largest indoor concert venue. She had four concert dates, the last of which was this Sunday. La Défense is a four-minute train journey from our house. Lisa and I made the trip to meet some of the singer's fans.  We met two very nice young women who agreed to share their impressions on the podcast. Lucie who had been to the concert the day before and Céleste who was going to attend the concert.  You'll hear them in today's episode. And in the notes that come with the transcript, we'll focus on certain details of these conversations that are typical of natural French as it is spoken today.  Of course, there will also be a sentence to repeat. The power of this exercise is the subject of my last article on the podcast blog. Have you read it yet?  So, if you want to add a natural touch to your conversations in French, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, I invite you to subscribe to the Cultivate Y

I had a dream that came back often at night, a recurring dream: I was driving a car and I was afraid of being caught by the police because I didn't have a licence. ‘I've got to stop driving without a licence’, I said to myself every time in this dream. But I couldn't stop myself and I regularly found myself driving illegally.  Now the recurring dream has disappeared and I think I've understood why, thanks to Ami.  In this episode, you'll find out who Ami is.  And in the transcript that comes with the notes, we're going to look at two verbs that come up several times in this episode, two verbs that we use a thousand times a day. What strategy should we adopt to learn how to conjugate them? That's what we're going to look at together.  We'll also look at a sentence to repeat out loud, and I'll explain why I chose it.  So if you want to improve your French a thousand times over,  and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcri

Little by little, I began to hate our sofa. I used to dream of a Habitat sofa, which I tried out in the Avenue de Wagram shop in Paris. But at the end of 2023, the Habitat shops closed, taking my dream of a white sofa with curl fabric with them.  I recently had the idea of looking for a Habitat sofa on Le Bon Coin. You can find anything on Le bon coin: furniture, tools, clothes, a job or even a home. Well, I found a Habitat sofa that might suit me, only the seller wasn't at home in Saint-Ouen on the date. I still had the old Saint-Ouen in mind, but I discovered something completely different, but did I get my sofa? You'll soon find out.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we're going to dwell on the elements of the text that speak of time and duration, because we always need to situate in time what we're talking about. Of course, we'll also take a look at three expressions or turns of phrase that may go unnoticed, but which are actually worth noticing.  So, to take the time to cultivate your French

Last week we were on holiday. We needed the perfect destination for this school holiday: to be in the countryside for a change of scenery, but not too far from a big city and other tourist attractions. I didn't know whether the girls would have a lot of work or not. So I thought about the Strasbourg area. I really liked the city last year when I went there for the kung fu competition. So I found a gîte in a village half an hour from Strasbourg.  We were warmly welcomed by the owners. The lady had prepared an Easter speciality for us: a kind of sponge cake with a slight lemon flavour in the shape of a lamb.  In this episode, I tell you about our holiday in Alsace.    In the notes that come with the transcript, we'll take a look at three very natural expressions in French. These are words or turns of phrase that you don't necessarily notice, but which are typical in French.  I'll also share with you my collection of photos of blue houses and we'll talk about colours: what are the most common colours in French,

A few weeks ago, during the summer, my friend Lorena and I went to Versailles. We were given the permission to record for the podcast in the gardens. Maybe one day, we will get it to record in the castle itself.  We went to Versailles by train, it’s 30 minutes away from Gare Saint-Lazare.  Did Louis XIV make the most of the gardens? This is the question I asked Lorena.  You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week.  My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France.  All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

The episode that you are going to hear today was written in September 2013. I read a few days ago, as I was searching for conjugation examples for the advanced French podcast One Thing In A French Day. I didn’t remember that little adventure and found it funny. That day, I was searching for a big one litter bottle at Le vieux campeur. This is a famous shop for camping equipment. In Paris. It’s also famous because, it’s not one shop but a maybe 5 or 6 different shops in the same neighbor hood. Each shop has its speciality, backpack, tents, ustensils, etc.  Unfortunately, we lost the bottle last year.  You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week.  My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France.  All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com  

It was in 2019 that we first attended a concert featuring Julia, the niece of Isabelle, my Nordic walking friend. Her niece is a violinist. It's a small world, because there was also a violist in the group: Stanley. He plays the viola da gamba.  Isabelle suggested that this time we attend a duo concert by Julia and Stanley at a private home. And we're big fans, so Lisa and I booked our tickets. It's different from going to a concert hall: you go to someone's home. We were staying with real patrons, in a Haussmanian flat in the 16th arrondissement. We were seated in a beautifully decorated living room with fine furniture and paintings, as well as two musical instruments: a grand piano and an organ. Finally, after the concert, you can chat with the musicians or the other audience members over a drink and some refreshments. There's often so much you want to tell them. And on Saturday, we were very lucky, because you're going to hear Julia talk to us about this concert. In the notes that come with the transcript

The gâteau de crêpes, or crêpe cake, came into my life thanks to pastry chef Claire Heitzler, it’s one of her specialities. A few times a year, she makes a soufflé crêpe cake: with strawberries or mandarin marmalade, depending on the season, but also with a chocolate spread. But I also came across the crêpe cake when I was in Nice for the kung fu competition, at breakfast time in the hotel on Sunday morning. I came across it during a conversation between two travelling grannies.  This is what this episode is about.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we're going to focus on three typical turns of phrase in natural French. These are turns of phrase that we understand, but don't necessarily pay attention to, and therefore forget to use when we speak. This way, you'll notice them and be able to use them in your next conversations in French.  We're also going to look together at some practical phrases for talking about an Internet search, as I do at the end of the episode.  So, to cultivate your French a