LE COIN FRANCOPHONE: MICHELLE’S MINI-SERIES EP. 8: DORDOGNE
If you want to learn how to read, write and converse well in French, writing about a subject you want to learn more about is a triple threat.
Michelle took on a big challenge of writing about the places she’d like to travel to in France, In one year, she finished a 17-article mini-series for our blog, which we’re thrilled to share with you.
I’ll let her words tell you the story of the evolution of her writing in French – an inspiration for your own progress – and the story of her bucket list that will give you food for thought. Today, Dordogne.
Dordogne is a place that offers a little something for everyone. Do you love art?
Spend a day marveling at the prehistoric art preserved in the caves beneath your feet.
Are you fascinated by architecture? Visit many of the medieval castles this region has to offer.
Are you a lover of nature? Bask in the beauty and wonder of the perfectly manicured castle grounds or get lost in the unique bamboo garden.
Do you live for good food? Try the “pomme de terre sarladaises” or go truffle hunting.
Want to enjoy life — slowly? Eat a pastry at a cafe and watch the world around you.
What are you waiting for? Just go!
Michelle R.
(July 2023)
Ep. 8: DORDOGNE
Peu de régions représentent mieux la France que la Dordogne.
Elle est un endroit favori pour les familles françaises à visiter pour les vacances à cause de sa nourriture riche, histoire préservée, belle campagne et villages pittoresques. La Dordogne est à environ 550 kilomètres de Paris dans le sud-ouest de la France. Les français l’appellent aussi « Périgord » qui est son vieux nom de l’époque romaine.
La Dordogne a beaucoup d’architecture magnifique et de beauté naturelle. Cependant, sa caractéristique la plus spectaculaire est ses grottes préhistoriques pleines d’art préhistorique original.
L’art préhistorique dans cette région date de 12.000 à 20.000 ans. Les grottes sont devenues l’une des attractions les plus fascinantes du pays. Les grottes de Lascaux, les grottes de Maxange, le Gouffre de Proumeyssac et le Gouffre de Padirac sont quelques grottes spectaculaires à visiter.
En surface, la Dordogne possède un nombre étonnant de châteaux et forteresses. Certains datent de l’époque médiévale. La Dordogne a beaucoup des villes médiévales les plus charmantes en France. Ce n’est pas exagéré de dire que la Dordogne est la région de mille châteaux.
Quelques châteaux à voir sont le Castelnaud la Chapelle, le Beynac et Cazenac, le Jumilhac, le Hautefort et le Milandes. Les châteaux sont magnifiques, mais le jardin extérieur vous coupera le souffle.
Les jardins suspendus de Marqueyssac sont pleins d’avenues verdoyantes. Les jardins Eyrignac sont sculptés et entretenus à la perfection. Un autre jardin à voir est le Bambousaie de la Roque Gageac. Ce grand jardin botanique est principalement composé de bambous qui peuvent mesurer jusqu’à 30 mètres de haut.
Par une belle journée, il n’y a pas de meilleur endroit pour être que l’un des beaux jardins en Dordogne.
La cuisine en Dordogne est aussi spéciale que la région. La nourriture typique se compose de fromage de chèvre cabécou, foie gras, confit de canard et gâteau aux noix. Il y a aussi un plat spécial appelé « pommes de terre sarladaises ». Il se compose de trois ingrédients : pommes de terre, ail et graisse d’oie. Il est simple mais satisfaisant. Vous pouvez aussi trouver des truffes et des produits connexes.
Si vous êtes aventureux, vous pouvez profiter d’une journée de chasse aux truffes !
Il est bien connu que cette région a la plus forte concentration de beaux villages en France. Visitez la ville médiévale de Sarlat la Canéda, le beau village de Saint Amand de Coly ainsi que Rocamadour, Martel et la Roque Gageac. Promenez-vous le long des rues pavées et profitez du rythme de vie lent et provincial.
Vous pourrez aussi déguster une pâtisserie dans l’un des cafés pittoresques du village et vous asseoir dehors en regardant le monde passer.
Une escapade préférée des touristes et des vacanciers français, la Dordogne a assez de beauté et de charme pour enthousiasmer les plus fatigués des voyageurs. Qu’est-ce que tu attends ?
France: My Written Journey
In January 2023, Llyane encouraged me to develop my French writing skills.
At the time, this seemed like an impossible request. You see, I have a hard time coming up with ideas to write or talk about in English. Figuring out what to write about AND THEN translate that into French made my head spin. However, I am not one to back down from a challenge. So, I embarked on a journey that has elicited emotions such as dread, fear, and frustration but has ultimately resulted in joy, satisfaction, and pride.
Here is my journey.
After many days of contemplation, I decided to write about the different places in France that I may someday like to visit. This seemed accessible to me and would also be beneficial later.
Llyane and I decided on a schedule that included submitting an article every three weeks. I won’t lie. I had no idea how I was going to do this. At the end, there are a total of eighteen articles, and my process has evolved over the course.
The first article – the introduction to the series – was one of the hardest. I had no idea how much research I needed to do, how to translate my written English into written French, or how many pages was adequate.
So, I closed my eyes and jumped in with both feet.
The Research
Initially, I began research for my articles the week before I submitted them to Llyane. However, I quickly realized that I needed to begin research as soon as the last one was finished which gave me three weeks from start to finish.
Since my research would determine where I wanted to visit, some articles took longer than others to research as it was easy to go down various rabbit holes!
Once I settled into a loose format for the articles, it was easier to keep the research on point.
The first few articles were three handwritten pages double spaced. By the end, the articles were six handwritten pages double spaced. I’m grateful Llyane learned to read my handwriting!
Translating the Research
When I first finished the research, I didn’t know what to do with it. So, I began each article by writing it in English. This was the easy part as I was able to use the full extent of my native language.
The hard part came next – translating into French.
The objective of this writing expedition was to learn the French language. I eventually developed my own method. I would take each English sentence that I had written from my research and simplify it into a sentence that I knew that I could construct in French. This meant one sentence became two a lot of times.
Llyane always encourages me to pretend like I was talking to my son when he was four or five. This reminder helped me simplify the sentences without feeling like I was losing the context and feel that I wanted. Once I had settled on a simplified sentence, I would write it in French.
This process included looking up words that I didn’t know or colloquial phrases in Reverso. My final step was to use Reverso in reverse. I’d type in the French sentence I had written to see how it was translated into English. This would allow me to understand where my mistakes were and to make tweaks, if needed.
The Final Product
After translating the article into French, I’d put it away for a while. A few days before I submitted the article to Llyane, I’d look over it one last time to check word agreement – subject-verb and adjective.
I would also read over it out loud to myself right before my next session with Llyane. When Llyane and I would meet, I would read the article to her, and she would provide pronunciation correction and suggestions for better ways to word some of the sentences so that they portrayed what I was trying to get across.
The final step was providing Llyane with a brief introduction in English and a typed version of the article in French.
I hope you enjoy the articles on the amazing country of France. They are truly a labor of love.
Michelle R.
(January 2024)
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below what is YOUR list of places to discover in France?
Let me guess.
Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?
Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.
Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French on Skype and BREAK your language barrier!
…and now, please SHARE this article with your friends. They’ll love you for it! : )
Always in your corner,
Llyane
Photo credit: Lelongweekend.com
