LE COIN FRANCOPHONE: MICHELLE’S MINI-SERIES EP. 11: LYON
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, Lyon.
Not only is Lyon a beautiful city full of historic buildings, but it has also been known as the World’s Capital of Gastronomy for almost a century.
If you like to see beautiful things, to learn a little bit of history and eat possibly the best food ever, make sure to include this underrated city on your “must see” list.
After discovering the way of life in Lyon, you may never leave!
Michelle R.
(September 2023)
Ep. 11: LYON
La ville de Lyon est située au confluent du Rhône et de la Saône.
La ville a attiré des gens depuis que les Romains l’ont nommée « Logdunum » en 43 avant JC. Lyon est la troisième plus grande ville de France et est une puissance commerciale, industrielle et bancaire. Elle est célèbre pour son histoire riche, sa cuisine de renommée mondiale et son architecture impressionnante – principalement la cuisine !
Comme Paris, Lyon est divisée en neuf arrondissements. Chacun a sa propre identité et ambiance.
L’architecture Renaissance du vieux Lyon, le cœur de Lyon entourant la Place Bellecour, le quartier animé autour de la Place des Terreaux, la Croix-Rousse avec les locaux faisant du shopping dans les petits marchés, et le nouveau quartier contemporain de Confluence sont tous des endroits que vous devez voir. Cependant, c’est la nourriture qui attire les gens. Pas surprenant, le chef le plus célèbre est né et basé ici.
L’histoire riche de Lyon
Lyon a été habitée pour la première fois il y a plus de 40.000 ans.
La ville que nous connaissons aujourd’hui a commencé avec l’arrivée des Romains. Ils voyaient Lyon comme le site idéal parce qu’ils voulaient conquérir la Gaule. Des vestiges multiples de cette période subsistent sur la colline de Fourvière et dans la Croix Rousse.
Pendant la Renaissance, Lyon devient un important centre commercial. Marchands et banquiers venus d’Italie y construisirent de belles maisons dans le vieux Lyon.
L’imprimerie et la soie devinrent des industries importantes. Les Canuts, les travailleurs de la soie, ont créé des passages pour transporter les produits jusqu’à la rivière et éviter la pluie. Ces passages ou « traboules » existent encore. Ils ont été utilisés par la résistance française pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour se déplacer rapidement et secrètement dans la ville.
Les frères Lumières qui vivaient à Lyon ont inventé et fabriqué un appareil photo et un projecteur appelé le cinématographe. On dit qu’ils ont inventé le cinéma !
Depuis, la ville s’est développée avec une grande modernité. Par exemple, Jean Nouvel a conçu le bâtiment de l’opéra de Lyon en 1990. Les rives du Rhône ont été rénovées au milieu des années 2000.
Le nouveau quartier de la Confluence a régénéré le sud de la Presqu’île avec une architecture contemporaine et un développement durable.
Maintenant, la cuisine !
Lyon est la capitale gastronomique du premier pays gastronomique au monde !
La ville est entourée de lieux qui offrent des produits de première qualité : viandes des Monts du Lyonnais et de la Dombes, poissons de Savoie, poulet de Bresse, vins de la vallée du Rhône et du Beaujolais, et beaucoup de fromages locaux. Vous pouvez trouver tout cela dans de nombreux marchés extérieurs ou au célèbre marché couvert Les Halles. Les Halles est un endroit idéal pour déguster des plats et des vins à Lyon.
Vous ne devriez pas manquer ces spécialités:
Quenelles – un soufflé de boulettes de brochet souvent recouvert de sauce Nantua. La sauce est faite avec des écrevisses du lac Nantua, puis cuite au four.
Saucisson brioche – une saucisse qui est faite avec des pistaches et entourée d’une brioche douce.
Salade lyonnaise – salade frisée, lardons, croûtons et œuf poché
Tablier de sapeur (si vous êtes aventureux) – tripes de bœuf cuites, marinées au vin blanc, puis recouvertes de chapelure et frites.
Fromage – crémeux Saint Marcellin et Saint Félicien, la Cervelle des canuts, et l’Arôme de Lyon.
Bonbons – coussin de Lyon (chez voisin chocolaterie) et la Tarte à la Praline.
Venez à Lyon l’estomac vide, parce que vous allez vouloir tout essayer.
Pour une cuisine typiquement lyonnaise, rendez-vous dans l’un des petits bouchons familiaux qui se trouvent dans chaque rue de la vieille ville.
Préparez-vous à dîner à la française en prenant votre temps pour savourer la nourriture et l’atmosphère.
À la fois ancienne et nouvelle, tranquille et passionnante, urbaine avec une ambiance intime de petite ville, Lyon offre un goût de la vie française dans toute sa beauté et sa complexité.
Venez découvrir le mode de vie lyonnais. Vous pourriez ne jamais partir !
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: petitelyonnaise.com
