Le coin francophone: Michelle's mini-series Ep. 14: Paris

LE COIN FRANCOPHONE: MICHELLE’S MINI-SERIES EP. 14: PARIS

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, Paris.

« LE COIN FRANCOPHONE » SERIES: #44 MICHELLE

When you think of visiting Paris, there are probably a million things to do and see on your list.

However, most of us don’t have weeks or months to truly experience Paris.

So, I’ve compiled a list of nine experiences that will give you a taste of Paris.

Just remember, Paris will inspire you. She will fill your soul.

She will forever be a part of you, and you will long to visit her again because one visit is never enough.

Michelle R.
(November 2023)

Ep. 14: PARIS

Ah Paris !

Paris est connue comme la « Ville Lumière » et la ville la plus romantique du monde. Paris vous invite à vous promener dans ses rues étroites et ses magnifiques boulevards et à profiter de la cuisine et de ses monuments célèbres. Paris a beaucoup à offrir.

Beaucoup de gens arrivent à Paris avec une liste de choses à faire et à voir. Cependant, le voyageur averti sait que vous devez ralentir dans cette ville et sentir l’énergie. Flâner, c’est découvrir Paris. C’est une façon d’observer la vie en errant.

Voici neuf expériences parisiennes authentiques. Il est préférable de les apprécier à un rythme détendu.

1. Découvrez les rives de la Seine

Chaque voyage à Paris doit comprendre les rives de la Seine. C’est ici que Paris vit et respire. Les rives de la Seine sont de 2,45 acres et comprennent les rives physiques et aussi certains des monuments les plus célèbres de Paris comme la Tour Eiffel. Visitez Île de la Cité et Île Saint Louis et voyez la cathédrale Notre-Dame et la Sainte Chapelle.

2. Promenez-vous sur les ponts

La Seine serpente à travers Paris et passe sous trente-sept ponts. Il est merveilleux de traverser l’un des ponts de Paris à pied et de profiter de la vue. Commencez avec ces trois ponts : Pont des Arts, Pont neuf et Pont Alexandre III.

3. Admirez la vue sur la ville

Bien sûr, pour de belles vues sur Paris, allez directement au sommet de la Tour Eiffel. Tout le monde doit aller au sommet au moins une fois. Voici trois autres endroits pour une vue imprenable sur Paris qui comprennent une vue sur la tour Eiffel : les Galeries Lafayette, le Sacré-Cœur et la Tour Montparnasse.

4. Flânez dans les quartiers

L’un des plaisirs de Paris est de découvrir l’ambiance charmante de ses quartiers. Ces trois quartiers sont l’endroit idéal pour commencer, mais n’oubliez pas de marcher lentement et de profiter des environs : le Saint Germain des Prés, le Marais et le Montmartre.

5. Participez à la scène du café

La scène des cafés à Paris est la vie à Paris. Commencez la journée avec un café crème et un croissant. Tremperez-vous votre croissant dans votre café ? Le déjeuner dans un café est servi de 12h à 15h. Les menus au tableau noir décrivent les offres de la journée. Prendrez-vous le menu avec une entrée, un plat principal et un dessert ? À la fin de la journée, c’est l’heure de l’apéritif. Commandez un apéro spritz et une planche de charcuterie. Écoutez les sons. Observez les gens. C’est la vie à Paris.

6. Visitez un marché en plein air

Dans le pays où la gastronomie est reine, vous devez visiter un marché local. C’est intéressant de regarder ce que les habitants achètent. Deux marchés étonnants sont le marché d’Aligre et le marché Bastille.

7. Passez du temps dans un musée de classe mondiale

Il y a plus de 130 musées à Paris. Quel musée visiterez-vous ? Les deux musées incontournables sont le Louvre et le musée d’Orsay. Vous ne serez pas déçu.

8. Faites du shopping

Paris a une variété de grands magasins et de boutiques uniques. Il y en a pour tout le monde. Pendant que vous explorez les quartiers, gardez les yeux ouverts pour les boutiques unique. Voici tris grands magasins avec des expériences d’achat différentes : le Bon Marché, La Samaritaine et les Galeries Lafayette.

9. Détendez-vous dans un jardin

Les élégants jardins parisiens sont l’endroit idéal pour pratiquer la flânerie. Asseyez-vous dans une chaise verte en métal, promenez-vous dans les allées de gravier, regardez un match de pétanque ou faites un pique-nique. Les options sont sans limites. Voici trois des nombreux jardins à visiter : les jardins du Luxembourg, les jardins des Tuileries et les jardins du Palais Royal.

Ces neuf expériences sont une merveilleuse façon de ressentir la Ville Lumière. Cependant, souvenez- vous des mots de Victor Hugo, « Respirez Paris. Elle nourrit l’âme. » Vous reviendrez pour des expériences encore plus inoubliables.

Une fois n’est jamais assez.

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.