LE COIN FRANCOPHONE: MICHELLE’S MINI-SERIES EP. 15: PROVENCE
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, Provence.
Provence is a treat for all of your senses.
The sights, the smells, the tastes are like no other place on earth.
Where else can you stand among the purple lavender blooms with the familiar scent wafting across the breeze or sip a glass of chilled rosé at a seaside cafe or hilltop restaurant?
Whatever you decide to do in Provence, savor all its glory for it is an experience you will never forget.
As Frederick Mistral so eloquently said, “When the good Lord begins to doubt the world, He remembers that he created Provence.
Michelle R.
(December 2023)
Ep. 15: PROVENCE
La Provence est un régal pour votre sens, et tout le monde devrait visiter la Provence au moins une fois.
La région de Provence comprend Aix-en-Provence et la Riviera autour de Saint Tropez et Cannes. Il y a de nombreuses raisons de visiter ce coin ensoleillé du sud-est de la France.
Voici quelques idées pour faciliter la planification de votre voyage.
1. Dégustez un délicieux vin rosé pâle
Si vous voyagez en Provence, vous devez goûter son célèbre rosé. Le rosé provençal est parfois fruité, souvent sec et toujours distinctif dans sa couleur rose très pâle. Vous pourrez les déguster dans les nombreux vignobles de la région. Ne manquez pas le Château d’Esclans et son célèbre « Whispering Angel ».
2. Faites les courses sur les marchés locaux
Les marchés en Provence sont très importants. Presque toutes les villes et villages de la région ont un jour de marché. Vous trouvez des fruits et légumes frais ainsi que des fleurs et des antiquités.
Les meilleurs marchés sont le marché aux fleurs à Nice, le marché Forville à Cannes et le marché aux poissons à Marseille.
3. Regardez l’art célèbre
De nombreux peintres, écrivains et sculpteurs ont vécu en Provence. Paul Cézanne est né à Aix-en- Provence. Matisse et Chagall ont vécu à Nice. Picasso a vécu dans le petit village de Vauvenargues.
Découvrez leur art au Musée National Marc Chagall et au Musée Matisse à Nice.
4. Découvrez la vue et les odeurs des champs de lavande
Les fleurs fleurissent toute l’année en Provence, mais les champs de lavande de la région sont comme nulle part ailleurs sur terre. La lavande transforme des acres de terre en violet. C’est magnifique à voir !
Vous voudrez visiter entre la dernière semaine de juin et le début d’août. C’est avant la récolte que les fleurs sont à leur meilleur.
5. Découvrez l’architecture divine
La ville d’Avignon compte moins de 100.000 habitants et c’est là où se trouvaient les papes catholiques au 13ème siècle. Son histoire est conservée dans les chapelles, les églises et les couvents. Il y a aussi le plus grand palais gothique de monde – le Palais des Papes.
Visitez ces endroits pour une riche leçon d’histoire.
6. Traversez un terrain accidenté
Entre Cassis et Marseille se trouve le parc national des Calanques. Les fjords sinueux ont été creusés par la mer au fil des siècles. Apportez vos chaussures de randonnée pour découvrir le Massif des Calanques et escalader le Mont Puget.
Peut-être apportez votre maillot de bain pour explorer les grottes sous- marines.
7. Promenez-vous et regardez la côte pittoresque
La côte apparemment sans fin de la Provence est connue comme l’endroit à être pour les riches et beaux.
Évitez les endroits populaires et allez à la Corniche Kennedy de Marseille. Vous y trouverez des plages privées avec des bars et des restaurants comme « Le Ruhl ».
N’oubliez pas de goûter la bouillabaisse !
8. Visitez les beaux villages de France
De nombreux villages de Provence sont membres des « Plus Beaux Villages de France ».
Ces villages ont des rues pavées et une vue imprenable sur la côte et la campagne. Quelques-uns à voir comprennent Lourmarin, Ménerbes et Séguret.
9. Entourez-vous de culture
De la ville côtière de Cassis à la ville portuaire de Marseille, il y a des siècles d’histoire à découvrir dans et autour de la Provence. Aix-en-Provence est considérée comme la capitale culturelle de la Provence.
Cependant, la région possède de nombreux musées et une longue association avec l’histoire et la noblesse.
10. Mangez tout en vue
Après avoir dégusté des produits dans divers marchés, vous aurez envie d’essayer les spécialités locales dans les restaurants. Vous devez essayer la bouillabaisse de Marseille, la socca de crêpes de pois chiches de Nice et une tarte tropézienne crémeuse de Saint Tropez.
Aussi, n’oubliez pas de goûter une omelette à la truffe chez Serge sur la commune de Carpentras.
Essayez comme vous pourrez, vous ne pourrez pas résister à tomber amoureux de la Provence. Les champs de lavande vous captiveront, les paysages vous couperont le souffle et la nourriture satisfera tout le monde.
Découvrez vous-même la Provence. Vous ne le regretterez pas.
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: france.fr
