Archive for November, 2013
A Trip to Paris: Visiting the French Capital’s Most Famous Attractions (Part 7) Posted by mtaulier on Nov 30, 2013
We’re going to be taking a little detour now to visit some more contemporary sights. It is not a coincidence that some of the most popular Parisian tourist attractions are historic sights, with some dating all the way back to the 14th century. One reason they are so famous and revered is because they have…
A Trip to Paris: Visiting the French Capital’s Most Famous Attractions (Part 6) Posted by mtaulier on Nov 30, 2013
If you’ve been reading this series from the beginning, you’ll notice that we’ve already covered les sites les plus connus de Paris (Paris’s most famous sights). We will now be taking the time to visit (virtuellement, bien sûr) some of the more obscure and lesser-known sights. You may not be familiar with these, but they…
Classical French Grammar 101! Posted by Hichem on Nov 24, 2013
We’ve already covered tougher topics in French grammar, not the least of which was le subjonctif. Today, we invite you to Review with us les bases… It sure doesn’t get more “classical” in French grammar than the subject of les classes grammaticales (Grammatical Classes.) In French, as in any other language, in order to fully grasp the meaning of a sentence, it is essential to…
Le Paradis blanc (White Paradise) Posted by Hichem on Nov 21, 2013
When it comes to traveling, the expression of paradis terrestre (earthly paradise) evokes for most people a warm, exotic, and quite far destination on the planet. Think along the lines of Hawai, the Caribbeans, or even Bora Bora in French Polynesia! Not everyone would agree on that, however. For the late French singer Michel Berger, for example, a…
Bravo la France ! Posted by Hichem on Nov 20, 2013
French people often like to remind each other that “à l’impossible, nul n’est tenu“, namely that “no one is expected to accomplish the impossible.” Last night, however, les Bleus made a point of honor in proving the accuracy of another French maxim: “Impossible n’est pas français“, meaning that “Impossible is not French“! L’immense joie des Bleus après…
A Trip to Paris: Visiting the French Capital’s Most Famous Attractions (Part 5) Posted by mtaulier on Nov 18, 2013
Bienvenue! Aujourd’hui nous allons visiter le Palais de Versailles (Today we will be visiting Versailles Palace). The palace is not situated in Paris proper but on the outskirts, about 20 miles outside of the city. The easiest way to get their is by taking le Métro (the subway). Then it’s just une petite marche (a…
A Trip to Paris: Visiting the French Capital’s Most Famous Attractions (Part 4) Posted by mtaulier on Nov 11, 2013
In the last few installments, we discovered La Tour Eiffel, L’Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame de Paris and Le Musée du Louvre. Today, we will be ascending a long flight of stairs to make our way to another famous tourist attraction just north of downtown Paris: La Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre (The Basilica of the…