Tag Archives: French culture
French Culture – Retro Pubs Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 9, 2019
When I lived in France in the 1980’s, I found popular culture, including commercials, to be a powerful way to connect with and to learn French. J’étais donc enchanté (I was therefore charmed) to stumble across this great YouTube clip (video) that features de biens bons (some great ones). Over the next few weeks, I’ll…
French Vocabulary – Internet Policies Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 2, 2019
Last week I shared a link to an article about the new gite (guest house) that my stepdaughter and husband opened at their nursery. If you happened to click through to see the details, then you might have encountered un message pop-up (a pop-up message) explaining the sites use of les cookies. When is a…
French Culture – Current(ish) Events Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 25, 2019
As you know, I had the great privilege of studying in France au lycée (in high school). I also enjoyed returning during my junior year (3rd year) à l’université (in college*). Reading a recent New York Times article, I learned that that was just one thing I shared with the late Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Une…
French Music – Christophe Willem Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 18, 2019
Christophe Willem exploded onto the French pop scene in 2006 when he won the French singing competition Nouvelle Star (the French version of American Idol / Pop Idol). Since then he’s become one of my favorite singers, though his songs (and particularly his videos) aren’t always well suited for a blog. I recently came across…
French vocabulary – Food shopping Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 4, 2019
While it is true that there are more and more épiceries (grocery stores) in France and that more people font leurs emplettes dans des grands-surfaces (do their shopping in big stores) or in des supermarchés (super markets), most Français (French people) still do a fair amount of their food shopping in small, often-family-owned shops that…
French Commercial – Renault Robbers Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 7, 2019
When I was 14, the French car company, Renault, made their entrée sur le marché américaine (entrance to the American market). My parents even bought two … matching red and blue Renault Alliances. Sadly, they weren’t great … and Renault didn’t last long in the US. Imagine my surprise then, when I got to France…
Notre-Dame de Paris avant le feu Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 16, 2019
Mon coeur est lourd aujourd’hui (My heart is heavy today). Unless you are on a 24×7 news blackout, I assume by now you’ve all seen the tragic news out of Paris hier (yesterday). In an absolutely shocking turn of events, one of the world’s most magnificent cathedrals and un vrai chef-d’oeuvre de l’architecture gothique (a true…