No. 135: Rooftops
“Mine was the twilight and the morning. Mine was a world of rooftops and love songs.”
Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy
Posts from the ‘Paris’ Category
Feb 8
7 Comments
No. 133: Sunglasses Required
There aren’t many days in Paris when sunglasses are essential, but we just hit a few of those days this past weekend. Coming from a state that boasts 300 days of sunshine, I was used to always having a pair of sunglasses with me, but since moving to the City of Light, I can go months without showing off my bug eyes.
Sunday and Monday were exceptionnelles. When Paris skies are blue, the whole city takes note and rushes out to soak up a bit of sunshine.
Vocabulaire
exceptionnelles: exceptional
Feb 3
No. 132: Franglais
My swell friend Julie brought this hillarious Franglais story about the sexual scandal involving France’s President François Hollande, his (now former) First Girlfriend and the (now) First Girlfriend in Waiting. It is old news, but I came across it in my email box again tonight, and laughed so hard (encore), that I thought it was worth sharing. It first appeared in the Daily Telegraph on January 16, 2014.
Even for those of my readers who don’t speak a lick of French, you should be able to figure this out, and it will give you all a pretty good idea of the level of French that I (sadly) deal in on a daily basis. Amusez-vous!
François Hollande est dans un spot de bother. Il est dans un pickle. Franchement, il est dans l’eau chaud. Selon un magazine français, le président a been having une affaire très steamy avec une femme improbably belle. Et hier, slap bang dans le middle de cette scandale, il devait give un grand press conference.
Quel luck rotten!
Mais il y avait un peu de bon news pour le pauvre homme: il est français. Et les français, apparently, ne care pas about les affaires steamy. En fait, un nouveau poll shows que depuis la scandale broke, le président a become plus populaire! En France, vous voyez, c’est seulement une scandale si un homme n’a pas une affaire.
En Paris, le press conference était complètement packed. En angleterre, les journalistes anglais ont regardé l’action à la télévision. Ils n’ont pas pu wait to écouter le gossip juicy about l’homme important et son bit sur le side.
En fin, le président – un petit fellow qui apparently a seulement un pair des chaussures – est arrivé. Pour once, il n’a pas porter son motorcycle helmet.
Sans further ado, il a commencé parler about l’économie. Il a parlé about it pour un très long temps. Cinq minutes, dix minutes, vingt minutes, trente minutes – tout sour l’économie!
C’était tout terribly intéressant, mais je n’ai pas pu help but feel qu’il y avait un éléphant dans la salle.
un éléphant dans la salle….
Mais still il a continué de parler about l’économie, et le banking, et le social security, et so on et so on. Zut alors! Monsieur le Président certainement avait beaucoup à dire about sujets that a rien to do avec le steamy hot shagging.
“Je suis desolé pour going into such detail,” a dit le président. Il est such un tease.
Finalement il a fini parler about son dratted économie. Donc! C’était temps pour some questions about les sujets plus importants, such as le hanky-panky! Naughty Monsieur le Président a been jouer au Cachez le Saucisse! Les journalistes français would avoir beaucoup de choses à dire about ça!
…les sujets plus importants, such as le hanky-panky…
“Excusez-moi, Monsieur le Président,” a dit un petit journaliste, très politely, “mais pouvez-vous possiblement tell nous, si ce n’est pas trop much trouble, qui at le moment est la ‘Première Femme’?”
“Non, je ne jolly well could pas,” a dit le président.
Et ça, apparently, était ça. Pas de further questions sur le rumpy-pumpy. Les journalistes français just voulaient to ask about le silly économie. Quel waste de temps ça was.
Feb 3
No. 131: Le Jour des Crêpes
While Americans waited (and saw) Punxsutawney Phil’s furry shadow today, the French were busy getting ready for le jour des crêpes, or la Chandeleur.
In Catholic France, Chandeleur marks the purification of Mary and the presentation of the baby Jesus to the Roman temple 40 days after his birth. It is known as the day of hope and light, and in the church is celebrated with heaps of candles and a procession.
So, where do the crêpes come in?
Savoury crêpes are actually called galettes (and are made with buckwheat) this is a galette de blé noir au saumon fumé that we enjoyed today to celebrate the day.
Well apparently this candle lighting and procession marching has been going on for a very, very long time in the Christian world. At some point early on, the ruling Pope wanted to reward and fortify the pilgrims who came all the way to Rome to celebrate the festa candelarum, so he offered up crêpes to his flock.
This tradition stuck, and now each year, the French eat crêpes on February 2, forty days after Christmas. Games are played with flipping crêpes with one hand while holding a coin in the other, to predict your family’s prosperity…expert one-hand flippers with strong wrists required, please…
…and it is also the day to predict whether or not winter is ending, or if 40 more days of chilly weather are in the future.
Here are a couple of French proverbs that sum things up:
Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte.
Candlemas covered (in snow), forty days are lost (to winter).
Rosée à la Chandeleur, hiver à sa dernière heure.
Dew on Candlemas, winter is in its final hour.
Now, I couldn’t find any proverbs about brilliant sunshine and blue, blue skies, but this is what it looked like in Paris today:
Chinese New Year Celebration, Hôtel de Ville, Paris 2014
So, I’m thinking that winter is in its final hours à Paris.
Sorry Punxsutawney, but I’ll take the crêpes and the sunshine, while you retreat back into your burrow and wait for the freeze to end.
Crêpes Suzette à la Hélène
Jan 31
No. 128: maman gâteau
maman gâteau:
femme très attentionnée, qui fait des cadeaux; a very caring/attentive woman who gives presents…
soft, indulgent mother/woman...
I’m not feeling too confident about my French today after yesterday’s post, but I came across this phrase yesterday when I was reading. Not quite sure exactly what it meant, I went in search of a definition. The second definition: soft, indulgent mother/woman…made more sense in the context of what I was reading. If I’m on target, the phrase makes me smile, because the literal translation is “cake mom” or “mom of cake”…
Who wouldn’t want a cake mom?
source: lejournaldemllem.canalblog.com
Vocabulaire
maman gâteau: soft, indulgent mother; but literally, cake mother
maman: mom; mother
Jan 30
No. 127: French Body Language
Lately I have been spending more time with a couple of French women. We try to speak French, but invariably we end up in English as they are far more fluent in my native tongue than I am in theirs. But it is still wonderful, and I feel like I am finally getting a small insiders view to what makes the French woman tick.
I have been secretly studying them, and trying to learn how to be a little more French, at least in my gestures, sounds and facial expressions. I find it very interesting because sometimes their gestures have completely different meanings from the same gesture in America, and sometimes they are gestures I’d never seen before moving to France.
Here are a few of my favorites that I am practicing en ce moment. I’m pretty sure most of these should only be used among friends.
*Ce n’est pas ma faute / Je n’en sais rien.
These phrases usually accompanies the good old Gallic shrug—raised shoulders, raised eyebrows, lower lip thrust out, hands held up like you are being robbed. Meaning: It’s not my fault / I don’t know (how that happened).
C’est Nul!
This saying accompanies the American thumbs down gesture to indicate something is worthless, foolish or just plain bad.
Rien!*
This one might confuse Americans because for us it’s the A-OK gesture—as in making a circle with your index finger and thumb while your other three fingers stay up. In French body language this actually means zero, zip, nothing, and, I’m guessing, irrelevant.
J’ai du nez.*
This is a saying I don’t hear very often, but I see this gesture a lot when French women are talking together. They tap their nose with their index finger and look mischievously in your eyes. This, I believe, means they are cunning and quick and have seen the truth faster than anyone else in the conversation. I adore this gesture. It always makes me smile.
Il a un verre dans le nez.
This saying and gesture is for when someone you’re hanging out with has had a bit too much to drink. For comedic relief (or behind the drinkers back), you make a fist and hold it up in front of your nose, tilt your head and twist your hand. Try it out at your next party.
Chut! / Silence!
When you want some one to shut up or fermez-la, you can hold up your index finger in the air (not in front of your lips), and give a severe look to the people disturbing you. French teachers use this gesture frequently.
Du fric!
If you are out shopping with your French girlfriends or even talking about shopping or buying something, you will hear this expression. It accompanies the holding out of your hand and rubbing your thumb across you fingertips. This specifies that something is too expensive for you, or you need the money to buy it.
Et enfin…
Victoire!
I never actually hear women say, “Victoire!”, but I see this symbol all the time. This, of course, in America is the “peace sign” or is used to signifies the number 2, when ordering something, but in France it means victory or success in accomplishing something.
* Please see the comment section for a reader’s different interpretation of some of these gestures. I am very grateful for all your feedback and corrections. French, it isn’t easy for me!
Vocabulaire:
en ce moment: at the moment
Et enfin…And finally…
fermez-la: shut it, or shut up
Victoire! Victory!
Jan 30
No: 126: American Musical Theatre LIVE!
source: AMT Live! Paris
Our family life in Paris would not be the same without the joyful, dedicated and exciting organization: American Musical Theatre LIVE! Truly, they have been a lifesaver and creative safe-haven for my two daughters, in a city where this type of artistic expression is only beginning to get a foothold.
Raised by a jolly, crooning father and theatre loving mother, I grew up addicted to American musicals. While most of my peers were crushing on Bobby Sherman and David (and Sean) Cassidy, I was pining for Gene Kelly in his tight sailor jazz pants. Don’t even get me started on Yul Brynner in the King and I. Even today two of my favorite performers are Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris not because I like them in Wolverine and How I Met Your Mother, but because, at heart, they are truly song-and-dance men.
Not surprisingly, I have passed my love of musical theatre on to Kitcat and Button. Before her second birthday, Kitcat had memorized Madonna’s Evita, Don’t Cry for Me Argentina…really. And, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, but by the time they were 8 and 5, they could sing the entire Cell Block Tango from Chicago with all the passion and anger of the original cast. At 10 and 7 they were regularly performing the Elephant Love Song Medley from Moulin Rouge for family and guests. So is it any surprise they are both actively pursuing their dreams of performing on Broadway or the West End?
Thankfully for both of them, but especially Button, we stumbled upon American Musical Theatre LIVE! on our second go-around in Paris. Co-founded by Miranda Crispin and John Florencio, two amazing artists and performers with a passion for American Musical Theatre, AMT LIVE! has been a godsend. They are the place to see contemporary off-Broadway musicals and cabaret concerts in Paris. And if you have the gumption and talent, they offer a musical theatre open mic soirées once a month. They are also available for professional, private coaching.
laurelzuckerman.com
The group’s mission “is to introduce and promote musical theatre, notably contemporary works, and to provide a forum for exchange between French and international performers.” It’s a great mission and one they work extremely hard at accomplishing.
AMT LIVE! regularly hosts talented and highly regarded Artists-in-Residence from around the world. Button has been fortunate enough to participate in several, the most exceptional being a master class with Tony nominated Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Edges, A Christmas Story, the Musical; Dogfight, and James and the Giant Peach, A Musical). She was also cast in AMT LIVE!’s production of Edges in Paris last summer. It was a life changing experience and yet one more thing to love about our time in France.
The Premiere of EDGES in France, AMT Live!
365+ Things I Love About France 