We were in the Jura during the Toussaint holidays, during one week. We love that region that is on the road to the Alps. Its foothills and woods are very nice when you like walking. And there are also lakes and waterfalls.  There is a crêperie in Pont-de-Poitte where we love to have an early dinner or lunch : it’s a warm place and the owner Laurence has a wonderful voice. There is something special about that place. We were having lunch there when we met another family : the grands-parents,...

Since September, Micaela, my eldest daughter, takes the train every day to go to Paris. She has classes either near Cité Universitaire or near Luxembourg. Both stations are on the  line of the RER B.  One morning, I took the train with her and ask her about her journey and what was going to be her day.  In the notes that come with the transcript, you will find some info about the text, but also 2 very natural French expressions that are very interesting to focus on. I will also give you a...

This episode comes from the past : it was written  and recorded  in April 2012 for One Thing In A French Day poscast, Cultivate Your French’s big brother.  My grils were little girls at that time. That day, we had invited a friend  of ours to have lunch  with us at a crêperie. She was a nice woman, always keen on joking with the grils as you will see.  In the notes that come with the transcript of this episode, I will give you the crêpes recipe and also show you a very commun word that we...

After spending the afternoon at the hammam, my friend Geraldine and I did not feel like taking the metro back to Saint-Lazare. The weather was nice so we decided to walk instead. It was a nice walk because Paris is a city that changes a lot, and as you walk, you can really feel the change from one neighborhood to another.  We stopped to eat a little something in a boulangerie.  In the notes that come with  the transcript, we will study how to talk about a place, un endroit in French.  So...

On Friday evenings, after the kung fu class, we often stay longer together just talking, the kung fu team.  Of course, we talk about kung fu, but not always. There are different ages in our group, sometimes it leads to funny conversations. For example, we had a talk about famous movie soundtracks.  In the notes that come with the transcript, we will take a close look at specific verbs, how they are used and conjugated, though they are very frequently used verbs.  So, to cultivate your...

Every week-end, on Sunday morning, I join a group of nordic walkers.  The walk takes place in Rueil Malmaison’s wood : le bois de Saint-Cucufa, supervised by our coach Philippe.  Last Sunday, at the end of our walk, Philippe decided to challenge  us a little bit. He wanted us to climb a slope in different stages. It means going down each time you reach a stage. After this intense effort, we stayed a moment down the slope. And we met someone. You are going to discover who in this episode.  In...

Micaela is going to have a penfriend from an American University. It’s part of her English course at University.  To present herself she had to publish a short text, on an online board, startiting with this sentence : Si j’étais une œuvre d’art, je serais.  The answer is in today’s episode, of course. But, have you noticed in this sentence the use of the conditionnel?   In the notes that come with the transcript, I share with you a short study of how we use the conditionnel in everyday...

Do you know that London is only two hours from Paris by train? My friend Sylvie and I went to London for a day, two weeks ago. The temperatures were very high that day. But it was nice to enjoy London under the sun. We had planned our day : a lunch at Pophams, a bakery that is also a restaurant (I was very curious about it), then a visit to the Bank of England museum’s and then, the inevitable Foyles.  But we were a little bit early for lunch, so we decided to enter the little church of...

The big question these days that young people ask each other is : when do you go back to school?  Going back to school after summer holidays is what we call in French  la rentrée !  La rentrée is when you discover your new classmates, new teachers, or new school. This is what this episode is about regarding my daughters Micaela and Felicia.  As usual, in the transcript, I will highlight for you 3 expressions that are natural in French with some examples, so you too could use them in your...

Summer holidays are over for us and I’m happy to be back with you dear listeners. I hope those of you who are subscribers have enjoyed the special episodes during the holidays about being at a French café. Now, before going back to France, let me share with you a few words about our Summer trip to Italy. We were staying in Puglia, in the deep South of Italy were my husband Pietro has family.  During the Ferragosto period, around the 15th of August, beaches were crouded with people a 8 in...

To cultivate your French, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com The transcript is a very powerful tool because you can read what is said, you can see how the sentences are built, you can see how verbs are conjugated, how words are written. You can also use it to repeat aloud some parts of the texts and improve your spoken French. You can also read the text before to hear it, so you’ll understand it better.  The subscription costs 4 euros a month.  For the third...

Last week, we listened to Bryce Bianconi talking about His job as an artisan. Have you guessed his does for a living? He works with glass, he makes stained glass, vitraux in French. France has the largest surface of stained glass in the world, mainly because of our cathedrals, but stained glass was also à la mode in the 19 th century, in nice houses, building or hotels.  Bryce restores stained glass but also creates some for home interiors.  Today we are going to hear him talking about the...

Last week, Micaela and I were attending a kung-fu week with our team and our teacher in Poitiers. We were staying in a regional sport resort; The place was lovely and had a nice Renaissance castle.  Xie Han our teacher was also taking care of a Taiji group and had a particular eye on Josepha’s training as she is going to participate to the Kung-fu Word Championships in China this summer.  On Thursday, Xie Han asked us to be cautious with ourselves, to not get hurt because we were getting...

A few weeks ago, my friend Pauline showed me a book that she got for Christmas, a book about nice table settings, Chez eux. this book gave us the idea to build a podcast episode about setting a table. If we were to set a table, we might as well have a lunch or a brunch on it! We took our agenda and decided about a date. Then we imagined our menu : something simple but nice, with flowers on the table. That day, we first did some shopping. We bought some gariguetes (early strawberries), we...

So there we are : the baccalauréat is over for Micaela. She doesn’t have the result yet, but she took the latest exam last Tuesday. It was « le grand oral » : you must speak for 5 minutes on a subject that you have prepared.  And since the beginning of June, she also knows what she’s going to do next year. But before that she had to choose between the different universities where she was accepted. Suddenly, choosing seems so difficult and you only have 3 days to make your choice. This is...

My friend Pauline is taking drawing classes and she is starting a new technique : watercolour, aquarelle in French ! Her teacher suggested that she could buy her own watercolour set. She gave her the name of a famous shop in Paris where you can buy art supplies  : Sennelier.  Sennelier is located Quai Voltaire, just in front of le Louvre, on the over side of La Seine. The shop was created in 1887 by French colour passionnate and chimist Gustave Sennelier who devoted his life to creating...

Last Friday, I travelled to Strasbourg with my kung-fu team. Sixteen of us were participating to the National Kung-fu open of Schiltigheim. I arrived a little bit earlier than the others to visit the beautiful city of Strasbourg.  The competion was on Saturday the 10th. It was a great moment for all of us and we were so happy to spend this day together. It’s different when you meet for breakfast with your sleepy eyes ! In this episode I will tell you about both my performances and about...

Yesterday evening, I went for a walk in my neighbourhood, There is a one hour walk that I particularly enjoy, but last night I took a different direction. I passed Micaela and Felicia’s highschool, the building is under construction. But there was something to notice on the new building that is about to be finished. This what this episode is about.  In the transcript, I will highlight for you 3 expressions that are very natural in French and that you could use in your own French...

The end of the year is close now for my 3 daughters. In France, students have long days at school, a lot of holidays during the year (2 weeks every 7 weeks) and long summer holidays. My daughters wished they had less holidays and shorter days at school. They often start at 8 in the morning and finish at 5 in the afternoon. On Thurdays, Micaela starts at 8 and finishes school at 6 in the evening. This represents 9 hours of class during the day. Then, at home, they have to do their homework and...

It was a rainy day, two weeks ago, my friend Pauline and I were having a walk in the center of Paris, near Les halles, la bourse du commerce (now the Parisian exhibition site of François Pinault’s modern art collection) and l’église Saint-Eusache.  Place Margurite de Navarre, there is a modern building : the Novotel Les Halles. In the center of the hotel, there is an unexpected hidden garden : a patio full of plants. There you can have a very nice experience : the Tea time of the cheffe...

20230509_193442.jpg Last week, my friend Caroline invited me to go with her to see a marvelous show at the Opéra Bastille : three chorégraphies by Maurice Béjart. It was a such a moment. The Opera Bastille is the modern opéra of Paris. It was inaugurated in 1989 for the bicentenary of the French Revolution. It’s a very nice place and going to the Opera is really a special moment. I guess that it’s not as charming as in the 19th Century at the Opera Garnier, but something happens when you are...

My friend Claire works as a librarian, archivist at the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds in Paris. This institute is a school for deaf people created by l’Abbé de l’Epée en the 18th century. On the podcast, we have known Claire for a few years now. We first met her as an history student at La Sorbonne, then at l’Ecole des Chartes a prestigious Parisian school specialising in historical sciences. She shared with us a promenade in the Quartier Latin in 2020, then last year she told us about...

On Saturdays, we usually make pizzas and watch a movie, the 5 of us.  Last Saturday, we chose to watch a film by Eric Rohmer a famous French director part of the French New Wave. T his movie is Conte de Printemps. It was timed in 1990, a time where there was no mobile phone, though the phone is often used in this movie.  This episode tells you about the story of the movie and what was Micaela and Lisa’s reaction to this type of movie.  It will also be the occasion to imagine what could...

Have you ever heard of K-Pop bands like The Boyz, the Stray Kids or Mamamoo?  Felicia is a K-pop fan, so last Saturday, I went with her to Music Bank Paris, a festival of K-Pop bands in the largest concert stadium in Europe : La Défense Arena, very close to where we live.  This stadium is so big, it can held a rugby field in its center.  This event was expected with great impatience by the thousands of fans all over Europe and the atmosphere was absolutely crazy : people were shouting their...

We had a guest this week at home : an Italian exchange student. She arrived last Thursday in Paris with her classmates and left yesterday. All of them were staying in French families of Felicia’s class.  This five days with us has been the occasion to visit Paris as tourist for Felicia and I. But it has also been the occasion to make or buy some French specialities for the Italien student. So what have we cooked or bought for her? This is what you are going to discover in this episode.  As...