A Taste of Provence Workshop - book now for June!

A Taste of Provence Workshop on the 22nd of April 2010 was a huge success. So much so that we are already preparing for the next workshop on the 24th June at Cooks Barn near Cambridge, but don't take our word for it, here's one of the many testimonials we received from participants!

"That was truly amazing. This variation of “French on your plate” in association with “Made in Provence” was definitely a brilliant idea!"

We had, until now, enjoyed discovering and preparing various regional dishes. We even had had a Provençal Christmas dinner last year and had all agreed how interesting it was to get to know more about the culture and the language as well as have a go at cooking French specialities.

Francine Rouanet-Démocrate met Christine Vidal of "Made in Provence" at the France Show last January and sampled some of her delicious handmade Provençal products - free from any artificial additives - and also enjoyed smelling handcrafted soaps and enchanting house perfumes. It soon became obvious that if we invited her to our workshops and people had a taste too, we could take them on the way to Provence; for real…

By adding blind tastings (in the form of a friendly competition) to our existing workshop format of mixing language tuition with cooking sessions, we enhanced the whole experience for participants.

The workshop “A taste of Provence” offered a similar approach to that of the usual “French on your plate”. However the changes gave the workshop a whole new dimension.

Starting the evening with an apéritif first. Not everyone was familiar with the taste of aniseed in the “pastis” or the taste of gentian in the “Suze”. Both such
typical drinks for an apéritif in the South of France. Some loved it, some didn’t (the “Marmite” principle). Everyone enjoyed the “tapenades” especially the ones without anchovies….
We shortened the tuition to move rapidly onto the cookery demonstration. While the meal for 12 was cooking, we had fun doing the "blind tasting" competition, that was won by Ross, a young Scotsman with a good nose.

Last but not least, we all sat down to dinner complete with Rosé de Provence, “liqueur de violette”, nougats and “calissons “.

All agreed that this must be the best way to learn French in this country!!!!
Make a note of Thursday 24th of June. We’ll be back! Book your place now.

Marathon de Paris

Back from the Paris Marathon… totally exhausted, took two weeks to get over it…. and I didn’t run it! Roz and Linda from Cambridge and Newmarket did and a whole bunch of us were there to support them.
We walked all over the place, crossed bridges and caught the metro here and there, simply to keep up with them and be in the right place at the right time to hand out drinks, pieces of fruit and cheer them on. The group was split into two: those who really had something to do with the marathon, the brave ones, and the “tourists”.


As well as dashing around the
city, people in my company, supporting the runners, had to speak French only or else pay a fine of one euro per sentence uttered in English…. to be spent wisely on some celebratory drinks later on, was the plan!

The others let us get on with it and enjoyed Paris in their own way: cycling along the avenues on a Velib, stopping for a drink or a bite at a café en route…. their own version of the marathon (!), shopping, sightseeing meeting up with the rest of the group in the evening.

After a few chilly days, the weather at the week-end turned out to be lovely, sunny but cool, perfect for the runners … and their supporters, all on foot and pressed for time…

The ambience was amazing. I am told that, unlike London and New York, the Paris Marathon is “quiet”. There was a bit of Jazz or drum playing here and there at a street corner or on a bridge, but on the whole it was more the colourful crowds, the odd friendly chat with perfect strangers and the sweet smells of the parks and gardens that prevail in the Spring.

The 30,000 plus participants ran softly and quietly, cheered gently by the public, along the circuit. Whilst Roz and Linda went on jogging, as fresh as daisies, we rested our feet on the metro and went to watch their arrival the Arc de Triomphe (also where it had all started at 8 in the morning). Our two stars made it in good time (4h40) and were hugged and congratulated for their performance. That way of seeing Paris was definitely different! Another Paris one might say!

A “pinch” of linguistics

The French vocabulary is numerically more limited than the English one. There are different ways of overcoming this shortage of words. It is usually done through some grammatical artifice. One of these consists in adding a group of words to the noun to clarify its meaning, where the English language usually has just one word. For example we say “le bouton de la chemise” (button), “le bouton de rose” (rosebud), “le bouton de porte” (doorknob) and to cut quite a long list of “boutons” short “le bouton sur le nez” which is a pimple on the nose! There are many other words requiring a little supplement to be correctly understood.

Another way of getting more meaning from a word through a grammatical device: changing the gender of a given word. For example:

• “le” or “la” livre, one you read (book) the other you spend or weigh items with(pound)
• “le” or “la tour”, one on your bike around France the other may be called Eiffel!
• “le voile” which is worn over the head by a nun or a bride whereas “la voile” will enable you to sail your boat
• a bunch of flowers goes into “le vase”, but the slimy stuff at the bottom of the river is “la vase”

You also have “le mousse”, the youngest sailor onboard a ship or “la mousse”. You can also have yet more choices by adding the first grammatical artifice of adding words, with the second of a different gender:

• “la mousse au chocolat” (chocolate mousse)
• “la mousse de la bière”, the white stuff on your pint
• “la mousse” you create when you wash with a piece of soap

to name but a few.

 

As if that wasn’t confusing enough, there is more to using the masculine and feminine in French! Many masculine nouns also have also a feminine form. Some are pretty straightforward: “un coiffeur” becomes “une coiffeuse” in the feminine form, where both mean hairdresser (a man or woman). Unfortunately there are cases where the meaning varies a little and doesn’t sound very flattering to a woman’s ear. To name a couple: “un homme léger” is charming and witty man, “une femme légère” implies a fallen woman. “Un petit gars” is a cute young lad, whereas “une petite garce” is a husband’s nightmare. One might speculate that this could due to the fact that French grammar was originally devised by male scholars… Luckily we are here to help you sort out the subtleties of our intriguing language!

Eternal France

From quaint villages in the Cévennes or Brittany, to the dazzling white slopes of the Alps, or even the opal green seascapes of Normandy, it is true that France is a beautiful and varied country. Plentiful are the hidden parts of “la France profonde” which are real gems. Some have hardly changed through the ages. These images are magnified in our memories as being basked in glorious sunshine, yet only a small part of France enjoys blue skies all year round. If you are thinking to move to France, we would advise you visit your chosen area in all seasons. It is true that the climate of France is considered on the whole to be rather clement. There are however at least four major zones corresponding to a more specific sub-climate:

• “Oceanic” in Western France from Normandy to the Basque country via the Bordeaux area. From North to South there are variations. However Normandy and Brittany greatly resemble Devon and Cornwall in landscape, vegetation and weather.
• “Continental” in Eastern parts such as Champagne, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley. Those regions enjoy the extremes, from scorching summers to violent storms and sub-zero temperatures in winter.
• “Mountain climate” in the Jura, the Alps, The Massif Central or the Pyrénées. Life and weather are similar to other European high altitude regions such as Switzerland or Austria.
• “Mediterranean” by far the smallest zone of all, along the Riviera and Southern Languedoc. Ironically, this is typically the image most people have of France as a whole. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security as while a city like Montpellier can enjoy on average over 250 days of annual sunshine, the average rainfall there is the same as in Cambridge.

These four climate zones along with approximately 600 micro-climates account for the rich and varied regional delicacies and wines. Remember, like most parts of the UK, France has varied weather depending on the time of year. If you love it in all seasons, rain or shine, then you are ready for the big move!

France today

Not one single week goes by without the French expressing their discontent through a protest march or a strike! Radio stations air comedian sketches that make fun of French politicians on a daily basis. This affects all walks of life, social status and sectors. On the whole, no matter how disruptive these protests might be, most of the French population support these actions. Naturally, if strikes tend to linger, this creates new debate and discontent, so a fine balance has to be struck. All in all, this is as integral to French life and culture as bread and cheese!

To illustrate the point here is a short list (!) of some of the varied topics that have hit the news this week:

Transport 

Paris public transports (RATP) one day strike Friday 12th March 2010Air France pilots on strike starting late February and continuing into March, affecting regional airports. This following on from the Air Controllers strikes earlier in February. National French Railway (SNCF) strike predicted for March 23rd 2010


Education
Strike and protest march on the 12th March 2010 in Paris and other cities in France for all educators from primary schools to university.

Healthcare
Protest march & strike of all nursing staff on the 11th March 2010. GP national strike on the same date, to get an extra euro per consultation. 

Media
Just in time for the local election results, French television channels are threatening blackouts during their broadcast this weekend!

Public Services
Refuse collections interrupted by strike action in Marseille since March 6th 2010.

Should you want to join the French in these types of debates, we can help you brush up your language skills quickly and effectively, so you can truly enjoy all aspects of French life!

Let's run to Paris ... and through Paris on April 11th! Interested?

A SPECIAL 'PARIS AUTREMENT': PARIS MARATHON 9-11 APRIL 2010 

How about being there and share all the excitement of Another Paris? By the way, you don't have to run, you can just watch...

Every year in April, 35,000 runners crowd the streets of Paris in the annual Marathon de Paris – or Paris International Marathon. The marathon runners get a good view of the magnificent city and some of its famous sights.

The course starts out right in front of the Triumphal Arch and continues down the broad Champs Elysées. The route passes through two Parisian woods and past landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral and Place de la Bastille.

A large part of the course runs along the banks of the calmly flowing Seine River providing pleasing scenery and ensuring flat streets at the same time.

Contact us to find out more
http://www.thewaytofrance.com/
info@thewaytofrance.com

Happy New Year | Bonne Année from The Way To France

As is customary in France throughout January, we present you with our very best wishes for the upcoming year. After the success of last year's activities, we have update the calendar on our website with lots of exciting new entries! Highlights include: 

• Du pain sur la planche "La cuisine du Nord de la France" on February 25th at Cook's Barn morning (9.30am-2.30pm) and evening (6-10pm) sessions
• Du pain sur la planche "The art of making a French baguette" on March 25th & May 20th at Cook's Barn morning (9.30am-2.30pm) and evening (6-10pm) sessions
  
• Paris autrement "Marathon de Paris" from the 9th - 11th April 
  
• Du pain sur la planche "La cuisine de printemps" on April 22nd at Cook's Barn morning (9.30am-2.30pm) and evening (6-10pm) sessions
  
• Paris autrement "Paris zéro euro" from the 14th - 16th May
  
• De la mer à la table "A weekend in Brittany" May 29th - June 2nd
  
• Paris autrement "Fête de la musique" from the June 18th - 20th
  

We will post further details of each of these activities, events and courses shortly. In the meantime, please contact us to register interest and book your place.