French with Nicole

In French, the word pont  means bridge. This natural wonder is aptly named Le Pont d’Arc because it looks like a bridge. It is located in southern France, where the   Ardèche  river eroded the stone over thousands of years to create this hollow archway. Le Pont d’Arc is a French Heritage site. The arch is also the gateway to one of the most beautiful natural sites in France,  Les   Gorges de l’ Ardèche  (the Ardèche canyon)  – a very popular spot for canoeing and kayaking. My daughter Celine negotiated part of the gorge with her Dad and a group of friends some years ago. This is her account:   “It took us 6 hours. The first part was exciting with rapids and gorges soaring above us. The scenery was stunning! The river actually took us through a nudist camp and in typical French style, they were using the river to swim and the beach to sunbathe. It was quite a revelation, as I was only 12 at the time! The second part of the journey represe...

                        Salt Flats - Credits Cyril Ruchet I was lucky enough to visit this stunning area a few years ago and still remember vividly the beautiful landscapes of the Camargue, pink flamingos and white horses. The beautiful fortress of Aigues Mortes provides a perfect backdrop to this mystical scene.  The Camargue is the largest river delta in Western Europe and yields many surprises including the amazing Salt Flats. The spectacular panorama of edged pink water are due to a high concentration of pink salt.  While the salt flats are naturally occurring, and have been for hundreds of years, the salt is nowadays industrially mined.  The salt marsh yields about 500 000 tones of salt per year! The " Salin d' Aigues Morte s" is actually the largest of its kind in the Mediterranean and produces high quality salt. Why is the salt pink?  The microscopic algae Dunaliella Salina gives salty water its pink ...

  If you speak a little French, you might know that the word “ la manche ” translates as “ the sleeve” . However, did you know that the term “ La Manche” is also the French name for the English Channel?   This is quite likely due to the channel resembling a shirtsleeve.  Interestingly, most European countries (except Holland), also refer to the channel as “the sleeve” in their own language:  French: La Manche Italien: La Manica Spanish: La Mancha Portuguese: A Mancha German: Ärmelkanal, etc... The exception being a couple of traditional regional languages on both sides of the channel, which call it the "Brittany Sea": Breton: Mor Breizh  Cornique: Mor Bretannek So why do the British (and English speaking countries) call it the English Channel?    Some suggest that the name “the English Channel” refers to the fact that more of the sea belongs to England than France does. This is supported by the fact that the channel is the home of the Channel Islands...

An other fascinating French idiom! "Tomber dans les pommes" literally translates as "t o fall in the apples "! - What it actually means is to "pass out/to faint"!

  The word potpourri , borrowed from the French " pot - pourri" , translates literally as putrid pot! In English, the word has two common meanings in use today: ·          Potpourri  generally describes a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials, used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. ·          In a figurative way, it also refers to a miscellaneous collection or medley. However the earlier English use of the word was to describe some form of stew. Looking at its French origin, it appears that the word was actually taken and copied from the Spanish “ olla podrida ”, a stew which was a speciality in Burgos . This can be dated back to the Napoleonic occupation of Burgos (1808 – 1813). Both French and Spanish words mean rotten/putrid pot. It is not certain as to why both the Spanish and the French described their stew as rotten. It ...

Départements et Territoires D’outre-mer. A thousand miles from mainland France, in the heart of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, lay amazing and unusual locations: the French overseas territories. Lush vegetation, spectacular panoramic views, beautiful white sandy beaches, mountains and waterfalls await you in this very different aspect of France.   The Départements et Territoires D’outre-mer  ( the overseas Departments and territories ) refer collectively to all territories under French sovereignty outside mainland France. They are considered an integral part of France and overall cover 12 time zones. All citizens living in overseas French territories can vote in the elections and have representation in the French parliament.   They include: The islands of Guadeloupe , Martinique , Saint Martin , Saint Barthelemy , Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Atlantic Ocean) Reunion Island , Mayotte , The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (indian Ocean) French P...