Bike ride pictures number two.

Childhood rhymes

OK, we need help.

The little monkey has learned to "put her potatoes in" or whatever your local phrase for it is/was, to select who goes first in games. Know what I mean?  Where the kids put in their hands and do "eenie meenie miney moe..."  until all hands but one are eliminated?

We remember a few of these:

"One potato, two potato, three potato four..."

"Train, train, number nine, going down the city line, if the train goes off the track, do you want your money back, yes or no?"

"Mother and your mother were hanging up clothes. My mother punched your mother right in the nose. What color was the blood?"  

But variety is the spice of life and we need some spice. Which ones do you remember?

Fancy talk

French can be a very formal language. Just as an example, in English you might close a business letter with "yours truly"  or "sincerely", but this is a fairly typical formal closing in French:

Agréez, je vous prie, l'expression de mes sentiments les plus distingués,

Henri Flaubert

Loosely translated, this means "Please accept my humblest and most heart-felt appreciation for your time, and know that I am not worthy to be in the same room with you and breathe your exhaled breath. I would eat day-old mackerel from a gas station toilet seat merely for an opportunity, however remote, to perhaps catch your attention and receive a favorable nod or half-smile. Please walk upon my face and thereby deliver unto me the honor of your contact, Henri Flaubert"

Well, I'm exaggerating a bit. But not much.

More fun with faux amis!

Ages ago, we did a bit on faux amis, false friends that look like familiar English words, but really means something very different in French.  By popular demand, here are a few more:

parent (n):  In France you aren't restricted to just 2 parents. Here, you can have dozens!  Why? Because a parent is any relative, not just Mom and Dad.

canapé (n):  Mmmm...canapes! Hungry? Bring a sharp knife and fork and maybe some Tabasco sauce, because a canapé is a couch. Bon appetit!

blesser (v):  Careful with this verb. Before you go off and blesse someone, expect some resistance. It means to hurt or injure, not to wish well.

pain (n):  You probably know this one. The French love pain. And we do too. It's French for bread. 

Pop quiz:  What do the French call French fries? Right, just fries (frites, actually). And French bread? Well, it's just bread. And a French horn? The rule changes. It's not merely a horn, but a cor d'harmonie, or harmony horn.

Presenting a new wine from the Fitou region

This one tasted kind of funny.  Almost as if the grapes came from the backside of the vineyard.

Une question.

I ask of you this one question.  Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Today the little monkey had to bring in fruit for her "gouter" or snack.  She has to bring in fruit every Thursday to share with the class.  I have grown bored of buying the standard bananas and apples.  So today I spiced it up and had her bring in the little bite sized tomatoes and an orange.

I pick her up from school and asked how snack time went.  She said, "mama, we can't bring in tomatoes because they are not a fruit!  The teacher said so."  Well now.  We may have an international difference here.   Maybe next time I will let her bring in a pumpkin!

So what do you think?

Huh?

As we drove to Sancerre on Friday, we were presented with a bag of produce at the toll booth. Some tomatoes and peas. Free. In a country where nothing is free. Why? I don't know. I thanked them properly and drove on.

Then today, on the way home, "Sweet Home Alabama" comes on the radio. 

I don't understand this place.