Did you know that there will be a guided walk in Bristol, in French, next Thursday?

Anne, our French teacher and guide, with the blue badge for the guides, is doing another of her guided walks around the centre of Bristol.
Her walks are getting more and more popular every year; not only is she very knowledgeable but she is also very good at involving the students. She creates a real exchange, in French, so that students feel they're learning about Bristol and improving their French at the same time.
Here is what Sarah, a student with Alliance Française de Bristol, said after the last walk:
J'ai assisté à trois des visites guidées d'Alliance Française, et elles m'ont beaucoup plu. Anne explique l'histoire et l'architecture de Bristol d'une manière si vivante, et interactive, et on apprend beaucoup de vocabulaire.   Je les recommande chaleureusement!

So, why not spend an enjoyable couple of hours strolling around the harbourside looking at the regeneration of the site together with a glance at the public art? Anne will start from the Millenium Square and will aim to make you observe the details which are part of the regeneration project but which tend to go unnoticed.
The walk will start at:
6.30pm by the fountain ( près de la fontaine) of The Millenium Square, la place du Millenium. ( Careful: square in English is la place in French, place in English is l'endroit ou le lieu in French and un square in French is a small public garden in English! Simple !!)
There is just one place left so hurry if you're interested. For more info...
Did you find the answer to the riddle last week?
Here is the answer: un pneu de vélo ( a bicycle tyre)

A riddle for you today from a student studying French in Jocelyne's class:

In her Thursday morning French class, Jocelyne asked her students to write some riddles ( des devinettes) in French. Find below what Simon wrote:

Au début, je suis plat.
Premièrement vous devez enlever mon capuchon.
Ensuite, il est utile de me sortir du lit circulaire dans lequel je demeure..
Je suis normalement habillé de noir, de  préférence organique, mais parfois un peu plus résistant.
Enlève mes vêtements, et cherche le petit trou - c’est  peut être nécessaire de m'immerger doucement dans l'eau pour vous aider à le faire.
Si vous ne trouvez rien,  souffler un peu d'air et écouter attentivement.
Lorsque vous avez trouvé, vous devez me frotter un peu, avant de me coller  et ensuite me remettre en état de marche.
Vous devez maintenant me  re mettre dans mon lit circulaire et m'habiller en noir encore une fois, pas toujours aussi simple que ça parait.
Les gens utilisent toutes sortes de façons de me faire revenir dans mon lit - deux cuillères ont été reconnues pour leur efficacité .
Enfin, remplissez-moi, remettez mon capuchon et nous voilà repartis…
Qui suis-je????  The picture below gives you a clue!


Some dates coming up:
The last French cookery workshops before the Summer start next Thursday, one place left, please hurry if you wish to join. For more info...
Enrolment and assessment night is next Thursday for our Summer French intensive courses, contact us if you wish to join. For more info...

Did you know that the next French cookery workshop starts on May 16th?

Isa, French chef and French tutor at Alliance Française de Bristol, is running 3 French cookery sessions of 1h30 minutes each, starting at 6.30pm on Thursday, May 16th. One French dish is taught at each session:
a starter ( une entrée), a main dish ( un plat principal) and a dessert ( un dessert)
If you attend the  3 sessions, you have cooked a meal.
Here is the menu:
Soufflé aux asperges ( asparagus soufflé)
Blanquette de poissons ( fish cooked in a special white sauce)
Fraisier ( cake with strawberries and crème patissière)

In the meantime, Isa is giving a recipe for tuiles aux amandes, below:

TUILES AUX AMANDES

Ingrédients:
2 œufs
Une pincée de sel
30g de beurre fondu
Une tranche d’orange cristallisée
150g de sucre en poudre
80g de farine
80g d’amandes effilées
Préparation :
Préchauffer le four à 180 degrés
Mélanger avec une spatule les œufs et le sucre
Ajouter la farine, la tranche d’orange en lamelles et les amandes
Mélanger le tout puis ajouter le beurre fondu qui ne doit pas être trop chaud.
Recouvrir une plaque allant au four avec une feuille de silicone ou du papier sulfurisé et bien beurrer.
Verser une cuillérée à café de pâte sur la feuille, bien espacer chaque cuillérée car les tuiles s’étalent.
Cuisson :
Faire cuire et bien dorer pendant environ 7 minutes.
Après la cuisson :
Sortir du four, laisser refroidir pendant 30 secondes, soulever les tuiles sans les casser, mais lorsqu’elles sont encore molles.
Poser chaque tuile sur un rouleau à pâtisserie pour leur donner une forme légèrement concave. Ne pas laisser durcir les tuiles, si cela se produit, les remettre au four brièvement pour les ramollir.
Laisser refroidir. Conserver dans une boîte Tupperware, ne pas mettre au réfrigérateur car les tuiles ramollissent.
Bon appétit!

If you wish to join these French cookery classes in Bristol, contact us quickly as there is only one place left.
For more info...

Let's talk about the sea ( la mer) as the holidays ( les vacances) are not far off:

Ginny and Sarah, both students in one of the French classes in Bristol have written poems on the sea in the shape of a kite ( un cerf-volant).
Here is the trick ( le truc):
You take one noun ( un nom) , you find two adjectives ( deux adjectifs) related to the noun, then 3  verbs ( trois verbes) also related to the noun and 4  nouns ( quatre noms) and you reverse the process. You have the shape of a kite!

Here is Ginny's:

Mer

bleue, tranquille

déferler, nager, plonger
ondine, clapotis, île, bateau

amarrer, faire naufrage, naviguer

ensoleillée, isolée,

plage

And now Sarah's:

Horizon

immense, plombé

s'élargir, s'étendre, présager

écume, flocon, secousse, vague

éclabousser, ruisseler, jaillir

rouge, lointaine,

voile

If you  would like to learn new vocabulary and have fun with it, join one of our French courses, either our French intensive courses starting soon or our regular French groups. For more info...

Did you know that the next cineclub in Bath is on 26th April?

Alliance Française de Bath will show La tête de maman, by Carine Tardieu with Karin Viard, Chloë Coulloud and Kad Merad.

Lulu is 15 years old. A few years before she was born, her mother loved a man who left her. She has never smiled since then, Lulu wants to find this man to bring back a smile on her mother's face. Is bringing back the past a good idea?
Here is link to the trailer ( la bande annonce) to give you an idea:
La tête de maman
Do not hesitate to join students taking French classes in Bath and their French teachers next Friday at 7.30pm. For more info...

Horrid weather in Bristol! Temps infect à Bristol!

Let's treat ourselves to little pleasures ( les petits plaisirs), or at least let's imagine them if we don't feel like going out into the rain ( la pluie) and the wind ( le vent).
This is just what Audrey's French class did last week.
Here are some of the results:

If you can't read them, here they are:
L'apéritif avant un grand repas, en plein air ( apéritif before a big meal, outside)
Un rayon de soleil sur le lit qui nous réveille ( a ray of sunshine on the bed which wakes us up)
Dormir jusqu'à dix heures quand d'autres travaillent ( to sleep until 10 am when others are working)
La première tasse de thé de la journée ( the first cup of tea of the day)
Une ballade à vélo, un matin ensoleillé, sous le pont suspendu, avec de la musique ( a cycle ride, one sunny morning, under the suspension bridge, with some music)
Le sourire d'un étranger ( the smile of a stranger)
Siroter un bon vin rouge ( to sip a good red wine)

Can you think of some more little pleasures? Do not hesitate to put them in the Comment box.

There are still places for Alliance Française de Bristol workshop on la Picardie: it should be fun, with plenty to learn, GCSE level. For more info to join...

Did you know that the next French drama course is starting next Tuesday?

Audrey, our French drama tutor is ready for the next 10 sessions of French drama classes.
You can watch all the videos of the last show on Youtube but here are some details of one of the sketches which takes place on a bus in Marseille:
An American tourist ( une touriste américaine) gets on the bus and asks how much it costs to go to Le Sacré Cœur which, of course, is in Paris. When she is told she is in Marseille, she remembers about la bouillabaisse ( a famous fish soup) which she thinks is a place and asks to go there..... Eventually, she takes the bus tour.
The next person to get on the bus, is an old lady ( une vieille dame) who takes the bus every morning ( chaque matin) to go to le centre ville and who asks each time how much it costs ( c'est combien?). Then she complains that it is too much ( trois euros) and says that she should have a discount as she is an old lady. But she will not get away with it!
The last person to get on is not a tourist ( pas un touriste) but a street artist ( un artiste des rues) a poet ( un poète) who does not want to pay any fare! The bus driver suggests that he walks ( il faut marcher alors!). Eventually, he pays deux euros.
Enjoy watching it, for more info...

If you would like to have fun and learn French at the same time, why not join the French drama course, there are a couple of places left. For more info...