It was a time trial ( une course contre la montre) which Christopher Froome won. But do you know Megève?
It is in the Alps in Haute Savoie, it became popular in the early 1920 ies thanks to the Rothschild family who wanted a posh ski resort (une station de ski ) in France rather than in Switzerland. La baronne de Rothschild had some smart hotels built, these soon attracted aristocrats, kings like Albert 1er de Belgique and queens. It is now known internationaly ( a une renommée internationale).
It hosts numerous festivals and competitions in Winter such as polo playing on snow or snow golf competitions, and in Summer, a jazz festival called Jazz Contest, also a classical music festival, Les Estivales de Megève and plenty more.
There are numerous outdoor activities as well as ski-ing, you can do some tree climbing circuits ( de l' accrobranche), gliding ( du parapente), follow a fitness trail ( un parcours santé) some Summer sledging ( de la luge d'été) and so much more.
So if you have no plans yet for this Summer or next Winter and you feel like mixing with VIPs, you know where to go!!!
But first of all, you'll need to improve your French, so do look at all the language courses and activities which we offer, for more info...
Sunday, 24 July 2016
Sunday, 17 July 2016
Nice: nous sommes unis!
At Alliance Française de Bristol et Bath, we have all been appalled by the tragedy which took place in Nice on 14th July. We want to offer our most sincere condolences to all the people who have lost dear ones and we very much hope that all the injured will recover soon. We want to show our solidarity with all the people who were on La Promenade des Anglais last Thursday.
We also would like to share with you some nice memories of Nice as Martine went to Nice with her Tuesday evening French class a few years ago.
They stayed in a small hotel near La Promenade des Anglais, had lunch at one of the numerous cafés on La Promenade, it was bathing in sunshine although it was in January.
They walked up to le Château which is a park on a hill with a wonderful view over la Baie des Anges on one side and the old port on the other, very close to le vieux-Nice. Le Vieux-Nice is the main tourist area with lots of delightful cafés and restaurants, Martine and her students had an evening meal there and tasted the delicious beignets de fleurs de courgettes ( savoury dough made with courgette flowers).
They went to the famous Nice market and bought and ate la socca which is like a pancake made with flour and chickpeas.
There are numerous museums in Nice and they spent some time at le musée Matisse at the top of Cimiez, one of the old areas of Nice. On the way they walked past l'hôtel Regina which was built in 1986 and was inaugurated by Queen Victoria who loved Nice. It had 400 bedrooms all eventually converted into flats where Matisse lived for a time.
The stay was short but full of exciting discoveries and friendly encounters, we must not forget that Nice is about that too.
We are in Bristol and Bath this Summer so you can contact us anytime, for more info...http://afbristol.org.uk/
We also would like to share with you some nice memories of Nice as Martine went to Nice with her Tuesday evening French class a few years ago.
They stayed in a small hotel near La Promenade des Anglais, had lunch at one of the numerous cafés on La Promenade, it was bathing in sunshine although it was in January.
They walked up to le Château which is a park on a hill with a wonderful view over la Baie des Anges on one side and the old port on the other, very close to le vieux-Nice. Le Vieux-Nice is the main tourist area with lots of delightful cafés and restaurants, Martine and her students had an evening meal there and tasted the delicious beignets de fleurs de courgettes ( savoury dough made with courgette flowers).
They went to the famous Nice market and bought and ate la socca which is like a pancake made with flour and chickpeas.
There are numerous museums in Nice and they spent some time at le musée Matisse at the top of Cimiez, one of the old areas of Nice. On the way they walked past l'hôtel Regina which was built in 1986 and was inaugurated by Queen Victoria who loved Nice. It had 400 bedrooms all eventually converted into flats where Matisse lived for a time.
The stay was short but full of exciting discoveries and friendly encounters, we must not forget that Nice is about that too.
We are in Bristol and Bath this Summer so you can contact us anytime, for more info...http://afbristol.org.uk/
Sunday, 10 July 2016
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Who among us hasn't imagined what they would do with the winnings (la cagnotte)?
This unusual book is perfect for the seaside (la plage).
It's the story of Jocelyne, who is married with a man called Jocelyn. She is more or less happy. She runs a haberdashery shop (une mercerie) in Arras. She also writes a blog about haberdashery, called Ten Gold Fingers (Dix Doigts d'Or). Her two best friends, twins (les jumelles) run a hairdressing salon (un salon de coiffure) and one day, they convince Jocelyne to play the lottery (le Loto).
It would spoil the book to tell you what happens next, but we'll tell you this; it's probably not what you are expecting!
Students in Audrey's class (one of our teachers) have studied the book this year, and then they all watched the film.
If you would like to join our classes, don't forget to look on our website for our September French courses and French events this Autumn, for more info...
For interesting articles and news, follow our Facebook page. Bonnes vacances!
This unusual book is perfect for the seaside (la plage).
It's the story of Jocelyne, who is married with a man called Jocelyn. She is more or less happy. She runs a haberdashery shop (une mercerie) in Arras. She also writes a blog about haberdashery, called Ten Gold Fingers (Dix Doigts d'Or). Her two best friends, twins (les jumelles) run a hairdressing salon (un salon de coiffure) and one day, they convince Jocelyne to play the lottery (le Loto).
It would spoil the book to tell you what happens next, but we'll tell you this; it's probably not what you are expecting!
Students in Audrey's class (one of our teachers) have studied the book this year, and then they all watched the film.
If you would like to join our classes, don't forget to look on our website for our September French courses and French events this Autumn, for more info...
For interesting articles and news, follow our Facebook page. Bonnes vacances!
Sunday, 3 July 2016
Did you know what Les perles du bac are?
Une perle when it is not a pearl is a really stupid mistake. Every year des perles are collected from exam papers like the baccalauréat or le bac. They are published in newspapers and on the Internet. Here are a few found in L'Internaute:
Pour moi, Anatole France, c'était un arrêt de bus. ( For me, Anatole France - famous writer- was a bus stop- you may have noticed in France that we like giving names of famous people to streets, metro stations, bus stops, schools etc....)
Un homme heureux et libre, ça serait d'avoir fini les épreuves du bac. ( A happy and free man, this would be to have finished the bac exams- this was the answer to this deeply philosophical question: what does it mean to be a happy and free man? )
De nombreux conflits ont éclaté dans le Sahara afin de récupérer tout le sable qui est présent ( many conflicts in the Sahara are taking place in order to collect all the sand which is there)
De toute façon, Madame Bovary n'a jamais rien compris aux mecs. ( In any case Madame Bovary has never understood anything about blokes.)
Les Américains sont les premiers touristes à avoir profité des plages de Normandie ( The Americans are the first tourists to have enjoyed the Normandy beaches)
Le triangle est un rectangle avec un côté en moins. ( A triangle is a rectangle with one less corner)
Etre cultivé signifie qu'on s'intéresse à des choses qui ne sont pas forcément intéressantes. ( To be cultured means that you are interested in things which are not necessarily interesting)
De Gaulle est mort à la fin de sa vie. ( De Gaulle died at the end of his life)
If you are interested in French culture or in the French language, and it is interesting, I can assure you! Just go to our website, for more info...
Pour moi, Anatole France, c'était un arrêt de bus. ( For me, Anatole France - famous writer- was a bus stop- you may have noticed in France that we like giving names of famous people to streets, metro stations, bus stops, schools etc....)
Un homme heureux et libre, ça serait d'avoir fini les épreuves du bac. ( A happy and free man, this would be to have finished the bac exams- this was the answer to this deeply philosophical question: what does it mean to be a happy and free man? )
De nombreux conflits ont éclaté dans le Sahara afin de récupérer tout le sable qui est présent ( many conflicts in the Sahara are taking place in order to collect all the sand which is there)
De toute façon, Madame Bovary n'a jamais rien compris aux mecs. ( In any case Madame Bovary has never understood anything about blokes.)
Les Américains sont les premiers touristes à avoir profité des plages de Normandie ( The Americans are the first tourists to have enjoyed the Normandy beaches)
Le triangle est un rectangle avec un côté en moins. ( A triangle is a rectangle with one less corner)
Etre cultivé signifie qu'on s'intéresse à des choses qui ne sont pas forcément intéressantes. ( To be cultured means that you are interested in things which are not necessarily interesting)
De Gaulle est mort à la fin de sa vie. ( De Gaulle died at the end of his life)
If you are interested in French culture or in the French language, and it is interesting, I can assure you! Just go to our website, for more info...
Sunday, 26 June 2016
Did you know that Alliance Française de Bristol is running a wine workshop in French next Tuesday?
Ludovic, sommelier at the one Michelin star restaurant Wilks in Bristol, will be helping students to choose a wine according to the dishes to be eaten: accorder les mets et les vins.
Did you know that with un Vouvray, you can eat du foie gras or for those who don't like it or who are anti, you can have thin slices of smoked salmon ( de fines tranches de saumon fumé)?
What would you choose with un vin doux naturel? Would you think of dark chocolate ( du chocolat noir) or cherries ( des cerises)?
I won't reveal all the secrets......... students will be eating and trying out wines, all organic and purchased at Vinetrail in Bristol. They will be discussing the tastes and combinations with plenty of suggestions from Ludovic.
I will be shopping and cooking on Tuesday!!
If this French wine tasting workshop tempts you ( vous met l'eau à la bouche), you may like to know that Ludovic will be running a similar one on Tuesday, 19th July. For more info...
Did you know that with un Vouvray, you can eat du foie gras or for those who don't like it or who are anti, you can have thin slices of smoked salmon ( de fines tranches de saumon fumé)?
What would you choose with un vin doux naturel? Would you think of dark chocolate ( du chocolat noir) or cherries ( des cerises)?
I won't reveal all the secrets......... students will be eating and trying out wines, all organic and purchased at Vinetrail in Bristol. They will be discussing the tastes and combinations with plenty of suggestions from Ludovic.
I will be shopping and cooking on Tuesday!!
If this French wine tasting workshop tempts you ( vous met l'eau à la bouche), you may like to know that Ludovic will be running a similar one on Tuesday, 19th July. For more info...
Sunday, 19 June 2016
Idioms, idioms and more idioms!
As you know languages are full of idioms and the French language is no exception, here is a story with lots of idioms written by Robin, in one of Martine's French tuition classes:
LE COMBAT IDIOMATIQUE
A – J’ai entendu dire que tu as trouvé une nouvelle amie.
B – Oui, elle est jolie comme un cœur. Elle est blonde comme les blés et, en outre, elle est gaie comme un pinson. Vraiment, j’ai eu de la chance de la trouver.
A – Mais, c’est une vraie perle ! Est-ce que c’est la vérité – je sais bien que tu peux mentir comme tu respires…
B – Tu es quelle sorte d’ami ?
A – Est-ce que c’est la nouvelle nénette dans le service comptabilité ?
B – Oui, c’est évident que tu l’as aperçue.
A – C’était impossible de ne pas la remarquer, elle est maquillée comme une voiture volée.
B – La vie va mieux avec un peu de couleur, non ? Regardes-toi toi-même ; tu es ennuyeux comme la pluie !
A – Mais cette fille est bête comme ses pieds (et sa taille est 48 !) On dit qu’elle fume comme un pompier et elle boit comme un trou.
B – Ah je comprends ce qu’il y a ici, c’est simple comme bonjour : tu es jaloux !
A – Moi ! Je ne lui ferais même pas de l’œil si elle était riche comme Crésus !
B – Non, non, non, certainement, tu es jaloux ; c’est gros comme une maison. Et elle n’est pas bête, elle est très perspicace, elle m’a dit que je suis beau comme un dieu. Voilà !
For fun, see if you can translate the following properly:
jolie comme un cœur: pretty like a heart??
maquillée comme une voiture volée: made up like a stolen car???
bête comme ses pieds: as silly as his/her feet???
boire comme un trou: to drink like a hole??
simple comme bonjour: as simple as saying good morning?
Don't forget our French intensive classes are running in July too in Bath and in Bristol. For more info...
LE COMBAT IDIOMATIQUE
A – J’ai entendu dire que tu as trouvé une nouvelle amie.
B – Oui, elle est jolie comme un cœur. Elle est blonde comme les blés et, en outre, elle est gaie comme un pinson. Vraiment, j’ai eu de la chance de la trouver.
A – Mais, c’est une vraie perle ! Est-ce que c’est la vérité – je sais bien que tu peux mentir comme tu respires…
B – Tu es quelle sorte d’ami ?
A – Est-ce que c’est la nouvelle nénette dans le service comptabilité ?
B – Oui, c’est évident que tu l’as aperçue.
A – C’était impossible de ne pas la remarquer, elle est maquillée comme une voiture volée.
B – La vie va mieux avec un peu de couleur, non ? Regardes-toi toi-même ; tu es ennuyeux comme la pluie !
A – Mais cette fille est bête comme ses pieds (et sa taille est 48 !) On dit qu’elle fume comme un pompier et elle boit comme un trou.
B – Ah je comprends ce qu’il y a ici, c’est simple comme bonjour : tu es jaloux !
A – Moi ! Je ne lui ferais même pas de l’œil si elle était riche comme Crésus !
B – Non, non, non, certainement, tu es jaloux ; c’est gros comme une maison. Et elle n’est pas bête, elle est très perspicace, elle m’a dit que je suis beau comme un dieu. Voilà !
For fun, see if you can translate the following properly:
jolie comme un cœur: pretty like a heart??
maquillée comme une voiture volée: made up like a stolen car???
bête comme ses pieds: as silly as his/her feet???
boire comme un trou: to drink like a hole??
simple comme bonjour: as simple as saying good morning?
Don't forget our French intensive classes are running in July too in Bath and in Bristol. For more info...
Sunday, 12 June 2016
Euro 2016 is here!
It is the 15th edition starting at Le stade de France in St Denis, near Paris, on 10th June to finish on 10th July.
The opening match ( le match d'ouverture) is between la France et la Roumanie at le stade de France like for the final match ( le match de clôture).
24 teams (24 équipes) are playing this time with countries which have never played before in this competition, like l'Islande, l'Albanie, la Slovaquie, le Pays de Galles ( Wales) and l'Irlande du nord.
Some countries did not qualify like les Pays Bas et la Grèce for instance when, in fact, they had done well in previous years.
The competition is made of five rounds:
Some "fans zones" on big squares ( des grandes places) have giant screens ( des écrans géants) broadcasting the matches live ( en direct), they should attract big crowds.
To all lovers of football: Have fun! Amusez-vous bien!
Don't let this stop you from joining our French intensive courses, for more info...
Since I wrote the blog on Friday, some violent incidents have taken place between supporters and some are now in hospital, I wish them a good recovery and hope that the violence will stop.
Souhaitons un Euro 2016 où seul l'esprit de compétition est en jeu!
The opening match ( le match d'ouverture) is between la France et la Roumanie at le stade de France like for the final match ( le match de clôture).
24 teams (24 équipes) are playing this time with countries which have never played before in this competition, like l'Islande, l'Albanie, la Slovaquie, le Pays de Galles ( Wales) and l'Irlande du nord.
Some countries did not qualify like les Pays Bas et la Grèce for instance when, in fact, they had done well in previous years.
The competition is made of five rounds:
- Le 1er tour : 1st round
- les huitièmes de finale: the round of 16
- les quarts de finale: the quarter finals
- les demi-finales: the semi finals
- la finale: the final
Some "fans zones" on big squares ( des grandes places) have giant screens ( des écrans géants) broadcasting the matches live ( en direct), they should attract big crowds.
To all lovers of football: Have fun! Amusez-vous bien!
Don't let this stop you from joining our French intensive courses, for more info...
Since I wrote the blog on Friday, some violent incidents have taken place between supporters and some are now in hospital, I wish them a good recovery and hope that the violence will stop.
Souhaitons un Euro 2016 où seul l'esprit de compétition est en jeu!
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