regard fixe
Monday, July 12, 2010
The parasol pine trees of Cassis, where today's story ends in mystery...
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un regard fixe (reuh gaar feex)
: a stare
regarder fixement = to stare into the distance
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A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse
"Fashion Sin"
In a small southern French port teeming with little fishing boats, where the windows above the cafés sport pots of petunias or geraniums or begonias or, tout simplement, leaves—their green tresses flowing out from the window sill, down the faded façades like little leafy Rapunzels...
Yes, here, just east of Marseilles in this sparkling, bateau-bustling bay, where the locals and the tourists sit sipping coffee or wine at the outdoor cafes...
Here, ici... all eyes are feasting! No longer trained on the little cotton dresses, or the giant falaise littorale beyond (its name escapes me after so many guesses)...
As I walk along the dock I follow the stares, which issue from amused eyes and land—paf!—smack-dash on me and my oblivious partenaire.
One of us has done it again: fashion sin.
***
Stay tuned for the next installment. Hint: the next word of the day will be agrafe....
Update: read the next intallment here
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New France Reader Guide: Cassis!
Thank you for sending in your tips and "what to sees" in Cassis. Click here to share your suggestions on where to stay and what to do. You'll find a video on the following page, too!
French Vocabulary
tout simplement = quite simplyle bateau = boat
ici = here
la falaise littorale = sea cliff
paf! = smack!
le / la partenaire = partner
In French film: The Red Balloon a young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. See reviews here.
Paris France Shower Curtain - featuring the Eiffel Tower. Order one here.
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Book excerpt: When I graduated with an honors degree in French the following year, ads mentioning "French language a plus" weren't exactly crowding the classifieds in Phoenix, so I seized the first opportunity I could find. I tried my luck as a receptionist for a construction company with ties to France. But the only ties to France it had for me turned out to be opening the mail that was sent from there.... Read on, here.
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For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety