FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Many people are unaware of it, but this sea is home to dolphins, whales, cachalots, and pilot whales. Learn this sentence in French, in the soundfile section, below.

Today's Word: le dauphin

    : dolphin
    : heir to the throne
    : runner-up (beauty competition)

In books: Pronounce it Perfectly in French

Click here to listen to Jean-Marc pronounce dolphin in French in the following sentence
Beaucoup l’ignorent, mais cette mer abrite des dauphins, des baleines, des cachalots, ou encore des globicéphales. --Cetus Méditeranée


A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

(This story first appeared in France Today magazine)

Coucou from down South. Having shared with you the beauty of our lively port city, La Ciotat, there is now one more thing to shout about: our coastline has recently been crowned La Plus Belle Baie du Monde! And though it is physically impossible to crown a body of water, one could prop a couronne on one of the hundreds of dolphins that regularly grace our shoreline!

Our sparkling baie en croissant will boast this title all year, at which point another aquatic beauty gets to bask in the saltwater spotlight (past winners include Mont-Saint-Michel Bay and the Bay of San Francisco). For now, we Ciotadins are gazing at our seafront with a new appreciation. And what better way to experience the splendour...than from a historical boat?

Les pointus as they are called, are the colorful fishing vessels you see bobbing in the port in Marseilles, in Cassis, in Sanary, and here in La Ciotat. And after wishing for one for decades (ever since strolling as newlyweds along the calanque of Sormiou) our dream has come true! We will soon be the lucky owners of one of these barques de pêche--built in 1925! Meantime, as Provencal bureaucracy kicks in (it's like winning the lottery to get to buy one of these boats with its own slip), the current owner has granted us access.

old wooden boats during the carénage

Recently, Jean-Marc and I enjoyed a relaxing sortie.... After packing a thermos of tea (for the chilly sea breeze), and a bottle of rosé--and some sweet and savory goodies from la boulangerie, we set sail towards L'Ile Verte--the nearest island--only 10 minutes away in put-put time. This one-hundred-year-old barquette is slow...and so close to the water you can reach over the side and touch it!

Nearing The Green Island, Jean-Marc tossed the anchor overboard and we rocked peacefully for the next hour, enjoying the magnificent scenery (including Le Bec de L'Aigle--an impressive Eagle shape in the rocky coastline), and so many gabians--that's southern French for goéland, or seagull. On this day the French airforce flew jets overhead and with a whoosh they appeared over the island's Mediterranean forest every quarter of an hour. What a show!

If only my husband had more to show from the end of his fishing line.... It seemed the arapèdes he'd hooked there were not fooling the local daurade. Even les loups turned their noses. Next time he should try cake, I thought, as I began to doze off....

Lying there on the wooden sideboard, I dreamt I was eating une galette des rois, when suddenly I bit into the fève inside! My husband, following tradition, placed the cake's cardboard crown on my sleepy head...but the wind carried it right off. Searching for it in the distance, I saw the golden glimmer just as the dauphin disappeared underwater.

Oh, indeed! I thought, waking up. The Most Beautiful Bay in the World has received its deserved crown!

FRENCH VOCABULARY
coucou = hello
la plus belle baie du monde = most beautiful bay in the world
la couronne = crown
croissant = crescent
le pointu = wooden fishing boat
la calanque = rocky inlet
la barque de pêche = fishing boat
la sortie = trip, outing
le gabian = seagull, gull
le goéland = seagull
un arapède = limpet
la daurade = sea bream
le loup de mer = sea bass
la galette des rois = king cake
la fève = fava bean
le dauphin = dolphin

In books: Mastering French Vocabulary and 2000 Most Common French Words in Context


You can see many more pictures of daily life here in La Ciotat via my Instagram gallery, here.


One more reason to visit La Ciotat is to stop into our wine shop/épicérie--located conveniently off the freeway (take a right at the very first roundabout). Jean-Marc is there most days, and we will organize meetups, tastings, and a wine workshop for those interested. Thanks for telling a friend!