FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Les juillettistes, or July vacationers, make their way south to the sea... read on.

  
le décalage horaire (day ka lazh oh rhair)

    : time difference, time change

related terms:
le syndrome du décalage horaire = jetlag
le fuseau horaire = time zone 

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A Day in a French Life... by Kristin Espinasse

"Le Décalage Horaire"
 
 The autoroute du soleil is flanked with sunflowers and the hills are purple with lavender. We are on our way home from the train station in Valence, advancing as though escargots: s-l-o-w. Our beat-up Citroën is a welcome distraction for the traffic-stalled tourists in the lanes beside us; they have hours to go before reaching the sea, the color of which mimics the hue of dusty blue coating our car (evidence of organic farming here at the vinery, where our family car doubles as a tractor-delivery vehicle... door dents and all).

The two American boys in the back seat are snoring after a 24-hour voyage east, from Los Angeles. We have tried to keep them awake, in hopes of adjusting them to France time. We have blasted the radio, clapped our hands, pointed to the French girls, just outside the window....

Hélas, they are in love with sleep, lured lackadaisically lower, to the depths of dreamland, where the scent of lavender from the hills outside the window makes for a sweet Provençal pillow.

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Would you like to hear more about Max's and David's summer exchanges? Our son had the chance to stay with an American family, for two weeks, and now we have the pleasure of hosting their 16-year-old, David, here at the winery. Stay tuned....

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The Pleasing Hour is the story of an American in Europe whose coming-of-age defies all our usual conceptions of naivete and experience. Fleeing a devastating loss, Rosie takes a job as an au pair with a Parisian family and soon finds the comfort and intimacy she longs for with their children and the father. See reviews, here 

Shopping

 In French film: Décalage Horaire. After they meet repeatedly at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris, beautician Binoche and chef Reno decide to share an airport hotel room during a layover. She's a self-dramatizing chatterbox with a fondness for make-up and perfume; he's a fussy neurotic who can't stand artificial fragrances. They've just met and they're headed to different parts of the globe, but still... could this be... amour? (Order it here.)
 
Diorshow Mascara: super volumnizing, lengthening, and curling mascara
 
Mistral soap : a best-seller! Hand-crafted in the heart of Provence, and made according to a three-hundred-years-old tradition. Order here.

Men's cufflinks. "Ville de Paris" & "Service des Egouts" written on these replica Paris Cufflinks 
 
Fleur de Sel. Gathered from the salt beds of Camargue, this subtly flavored salt will add bursts of flavor to your food.