I discovered this short video thanks to a contributor in Fodor's Forums. The women visits some of the most famous works in the Louvre totally alone. Her face reflects her emotional voyage as she connects with the works. When I visit the Louvre and other museums in France I am often overcome with emotion as I take in the beauty and the history of the works. I smile to myself as the tears well up. This video allows me to relive these feelings.
Imagine my excitement when I found whilst researching for my 3 month stay in France two customised maps for Paris in Google Maps from two of my favourite blogs! I intend putting these to good use over the next few weeks. I have Google Maps loaded on my Android phone so I will be able to follow them without carrying around reams of paper or heavy guide books. I will use the free WiFi that is available in Paris wherever possible. (see Aussie in France '3 iPhone Apps for Paris and WiFi')
Note: To access these maps click on the link below each map.
Paris Pâtisseries' Best Pastry Shops in Paris
A map of the 12 best pastry shops in Paris, as endorsed by Paris Pâtisseries. I am not intending to limit myself to 12 pâtisseries but it is helpful to have a starting point.
The Paris Design Guide map was compiled by Anne Ditmeyer and recently updated (January 2012). Additional information about the various stop off points can be found on the Design Sponge 'Paris Design Guide (Update)' page. I highly recommend referring to this page in conjunction with the map.
If you find these maps useful you may like to create one of your own. I haven't tried it yet but intend to map out some of my favourite spots in France following my trip so that I can refer back to it later. I have recently bought a new camera with GPS so this should help not only identify the points in my photos but also allow me to map my travels.
I have found some wonderful resources for studying French since joining Twitter. People everwhere are very generous about creating and sharing resources.
For a number of years I have been very fortunate accessing a wealth of information on the french.ac.nzprovided by the New Zealand French Teachers Association and the French Embassy in New Zealand. More recently I have discovered another very generous French teacher: Sylvia Duckworth, from Toronto, Canada. Whilst the resources are primarily aimed for use in the classroom, many of them are also very useful for independent learners.
This week both Froggieflo (from NZ) and Sylvia kindly shared a YouTube playlist of Le Petit Prince read in French with animations. Like many others I suspect, I studied this beautiful book at school. I am now looking forward to setting aside some time to revisit it in a new and innovative manner.
YouTube playlist (broken down into chapters): Le Petit Prince
There is something extra special about the black and white classic Sabrina from 1954 with the adorable Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Those dresses! Magnifique!
One Thing in a French Day is described as a "A small slice of a Frenchwoman's day - in France and in French". Since 2006 Laetitia has been sharing snippets of her day through podcasts each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
These entertaining podcasts are very useful as they use both interesting and common scenarios with everyday language. The pace is suitable for both intermediate and advanced French language learners. The podcasts are accompanied by a full transcript of the podcast so if you miss something it is easy to look them up.
If you are a lover of French pastries and want to learn how to pronounce some of your favorites, you will enjoy her slide show of both homemade and artisan prepared pastries.
Translation apps are a growing market. No longer do we need to fossick in back packs or handbags for our bilingual dictionary or phrasebook. No doubt there are now young international travellers who have never had to worry about the weight associated with carrying these books with their dog-eared pages.
I will be looking at a number of translation tools for travel but I will start with my favourite, Google Translate. This choice is is influenced by the fact that I have an Android phone which has serious memory issues (like its owner). This has meant that I am forced to use online translation apps rather than offline ones due to size limitations. The widget on my Android phone home screen allows direct access to Google Translate. Like all electronic translators it is not perfect and should only be used to get the gist of a discussion or text. Keeping sentence structure simple does help with accuracy.
I was extremely thankful for having loaded Google Translate on to my phone when I was returning from the tour I recently did to Kangaroo Island (The French take on Kangaroo Island). A young Chinese man seated in front of me on the bus was extremely agitated and was unable to communicate his concerns to the driver. None of the other passengers could speak Chinese and he had no English. Google Translate to the rescue. I whipped out my phone and within minutes I was able to establish that he needed to be dropped at an alternative location, explain to the driver what was required and reassure the young man that he would be dropped off as requested. I was rewarded with a huge smile of relief and gratitude. Thank you Google Translate!
Pros:
Translates 63 languages from Afrikaans to Yiddish.
Voice input in 17 languages and text-to-speech in 24 languages.
Conversation Mode allows direct communications with another person using speech-to-speech translation.
Previous translations can be saved offline and favourites 'starred'.
Simplicity of use and minimalist interface.
Cons:
Requires online access.
It conveys general meaning sometimes mangling complex sentences.
Regional accents and background noise may affect accuracy when using voice input but this will improve as people use it more.
Aujourd'hui à l'Université de Troisième Age nous avons parlé de la francophonie canadienne. Le site web Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie dit:
Aujourd'hui, près de 9,5 millions de personnes au Canada font vivre et rayonner la langue française autour d'eux. Ces personnes se retrouvent principalement en Acadie, au Québec et en Ontario, mais aussi dans l'Ouest et dans le Nord du Canada. Elles sont francophones de souche ou d'origines diverses issues de l'immigration, ou anglophones et allophones ayant choisi d'apprendre et de vivre en français.
Malheureusement le concours « La Francophonie s’éclate ! » des Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF) 2012 est ouvert uniquement aux résidents canadiens. Néanmoins, on peut profiter des 20 capsules vidéo d'humour en français, en anglais et bilingues, portant sur la dualité linguistique au Canada. Quelle vidéo préférez-vous?
One of my favourite activities in France is people watching when I am at a café. The chairs in front of the café are carefully positioned to directly face the street. They are inviting you to join in this traditional French past-time. I love the fact that I can order an espresso and then have the right to sit at the table for almost as long as I like watching the world go past. No need to even pretend to be doing something else such as reading the paper. I am of course welcome to read, study, chat etc but just looking is a perfectly acceptable.
Sonia Gil of 'Sonia's Travel' motto is: Every Place Has a Secret Code. I Get a Kick Out of Finding It. Her video of people watching certainly reflects one of France's 'secret codes'. She has 8 videos in her YouTube France Travels play list should you need more of a French fix. Every Thursday she releases a new travel video (not just France) and on Mondays she now also releases a vlog (video log).
Her first two vlogs have some very interesting information about language learning. She suggests that the minute you start learning a language, e.g; French, you implant a seed of Frenchiness within you. She adds, that she does believe that languages open the doors to new cultures, but it is up to you how far past that door you go. I totally agree on both counts. I am always appreciative to have found someone voice the thoughts that I share but have been unable to put into words.
This video cleverly illustrates numerous emotions through the use of simple graphics. No need here for a translation in English, Spanish, Korean etc.
If you like this then you probably will also enjoy the lessons provided online at pronunciator.com. Pronunciator says it is the 'world's largest language-learning service'. It has 60 languages available to learn. The interface is not restricted to anglophones. You select the language you speak and which you would like to learn, from Afrikaans to Vietnamese. It looks like an ideal programme if you want to learn the basics of a language for travel. Not only do you get the vocabulary but the pronunciation as well using speech recognition software. Progression is tracked in the full version.
Pronunciator has exercises in French across a range of levels. There are three access options for the product:
There is limited free access which gives you plenty of opportunity to see if you want to pay the addtional ongoing monthly fee for the full version.
The full version includes access to up to 354 hours of downloadable MP3 audio lessons per language.
Free access is available to the full range of products and services using a library card number via remote access where the library subscribes to Pronunciator.
I don't know what the retention rate is for language learning through this method but it certainly is a convenient adjunct to other tools for the motivated independent learner.
The video simply and clearly contrasts what we have allowed to take over our lives with what is truly important. A very powerful message beautifully illustrated and delivered.
The video has been created by Yaniv Fridman, a motion and graphic designer, graduate from the digital design program at Vancouver Film School. He currently lives in Mexico City.
This video is a collection of high quality photos by American Luke Shepard. It started out as a project for his studies at the American University of Paris.
The photos were taken after 1.00am to try and capture Paris in a different light free of tourists. Luke didn't use timelapse photography to film the sequence as he moved around the monuments. He would focus on a particular point for the entire sequence keeping that spot in the same place the entire time. He then manually timed the photos. I am sure that you will agree that the results are stunning. I find the whole effect mesmerizing.
Local Way has launched their online travel video series of Paris - The Local Way Paris. Their Facebook page advises:
Through our Local Way website and iPhone App, you will be able to plan your trips and adventures abroad based on your interests through the eyes of local experts.
The first Local Way Paris episode is about my favourite topic - FOOD! Bryan and Anna visit a number of well known Parisian boulangeries. Maps and address details are provided on the The Local Way Paris website. We also get to see how the famous baguette is made.
Thanks to the Teachers with Apps site I have just discovered Beware Madame la Guillotine, an interactive bilingual StoryApp which tells the story the French Revolution through the eyes of a young murderess as she awaits being sent to the guillotine. The journey takes you through Paris from the Palais Royal to the Conciergerie.
The following video provides a demonstration of the application:
iTunes description
In addition to Charlotte’s compelling audio narration, Beware Madame la Guillotine also features:
Travel Tips
Text-read Options
Dedicated Maps
Map Challenges
Trivia Challenges
Optional “More Info” Historical Explanations
And more than Two Dozen Treasure Hunts!
Beware Madame la Guillotine offers adults, youth, families and school groups -- whether residents or visitors to Paris, alike -- a vivid and engaging way to explore and really get to know the museums, monuments, parks, boulevards, cafés and other locations of relevance to the French Revolution.
The application was created for those over 12 but reading the reviews it sounds like it will have wide appeal to those looking for something a little different when visiting Paris. I would love to try the application but unfortunately I don't own an iPhone or iTouch. I see the app can be downloaded on to a PC but I really want to be able to walk the tour. Perhaps they will release an Android application (fingers crossed). If you decide to try the app I would love to hear your thoughts. I am hoping that my favourite Paris blogger, Fraussie from Aussie in France, will provide some feedback on the app. Living in the Palais Royal she won't have far to go to start the tour.
I am basically a lazy person but I knew that my poor diet and sedentary lifestyle were catching up with me. In addition to discussing this with medical and allied health professionals I did what a large percentage of people do these days - I turned to the internet. I had been following Fraussie's Aussie in France blog so was thrilled when she started her 'How I lost 20 kilos after 50 for good' series of posts. If she could do it, then perhaps I could do it too. Just the inspiration I needed to get started. I am heading to France in a few months time and I want to be fit and well enough to make the most of my time there.
It all seemed overwhelming. Where should I start? What would have the biggest impact to improve my health? More internet searches and I came across the video from Dr Mike Evans on You Tube. He examines in a clear, succinct and entertaining manner 'What is the single best thing we can do for our health'. He is founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael's Hospital. There is mention that they may do Spanish and French versions in addition to the English and Italian ones currently offered.
What is the single best thing we can do for our health (English version):
I have started following guidelines given to me by a dietician, noting down what I am eating, walking and drinking water. I confess that I used to go for weeks on end without drinking any water. Diet cola drinks are my preference but not something that I recommend. They are not a healthy alternative and from what I can tell are full of chemicals. I am not expecting this journey to be an easy one but it is definitely one that I need to do.
What is the single best thing we can do for our health (Italian version):
I know nothing about cooking. Even assembling a few ingredients to make a sandwich has no appeal to me. Food shopping is tedious unless I am in France. On the other hand, I am fascinated by others using their skills to make what I find boring and difficult look interesting and easy. I marvel at their expertise. Here however is a tip that I have never come across before. Thanks to Lifehacker Australia for alerting me.
If you don't have a salad spinner place the lettuce in a pillowcase or in a plastic bag with paper towel. Close up and then swing around to dry. The video from Chow.com shows the technique. I am not sure that this method would work in a small Parisian apartment nor in a crowded commercial kitchen. The salad spinner option would be much less risky.
Some practical advice for that emergency situation when you have wine but no corkscrew. Not sure that this situation would arise in France. What self-respecting French woman or man would be without a corkscrew?
Thanks to Ruth from New Zealand for having shared this informative slideshow. Although general in nature, I found it useful to reflect on my own learning of French.
Merci à Ruth de la Nouvelle-Zélande d'avoir partagé ce diaporama riche en enseignements. Bien qu'il parle en termes généraux, je le trouve très utile pour m'aider à apprendre le français.
Merci à Fraussie (Aussie in France) d'avoir corrigé mon français.
I don't know why I haven't seen before this advertisement from Orange. I came across it thanks to a comment posted by Julie Charmand on Julia Gueron's blog post 'Buy this article. Or Love it. Either or.' on My French Life. Thanks ladies.
French version:
The ad emphasises that even when we communicate in our own language without concerns about cultural misunderstandings that words can still have various meanings and therefore can be construed differently. Only two examples are given for each of the words in these ads unlike in the video 'Le mot indispensable en français' which show just about endless possibilities for one single word depending on the nuance.
Merci à Fraussie who sent me a link to this video following on from my post 'How to fake speaking French'. I have only just discovered her absolutely delightful blog 'Aussie in France'. I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I am.
In this video the the girl explains how to communicate in French through the use of just one indispensable word. I would love to read your comments.
