Posts Tagged ‘French traditions’
July 24, 2011
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un trois quart – a three-quarter (in this case, a three-quarter length coat)
la période de soldes – sales period
faire les magasins – to go shopping or tour the stores; literally translated: “to do the stores”
les soldes – the sales
les soldes d’été – the summer sales
les soldes d’hiver – the winter sales
une foire d’empoigne – free-for-all
une bonne affaire – good deal
faire des folies dans les magasins – to go on a shopping spree
les riches – the rich, the wealthy
(la) première démarque – first markdown
(la) deuxième démarque – second markdown
(la) troisème démarque – third markdown
(la) dernière démarque
soldé(e) – on sale
faire les soldes – to shop the sales
j’ai fait un peu les soldes – I shopped the sales a little
se faire plaisir – to treat oneself; (nous faire plaisir – to treat ourselves)
la crise – literally “the crisis”; French shorthand for the current economic crisis –
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“Last Saturday, the sales started,” my friend Julien wrote me last January. “I bought two suits, four shirts and ties, a coat (un trois quart) and a pair of shoes to be even more elegant than I was.”
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“J’ai besoin d’un nouveau paire de baskets et quelques trucs pour l’été,” my friend Anne mentioned to me last month, while we were waiting in line for an event at the Palais Brongniart. “Mais j’attends les soldes.” (“I need a new pair of sneakers and some things for the summer, but I’m waiting for the sales.”)
Santa’s not the only one who’s making his list and checking it twice. Parisians do it too and not just at Christmas. That’s because twice a year, every January and June, it’s the période de soldes in France and all over Paris, savvy shoppers in search of a bargain get out their wish lists, put on their comfiest shoes and brave the crowds to faire les magasins.
Unlike in North America, sales in France are strictly legislated. (For a culture known for its love of flaunting the rules, I am discovering, the French sure have a lot of them.) Stores in France are not allowed to hold sales anytime they want. Instead, they are limited to two annual designated “sales periods” that are known as les soldes: five weeks beginning the last Wednesday in June for the soldes d’été, and five weeks beginning the second Wednesday in January for the soldes d’hiver.* If you’re Canadian, it’s the equivalent of five solid weeks of Boxing Day sales. If you’re American, it’s like five weeks of Black Friday.
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Posted in France, French culture and traditions, Paris, Shopping, Shopping | 1 Comment »
Tags: Canadian expats, Canadians in Paris, culture, expat impressions, expat life, France, French culture, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, Paris, Paris expat, sales, shopping, soldes
July 14, 2011
la fête nationale – the national celebration, France’s “Independence Day”; known in the English-speaking world as “Bastille Day”
le 14 juillet – the 14th of July (the French national holiday)
les soldes – the sales
je pars en week-end – I’m going away for the weekend
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Happy 14 juillet everybody! I’m currently working on a new post about the summer soldes that I’ll be publishing soon, but for those of you who are new to The Vanishing Point and interested in learning more about this French national holiday, be sure to check out last year’s posts, Le Bal des pompiers and La Fête nationale.
I’ll be catching the fireworks display tonight at the Eiffel Tower, one of my favourite summer events in this beautiful city, then je pars en week-end to the seaside town of Deauville. I can’t wait to hit the beach!
Hope you all have a great weekend!
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Posted in Canadian Expats, Events and Outings, Expat Life, France, French culture and traditions, French holidays, Paris, summer | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 14 juillet, bal des pompiers, Bastille Day, Canadian expats, culture, expat impressions, expat life, fête nationale, fireman's ball, firemen, France, French culture, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, Paris
September 30, 2010
September can be like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get.
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rentrer – to come back, to go back, to return home
la rentrée – “the re-entry”; refers to the period in September when everybody is coming back from vacation and returning to work or school
les vacances – vacation; also refers to the month-long holiday break that many French people take in the summer
l’energie (féminin) – energy
le farniente – an Italian word that has been adopted by the French, the art of lazing about and doing nothing
un projet – project, endeavour, undertaking
un défi – a challenge
une boulangerie – a bakery
une boîte (familiar) – firm/company, office
rouler – to run (as in function)
Allez, c’est parti ! – All right, and we’re off/here we go!
une chambre de bonne – a “maid’s room”; many old residential buildings in Paris have what used to be servants’ quarters converted into low-cost one-room rental units (often for students)
une plaque – an electric stovetop burner; a hot plate
faire du lèche-vitrine – window-shopping (literally “window-licking”)
Je faisais du lèche-vitrine… – I was window shopping…
une nouvelle robe pour la rentrée – a new dress for la rentrée
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“The year does not begin in January. Every French person knows that. Only awkward English-speakers think it starts in January. The year really begins on the first Monday of September.”
– Stephen Clarke, A Year in the Merde
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There’s something about the arrival of September that always makes me want run out and buy myself a brand-new box of pencil crayons. This impulse doesn’t actually make any sense, as it’s been years since I’ve taken an art class, and I can’t remember the last time I picked up a sketchbook. Yet for some reason, without fail, every September I am struck with the overwhelming urge to run to the local art supply store and buy myself a pretty new set of coloured pencils, preferably in a shiny tin case like the one I used to carry back in grade school. Something about the sight of them, pristine, freshly sharpened, and lined up neatly in a row like an obedient regiment of soldiers, has become inexplicably linked in my mind with the idea of fresh starts and possibility… a perfect metaphor for my feelings about September.
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Posted in Canadian Expats, Expat Life, France, French culture and traditions, la rentrée, Paris | 4 Comments »
Tags: Canadian expats, Canadians in Paris, expat impressions, expat life, France, French culture, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, la rentrée, Paris, Paris expat
September 13, 2010
faire la bise – how the French greet each other; involves a sort of “air kiss” on both cheeks (depending on the region in France, this can involve two, three or even four kisses)
à la européenne – in the European fashion
une salle de bain – the room in the house with the bathtub in it, not to be confused with “les toilettes” (“la toilette” in French Canada), which is a separate room with a toilet in it. I’m not sure why the French use the plural form for the toilet, even when there is only one. Maybe an extra one miraculously appears in times of great need?
On fait la bise… – One exchanges kisses…
dans la merde – up the creek without a paddle
à la canadienne – in the Canadian fashion
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Have you ever done the awkward sidewalk dance? You know the one – you’re motoring down the sidewalk, minding your own business, when suddenly you realize that you are nearly face-to-face with someone headed in the opposite direction. You obligingly step to the right to let them pass, which would normally work, except that they have the exact same idea and step to their left at the same time, which means that you are still face-to-face. You both then move simultaneously in the opposite direction, with the same result. You, struck with a flash of brilliance, decide you’ll take the initiative and dart quickly to the other side before the other person can move – and they do the same, causing a near-miss (or sometimes not-so-near-missed) full-body collision. It’s all very awkward, especially considering you barely know the person you are dancing with. Finally, somebody half-laughs, throws up their hands in surrender and stays put, while the other person walks around them.
Well, welcome to my first few weeks in Paris.
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Tags: assimilation, expat, expat life, expats, faire la bise, fitting in, France, French culture, French traditions, Paris
August 19, 2010
Store Window, Montmartre, Paris
les vacances – vacation
une fermeture – closure
la Mairie de Paris – Paris City Hall
un embouteillage – traffic jam
le supermarché – supermarket, grocery store
une fermeture exceptionnelle – unexpected or extended closure; an “exceptional” closure, outside of the regular operating schedule
l’Hôtel de Ville – City Hall
la plage – beach
les quais de la Seine – the quays of the Seine
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Do you remember the creepy opening scenes of the film 28 Days Later? They caused a stir among critics and sent a chill down the spines of audience members everywhere because they depicted, in very realistic fashion, the always-bustling London landmarks, Westminster Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street, utterly devoid of human life. The simple, surreal absence of people in such famously and characteristically overcrowded spots was eerier than anything Jerry Bruckheimer could have pulled out of his bag of over-the-top tricks.
Well, those famous scenes are kind of what Paris feels like in August. Public spaces that are normally bursting to overflowing with people now appear vast and empty. While passing through the central métro station Châtelet the other day, I could have sworn I heard the opening theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly playing as a piece of tumbleweed drifted by.
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Posted in culture, Events and Outings, Expat Life, France, French culture and traditions, French holidays, les vacances, Paris, summer | 1 Comment »
Tags: August, August in Paris, Canadian expats, Canadians in Paris, culture, expat impressions, expat life, fermeture exceptionnelle, France, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, les vacances, Paris, Paris expat, Paris Plage, Paris Plages, summer, summer holidays, summer vacation
July 22, 2010
“My “14 juillet” souvenirs
la fête nationale – national celebration
le 14 juillet – the 14th of July
le bal des pompiers – fireman’s ball
un pompier – fireman
un defilé – parade
le parfum – flavour
une gueule de bois – hangover (familiar)
un bonnet – bonnet, cap, head covering
une bavette – flank (steak)
papoter – to chatter
le feu d’artifice – fireworks
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A mere four hours after getting home from the July 13 pre-fête nationale Bal des pompiers, just as I was finally drifting off to sleep, my phone rang. It was my friend Floriane, with the wake-up call I had requested. She had received a V.I.P. invitation to watch the big defilé along the Champs-Elysées at a very special reception being held in one of the offices above the grand boulevard, and she had invited me to be her guest. “Coucou Darlene, tu viens de te reveiller ? ” (“Hi Darlene, did you just wake up?”) she asked me sweetly, obviously bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, having had the good sense to skip the bal the night before. “Euh… non…” I fibbed. “J’arrive…” (“I’m coming.”)
I dragged myself, slowly, painfully, out of bed, cursing military parades and their early start times. Why? Why start a parade at 9:00 a.m.? What was wrong with a 1:00 p.m. parade? Or even better, a 4:00 p.m. parade?
Thirty minutes and two large cups of caffeine later, I left to meet Floriane. Having consulted Google Maps the night before, I knew that the address was a fifteen-minute walk or a mere five-minute Métro ride away. I had also checked the RATP (the Paris métro) site the night before and knew that my nearest subway station wasn’t closed, so I was all good. Or so I thought.
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Tags: 14 juillet, bal des pompiers, Bastille Day, Canadian expats, Canadians in Paris, Champs-Elysées, défilé, expat life, fête nationale, fireman, fireman's ball, firemen, France, French culture, French language, French traditions, French vocabulary, holidays, military, national celebration, parade, Paris, Paris expat
June 7, 2010
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In France, the first of May goes by a few names: the Fête du Travail (Labour Day), the Fête du Muguet (Lily of the Valley Day) and even the Fête du premier mai (First of May/May Day). On this day, it is traditional to offer friends and family a sprig of lily of the valley, symbol of spring and good luck, especially if the sprig has 13 bellflowers. As an extra bonus, on May 1st florists are allowed to sell their bouquets of muguet tax-free.
un jour férié – statutory holiday; bank holiday
faire le pont – literally “to make a bridge” (bridge a gap); an idiomatic expression used to describe the common French practice of taking a vacation day in between a statutory holiday and the weekend, thereby creating an extra-long weekend
les ponts de mai – “the May bridges” (essentially, the May long weekends)
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Like most Canadians, by the time winter is drawing to a close, I have had it up to here with short days and long nights, face-numbing winds that make it difficult to breathe, cumbersome winter layers and sub-zero temperatures. Nothing lifts my spirits quite like the early signs of spring and summer. Those first few days when the temperature creeps above ten degrees, I love watching as my fellow citizens emerge from their various hiding places like so many human moles, blinking, into the sun, pasty faces turned up eagerly towards the sky, even pastier legs liberated (in our eagerness to believe that the worst is over, sometimes prematurely) from their winter-long incarceration in tights. There are always those few enthusiastic crazies who go so far as to bust out the shorts and flip flops, covered in goose bumps and shivering determinedly in defiance of what the thermometer actually reads. It’s April dammit, and if you build it, spring will come. The advent of spring means that our precious two months of summer aren’t far off. And nothing marks the beginning of summer in Canada like the revered “May 2-4”, otherwise known as Queen Victoria Day.
As long as I can remember, the sacred May 24 long weekend (dubbed “May two-four” in honour of the many flats of “two-fours” [24 beers] that are sure to be consumed on decks, patios and cottages across the country) has kicked off the beginning of one of the best seasons of the year. Best, of course, because the weather gets warmer, the sun comes out, all my favourite fruits are in season, and the days are long, languid and lazy. But also best because May 24 marks the beginning of long weekend season – a long weekend a month for several months to come, with the exception of June. It’s an abundance of plenty!
Or so I used to think.
In Canada, we get really excited about the fact that we have that long weekend in May. We’re so excited, in fact, that we’re more than happy to celebrate the birthday of a dead monarch who ruled a country that isn’t actually ours – and doesn’t even celebrate her birthday themselves – because doing so means that we get that magical day off.
However, I have recently discovered that, at least as far as public holidays go, May in France kind of, well, kicks May in Canada’s ass. Continue reading »
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Tags: France, French culture, French traditions, holidays, jours feriés, May, Paris, statutory holidays
The Vanishing Point 