So it seems my little virtual jaunt through Rimes recently to explore the champagne houses, vineyards and underground caves stocked with champagne came in handy. While YouTube can only go so far in firing up my imagination, there comes a time when you simply need to “do it for real”. So it wasn’t exactly a […]
Virtual Tour Day 6: Grenoble
“Isn’t that a wine?” I mused. 🤔 I had heard of this town but to be honest, didn’t know where it was in France so I checked the map when I was in Annecy and saw that it’s quite near – only an hour and a half drive. However as this is a virtual tour, […]
Virtual Tour Day 4: Heading for the Hills at Chamonix
Strap on those skis and let’s get ready to hit the slopes…. Well, not exactly. It hadn’t started snowing but as I went further up into the mountains, the weather started to get cooler but I saw that around me was the grandeur of the mountains. I couldn’t wait to get up to Mont Blanc […]
Virtual Tour Day 3: Dijon…the City of Mustard and a Stop at the Beaune Wine Auction
So I’ve left the Champagne region and headed over to Dijon for my next stop. It’s the 19th November and my aim is to also try to get to the Beaune Wine Auction which is on this weekend. But first, Dijon. Imagine my delight to find out that there are owls all over the town. […]
Virtual Tour Day 2: Onwards to Rimes
I decided to head to Rimes today. There’s 6 direct trains every day at a cost of 27 Euros and the trip lasts for an hour and a half. Of course, as it’s a virtual tour, I’m going first class. Really, there’s no need for train travel on this virtual tour in all honesty, so […]
Heading Off To France…Ummm, Virtually
I haven’t been on an overseas trip since…well 2019, before COVID. Since that time, the only time I’ve been away from home has been a weekend away in country Victoria in 2022 and an overnight golf trip this year. I’m not saying that for pity, it’s what we have decided to do save money. It’s […]
My French Journey
It’s been interesting to be learning French these last few years. It’s now well and truly ingrained into my life. I cannot go a day without listening, watching, writing or talking French. When you learn a language, you pretty much should make a pact with yourself that it should be part of your life. And […]
Achievement Unlocked: I Speak French
In the last few months, I changed from one University of the Third Age French class to another. It was unfortunate that I left the first one even though I enjoyed the class however, it reached a point that I realised I needed MORE conversation than grammar classes. Don’t be under the illusion that you’re […]
Virtual Trip to Lyon
It’s unlikely we will be travelling anywhere overseas for at least another few years but thankfully, we have an abundance of wonderful videos, programmes and other resources to do virtual trips instead. Some time ago, during the pandemic lockdowns I created a Virtual Tour of France where I created an itinerary for 5 days that […]
La Bohème
Annoying my neighbours by playing this song in the house quite loud. I dare you not to shed a tear. (For the song, not me).
Hier Encore
La chanson nous allons étudier la semaine prochaine. Dis-moi. Aznavour a raison. Une chanson triste à commencer mon jour. Où est passée ma vingtaine?! 🤣
I Shouldn’t Complain About Work…At Least I Didn’t Make A Lot of Holes….Les Petits Trous
This is the song we studied in French class so now I can’t get it out of my head…. Puis, I started to think if I did a search en francais about songs that have been created by AI, je l’ai trouvé ça. (Heureusement, il n’y a pas de chansons de Gainsbourg. Phew).. I’m mixing […]
Become Fluent in French in 8 Hours a Day
I stumbled upon this video on YouTube and it was an eye opener. First of all, I thought to myself that I can easily do this now that there is time in my day. Devoting 8 hours a day to language learning is achievable especially if you don’t work, have no family commitments and want […]
Nothing Wrong With Starting with Grammar When Learning a New Language
I watched this interview with D’aria talking about how she learned French and it struck me that we both started the same way. Many people on YouTube and other articles online advise NEVER to start with grammar. However this is wrong. I started like her. I bought the Practice Makes Perfect books and methodically over […]
My First Day of Summer School
This morning was my first day of Summer School and I was like a little kid. I did all my morning chores and even went into the garage to pump up my bike tyres. I hadn’t cycled in years but as the University of the Third Age in nearby, it seemed wrong to use the […]
My French Learning Update
I’ve written many posts here in my blog about how I’ve been learning French then integrating this language into my life as much as possible. It’s immersion by stealth. If you can’t visit or travel overseas to the country, we are spoiled for choice using technology and other ways to ensure we are surrounded by […]
Jouer Au Golf et Apprendre Le Francais Ensemble
What do you do if you feel you lack time when it comes to learning all the things you want to learn? Do it all in the one go. Find things that build upon each other. For example, I’m new to golf. And I’m a left handed golfer at that. Golf is a backwards sport. […]
My French Update
There’s a crêperie nearby that serves these French crepes and galettes made with buck wheat that employs French speakers so you can be guaranteed to hear French being spoken every time you go there. On Friday morning, I didn’t have anything planned for the day (except for 9 holes of golf later that afternoon) so […]
Enrolling Into French…Again
For the last few months, I focused on having conversations with two friends who are fluent in French. Every Monday, Thursday and Friday for an hour, we chat – 30 mins in English and 30 mins in French. I wanted to take a break from the Alliance Francaise courses because at times, I found them […]
Petit Nicolas
It’s a public holiday here in sunny Melbourne. Another beautiful cloudless sky and no breath of wind. It’s a day to laze around and relax before the onslaught of work begins again tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ve taken Tuesday & Wednesday off (I work three days a week), which means an extra long time to do the […]