Word for the Travel Wise (04/01/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

After discovering the Josephine Baker tours being held this year in France I have made a conscious decision to not only tour France, but to brush up intensely on my French. Yes, I know. In my last two posts I was a little hard on the lang, constantly noting how I don’t really care to waste my time learning such a pretentious tongue, but let’s just say I’ve had a change of heart. French isn’t half as bad as I make it sound and doesn’t sound half as bad as Thai for instance. The beauty of the French language like Spanish and other Romance lingos is the similarities among several words. It’s usually all those abstract accent marks making it seem as if the word is much harder to pronounce. In that case I suggest you either avoid or just ignore the marks completely and say the words as you normally may in English with a slight Texas-drawl.

Today’s word is a French word used in France:

frottis – (pronounced fro-tee) fruit

This word is an easy one. No accents marks either. It’s only a smidge different from the English meaning in pronunciation. Here’s a formula to follow: frottis – (fro-tee) – fruit – (fruity). Those French fashionistas may be right about American’s being flashy in attire, but nothing is more flamboyant than their vernacular, so make sure you kick up the body language and wiggle just a little when you say today’s word. Tell your server at the restaurant you’re in the mood for something frottis or the old woman and vendor of the fruit stand that you want the freshest of frottis. They’ll be so impressed you’ll want to thank me later.

Anyhow… free online sources include France-Pub, French Assistant, and the BBC Languages.

Past French words: confiture, difficile

Celebrating Josephine Baker

by Adrienne Wilson on

In celebration of the magnificent Josephine Baker’s 100th anniversary, Black Paris Divas and Discover Paris are
hosting tours that provide a glimpse into Ms. Baker’s time spent in the city – where she moved to from the United States
in 1925. I may not be a huge fan of taking tours on my trips abroad, but I’m a very big fan of the woman known as being
one of the first black female entertainers to break through racial prejudice in both Europe and the US. Beyond her racy
acts where she would dance on stage in bananas and make the audience ache from laughter she was a civil rights activist
and military woman in WWII. In my eyes she’s just a spectacular human being and it just tears me to pieces that I won’t
be able to jump on the bandwagon for this great opportunity to explore Paris and the Dordogne Region of France this
coming May 29 – June 5, 2006 in honor of the late Josephine Baker.

Check
out Black Paris Divas for additional details including cost and itinerary.

Photo of the day (3/24/2006)

by Erik Olsen on

A serene scene at Vedettes de Paris near the Eiffel
tower in Paris gets today’s nod for Photo of the Day. The shot was taken by the cryptically named RW007. Nice job.

Friday Funny: McSweeneys

by Erik Olsen on

Ah, McSweeney’s. Always good for a Friday chuckle. This piece by John Hallman takes a somewhat Python-esque look at the travelogue. Entitled Traveling Europe In Style With Auckland Dingiroo, Dark-Age Tourist And Critic Of Food And Drink, the hilarious satire pokes fun at food critics, travel writers and plague sufferers alike.

My favorite graph (among several):
Whether it be from the wrath of God, fleas, or the stagnant, foul-smelling water emanating from the city’s wells, nearly half the population has disappeared since I visited last. In spite of the smell of death, which has yet to entirely recede from the air, it did not take me long to appreciate what it was that keeps me coming back again and again to this little Frankish gem along the Seine.

Thank god for Friday, and McSweeney’s.

Red Corner: Rich Russians Skiing in France

by Neil Woodburn on

There was once a time when Russians were some of the poorest mopes on this planet. Now, thanks to an oil-fueled economy, an upper class of uber-rich has emerged and in January they come to France to ski.

Courchevel is a high-end ski resort in the French Alps. But for two weeks every year, it becomes a Little Moscow as 20,000 Russians make it their temporary winter home. And man do they have money.

How much do they have and what are they doing with it while in France? Carole Cadwalladr from The Observer traveled incognito to gatecrash parties and find out herself. What she discovered was a world difficult to penetrate, but one dripping in lavish wealth, €10,000 bottles of Rémy Martin, armored Humvees, Mitchell Brothers Suits and prostitutes flown over in First Class.

Holy Moly! Years of Western propaganda thumbing our noses at Moscow bread lines is finally come back to bite us on the ass.