Paris, Je T'aime!

Over the past few weeks, I have noticed a huge spike in readers from French-speaking countries on this blog.  I credit this mostly to Hello It's Valentine!  A beautiful blog by a lovely girl who chose to put my link in her sidebar.  In any case, I am so glad to have all of you!  I actually speak a little bit of French, and would love to get better.  While I was living in London last year, I had the privilege of traveling to France, Belgium and Switzerland, where I actually got to use it a little. 

Now, I live in an area of Brooklyn with a lot of French speakers!  Many people in my building are from Haiti and Martinique, and sometimes greet people in French before they really think about it.  They are generally shocked when I can actually say something back to them.  We get menus and church advertisements underneath our door that are entirely in French, and even if they are something in which I am totally uninterested, I try to read them.  Because there are so many users of French, I hear it a lot, and it's made me quite a bit better, and very motivated to become fluent!  (And to possibly visit more French-speaking countries!)  Sometimes, I'll hear people in the grocery store, or wherever,  having a conversation, and start giggling.  Danny then turns to me all confused, but he speaks a good amount of Spanish, so I am in the same situation when that language is involved.  We're even.

In any case, to honor all my French speaking readers, I have compiled a group of photographs from our trip to Paris last spring that I would love to share!  I know that lots of other countries besides France use French, but it seems fitting.

Also- please see on the sidebar, I included a little poll, asking whether I should start posting my text in French as well as English.  If you have an opinion, please let me know.

Pour voir ce même texte en français, s'il vous plaît regard au dessous des photographies. 

Au cours de ces dernières semaines, j'ai remarqué une grande quantité dans les lecteurs des pays français-Parlant sur ce blog. Je crédite ceci surtout à Hello It's Valentine ! Elle est belle, et a un blog magnifique. Elle a mis mon lien dans son encadré ! Je suis très content que vous êtes ici !

Je parle francais un petit peu, mais aimerait parler français mieux.  Pendant que j'habitais en Londres l'an dernier, j'ai eu le privilège de voyager en France, Belgique et Suisse, où je l'ai parlé un peu. Maintenant, j'habite en un secteur de Brooklyn avec beaucoup de haut-parleurs français ! Beaucoup de personnes dans mon bâtiment sont d'Haïti et de Martinique, et quelquefois ils saluent des gens en français au lieu d'anglais. Ils sont généralement choqués quand je peux dire quelque chose à eux en français.  Nous obtenons de menus et des annonces d'une église au-dessous de notre porte qui est entièrement en français, et même s'ils sont quelque chose dans laquelle je suis totalement indifférent, j'essaie de les lire. Parce que tant de gens parlent français, je l'entends beaucoup, et je suis motivé pour apprendre à parler français mieux !  (Et je veux visiter de pays plus de-français parlant) ! Quelquefois, j'écoute des gens qui parlent français dans le supermarché, et je ris à leur conversation drôle.  Quand je ris, Danny devient confondu. Mais, il parle l'espagnol assez bien, et quand nous entendons quelqu'un parle espagnol, il peut les comprendre, et je ne peux pas. Nous sommes égaux.

En tout cas, j'aimerais honorer tous mes lecteurs qui français-Parlant ! J'ai compilé un groupe de photographies de notre voyage au printemps dernier de Paris. J'aimerais les partager avec vous. Je sais que beaucoup de pays autrement que français d'usage de France, mais cette poste est pour tout le monde ! 

Aussi- s'il vous plaît voir sur l'encadré, j'ai inclus un petit sondage, demandant si je devrais commencer à poster mon texte en français de même qu'anglais. Si vous avez une opinion, s'il vous plaît me permettre de savoir.

Je m'excuse de ma grammaire terrible!!!  Je ne suis pas aisé en francais...

Merci beaucoup mes amis!  

Thank you very much my friends!

Inspiration Fridays: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Toulouse-Lautrec may be my favourite painter of all time.  It's quite possible.  His works feel so romantic and beautiful, with an edge of the Parisian sex underworld.  I love it.  I've been a big fan of him for years, and not just for the iconic "Moulin Rouge" lithograph, and his popularization in Baz Luhrmann's film Moulin Rouge!  Though, I did love that movie quite a bit.  Nicole Kidman is awesome.

Anyway, I prefer Toulouse-Lautrec's full-on paintings to his lithographs.  Two of them (the first two) are actually framed in my bedroom.  

Please, enjoy, and share with me the talent of a turn-of-the-century artistic genius.

Marie

From The Aristocats!

My little sister loves The Aristocats, and Marie was always her favourite.  It kind of makes sense, she's a bit like Marie in a lot of ways- the pretty girly girl who still has a love and willingness for adventure.  I mean, she's not really little any more, she's seventeen, but she's younger than I am so I can still call her my little sister.

When I saw Marie, I didn't especially want a photograph with her, but I wanted to be able to show Julianna.  So, I asked her to wave at the camera for me.  With the lovely poster background, I was quite pleased with how adorable the shots were.  Not grand photographs by any means, but they serve their purpose well, which is all that I could ask for.

Walt Disney World, Florida, USA

Blossom

 

No, not the Powerpuff girl, but a flowering tree.  These are such a perfect indication that spring has sprung, and this tree in Paris proved no exception.  The pink was such a delicate shade, and the ground below was covered in petals.  Ah, delight.

Paris, France

Like this?  Take a look at some Dutch cherry blossoms in Spring.

Je Chuchote Votre Nom

I loved this statue in the Jardin du Luxembourg.  It was so evocative to me, I just kept thinking about what on earth the sculptor was trying to say, and came up with a million different answers and interpretations, which made me know that it was a good statue.  The woman could be asking for anything- life, love, a helping hand... it doesn't really matter.  I imagined the response to come out in a whisper.  Je chuchote votre nom, I whisper your name.

Paris, France

Like this?  Try taking a look at Contemplation.

Make a Wish

I realized that, given the number of photographs I had taken in Paris... I had posted very few.  So, I invite you to enjoy a couple more photos from my trip to good old Paris!  This one enchanted me so very much.  This little girl in the Jardin du Luxembourg was just gazing into the water, for a couple of minutes.  She seemed entranced by the subtle movements of the koi in the pond.  It's so easy to forget how fascinating the world was to us when we were children.  This is why, every once in a while, we must take a step back and remember that our world is lovely.  Lovelier than we think it is.

Paris, France

Like this?  Take a look at another little French girl in Le Fille et Son Scooter.