Chouchouter la viole de gambe (Caring for French Viola da Gamba)

La tarte aux cerises (les ep. du 90) Homemade Cherry Tart, Breton Style

Dans ce deuxième épisode de la série de l’été, on part en Bretagne cueillir des cerises avec Lisa, on fait une tarte, et on croise une Mamie. À vous de trouver où se cache le 90 ! A trip back to Brittany, 2013: cherry picking with my daughter, a homemade tart, and an old neighbor lending me her rolling pin. This episode is a slice of real family life in French – and a little puzzle: can you spot where the number ninety is hiding in the story? Along the way, I pick up something linguistically fascinating: the Mamie speaks with subject-verb inversion, a pattern shaped by a lifetime of speaking Breton. It’s the kind of authentic regional French you won’t find in a textbook. This summer, no pen, no notebook – just listening and speaking.  Subscribers receive a podcast letter with this episode: a question to think about before pressing play, cultural markers to go deeper into the episode, three everyday expressions to say out loud, and a comprehension question to answer once you’ve heard the whole story. A different way to make progress in French. D’autres épisodes à écouter aujourd’hui : 2499 — Courses gourmandes et littéraires — pour prolonger le plaisir gourmand https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2499-%e2%80%94-courses-gourmandes-et-litteraires-2%e2%80%94-vendredi%c2%a018%c2%a0avril-2025/ 2500 — La dégustation de tartes — en écho direct à la tarte aux cerises https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2500-%e2%80%94-la-degustation-de-tartes-%e2%80%94-lundi%c2%a021%c2%a0avril-2025/ Sur la route des Monts d’Arrée — pour rester en immersion bretonne https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/sur-la-route-des-monts-darree/ Au domaine de Menez-Meur — encore la Bretagne, entre nature et grands espaces https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/au-domaine-de-menez-meur/ Why do some French speakers invert subject and verb? How does Breton influence spoken French? French recipe for cherry tart (tarte aux cerises) What does ‘au pif’ mean in French? Natural ways to say ‘good idea’ in French French podcast set in Brittany Real French family conversations podcast How to talk about dessert in French French expressions for everyday conversation tarte aux cerises · Bretagne · breton · inversion sujet-verbe · au pif · expressions françaises · french podcast · real french · spoken french · french daily life · family life in France

Programme de l’été : les épisodes du 90 (Why French Says 80 + 10)

Le 90 fait sa star sur le podcast cet été ! Un nombre dont les multiples aspects sont présents sur le podcast. Je vous raconte comment un simple « Pomme F » sur mon Mac a fait surgir cette série de l’été. Ninety. In French, there’s no single word for it – you have to say ‘quatre-vingt-dix,’ literally ‘eighty-ten.’ It’s one of those quirks that makes French famous among learners. In this launch episode, I explain how a simple search on my computer turned ‘ninety’ into the theme of this summer’s rebroadcast series: nine archive episodes, from 2013 to 2025, all connected by the many faces of this number. This episode kicks off ‘Les épisodes du 90,’ a special summer collection open to both One Thing In A French Day and Cultivate Your French listeners. Expect real, both crafted and unscripted storytelling – the kind of French you’ll actually hear in Paris, not in a textbook. This summer, no pen, no notebook – just listening and speaking.  Subscribers receive a podcast letter with this episode: a question to think about before pressing play, cultural markers to go deeper into the episode, three natural expressions to practice out loud, and a comprehension question to answer once you’ve listened all the way through. A different way to make progress in French.  D’autres épisodes à écouter aujourd’hui : 1698 — Raconter les vacances à Dieppe — la rencontre avec Olwen Morris, pianiste anglaise nonagénaire à Dieppe 2484 — Voyage mère-fille, deux épées à Lyon — pour le clin d’œil kung-fu (les épées !) en écho au 90 mains nues Jean-François, la série de l’été — pour la continuité avec la série de l’été précédent Why does French say eighty-ten instead of ninety? What is quatre-vingt-dix in French? Best summer French podcast series 2026 French podcast for intermediate learners What is a nonagénaire in French? Difference between chiffre and nombre in French French podcast with real conversations not scripted How to improve French listening comprehension this summer What is Cultivate Your French podcast quatre-vingt-dix · nombre vs chiffre · french numbers · spoken french · learn french · french stories · real french · podcast d’été · rediffusion · authentic french · french daily life · Dieppe

Comment commence l’été des filles ? (French Teenage Summer Life) — jeudi 9 juillet 2026

C'est l’été : le rythme change à la maison. Que font les filles cet été?  This episode is in French because it's a slice of real, everyday family life — not a scripted lesson, but the kind of natural, spontaneous storytelling that French learners rarely get access to. If you want to hear how a French family actually talks about summer plans, exams, and daily life, this episode is for you. Level: B1-B2. Much of the vocabulary here is everyday and accessible — jobs, weather, family updates — but the episode also touches on more elevated register when discussing Lisa's baccalauréat exam and French literature spanning two centuries, from Graffigny's 18th-century Lettres d'une Péruvienne to Baudelaire's 19th-century prose poems, giving learners exposure to both conversational and more literary French in a single episode. Curious how the rest of the family navigated the infamous French bac exam? Dive into these related episodes: Pour comprendre les débuts du bac dans la famille : https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2224-%e2%80%94-micaela-a-passe-le-bac-%e2%80%94-lundi-27-mars-2023/ La suite de l'aventure du bac de Micaela : https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2257-%e2%80%94-les-epreuves-du-bac-sont-enfin-terminees-pour-micaela-%e2%80%94-lundi-26-juin-2023/ Felicia, elle aussi, face au bac de français : https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2381-%e2%80%94-commentaire-compose-ou-dissertation%c2%a0-c-est-le-bac-de-francais-pour-felicia-%e2%80%94-vendredi%c2%a014%c2%a0juin-2024/ french stories, paris stories, french daily life, authentic french, real french, life in paris, spoken french, learn french — family, summer in france, baccalauréat, french teenagers, viola da gamba, baroque music This episode answers to the following questions:  What is the French baccalauréat exam? How does the French bac oral exam work? Who was Françoise de Graffigny? What is Lettres d'une Péruvienne about? Who wrote Petits poèmes en prose? What is a viola da gamba? Where is Ploërmel, France? What is life like for French teenagers in summer? What jobs do French students do in summer? When is the French grape harvest (vendanges)?

Duvelleroy, éventails élégants et historiques (French Fan Craftsmanship)

Comment un objet emblématique du 19e siècle redevient-il aujourd'hui un accessoire de mode à part entière ? Direction la maison Duvelleroy, où Inès nous ouvre les portes des collections et nous raconte l'histoire de l'éventail. In this episode, Pauline and I continue our visit to a historic Parisian fan house, where Inès — who works at the boutique — walks us through the different collections, materials, and craftsmanship behind each fan. It's part of my ongoing series of real, unscripted conversations recorded in Paris — made for learners who want to hear authentic spoken French. This episode works well for B1 through C1 learners, though for different reasons. For B1-B2 listeners, the value is in following a guided explanation — new vocabulary (materials, techniques, collections) introduced naturally and repeated in context, which makes it easier to absorb. For C1 listeners, the real payoff is in the unscripted back-and-forth between Pauline and Inès: overlapping questions, spontaneous clarifications ("on appelle ça comment ?"), and the kind of cultural subtext — like the historical "language of the fan" — that rarely comes up in graded material. Want to go further into the world of Parisian chic and historic houses? Quel est l'accessoire élégant de l'été à Paris ? : l'épisode précédent, où Pauline et moi partions à la découverte de cet accessoire mystère avant de pousser la porte de Duvelleroy → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/quel-est-laccessoire-elegant-de-lete-a-paris-paris-chic-summer-accessory/ Quel cadeau chez Design & Nature : une autre balade shopping avec Pauline, entre objets inattendus et déco parisienne → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/quel-cadeau-chez-design-nature-paris-inattendu-genuine-paris-conversation/ Que pense Pauline de Victor Hugo décorateur ? : le regard de Pauline sur le goût et le style d'un autre siècle → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/que-pense-pauline-de-victor-hugo-decorateur-victor-hugos-interior-design/ Saint-Germain-des-Prés, petites rues, lieux et cafés : flânerie dans un autre quartier chic et historique → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2197-%e2%80%94-saint-germain-des-pres%c2%a0-petites-rues-lieux-et-les-cafes-%e2%80%94-mercredi-21-decembre-2022/ La Maison de Balzac en plein 16e arrondissement : une autre "maison" chargée d'histoire à découvrir → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2132-%e2%80%94-la-maison-de-balzac-en-plein-16e-arrondissement-%e2%80%94-mercredi-15-juin-2022/ spoken french, learn french, french stories, paris stories, authentic french, real french, life in paris — mots-clés épisode : Duvelleroy, éventail, artisanat français, savoir-faire, maison française, French fan house, French craftsmanship, 19th century fashion accessory Frequently asked questions: Where to find Marin Montagut fans? Where to find a fan with a cord/strap? Looking for a mini fan Which fan to buy in Paris? How to store a fan? Looking for a peacock feather fan Where to find a haute couture fan? What is the language of the fan? What is the difference between prêt-à-porter and couture fan collections? Why did fans become fashionable again in modern Paris?

Quel est l'accessoire élégant de l'été à Paris ? (Paris Chic Summer Accessory)

Pourquoi Pauline et moi allons chez Duvelleroy? Nous sommes à la recherche de l’accessoire de l’été, celui qui est entre les mains de toutes et tous depuis queqlues semaines : il est élégant, léger et procure de l’air. Nous sommes rue Saint-Dominique dans le 7e pour découvrir une maison parisienne qui fabrique cet objet depuis 1827. In this episode, my friend Pauline and I head to a historic Parisian boutique to discover a summer accessory that's been spotted everywhere in the city this past week. It's part of my ongoing series of real, unscripted conversations recorded on the go in Paris — made for learners who want to hear authentic spoken French, not textbook dialogue. This episode works well for B1 through C1 learners, though for different reasons. For B1-B2 listeners, the value is in following Pauline explain and justify her choice out loud — why the object interests her, why it would make a good gift. For C1 listeners, the real payoff is the natural rhythm of an unscripted two-person conversation: overlapping turns, mid-sentence reformulations, and the kind of cultural subtext (what "une maison" implies versus "une boutique", the weight of a date like 1827) that rarely comes up in graded material. Want to go further with Pauline into the world of Parisian chic? Quel cadeau chez Design & Nature : une autre balade shopping avec Pauline, entre objets inattendus et déco parisienne → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/quel-cadeau-chez-design-nature-paris-inattendu-genuine-paris-conversation/ Que pense Pauline de Victor Hugo décorateur ? : le regard de Pauline sur le goût et le style d'un autre siècle → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/que-pense-pauline-de-victor-hugo-decorateur-victor-hugos-interior-design/ Saint-Germain-des-Prés, petites rues, lieux et cafés : flânerie dans un autre quartier chic et historique → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2197-%e2%80%94-saint-germain-des-pres%c2%a0-petites-rues-lieux-et-les-cafes-%e2%80%94-mercredi-21-decembre-2022/ La Maison de Balzac en plein 16e arrondissement : une autre "maison" chargée d'histoire à découvrir → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2132-%e2%80%94-la-maison-de-balzac-en-plein-16e-arrondissement-%e2%80%94-mercredi-15-juin-2022/ Quitter la maison de Balzac et découvrir le quartier de Passy : suite de la balade dans un quartier élégant → https://onethinginafrenchday.podbean.com/e/2133-%e2%80%94-quitter-la-maison-de-balzac-et-decouvrir-le-quartier-de-passy-%e2%80%94-vendredi-17-juin-2022/ spoken french, learn french, french stories, paris stories, authentic french, real french, life in paris éventail, Duvelleroy, accessoire parisien, mode française, rue Saint-Dominique, French fan, Paris fashion accessory, French heritage brand What is a "duvelleroy" fan and where can you buy one in Paris? Where is Duvelleroy's flagship boutique located? What is the history of the Duvelleroy fan house? Which European royals were historically clients of French fan makers? What are the most popular summer fashion accessories in Paris right now? Where is Rue Saint-Dominique and what is it known for? What does "chic" really mean in French fashion culture? How do Parisians accessorize simple outfits to look elegant? What French luxury brands date back to the 19th century? Why do French speakers say "une maison" instead of "une boutique" for heritage brands?