Round Brittany On a Bottle

ecrivain

ecrivain

Full details of my impending, intrepid voyage around Brittany with just one bottle of wine a day to keep me going, can be found on my website,
  www.writersinfrance.com
Any encouragement from fellow writers would be most welcome, as I'm sure you will appreciate going into the French equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle in darkest November is not to be undertaken lightly.

Jay Mandal

Bonne chance!

Jay Mandal

Et bon voyage!

Schumi

Aussi bon appetit!

ecrivain

OK, Jay's in the lead with a less than two words message of encouragement.
  After 6 years 'doing' French at secondary school, you must have a better command of the language. Let's try, "Can you lend me a corkscrew, mine has given me a hernia?"

Jenny

That wasn't Schumi - it was me! I wonder how many other messages from me have appeared under the wrong name this afternoon!

(note to self: write out ten times "I must check my log in name every time"!)

Jay Mandal

Voulez-vous me preter un tire-buchon, le mien m'a donne une hernie.

Carol

Show off Jay!
I'll use English, have a good journey.

Jacey

Me too!  Take care and have a good trip.

Hippo

Such is the power of celebrity(?) these days that when I read the subject of your posting, I immediately thought of Britney Spears - it's not even the same spelling for goodness' sake.  I had to open the thread to find how you proposed to circumnavigate Britney astride a bottle.  I think I need a lie down/medication/a holiday.

Have a great trip.  By the way, my French always became much more fluent after a few glasses of red - it's worth a try.  Au revoir, not adieu.

Hippo

Hey, TT, good to see you up and about and posting.  Take care.  Hxxx

Scribbler_EI

Bonjour Tristesse!

ecrivain

fascinating captain.......thanks for all the catch-phrases........all I'm short of now is 'my grandmother's postillion has been struck by lightning'....I'm sure someone will oblige

Kangaroo

Have a great trip!

Jenny

As a teenager one of our daughters went to Paris with her friend for a few days. I rang the hotel to check they'd arrived safely and asked the receptionist (in French) if she spoke English. She said no, so I carried on speaking in French with my husband looking suitably impressed!

It turned out the room had been booked in the other girl's name, so the receptionist didn't recognise our daughter's name. I thought I'd describe her as the girl with very long hair and said (how embarrassing!): "La fille avec les chevaux tres longs."

Seemed to amuse the receptionist - she couldn't stop laughing!

Island Girl

Good luck Ecrivain. Oh, and by the way, I remember a bit of French from secondary school, too. Let me try, let me try...(waving arm wildly above head while sitting up straight)
Ou est le ballon? Le ballon de Claudette Marchaud est dans le jardin.
Pretty good, hey?  :)

Carol

Island Girl, why is her balloon in the garden? And who is Claudette Marchaud?

Jenny

Maybe Claudette is the person who put la plume de ma tante sur la table!

Evaine

We used Longmans Audio tapes, on a huge clunky machine.  The idea was to hear French spoken, but all I can really remember is "Ecoutez et repetez".

montholon

I used to mark French GCSE oral tests and I've never forgotten the howls of laughter at one of the examiners' co-ordnation meetings when this little gem came up.

Task: explain to the doctor that your back hurts.

Candidate:  Pardon, docteur.  J'ai un grand pain dans mon derrière.

montholon

In case anyone was wondering, I can spell co-ordination.  Sometimes my radio mouse can't keep up with the speed of my typing and misses out letters.

Jay Mandal

As opposed to a baguette?

Jan

But if he did have a large loaf of bread in his backside, he may well be suffering with a bad back. Or have I mis-translated?

montholon

No, you're spot on.  I hadn't thought of that.