Sunday, December 11, 2011

La Fourchette's Festival of Lights - The Merry Mairie



The front of our mairie, or town hall...or hôtel de ville*,
is draped in lights again this year. 
I think she looks absolutely stunning in her holiday finery.

Bon dimanche à tous!

leslie

*thanks to gentle reader, Paul, I followed the inner prompting to check out my spelling of hôtel as I tapped it out in this entryIf you missed his very informative comment on Thursday's post, the circumflex accent indicates an omitted "s".  Somewhere in the journey from Latin to French, the occasional "s" was dropped and the preceding letter was topped with a cap - a bit of a hat tip, if you will, to its former neighbor.  If you were to slip that "s" back in, you would see the neighborly rapport between hotel and hostel.  Thanks again, Paul.

8 comments:

La Brocanteuse said...

very interesting..the grammer on hostel and hotel... Love the little magical lights . hanging like a veil...love Colette

Anonymous said...

Leslie,

I'm so happy that your cards sold at the fair!!! YAY for you!

I love this sweet picture. It is the sort of picture that makes me happy and brings a smile to my face.

Now, what IS arnica montana and where can I purchase it?

Kris

la fourchette said...

Kris, thanks...and again! arnica montana is a homeopathic remedy that is a wonder remedy for potential bruises and suchlike. You can probably get it in your local health food store or natural foods place. It comes in a little blue tube with white label...most of time. If you have any trouble finding it, let me know and I'll mail you a picture of it for reference.

bon chance!
leslie

la fourchette said...

Col, I thought so, too! I knew the bit about the missing 's' but haven't integrated that into my written French. Ha! As if my spoken French is up to the measure...one day...

(Yes, that veil of lights is just your style, isn't it?)

ciao,
leslie

Paul said...

Bonjour tout le monde,

Ici, c'est lundi matin...

Leslie, tu est trop gentille!

I was born in Louisiana which is the closest to being a native francophone as I can get. I have spent several years in France and I have a M.A. in French from UCSB.
I have studied and taught French and thought about (and in) the language for years.

http://french.about.com/?nl=1
The above link is a great place to learn more grammar and culture,as well as take quizzes on specific subjects. You can sign up for Laura's newsletter.
If anyone wants to contact me directly with questions or comments, here I am: pauhowhol@gmail.com. I am an inveterate francophile!
Bonne journée à tous!

Paul

la fourchette said...

Paul, Oh how I wish I were thinking in French! (Oh how I wish I thought *about* it enough to double-check my writing before hitting 'publish' for all of those possible readers with French degrees who stop in!) I was a follower of Laura's fantastic site for quite some time...before my subscriptions to all things interesting jammed my email box to the point of crazy...'nuff said.

Thanks for your great feedback, suggestions, and kind availability to the gentle readers at La Fourchette. C'est gentil.

Ciao,
leslie

Anonymous said...

Thanks Leslie! Donna told me I could get the arnica at Whole Foods. I'm off to find it!

la fourchette said...

Kris, exactement. No surprise that donna's in the know about this, too. Keep it handy. As I was returning home one evening, a woman of a certain age tripped and fell and a couple of us near her stopped to help her up and waited as she regained her composure. As she did so, she rifled around in her very stylish handbag looking for her...yup! You guessed it: arnica! You might want to get two bottles to keep a stash handy at all times. Me, I'm working on staying upright - but it's certainly there for backup.

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