Dear French Story Listeners,
Last week I told you about Vladimir, and how we are building his spoken French one small step at a time with the progymnasmata.
We started with a simple fable and kept going from there.
Nothing rushed and nothing forced.
This week, I’d like to give you a different kind of gift.
Three French words to savour
Les chouquettes: little puffs of choux pastry sprinkled with pearl sugar, sold by the bagful in every French bakery
Le goûter: the little afternoon pause with tea or coffee and something sweet
La flânerie: wandering through streets with no destination, just noticing
You can read these words, but they really sink in once you’ve felt them.
This week’s story: Le voleur de chouquettes
An elderly woman waiting at a train station, a bag of delicious pastries… and a little misunderstanding that will make you smile. I won’t tell you more. 😊
👉 Watch Le voleur de chouquettes: https://youtu.be/_gw7d9eFxiw
Listen once just for pleasure.
Then, if you like, tell the story back to yourself in French, in your own simple words.
That’s narration, and it’s where the magic quietly happens. ✨
An invitation to my table in Pau
On November 28th and 29th, Marisa and her husband Edward are coming to my flat in Pau for two full days of authentic French life.
We’ll share French breakfasts, visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts, read a poem together, enjoy a goûter (chouquettes, perhaps? 😉), go for a flânerie, and do gentle personal coaching toward natural spoken French.
Would you like to join them?
Two spots remain, and registration closes in one week, on October 26th.
It’s a rare chance to live French in real life, not on screen.
👉 Reserve your seat
Until next week
Be gentle with yourself this week. You’re doing beautifully.
Alice 💕
P.S. Curious what an immersion in Pau feels like? Take a peek at the photos from our very first immersion week there in 2023: the streets, the shared tables, the smiles. 📸 It might just make you want to pack your bag.