Vitré and One Cute Vitréen

Vitré (Brittany, Ille-et-Vilaine) is the most well-preserved medieval village I’ve seen in France with its narrow streets of cobblestone,

surrounding ramparts and half-timbered houses.

The 11th century Château de Vitré showcases fairy tale towers and has historically proven to be one of the most powerful castles in history having not been occupied during the Hundred Years War. The English attempted to take it over many times, without success, even though they’d occupied the village.

The best part of our short trip, however, happened while we were meandering around the old village, taking photos, chatting, then suddenly, a local villager speeds by and grumpily yells, “You’re right to take photos. It’s beautiful here!” then he smiled ear to ear. My sweetie then says, “Oh, but we actually want to take a picture of you.” And this adorable man enthusiastically agreed.

Then we asked, “Will you stand like THIS?”* And he did! People of Vitre, you rock.
* My nephew has been posing for photos like this and we thought we’d find some competition for him. Actually, many travelers in France who we didn’t know agreed to do this.
Another Dialogue Entre Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy

Previous dialogues: The Dalai Lama et Nicolas Sarkozy, 2 Air France Pilots, Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
[Photo courtesy of Pete Souza's Delivering on Change, an Inside Look (slideshow of Obama's first 100 Days at the White House)]
Dialogue entre Nicolas Sarkozy et Le Dalai Lama 
Previous dialogues: 2 Air France Pilots, Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, french, dalai lama, china, sarkozy
Dialogue entre 2 pilotes d’Air France 
Previous dialogues: Dialogue entre Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dialogue entre Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, french, air france, air france pilots, strike, la grève
Dialogue 2 entre Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy 
Previous dialogues: Dialogue entre Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, french, barack obama, nicolas sarkozy
Dialogue entre Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy 
Previous dialogues: Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, french, Sarah Palin , nicolas sarkozy, elections, scary candidates
Dialogue entre Dominique Strauss-Kahn et Anne Sinclair (his wife) 
Previous dialogues: Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Anne Sinclair, sex scandals, business as usual
French Expressions: Persil / Parsley 
My book arrived in the mail today! A French expressions dictionary is perfect for my lack of attention span these days. Just open up a random page and learn something quickly. And voilà, quoi.
Some of the first items we fell upon were unknown to my sweetie, so there’s a good chance that many expressions in this book will not be that practical because even French people aren’t familiar with them. However, there are definitely some silly ones, good for a laugh. Here’s one I thought was fun, and like many French expressions, involves food.
avoir le persil qui dépasse du cabas – to have parsley overflowing from a basket (or grocery bag) – means that your pubic hair is exposed (because your bathing suit is too small or you haven’t shaved depending on your perspective). Example: Je ne peux pas aller à la piscine, j’ai le persil qui dépasse du cabas ! (I can’t go to the pool because my pubic hair is showing! (or because I haven’t shaved!))
tags: france, french, french expressions, parsley, pubic hair
Dialogue entre Francois Hollande et Maxime Bono 
The Parti Socialist (PS) just wrapped up their L’université d’été, a summer camp-like convention for French politicians. This year it was in La Rochelle (I’m not sure if the venue changes yearly). Here’s the extremely long-winded Francois Hollande, the premier secrétaire of the socialist party with the mayor of La Rochelle, Maxime Bono, in the background.
Previous dialogues: The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, politicians, ps, francois hollande, L’université d’été
Dialogue entre HH The Dalai Lama et Carla Bruni 
Previous dialogues: Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, dalai lama, carla bruni, sarkozy no show, china’s slave
Dialogue entre Michael Phelps et Alain Bernard 
Previous dialogues: Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, michael phelps, olympics 2008, alain bernard, world record
Dialogue Entre Nicolas Sarkozy et Muammar Qaddafi 
Previous Dialogues: Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, dalai lama, gaddafi, sarkozy snubs the dalai lama, china’s french poodle
Dimanche Dialogue Entre Florent Pagny, Xavier Darcos et Zidane 
Known for his raspy voice and chart topping pop songs, Florent Pagny (left) sung his tax woes in the song, “Ma Liberté de Penser
” (My freedom to think), and even though this happened long ago, France is rather merciless and never lets neither him nor anyone else forget about any of their past predicaments particularly if they involve stepping over legal lines.
Note: Xavier Darcos is France’s Education Minister (though it would’ve been more ironic if he’d been the Finance Minister…)
tags: france florent pagny zidane xavier darcos taxes