Day 1115 (Sunday) 28^th June 2020

We had another gloriously lazy day again today and I am thoroughly enjoying Bill Bryson’s ‘I’m a stranger here myself.’ I had to email the owner of the villa to send some before and after photos of the work we’ve done and looking at this dining area reminded me of my first visit to the south of France many, many years ago.

My neighbour Paul Thomas in Llanelli was four years older than me but we were great friends. While I was still in school he was studying French in university and he spent a year in Toulon and he invited me for a free holiday. We drove all the way, stopping in La Rochelle on the way and when we got to Toulon we had a big apartment for free. The owner had a house in La Rochelle and she was staying there for the summer. He had made a lot of friends during his year and he introduced me to many of them, including a real gigolo. I was only 17 so everything shocked, surprised and impressed me and I’m sure Paul thoroughly enjoyed showing it all off. One evening we were invited to a family dinner outside the city and we seated outside at a large dining table covered with bougainvillea above us just like in the above photo. There were 8 or 9 guests – all French – and I can’t remember how many courses there were but we ate a great deal and in between every course we had a liqueur to cleanse the palette. All this food was accompanied by icy cold champagne and every time the host opened another bottle he used a meat cleaver, which is how champagne is supposed to be opened. This method takes off the top of the bottle as well as the cork to get rid of any impurities.

During my stay in Toulon Paul had a car and me, him and girlfriend Lucy drove all along the Cote d’Azur and I fell in love with the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and the view of Villefranche from the viewpoint on the basse corniche.

We didn’t go into Villefranche that day as our destination was Monaco and when I saw the port of Monaco I told Paul that one day I was going to live here one day. Well I was very young and impressionable and thought Monaco was a wow. I’ve learned since but I wasn’t far off the mark with my young prediction. Prior to this trip I’d only been on a school skiing trip in Italy and a weekend in Paris so I really had my eyes opened very wide and I’ve never looked back.

The best phrases that show why everything is good when you're speaking French

The French have something of a reputation as complainers - but really they are very positive, if the number of phrases for something being 'good' is anything to go by.

Ask for a stereotypical view of the French and words like chirpy, sunny or cheerful don't often come up. Instead people tend to focus more on the French habit of complaining.

But in fact in French there is a dizzying array of expressions that have 'good' in front of them - so maybe the grumpy reputation is a little unfair?

1. Times of day

We can probably take it for granted that most people already know bonjour. The most widely used word in the French language by a long way, bonjour plays a very important social function in France. 

Of course there are variations for the time of day - bonsoir and bonne nuit, but there also exist bonne journée, bonne matinée, bonne après-midi and bonne soirée. These are not greetings as such, they are ways of telling people to have a good day/a good afternoon/a good evening.

They are very widely used and not just with people you know well. For example if you get into a full lift in France you will be expected to greet everyone with bonjour/bonsoir when you get in, but then it's also considered polite to wish your fellow travellers bonne après-midi/bonne journée as you leave the lift.

You will also frequently be instructed to have a nice day/evening by shop assistants as you conclude your transaction.

2. Special days

Similar to bonne journée is bon weekend - have a nice weekend - or bonne fête - for a special day, for example if you want to wish someone a happy mothers' day or fathers' day for example  - bonne fête des mères/pères.

If someone is off on their holidays you can of course also wish them bonne vacances - happy holidays - or more specifically bon voyage - have a good trip.

Some festivals also have a specific greeting - bonne année, for example means Happy New Year or bon noël if you're wishing someone a great Christmas (if you're seeing them on the day itself you would be more likely to use joyeaux noël - happy Christmas).

And of course bon anniversaire - happy birthday.

3. Specific events

If you're off to watch your favourite sports team scrap it out, don't be surprised to be told bon match - enjoy the game. Likewise if you're buying cinema tickets it's likely the vendor will say to you bon film or bonne séance - enjoy the film.

In fact here bon/bonne can be added to pretty much anything that you're about to do or see - bon spectacle, bonne lecture, bonne classe, bonne manifestation (enjoy the show, happy reading, have a great class, enjoy the protest). Although wishing someone bon enterrement or bon frottis  (have a great funeral/enjoy your pap smear) would probably be pushing it too far.

4. Eating and drinking

Bon appétit is of course the most well known French eating phrase, although you will be interested to know some among the older generation, consider it rather vulgar.

You might be more likely to hear bonne dégustation - happy tasting - or a meal specific phrase such as bon dîner - enjoy your dinner - or bon déjeuner - enjoy your lunch.

At informal events or among younger people bon appétit is far more common, however, is frequently shortened to bon app.

5. Wishing good fortune

Bonne chance is the literal translation of good luck, so you are likely to hear this before you sit a test or go for a job interview but you will also hear bon courage quite a lot as well - be brave or more generally good luck or all the best.

And that's just a tiny sample of the words that regularly have a 'good' appended to them in France, so really life is good in France.

Sorry but there are no jokes today – just this airport sign, which is better than nothing.

Caught Out

A lot of these signs have been extremely sweet or extremely funny, but this next sign is the opposite. The maker of the sign decided to not waste a second on their partner's arrival to let them know that they've been aware of their infidelity the whole time. Rather than have an awkward conversation later down the line, they came out with the truth at the airport without having to say a word. It's brutal not just because their partner has no idea they've been caught, but they're about to get publicly shamed after a long flight. Eeeek…