Expat living is not for the faint of heart. Surrounded by a new environment, comfortable routines are gone, and even mundane daily tasks require extra consideration and effort. Where to grocery shop? What are the best schools? What about health care? Add a foreign language and different cultural norms to …

Contributor blog post by Vaucluse Dreamer: Having spent a good few months out of the last year in France both Andy and I have seen our French really improve, although we both started at very different levels. I’d learned French at school, although had given up after taking my ‘O’ …

Contributor blog post by Ashley Tinker: During one of my first jobs here in France, one of my colleagues challenged me to learn these French tongue twisters. I found this crumpled piece of paper in a pile of forgotten souvenirs under the bed the other day. I was compelled to …

In the past, most language classes followed a similar scholastic approach, typically involving the memorisation of verbs, tenses and sentence structures. The process is the same whether students were attempting to conquer one of the romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian or Catalan), a Germanic tongue, a Slavic dialect or …

I’ve been putting off picking up my free pass to Pont du Gard for years now. Anyone who can prove they live in the Gard can get one. My friend and neighbor, Rich, said I’d murmured about it long enough. He was going to accompany me to the Mairie and …

Occasionally, I get asked what do I enjoy the most about Perfectly Provence? Hands down it is the personal connections forged via this online community of contributors and readers. Some of my favourite moments (to date) include a lady’s lunch in Nice, exchanging recipes and wine pairing ideas with new …

Contributor Blog Post By Aixcentric: ‘L’art d’apprendre le francais’ and ‘l’art de vivre en Provence’ are combined for those signing up for courses with Destination Francais. It’s an Aix-based company started by two French teachers, tired of the classroom-based teaching methods they’d been tied to in the traditional system. They …

Ginger and Nutmeg have an on-going debate. Actually, it is not a debate because there is little discussion. Nutmeg admits she is a Francophile, give her the choice between BBQ Alberta beef and steak au poivre the French sauce wins. She listens to Radio Canada when she is driving, her …

Are you a spelling bee champion? Or, do you rely on spell check once in a while? Are you a grammar pro? Perfecting your mother tongue is not easy! Even French speakers will admit that learning French can be frustrating… What is the word for ___? How do you conjugate …

The past two weeks the Barefoot Blogger has spent a lot of time with new French friends. Admitting that I live in France and that I can barely put together a sentence in French is getting embarrassing. Currently I have Rosetta Stone and another online language program on my computer. …