Parlez-Vous Français?

I was watching the French Open last night. I watched Nadal beat Soderling. Soderling was a strong competitior but was having a bad day and all he had going for him were his cute dimples. Nadal on the other hand pulled his underwear out of his butt after every two mintues and made countless number of monkey-like expressions. But, I heart Nadal. Way to go!
Wish I could've been at Rolland Garros. What a time to be in Paris.

Two of my friends live in Paris - Smita and Nam. Probably wake up and eat baguettes everyday.

I love French food. Mainly because it is covered in butter - such a beautiful thing in such a happy colour. Everything is avec Crème. Crème brûlée, Crème caramel. I think the French even go swimming in Crème.

In 2005 I went on a holiday to France with my sister and mother. We ate croissants (don't know if I'll ever say it right) and even Escargot (boneless meat that's easy to eat), and salmon before, during and after every meal. Everytime Aku and I ate Camembert we could feel firecrackers going off in our mouths. It has that certain Je ne sais quoi. You'll know when you're eating it. And we enjoyed saying it with our fake French accents just as much as we loved eating it.

Cam-om-bear-t



by Vahram Muratyan

There were also others that stuck on for a lot longer. Till today we say Weefee for Wifi. It's just more fun that way.
They even say Mc Do for Mc Donald's. How cute is that?

Before I learnt French, these are the few words I knew:

Papier mâché - I love craft.

Vol-au-vent - One of the dishes my mother makes for me on every birthday.

Petit four - the mini desserts I always love to buy (at Candies).

S'il vous plaît and Merci beaucoup - because I mind my p's and q's.

Croque-monsieur and Crepes - cheesy and yummesy.
Pot-pourri - it's so pointless but I'm so glad it was invented.

Au gratin - the way I like it.

Agent Provocateur - because I follow fashion.

When I was 15, I learnt a bit of French at the Alliance Française class and then studied it for 2 years in College. Here we learnt about La Sorbonne (I love saying Sorbonne for some reason), Arc de Triomphe & the Centre Georges Pompidou. I also learnt that the word Ananas is the same in Hindi and French. Incase you don't know, it's Pineapple.

It was fun doing the whole je suis, je m'apelle. Didn't quite make it to je t'aime. I figured that it required a couple of more years of learning to understand its proper use.

My friend Mallika went on to study French (higher level) and even mastered the art of having a Tête-à-tête with a Marathi accent. Only she can boast about such rare talents.

Mona Lisa by Graphic Nothing

Two of my friends are backpacking through Europe at the moment. I'm so jealous. I just received an email from one them.

He says "Paris is cold, the people are cold, the vibe is cold & the women are not hot". I guess all they can do is enjoy the food really. And maybe the Sienne.

But, France did have its Belle époque. With Art déco and Art Nouveau.

I'm a big fan of everything that's Art but, I'm not a fan of the Louvre. Yawn. I thought the Mona Lisa was overrated. Or did I miss something?

But France has definitely got some things going for it.

Like the Moulin Rouge - the show not the movie.

Or one of my favourite movies - Amélie. I wish I had written that story.

Or French Onion soup - the oceany broth that never disappoints.

The Monaco Grand prix and the Cannes film festival - for entertainment.

Or simply coq au vin - because I am that immature that just saying the name makes me giggle.

I love the language because it sounds so beautiful.

But, more so because it's hilarious when Indians try to speak it.

As much as I say it right when I'm referring to the city, when I'm talking about the biscuit I automatically say Mon-ack-oh.

It's an Indian thing.

Hey! Don't judge.

Atleast I know how to pronounce Champs-Élysées.

So let's sing it now.

And here's another song I learnt. I pretty much only sang the word discothèque. Have a listen.

Ciao.