tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post4321356593599045540..comments2023-10-11T04:09:53.564-07:00Comments on materfamilias writes: Paris Pages, From my Travel Journalmaterfamiliashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-50492814587461173682017-08-25T19:59:49.636-07:002017-08-25T19:59:49.636-07:00Yes, more food for thought....Yes, more food for thought....Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04174162283476551873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-54069206361311563222017-08-25T14:10:52.003-07:002017-08-25T14:10:52.003-07:00On the subject of language immersion and cafe jour...On the subject of language immersion and cafe journaling I hope you might find this video amusing, from the excellent British comedy duo Armstrong and Miller:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GYPf0JFl1M<br /><br />Also do you know their WW2 pilots series? Much loved here in the UK. Two Battle of Britain pilots re-imagined as two adolescents in the British youth-speak of today:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM8MLJjwT84<br /><br />Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11269887100694066103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-26216736106734124232017-08-24T17:33:27.230-07:002017-08-24T17:33:27.230-07:00Thanks, Elle, I was going to begin by playing down...Thanks, Elle, I was going to begin by playing down the achievement, self-deprecation being a default mode, but I'll accept those congratulations, as I'm very pleased to have noticed some change in my comfort with the language. So far to go still, but why not celebrate where we are along the way?! <br />Interesting point you make, and for me it depends on how long I have in a place. My cafe-journalling is, for me at least, a way of deeply experiencing the present moment, as is sketching. I don't find that it takes me away from, but rather I find myself suffused by sensory awareness, attentive. This wouldn't be the case, of course, were I writing a novel or research paper or whatever. . . although there's a sense in which I feel a greater belonging to a place when I'm doing things there that I might do at home: running or writing or sketching. . . Not sure if that answers your questions in anyway. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-68744238681446717002017-08-24T17:28:54.001-07:002017-08-24T17:28:54.001-07:00Diana Athill writes in one of her post-90 memoirs ...Diana Athill writes in one of her post-90 memoirs about the pleasures of just sitting and having so many places to revisit in memory. Even now, I can enjoy being transported that way, when I find time, whether through my journals or simply through some memory, triggered by whatever . . . Those 14 years, and the travel since, will afford you a wealth of travel through memory should you enjoy the ripe old age that Athill has moved to. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-72245860172031444512017-08-24T17:26:11.988-07:002017-08-24T17:26:11.988-07:00My French has lots of room for improvement, but wi...My French has lots of room for improvement, but with patient interlocutors, I can communicate, which is satisfying, and I can read novels with little trouble. But it's sometimes an enjoyable relief to travel in countries where we have to use our English, although I never, then, feel quite the same connection. . . <br />So interesting that you both keep journals and can compare them. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-61496816598178662382017-08-24T17:24:08.922-07:002017-08-24T17:24:08.922-07:00This is so great! These will surely be a very impo...This is so great! These will surely be a very important part of their heritage. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-81253588102241115032017-08-24T17:23:17.387-07:002017-08-24T17:23:17.387-07:00I'll have to look for that -- is it the kind t...I'll have to look for that -- is it the kind that are intended to attract mason bees? I do like the Jardin des Plantes (especially that labyrinth)<br />Ah, breadboxes, from the days before gluten-free was happening. . . <br />So much of the problem I have with speaking French is confidence, and our most recent tutor has been great. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-43610709079440913652017-08-24T11:43:15.781-07:002017-08-24T11:43:15.781-07:00I love that you have crossed a major threshold in ...I love that you have crossed a major threshold in your ability to call forth coherent colloquial French on the spot--at least some of the time! Congratulations! I am still very slow--and somewhat limited--in my responses (a bit better when I am the initiator). Think Yoda, or shy child. Ugh!<br /><br />I keep a travel journal, usually a bit of observation or reflection, aided by a glue stick for stubs etc. I'm not much of a multi-tasker though, e.g., no earbuds while walking (how can I listen to the birds and to music at the same time?) so sometimes when I see travelers journaling in cafes, I think of the Firesign Theatre's piece" How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All". I wonder how sketching and writing differ in that regard. Or taking photos.Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04174162283476551873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-59832487381780938392017-08-24T07:59:42.913-07:002017-08-24T07:59:42.913-07:00There's a corner in Paris (near the Pompidou, ...There's a corner in Paris (near the Pompidou, I think) that has a sculpture, on a wall, of just such a hive-basket. . . I've never seen the real thing, but they sound quite beautiful. . . <br />Oh, I know what you mean about that last step not getting done. I have a big box of travel journals that I mean to go through and sort some day. Some day . . . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-41650794039983883572017-08-24T07:57:51.898-07:002017-08-24T07:57:51.898-07:00Funny, with all the time we've both spent in P...Funny, with all the time we've both spent in Paris, that neither of us have stopped at that window before. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-6693950936796658642017-08-24T07:57:20.665-07:002017-08-24T07:57:20.665-07:00Yes!! Sometimes at Farmers' Markets here you c...Yes!! Sometimes at Farmers' Markets here you can buy honey with big chunks of the honeycomb in the jar, and I love chewing that wax. . . <br />materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-35895540971172570862017-08-24T07:54:57.798-07:002017-08-24T07:54:57.798-07:00No, that wouldn't do at all for you -- do you ...No, that wouldn't do at all for you -- do you keep an Epi pen around always?<br />That's what I do as well, last thing at night. Don't think I've ever tucked in bits of plants, though ;-) And yes, I find these jottings more evocative than photos -- they require more of us, don't they? involve us more both physically and mentally. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-3486068438733517792017-08-24T07:52:03.744-07:002017-08-24T07:52:03.744-07:00Bees are very much in all our consciousness these ...Bees are very much in all our consciousness these days, I think, as we realize how precarious their situation is and how much we need the work they do. <br />Interesting what you say about the difference between blog and hand-written travel journal -- I kept the latter before I began the former, and there's always been a gap between them. The polish required for a blog tends to mean that writing can be deferred beyond what memory hangs onto, whereas I can scribble notes in my journal that can trigger richer descriptions later.materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-69948718890542848892017-08-24T07:49:02.552-07:002017-08-24T07:49:02.552-07:00No, I don't usually write French conversations...No, I don't usually write French conversations down afterward, but I was thinking on paper about the whole language-progress issue, so. . . <br />Yours is a good example of the way the target or the goal moves ever further away. Achieve one level of competence and be good enough to see what you lack for the next. Scale that next wall and . . . well, you know. . . But honestly, it's the same in our native tongue as well, there are always expressions we still don't know, regional and generational and professional dialects and jargons and idioms. . . .<br />I'll note the bee book title, which sounds quite wonderful. I have bee-keeping friends as well, and that will have to do for me, as I suspect the Strata Council probably has a rule against hosting them here on the terrace. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-39818334111426541432017-08-24T00:18:45.197-07:002017-08-24T00:18:45.197-07:00During the fourteen or so years during which I tra...During the fourteen or so years during which I traveled internationally several times each month, or lived abroad, I kept notes in my diaries and collected beautiful little things (rocks, leaves, flower blooms, etc.) to remind me of an event or place...or just because they were beautiful. I was moving so fast that there was not time for much more than that. In the decades since then, life (parenting and a career) has been another kind of (and much more challenging) mad dash, and although I sometimes now write journal entries (this comment will be the basis of one), I have not looked at my diary notes and keepsakes from those times spent abroad. Sometime I will, I think (although the present remains quite time-consuming). And when I travel abroad, I will make space for more quiet time and write more, I think... Leslie in Oregonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-62906284959983321262017-08-23T21:40:01.665-07:002017-08-23T21:40:01.665-07:00Your French is so very good. I'm so impressed....Your French is so very good. I'm so impressed. I can barely get by. I used to practice and try to read French magazines. I seem to have lost interest in learning more phrases to form better constructed sentences. It does seem quite bizarre as we go to France often. It's problably because we can get by...just.<br />We have kept a form of journal with photos. It is fun to revisit. We each seem to write about the same subject in a different way..<br />Ali<br />Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01087735525738707731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-18330081436213955522017-08-23T10:53:07.765-07:002017-08-23T10:53:07.765-07:00Our younger son was assigned to keep a travel jour...Our younger son was assigned to keep a travel journal to make up for missing a couple of weeks of school in second grade - we went exploring in the Yucatan. We got a sketch book and colored pencils and all of us made drawings and transcribed the 2nd grader's words, mainly. It was a huge hit both with us and with his teacher, who read it to the class over several afternoon story times.....I hadn't envisioned quite such public consumption but it was fine. We kept up the practice until our boys grew up.....there is a stack of sketchbooks on the shelf with our map and "real" travel books - maybe I'll re-read them soon!<br /><br />ceciAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-27157023908700756092017-08-23T07:03:43.427-07:002017-08-23T07:03:43.427-07:00I will happily join you for coffee, I drink my all...I will happily join you for coffee, I drink my allongé black, with sugar (milk at home, never sugar. Why, I wonder?).<br />I have not seen those bee hives but there is an hôtel à abeilles (sauvages) in the Jardin des Plantes. It is beyond a fence but was maybe the size of a small garden shed. I have seen these here but they are only about the size of...a breadbox? (What will people who have never seen a breadbox say?)<br />You are at a good place with your French, I would like to some day be there but we will see. Classes begin again first week of September. I have tried to do a bit each day over the summer but will be rusty conversation-wise.Georgiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10305981957174091874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-4292414825228501422017-08-23T06:23:56.327-07:002017-08-23T06:23:56.327-07:00There are some (very few) bee keepers in this coun...There are some (very few) bee keepers in this country who house their bees in baskets (instead of boxes)which have the exact shape of the bee hive in your shop window. Some of these baskets are almost 100 years old, but as the office of making them is dying out, so will this type of bee hive eventually.<br />I tried to keep travel journals several times, combining notes, sketches, postcards and objects, and in a few cases I later added some photos. But when I do not get down to this last step fairly soon after coming home, the thing never gets done at all. There are journals of the trips to Scotland and to Costa Rice which I took with my son, and quite a fat volume about Istanbul (all those cats!).Eleonorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-71692846895942891942017-08-23T05:15:28.554-07:002017-08-23T05:15:28.554-07:00I have never visited Cire Trudon but it sounds fas...I have never visited Cire Trudon but it sounds fascinating. I haven't kept a travel journal for some time. We read an article about bees in Paris when I was studying there. I'll look at the Instagram account. Your sketches enhance the written comments and I'm sure that they help to focus on the experiences.Madame Là-bashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16703782237948233124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-28570001051864590252017-08-23T04:58:02.205-07:002017-08-23T04:58:02.205-07:00I've seen beehives,together with the bees,hone...I've seen beehives,together with the bees,honey and wax as a child,I even remember tasting this raw honey together with pieces of something....could it have been wax?.....but,it was a long time ago and I can't recall the structure<br />Your French is admirable and trés charmant. I adore to travel and "exist" in a foreign language for a while,isn't it great?<br />Travel diaries- they are invaluable,I used to write a couple of sentences every evening ,one simply forgets a lot of precious little moments,but not any more-it's a pity<br />Dottoressadottoressahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14410850348744193322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-31852799462456953992017-08-23T02:20:50.901-07:002017-08-23T02:20:50.901-07:00I've never seen such a beehive before , thanks...I've never seen such a beehive before , thanks for that . We have friends who are keen beekeepers & it sounds a fascinating hobby but it wouldn't do for us . Hubby is seriously allergic to bee stings . I have a pile of holiday journals from all our travels , scribbled last thing at night , usually in bed - with sketches & bits of plants etc stuck in too . They are more evocative to me than our photos , reminding me of all the little things & how I felt about everything at the time . <br />Wendy in YorkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-29840661819025127882017-08-23T01:03:43.745-07:002017-08-23T01:03:43.745-07:00Loving your travel pages and almost keeping up wit...Loving your travel pages and almost keeping up with your French before translations ;). Wonderful to see the bee made hives, I'm fascinated by all things bee these days. No I don't keep a travel diary, perhaps I should. I guess that is how I use my blog but seeing your pages there is a little more depth. B xCoastal Rippleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13355914194686166834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-24380358009757658482017-08-23T00:58:22.757-07:002017-08-23T00:58:22.757-07:00Love the unfolding dialogues in French (and good F...Love the unfolding dialogues in French (and good French too!) Do you write them down afterwards so that you remember the moment, or as an aid to progress in French? The getting started again exchange on arriving in France is always a challenge. My moment this summer came on the airport bus from Merignac to the centre of town. The driver asked me if I had 'la pointe'. Two French degrees, a year living in the country (but in 79/80!!), and sadly sparse visits since then had not exposed me to this expression. Of course I second later I realised that she meant 'exact change' but it was too late and she had already repeated herself...slowly. I was so cross to have failed at the first exchange. Probably accounts for why next morning I launched into a long conversation at the tabac when I was buying my tram pass. I think the man behind the counter wondered if this strange woman was going to be there all day. <br />I haven't kept a journal since getting married. But as a student I kept one and wish now I'd not thrown out the one from my year in France, including lots of travel in Italy. I still remember some of the descriptions I wrote. Have you kept journals from that far back?<br />Ah, bees. I am a teetering on the edge would-be bee-keeper. I have got to know someone this year who keeps bees and it's very very intricate, so maybe with our desire for more travel I should just have the most bee-friendly garden I can. Will look out for the book you recommend, and in turn you might like is 'Travels in Blood and Honey - becoming a bee-keeper in Kosovo' by Elizabeth Gowing. Having spent time in Kosovo through work I was fascinated to read this. The author works with an NGO in Kosovo. It is a beautiful, welcoming country and I intend to go back with my husband and travel there. One for your next Balkans visit?Lindahttps://occasionalscotland.blogspot.co.uknoreply@blogger.com