Mercredi Orange - Point Blank (A Bout Portant)

'Samuel is a happily married nurse working in a Paris hospital. When his very pregnant wife is kidnapped before his helpless eyes, everything falls apart. After being knocked unconscious, he comes to and his cell phone rings: he has three hours to get Sartet, a man under police surveillance, out of the hospital. Samuel quickly finds himself pitted against rival gangsters and trigger-happy police in a deadly race to save the lives of his wife and unborn child.'
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/p/Point-Blank-A-Bout-Portant/index-11424735.html

Mercredi Orange without the Orange, not used to paying full price on a Wednesday, but it had to be done and it was worth the £6.50, the long wait to see in Boredville (it was released months ago in the UK) and the inconvenience of not being able to eat in the cinema.

After a few months of watching films, 30 - 45 minutes too long (Transformers and Bridesmaid being the longest), it was good to watch a 84 minutes long film packed with twists and turns, Goodies and Baddies or maybe Baddies and Goodies - due to the twists you don’t know what side some people are on. Of course I was biased from the start of the film as Gilles Lellouche is brilliant actor who just so happened to escape being hit with the ugly stick - gorgeous!

So I give it:

A brilliant fast pacing film which kept me so interested I didn’t miss my cinema chocolate treats.

Back to the books - How do I learn French?

Seven years ago today, a certain Frenchman came into my life…well the truth is I drunkenly fell over this certain Frenchman. I never would of considered he would still be in my thoughts (and heart) seven years on. Oui Oui these feelings are not returned and they never will be. But the positives of this one sided friendship is - France and all things French. Time to get back to the books…podcasts…CDs…films ( watching Seraphine has I type).

My French classes finished a month a go and don’t start again until the middle of September. For the last month I have neglected my studies, so for August I need to get back to learning French before I forget everything I have learnt over the past 10 months and I would like to get abit of a head start when (or if depending on the rising course fees) I start the next level.

So what is the best way to learn? Looking though a few old magazines articles on learning new languages, they all come up with the same ideas:

1. Take a trip - mix with the locals, go on a language learning holiday.
Oui Mais I have no money to take a holiday blah blah.

2. Immersion - French films (see above), music (abit of Vanessa Paradis & Sinclair on my ipod), books, magazines and newspapers (lots of Voicis Monsieur X used to send me).
Need to stop watching English and American repeats and need to watch more French Films. Starting with Point Blank tomorrow.

3. Online courses - More expense!
But I have found a few free ones (www.bbc.co.uk) along with a few podcasts.

4. Learn the 100 most spoken words - as they make up 50% of all conversations. One magazine article stated that if you are learning French (German or Spanish) you already know 40% of the vocab. For example ’danger’ is the same in French and English and all words ending in ’ion’ are the same.
So if I learn 10 new words a day - 10 days later I should have learnt half a language.

5. Use pictures/Flash cards - Spend 10 seconds studying a picture or draw a picture, naming all the things in the scene. For example drawing a picture of a café starting with words ’manger’ then ’le sandwich’ ’fromage’ etc. www.thinkbuzan.com thinks that drawing ’a mind map’ of words associated with each other will help the brain to match and group words together with colours, pictures and associations.
Drawing a few pictures a week - could help. Starting with le bureau, as I spend most of my time there.

So a few ideas I need to be getting on with. And maybe just maybe I might be able to have a French conversation sooner rather than in another seven years!

See Number 7 & - Blogpost - Numero Sept - leçons de François

France v England - Food

Last week, I had my birthday meal at Café Rouge, Boredville. I had a nice meal (Sole Limande), French music in the background and stereotypical French restaurant/café furniture but Café Rouge is as French as I am. A wannabee Frenchie, likes to act French but SO isn’t. I went to the same restaurant last September with Monsieur X, it was very funny watching the confused faces of the Eastern European waiting staff when he was ordering in French.

In June Boredville hosted their International Food Festival, around 50+ food stalls lining the City Centre High Street and Town Hall square. I found four French stands:

• Two Crepes Stands - not keen too sickly for me, brought back memories of New Year‘s Eve 2009. I was with Monsieur X in Les Menuires, and had to eat all of it, as the restaurant boss sat on our table talking to him and watched me eat every last crumb of it.

• A Bread stand - well there had to be one, but I wasn’t going to pay three times more for a baguette than I could in a supermarket. I know it would taste better but come on there is a recession on.

• Provencal Kitchen- serving chicken and garlic potatoes, cooked the southern French way, and served the English way in a plastic container with plastic knife and fork. It was gorgeous. could have had it every day of the festival, my taste buds said ’oui’ but my purse said ’non’ and it was back to cheese sandwiches and crisps.

Visiting France and living with a Frenchman gave my taste bubs a new lease of life, a change from hamburgers and chips. Apart my beloved chicken nuggets, my favourite food is fish - as long as the head is cut off, the sauces aren’t too spicy and it isn’t lobster. The one time I ate Lobster it tasted good but the humiliation of looked an idiot trying to eat it for the first time with a group of 10 Frenchies around me, made sure I would never try it again. I have always been a fishy girl (volia! Maybe that’s why I’m single), and the best fish dishes I’ve had have been cooked by Frenchies - La Phare Away in Cap Ferret, a small French restaurant in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and various dishes made by Monsieur X’s own hands.

But back to what I know best - Fast Food! I think Quick restaurants are from Belgium, but I class them as French probably because of the presentation. The burgers are actually upright and look like the photos on the menus, not like the pile of cold mush usually served at some Fast Food joints in England. I always used to nag Monsieur X to take me to one when I used to visit him, to me the best fast food in the world.

And my last point to why I enjoy French cooking - I have never ate it alone, expect for the Boredville Food Festival, wasn’t the same without friends especially my French ex one.

17 - Go to France to research different recipes (or eat in Quick).  Write my own Anglo - French cookery book, 101 English recipes with a French twist: For Example poisson et frites avec sauce rouge, batonnets de poissons and nuggets de poulet avec differentes sauces….Sounds a lot better in French.

Mercredi Orange - Horrible Bosses & others

For Nick, Kurt and Dale, the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable bosses into dust. Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers -- permanently. There's only one problem: even the best laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/h/Horrible-Bosses/index-10526254.html

Loved it!!!! Very Funny!! Tres drole!!! Even the gross scene in the boss's bathroom, and I think everyone as worked for a 'Kevin Spacey' during their working life, I know I have. I think this is Jennifer Aniston's best performances - who would of thought Rachel could swear! I wonder how many trips to the gym and fitness classes it would take to get a body like hers.

Excellent - can't wait to buy it.

15. Sue the scriptwriters for copyright because some parts of the film, I have thought off doing in many of my many crappy jobs. Emigrate to France with my compensation.


Last weekend I watched Cars 2 in 3D and Harry Potter. Cars 2 was OK not as good as the original and Harry Potter was better than part 1 and finished off the franchise with a good film. I’m not a Potter addict, so I’m glad its ended - now I won’t have a problem finding a car parking place and there won’t be any more long queues or sold out signs…until Twilight is shown.
 

Mercredi Orange - Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950's. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. We see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/t/The-Tree-of-Life/index-11424883.html
 
 

 
Comedies and action are my favourites types of movies, I like to go to the cinema to escape from the real world. I’m not a Harry Potter fan (even thou it is my duty as a daughter to take my Mom at the weekend), and has the boy wizard has taken over all of Boredville’s cinemas. Tree of Life was the only film available. I went with a open mind and a plan of at least staying awake.

I did stay awake and I did stay to the end (some people did walk out). I did enjoy it and after discussing it with MovieMate I think I actually understood it…alittle bit. My view ‘You can’t control life, it's out of your hands - God does’



I give it 2 ½ out of five

Somewhere in between.

It was better than I expected but not my cup of tea. Excellent cinematography but seriously Mr Malick putting old fashioned glasses on Brad Pitt does not age him - didn’t your make-up/special effects team watch Benjamin Button!!

Bastille Day & I get an 'A'...

...For my Travel and Tourism assignment on Provence - I hope all the information is correct...but who cares I got an 'A' !!!!

Assignment 8 
Select any popular holiday destination and describe what makes that destination popular with incoming tourists.

Overview
In this assignment I will be looking at the area of Provence, southern France to find out what makes this destination popular with tourists.

Introduction
A destination is the end product of a journey and can be a country or an area such as a town, a city or a tourist attraction, for example a theme park or a museum. Provence is a popular choice for visitors and is situated in the south of France. This 25,851 square kilometre area has a population of around 2,603,500 people (Lonely Planet February 2009) and offers the visitor more than one destination.


It’s capital is Marseille, France’s oldest city (founded by the Greeks in 600BC) and the second biggest French city after Paris with a population of over 860, 363 inhabitants as stated on www.Marseille.fr, the official website for the city of Marseille. The city is also France’s largest port situated between the Mediterranean Sea Basin and the southern French countryside. This city attracted around four million tourists in 2010 producing over 700 million euros in revenue and 12,000 jobs within the tourism industry (www.Marseille.fr).

Selling points and visitor attractions
Provence’s main selling points are climate and location situated by the Mediterranean sea, it’s summer months are usually hot and dry with an average temperature of 24°C and mild winters with an average temperature of 8 -9°C. It’s various landscapes can cater for most tourist preferences as Provence’s boarders consists of the French countryside and 57 kilometres of coastline overlooking the Mediterranean sea, and the historical cities of Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Arles and Marseille draw in visitors who prefer city breaks to the countryside and coast.


Provence covers all types of accommodation from youth hostels to five star hotels. On its official tourism website www.visitprovence.com there are 1280 accommodations listed, they include hotels, bed and breakfasts, camp sites, youth hostels, and self carting holiday homes (gites) and holiday villages suitable for any tourist for example the business traveller staying in a hotel in the business area of Marseille, a student looking for cheap accommdation (youth hostels), a visitor who wants to travel with their dog and wishes to stay in a ‘pets welcome hotel’, to a family staying at a Holiday Resort for example the Village Pont Royal en Provence in Luberon between Aix-en Provence and Avignon which offers acitiviies such as golf, horse riding and children’s clubs.

History and culture is a factor used to sell Provence to the world, its cities, towns and villages have interesting pieces of architecture and history for example the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes), a gothic palace built 1335–1364 in Avignon and the town of Salon de Provence who utilises its connection with Nostradamus (famous for his prophecies) who lived and is buried in Salon de Provence. His house is now a museum, and for four days every summer, the city celebrates their connection with him attracting tourists. Arles connection with the painter Van Gogh helps raise the city’s profile, preserving areas and offering tours to where he painted his famous work and the city hosts art exhibitions at the former hospital where Van Gough had his ear stitched back on. With Marseille there is the Chateau d'If, a fortress off the coast of Marseille whose history is linked to Edmond Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo made famous by Alexandre Dumas book. This multicultural city of 111 quarters offers a wide range of cultural events and places to visit. The city has 17 museums, and 42 theatres plus international events such as: the Foire de Marseille (international trade fair), Fiesta des Suds (world music festival), the International Documentary Film Festival, and the five Continents Jazz Festival. As well as sight sighting, Provence offers other activities such as theme parks, zoos, riding stables, water sports for example diving in Marseille and sailing in Fos de Mer and areas of interest for walking and cycling tours thought the countryside (which the tourist board offers maps and routes).　


Provence’s shopping facilities consist of ‘High Street’ stores avaiable in the bigger cities of Provence and there are American style shopping malls suitated on the outskirts of some of the towns. Also France is famous for it’s markets and Provence’s Bric- a- Bric and second hand stalls can draw in tourists looking for an authentic french souveuir for example: the calissons of Aix en Provence, olive oil from Camargue and lavender products. Also arts and crafts made by local people are a popular choice with tourists and some of the artists advertise their work on www.visitprovence.com.

France is world famous for it gastronomy and specialist cookery holidays are available in Provence for people wishing to learn French cooking for example the holiday company Provence Cooking Tours offers holidays which include cooking lessons, sight sighing and wine tours. Provence’s restaurants range from fast food, bistros, cafes and international food. Each city is different, Marseille has a multicultural variety of restaurants including French, Indian, Antillean, Thai, Tunisian and Italian where has Avignon’s Place de l’Horloge is a group of cafes popular with tourists. Information about the area’s top restaurants rated by one of the four main French good food guides (Michelin, Gault et Millau, Champérard and Bottin Gourmand) can be seen on www.visitprovence.com. Nightlife is mainly situated in the cities, Marseille has a variety of nightclubs, pubs and music cafes were as Aix-en-Provence has a large student population (30,000 students study at the Univerite de Provence Aix Marseille) so some of the bars and restaurants are more affordable and have a large student clientele.


Transport
Twenty seven kilometres northwest from Marseille and twenthy six kilometres south from Aix-en-Provence, Marseille-Provence airport is France’s third busiest airport outside Paris dealing with 7.3 million passengers a year (2009) with direct routes to sixty eight cities in twenty one countries. In September 2006 the airport’s second terminal opened - mp2. This terminal deals with mainly low cost airlines and flights from the UK and Ireland included daily flights to and from London with British Airways, Air France, Easyjet and Ryanair. The airport is easily accessible by road and the airport train station - Marseille Provence Airport Train Station is a five minute drive away and the airport offers a free shuttle bus routes between the station and airport. Forty one trains run daily thought the airport station to various parts of Provence. The airport also offers a daily bus service to and from Marseille train station, Aix-en-Provence and Salon- de- Provence. Marseille St Charles train station which gives easy access to other parts of Provence as well as France and Europe. The TGV train service from Paris only takes three hours and with the Channel Tunnel, Eurostar offers direct routes from London to Avignon during the summer seasons, which is only a thirty mintue train journey away from Marseille.

There are public bus services running in and between Provence’s cities and towns and within Marseille alone there are three public transport networks, two metro lines, two tramway lines and eighty five bus routes and for the tourist who chooses to travel by car there are fifteen public car parks within the city centre.

Marseilles port’s, the Grand Port Maritime main use is for fishing however it is also used as a stop over for cruise ships and is the biggest cruise port in France. In 2009 Marseille welcomed 2.07 million passengers by sea and 630,000 were cruise passengers who travelled on the thirty cruise lines which docked in Marseille, this figure rose to 700,000 in 2010 and is expected to rise to over one million passengers by 2012. As well as the cruise ships and fishing, the port is also used on a daily and weekly ferries from Sardinia, Tunisia and Corsica.

Tourist information

There are around seventy -five tourist information offices in Provence and most cities and towns have a least one office (Marseille and Arles have two). These places have their own websites as well as the smaller areas for example the small commue of Miramas. These websites offer general information on that particular area and include an selection on the tourism and events they offer. With the bigger cities such as Marseille it offers a website dedicated to the city’s tourism. The number of potential visitor using the internet as a source of information when researching a holiday is increasing at a huge pace and these tourism departments have to keep their websites and search engines constantly up to date with future events and current prices.

Conclusion
Provence can cater for any tourist ranging from business travellers, families and tourists wanting a weekend city break. To improve it’s profile in 2013 Marseille will belong the European city of Culture jointly with the Slovak city of Kosice. During this year the city will host a wide range of cultural events, exhibitions, concerts and festivals boosting it’s Marseille’s tourism income. Then in 2016, France will host the European Football Championship and Marseille’s Football Club’s renovated Velodrome Stadium with host 67,00 football fans bringing in more tourists and money to Provence.　

Words 1,508


Bibliography

Books
Lonely Planet - France 8th Edition Published February 2009
Book 5 - Tourist destinations

Websites
http://www.marseille-tourisme.com/
http://www.visitprovence.com/ 
http://www.marseille.fr/
http://www.mrsairport.com/
http://www.sncf.fr/
http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/index-en.html
http://www.provencecookingtours.com/

Mercredi Orange - Kung Fu Panda 2

In 'Kung Fu Panda 2,' Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Po's new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will Po be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/features/kung-fu-panda-2/

Just as good as ‘awesome’ as the first one and Po the Panda just gets cuter. This second instalment (the ending made sure this wouldn't be the last we would see Po and the Furious Five) was all about finding your inner peace. Something I think I need to find myself to get though any working day and it might come in useful if I ever have to save China from an evil peacock.

I give it: