Sunday, February 03, 2008

Newly weds!


You rarely hear about world leaders getting married while they're in power, do you? And though it just happened today in France! Our President got married to an ex model called Carla Bruni Tedeschi (will she have herself called Carla Sarkozy now?) at the Elysées (the "house" of French Presidents. Needless to say I was not invited to the ceremony, so I had to steal a photo from the television (the news on France 2 @ 8)!

100 comments:

  1. Yes this is a great shot. Trust you not to simply shoot the tv but this way - it's great! I hope Sarkozy will now be able to focus on politics!

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  2. I guess politics is the last thing in his mind...

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  3. You know what? I didn't know that they get married today!!
    So she's now our first lady? I'm not sure it will last, as said Lynn...
    I saw last night a movie of her sister, Valéria Bruni Tedeschi, "Actrices". She's a great film maker. More gifted than her sister I think...
    Clever way to show us the "event" through an other media. Like it.
    Nite.

    I managed to put a picture :)

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  4. I think he is acting like a love struck teenager. Lust doesn't last, Mr. President. What's the rush?
    He should have waited at least 2 years to get to know each other, and then STILL think twice about getting married. She, on the other hand, gains a great title...wife of a President.

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  5. Do we KNOW they only met 3 months ago, though, or is that simply the first pic of them together 3 months ago? Aha!.........thinks.......?

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  6. Je viens de réaliser quelle mise en abîme représentait cette photo, c'est impressionnant!
    C'est la photo d'un appareil photo qui a pris en photo la télé qui passait un reportage filmé par une caméra... On ne peut pas faire mieux comme distanciation!! Bravo Eric.

    (Unable to write such a thing in English). Même en Français, c'est incompréhensible LOL.

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  8. No Lynn, we KNOW that their story is very recent. At the very most some months. His ex-wife still lived with him at the Elysées few months ago...To me, Sarkozy is not the kind of guy hiding such a love affair, he's too pride of it (wwhhaa she was model and now she's a singer, whhaaa). This is my own opinion, nothing more.

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  9. There are rumors she got him the old fashioned way: she trapped him. No fool like an old fool . . .

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  10. Is there a baby on the way??!!

    That would be a first too huh... firt lady, first baby...

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  11. Eric, love your creative solution! Canon would approve, too. -:)

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  12. Cool photo, Eric - I liked reading your opinion, and yours too, Guille. I think the French are a lot more adult about things like this - in the U.S. people would be out of their minds with this story! I read that she signed her marriage certificate Carla Bruni Sarkozy, so voila.

    BTW, loving my PDP calendar for Fevrier with your beverages (I presume) from what I gather was a relaxing time at Ma Bourgogne is it? ;)

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  13. I like the photo, Eric--reminds me of your museum photo of the tourist's camera photographing a painting.

    Guille--Nice to see your pretty face.

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  14. A clever shot Eric. A view (your camera) through a view (someone else's camera) through a view (television).

    Monica, just back from Davos, Switzerland where I can tell you it is not at all Bali! Where do you get such ideas? Obvioulsy you've been eating too many macarons! I've had enough snow to last me until next year. Jeff, how DO you handle the stuff?

    Guille, lovely photo! I answered your question down below under Eric's "Fontaine des mers" post. Still not sure it's clear, but it might help.

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  15. I imagine the two of them are getting mutually cozy right now. Very cozy indeed. In fact Sarkozy.

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  16. Very clever photo, Eric! The then Prime Minister of Sweden Göran Person married the Head of Systembolaget (the Swedish state alcohol retailing monopoly) Anitra Steen on 6 December 2003.

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  17. Pont girl, maybe you're right. We generally don't care about this kind story. In best we couldn't care less about it , in the worst, it irritates us. But we're like everybody and the life of the president makes sell thousands of poor quality newspapers anyway.

    Please take a look to the link I put, it's in connection with your comment, and it's funny. It's New Rules by Bill Maher, maybe already you know it:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKS0yISz6xQ

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  18. Michael- so you're back from Switzerland, the land of chocolate??!! ooohhh....
    I can't remember exactly why I thought you were in Bali, but it's not such a crazy idea is it? I mean, you travel so much I could easily picture you there.

    The funny part is that people here started to think you were in Bali with Lynn!!!!

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  19. Guille I watched the video, thanks for the link.
    I loved it, very funny! And it's funny to see Sean Penn giggling at his comments!

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  20. We enjoyed our trip thank you, Monica (giggle).

    Guille lovely photo and i enjoyed reading your french description. Your take on their relationship is interesting, but nobody really KNOWS except them, do they? lol ! The rumours are flying here aren't they. Monica wonders if there may be a baby... Gosh!

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  21. It's true rumours are flying!!
    But according to the Guardian (and some other serious French newspapers):"By early December Sarkozy and Bruni had been introduced by a mutual friend at a private dinner (Jacques Séguéla)"...To me, the Guardian is a reliable source, isn't it? But you're right, nobody really knows. And actually, I'm not curious about that.
    A baby? After few months of relationship? What were they thinking about! Lol.

    Thanks for the "lovely" photo, it was taken in London, by a divine sunny afternoon of September on the embankment. I really love this city...

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  22. Well i'm glad it was taken in London! The light is great. I do read the Guardian and respect it. I guess i feel sorry for his ex-wife and hope it hasn't been going on longer than they say, as is often the case, so i am dubious and questioning that they tie the knot so early. I also worry, for him, that she seems to enjoy open relationships, by her own admission, his new wife i mean. She has said so. Still; it's nothing to do with me after all!

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  23. Don't be sorry for his ex-wife, she decided to leave him and cheated on him more than once. The chief editor of a famous French magazine was fired at the request of the president (he was minister at that time) for publishing pictures of Mme Sarkozy and her lover... Hum. Nothing to add. :)
    But I think the new one is going to make him suffer. I bet.

    Souvent femme varie!
    Sorry for this gossip moment, eveybody!

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  24. OOOOh REALLY? Guille we are indulging in some delicious gossip here. I didn't know that. Ah well then, she is in a glass house and should not throw stones, as she seems to have been doing.
    Carla can not be after Sarkosy's money anyway, i've just found out his salary is 240,000 euros and Carla earns 500,000 euros per tv commercial (the Observer, today). Hmm, the mystery deepens. Could it, then, be.... LOVE?

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  25. Or maybe only the fact to be the wife of the French Republic President... The attraction of the power. She seems to be a specialist (Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Enthoven...)
    Or maybe an intellectual attraction (sorry I don't believe in such an attraction in their situation!! LOL).
    I hope for them, for him especially, that it is real love, nothing more or nothing less.

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  26. Ah, yes, Guille, power. That commodity which drives so many... could be, could be. Yes certainly she has quite a lot of power behind her, though they have been pop culture. Now she is entering the world of politics. Shall we see those jeans turning into Chanel suits and the running up energetically of rocks, transforming into standing elegantly but silently smiling by the side of her husband? Hmmm quite a lot of morphing to be done i feel. So does his ex-wife. She warned "Once she says yes to Sarkozy, she also says yes to France." Dun, dun dur!...

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  27. Hah, hah. Not bad though. The bling bling president scores mightily on this one. His wife cheats on him, so he marries her look a like (of twenty years ago), AND he gets to enjoy the company of Valéria, who, let's face it, must be having mixed feelings about all this. And I have to wonder as well if M. Sarkozy doesn't feel a little like the character played by Jean-Pierre Bacri in Le Goût des Autres, a very funny and insightful film by another superb French filmmaker, Agnès Jaoui (check it out).

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  28. Thanks for the video, Guille. Bill Maher always gets it right and he's hilarious.

    This article from yesterday (http://tinyurl.com/298geq) is where I learned that Sarkozy is only the second president to marry while in office; Gaston Doumergue having done so in 1931, also at the Elysee Palace.

    You can learn about the Elysee Palace (in English or en Francais) at wikipedia.org. I think the information was copied from a Reuters article, but that's wikipedia for you.

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  29. Oh yes we are not interested in Sarkozy's personal life, no no, not a bit. ;-)

    BTW Guille and Lynn, while we're all wondering if it's real love or not, I just saw the most romantic photo of the newly weds in Versailles in a brazilian local paper. Click here to see it.

    You know what? I hope it IS love, don't people look more beautiful when they're in love? I'm just a hopeless romantic...

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  30. Petrea, France never elected single President but Doumergue. And Sarkozy is the first president who divorced during his presidential term of office, it's not allowed in our Constitution: once a president took up his post, he can't be involved in a legal procedure (divorce, trial or anything else) so we can wondering how he made to divorce in this case...

    You're welcome (for the video).

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  31. Wow - I missed out on beaucoup de gossip while I was sleeping... Thanks Guille for the link - I did see it - I love Bill Maher!

    Welcome back, Michael!

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  32. Ooh, an interesting lesson in civics, Guille, thank you very much.

    It seems that men in power manage to bend the law in their favor when they choose to. At least I think I remember that happening...somewhere...recently.

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  33. Petrea, I don't deserve all the credit for the lesson in civics: Law is part of my studies.
    (Not sure that my sentence means something... :) )

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  34. how come that they didnt invite you Eric?:) shame on them!

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  35. Welcome back, Michael. Missed rhose comments.

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  36. Guille how very interesting. Did he divorce just before he was made President or just after? If it is illegal, how has it become so?

    Monica i agree that people in love look beautiful. Brides too. Like you, i enjoy romance...

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  37. I'm sure that you were just accidentally left off of the guest list!

    Very clever photo today.

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  38. Lynn,
    He divorced after he was made president. It was an unconstitutional act according to all the jurists. I don't know how it was possible.
    He's under civil and criminal immunity and is not able to take part of a trial, ...(art 67 of the Constitution).Even in case of divorce? Why is it an exception?It's the big question which separates the Conseil Constitutionnel (Constitutional Council).So, it's a mystery.
    But I admit that it's an aberration: Not to be allowed to divorce because you're President?...

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  39. Well it's clearly scandalous then, Guille! How interesting that you point this out. I'm truly interested as to how it has been allowed to happen. Like you, i feel anyone should be able to divorce, but the law is the law and no-one should be above it?

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  40. humm, very strange. I did not know that. I knew that he got a divorce last October, but I did not know it was an unconstitutional act.

    I don't think this law should exist in the first place, it's kinda like mixing State and Church isn't it?

    Guille tnaks for all the information concerning french law. Us francophiles like to know anything concerning France, from gossip to the Constitution.

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  41. It's against the constitution to divorce while you're in the office, Guille??? Who on earth made that law?!

    Guille, I'm glad you posted a photo, because until then I thought you were a "'Guille.. aume" and not a Guillemette!

    Tall Gary: "I imagine the two of them are getting mutually cozy right now. Very cozy indeed. In fact Sarkozy." LOOOOOL!

    Peter: "The then Prime Minister of Sweden Göran Person married the Head of Systembolaget (the Swedish state alcohol retailing monopoly) Anitra Steen on 6 December 2003". Interesting, thank you, I did not do that.

    Luggi, I agree with you, Le goût des autres, was an excellent, clever movie.


    Petrea: "Gaston Doumergue having done so in 1931, also at the Elysee Palace." I did not know that either, thank you.

    PS : Monica, I don't know if a baby in on the way ;)

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  42. I wonder if she'll keep singing while being the first lady. Is that allowed? In fact, does she still sings?
    I really like that chanson "Quelqu'un m'a dit".

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  43. An act of Parliament last february made the President above the law in the way that nobody could bring proceedings against the President while he was on post. In case of rape, delict, theft or anything else, it's the same. But in this case, there's no prescription and people are able to sue him after he left his job.
    But this Act revealed a big problem with the divorce coz the divorce is a Law act. So the judge decided that it was a private act without any link with his post. But it's false. If there had been problems and disagreements with his ex-wife, she wouldn't have been able to sue him to obtain maintenance allowance for their child for example or to obtain the half of their money, house etc.
    The judge who decided to do that decided alone... That's why it was criticized.

    So they now are thinking about relaxing this Act in order to permit such things as divorce, unpaid taxes, car speedin etc.

    It's hard to explain in French so just imagine how I fought to explain it in English!!! LOL.

    Lynn, I found funny that you said "nobody is above the law" because it's one of the first Statutes which leads YOUR own British institutions and Law (I don't remember if it's Magna Carta, or a late one... Maybe you know it).

    Eric, I'm definitely a girl! ;)

    Monica, so it's not dealing with State and Church, it's finally in order to protect the familly of abuses...

    And I think singing is not unconstitutional LOL!!

    I like French gossips, Law and Art history.
    I'm above all student in the two last things. Unfortunately, there is no diploma for gossips...what a shame. :)

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  44. Oh sorry for this soooo long message! I didn't realised...

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  45. Me, again.

    "they are thinking about relaxing this Act in order to permit such things as divorce, unpaid taxes, car speedin etc."
    of course it will not allow to the president to do speeding and not to pay his bills, I wanted to say that it will permit to people to sue him for this kind of things.

    The fatigue certainly. ;)
    Time to go to bed.

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  47. Guille excellent dissertation. You deserve an A + !!!

    Seriously, now that you explained this law better, it makes sense. Although it's complicated in this case, ne c'est pas?
    Besides, wasn't she (Cecilia) the one who asked for a divorce? So what was Sarlozy to do then?

    You better go to sleep or we'll never stop asking you questions about this!

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  48. I'm sure it's love but that was a very fast divorce. Good for him and her and the former Mrs Sarkozy can't complain either.

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  49. I do indeed, Guille, (I studied law also which is why i'm so interested in what you are telling us, but this is something taught in secondary school too, well the basics in any case). It was the Magna Carta, signed at Runnymede in 1215 by King John, to limit the rights of the King and his subjects, and indeed the idea that nobody is above the law, including the King. I have stood at the site where it was signed.

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  50. His servers, i meant to say, not his subjects, who were limited anyway!

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  51. I don't think the President should be above the law for rape, maintenance, or ANYthing! How can you trust someone in power when they have the power of exemption in crime?
    Guille, do you think this new law was put in place especially because they saw the divorce situation coming? It seems they didn't do a great job anyway in covering it! This seems extremely self-serving to me, what do you think?

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  52. lynn, this law was made to protect the country from empieching (?) the president with irrelevant suing, from political ennemies that would drag him on trial on false grounds

    it also says that the appropriate suing, il needed, would take place after he would be out of duty
    (please note this did happen to Chirac)

    president Sarkozy being the first to divorce while in charge, it suddenly occured to constitutionalists that nobody had foreseen this case

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  53. Well I'll be damned...for once we're having an intellectual discussion here! What HAS the world come to?

    Seriously, it is interesting to see the discussion and the different laws, interpretations, and especially, Lynn's interest. Are you considering a coup d'etat Lynn to get to Nicolas? Hmmm....

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  54. lol Michael... oh no i'm busted! And what do you mean, for ONCE? I am sure we've had intellectual discussions here before, for example, i remember the homeless one (who doesn't?) and also the poo-on-the-pavement one. Most stimulating, it was. He he, i note you have omitted your own viewpoint on this, Monsieur Michel. Qu'est-ce que c'est, s'il te plait?

    Lili (i love your name!) - Empeaching. Thanks for all that, very much; most informative again. This is so interesting for me. Our own prime minister has, in the last two years i think, been questioned by police regarding the 'cash for honours' scandal. i.e. People allegedly (she said looking over her shoulder) paying large sums of money in return for titles and honours. e.g. Lord Smith, Lady Lynn, etc. He has not, so far, been found guilty and i think the process is over. Over heads rolled, instead, so i believe. I can't honestly recall the details. In some respects i do remember feeling somewhat reassured that even the prime minister has to answer for himself.
    Many people of high office are, too, being questioned in court as we speak in the Diana enquiry. And so they should. Other people, 'normal' people, shall we say, are not afforded a time holiday from alleged offences and their punlishments simply because they have an important job. I think this is right, the Magna Carta. lol !!!

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  55. Error: Over heads should be other heads. Sorry. I really should proof-read.

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  56. Qui aurait crû qu'on collectionnerait les disques de la première dame de France?

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  57. It's indeed a fascinating discussion. Leaders do what they will. Think Henry VIII, changing the Church to support his divorce from Catherine of Aragon.

    Earlier in the discussion it was mentioned that a divorce shouldn't be included in the list of legal proceedings the French president is prohibited to participate in. I agree because it's personal. (Think of all the time, money and attention wasted on Bill Clinton's misbehavior.)

    When the leader misuses the laws that affect the nation and the world, that's when he/she must answer to the people. So I shouldn't start on American presidents.

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  58. Yes Petrea so it's personal. I can agree with that, you're right. Yes also to the Henry VIII ref. but we should have moved on from then i feel.

    So the American thing - do you think we shall see Sarkozy on tv saying to camera "I. Did. Not. Divorce. That. Woman. Illegally." ??

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  59. Dorothée,
    c'est bien vu! Qui l'eut cru??

    Lynn,
    I'm late to answer (tough day!).
    The law was made while he was only minister. Do you think they forsaw that he was going to be elected?? No, I can't believe that, it's too diabolical.
    It was not made to prevent the president from "divorcing" (?). They just didn't think about this option I think. They didn't think that a president could have some conjugal troubles!
    The idea of the MP's as Lili said, was to permit to the president to do his job without any hitch. Nothing more. But we can see now the first problem which appeared with this new Act. What about tomorrow? Just imagine a girl raped by our president (this one or another of course!) and who couldn't sue him, what do you think French people could think about that? The public opinion is worse than a trial sometimes.
    "I. Did. Not. Divorce. That. Woman. Illegally." Yes, he's able to say such a thing, with jurists as witnesses...


    Monica, thanks for the A+!! I'll tell my English teacher to follow your advice. ;)

    Mr Michel as known as Michael, que dîtes-vous?? Les débats ne sont jamais intellectuels par ici? Are you saying that habitually, girls are talking about gossips or things like that? Not nice.

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  60. lol i think he's joking Guille, don't worry! Often we ARE gossiping and that's what he's jibing at. It's great to have discussions like these sometimes too though. He's only teasing!

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  61. Lynn, you had me laughing. Yes, we should move on from old Henry.

    "I. Did. Not. Divorce. That. Woman. Illegally." Laughing again.

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  62. lol what a pity you are zillions of miles away Petrea, i could see us spending many a coffee laughing our heads off.

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  63. Lynn
    I noticed that he was not this kind of man, don't worry. And he's gossiping all the time too! LOL.
    But I was waiting for a French answer from him, I'm disappointed. Will he make an effort?...

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  64. Oui, moi aussi parce que je n'ai l'occasion de parler francais souvent! Il ne parle pas francais en habitude, mais il le peut parler, j'sais! Nous voyons...!

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  65. It's very cute! The English is missing. Too bad.
    I'm now wondering what I look like when I try to speak English. And to write it too...

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  66. Erratum: the English ACCENT is missing.

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  67. lol your English is almost perfect! One or two things here and there, but far, far superior to my French! I hardly ever use it. We say; use it or lose it, with languages, and i almost never get to speak it, so it's very rusty. Writing and reading is the closest i get now.

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  68. LOL Lynn...I knew that YOU would notice. My opinion? See Petrea's response. Doesn't everyone have the right to be happy, marry the one they love (or love at the moment)? Unless something happens that affects the governing of the people, I'm all for letting them be. The media loves this kind of stuff and when I think of all the other injustices in the world (Kenya, Chad, etc.), this really isn't too interesting.

    Now, did NOBODY notice Carla's outfit? Oh my!

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  69. Guille - I have some bad news and good news for you...

    Bad News: I don't write French
    Good News (for you!): I don't write French, therefore you don't have to suffer through reading it! :-)

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  70. Outfit, what outfit? We don't see it here! Ohhh now you've got me wondering... I must say the news of the day really carried historic pics of her running up ahead of him on huge rocks with him indulgently smiling and pacing behind like a tolerant and happy father. She was in jeans and a simple topm looking fab of course. He in smart civvies and looking pretty fab too. Outfit? Do tell.

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  71. Michael, LOOOOOL.
    Just once, it will be great to see you writing a superb French sentence. :)

    Lynn,
    I speak English better than I write it.
    It takes me a lot of time to write in English, I check my message two, three times or more. I don't want you, bloggers, to be "sceptical" in front of a sentence without any sense! But I admit that's hard.
    When I have a conversation with an English speaker, it's easier because I don't think about all the mistakes I make, and my speaker generally don't care about. But here or in a letter, the tense (F****** tense!) must be perfect or it's incomprehensible.

    For example, this message took me almost 13 minutes!!

    I would like to be fluent!

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  72. So your conversational English must be wonderful then, Guille. Whenever, on rare occasions, i DO meet someone French, my words leave me! All my studies desert me, rendering me dry and non-verbal, apologising stupidly and only retrieving from my fumbling brain things like "ou est la poste?" from schooldays. The embarrassment is intense. I am sure after a few days in France though, it would return. Maybe a few hours would bring some back. I would hope so. I have always fought not to be the English person abroad who simply waves an arm around, frowns and shouts louder in ENGLISH. Oh the shame of those, the shame.

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  73. Guille, if I may, I know what you mean when you say it takes some effort to write in a foreign language. Sometimes I take more time to write a few words here in English than I wish. Lynn has taught me a few things (that I'm afraid I forget now and then) but people here are very nice and they put up with the grammar errors. The important is not just a perfect sentence, but that we get to practice everyday! It certainly helps me keep up with my English
    so that when I meet somebody from the US or UK (funny 'cause just yesterday I met two tourists from Chicago) it's easier to have a flowing conversation because my English is not rusty.

    As for my French, well, I understand a lot better when I listen to it or read it. I'm dying for my classes to begin again by the end of the month, I still have a long way to go before I'm able to have a conversation in French.
    But at least last year when I was in Paris, I was able to speak French in a level that I could make my self understood and more important, I also understood what THEY were saying! Yay!!

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  74. Ooh, I must join in this conversation! Guille, your English is wonderful. Monica, I thought you were an American or a Brit living abroad!

    If I tried to write French here, it would take me hours to compose even short messages. I was a star French student in high school (lycee) and college. But over the years I've gotten rusty, as they say.

    Speaking comes faster than writing, as you all have said. When my husband and I went with friends to Paris in 2006, I led us around the city--asking directions, reading guide books, talking to cab drivers, etc. (My husband figured out the Metro. I must give him credit. And he made trips on his own--a brave man.)

    As a young girl I had a perfect accent, but now I sound clumsy, and I was embarrassed. I'm sure I sounded awful.

    Most Parisiens were nice. We only had a couple of experiences with the "rude" Parisiens we'd heard of. But by the end of the week I was doing better.

    This is a long way to say what I said before: I'm grateful to every person on here who "speaks" English here as a second language. It's most generous of you all. Tiny mistakes are NOT silly. They are not points for us native English speakers to ridicule. My major in college was English. My minor was French. My English is still pretty good. My French, not so much.

    If you want something to ridicule, I'll write some French for you here and we can have a laugh.

    End of diatribe!

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  75. Oh Petrea, I'm flattered, thanks! But I know I often make lots of errors here. I must say it's rather easy to practice English in the world we live in because everything is very "americanized" nowadays. I try to take advantage of it, seeing as many English sponken movies as I can, reading books, magazines, watching the news and of course I used to practice a lot during my trips to the US. Now I try to do it with French stuff too. I have always loved foreign languages, so for me it's a pleasure to learn (or at least try to) them .

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  76. It's a pleasure for me, too. Maybe I should find a blog where French is spoken, and join in!

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  78. Bonjour mesdames,

    I'm really surprised, I though you were both native English speakers!!

    How is it possible to bo as fluent as you are?..Please tell me, I want to do the same!
    If it's not indiscreet Petrea, where are you from? From eastern Europe maybe?
    Monica I though you were an expat...Your English is so perfect too, you use slang and really actual terms. Maybe living on the American continent helps?

    Félicitations à toutes les deux en tout cas.

    Petrea, oui s'il vous plaît, écrivez-nous un petit message en français!
    And you could find a French blog without any problem, but I'm not sure they will be as open minded with your French as you are with my English. French people are a little bit rude sometimes. You were lucky not to meet them in Paris!

    Anyway the better way not to lose it (French, or English) is to practice. One of my bestfriend is Norvegian and since we're friend, she made real progress. One of my best friend is Londoner and since I write to him, I made real progress. It's the proof that it works for each language!

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  79. I am a native English speaker. When one majors in English at an American university, it's generally in English literature, or in writing. I'm from Illinois!

    Now it's Monica's turn to answer. How do you practice, Monica?

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  80. Lynn, Lynn, Lynn...

    Hook, line and sinker (do you have this expression in England?). I just knew if I mentioned her "outfit" you would bite! LOL

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  81. he he girls, like I said I practice it by reading books, magazines, I love to watch american sitcoms, I'm a maniac about the movies so I watch dozens of them every week (most of them American and British but I love French films too and often go to the theatre to see it) and since I discovered PDP about 2 yeas ago I can practice it here everyday too.

    I'm from Rio, Brazil - as everyone here knows! - and ages ago, before going to college I went to California for a couple of months to study English. Oh and I had an american boyfriend while I was there. It sure helped a lot!

    Now, like Petrea said, I have to find a way to practice French more often. I try to do the same thing I do to practice English, but it's harder because I'm still in begginers level.
    Guille, maybe in a couple of months if I improve my French a lot more I could feel bold enough to write you in French and practice it like your friends do!

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  82. he he we can all improve each other's language abilities!

    Michael yes you knew and yes you caught me hook line and sinker (yes we have that too). However, you didn't say; are you admitting it was a red herring? Was there no special outfit at all? .... oh now i'm just sad. What a boy thing to do to me. :(

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  83. Yes Lynn, it was a boy thing. I have no idea if there was a special outfit, but one can assume only "yes" as that would be a girl thing to do for the big day!

    For Sarkozy's honeymoon (well at least ours), he was at our factory in La Rochelle, France yesterday to help us unveil our newest high speed train called the AGV (Automotrice Grande Vitesse).

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  84. Well that was an honour, then, Michael. His new spouse not on his arm? Your website is not up to date, the last entry being 17 Jan. Tut tut no pics of the Pres. We want pics! My son is studying psychology and as part of that, computer psychology and he told me yesterday that people have patience for only 8 seconds for a page to load. You need to talk to that webmaster! lol.

    You can do the boy thing to me, Michael; i won't mind ;)

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  85. Is there such a thing?? A Computer Psychology??? Wow...

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  86. Monica
    You can't imagine that you can learn at school nowadays. LOL.
    Mathematics and English are too common and old fashion now.

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  87. Yes isn't that interesting Monica and Guille! It's just a small module of his Psychology degree, but it's there and covers how people behave at cash points, on websites, etc. so that they may become more efficient (the machines, not the people; there's no hope for them). e.g. You used to get the cash before the card, but they found that too many people were walking away leaving their card BECAUSE they had got what they went there for - the cash. So, now, you get your card before your cash, because your mind is telling you to wait for the purpose (cash) and of course while you wait you safely get your card back. Fascinating stuff!

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  88. LOL Lynn! I just walked in from the cash machine and read your post. While I was standing there, I was thinking as I always do (even after all this time), which way to turn my wallet - to receive the card or the cash... NOW I know why and my life is fulfilled! Whew!

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  89. Very interesting indeed Lynn. I am usually very nervous when I´m at an ATM because I know there´s a big chance I´ll forget something. Also I´m nervous because I know there´s cameras and guards and I always think they´ll get suspicious of me so I try to look as normal as possible. Of course all that effort probably makes me LOOK nervous and strange and suspicious while waiting for the cash machine to give me money.

    I get that same feeling at airports while waiting to go into the boarding gate. Maybe there should be a psychology to study ME.

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  90. Whaa do you think people are paid to think about that??
    It's amazing but so true what you said Lynn.
    I'm absent-mindedly so each time I go to the ATM I repeat to myself "guillemette you're too absent-mindedly, be careful"...so finally I never forget my card!

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  91. I'm glad you were as interested as i was in my son's information! Another thing, just esperience not academic, is always count it! I was short-changed by £20 twice! Went into the bank who apologised but said it often happens! I got my £20s but extra time etc., and i wondered how many times people do not count it. So. We must always count lol !

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  92. Oh, go on then... i just had to make it a hundred comments. Someone had to do it...:)

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