This last Tips OMG!! this is so important ! Even if you known only 10 words always start by: Bonjour = Hello; always say: s'il vous plaît = Please, Merci = Thanks you and Au revoir = bye; even in the levator or in a empty shop or whoever you meet (kids included) if you don't you are RUDE !! Game changer move !! Thanks you, from France
The 'bonjour' is so important. I am a french native who lived in the UK for 33 years and returned to France 5 years ago. I had forgotten about the bonjour and how important it is to say it before anything else! 😊😊 I love your videos btw! Thank you
Feels good to see a native american actually showing our way of life in such an honnest and respectful way. France is cursed with clichés and stereotypes that are so misled (for the most part, touch my baguette and I'll make you step on a lego) and disrespectful of our history... Greetings from Paris, keep it up Diane :)
This was thoughtfully produced. It’s a cold February here in Colorado and those absolutely perfect strawberries nearly brought me to tears. For me, as an American, one of the biggest hurdles is the metric measurements used for many of the items. And, this video forced me to look up the French word for cactus, which, quelle surprise, was cactus!
Bonjour Charles, here a greeting from the Netherlands. Almost every year I go by car and campingtrailer to France for 6-7 weeks. That's why I look at this channel. Am I able to improve/correct myself with help of Diane? I love her videos and feel a bit on vacation in this Covid19 year. About your metric measurements. I know metric is often presented in the USA as if it is a terrible complicated system. Counting in the metric system is quite simple. You do it every day with dollars, or almost any other currency. That's a decimal system too, like the metric system. 1 US$ = 100 Cents and counts the same as centimeters. The 3 main units on the market are: length is in meters and 1 meter = 100 cm and equals app 1 yard, just a little more. Weight is in kg = 1000 gram and equals app 2 pound, a little more. Volume is in liters and 1 liter is app 1/4 of a gallon. Just to keep it simple to remember. There is a relation between length and volume. A cube of 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm equals 1 liter. I hope I helped you a bit.
Hmmm, "avec ceci". That was useful info. I haven't yet been to France, but in Quebec, that question usually takes the form "Quelque chose d'autre?" Now hopefully I'll be prepared for the French version. Bonne vidéo, merci.
I just love this vlog ! Keep going with it ! I also love the tips about manners, that could be applied in any market ! We could all use more kindness in the world ! Hugs !
This may sound incredibly sad but I am at my most content wandering round these marchés. The sounds, smells and tastes are always wonderful and you can always taste before you buy. « On peut déguster, madame? » is always met with « Ah oui. Bien sûr ». Speaking confident French certainly helps but I have rarely met anything other than helpfulness and goodwill and were it not for Brexit (don’t get me started) I would be swapping rainy Scotland for France when I retire. Les marchés sont formidables!
I found that many market vendors speak some English. I speak some French so between the two of us I managed pretty well. Also being able to read the signs was helpful. Admittedly, I was in Paris and realize that in smaller towns and other regions one would not find so many English speaker.
Thanks! I really enjoyed seeing the farmer’s market. Everything looks so fresh. I guess succulent plants are popular there also🌵. Neat to see the basket of quail eggs. My local grocery has just started selling them here in South Carolina. I haven’t yet been adventurous enough to try them. Have a fantastic weekend!
Excellent tips. I use “ça suffi merci” when I finish my order and never had a problem. Ça sera tout sounds like exact translation of that’ll be all which is not a French expression
@@JeanChordeiles when I speak with French people in my travel across France, I try to speak the way they speak from what I could hear/pick up. I always said that term (which I learnt in France) without any problem. I may not hv noticed "Ca sera tour" and certainly never read it in the many learn French books
@@JeanChordeiles you probably missed what I repeated: I learnt from French people in the shops and whether they accept as proper or improper response, it was what I heard there and was used and I did that. The French understand any foreigner the second they see them even before speaking and if we talk to them in French they would respect it even if it’s wrong. They never corrected me whenever I spoke to them which is why I love the French and France. Americans are very adamant about correcting others (the newer generation more disrespectfully than the older one, esp online) and you typify that very well by insisting on not even accepting a well received French response. I don’t even care if another American does not agree with me. I’m stating my experience and you are not obligated to like it or accept it or agree with it. You need to be tolerant like the French and stop lecturing others on your bigotry.
@@biloz2988 I don’t know… Maybe it’s regional? Maybe you just never noticed it? I lived in France for four years and it would be one of those phrases I picked up just from listening … I also heard it very regularly posed as a question by the person selling: « ce sera tout? » (instead of « et avec ceci?» ) in the sense of « Is that all (that you want)? Say for example in the bakery, when you order a baguette and some croissants. They wrap them up for you and then it comes: « Ce sera tout, Madame? » Next time you’re in France you’ll probably hear it everywhere now that you’re listening out for it! 😀
In the past, I found the "don't touch" universal (I learned by mistaking that mistake). However, in recent visits to France I've found more and more vendors will have a pile of plastic baskets near the produce and customers put the items in the plastic basket themselves and bring it up to the vendor to pay. In other words, the "don't touch the merchandise" seems to be becoming less common. Basically, I've seen a mix of "touch" and "don't touch" in the same market.
That happened to me 30 years ago. I got yelled at for selecting my own produce once and the next time, somewhere else, I was told to choose my own when I told them what I wanted. A British woman told me to look for the bags and if bags are available, it's self service.
I am still cringing from 10 years ago, when I just wanted a cauliflower, and was not able to get the attention of the vendor (did not yet know just to push in). Got so flustered that I picked one up. Literal gasp from others around me. This was in Paris, mind you, so people were less tolerant. But it kept me away from markets for 2 months, when living for a year near 3 different markets.
Haha! That is funny, my cringy moment was being polite and giving a 'la bise', kiss on chick to a guy because I kissed goodbye my French girlfriend, her American boyfriend who was a little bit use to our French ways, and his friend was close so I went to kiss him too like we do in France, because I forgot myself, the poor guy thought I was trying to come on to him and jerk back and I was humiliated 😂
Saulte! What a lovely piece! We love our Marché des Lices every Saturday. We also have a lovely daily marché that has the BEST tidbits for dinner parties or when I want to treat myself. It was great hearing your voice after reading your words so many times. Merci et bonne weekend!
This is so helpful. I tried to buy one avocado at a farmers market and went home with several pounds of them...I had no idea how NOT to get a load of avo's.
Bonjour 😄 Au marché c'est top pour trouver les meilleurs fromages. Certains fromage comme le Cantal peuvent être au lait cru ou pasteurisé. Pour le cru on le trouve plutôt sur les marchés. Miam 🤤 Mais c'est le Saint Nectaire et le Morbier les meilleurs 🤤 Au revoir 😄
I wish I had seen this video before going to the Capucin Marche’ in Bordeaux a few days ago. Now I know for sure that the vendor was upset that I touched. I saw others touch and pick up but I went a step further and poked for ripeness. Ugh!
I think the issue is not exactly that "people really don't speak English", it is that people learned English in school decades ago, and this learning did not include names for specific produce and other specialized vocabulary. One may for instance know that "tomate" is "tomato", but how would one describe the differences between several kinds of tomatoes, including varieties that do not necessarily exist in the US?
Incredible, you're not the fist to say that "bonjour" and "s'il vous paît" are important... For us it's so just to be good education. And after some stupid people have clichés of french people not nice and unpolite.
I have been to France many times and my experience is that the French are some of the nicest people in the world. Personnes les plusieurs gentils. (hope that was correct, my French is rusty).
That's why I watch videos by expats living in France (or Europe), because we learn many things that we wouldn't notice ourselves. About this bonjour/merci, I'm often fascinated by columns of ants ; everytime they meet, they ask "who are you ?" by rubbing their antennas :-)
« Avec ceci » « ce sera tout » : ces phrases toutes faites un peu hors du temps qu’on utilise que chez les commerçants « traditionnels ». Parfois aussi « y vous fallait autre choses? » un peu moins formel.
I have to say, there is so much intimidation learning French. It feels like we're constantly judged (negatively) and commiting faux pas, whether it's touching the produce or asking for a doggie bag. Never felt that in Mexico, if someone ever even pointed something out, it was with a smile and maybe a little laugh. Actually, I was more judgemental of them, sad to say.
Kostana Banjac But ‘rowt’ for route make perfect sense verbally and is less confusing. After all, why does route and root sound the same in English English, while rout, as in routed the enemy, is pronounced ‘rowted ’.
Haven't you figured out that Parisiens DO NOT REPRESENT ALL FRANCE? I've been pushed and shoved in New York city and yet ovecomed by the kindness of others in upstate New York. Bonne journée quand même! 😊
Isabelle Laval ok wind your neck in! Where in my comment did I say ALL French people? I said Parisians are rude. PARISIANS! Which you have to agree with me!
I have been to Paris twice, for a total of two months. I do not speak French. But I learned "bon jour, merci, sil vous plait, and a few other things, and the people were absolutely lovely. Never had a problem. My friend refused to use these few words and her treatment was very different. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, when in Paris, do as the Parisians do, and you will be well treated.
emma ess That accords with my own experience, albeit with the odd exception. My first time in France was in a ski town and with a work colleague. She began each exchange with ‘Do you speak English?, eliciting anything from incomprehension to surly contempt. So when alone, I made an effort to start in French and the responses were miraculous. They knew I was foreign in about 5 seconds and almost invariably switched to English or Franglais and were helpful and welcoming. And it can be a lot of fun, and hilarious, negotiating for comprehension with a mix of languages and gestures. It was even better when I assured my audience I was not ‘rosbief’ but from Ecosse or Nouveau Zealande (both true).
This last Tips OMG!! this is so important ! Even if you known only 10 words always start by: Bonjour = Hello; always say: s'il vous plaît = Please, Merci = Thanks you and Au revoir = bye; even in the levator or in a empty shop or whoever you meet (kids included) if you don't you are RUDE !! Game changer move !!
Thanks you, from France
The 'bonjour' is so important. I am a french native who lived in the UK for 33 years and returned to France 5 years ago. I had forgotten about the bonjour and how important it is to say it before anything else! 😊😊
I love your videos btw! Thank you
Feels good to see a native american actually showing our way of life in such an honnest and respectful way. France is cursed with clichés and stereotypes that are so misled (for the most part, touch my baguette and I'll make you step on a lego) and disrespectful of our history...
Greetings from Paris, keep it up Diane :)
She a native American, never knew there were white native americans
Thank you! I feel more prepared. Ready for "avec ceci?"
This was thoughtfully produced. It’s a cold February here in Colorado and those absolutely perfect strawberries nearly brought me to tears. For me, as an American, one of the biggest hurdles is the metric measurements used for many of the items. And, this video forced me to look up the French word for cactus, which, quelle surprise, was cactus!
Bonjour Charles, here a greeting from the Netherlands. Almost every year I go by car and campingtrailer to France for 6-7 weeks. That's why I look at this channel. Am I able to improve/correct myself with help of Diane? I love her videos and feel a bit on vacation in this Covid19 year.
About your metric measurements. I know metric is often presented in the USA as if it is a terrible complicated system. Counting in the metric system is quite simple. You do it every day with dollars, or almost any other currency. That's a decimal system too, like the metric system. 1 US$ = 100 Cents and counts the same as centimeters. The 3 main units on the market are: length is in meters and 1 meter = 100 cm and equals app 1 yard, just a little more. Weight is in kg = 1000 gram and equals app 2 pound, a little more. Volume is in liters and 1 liter is app 1/4 of a gallon. Just to keep it simple to remember. There is a relation between length and volume. A cube of 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm equals 1 liter.
I hope I helped you a bit.
Hmmm, "avec ceci". That was useful info. I haven't yet been to France, but in Quebec, that question usually takes the form "Quelque chose d'autre?" Now hopefully I'll be prepared for the French version. Bonne vidéo, merci.
I just love this vlog ! Keep going with it ! I also love the tips about manners, that could be applied in any market ! We could all use more kindness in the world ! Hugs !
Precious & accurate, once more Diane. Cheers, jb
This may sound incredibly sad but I am at my most content wandering round these marchés. The sounds, smells and tastes are always wonderful and you can always taste before you buy. « On peut déguster, madame? » is always met with « Ah oui. Bien sûr ». Speaking confident French certainly helps but I have rarely met anything other than helpfulness and goodwill and were it not for Brexit (don’t get me started) I would be swapping rainy Scotland for France when I retire. Les marchés sont formidables!
Sounds sad!? Sounds incredibly great!! The best to you!
Bon chance! I swapped beautiful Scotland for glorious Brittany 20 years ago and I can assure you you won’t be disappointed 👍🇫🇷🏴🇫🇷👍
Thank you Diane. You are very helpful and this is good advice.
Great, advise! Manners always matter. Love your videos, wish to visit France someday!
Excellent content. Love your videos about French life!
I found that many market vendors speak some English. I speak some French so between the two of us I managed pretty well. Also being able to read the signs was helpful. Admittedly, I was in Paris and realize that in smaller towns and other regions one would not find so many English speaker.
Thanks! I really enjoyed seeing the farmer’s market. Everything looks so fresh. I guess succulent plants are popular there also🌵. Neat to see the basket of quail eggs. My local grocery has just started selling them here in South Carolina. I haven’t yet been adventurous enough to try them. Have a fantastic weekend!
Excellent tips. I use “ça suffi merci” when I finish my order and never had a problem. Ça sera tout sounds like exact translation of that’ll be all which is not a French expression
@@JeanChordeiles when I speak with French people in my travel across France, I try to speak the way they speak from what I could hear/pick up. I always said that term (which I learnt in France) without any problem. I may not hv noticed "Ca sera tour" and certainly never read it in the many learn French books
@@JeanChordeiles you probably missed what I repeated: I learnt from French people in the shops and whether they accept as proper or improper response, it was what I heard there and was used and I did that. The French understand any foreigner the second they see them even before speaking and if we talk to them in French they would respect it even if it’s wrong. They never corrected me whenever I spoke to them which is why I love the French and France. Americans are very adamant about correcting others (the newer generation more disrespectfully than the older one, esp online) and you typify that very well by insisting on not even accepting a well received French response. I don’t even care if another American does not agree with me. I’m stating my experience and you are not obligated to like it or accept it or agree with it. You need to be tolerant like the French and stop lecturing others on your bigotry.
« Ça sera tout » is definitely authentic French. Heard it said loads of times by French people in this exact circumstance.
@@rdefaoite9413 but why I never heard it in my tens of my travels there ??
@@biloz2988 I don’t know… Maybe it’s regional? Maybe you just never noticed it? I lived in France for four years and it would be one of those phrases I picked up just from listening … I also heard it very regularly posed as a question by the person selling: « ce sera tout? » (instead of « et avec ceci?» ) in the sense of « Is that all (that you want)? Say for example in the bakery, when you order a baguette and some croissants. They wrap them up for you and then it comes: « Ce sera tout, Madame? » Next time you’re in France you’ll probably hear it everywhere now that you’re listening out for it! 😀
In the past, I found the "don't touch" universal (I learned by mistaking that mistake). However, in recent visits to France I've found more and more vendors will have a pile of plastic baskets near the produce and customers put the items in the plastic basket themselves and bring it up to the vendor to pay. In other words, the "don't touch the merchandise" seems to be becoming less common. Basically, I've seen a mix of "touch" and "don't touch" in the same market.
That happened to me 30 years ago. I got yelled at for selecting my own produce once and the next time, somewhere else, I was told to choose my own when I told them what I wanted. A British woman told me to look for the bags and if bags are available, it's self service.
I am still cringing from 10 years ago, when I just wanted a cauliflower, and was not able to get the attention of the vendor (did not yet know just to push in). Got so flustered that I picked one up. Literal gasp from others around me. This was in Paris, mind you, so people were less tolerant. But it kept me away from markets for 2 months, when living for a year near 3 different markets.
Haha! That is funny, my cringy moment was being polite and giving a 'la bise', kiss on chick to a guy because I kissed goodbye my French girlfriend, her American boyfriend who was a little bit use to our French ways, and his friend was close so I went to kiss him too like we do in France, because I forgot myself, the poor guy thought I was trying to come on to him and jerk back and I was humiliated 😂
Saulte! What a lovely piece! We love our Marché des Lices every Saturday. We also have a lovely daily marché that has the BEST tidbits for dinner parties or when I want to treat myself. It was great hearing your voice after reading your words so many times. Merci et bonne weekend!
That market looks amazing!!
I learned soooo much from this video. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
This is so helpful. I tried to buy one avocado at a farmers market and went home with several pounds of them...I had no idea how NOT to get a load of avo's.
Such good advice! Thank you for sharing!
Bonne journe'e!
I’m Gosh those CHERRIES 🍒 looked soo delicious!!
Bonjour 😄
Au marché c'est top pour trouver les meilleurs fromages.
Certains fromage comme le Cantal peuvent être au lait cru ou pasteurisé. Pour le cru on le trouve plutôt sur les marchés. Miam 🤤
Mais c'est le Saint Nectaire et le Morbier les meilleurs 🤤
Au revoir 😄
I wish I had seen this video before going to the Capucin Marche’ in Bordeaux a few days ago. Now I know for sure that the vendor was upset that I touched. I saw others touch and pick up but I went a step further and poked for ripeness. Ugh!
Filming was perfect
Very useful, Thank you.
Thank You.
American: CAN I HAVE SOME TOMATOES.
French Vendor: Loud American.
Great video!❤️
I think you should mention in the next video that taxes are included in all the prices that you show.
Of course ! Why not including the taxes in the price ?
This is just cruelty
Because in US, every state, county, and local government has different tax totals.
French markets are the best!
Wonderful videos, Diane. Mecri. Could you explain how one gets new cell phone service established in France, please. Merci beaucoup!
Little late but feels like a dont be a jerk and remember your manners
My girlfriend made a mistake to ask for multiple samples. The vendor said: If I give samples to everybody I will not have anything left to sell.
I would love to see you wear some bright colors
Hi. What does “ Carrefour” mean in French? U know , the big super market. Does the word by its own have a meaning ? Greetings from Dubai.
Hi, it's an intersection or crossroads
I think the issue is not exactly that "people really don't speak English", it is that people learned English in school decades ago, and this learning did not include names for specific produce and other specialized vocabulary. One may for instance know that "tomate" is "tomato", but how would one describe the differences between several kinds of tomatoes, including varieties that do not necessarily exist in the US?
Oh I just love all the cheeses I tried...no stinky cheese just a lot of Brie, Roquefort.
Incredible, you're not the fist to say that "bonjour" and "s'il vous paît" are important... For us it's so just to be good education. And after some stupid people have clichés of french people not nice and unpolite.
I have been to France many times and my experience is that the French are some of the nicest people in the world. Personnes les plusieurs gentils. (hope that was correct, my French is rusty).
@Luminou dunno Merci!
That's why I watch videos by expats living in France (or Europe), because we learn many things that we wouldn't notice ourselves.
About this bonjour/merci, I'm often fascinated by columns of ants ; everytime they meet, they ask "who are you ?" by rubbing their antennas :-)
We try NOT to use plastic bags
« Avec ceci » « ce sera tout » : ces phrases toutes faites un peu hors du temps qu’on utilise que chez les commerçants « traditionnels ». Parfois aussi « y vous fallait autre choses? » un peu moins formel.
QUATRES MOTS à apprendre ……bonjour, au revoir, s’il vous plaît, merci……… then you can carry on…👍👍😀
Aré these places cash only?
Often, yes. The exception would be when they sell some more expensive items like a big cake or whole chicken.
@@Rachel-rs7jn a chicken at 7 or 8 €, an expensive item ?
@@norbertfontaine8524 I guess I'm thinking of Paris....the chickens were more than that there! ;)
For your own sake, good manners are very important as the vendor will choose the produce.
I have to say, there is so much intimidation learning French. It feels like we're constantly judged (negatively) and commiting faux pas, whether it's touching the produce or asking for a doggie bag. Never felt that in Mexico, if someone ever even pointed something out, it was with a smile and maybe a little laugh. Actually, I was more judgemental of them, sad to say.
A😁always❤️
Love you and your videos but this music is very unpleasant
Audio was crap
so are your manners
PS - why do Americans mispronounce words? Example - tomato is tomato, but when American says it, you say it tometo... Why?
Regional pronunciations happen in every language.
Kostana Banjac. That’s the American accent. Different from the British ones.
Marc Marc I get it.... always did. Just sounds soooooo strange. Like route. In USA it’s raut...🙀
Kostana Banjac But ‘rowt’ for route make perfect sense verbally and is less confusing. After all, why does route and root sound the same in English English, while rout, as in routed the enemy, is pronounced ‘rowted ’.
“The French are some of the most socially polite people”! Ha! You’ve never been to Paris then?! They take rudeness to a whole new level!!
Haven't you figured out that Parisiens DO NOT REPRESENT ALL FRANCE? I've been pushed and shoved in New York city and yet ovecomed by the kindness of others in upstate New York.
Bonne journée quand même! 😊
Isabelle Laval ok wind your neck in! Where in my comment did I say ALL French people? I said Parisians are rude. PARISIANS! Which you have to agree with me!
I have been to Paris twice, for a total of two months. I do not speak French. But I learned "bon jour, merci, sil vous plait, and a few other things, and the people were absolutely lovely. Never had a problem. My friend refused to use these few words and her treatment was very different. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, when in Paris, do as the Parisians do, and you will be well treated.
emma ess That accords with my own experience, albeit with the odd exception. My first time in France was in a ski town and with a work colleague. She began each exchange with ‘Do you speak English?, eliciting anything from incomprehension to surly contempt. So when alone, I made an effort to start in French and the responses were miraculous. They knew I was foreign in about 5 seconds and almost invariably switched to English or Franglais and were helpful and welcoming. And it can be a lot of fun, and hilarious, negotiating for comprehension with a mix of languages and gestures. It was even better when I assured my audience I was not ‘rosbief’ but from Ecosse or Nouveau Zealande (both true).
I've never had a problem in Paris, the people have always been lovely. Parisians don't, however, have time to coddle Americans; who are far more rude.
Very helpful thank you!
You're welcome!