16.14 - Rocamadour, Bonjour & the Art of Getting What You Want in Paris
In the FREE le Bulletin: A 35-gram AOP cheese that oozes with flavour. A single word that makes you visible in Paris. And the weekend a famille cracked the code on getting what you want in France.
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Bonjour mes ami(e)s !
It’s wonderful to have you back here with me today. Bienvenue !
In this newsletter, you’ll find these wonderful fresh articles taking you to France beyond the cliché,
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À bientôt !
Warmly,
Judy - 11.4.2026
1. MyFrenchLife™ Magazine: new articles
“There are many talented Contributors to MyFrenchLife Magazine and I thank all of you for sharing your experiences with us in such an engaging manner.
You take us right across France & deep into many worm-holes.
We delight in discovering
and learning more about France beyond the cliché”
Judy
Our list of valued Contributors →
a) Rocamadour: The wonder of Fromage – unveiling one French cheese at a time
by Emily Monaco
“Enter any French cheese shop, especially in spring, and you’ll notice that the chèvre section is particularly robust.
Producers of fresh goat cheeses make them all over France and in all shapes and sizes, from the truncated pyramid of Valençay to the suggestive Sein de Nounou (nanny’s breast), from the imposing 1-kilogram Gabarre to teeny Pélardons, Picodons, and Crottins de Chavignol, all of which would easily fit in your pocket.
But of all of them, Rocamadour may well be the tiniest. At just 35 grams, it’s one of the smallest AOP cheeses, but it looms large in terms of its crowd-pleasingly nutty flavor and uniquely oozy texture…” writes Emily Monaco.
b) Say It First: A love letter to “bonjour”
by Victorine Lamothe
Sometimes, I like to think it sounds like a cat purring—low and rumbling, especially at the end, where that deep-in-your-throat French R rolls like velvet. Other times, it’s lighter: two soprano syllables that lift into the air like gossamer.”
I’m talking, of course, about the word bonjour: the French word for “hello.”
I’ve never properly counted how many times I say it in a day, but it must be at least ten. That’s hundreds, maybe thousands, of bonjours each year. It’s the sound that separates silence from an encounter. It’s the tiny ceremony of recognition. When I open the door to a boutique in Paris—the creak of the hinge, the tinkle of a bell, the click-clack of shoes against tile—it’s the bonjour that makes me visible to the shopkeepers. Sometimes I say it first; other times the employee does. But whoever begins, the other always echoes it back. It’s call and response. A duet of civility…” writes Victorine Lamothe.
c) How To Get Stuff Done In France
by Shelby Chambers
Something happened this weekend that made me realize I might actually know how to get stuff done in France.”
On Saturday, we dropped by the Aquarium Tropical over at the beautiful Palais de la Porte Dorée, as many deep 12ème parents tend to do when it’s soggy outside. As we rolled up to the entrance, I noticed a sign that said “AQUARIUM COMPLET” next to the security guard. “Hey, aquarium complet” I whispered to my husband. Without discussion, we both went into Parisian Persuasion mode. We were still going to make it inside that aquarium.”
“Oh, uh, so the aquarium is full?” my husband asked calmly (in French, translated for your convenience).
“Yes, it’s full.” The security guy answered…” writes Shelby Chambers
2. Merci mille fois
“Thank you so much for supporting my work and reading ‘le Bulletin’.
Merci mille fois d’être ici, mes ami(e)s. Thanks for being here.
What I love about this week's three pieces is that each one finds the France that doesn't make it onto postcards.
Emily Monaco is slowly, deliciously working her way through the AOP cheeses of France, and this week she arrived at the smallest of all of them, a 35-gram wonder from the Lot.
Victorine Lamothe wrote a love letter to a common, well-known word, and somehow made me hear it differently.
And Shelby Chambers reminded me that there is an art to living in France, and it is partly stubbornness, partly charm, and partly knowing when to whisper complet to your husband and go into Parisian Persuasion mode.
À bientôt,
Judy x
judy@myfrenchlife.org
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