Yesterday, taking advantage of the lovely weather, we met up with some friends for a drink on the seaside.
When speaking of such weather in France, one might say, “Il fait super beau” (It’s so lovely). One could also say “Il fait archibeau”, at least one could in this area. “Archi” is a prefix which modifies adjectives of all sorts, which I would probably translate by one of my favorites, the oh-so-Californian “hella”. David actually believed this prefix to be a rather localized one, but googling it led us to a Quebec site regarding the prefix, so I guess it must be a universal French prefix, but perhaps one which varies in frequence depending on the region where you live.
However, what would come most naturally out of a Havrais’ mouth on a day such as this would be the following:
“Il fait rien beau!”
“It’s nothing lovely!” Yes, I realize it makes no sense. But in Le Havre, we love the rien. It can be nothing hot outside (ie very hot), things can be nothing delicious (super scrumptious), and things can cost nothing expensive (insanely expensive). It’s quirky, but I find it insanely amusing and, therefore, use it any chance that I can.
C’est rien cool, après tout.
4 responses so far ↓
1 samantha // May 30, 2007 at 11:37 pm
What is all this talk about it fait-ing super beau? Do we live in the same country? *S*
It has been storming here for the past few days, and it was 3°C when I left yesterday morning! They made us wait outside for an hour before taking le code, and I nearly froze.
2 kim // May 31, 2007 at 8:24 am
Hah, well Tuesday was pretty nice, albeit not super warm (maybe 14°). Yesterday it was raining all day. Today is off to a better start. We’ll see.
But don’t feel all left out, Brittany is just about the only place it rains more than here. I remember a couple years ago at the Fest Yves, it was pouring down and there was a group that had made the trip over from Brittany and I heard them exclaim “Of COURSE when we come to Le Havre, IT RAINS!” As if Le Havre were Saint Tropez or something!
3 Alice // May 31, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Hi there Kim! I can’t believe I’m only commenting for the first time chez toi, but I’m pretty certain it’s the case… And yet I remember discovering and reading your blog a while back; I don’t know what happened to me, I must have fallen under a rock or something!
Anyhoo, I just wanted to tell you that my boyfriend’s parents (well, now actually only his father) live in Le Havre, so we go up there from time to time to visit… He spent most of his childhood there, in an apartment near the water. So as a result, he desperately misses hearing the waves crashing on a regular basis!
I absolutely love La Galerne bookshop; I have a great memory of sharing lunch with my boy’s mother there once, in December 2005. I wish I had had more opportunities to visit with her before she passed away…
Anyway, I just wanted to officially say hello! Look forward to reading you regularly in the future.
4 kim // May 31, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Hey Alice!
La Galerne is a great little book store, and I can see it from my apartment (well, if I poke my head out the window, that is), so I go by there quite a bit myself!
Anyway, next time you venture up here, give me a heads up and we can get a drink or something!
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