Trois cent soixante-cinq jours!

Leisurely mornings at Chez Angie have taken on a new pattern.  After breakfasting on Overnight Oats and a large mug of coffee, and before climbing the stairs to get dressed, I pick up Matilda (my trusty smartphone), select the Duolingo app and learn a little French. 

Later in the day I may complete a couple more lessons, but that first one is important as it adds another day to my Duolingo Streak.  Yesterday I clocked up my 365th lesson – a whole unbroken year of learning French.

I've already blogged about Duolingo here, so I won't repeat myself. I confess that most spoken French still sounds like gobbledegook to me, though I realize that it took me a lot more that a year to learn English! I can now, however, engage in simple conversations with people who understand my limitations; people like the French restaurateur a few miles down the road from my home... though he will have his little jokes.

Bonjour madame.

Bonjor monsieur. Nous avons une table reservee pour deux persononnes.

Mais oui... Voici votre table.

Merci...

Je voudrais prendre les moules, s'il vous plaît.

(spoken rather quickly) Encore! La dame anglaise demande toujours des moules. Elle les a tous mangés et il n'en reste plus sur les rochers.

Ehh?!

Duolingo would like me to subscribe at £6.59 every month, but being a tight-fisted so-and-so I stick with the free lessons and endure the advertisements. In the early days these were mostly about PPI, but more recently I've been deluged with offers for new bras.  These mostly come from American companies, who try to impress me with technical 'facts' about the right sort of stitching and elastic. 

They've not succeeded in convincing me yet, though I can't help thinking that the likes of M&S are missing a trick. 

Puis-je en acheter un en français, peut-être?