16.36 - What do Chablis, a Revolution & a sparkling French word have in common?
Tomas k - Senior News Editor 
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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
12.9.2026
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”
Merci
Judy
Our list of valued Contributors →
A reminder that ‘The Writers Room’ now resides here →
a) Word of the Week: Le Scintillement
by Laura L. Barkat
How do you say “sparkling” in French?
? Le scintillement.
As in: the sparkling of the light.
Related, how do you say “sparkly”?
? Scintillant. Or scintillante.
As in: the sparkly cup.
Do you notice the relationship to an English word we sometimes use to describe a conversation or a personality? (If so, tell us in the comments ?.)
Photo Prompt: Le Scintillement
Le scintillement means the “sparkling” or the “twinkling”—like light playing on water…” writes Laura.
b) Chablis: Once Paris’ Wine to Purr-fect ‘Chat-Blis’ Inspo
by Eveline Chartier
I am still stunned that people are surprised that I have been a long-time wine lover. Last month, someone asked about my transition from engineering work to wine consulting. He thought this wine thing was new for me. I told him I had been taking serious wine courses when we worked together in ‘corporate Canada’! “
Little did he know that my interest, appreciation, and eventual obsession with wine have been long-lived. I naturally gravitated toward people who liked wine and became friends. As a young adult, I even named my first cat after a French wine region: Chat-Blis. The hyphenated name is a play on words for the French name for cat (chat) and the northern France wine region, Chablis, where the only allowed grape is Chardonnay...” writes Eveline.
c) What the French Révolution means to me
by Emily Monaco - an archival piece
When I finished my undergraduate degree in France, I heaved a giant sigh of relief – as I imagine many recent undergraduates do – and then I resolved to never go into academia again. It was exactly as decisive and restrictive a decision as one can expect from a 20-year-old, but given the child that I once was, it was slightly surprising.
I was the kid who loved back-to-school. I liked color-coding my notebooks and folders. I craved the moment when I wrote that first line of black ink.
That sort of love soon disappears, and by the time I finished my degree at the American University of Paris, I was ready to be done, which makes it all the more surprising (or perhaps not; I still lack the distance from the moment to know) that I returned to school a mere year-and-a-half later, to complete a Masters degree in French Literature at the Sorbonne…” wrote Emily some years ago.
2. Merci mille fois
“Thank you for subscribing to ‘le Bulletin’, the newsletter of MyFrenchLife™ Magazine.”
Judy MacMahon
Merci mille fois d’être ici, mes ami(e)s. Thanks for being here.
Well, our Contributors have done it again.
One minute we’re talking Chablis, the next we’re pondering the French Révolution, and before we know it Laura has us thinking about le scintillement.
Where else would we end up in all three places in one morning?
Merci, Eveline, Emily and Laura, and merci to all our wonderful MyFrenchLife Contributors who keep opening doors, starting conversations and taking us with them into their corners of France.
And merci to you, mes ami(e)s, for reading, clicking, commenting, wandering down the occasional worm-hole with us… and coming back for more.
I wonder where they’ll take us next week?
À bientôt !
Judy
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