Patricia explains in detail the tradition of the galette des rois (kings' cake), which predates Christianity. The tradition is linked to a Roman pagan celebration called Saturnalia, during which a lucky slave was crowned "king" for the day.

Patricia will show you how to create an "elision" in French, which is when you omit certain vowels and replace them with an apostrophe (similar to saying "it's" instead of "it is" in English).

In part two of her lesson on elisions, Patricia will help you navigate the rules of elisions with multiple examples. They're an essential part of French speech that will no longer be a mystery!

Patricia will teach you how to form liaisons (not the dangerous kind!) in French. These occur when you connect the final consonant of one word with the beginning vowel or silent H of the next word and pronounce them as one. Listen closely to Patricia, who will demonstrate a range of examples.

In part two of her lesson, Patricia will explain in-depth which words require a liaison. Some liaisons are compulsory while some are optional or omitted.

In the first part of this series on negation, you will learn how to use the formula ne... ni... ni (neither... nor... nor) to construct a negative sentence in French.

In the second part of this series on negation, you will learn the negative forms rien ne... (nothing), ne... aucun(e) (not any), and ne... nulle part (nowhere). We hope you will be feeling more positive about these negatives!

In part three of this series on negation, Patricia demonstrates the use of adverbs of frequency in the affirmative and in the negative form. Some changes are required with some adverbs.

Patricia concludes her lesson on negation with a discussion of phrases using sans (without), double negation, and negation in the imperative mood.

E is a tricky vowel in French: sometimes it's pronounced, sometimes it's not. As Patricia explains, it's usually silent at the end of a word, and often silent in the middle of a word.

Knowing when to pronounce and when not to pronounce the letter E is key to speaking French like a native. Among other places, E usually isn't pronounced when it's between two consonants (and doesn't have an accent mark).

Learn all about olives with this olive merchant from Nice. This lovely store, "La Maison de l'Olive," has all kinds of olive delicacies from the region and across the Mediterranean basin. Did you know that the olive groves (oliveraies) in the Nice region were planted by the Greeks?

What's the difference between tapenade and olive paste? What needs to be done to olives to make them consumable? Find out in this video!

Socca is a simple dish that you can only find in Nice. A local family business has been serving this delicious, filling pastry made of garbanzo beans for generations. If you're passing through, don't forget to stop by and try it!

In this lesson, Patricia will show you how to pronounce the six French vowels and the vowel combinations ai, an, au, ain, and aim.