souris (Italy, part 2)

An Italian cat eyeing a desert souris rat

"Little House: An Architectural Seduction" -- is a forgotten masterpiece of 18th-century literature that has become an underground classic among architects.


la souris (soo-ree) noun, feminine
  1. mouse

Jamais la souris ne confie sa destinée à un seul trou.
A mouse never entrusts its destiny to just one hole. --Plautus

A Day in a French Life...
Feeling small as a mouse before the towering cathedral in la Piazza Rubini, I listen to the Italians call up and down from their tiny balcons* and wonder if the town of Ceriana has anything in common with the word "serenade." After all, this is just what the Ligurians are engaged in as the cloche* in the belfry strikes twelve--only it isn't a moonlit midnight, it's midi,* and the villagers aren't singing about love, but lunch.

Jean-Marc and I are in Ceriana, on the Riviera of Flowers,* for both lunch and love. Love, because a mystic Roman village hidden in Italy's emerald-green hinterland makes for an enchanting place to celebrate twelve years of living in common, and lunch because, tout simplement,* where love is, hunger follows.

                                              *     *     *
For past chapters in this story, visit:

Italy, Introduction :: Part One :: Part Two :: Part Three :: Part Four

..........................................................................................................
References: le balcon (m) = balcony; la cloche (f) = bell; le midi (m) = midday, noon; Riviera of Flowers (in Italian: "Riviera dei Fiori," so-named for the flower industry in this part of Italy); tout simplement = quite simply

In Magazines:

Printed in French, Cuisine Et Vins De France features dozens of recipes in each issue along with articles on wine, cheese, appetizers, table decorations, and more.

Listen to Jean-Marc recite today's quote: Download souris2.wav
(Note: the file skips... play it twice to hear all the complete sentence.)
Jamais la souris ne confie sa destinée à un seul trou.
A mouse never entrusts its destiny to just one hole. --Plautus

Related Terms & Expressions:
la souris grise = house mouse
La Petite Souris = the tooth fairy (In France, a mouse, not a fairy, is in charge of payment.)

...and while some of us would like to be "a fly on the wall," the French would prefer "to be a little mouse" in order to spy! (From the expression "être une petite souris".)

Learn to speak French with Rosetta Stone French. Proven effective by NASA astronauts, Peace Corps volunteers and millions of students worldwide.

In Books:
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Italy for the Gourmet Traveler by Fred Plotkin

Moleskine 2007 Daily Large Desk Diary - The Legendary Notebook of Hemingway, Picasso, and Chatwin.