Vivement les vacances !

Going on vacation is cause for anticipation, planning, and excitement, which is sometimes followed by disappointment… In this humorous video, mother and daughter Isabelle and Barbara are very excited about their trip to Bali. Unfortunately, their vacation does not exactly go as planned… But a chance encounter makes up for everything!

For many people like Barbara and Isabelle, les vacances (vacation, holiday) equal anticipation and excitement best summed up in this wonderful French expression, Vivement les vacances ! (I can’t wait for vacation!) We can very well imagine Barbara and Isabelle using the expression: 

Vivement les vacances ! On va aller à Bali.

I can’t wait for vacation! We’re going to go to Bali.

And once there, they could have expressed their joy and enthusiasm by saying:

Vivent les vacances !

Hurray for vacation! (literally, "Long live the holidays!")

Barbara and Isabelle are really looking forward to their trip to Bali. It’s bonjour paradis tropicaux (hello tropical paradises) and the anticipation of le sable chaud d’une plage de Bali (the warm sand of a beach in Bali):

Bonjour paradis tropicaux. Dans quelques heures, ma mère et moi serons sur le sable chaud d'une plage de Bali.

Hello tropical paradises. In a few hours, my mother and I will be on the warm sand of a beach in Bali.

Captions 2-4, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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They make sure to leave in plenty of time for the airport, as they don’t want to rater l’avion (miss the plane):

Si on tenait à ne pas rater notre avion pour Bali, il était grand temps d'y aller.

If we didn't want to miss our plane to Bali, it was high time to leave.

Captions 15-16, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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Unfortunately, Barbara and Isabelle’s plans are rudely interrupted by a volcanic eruption disrupting le trafic aérien (air traffic): 

...et perturbe sérieusement le trafic aérien.

...and is seriously disrupting air traffic.

Caption 30, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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That means that les avions sont cloués au sol (planes are grounded), with most airports closed:

Les avions sont cloués au sol pour une période encore indéfinie.

Planes are grounded for an as yet indefinite period.

Captions 32-33, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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Undaunted, Isabelle decides to take her daughter à la mer (to the sea) instead: 

Elle m'emmenait à la mer.

She was taking me to the sea.

Caption 42, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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But first, Isabelle has to do a hard sell to entice her pouting teenage daughter:

Le paradis sans le décalage horaire.

Paradise without the jet lag.

Caption 45, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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So off they go to the seaside town Trouville, which, as Barbara is quick to point out, bears its name very well:

Trouville ? -Ouais. Ah ben au moins au niveau du nom, ils trichent pas.

Trouville? -Yeah. Ah well at least in terms of the name ["trou ville" = "hole city"], they're not lying.

Captions 47-48, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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This popular seaside town in Normandy is missing one crucial ingredient: le soleil (the sun), which is somewhat voilé (obscured):

Ouais, excepté le soleil qui est quelque peu voilé

Yeah, except for the sun, which is somewhat obscured

Caption 49, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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Feeling sorry for her daughter, Isabelle decides to make a quick run to get poor Barbara une bonne petite crêpe (a nice little crepe), the local specialty, before going home:

On va quand même pas rentrer sans avoir mangé une bonne petite crêpe, hein ?

We can't possibly go home without having eaten a nice little crepe, huh?

Captions 65-66, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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Meanwhile, Barbara makes a very fortuitous encounter that changes everything! Shocked to find Gaël (her crush) on the beach, she stammers, Qu’est-ce que tu fais là ? (What are you doing here?):

Ben, ben, Gaël ? Mais qu'est-ce que... Qu'est-ce que tu fais là ?

Well, well, Gaël? But what... What are you doing here?

Captions 74-76, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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Miraculously, Barbara does not seem to mind when the heavens suddenly open. In fact, she loves la pluie (the rain) as long as it's in great company:

J'adore la pluie.

I love the rain.

Caption 89, Mère & Fille Vacances de rêve

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As you can see from this humorous video, vacations do not always turn out as expected, but usually it all works out in the end. So, we hope your vacations live up to your expectations, and we wish everyone de bonnes vacances au soleil (fun- and sun-filled holidays). But before you set off on your vacances de rêve (dream vacation), here is a list of some of the useful vocabulary covered earlier: 

Vivement les vacances ! - I can’t wait for vacation!

Vivent les vacances ! - Hurray for vacation!

un paradis tropical - a tropical paradise

le sable - the sand

la plage - the beach

la mer - the sea

le soleil - the sun

le décalage horaire - the jet lag

rater l’avion - to miss the plane

Les avions sont cloués au sol. - The planes are grounded.

le trafic aérien - the air traffic

une bonne petite crêpe - a nice little crepe

la pluie - the rain