My Trip to Martinique – French Story & Translation

Author: HélÚne

Share my vacation on the French speaking island of Martinique! Practice your French with my free French story featuring hide/reveal English translation.

Hello, my name is HĂ©lĂšne and I’m a French immersion teacher in Lyon. This winter, with all my family, we went to Martinique, an island in the French Antilles.

Bonjour, je m’appelle HĂ©lĂšne et je suis professeur de français en immersion Ă  Lyon. Cet hiver, avec toute ma famille, nous sommes partis Ă  la Martinique, une Ăźle des Antilles françaises.

1 – My Trip to Martinique

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

Nous en avions rĂȘvĂ©, ma soeur l’a fait pour nous. Nous avons fĂȘtĂ© le Nouvel An au soleil! Ma soeur nous a offert ce voyage de rĂȘve pour fĂȘter ses 40 ans.

We dreamed of it, my sister did it for us. We celebrated New Year in the sun! My sister offered us this dream trip to celebrate her 40th birthday.

2 – Departure For Martinique

Dimanche 29 dĂ©cembre 2019, 6 heures du matin. Toute ma famille est lĂ  au lieu de rendez-vous. Nous sommes 20 au total. Nous nous sommes levĂ©s trĂšs tĂŽt pour ĂȘtre Ă  l’aĂ©roport d’Orly, l’un des aĂ©roports de Paris. Heureusement, toute ma famille habite la rĂ©gion parisienne, nous exceptĂ© qui sommes Ă  Lyon.

Sunday December 29, 2019, 6 a.m. My whole family is there at the meeting place. We are 20 in total. We got up very early to be at Orly airport, one of the airports in Paris. Fortunately, my whole family lives in the Paris region, except us who are in Lyon.

3 – Arrival in Martinique

A 15 heures, heure locale, nous arrivons Ă  Fort-de-France, la capitale administrative de l’üle française. Le voyage s’est trĂšs bien passĂ© ; les plus jeunes ont Ă©tĂ© bien sages. Une fois dehors, la douceur de l’air change du froid que nous avons laissĂ© derriĂšre nous en France mĂ©tropolitaine.

At 3 p.m. local time, we arrive in Fort-de-France, the administrative capital of the French island. The trip went very well; the youngest were very good.
Once outside, the mildness of the air is a change from the cold that we left behind us in mainland France.

Quelle joie! Petits et grands sont bien fatiguĂ©s du voyage, mais heureux d’ĂȘtre rassemblĂ©s tous ensemble pour vivre une grande aventure.

What joy! Young and old are tired by the trip, but happy to be together to live a great adventure.

4 – Arrival in Our Holiday Home In Martinique

AprĂšs 20 minutes de voiture, nous arrivons au François, petite ville situĂ©e Ă  l’est de l’üle. Nous dĂ©couvrons la maison. Nous sommes si enthousiastes et joyeux que la propriĂ©taire de la maison qui nous accueille est Ă©mue. Elle nous fait faire la visite de leur magnifique maison de famille, et nous en raconte Ă©galement l’histoire. Nous sommes charmĂ©s.
Avant de repartir, les propriétaires nous offrent trÚs chaleureusement un large choix de boissons, au rhum pour les plus ùgés bien sûr. Nous avions bien soif!

After 20 minutes by car, we arrive at François, a small town located in the east of the island. We discover the house. We are so enthusiastic and happy that the owner of the house that welcomes us is moved. She takes us on a tour of their magnificent family home, and also tells us its history. We are charmed.
Before leaving, the owners warmly offer us a wide choice of drinks, with rum for the older ones of course. We were very thirsty!

AprĂšs l’apĂ©ritif de bienvenue, nous repartons Ă  la dĂ©couverte de la maison, de toutes ses piĂšces immenses et lumineuses. Nous choisissons nos chambres. Les enfants et les adultes s’installent dans leurs espaces, puis une fois les valises ouvertes, nous partons dĂ©couvrir le jardin, la plage et le ponton. La vue est superbe. Tout est calme.
Quel lieu paradisiaque!

After the welcome drink, we set off again to explore the house, all of its huge and bright rooms. We choose our bedrooms. Children and adults settle in their spaces, then once the suitcases have been opened, we leave to discover the garden, the beach and the pontoon. The view is superb. Everything is quiet.
What a heavenly place!

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5 – Daily Life on Vacation in Martinique

Nous passons du bon temps en famille et partageons notre temps entre activités familiales collectives et individuelles. Nous préparons les repas tous ensemble et passons beaucoup de temps à discuter à table, à rire, à jouer à des jeux.

We have a good time with the family and share our time between collective and individual family activities. We prepare meals together and spend a lot of time chatting at the table, laughing, playing games.

Chacun a ses activitĂ©s comme la lecture, la relaxation pour ma belle-soeur, la natation, le paddle pour mon frĂšre, le dessin pour Manon. Et puis, nous avons beaucoup d’activitĂ©s collectives : plongĂ©e libre pour aller dĂ©couvrir les tortues et les fonds marins, balade Ă  pied ou en canoĂ©, visite de l’üle, de ses villes et de ses plages, visite d’une rhumerie, d’un musĂ©e d’histoire de l’üle.

Everyone has their activities like reading, relaxation for my sister-in-law, swimming, paddleboard for my brother, drawing for Manon. And then, we have a lot of collective activities: snorkeling to discover the turtles and the seabed, strolling on foot or in a canoe, visiting the island, its towns and its beaches, visiting a rum factory, a history museum of the island.

6 – Why Vacation in Martinique?

La Martinique est l’une des Ăźles de l’archipel des Antilles. L’üle est sous administration française, elle est Ă  la fois rĂ©gion et dĂ©partement français. On y parle donc entre autres le français! VoilĂ  donc dĂ©jĂ  une bonne raison d’aller la visiter.

Martinique is one of the islands of the Antilles archipelago. The island is under French administration, it is both a French region and department. French is spoken there, among other languages! So that’s already a good reason to go visit it.

Nous avons Ă©tĂ© particuliĂšrement bien reçus au cours de tous nos dĂ©placements sur l’üle. Nous nous sommes sentis vraiment bien accueillis. Une deuxiĂšme bonne raison d’aller sĂ©journer l’üle : la chaleur des habitants!

We were particularly well received during all our trips on the island. We felt really welcome. A second good reason to stay on the island: the warmth of the local people!

Enfin, l’üle possĂšde de nombreuses richesses, notamment une biodiversitĂ© incroyable. Elle regorge d’une faune terrestre et aquatique extraordinaire, d’une flore tropicale luxuriante. Pour nous MĂ©tropolitains, ce fut un rĂ©gal pour les yeux et les oreilles.

Finally, the island has many riches, including incredible biodiversity. It is full of extraordinary terrestrial and aquatic fauna, lush tropical flora. For us Metropolitan residents, it was a feast for the eyes and the ears.

Chacun trouvera bien d’autres raisons nĂ©anmoins de partir Ă  la (re-)dĂ©couverte de cette Ăźle magnifique!

Everyone will find many other reasons, however, to set off to (re)discover this magnificent island!

Author: HélÚne

HélÚne

Bonjour ! My name is HélÚne, I'm a French immersion teacher in Lyon. Come experience a real French lifestyle, discover my region and my family. I would be happy to show you our beautiful region, teach you French and share our daily life with you.

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