How to say idiomatically in French: “There's something about ..., what with ..., that makes me feel ...”?

Question

I just said in conversation:

Il se passe un truc, entre le parfum des roses, un manteau de nuages... J’en ressens une étrange nostalgie.

With this sentence construction, I wanted to say something along the lines of:

There's something (I can't put into words) about it (this whole situation), what with the scent of roses, a blanket of clouds etc, that makes me feel strangely nostalgic.

The point here is that I'm trying to express a vague feeling that I can't put into words by enumerating a few things (as they come to mind) that evoke such emotions in me.

I wonder if the structure that I used gets the job done? How do French speakers idiomatically express this idea?

Answer 1

There is no direct translation for "there's something about..." I understand that you want to express the feeling when something is not explainable.

But we do have some phrases we use when you're talking about your close environment. Let's say that the atmosphere is tense, we would say :

Il y a de l'électricité dans l'air.

In a more general way, you can say :

Il y a comme un air d'été aujourd'hui.

In your case, I would translate your sentence by :

Avec le parfum des roses et ce manteau de nuages, cette situation a comme un air de nostalgie.

Answer 2

L'idée exprimé en anglais: There's something (I can't put into words) about it (this whole situation), what with the scent of roses, a blanket of clouds etc, that makes me feel strangely nostalgic.

Cette même idée exprimée en français

• Il y a quelque chose (que je n'arrive pas à verbaliser) qui me vient (de cette situation), avec la senteur de roses, une (la) couverture ennuagé du ciel, qui me donne un sentiment de nostalgie.

• La situation a quelque chose qui me crée, avec la senteur de roses, etc. un sentiment nostalgique

Voilà deux façons d'exprimer l'idée en français, parmi d'autres.....