Paris!

And so we arrive in Paris! 

Paris is the last destination on our wandering the world adventure. I was a bit worried we would all be travel weary, especially after a great couple of weeks relaxing at our two stays in rural France. 

Nothing to worry about! That first sight of the Eiffel Tour brings much excitement and Paris has so much to offer, that filling our last four days of travelling the world was very easy.                      We loved Paris. We used airbnb for our accommodation, staying in a two bedroom apartment in the 15th arrondissement. It was a 15 min metro ride into the city, which was simple. As apartments in large cities go, it was nearly large ... not spacious, but we did have two bedrooms and something that nearly passed as a kitchen. So we were very comfortable. We did get to explore our arrondissement a little, usually looking for food, and it had a lovely feel. There is even a 1.5km stretch of disused railway line that has been converted to a walking/running track, which had a lovely feeling of running in a green area so close to the city. 

The Eiffel Tower certainly has a wow factor about it. We saw it from many different angles, including  ground level, from all sides, from the water and from other view points in the city (top of Arc de Triomphe). On our final day, we did ascend it, using the lift to get right to the top. Stunning view! This is my favourite view, and photo, with the Arc de Triomphe in the centre. The Arc de Triomphe is at the top end of Champs Elysee, so it just felt fun to be in that area! We did have dinner on the Champs Elysee, but no shopping unfortunately!

We enjoyed most of the food treats ... except for the snails. None of us were game enough to try! We did however, try the crepes with chocolate sauce ... they were good! There were many ice-creams along the way too.

We loved the cafe scene and usually stopped for a coffee each morning. No takeaways in paper cups in Paris ... everyone takes the time to sit and enjoy. We gave up on cappuccinos long ago on this trip, after constantly being disappointed, so we now drink expressos with milk on the side. This was usually accompanied by a croissant ... how could we not? We loved the feeling of sitting and watching the world go by.

Some serious chatting happened!

We happened to be in Paris at the same time as our friends, the McGuigans. Kate and Michael have three children, the youngest being Sophie's best friend, Lara. Sophie has been looking forward to seeing Lara in Paris for about 4 months so it was a highly anticipated reunion! It was very sweet seeing the two girls so excited to be back together and chatting away. Lach and Olivia also loved catching up with Alex and Jesse, hearing school news and sharing travel stories, so everyone was happy!

We visited the Louvre to see Lisa; we went into Notre Dame and marvelled at architecture from the 11th century; we spent some time in Luxembourg Gardens (with the McGuigans); we did a cruise along the Seine; we did a Red Bus tour around the city which gave us a great overview and exposed us to the big highlights quickly. It was a great visit to Paris, topped off with three days of great weather and our first rainy/overcast day in the month that we've been in France. 

And now we depart. We are about to wander home - but very mud with a direction and destination in in mind. I'm writing this at Charles de Gaulle airport, as we prepare for two overnight flights and then arrival in Sydney on Wednesday morning (36 hours away). We are all excited: we are ready to come home and settle into life again. We have been so lucky. We have had amazing experiences, with all travel plans working close to perfectly. 

I shall write another blog on our arrival home, once we've settled back in. See you back in Australia!

Relaxing at L'Orangerie

 Hanging out at Chateau Parkeau

After wine tasting and cooking French food, we needed lots of time to relax! We've enjoyed time by the pool; sitting and drinking coffees and wines; and getting to know new friends.

While we've been at L'Orangerie, we've met Jacqui; Brett; Fred; and Susie and Malcolm. The fun thing about meeting these people is that everyone has a different connection to Bec, but we've not known each other. We've spent lots of time sitting around together and sharing the wine each night has been a highlight!

Jacqui

Lach & Brett

Fred

Susie & Malcolm

We've explored more local markets and bought all sorts of interesting goods - strange looking mushrooms (which became a yummy mushroom linguine), pumpkins, fresh bread, fresh pasta, roasted chicken, proscuitto, veggies, and jewellery! We've marvelled at many other things also but haven't had the need to buy them- the spices in particular. 

 We are enjoying coffee (and often with a croissant also) in the town squares; then coming home and eating lots of cheese and drinking wine!

The view from our terrace, where we've eaten most meals. 

Meals have been a highlight - both the food and the setting! With lots of people here, and not a busy agenda, cooking yummy food has easily happened.

Lunch in the village of St Emilion

We've explored a few local villages, but often just on market day. St Emilion was an exception: it is well known as a wine area around Bordeaux. As a day out we went, but wine tasting with children doesn't go so well. We enjoyed a yummy lunch in the village square, then had a tour around some of the wineries - the area truly is beautiful, but we didn't taste the wines there on this occasion.

Fresh crepes at the markets

a view of L'Orangerie

Looking into Chateau Duras

Duras Castle is the local tourist attraction and it is located directly behind us. The castle dates back to the 11th century and has been held by both the French and English at various times.  L'Orangerie was once part of the castle and where oranges where held, to keep them fresh. The photo above is taken from the castle, looking down onto L'Orangerie. The large green tarp is on our roof as a result of some flooding that happened at 4am one morning! We were at the castle one day when scenes from history were being re-enacted. There was lots of fighting involved, but as the commentary was in French, we didn't understand much more!


Our time at L'Orangerie is almost over. We head to Paris tomorrow, for 4 days, before heading home. We arrive home next Wednesday, 1 October, which will be one week short of 9 months away. We are looking forward to it!

Wine and cooking

The essentials of French life

To get into the true sense of french life, we decided to had to learn more about the essentials of France: wine and food!


We found a wine tour where we could spend several hours at the winery, chat with the wine growers, learn the process, help out with jobs on the vineyard, taste the wine and enjoy lunch! We loved the sound of this, plus the children were welcome, so off we went!

The winery, La Tour de Chollet, was a small, family owned organic winery. Kirsty and Paul moved from England about 10 years ago, deciding on a "French-change" - having not grown grapes or made wine previously, they went about learning then decided to settle and have their family in France. We had a walk around the vines and learnt the process of growing grapes, seeing merlot, sauvignon blanc and semillon grapes.





The grapes are only a week or so off being harvested, so the vines were heavy. One of our jobs during the day was to walk along the vines and clear leaves away from the bunches of grapes, to allow maximum sun onto the grapes. We also had to snip off any small, underdeveloped grapes.





Our other job was to empty oak barrels of the 2012 red wine, then clean out the barrels. We all got to have a go and it was fun. We tasted their wines and made several purchases! Kirsty and Paul then prepared lunch for us, which was a great spread of baguettes, salads and cheeses ... plus a great choice of wines!

Team photo for the day!

Inspecting the vines and pruning some leaves

Then there was the French food! 

the girls starting the chocolate
lollipops

Learning the tricks with choux pastry

We arranged to have a chef come to our house, who helped us prepare some canapés for our dinner. Our savoury dishes included foie gras lollipops with a fig dressing; toffee tomatoes with pesto tarts; parmesan bread with duck; and fish mousse on toasted baguette. For sweet canapés, we had double chocolate lollipops with roasted pear; lemon and basil tarts; and choux pastry with hazelnut filling. All yum, yum yum!!

Filling the choux pastry

Stirring lemon curd

The cooking and preparation took about 4 hours, but it was fun afternoon, chatting and learning new skills. We all got to have a go at preparing the dishes and learnt many new tricks along the way. 

Jac de-boning the fish

Whether or not we can recreate them when we get home is another issue!

Foie gras on the end of those sticks!

Sprung!

toffee tomatoes with pesto pinwheels
on top!

the result of the choux pastry -
profiteroles!

 





















 After our afternoon of preparation, we decided that such fancy food needed a fancy occasion: so a dress standard for dinner was introduced. Lipstick and high heels was the dress code!

The savoury results of our cooking class


We all did the best we could, with our limited travelling wardrobes, but all scrubbed up well. We started the evening with champagne, proceeded to eat our specialities, then ended up dancing to Olivia's playlist! Sophie's quote the next day was: "we didn't even sit at the table to have our dinner!" It was great fun and will be a highlight for all of us.

Bec and I

and the dancing starts!

The Wilsons dressed up for the evening ... one of the few times I've worn lipstick and heels!

Chateau Parkeau

Time with Bec at Duras

Bec and I

A view of L'Orangerie

One of the main reasons we decided to stay in France was to join my friend Bec, who was renting a house as part of her 40th birthday celebrations. She was renting the house and invited friends to join her, contributing to costs, to spend time with friends and family. Bec's nickname has always been Parko, so being French, we changed the 'o' to the French sound of 'eau', which makes the same sound and makes it sound like a castle!

So life is tough!

Morning coffee with Chateau Duras
behind us

We are spending our days chatting, going to local markets, chatting, swimming, chatting, eating, chatting, drinking, chatting ... how lucky are we? Thus far, we've met other friends of Bec's; Jacqueline and Brett; and just yesterday, Susie & Malcolm. Together, we are all exploring the local area and enjoying the products of the region!


We are in the village of Duras, which is most well known for the Chateau Duras. We aren't quite staying in Chateau Duras, but Chateau Parkeau, which is otherwise known as L'Orangerie. In past times, it was the storage of oranges for Chateau Duras. The chateau is directly behind us and gives us a stunning setting to enjoy our morning coffee and croissants!


We have a beautiful pool, where we've enjoyed a few drinks while the kids swim. We've bought fresh produce each day, turning it into great meals! Then there are the wines - at €5, which is about $AUD 7 - its a crime not to enjoy them!

Different guests are coming and going, so we are enjoying meeting new people - all with our friend Bec in common. Once again, we feel so lucky!