I am in love with France
How can one country get everything so totally right!!!??? Ok I am sure they are just as in debate and conflict about their politics, their breakdown in social values, their immigration policy, their economy and their environmental record and blah blah, and from my brief and voyeuristic point of view, these people are sooooooooo lucky to live like this.
Never before have i witnessed a town and a culture that I think has got it soooooo right....
For one, it is so beautiful. the architecture is so gorgeous, consistent, old, full of character, no doubt steeped in a rich history of which i have little desire to fathom. The cobbled windy narrow little streets have surprises and eateries and little boutique shops at every turn. There are hardly any cars!!! everyone walks and they have a city sponsored bike scheme, with lots of bike depots so you get a card, take a bike, ride it across town, then leave it at another station. I mean, how evolved is that??
the bread, pastries, cakes oh my god and I haven't even tried the yet ... the presentation is done with such beauty and flair ... The freaking cheese section in the supermarket was almost as big as our whole cold section!!!
Wine and beer is enjoyed with gay abandon and is so cheap .. Long social lunches are the norm. People dress with such style and finesse, they speak with such finesse I mean .... For goodness sakes!!! MUsic is in abundance, there is a teeming night life... So much going on, yet with flair. Beautiful romantic, seductive and downright juicy and passionate french flair.
So as for me, when i turned up two days ago, I was sooooo Tired i walked around half starving too scared to attempt french with anyone. .... I felt deeply embarrassed that i couldn't speak any French .... And the couple of people i parlesvou anglais-Ed, did not!!! I couldn't even say anything to that, quite awkward really .... That day i was finding it hard to muster up a smile or any friendly body language either .... Although i finally after two hours of pathetic and wishful wandering finally plucked the courage to venture in to a little eatery. she took a while to warm up after i said 'bonjour ... Par les vous anglais'? And she said 'a little', then said 'hmm I think the english menu is good for you, yes?'. thank god thinks me.
I sit down in this little bustling and rustic restaurant ... Full to the brim. then after perusing the menu, the guy comes over with his note pad presumably asking me what i want, to which i respond sheepishly, par les vous anglais ? to which he eyeballs me with a straight 'no'!!
big sigh ... Right then um, so i get my finger out and point, probably looking dazed, confused, tired and um, embarrassed .... So then he softened and had a go with some english,
I ended up settling on the fish with white sauce, ordered vin rouge, and waited for my beautiful piece of fish to arrive.
In about sixty seconds flat, a plate piled high with mashed potato and a piece of bread arrived.... Ooooh, that is not what i imagined at all! I taste it and it is like a big pile of fishy mashed potato .... Sooooooooo Heavy. Tasty , but, a whole plate of the stuff with nothing to break the monotony either, i decided i needed a salad to go with it but wasn't game !!! .... I made it through half of it ,,,, it was quite tasty.
I then ventured on to the chocolate mouse and un cafe au lait. the mousse was also so heavy and rich i could eat only a third which is saying something for me.
The whole time i sat at the table with my nose in my phrase book trying to figure out what to say next!! When I asked for l'adittion, the female waitress said with a beaming smile 'trae bien' he he ... I had managed to woo the guy over too by the end and he taught me a bit of French,
I walked past the same restaurant again last night and yelled 'bonjour' feeling all excited that i had a friend in there to say hello to to which he happily responded, and then a little later realized i should have said bonsoir. Man couldn't even get that right and there i was feeling all savvy for one moment,
so after my nine hours sleep then another whole night sleep just two hours after waking from that, I awoke ready for a toulousian morning. Off to get a bike and go riding along the canal .... And on the way i found a patisserie.
feeling a bit more game with my finger to point.,,,, I go in to see a little sign 'pain au chocolate' ,.... And there are none there
the smiling shop assistant says 'bonjour', I say 'bonjour', confidently.... I say with a questioning look 'oh, no pain au chocolat', she replies 'no'' I go 'oh', with a look of dismay..... He he, so far she doesn't suspect a thing how exciting i can ask for chocolate croissant fluently in French what a revelation.
well next i move across to the baguettes, and say 'un jamon au frommage silvous plait' and she corrects my pronunciation of jamon .... Nicely ... I pay and leave with an 'aurevoir', and I'm off,
He he ... That wasn't't so bad. Never ceases to amaze how a good night sleep can make the ability to function happily so much more available to me.
there is Not that much more to say really, I love this place and I wish our culture was more Ike this. I don't go there very often, down the wish path for things that are clearly not possible, and I really do wish australian culture had more flair and more music and more, community.
anyway i met up with most of the group who will be on the retreat last night, and they were sooooo lovely. In procuring ourselves a reservation i asked the girl on reception if she could recommend something.... She went over to the wall of office of tourism sponsored brochures and plucked one out reading from the back why I would like it so much. there was no connection there,
so next i ask her 'if you were going to take a best friend out for dinner where would you go?'. A little smile crept over her face and her eyes lit up .... She Told me of a little crazy spanish. French tapas bar that had bench style seating and could get quite loud and fun later in the night .....
Now that sounds more Ike it... So she booked. I wasn't quite sure how my Our party of American and. Swiss scanners.would go as i hadnt met them yet, and it was great. We all squished in to a table, hardly able to open our elbows. It was so packed! and full of noisy happy people, and it was just good fun,,,, they are all so lovely.
today we get picked up for our next six days in our nearby medieval French village and inn, for our retreat with Barbara so you may not hear much from me this week,,,, my room mate I hear will be Gloria, and if the beautiful, full of life and interesting buddies I met last night are anything to go by, it is going to be an awesome week.
Stay well.
Love
J9
Ps thank you for your kind comments. Part of me feels indulgent writing these!!! The act of writing them is dusting off a lost desire, recovered by Barbara when we had my coaching session...
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
To Barbara Sher's French Retreat: London calling
Day 8
OMG I am in love again. I remember why I loved london so much for all those years.
Last night i landed at heathrow and got myself on the Picadilly line, late, thanks to signal failure, to meet margie at covent garden at the end of the opera. I had been hoping to join her at intermission but alas, i was too late ... So i ask the english dudes along the way 'where is The Globe pub?' ... And the old guy walks me over all the while in his broad english accent, talking about Tasmania an how he hasn't been yet ... Wants to.
i am already in heaven at being in central london with the cobbled streets and the beautiful old buildings, REAL pubs and interesting and varied little shops .... I open the door to the pub, huge red suitcase in toe, and the beaming barman greets me in his very sexy italian accent 'so you must have just arrived from Australia!' ... 'is it that obvious?' says me, wondering if the trademark freckles and sun damaged skin, which usually make an Aussie stick out like dogs balls on the tube (against all the pristine sun deprived english or glowing olive skins on the Europeans) .
He he, no your friend Margie asked me to call her when you arrive ,... So he hands me his iPhone and i pluck her number out ...
That sounds like margie, quickly and charismatically wooing the barman to go out of his way to re-unite us!!
Anyway I am still standing at the bar deciding between the three real english ales he just poured me to taste when she arrives ....
I could feel her beaming smile before she even came through the door ... And next she was beside me giving me a huge and lovely hug. MArgie and i met on the back of a Turkish dolmus (bus) on the black sea coast in 1996!!! we hit it off instantly and I looked her up when i got back to London and she so kindly put myself and traveling companion Ange up in her west london flat (in the ceiling) to co-habitate with herself and her two raving vegan/swedish/canadian flatmates!!
anyway back to the globe, we shared a pint, and a chat (god, where to start?) and soon we were in a big ole double decker heading home to their little south london flat and a warm cosy and lovely welcome by her partner Dave (also now, long lost friend) and Barbarella, their 18 year old Ginger cat who drools all over me whenever he revs up a loud purrrrrr.
After more chats, pasta and some wine, 1.30 am, sleep was welcome with it 24 hours since I woke in Thailand to hop on the plane.
the new day dawned and with my hosts off to work, the only thing i wanted to do was walk over to my old home and playground, Brixton.
Brixton still rocks!!! freaking yay ,,, it has gotten better!!! I love it. A mixture of all the old greasy spoon cafes and pubs and 'offies'... Mingled now with suave little street side coffee shops ... New as I don't think coffee good and proper had hit london ten years ago ... Unless you count the infiltration of star bucks, which really darlings ... I don't think so.
so as you can imagine this is janiney heaven. I am now sitting in a little colombian restaurant in Brixton arcade ...
brixton markets generally are a mixture of the most wondrous fresh produce, fish markets, coffee shops, op shops, wigs, gadgets .... And cries of oi darlin' ....
And i walk in here, to my colombian lunch place, nearly all the punters are south american and i get to have a blast from the past with my South american trip .. South american cuisine is not exactly proliic anywhere i have seen ... So this is just gorgeous and quirky and highly authentic.,.....
FReaking delicious!!! can't believe it. Frijoles, rice, beef, scrambled egg and the thing that totally tops it off and flew me straight back to colombia ... The salsa picante and the arreppa! Did I say I am in heaven??
Love it ... With the planes flying overhead, the ambulance sirens flying by, the latin rhythms then around And about thrre is the organic fruit juice shop, free trade community shops with the 'give and take' table ... And very edgy eclectic mix of every shape, size, ethnicity and persuasion of interesting looking people!!! He he.
Next stop is the little place right around the corner that says 'best coffee in brixton' ... And now i am here, my god ... It is!!! The Anzac biscuits on the counter clued me in, and so was unsurprised (and rather proud) that the guy was an aussie. The five punters that flowed through my table all concurred that it was bloody good coffee .
I sit Down at one of the few tables. Which get shared because there are more people than table space and instantly get chatting to the punters ,,,, after a couple of mad english men asking if you have to have an iPad to be allowed to sit at this table cheekily engage ,,,, we have a laugh and then the canadian girl and i strike up a conversation. She's been living here for Three years and just finished her art degree ,,, and lo and behold she is a yoga teacher!!! by the end of our chat I have the address of the best yoga place in Camden and her phone and email!!! so sweet . funny how these things work hey?
The canadian girl said 'what is it about you aussies ... Are you just good at everything???' (referring to the great coffee) He he thinks me... Then the english guy said 'yeah .. I heard the kiwis and aussies are getting so obsessed with coffee ...they even have barista competitions that are Full on ( like der ... That's meant to be newsworthy??) I told him my local coffee place in hobart has a coffee menu and tasting notes to help me choose the blend i want for the day!
Sigh ... I miss this stuff i realize sydney had nothing Ike this either ... I have a sneaking suspicion that melbourne might though :)
alright ... I thought i had heard it all ,.. And from my last time here in Brixton ,,, being asked for money at many a turn by the abundance of homeless bods... I am reminded again whilst sitting at my coffee table, by this beat up looking woman that 'I need to get a bus ticket please mam' ,,, 'please help me', she had a scar on her nose, a red face and eye ... She sounded desperate and continued ... 'he just hit me i am leaving, I need to get home, I live in middlesex, you are the only one who has listened to me, please help....' when I look her in the eye and pause she continues .... "I will give you my name and address mam, please...."
I looked Her straight in to the eye for a long time, and thought 'con?' ,,, give her money or not? of course she's faking it, she's a great salesperson, yet, I had so totally engaged with this woman, I thought, ok, here you go, 2 quid .... She said thank you it is four forty . I said well, here is 2 and all the best i hope that Helps .... I got to be generous anyway... Bless her ...,
She probably saw my camera an thought, ahhh here we go then!!!
So I found my bus home eventually after the aussie guy told me i was the friendliest customer they had ever had, he he, must be the hick Tasmanian not yet bruised out of me by the nonchalance and solitary nature of normal too-busy-to-engage Londoner mentality .....
margie and dave take me to their local pub with their mates and we chat about factoral combinations of three letter urls, And god knows what else, then wash that down with a good ole English indian curry. bloody brilliant
By the time i fall in to bed after 12 with my alarm set for 4.20 am, I am beginning to feel my travels, my time zones, my jet lag and my lack of sleep creep up ...
so little wonder i managed it out in to toulouse today for lunch, then fell asleep at 2 pm ..... To awake at 11pm .... Now i am here in the lobby of my hotel, listening to the abundant night life of toulousians, ready to go back up for more sleep,.... I will then be refreshed hopefully for the next week's adventures.
Loads of love
J
Ps i saw my little spunk muppet out and about on facebook!! Thanks so much sonja for looking after him.
Pps i am iPad keyboardily challenged so thats why the capitalization and punctuation sucks on these blogs .... You get the picture anyway i hope :)
OMG I am in love again. I remember why I loved london so much for all those years.
Last night i landed at heathrow and got myself on the Picadilly line, late, thanks to signal failure, to meet margie at covent garden at the end of the opera. I had been hoping to join her at intermission but alas, i was too late ... So i ask the english dudes along the way 'where is The Globe pub?' ... And the old guy walks me over all the while in his broad english accent, talking about Tasmania an how he hasn't been yet ... Wants to.
i am already in heaven at being in central london with the cobbled streets and the beautiful old buildings, REAL pubs and interesting and varied little shops .... I open the door to the pub, huge red suitcase in toe, and the beaming barman greets me in his very sexy italian accent 'so you must have just arrived from Australia!' ... 'is it that obvious?' says me, wondering if the trademark freckles and sun damaged skin, which usually make an Aussie stick out like dogs balls on the tube (against all the pristine sun deprived english or glowing olive skins on the Europeans) .
He he, no your friend Margie asked me to call her when you arrive ,... So he hands me his iPhone and i pluck her number out ...
That sounds like margie, quickly and charismatically wooing the barman to go out of his way to re-unite us!!
Anyway I am still standing at the bar deciding between the three real english ales he just poured me to taste when she arrives ....
I could feel her beaming smile before she even came through the door ... And next she was beside me giving me a huge and lovely hug. MArgie and i met on the back of a Turkish dolmus (bus) on the black sea coast in 1996!!! we hit it off instantly and I looked her up when i got back to London and she so kindly put myself and traveling companion Ange up in her west london flat (in the ceiling) to co-habitate with herself and her two raving vegan/swedish/canadian flatmates!!
anyway back to the globe, we shared a pint, and a chat (god, where to start?) and soon we were in a big ole double decker heading home to their little south london flat and a warm cosy and lovely welcome by her partner Dave (also now, long lost friend) and Barbarella, their 18 year old Ginger cat who drools all over me whenever he revs up a loud purrrrrr.
After more chats, pasta and some wine, 1.30 am, sleep was welcome with it 24 hours since I woke in Thailand to hop on the plane.
the new day dawned and with my hosts off to work, the only thing i wanted to do was walk over to my old home and playground, Brixton.
Brixton still rocks!!! freaking yay ,,, it has gotten better!!! I love it. A mixture of all the old greasy spoon cafes and pubs and 'offies'... Mingled now with suave little street side coffee shops ... New as I don't think coffee good and proper had hit london ten years ago ... Unless you count the infiltration of star bucks, which really darlings ... I don't think so.
so as you can imagine this is janiney heaven. I am now sitting in a little colombian restaurant in Brixton arcade ...
brixton markets generally are a mixture of the most wondrous fresh produce, fish markets, coffee shops, op shops, wigs, gadgets .... And cries of oi darlin' ....
And i walk in here, to my colombian lunch place, nearly all the punters are south american and i get to have a blast from the past with my South american trip .. South american cuisine is not exactly proliic anywhere i have seen ... So this is just gorgeous and quirky and highly authentic.,.....
FReaking delicious!!! can't believe it. Frijoles, rice, beef, scrambled egg and the thing that totally tops it off and flew me straight back to colombia ... The salsa picante and the arreppa! Did I say I am in heaven??
Love it ... With the planes flying overhead, the ambulance sirens flying by, the latin rhythms then around And about thrre is the organic fruit juice shop, free trade community shops with the 'give and take' table ... And very edgy eclectic mix of every shape, size, ethnicity and persuasion of interesting looking people!!! He he.
Next stop is the little place right around the corner that says 'best coffee in brixton' ... And now i am here, my god ... It is!!! The Anzac biscuits on the counter clued me in, and so was unsurprised (and rather proud) that the guy was an aussie. The five punters that flowed through my table all concurred that it was bloody good coffee .
I sit Down at one of the few tables. Which get shared because there are more people than table space and instantly get chatting to the punters ,,,, after a couple of mad english men asking if you have to have an iPad to be allowed to sit at this table cheekily engage ,,,, we have a laugh and then the canadian girl and i strike up a conversation. She's been living here for Three years and just finished her art degree ,,, and lo and behold she is a yoga teacher!!! by the end of our chat I have the address of the best yoga place in Camden and her phone and email!!! so sweet . funny how these things work hey?
The canadian girl said 'what is it about you aussies ... Are you just good at everything???' (referring to the great coffee) He he thinks me... Then the english guy said 'yeah .. I heard the kiwis and aussies are getting so obsessed with coffee ...they even have barista competitions that are Full on ( like der ... That's meant to be newsworthy??) I told him my local coffee place in hobart has a coffee menu and tasting notes to help me choose the blend i want for the day!
Sigh ... I miss this stuff i realize sydney had nothing Ike this either ... I have a sneaking suspicion that melbourne might though :)
alright ... I thought i had heard it all ,.. And from my last time here in Brixton ,,, being asked for money at many a turn by the abundance of homeless bods... I am reminded again whilst sitting at my coffee table, by this beat up looking woman that 'I need to get a bus ticket please mam' ,,, 'please help me', she had a scar on her nose, a red face and eye ... She sounded desperate and continued ... 'he just hit me i am leaving, I need to get home, I live in middlesex, you are the only one who has listened to me, please help....' when I look her in the eye and pause she continues .... "I will give you my name and address mam, please...."
I looked Her straight in to the eye for a long time, and thought 'con?' ,,, give her money or not? of course she's faking it, she's a great salesperson, yet, I had so totally engaged with this woman, I thought, ok, here you go, 2 quid .... She said thank you it is four forty . I said well, here is 2 and all the best i hope that Helps .... I got to be generous anyway... Bless her ...,
She probably saw my camera an thought, ahhh here we go then!!!
So I found my bus home eventually after the aussie guy told me i was the friendliest customer they had ever had, he he, must be the hick Tasmanian not yet bruised out of me by the nonchalance and solitary nature of normal too-busy-to-engage Londoner mentality .....
margie and dave take me to their local pub with their mates and we chat about factoral combinations of three letter urls, And god knows what else, then wash that down with a good ole English indian curry. bloody brilliant
By the time i fall in to bed after 12 with my alarm set for 4.20 am, I am beginning to feel my travels, my time zones, my jet lag and my lack of sleep creep up ...
so little wonder i managed it out in to toulouse today for lunch, then fell asleep at 2 pm ..... To awake at 11pm .... Now i am here in the lobby of my hotel, listening to the abundant night life of toulousians, ready to go back up for more sleep,.... I will then be refreshed hopefully for the next week's adventures.
Loads of love
J
Ps i saw my little spunk muppet out and about on facebook!! Thanks so much sonja for looking after him.
Pps i am iPad keyboardily challenged so thats why the capitalization and punctuation sucks on these blogs .... You get the picture anyway i hope :)
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