Boom

Thunder and lightening in Paris and finally some rain after many hot dry weeks. I know nothing about meteorology (or even if I have the right word there) but I wonder if being on a larger land mass makes for louder thunder, brighter lightening and a more impressive storm than I've ever seen in NZ. I have actually jumped a couple of times as the thunder has crashed through the night.
I'll quickly finish up telling ya bout my holiday. After Switzerland we drove up towards Strassbourg, but stayed on the German side of the border and went to Europa Park for a two days. I hadn't been to a theme park since I was about 11 and it was so much fun. I screamed my throat sore for the first three rides but it's funny how you get kind of used to the pure terror of plunging down 7 stories and then going upside down and all at terrifying speeds. Trop cool.
And the teacup ride, well that was definitely some scary times.

Last weekend Dave from Dunedin was in Paris for a couple of days so we got to catch up play tourist for a couple of hours. He takes even more photos than I do, so it was good not to get told off for having my camera out all the time.

And I found a little video -listen for the bells!

Now where was I?

I was telling you about my holidays, okay so we got up to Cassis and now I'm going to fast forward a little. Suffice to say that after Toulon I went to Avignon for a night. Cute place, I recommend. After that I trained through Lyon and Geneva to Zurich. Here I met up with my lovely friend Leo and her family. She and I and her two younger brothers had two very fun days trotting around Zurich (and yes Malcs we went to Grossmunster and spent a long time trying to identify all the biblical scenes on the big bronze doors.) Actually Grossmunster was really great because you can climb up into one of the towers and get great 360 views of the city. One day we took the train around the lake to Lucerne and were planning to take the gondola up to the top of a mountain whose name I forget...Anyway it was going to cost millions of dollars to take the gondola (maybe I exaggerate a little) so we decided to just walk up as far as we could instead.
It was so lovely and green and Swiss as you will see in the photos. We were walking through fields of wildflowers, the sound of cowbells resounding round the rolling meadows. It was very idyllic and I felt like I was Heidi. I like Switzerland, and I can already tell that I am going to feel very at home in Austria! (I have an Austrian grandfather and am hopping to visit all the family there in June.)

coupe et brushing=nouvelle tête

I have a gaping hole in my wallet and a nice cool breeze on the back of my neck. If you didn't figure it out from yesterdays post, I had a haircut today. I had tried to find a cheapish hairdresser, as it is ridiculously expensive to get a snip here. Not helped at all by the fact that I can't help but convert the price in Euros into the weak and puny NZ$. I judged entirely by appearance and booked in at a shabby looking little salon with late 70s decor and a reasonable looking price list. What they don't tell you though is that they are going to charge you the same again for the 'shampooing et brushing'. What the...! This is all part of the service people! It's just a blob of shampoo and some uneccessary fluffing with the sèche a cheveux! Grr. I should have gone to the swanky salon next door and paid the same and maybe got a cup of tea or something.
However, grumbling aside, I really like the result and it got the thumbs up from the kids (who always tell you the truth about your appearance whether you like it or not!) I will try to forget the fact that I could have probably bought a return flight to London and just enjoy my 'tête de poupée'. Yes, that's what the hairdresser said when he was done, go look it up in the dictionary.
Here it is, my new tête, along with my best poupée face.

Tomorrow I am going to say goodbye to some friends of mine. They have been with me a long time but I think it's time to cut to the chase and get them off by back once and for all. It's knot that I don't like them but when things get hairy sometimes it's best to part ways.
So hey, Bob's your uncle and I'll let you know how the separation went tomorrow.
Confused? And what's more this photo has nothing at all to do with my loony ramblings, it's just a house I liked in Cassis.

Towards the end of my stay in Toulon I took a day trip to a little town called Cassis. It's right on the coast, about half an hour by train from Toulon, and I really love it there. I visited the town back in 2004 when I was in France on exchange. I'm not sure quite how we stumbled across it but Mum and I stayed there for a couple of days and I enjoyed it so much that I knew I wanted to go back if possible. Also I was absolutely desperate for a swim and knew that the spectacular Calanques would offer sparkling turquoise water and relative tranquility!
The day I visited it was stinking hot and there were heaps of people due to it being school holidays. I avoided the worst of it by seeking repose in the Calanques. The Calanques are kind of like little fjords I suppose, they cut into the white limestone creating spectacular cliffs and little bays. It's a bit of a hike to access them by foot but well worth it, and after slipping your way across the soapy rocks in the hot sunshine the crystal waters are fantastic!
This is where I swam:
There were only a few hardy kids paddling around when I went into the water (the water is pretty nippy all year round, but nothing for one who is accustomed to swimming at St Clair!) but I think I started a trend as soon everyone was leaving their little rocky picnic spots and plunging into the green. Sublime! And I'm glad I only saw the schools of little pink jellyfish after I got out.

The beautiful Cassis

yum
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

...and more Cassis

Look at the colour of that water!
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

I'm back

I'm back from a really wonderful holiday. It started slowly but ended up being jam-packed and covering three countries. I think I might spread it over a couple of posts, but I have put up lots of new photos (follow photo link) so you can skip ahead in the story if you like. So I started in Toulon where I was warmly welcomed and spent 3 lovely days discovering the region. The weather was fantastic and it was so nice to see the sea everyday. Highlights were: The medieval village of Castellet, which was very tiny and quaint and looked out over rolling hills of olive trees, vineyards and terracotta-coloured houses.

Going to another sweet little village to see a kind of blossom festival, much colour and noise and loads of people. And a steep climb up to the top of this village revealed the crumbling ruins of a castle and more sweeping views out over the Var region. I also enjoyed eating a lot of avocados and seeing a woman walking a ferret on a leash. Why is this suddenly a link? i do not know and I can't figure out how to change it so I'll leave this post for now.

une pause

Tomorrow I leave the sunny haze of Paris for the (hopefully) clear blue skies of the Mediterranean. I'm hopping on the TGV (an awesomely speedy train) down to Toulon, a port town between Marseille and Nice. There I will be staying with a French couple who I don't yet know, but if their son is anything to go by, will be lovely. I'll stay there for four days and then move on to Avignon. This was a bit on a random stopover but it's a town I have always wanted to go to, and I like being able to explore a place all by myself. I'll have one night there and then continue the train journey to Zurich. My neighbour Léo will be staying there with her father and invited me along. I have no idea what to expect as I know nothing of Zurich but it should be fun!
This will also be a great week for my french, with no anglophiles around to tempt me into idle english chatter. I'm only taking one thick novel with me - it's french, and apart from that two tiny bags into which I'm struggling to pack everything. So if the coat-necessitating colds of winter return, or a pigeon poops on my one pair of pants...well, tough!

Since my lovely long and social easter weekend I have spent the last three days mostly alone. It's a been a pleasant and peaceful time, sleeping late, wandering around my neighbourhood which is leafy and calm and garnished with beds of yellow tulips. I've bought baguette and eaten it dunked in chocolat chaud for breakfast, and then in soft boiled egg for lunch, and finally with cheese for dinner. Yes I really can eat a whole one of those puppies in 12 hours! I've drunk so many cups of tea to wash down the dark, rich, and absolutely divine easter chocolate. I've stood on the nearest 'pont' over the Seine and watched the ducklings paddle around the houseboats. I've delighted in it being warm enough to wear a dress and have trotted to the park to read my book and enjoy the sun on my legs. I've watched the electoral campaigns/ scandals and debates as they have played out on tv - am finding the whole thing far more interesting than I thought I would! I've just been taking pleasure in slowing right down and being content with my little Paris bubble.
Ah, sigh, I think I might just miss her over the next week.

Okey doke, so the camera battery is charged, my refrigerator is empty and the departure hour checked and rechecked. Just need some good shut-eye now. So au revoir for the next 8 days or so, I'll leave you with one of my favourite poems...

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

-e.e cummings

technology

wow, I'm really glad that I managed to get that video working. This was from a couple of weekends ago when Tim was passing through Paris for a few days. We didn't get a great view due to the low cloud but there was this really sweet old guy playing a harp which added to the atmosphere of the place.

Visiting Sacre Coeur

Joyeux Paques!

Coming just a little late, but happy Easter to everyone! I hope you all had a safe and relaxing long weekend. I'm not sure where to begin with mine! It has been a delicious, chocolate fueled weekend thanks to Le Nôtre, a very chic deli with amazing food. I was given this scrumptious cake - it's called 'Pleasure' - and chocolate eggs, by the family. Melt in the mouth delicious! I popped into one of the local Le Nôtre boutiques to buy an Easter gift for my friend Caroline, and watched in amazement as the woman in front of me spent 80€ on a giant egg for her daughter. I bought the cheapest thing I could find!
I spent Saturday night just north of Paris in the cute little village where Caroline lives. In the morning we roamed the local market, bought a picnic and drove a bit further north to the town of Chantilly. We sat in the sun eating skittles and took some photos of the chateau from outside the walls. Sadly it was too expensive to visit as there was a horsey show happening in the grounds which bumped the prices up.
Eager to visit something beautiful we stopped in at the Abbey de Royaumont on the way home. I'm so glad we did because it was a gorgeous tranquil place and looked stunning in the last afternoon light with all the new green growth of spring.

There are lot more photos if you follow the link! We drove into Paris for the evening and went out dancing at Barrio Latino, a very cool cafe near the Bastille. It comprises 3 stories in a beautifully renovated old building, full of curvy old settees and velvet footstools. And once the dancing starts...well if you really want details you'll have to email me, my inbox was so sadly meagre today...ah bribery.
Today was hot, hot, hot, and we picnicked again, but this time on the Champs de Mars with the Hillsong crew. I haven't actually been to Hillsong yet as it is on Friday nights and I work, but they are trying to launch a Sunday service so hopefully I can start going eventually. There were about 70 of us and it was so much fun, playing volleyball on grass, eating a lot more chocolate and meeting people from all around the world...Russia, America, Australia, South Africa, India - even two from New Zealand!

A touch of Venice

Venetian Festival
Originally uploaded by nz fille.

The sun was out today and so were some funky venetian outfits. Down by the marina in the Bastille there was a mini Venetian Festival; everyone had their camera's out and with good reason. There were costumes of every colour and the blossoming trees along the waterside were gorgeous. More pics if you follow my photo link.

Virtual Visit

Just for 'm'amuser' here is a little pictorial tour of my neighbourhood. All the pics are taken from a moving car, so excuse the quality! The journey begins at the periphery of Paris and ends up on my street...