MANNERS AND OTHER MATTERS

I am a tourist in Monte Carlo (photo a fellow tourist 2013) Three days ago, I returned to Australia after a seven week sojourn in France, during which I completed a four week French language immersion program at the Institute de Français in Villefranche-sur-Mer. I have written about my observations of the wonderful Institut in recent posts. Jet stream from aircraft sending a "kiss" to my apartment in Villefranche-sur-Mer (photo LP 2013) The course was followed by a two week mother/son “road trip” firstly through Provence, and then through the wine growing regions of Bordeaux. My son and I,  both “foodies”, challenged ourselves by attempting to emulate some of the beautiful meals we shared. While visiting the fresh food markets in the little towns and stocking up on provisions,  I practised my French with the stall owners while he chose the various vegetables, fruits, fish, fruits de mer,  poultry and meats with which we would try and reconstru...

Villefranche-sur-Mer, as seen from  Cap Ferrat (Photo LP 2013) After almost seven weeks my sojourn in France is ending in a few days.  Having spent short holidays in France over the past 30 years, I wanted to stay for a longer period and to have the opportunity to live like a local, albeit a transient one.  My month long course at the Institut de français in Villefranche-sur-Mer enabled me, for five weeks, to mix within the welcoming community of that ville...to share their market, their boulangerie, their boucher, their inclement weather, and their daily greetings as I would commence my walk up the hill to my "school" each morning.  The teachers and administration personnel at the Institut were, each and every one of them, encouraging of we students, even while they corrected our language and at times laughed with us over our mistakes.  The two teachers who conducted my class, Intermediate 3, over the four...

Institut de Fran çais, Villefranch sur Mer (photo Tripadvisor) I am leaving this afternoon on a 25 hour trip from Perth, Western Australia to Nice in France, to take a one month language immersion course at the Institut de Fran ç ais in Villefranch-sur-Mer. My son will then join me for two weeks to travel through Provence and then onto the wine growing areas around Bordeaux. While having spent a lot of time in France over the years on short holidays, I have never had the chance to immerse myself in the language and the culture, to have the opportunity to "live like a local" at least for the four weeks in Villefranche.  I will be shopping at the markets, finding my way on the local public transport, attending church on Easter Sunday...and cooking to fill my little apartment in the Old Town of Villefranche with soothing and comforting smells while discovering new tastes and recipes. Near St  É million (photo LP 2006) My first two weeks will be spent al...

A label from a delicious chicken from Brittany, October 2011 (taken by the author) I am having a day in which I am missing Europe. Particularly France and Switzerland.   For the past five years I have visited a friend there and the visit itself, the expectation of it, and the time spent reminiscing about it once I returned, have defined how each year evolved.  The coast of Brittany (photo the author October 2011) I miss the planning of airline schedules, accommodation bookings, hire car reservations…and clothes packing.    For many people, these things are tedious and worthy of immediate memory rejection.    But for me they were the cornerstones of my anticipation...of looking forward to sharing time with my friend and my enjoyment in experiencing other cultures, cuisines, fashion trends, languages, and even the weather. My visit in October last year included days in Paris but we had chosen to spend the majority of our time in Brittany......

The Birthday Invitation It has been a frantic family week with a birthday party, an engagement and a funeral. Last weekend I hosted my daughter's 30th birthday celebrations.  She and her partner flew in from Sydney to Perth for the long weekend, to catch up with our family and her friends, and to party on Saturday night.  The theme of the party was  taken from the invitation which she sent...Art Deco'ish in style. I researched about the music, cocktails, food and floral arrangements of the period...it was great fun, and quite enlightening. The color theme of the period was typically black, white, silver and red so those colours featured in the table linen, the vases, and the flowers. A decorated table The cocktails were made by my son from lists of typical cocktails...and he chose The Brooklyn and The Sidecar.  They were delicious but lethally alcoholic and so I restricted myself to one cocktail and then enjoyed the French champagne provided by...

Fresh bamboo shoots, Cairns market (photo the author) On my recent vacation I travelled from my home in Western Australia to visit my daughter in Sydney, on the East coast of Australia, and then northwards to the Gold Coast of Queensland to visit with a friend, and then even further north to stay with another friend in Cairns in tropical Queensland. One of my passions is food…I have judged restaurants for a prestigious national restaurant award programme and I am an habitual food market visitor – whether here in Australia or in Europe. While our markets here are improving with the growth of the sustainable and organic food industry, they are nothing compared to the regular markets in Europe.  I am particularly fond of the markets I visit in France, and my European friends always laugh when they see my eyes light up at the sight of a sign in a village indicating Market Day. Market Day, Leysin, Switzerland (photo the author) While in Sydney my daughter a...

Seafood in Saint Malo  This post is not so much about manners, but my other passion: food.   Sometime it’s nice to write about something which is not necessarily the subject matter, but rather connected to it. I have been back now for six weeks from my month in France;  and it’s been a busy period with television commitments with The Queen’s visit to Australia and preparations for the visit of my companion from Switzerland. Now that I have the time, as he has departed, I have been wandering through all the photos, reliving the wonderful times…and the stunning food experiences. I was there during the “Indian Summer” and even managed to swim in la Manche (The English Channel )on 30 September after a lovely picnic on the beach. Simple but lovely picnic The French were incredulous that they could swim at 5.00 p.m. in the heat; as an Australian, I was delighted to revel in the small waves, the cool water and the gentle salt of a clean sea. One wi...

A sign  on our hotel balcony in Langkawi After being back at home for 5 days after a fabulous week with my daughter in Malaysia, today I am leaving for almost a month in France.  I am joining a very special friend in Paris and we are going to navigate our way through the tiny villages and coastlines of Brittany before, as we say in Australia, “going off the beaten track” to see what else we would like to explore. I am taking my favourite French recipes and some new ones on my IPad so that I can try them with the French seafood, which is so very different to ours Downunder. I absolutely love cooking so I am excited about the many possibilities I have for success, and even perhaps some failures. And I will try some "fusion" experiments with some recipes I picked up in Malaysia. Spicy crab, sauteed stingray, steamboat chicken and more... The food in Malaysia was wonderful.  From the food stalls in Chinatown where we sampled spicy chilli crab, sautéed stingray with saltwater...