Au revoir Toulouse

It’s our last night in France. We decided to spend our last full day in Toulouse wandering the streets in the sunshine. For me, this is one of the highlights of the place. The narrow cobblestone streets allow a meandering path which is bound to uncover hidden gems. 

We detoured into a couple of churches and a museum. The kids saw more death and destruction in half an hour than they have seen in their lifetime. The paintings were huge and absorbing, the sculptures fine.

Our hosts in Toulouse have been gracious and accommodating. They will need a break after a week with 5 thumping kangaroos. There were a couple of rough nights for Marie Jo with both of her grandchildren joining us here. Anna was sick, as were a few of us. It is nice to be with family when you are not at your best.

Before I sign off I’ll leave you with a few French pearls that don’t belong anywhere else. Not since Joseph Smith donned the goggles and put quill to paper, has a greater collection of wisdom been compiled.

Bikes are for everyone. Don’t let a skirt stop you.

French people drive French cars (I guess someone has to).

Shopkeepers are usually friendly. It helps if they hear you talking in English first, so they are more patient with your mix of bad French and hand gestures.

People write cheques here when they are shopping. It’s like Taree in the 90’s.

Smoking is for everyone. It’s like the SCG in the 80’s.

Dog poo seems to appear mysteriously,even with out the presence of a dog.

Bikes are for everyone. Don’t let that baby stop you. There is a basket on the front of your bike.

The Euro still has 1 and 2 cent coins. I think I could make my first million by collecting them, melting them down and constructing post-modern sculptures, and selling them back to the French.

Cheese is like a member of the family. It appears at most meals. It has its own room, or at least its own cupboard.

Don’t open a Landcruiser accessory store here. This is far from the land of the 4x4.

Drinking coffee? Go for an espresso.  Anything else is risky. Drink it like medicine if necessary.

The average Frenchy is more stylish than the average Australian. Alas, no chance of me blending in with the locals.

French rugby fans are the same surprisingly harmonious blend of both bogan and elite. Just like home.

I find it helps to sing a little song each time you get behind the wheel. I repeat the refrain “Driving on the right, driving on the right…” until it sinks in. You may prefer rosary beads.

Bikes are for everyone. Don’t let that pacemaker stop you.

Talk about mixed messaged. In French, a swimming pool is a “piscine” (piss-in) and a garbage bin is a poubelle (belle means beautiful). Need I even mention the Eau de Toilette?

Shops seem to be shut as often as they are open. By the time you find the one you are looking for they will usher you out for their lunchtime break.

Bikes are for everyone. Don’t let that IKEA dining setting flat pack stop you.

There is at least one Church for every Christian in France. I wonder which one they would give me.

Au revoir.

More Kids Journal Entries

Naomi 

Naomi

Kael

Kael

Toulouse

Today the sun has come to the South of France. The climate is warmer and the accent is also different. Sadly, they don’t speak Frenglish like me. We arrived in wild weather at the home of Marie-Jo and Jean Marie and the rain continued for 2 more days. The Garonne river is high with water from the Pyrenees Mountains.

This is our taste of life in le grande ville. The apartment sits behind the street a hundred meters from Pont Neuf. There is evidence of the original construction with timber beams and a central spiral concrete staircase. Ascending the stairs from the garage underneath, the main living space is open plan with a mezzanine atop the staircase. An open air courtyard gives light to all 4 bedrooms and living space. That sounds like an amateur real estate brochure, but forgive me, it is a beautiful home. The walls are lined with various artworks. Their nest is usually empty but we are very happy here for the remainder of our trip.

Up until now we have been lying low and catching up with some school work. This morning shadowed Marie-Jo as she shopped at the local fresh food market.

The narrow streets are lined with little shops, both French and North African. Lissa spotted a second hand clothing shop and I ventured into a small Algerian café with some north African craftwork. The lady was so nice to me and the kids, so I bought some sweet baklava for us all. It is hard to resist all the goodies. I think it is an true test of your residential status: If you can walk into a boulangerie/patisserie and exit with only a baguette, you are a local.

Marie-Jo’s daughter Amandine lives in Cornibarrieu on the outskirts of Toulouse. Her husband Andreas works close by for Airbus who is based in Toulouse. Amandine cooked us dinner on Tuesday night and we spent the afternoon raiding one of the cherry trees (one of the delights of the French climate).

Andy also lured us into a post dinner sauna. 85 degrees in the sauna then 15 degrees in the swimming pool certainly blew off the cobwebs. Saunas are very popular in Andy’s home, Germany. Swimming costumes however, are usually reserved for swimming.

Amandine has 2 children, Arthur 4 and Anna 1. They spent the day here yesterday as 

Amandine was at work. We were able to escape a bout of “cabin fever” with a walk to the park. Typically, Kael wasted no time joining a game of tips with some local kids. This park also has a carousel which the 4 bigger children enjoyed. 
The shopping centre ride is embarrassing cousin of the real carousel.

 Lissa and Marie Jo had a night out to see a Belge modern dance performance. Jean Marie took the boys to see the quarter final Rugby match between Castres and Montpellier. It is a testament to French culture that no talent was wasted on the cheerleadering troupe. Castres were dominant but had to hold on to their lead in the last 20 mins after their lock was dubiously sent off for a high tackle. I’ve seen worse tackles at a budget fishing shop.

We are all feeling a little run down right now but the warm weather has boosted our energy. 

This weekend may not be so fine, but flea markets will do the trick.

The Fete cont.

Rain greeted us as we woke on Saturday morning. It came a little late to turn the weekend into “Woodstock”. Tents holding up ok, but raincoats and undercover activities have come into play. A giant scroll of drawings has grown to about 5 meters at last count. The drawings and paper cranes are destined for Lille to lift the spirits of Papie and Mamie. Fishing is an all weather sport.

It is normal to struggle half asleep to the breakfast table and receive a greeting as warm as the day you arrived in France. The love flows freely at the reunion. There is much to catch up on.

Lissa remembers her reaction as she first saw her young cousins dip their bread with nutella into a bowl of chocolate milk. The breakfast of champions. 

Favourite meal each fete for me is Moules Frites. Mussels cooked in stock and butter, served with French fries. The perfect match with a Belge Beer. It’s a slurp-a-thon, but we are family.

The crowd is thinning, like Sarkosy’s ego. It is a remarkable feat to gather the family together in such numbers and harmony. Anne’s children Valentine (17) and Thibault (15) have been playing with the kids. Our kids remember them well from their visit to Australia a few years ago. Almost all of the Lissa’s Aunties and Uncles have made the long trip down under. For the French, Australia is a strange faraway land. It is just as strange and faraway to the ones who have visited. 


The kids each received a little leather bag from Uncle Raphael. Their bags will be a constant companion but they will miss their new friends.

The Fete

With clear skies for the first 2 days the Fete has been a real success. The only ingredient missing is Lissa’s Mamie and Pappy. They remain in Lille, Pappy’s needing time to recover from some recent treatment. Last night’s extravaganza stretched into the early hours with champagne and conversation extending beyond midnight. There would usually be spontaneous karaoke and dancing, but the Grandparent’s absence has mellowed the festivities. This family is full of close friendships and there is great affection for Pappy and Mamie.

Anne has lots of space and has renovated her property to accommodate the family with extra  bathrooms and kitchen. A make shift tent community houses most of the pilgrims with a privileged few housed indoors. Entertaining the crowd is quite an enterprise. Meals are shared around tables in the barn. There is lazy French breakfast of bread and bowls of tea/coffee. The 5kg bottle of Nutella is getting low. Lunchtime is long and social, dinner more simple. This is the way of the French, at least on holidays. There is sunlight light until after 10pm.

The kids gather in various combinations to ride bikes and play games. The children of Lissa’s cousins number 11. The youngest cousins, particularly Lucas have been doing a great job of bringing them together. With a few brief exceptions there has been harmony amongst the little ones. In true French style a group of bike riders, young and old, will often take off to enjoy the country roads. Kael and Naomi each had a turn riding Thibault’s horse.

Saturday night’s entertainment came from a Husband and Wife team of professional entertainers. They brought funny songs and musical stories much to delight of the audience. Who can resist a piano accordion?

If you can picture the level of expression in a normal conversation in French, imagine French Cabaret. I barely understood a word. It seems my plan to go to bed one night and wake up speaking French is not working. Like a good opera though, language is no barrier when there is music. 

Les Machines

NANTES part 2

Naomi has made a quick recovery. Her face is only a little tender with most of the scabs now gone. Her confidence has returned and she is happily playing with the cousins here at the reunion.

We finished our time in Nantes with a few tough days of school work. Lissa has done a lot of the grind. Some days are an uphill battle but we are getting through the work. Lois and Arthur head off to school at 9am and return at midday for lunch. The afternoon classes are from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. There is no school on Wednesdays.

Tuesday’s excursion into Nantes centre was very memorable. We joined Lissa’s cousin Quentin at his workplace for lunch. This is no ordinary workplace. His creative ability has found a home in a team working on some giant moving sculptures “Les Machines de LÍle Nantes”. The main attraction is a giant mechanical elephant about 16m high. It moves around the foreshore of the island a few times each day. There is space to climb aboard for the ride but the best view is from the ground as the giant plods along. Children squeal as the trunk lifts in their direction waiting for a squirt of water. The size is impressive but the detail is mind blowing. Carvings of wood make the head, body and limbs covering a mechanical frame. Photos and video won’t do justice to the spectacle but it may save me 1000 words. Work is continuing on a giant multi-level carousel with plans for an enormous tree big enough for crowds to explore. Kael was chosen to demonstrate the caterpillar which will move along one of it’s limbs. It’s a kids world.

 

For our final dinner with Marion and Thomas we took the tram into the centre of Nantes. After a walk around the Chateau Des Ducs de Bretagne we enjoyed a meal at a real French Brasserie. La Cigale (the Cicada) was covered in a mix of art deco tapestry and tiled walls featuring little cicada people (of course).

We were on best behaviour. There were plenty of attentive wait staff on hand which was important as we were outnumbered by the children, again. Food was great. For the kids marinated raw tuna or goat’s cheese entrée, fish or chicken and icecream. Adults enjoyed cold corgette soup, fillet steak and crème brule. It was a treat to cap off our time with our friends. Marion and Lissa get on like sisters. Thomas is great company.

In convoy, we made our way south to Oulmes. The “fete” had been planned for Thursday to Sunday. Family members had already begun to descend on Anne and Jacques’ home, the main festivities scheduled for Friday night. The annual family get together is a crazy mix of food, drink, singing, games, walks, plenty of talking and a few more drinks. It is the place to catch up with cousins, aunties and uncles and the source of much family folklore. Let’s hope for clear skies.

Kids Journal Entries

Kael's Journal

Kael's Drawing

Naomi's Journal

Kael's Journal

Nantes

Nantes has greeted us with 3 days of sunshine. The wind has been blowing but it has taken the clouds and rain away. The sun is strong enough to produce a little sunburn but not strong enough to bring out the full summer wardrobe.

Marion and Thomas are in the process of moving to their new house in Indre. It needs some work before they move in including a new kitchen added onto the back. It is a 3 storey building on a long narrow block extending back towards the Loire. It will give them more bedrooms inside and out as well as a close proximity to Nantes city centre. Nantes is further down the Loire from St Clement, about 50km from the Atlantic. It is the 6^th biggest city in France at about 800 000 people.

This is Brittany. The land of gallette and cider. Gallette is the darker, denser and savoury brother of the crepe (reminds me alot of my brother CJ). It is made with buckwheat flour and water and is served with butter, cheese, eggs, ham, sausage in different combinations. Yesterday at the market in Indre we enjoyed some galette saucisse and crepe sucre. We started the day with a trip to the “Vide Grenier” which roughly translates to: “Let’s clear the junk from the attic”. Lissa was on the hunt for some clothes and she was not disappointed. Lissa’s cousin Samuel and wife Stephanie and children Hugo and Laura (10 and 6) joined us for a visit to a local amusement park. All 7 children cut loose on the jumping castles, slides, bikes, cars, paddle boats, rope courses and ball pits.

On our first day we headed to the coast near Pornic. The kids were content to collect shells and rocks and little creatures from the rock pools. The afternoons have been long and pleasant so we decided to stop for dinner and some famous Strawberry sorbet. It was here that little Omi took a hard fall on the cobblestone road. Her face was grazed and bruised pretty badly on one side. There was plenty of blood and tears. Being a Dad ain’t easy when your little girl is in pain but Naomi is a tough little chicken. She is healing nicely under the supervision of Nurse Marion.

School is back on today. As the big kids work, Eva is in heaven with the attention of Marion. Imaginary play (and Playmobile) is the key to her heart.