Paroissien’s in Paris

 

After a very complex bit of packing for our trip back to Melbourne, ie  2 computers, and basic necessities for a weekend in Louviers, then 2 weeks in Melbourne, (warm weather or cold!!) we took a taxi to St Lazare station – wimps really, we could have caught the metro, but with two wheelie bags of medium size, one computer bag on wheels, my overnight bag for the plane and Ian’s overnight for the plane, we took the easy way out.,     Why do we travel with so much stuff – but that’s another story.

 

We were at the station with an hour to spare, only to find there were a couple of hundred other people and seats on the station for 15!! Despite inefficiencies in other areas of French organisation, their train systems are terrific and our train duly left on time, packed to overflowing with people and bags.

 

Many people left the train at Vernon , where they were catching the bus to Giverney.    We traveled on for a further 30 minutes, alighted at our station, and were confronted by a long and very steep set of stairs to get off the platform.     We managed all the various bags, looked back to see one poor girl at the bottom with no chance of getting her case up on her own – and there was no one else left.     Whizzed down to help her up , walked along the passageway, and there was the other equally steep set of stairs to go down again – helped this lass again, walked out of the station, only to see our red bus driving off down the road.   Oh no, when was the next one??   One and a half hours to wait!!!   Okay, how to get a taxi.    We managed to get three numbers from the Ticket lady at the station, looked up a few phrases in our French Pocket book, took a deep breath and dialed the numbers.    First one was a message, second one was a message, with no chance of us interpreting.   Last number, phew, monsieur answered and with my best French eg Je voudrais un taxi at Val de Leill station., je vais a Louviers.     Bless that man, he said he would be there in 15 minutes (at least I think that was what he said – I only understood the quinzes minute) and voila, he transported us direct to our hotel in Louviers,     We explored the ancient city, much of it built in the 12-13^th centuries but bombed badly by the Germans during the 2^nd world war before they occupied the city,  so a real mixture of architecture.    And the Church was quite amazing – its architectural style is known as flamboyant Gothic – and flamboyant it certainly was, complete with flying buttresses and the most intricately carved columns and spires.    Sadly it has been neglected over the years and a great deal of money is required to really bring it up to its former glory – a big ask when the town has only 20000 people.     It must be a dilemna for local and Provincial authorities as these churches are really part of their heritage.

 

Sunday we set off to have lunch with Susan Loomis – she lives in a very old house on Rue Tatin of course,(the title of her book) just across the road from the church.    It was originally a convent and the oldest section, built in a similar manner to Tudor style houses.    We met our other guests – a family of 4 from Atlanta ,  celebrating their dad’s 60^th birthday, and a mum daughter, also from American and a couple of Susan’s friends.     It was a wonderful afternoon – aperitifs of apple cider, fresh radishes dipped in salt, a pate which was so smooth it was nearly a mousse.    Then inside to the large dining table – a cucumber and cream cheese entrée, delicious and cleansing, followed by a guinea hen, similar to chicken but a deeper flavour, with a potato and artichoke dish and grilled endive.     Mouth watering.     A green salad followed as is the custom in France, then the cheese board – many different varieties – soft and hard, but too many to describe here.    And of course there were different wines to match the different foods.   Oh and to finish, a tiny glass of Calvados.    Three hours of wonderful and great company.

We had previously arranged for their local Taxi man, Monsieur Eric, to take us direct to the airport for our 10.20pm flight, except, that in the morning we had a SMS from Singapore Airlines to say that the plane would be delayed and would not be leaving until 1.15am.    What could we do, but continue with the plans and hope that the plane arrived in Singapore in time for our connection to Melbourne – Ian had a School AGM to chair.    So I am sitting at the airport and enjoying a chat.   Will transfer to the blog site when I arrive in Melbourne .

 

I must admit most large international airports have a great array of shops to help while away the time – but not Charles de Gaulle terminal 1.    But Singapore Airlines was rising to the occasion as usual, and bussing all the passengers to a nearby hotel for dinner.    Needless to say, after our long lunch we certainly didn’t need any more food.  So here we are, Ian is writing a report and I am about to finish here and delve into my book.

 

And talking of books, I am reading the book I mentioned last week by Bryce Corbett called A Town Like Paris.  It is terrific – well written and highly entertaining.     The chapter about his mum ringing every Sunday morning while he was trying to sleep off his bachelor hangover was hilarious and would be appreciated by all mothers whose sons/daughters have  traveled  far from home, (especially as he wasn’t at all interested in whether a new roundabout was going to be put in at the end of his mothers street!!!)and indeed Ian thought he was writing not just about his mum, but me also!!!     I think I will not show Andrew and David that chapter.

 

Will away – Ian is having a beer and I will perhaps indulge in a little glass of wine – only 4 more hours before we leave – hopefully!!!

PS   We were too late to connect with the flight at 9pm Singapore-Melbourne - so another couple of hours and we managed the 11.30pm flight.    We have arrived in Melbourne - it is very very cold!!!

A quick update on Amsterdam.    The train is so easy, they even served a very nice lunch, with wine and 4 hours later, having crossed two borders, I was in Amsterdam - and not even a glimpse of my passport.     Ian and his team members had a fabulous apartment, right on one of the canals - beautiful tall windows, great big kitchen and even a garden - with a few hardy blossoms peaking through.
Once again, a walking city - the Van Gogh museum is a wonder - a must see, and we queued for 45 minutes to see the Anne Frank house - beautifully presented and very moving.    I feel that our generation is not all that well versed in World War II in Europe - and this was a very moving way to start extend our knowledge.    The amstelkring museum was also worth a visit.   We found a ‘local’ pub for apperitifs, I discovered Coffee Shops not only sell coffee but the stuff you smoke also.     And the dutch still smoke in their restaurants and cafes - you certainly notice it now.   And even the French have respected the change in their law - they just smoke in the street now!!!   And the last night I cooked for the guys - it’s amazing what one can whip up from the local supermarket and they enjoyed the home cookery, a change from restaurants.
So back again to Paris and a continuation of my French classes - my biggest challenge, beside the pronounciation etc. is trying to decide whether a noun is masculine or feminine - is a bridge m or f - and whenever we mention the word ‘pont’ we all want to burst into song - amazing what remembers from school French - Sur la pont, d’Avignon…..

On Monday night I went to a small expat gathering to launch a new book by an Aussie, Bryce Corbett, called ‘A town Like Paris’ - it’s his story of coming to Paris and after much adventure he met, and subsequently married a Lido dancer - and she’s an Aussie also.   It will keep me well entertained on the plane to Melb. next week.   And it was great to enjoy a glass of wine and speak English!!!  - Hope Thesaurus has this book Judy - it sold out it’s first printing.    And some great detective fiction by Cara Black, set in Paris, eg Murder in the Bastille, etc.  A good read

Yesterday we woke up to really warm weather - 19 degrees and sunny and the first time I have ventured forth without the heavy winter coat.   The trees are really green now, especially the Horse Chestnuts with the huge droopy leaves and white flowers.    I decided an explore was called for and sallied forth in the afternoon armed with one of my Paris walks cards.   This took me up the Rue Montaigne - wow, and more wow, every designer you could ever think of, and probably some more,   have their stunning boutiques here - I was a bit short of time so didn’t pop into Cartier this time!!!    But I did find La Maison du Chocolate - they have a reputation for Hot chocolate with rum.   So was just settling into enjoying this luxury (will have to double the cholesterol pills) when a whole tour group of Aussies walked in - no comment!!!  Actually it was fun to have a chat to them all for a while.

Today I explored the St Germain des Pres area - the Rue de Buci is full of market stalls, food shops and restaurants and although a bit touristy, it also embodies much of Paris lift.    And along the way I found the famous Laduree and bought my first Madeleines to try - wow, they are the most delicious melt in the mouth biscuits I have ever tried.  
And I can’t even begin to describe them but they look a little like yo yos, but really soft and squishy, and are made in a variety of colours and flavours.
Unfortunately they can be kept for only 5 days so won’t bring any home this time.  Pity about the cholesterol - don’t French women have this problem!

Cheese - I counted 170 different types in my local supermarket last week - and that’s probably only half of what is available.    And I must correct a comment I made previously about mould.    It’s not mould on the outside but ash - I am not sure of the significance but I will find out and let you all know.

We are off to the famous Bofinger Restaurant tomorrow night with Leah and Mike McGinniss from Melbourne - so looking forward to catching up on Melb. news.    Then Sat. we are going to Louviers, about an hour east of Paris, for a Country lunch - with Susan Loomis of On Rue Tatin fame.     There will apparently be 8 for lunch in her own home so very excited about this.   She will also give us a walking tour of her village.       We are staying in the village overnight, going to the lunch on Sunday, then back to the Paris airport for our plane to Melbourne.

Next time I will be ‘talking’ from Melbourne - can’t wait to see everyone again, and have a game of golf.   There are some things I miss and walking along the beach and a game of golf are just a couple.

Au revoir,  a bientot.
Barb

Hi Everyone

My small round purple table looks terrific on the balcony, complete with slatted wooden fold up chairs - I feel very Parissienne.    What is surprising is that no one else has tables and chairs out - perhaps it’s too cold still.   I also have a beautiful white azalea, full of tiny buds - it was sitting on the table until the wind came through and with one almighty blow, the azalea fell off the table.       My horror on finding it was the thought if it had actually blown off the balcony - could have made a sizable dent in the cars parked below!!  -  the azalea is now on the balcony floor, not on the little table.

My struggle with the tv/dvd player continues…..    As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Ian bought a few dvd’s for me to while away the evenings whilst he was in Amsterdam.    We then couldn’t get them to play in English, despite pushing every button on all three remote controls!!!!  
Well, dear Sam, my apartment manager has come to the rescue again - I have a page of notes but I can now play the videos in English - hey!!   I have just watched The Queen - what a terrific movie, and being a royalist from way back, I loved all the photography of Buckingham Palace, Balmoral and 10 Downing Street etc, not to forget the flowers for Princess Diana - what an amazing time that was.

Big social event today - I met an American chap who runs the Paris Expat web site - what fun to sit and have a glass or two of wine at lunch with an expert on Paris.    They are having a book launch on Monday night - will be interesting to see who goes to these sort of functions - and I will enjoy an evening of speaking in English!!!

Off to Amsterdam by train tomorrow - it’s so many many years since I was there but I don’t suppose the canals have changed all that much.   And hopefully the tulips will be in full bloom.

Au revoir
Barb

I feel like I have been for much longer, and yet every day there is something new to experience ot explore - and will probably be that way until we leave.

Monday, and back to Alliance Francaise for more french lessons - it’s a moving population in our classes as p0eople come and go, but we have a lovely young French teacher and I leave home early enough to have a coffee at a local cafe before classes - if you stand at the counter it costs you E1.80, but if you sit at a table it costs you close to E4.  I stand at the counter, it makes me feel more a local!!!!!

Came out from classes at 12 midday, only to find it teeming down - lovely Korean lass in my class shares her umbrella to the metro.   I decide I just had to have a table for my balcony, seen previously in Habitat, near the Metro.   Chose the most gorgeous purple - will look great on my balcony.  It’s only 2′ diameter (round) but rather a large parcel when the legs are included.   But lightweight, I can manage, so off I go to the metro - a 10 minute walk to my platform, travel to Passy (my station), walk up towards my street when the heavens opened, not just raining, but hail - couldn’t believe it, but luckily was just passing a little Hotel and sheltered in their entrance for 15 minutes untilk it abated somewhat - the weather here is more changeable than Melbourne, can you believe!!!

Anyway, get home, a little damp, and the table looks terrific with my new Azalea in full bud - can’t resist the garden bit.
The rain stopped, so decided that, after a bit of domestic stuff, ie shopping for dinner, I would try out the buses.  Managed to get a map from the station - right, down to the bus stop.   

Just fantastic - I went all the way to Gare de l’Est - way over the other side of the city.    Traffic a bit busy so took about 50 minutes, so took the metro home.  But, a great way to see the city - this route even took me down the Champs Elysee and Blvd Hausman - both beautiful Paris boulevards.    Now I’ve done it once, I will try some more routes.

Decided I needed a vegetable meal tonight - our nearby degranger sells takeaway meals (plus of course the endless array of baguettes and cakes to die for) chose what I thought looked like a cauliflower gratinee, cooked up some beans and sweet potato, and hey presto, it wasn’t cauliflower at all, it was potato - tasted fabulous but not a good deal for my cholesterol!!!    Another lesson learnt!!

I have done my French homework and now going to watch a session of Columbo.    This is the dvd I bought at the English bookshop yesterday - only to find it must be at least 20 years old - everyone smoked, including in dress shops and the girls all had bouffant hairstyles!!!!!  Oh well, fills in the time a bit.    

Hope there aren’t too many typos - my nails are so long they hit all the wrong keys, but Wed. - they will be back to their proper shape, as long as I can find the word for ’short s’il vous plait !!!!

a bientot
barb

Ian left for amsterdam at lunchtime - he will be working there for 2 weeks, so decided I would explore the Louvre.   I had read an article in the National Geographic Travel magazine which suggested entering from the Porte de Lions - right in the south-west corner, rather than through the central pyramid.   Well, what a find - no queues for tickets, no queue for the bag checking machine - and hardly anyone around that part of the gallery.     The article also suggested explorin the little-visited Richelieu wing, especially “Napoleon III’s incredibly lavish waiting room, with an enormous round bench done in scarlet and gold”.   So I zipped through the Italian painting section with a quick peek at Mona, a look at Goya’s stunning figures, then around through the Antiquities section to the Richelieu wing.

    Well Napoleon’s waiting room wasn’t the only bit of lavishness.     There is a whole area of his apartments and the sumptuousness and opulence is beyond belief.     Huge chandeliers, painted ceilings - at least 12 metres (36 feet) high - well, that was my calculation. deep red silk wallpaper with lavish curtains to match and one room completely lined with mahogony panelling - amazing.   The State Dining Room had a dining table and chairs to seat 44 guests - can you imagine the banquets which would have been served (and the washing up!!)

Other parts of this wing held many precious Objects D’Art - exquisite fob watches with gilt etching and tiny paintings on their clock faces - 17th century mainly, other cases of large clocks, 16th century - there were also some sets of Hour Glasses, about 8″ high, presumably for those who couldn’t afford clocks.     Other cases held brass astronomical instruments and exquisitely painted pill boxes.

All in all a great afternoon - with few other people exploring this area.    I think we should keep it a secret!!!

After a cafe au lait sitting under the huge statues of Richelieu, Rabelais and Rousseau and looking over the glass pyramid,  I walked along the Rue de Rivoli to the English bookshop, where I indulged myself for an hour in the travel literature section.  We are thinking of going to Scandinavia so much research needs to be done.  

re Bigpond - we have not been able to resolve this problem - I shall use Webmail in the meantime - if you haven’t received an email from me - and you were expecting to, please write again.    And keep the blogs coming, I love hearing from you all.

Well I am now going to tackle the French homework - I am attending alliance Francais 3 mornings a week - it’s a challenge for the brain.      It’s now 6.30 so time for a little apperitif to help the brain cells!!

Au revoir      Abientot
Barbara

Bonjour mon amis

And despite 3 solid mornings of french lessons, I don’t know a whole lot more - yet.    But I have met some interesting people - they are mostly young, and mostly from Europe - Poland, Ukraine, Israel, Lithunia, a couple of Americans, a few from England, and 2 of us from Aus.     And the gorgeous young french teacher,(did I mention ’homme - a guy)  doesn’t speak a word of English - well, not to us anyway, but we now know the days of the week, and the numbers and a few more verbs.     I didn’t ralise how easy Bahasa Indonesia really was - it is not gender specific.    What’s really interesting is that countries can be either masculine or feminine - depends on the endings of their spelling - I suppose there’s a whole Department somewhere, just sitting there all day with new words deciding whether they will be male or female - what a job!!!    

The post office saga ……..I promised you the solution.      Well, after my apartment manager Sam, organised for my Ikea desk to be delivered, I compared the reference numbers, and guess what, they were the same.    So the post office was looking for a huge desk, admittedly flatpacked, which would have been impossible to have lifted.   So problem solved, and Ian even managed to put the desk together - with no bits left over at the end!!!    It is perfect - sits in front of my french doors and as I work at my computer, I can look at the rooftops of Passy - and the top of the Eiffel Tower.    Photos will be uploaded when I get back to Melbourne and have Ben to help me.

Ellie and Avril have left and it is very quiet.    We had such a great time and they really made the most of being here - they did some of the guided walks, went to all the main galleries, climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower and did a trip to Giverney - Monet’s house and garden.    And on their last day, thinking they would have a quiet stroll down to the Eiffel Tower for last minute photos, they became upon the demonstrations for the torch relay - the Tower was in lockdown and there were thousands of people, and even more police apparently.     
They left the demonstrators to get on with it and went down to the Louvre - and there they actually saw the torch relay - how amazing to have that opportunity.

BIGPOND    Now, my apartment managers in their wisdom, have changed our internet access, phone and tv to Orange - which is fine except that I am not able to send emails to BIGPOND addresses - they sit in the ether for about 4 days and then bounce back.    And looking through my list, there are a lot of Bigpond users.    And I am not even quite sure if I am actually receiving all Bigpond emails either.      So, whilst I am trying to sort this out - of course everyone tells me it is not their fault, ie Hotkey, Orange and I haven’t even tried to phone Bigpond (the annual salary would be spent waiting to be connected to a person I suspect), please be patient - if anything is urgent I can send via David and vice versa.

And I was very excited this morning - I have found someone who does acrylic nails!!   
Tattie and I tried at least 10 beauty places a few days ago - non non, only manicures.   I was beginning to despair,(long nails impair my typing skills) but my french friend came to the rescue, so next week I will go the salon, with my dictionary - they don’t speak any Engish!!

Michael and Tattie Heppel have been here, Michael playing in the Real Tennis World championships this week.   Ian and I went to watch a match - it is quite amazing, a cross between tennis and squash, and you need a great degree of fitness and agility.     

This week’s favourite sign:     Seen in one of the bigger and busier Metro stations, Montparness Bienvenue

They have two moving walkways, going in the same direction for the busy time.   Above one walkway the sign says:

Tres confortable, tapis roulant   3km/hr ;  (my translation, a comfortable walking pace)

   Above the other:  “Tres rapide, trottoir roulant   9 km/hr ”  (I am imagining all these smartly dressed French people trotting along the moving walkway, keeping up with 9km/hr) - !!!

We are off to dinner tonight - trying out a local Bistro.    Ian goes to Amsterdam on Sunday and I will join him the next weekend.      I have managed to have some photos developed - the sun is shining, and the weekend is ahead - great.
Tomorrow we are going to Virgin megastore - are they everywhere!! to see if we can get some DVD’s as my tv with its 100+ channels, only has BBC and CCN and Skynews in English.!!    Then to our favourite street market, with the shopping trolley - did I tell you it matches my cushions!!!, and then hopefully to Habitat to buy a little round table for my balcony - I think we will choose purple and put a huge plant on it - roll on summer.

Au revoir - a bientot  - 
Barb

We have just been for a walk - and discovered the Musee de Vin - a wine museum set in the caves underneath Passy - originally a convent, and some of the archeology digs have discovered pottery from the Roman times - how amazing is that.    They have a wonderful collection of artefacts and tools, implements, casks and corkscrews and various displays showing the life cycle of wine;  and at the end of the tour, they offer you a glass of wine - we had a red from the south west area of France - a great start to the evening.

And this morning, walking to the market we passed the laundromat - 4 men standing outside waiting for their washing to finish, and all having a beer - and it was 10.00am in the morning!!!

Just seen the torch relay in London on BBC - and it was snowing!!!

Aix-en-Provence - 800 kms south of Paris, just north of Marseille.     Ellie, Avril and I (Ian still working in Zurich) set off for Aix - pronounced Ex, from Gare de l’Est -  and 3 hours later, we arrived in a state of utmost comfort, such a quick trip - the only stop on the way was at Avignon.
It’s a bit early for the lavender yet, but the fields are so beautifully green and lush.  Our hotel is perfect - set in the middle of the town and was originally an old convent - complete with cloisters etc.

Well, what a gem of a town.      Some of it goes back to Roman times - there are still a few pieces of the original city wall still standing, with the beautiful Provencal architecture - soft sandstone coloured buildings with the wrought iron balconies and balustrades, tiny cobble stone streets and the wonderful artist Paul Cezanne prevailing all around.     The irony of the Cezanne reputation was of course that none of the French establishment liked his work at all - so it was many years after his death when the Impressionists became so well known and loved.  
We did a small ‘train on wheels’ sightseeing tour firstly, which took us up to the top of the hill, near Cezanne’s studio, where you could see the mountains and in particular Mt Victoire which featured in so many of his paintings.     We also did some self guided walks and stopped at the many churches, the Hotel de Ville (town hall) and of course the cafes and shops.     Avril had a great time with the shops, whilst I introduced ellie to Pastise - by 5 o’clock we were ready for a sit down.  Pastise is a clear aniseed drink - and when you add water it goes cloudy.   An acquired taste, but once you have it…..!!
Found some great little restaurants, tried crepes, drank red wine from Provence and bought lots of the Calissons - a specialty from the area, diamond shape marzipan cakes, very moorish!!  One restaurant, asking if I would like tea or coffee, I asked for Camomile tea - and he bought Caramel tea - well that was something different!!!
A very picturesque town, well worth visiting - and it was much warmer than Paris!!!

Back to Paris - and Ian back from Zurich and we were all looking forward to a home cooked meal and some vegies.    So a big roast dinner on Friday night.
But before that, I had to go to the post office to collect a packet - the postman had  left a note to say I wasn’t home and to go and collect from the post office - this has turned into a saga.     I went to the nearest Bureau de Poste - the only one I knew, got there at 11am (Friday) only to find it only opens between 12 noon and 6pm - I read the notice three times, I couldn’t believe it.   So back I went at 2pm, with my newspaper cause I know there will be a queue.     Not too bad this time, go to the counter, only to be told that it was the wrong post office!!!    She did write down the address (I wasn’t leaving until I had that!), so off I went, back to the apartment to get my map and find out where rue Singer was.   Okay, nice afternoon for a walk, so off I went, with full expectations of collecting this packet, of which I had no knowledge.   Found the bureau de poste, ah, only 10 people in front of me this time, but the computers have broken down (I think that’s what the notice said), so get out newspaper again.  Technology is fixed and queue starts to move, not too long now, great it’s my turn.    Take my slip of paper - now the fun starts - they can’t find it!!!     My assistant running all over the place waving sheets of paper with consternation all over her face, eventually finds a man who looks at a great big trolley full of boxes and huge blue plastic bags - tips them all out on the floor and starts looking at each individual parcel - surely it must be there.    By this time I have been 20 minutes at the counter and one of the ladies in the queue comes to ask me - I know not what really - it was one occasion where it was useful not to understand French!!!     To cut a long story short, they eventually give in, photocopy my form, and tell me they will phone me - lovely man says he speaks a little English and he will phone me - whew.    I asked his name, for future reference, and of course it’s Jean-Pierre!!     So, wait for the happy ending……. some time in the future.   It did remind us of some of Sarah Turnbull’s - (of Almost French fame) experiences   My glass of wine at 5pm was well deserved I thought!!

Well it is Sunday - and the French marathon was on this morning.  Ellie and Avril got up early to go to Giverney to see Monet’s garden and house, so Ian and I went off to the Champs Elysees to see the start of the marathon.    Quite amazing - thousands and thousands of runners, with all the fabulous Africans taking the lead.   But the funniest thing occured shortly after they all started running - we were wandering along beside them, still in the Champs Elysees, when we saw about 10 runners, off the road and standing in front a huge garden bed, all having a pee - it was the funniest sight!!  Ian said it is quite normal apparently!

Points to ponder:     I have been given a new internet server by the apartment managers (Orange)- only problem is all the bigpond emails are bouncing back - so if you have a bigpond  address, I can’t get through - yet.

We haven’t been able to work out the photos yet - that may have to wait until I am back in Melbourne and can have a session with Ben - my IT man and a very important man in my life!!! 

Have just finished rereading Sarah Turnbull’s story of her life in Paris when she followed a Frenchman to paris - it’s been out for a few years now, but a great read.    And yesterday we all went to explore the area where she lives - rue Montorgueill in the Les Halles area - great market street, and some very old arcades and passage ways - and then to the Palais Royal - home of Cardinal Richelieu and very grand.   The Horse chestnut trees are getting their spring coats and just to see all the green is uplifting - spring must be around the corner somewhere.   We now have a very log list of ‘must see and do’ whenever any of you come to Paris - we find more each day.
Another book we enjoyed was Blame it on Paris by Laura Florand - an American girl who was studying in Paris and stayed on with a Frenchman - the stories are hillarious.

Ian is off to Amsterdam in 10 days, I will go for the weekend.     Ellie and Avril go home to Melbourne this week - I will miss them - it’s been great fun having them here.
We have friends from PwC Melbourne here - Michael is playing in the world championships of Real Tennis so Michael and Tattie will come for dinner tomorrow night and we will go and watch a game tomorrow afternoon. 

Au rvoir - and love to you all
Barb