a very sad sparrow...

Some sad news, and part of the reason why I haven't updated this for a while...

Alot of my stuff was stolen on Friday night, including my laptop and ipod. I am very sad and angry about it. Thankfully I have insurance and hopefully they decide to replace the things that were stolen.

So if anyone sees a beautiful little white macbook around, with Australian settings and even an Australian plug... punch the person who is carrying it and then please send it back to me!

:(

ahem...

Right... yep. It's been a while. I left France and went home to Australia for 5 weeks via England, then I came back to France this week via England again.

So, now I am in Dijon, the town of many mustards. I am staying in an adorable hotel for two nights, checking out the city, then getting picked up on Sunday and taken into the unknown to move into my new home and start my new job in Tournus, 45 minutes south of Dijon, next to the river and in the heart of Burgundy's wine country. I passed it on the train and it looks amazing... I hope it stays that way for the 8 months that I will be there!

So, a brief rundown on what I've been doing for the past 6 weeks...

I left Paris and went to stay in Roquefort-Les-Pins in the hills behind Antibes for 2 weeks to write and eat leeks. I must say that by the second day I was enjoying the writing much more than the eating of leeks. I went for lots of walks, read books, wrote a bit, thought lots of thoughts and pondered lots of ponderings.

Then I went to England to stay with Lotte & Stu and eat Walkers crisps and Marks & Spencers ploughman's sandwiches. I also caught up with Melinda who I hadn't seen for over 5 years (the last time we saw each other we were 18 and went on an adventure to Pooh Bridge).

Then I flew to Sydney to get a new visa (don't even get me started). It was so nice to see everyone again though, cups of tea with my mama, rum and cokes with my papa, affogatos with my little sister, walks with the dogs and many trips to the Lass O'Gowrie for scotch and dry with my wonderful mates. Then, being torn between wanting to stay safe with the things I know, and they wonderful adventure that I knew lay ahead of me, I got on a plane in Sydney and flew back to London. After over 32 hours of traveling and hardly any sleep, I arrived to the friendly sights of Tunbridge Wells once again. Another reunion - a trip to Langton Green to visit Mary who I hadn't seen for as long as I hadn't seen Melinda, her daughter.

It was a short but lovely stay, and the next day it was on to France. An easyJet flight took me down to Nice, followed by a bus trip to Roquefort-Les-Pins once more. I had two days of well-needed rest, packed up my belongings, and hauled them into a taxi to Antibes station. It was here that the great bag-hauling adventure began. From Antibes I caught the 5 hour train to Dijon, left my two enormous bags at the train station and set off to find my hotel. The next day I met the other people in the language assistants program and we all hung out in Dijon together until Monday when were were distributed to our various schools.

My school is quite nice. The staff are all really lovely except for one absolutely horrid woman who works in the office, but hopefully I won't have to see her too often. My students all seem fine, not too naughty! And my little flat is quite nice too. It is right beside the school - in fact tacked onto the side of it, but I've decorated it and it is fine to stay in during the week. I think I'll be visiting some other towns in the area on most weekends - right now I am in Chalon-sur-Saone with my English friend Emily. We have been cycling lots (I bought a bike!) and we went to watch the rugby yesterday - I thought Australia would enjoy a glorious victory and that I would bask in it all afternoon... but alas.

So I am off on the train in an hour, back to Tournus.

I like the second chapter of my little French life.

i love paris in the summer when it sizzles...

Well, Paris. Brilliant, marvelous, exciting, beautiful. It is one of the most magnificent places on earth and yet somehow there are people who don't like it, or who don't think it's all it's cut out to be! I do not understand this. Paris is a breathtaking place. Oh how i love it.



Our arrival at Garre de Lyon was incredibly exciting, involving me nearly tripping a frail old man over with my suitcase as I dropped it in the middle of the platform to hug Ines...



The next two days were absolutely jam-packed due to Ines's incredible planning and constant jotting in her furry pink notebook. I don't think anyone has ever seen so much of Paris in 48 hours... I doubt Contiki could even fit it into a bus-ride and we did it on foot and by metro!



The Seine...



Looking back towards Notre Dame...



Ines thinking up her next cunning plan...



Goodness knows how long we spent getting lost among piles of amazing old books in here...






The most fabulous icecream in the world (note expression on Des's face!). Seriously. Challenges even the finest Italian gelati. And it was rose-shaped!





The Luxembourg Gardens are magnificent...



Why go to the beach when the beach can come to you? Right outside the Hotel De Ville, even!



There are even giant sprinklers hanging about in case of a heat wave!



Oh Pompideau Centre, how I love you. I came back here for two full days after this too!



We set off for the Eiffel Tower in the early evening, hoping to climb it in time to see Paris change from day to night. And we succeeded, witnessing a perfect sunset and watching the transformation of the city of light.



















Right, enough photos of the tower. Onward...

This is one of my favorite pieces of advertising, it's been around for ages and - although, yes, ok, it is essentially another picture of the Eiffel Tower...



Day two of Ines's Extreme Tour of Paris began in Monmatre, where we wandered around,



There will be more... as soon as i figure out how to connect to this new wireless network and can post photos...

leek soup...

I am still here, haven't vanished... I am staying near Antibes for a while, reading Harry Potter and eating leek soup. Next Thursday I fly to London and head straight to Tunbridge Wells where I will stay with Lotte and Stu for one night, then next Friday I get on a plane and land about 30 hours later in Sydney!

I left Avignon on 31st July, Des and I packed up our things and caught the TGV to Paris. Our wonderful friend Ines from Avignon picked us up at the station and we stayed with her in Alesia, near Montparnasse. After seeing more of Paris in two days than I think anyone has ever done, Des left for Dublin on Friday (one of the saddest of a lot of teary goodbyes lately), and I stayed on in Paris for four more days. We did so much and had so much fun, it really was sad to leave. On Tuesday Ines came with me to Dijon, for an investigation of my soon-to-be home town. It was stamped with approval, and Ines returned to Paris that evening (another goodbye), while I stayed at the most hilarious hotel I think I have ever seen. The next day I caught the TGV to Antibes - a really lovely train trip. I was dreading the 6 hours but I actually really enjoyed it. Tom picked me up from Antibes station and dropped me off up here in the hills.

I promise to write more in-depth about everything soon, and add photos!

Must get back to the leeks. Ugh.

long... long... long...

Summertime in Avignon!






Right, so I'm sort of up-to-date now. Nearly. I really should get back into the swing of writing on here regularly, instead of waiting until I think I have enough interesting things to write about - because when i do that I realise I actually do have a lot of things to write about and I have to back-track all over the place and it's just way to complicated...

So, back in Avignon now... most people have gone home now that uni is finished, and Avignon has transformed into a completely different place now that the festival is on (more about that later!) I spent the week after returning from the boat just catching up with everyone and saying some teary goodbyes to some dear Avignonian friends.



All of a sudden one day a ferris wheel appeared by the river. On Rachel's last night in Avignon we saw it through the trees and decided to go for a ride! It was a spontaneous decision, as most decisions in my life seem to be nowadays, but it was the most wonderful thing to do! The sun was just setting over the city and no one else was on with us. This was just before the great hoards of tourists arrived in Avignon. We could see the whole city spread around us, with a rainbow in the sky and all!








The Fete Musique was on a few nights later, a wonderful night was had by all. Avignon came alive and everyone was out on the streets. There was literally a band on every corner as we strolled about enjoying the wonderful atmosphere and every now and then having a spontaneous dance.

a londres!

14th June - It was sad to leave the boat, but I had one last mission before returning to Avignon. The need to attempt to sort out my ridiculous visa situation sent me to London for two days. I stayed with my lovely friend Madeline in Croydon. It was great timing in fact, because it was her birthday the day after I arrived so we went on a mad adventure around London, after spending most of the morning rushing between embassies. If anyone understands the following answering machine message, please let me know: 'Welcome to the French Consulate Service of London. You will need to make an appointment before visiting our office. Our offices are open each weekday from 9:30 - 11:30am. You will need to call the appointments line on the same day that you require an appointment. The appointments line is open each week day from 1:30 - 3:30pm. Thankyou for calling the French Consulate Service of London.' Now, that should worry me, but 8 months in France has taught me not to even think twice about how ridiculous their attempt at orginisation is. French bureaucracy is madness. Really. Anyway, I had a brilliant time in London despite getting absolutely no help whatsoever with my visa. But how could I not have a good time in London? So, been to Croydon now - all that's left to make my grand tour of England complete is Gypsie Bridge!

things i've been doing lately (part three - greece)...

4th June - And so Corfu began our Greek adventures. For the days surrounding our arrival in Corfu, I had been reading 'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durrell. It is just like he describes in the book. A lush green island with so many places still left to explore. We moored at Gouvia marina, a few kilometres from the main town of Corfu. It was fairly late when we arrived, but we went straight out for a taverna dinner - my favourite food in the world. And there we sat at Aries family taverna in Gouvia, very much in Greece. Food arrived on the table plate after plate after plate with just as much wine to accompany it. Then, somewhere between the tzatsiki and the dolmades, the music suddenly got louder, fire shot up from the ground, plates smashed on the tiles and the waiters in the restaurant transformed into amazing dancers. This happened at least three times while we were there, transfixing me each time. And that evening began the great backgammon tornament when we arrived back on board. Welcome to Greece!

5th June - We hired a car from the marina and set off early in the morning to explore the island. Our first stop was yogurt and honey with - for those brave enough - a Greek coffee, beside the sea. After agreeing that Greek yoghurt and honey just isn't nearly the same outside of Greece, we made our way up the hill to a beautiful monastery covered in bouganvillia. Lunch was at a restaurant with the best view in Corfu. Aptly named Bella Vista, we sat on the edge of a huge terrace, perched on the side of a mountain, with beautiful scenes of winding paths through the olive groves, right down to the sea. The afternoon consisted of driving around the island, and getting lost between villages. Every tiny village was picturesque. The men sitting around in the square playing backgammon, worry-beads in hand, sipping ouzo. The women darting about carrying baskets of washing or gathering in the street to have a chat. The children chasing each other and generally being cheeky, and the cats - everywhere.



That evening we all enjoyed another amazing Greek feast - at Taki's taverna, sat around a table absolutely covered in all sorts of fabulous and delicious things. There was a small incident involving Shadow getting just a bit too excited about a cat crossing too far into her territory, which resulted in the table being upturned and red wine splashing, well, everywhere. Full to the brim with the best food in the world, we waddled back to the boat. All of us except my frail 80-something year old grandmother, who jumped on the back of the moped, as we all watched in disbelief!



6th June - As soon as everyone was up and about, a few of us began a speedy last-minute trip around Corfu. We caught a taxi into the main town and wandered the streets. I sipped on my favourite Greek cafe-frappe, and then it was moving time again. We set off for Paxos at midday and moored at the tiny little marina of Longos for the night. The swimming party (Jeff, Shadow and I) found a nice little cove and went for a swim - although we did discover that we were not alone - the rocks were covered in very spiky urchins, not very nice to stand on, so I kept my flip-flops on and didn't put my feet on the bottom. The water was absolutely lovely though. While swimming, we spotted an old stone fortress on the opposite side of the bay, nestled up in the hills. We decided to make it an adventure, so we swam back to the boat, got dressed for dinner and told the others we'd meet them at the restaurant. There was a lovely winding path up the hill as we tried to work out how exactly to get to the fortress. Shadow bounded along ahead of us, very excited to be running and jumping, with lots of new smells to sniff. When we reached the top, we climbed up onto the fortress - a spectacular view of Longos! We waved down to the boat, took some photos, and climbed back down again to head to the restaurant, where the chef invited us into the kitchen to look around and choose what we wanted for dinner! After another wonderful meal, we walked the grandparents back to the boat and the rest of us headed on to a bar right on the waters edge near we we swam earlier that day. Glasses of Metaxa brandy were ordered and the backgammon tornament continued.







7th June - We left Longos early and made our way south, in search of a pretty bay to stay for a while. Scorpios was decided upon - the private island of the Onassis family, just near Ithika. We swam in the bay in the afternoon, making sure we didn't technically set foot on land, as there were armed guards and cameras everywhere. Jeff and I pulled Nanna and Narelle along on an inflatable mattress, which we spend the best part of an hour blowing up, before realising there was a foot-pump on board! The rest of the afternoon consisted of moss-removing, hull-scrubbing and reading.

8th June - Left our pretty little bay after lunch and had a look around Scorpios from the boat. Imagine owning a whole Greek island! It was onward then - an enjoyable three hour sail to Fiskado. Glorious victory was mine that evening as I won the day's backgammon tornament.





9th June - Left Fiskado for Galaxidi, which I seem to remember was fairly long. We spent the day being very worried about family and friends at home, after hearing about the cyclone that hit Newcastle, causing huge floods and lots of damage. Thankfully everyone was ok. Stayed at anchor for the night.

10th June - Took the dinghy in to shore and caught a taxi all the way up the hill to the ancient city of Delphi - one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life, I was really looking forward to visiting it again. But it was closed, due to a strike. We couldn't believe it. If I hadn't visited it last time I was in Europe I think I would have sat down and cried. We saw what we could of Delphi without actually going into the site, and caught the taxi all the way back down the hill again.





Our disappointment was made a lot better though, as we sat down to the best breakfast I have ever had in my life. Affectionately known as 'Breakfast at Brunos', it is the courtyard of a hotel in Galaxidi, which was started by an Italian man who has since moved back to Italy, after the new owners promised to keep everything exactly as he had. As we sat in the perfect little shady courtyard, the table began to fill up with the most glorious things - huge jugs of fresh juice, pots of coffee and tea, baskets of every type of bread you could imagine, cheese, different sorts of sliced meats, tapenades and dips of all sorts, giant bowls of fresh fruit, and literally about thirty different types of homemade jams and pickles. It was terrific.



11th June - We sailed through the Corinth Canal in the morning which was very exciting. It looks like the tiniest little gap at first and you really wonder how they get all those boats through it. And then when you see how big it really is, you still wonder how they get all those boats through it!




Moved on to Poros for a night - it was very touristy and therefore not incredibly appealing, seeing as we had been spoilt with tourist-free places until now! Tried out the new marine barbeque, after installing it on deck. A massive feast on board - lots of food, wine and laughing.





12th June - Left early (I really enjoyed the early starts, it's nice to think you are up and about doing things while most people you know are wasting the day sleeping in!) and sailed to Hydra - a really beautiful sail. I realised as soon as we approached the marina that I had been here before and also remembered loving it! I think everyone had a brilliant time in Hydra. Great shopping, brilliant restaurants and bars, donkeys clip-clopping about, beautiful buildings and amazing water views. Climbed up to the bar on the side of the cliff for a late-night cocktail with the others after a lovely day of strolling about, and an amazing dinner in a beautiful restaurant.






13th June - I didn't want to leave. We stayed as long as we possibly could cramming in as much of Hydra as possible. Then it was the last stretch of our trip - Athens. We sailed into Piraeus in the early evening, had one last brilliant taverna meal and returned to the boat.








14th June - I woke up, packed my belongings (which had mysteriously increased after Hydra) and sadly said my goodbyes. I was the first to leave the boat, followed by Nanna and Pop the next day, and Graham two days after that. A taxi, a bus and a short walk later I was sitting in the departure lounge of Athens airport, waiting for my Easyjet flight to London.