In August ...

... Paris completely shuts down. Oh yes, it absolutely empties out, the locals all leave for the south of France, or Spain or Morocco, and it's a LAW that as a French employee you must take two weeks of your annual leave entitlement in August.

What this means for those locals that don't leave, is that the streets of Paris are an absolute joy to walk down, because you don't have to share them with anyone! The traffic moves well, and the place is (relatively) quiet, and smog free and there are park benches bathed in summer warmth available for everyone. What it also means of course is that it is impossible to find anywhere decent to eat, and it's a much longer walk to the local boulangerie because they are ALL closed!

So, what did I do? I took off on adventures as well. First stop Lisbon, Portugal.


Ah, Lisboa!

What a magical view? Marianne had a three-day stopover on her way to Brazil so I decided to join her - I keep making decisions like this ...


Sunshine anyone?

... thankfully, because I'd forgotten how much I miss the sea. Even though I'm a lousy swimmer and not much into fish or other sea creatures, after growing up so close to the ocean I do find it very strange to be living so far away from a coastline (and to have chosen to do so)!


A tram!

And they have trams too! But unlike Melbourne there are hills and staircases everywhere, so the trams are tinier and the routes more circuitous and precipitous!


Fellow traveller

But the passengers are still just on a mission to get from A to B ...


In the Alfama

... past the gorgeous tilework on the walls of all the buildings ...


Basilica da Estrela

... a Basilica or two (note the lovely effect overhead cables have on the image!) ...



Windows

... underneath the brightly coloured walls ...


Laundry

... and past the daily routines on view for everyone. In fact, we discovered that the washing hanging over head provided a refreshing and unexpectedly cool misting as we got lost in the Alfama. Under the unrelenting sun of high summer this was a true delight.


The pavement

Wandering the streets was a joy in this UNESCO World Heritage listed part of town, the pavements are all works of art on their own (but also glossy and slippery which can be hazardous for the unadept, such as myself - let's just say that it's good thing I don't get embarrassed too easily!)


Marianne

Marianne is a little more nimble than me and we just took our time enjoying each new vista ...


Archway to ...

not to mention the ...


Fashionistas!

Oh yeah baby - the eighties are officially BACK!


Street party

I guess these loud colourful clothes can be more easily explained.


Menu du jour

Naturally, there was some foraging to be done ... es necessitar!


Can you tell me where to find ... while I eat this pastry?

And for a foot-weary traveller, who could go past our ...


Cheese extravaganza


Enjoying a spot of tapas

Yes, two lovely ladies find that happy place!

And revive again the following morning with ...


Pasteis de nata

... from the ornate and glorious ...


A Brasileira

But if you aren't in the neighbourhood there's always a new local ...


Inside the pastelaria

Of course it may not be anywhere near as historically significant (!)


Working out the deal

And so the residents of Lisboa will continue to sort it all out, whilst enjoying their lovely ocean views, perhaps taking time to sit back and meet a friend or two at their local ...


Coffee spot

And I'll head back to Paris and continue to the same in my adopted town, while I reminsce over the colour, light, and magic that was my experience in this small corner of the world.


Abrigada Lisboa

Paris is ...

... where I live now, although I am sure most of you have forgotten!

I begin this post with 1000 apologies to all those friends and fan(s) who have been virtually slapping my hand for not keeping the pictures and stories updated.

The truth is that I've hardly had a moment to sit down and think about writing since I set myself up in my new apartment - there is always something interesting going on in this town - or close by - so, before I start location-dropping again, let's have another look at my Parisian life shall we?

Firstly, welcome to Chez Ali ...


My pad

I'm living at the border of two of the most interesting quartiers de Paris, Belleville et les Buttes Chaumont, located in the north east of the city, close to Republique, and where the 19eme, 20eme, 10eme and 11eme arrondissements meet, and where the travel writers are now urging people to go to discover the Paris of the 'real Parisians'.


... another café?

Some days it can be hard to decide which terrasse to stop and sit at and admire the passing parade. And just like Melbourne, the weather can be a little erratic here in Paris, so if the sun is shining, the best place to be is dans les rues!


Thé à la menthe ensemble

Keir, Antoinette, Sachin and Louis all came to visit here in June, and I showed them some of the delights of my neighbourhood - including Aux Folies, which is Karin and Ned's local, and now also super local to me too!


Le Baratin

I've spent the last few months doing a fair bit of research for my long-awaited food tourism business, and I can't get over the good fortune I have to be located less than 500m from Le Baratin (which means 'smooth talk' in French) and is quite simply one of the best local bistrots in Paris - the food is always magnificent, the wine list impressively good, the dining room warm and welcoming and the staff are always up for a joke or two (well, perhaps not so much the serious older man who closely guards the reservation list).


Meeting and greeting

The Mitchells dropped by as well, and were delighted - even though they are not as food-obsessed as some of my other recent visitors - to enjoy a lunch at my favourite little place in the Marais. Our waiter was very complimentary of Penny's enthusiastic and ever improving French.


Entrecote et endives

I keep going back there because I know that dish of the day will always be good, and if I'm lucky, the chef will be braising his endives to perfection!


Inside the café

And of course there's always another discovery just around the corner - look at these contented patrons.

I got involved in some cultural activities too ...


At the races

I am ashamed to say that until June this year, I had never been to the racetrack before (indeed people, a Melbourne girl who has yet to attend a cup day race - shocking! I told you there were valid reasons for my leaving Australia). So it was a delight to go out for a day at the races at Auteuil - a racecourse on the eastern edge of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne. We ate lunch at Restaurant Panoramique, in the semi-crumbling stadium built in 1920s with a fabulous view over Paris and the Eiffel Tower - I suppose that is the right way to start if one is to go to the races?


Endless moving circle

You never know just what you'll encounter on the streets of Paris. Jordan and I discovered this endlessly moving red circle, turning clockwise in front of the resting place of the 'great men' (and Marie Curie) of France - the Pantheon. If you need to walk in an endless circle, there are worse vistas you could look at I suppose.


Les policiers

And you don't want to let your manifestation get out of hand or else you'll have to deal with these guys. I can't imagine the Victoria Police managing with the same form of locomotion. Although these two are not actively engaged in chasing down a traffic offender or a voleur, they can zip around pretty fast!


Commodes en peaux de raie

I also fell in love with some furniture at Les Ateliers de Paris, an exhibition space in the 12eme that houses only the finest and most exclusive pieces that France has to offer the world (I saw a shoe exhibition here once). Naturally, these beautiful commodes - copies of a piece of furniture designed by Paul Iribe around 1912 - were highly impractical and completely out of my price range. I discovered that the beautiful texture and colour of the pale green one was due to it being covered with le galuchat, or sting-ray leather - 12 skins costing around €900 - hate to think what the labour and other material costs did to the final price!


Door at Notre Dame

Here in Paris if that beautiful piece of furniture eludes your budget, you can always just go for a walk and have something else beautiful to look at - I never get tired of walking past Notre Dame on the Ile de la Cité ...


City of light

... or walking in the courtyards of the Louvre at sunset ...


Mez's view

... or drinking an apero with friends who have a view of everyone's favourite tour.

La Loire ... un endroit parfait!

I'm not sure if you know, but May here in France is absolutely replete with jours feriés and therefore ample opportunities to faire le pont. I think there were four long weekends in May, and in a great tradition of leisure-seeking, employers often grant their labour force the extra day between a public holiday that falls on Tuesday or a Thursday and the weekend. I certainly have chosen a civilised part of the world to reside in!

So what does one do with all this extra time? Well, Parisians escape to the countryside, and where better to head for than somewhere with châteaux, fine wine and glorious food?

A trip to La Loire from Paris often begins in Orléans, and this where we paid hommage to one of France's favourite daughters ...


Jeanne d'Arc

... this statue is in the courtyard of the Renaissance built ...


Hotel Groslot

After a rather disastrous lunch - a lesson Sally and I learnt on the roadtrip of '07, never try to sit down for a bite after 14:00 anywhere (interesting) outside Paris - our spirits were lifted by this impromptu street performance by the local theatre group.


Street theatre

We started exploring château country from Blois, a very pretty town built on a pair of steepish hills and the centre from which Louis XII ruled France from his magnificent Renaissance Château de Blois in first decades of the 16th century.


Blois


From the hill

And here's our friend the king gracing the entrance to the château which sits at the top of the hill and has a magnificent view over the town and the river below.


Louis XII greets his guests

Blois was just lovely, but we had some serious château visiting to do, so we started with the most magnificent of the lot ...


Château de Chambord

Francis I succeeded Louis XII and started building Chambord in 1519 as a hunting lodge - there is still a vast wilderness park around the château - and the building is heavily influenced by Italian Renaissance architecture.


The impressive double helix staircase

... located at the centre of the keep, is a very unusual architectural feature in France, and thought to have been inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, who visited at the request of the Francis I prior to the construction of Chambord.


Simple staircase

But all the staircases are lovely, not to mention ...


The turrets of Chambord

Dear old Francis I only managed to spend 72 days at Chambord in the end - seems like a terrible waste of effort!

And the best way to get from château to château would be?

By bicycle certainement! Especially when the weather is perfect - sunny, not too hot, with plenty of pistes and quiet woods to cruise through. Perfect, of course for those who are competent and not ...


Accident prone

Hopeless! But I still managed to smile in the face of blood, loss of skin, and a torn pair of (new!) jeans. (You'll be pleased to know that I have healed up nicely without a scar and I'm just waiting for the small red mark to fade.)

Not to mention that I also had something to look forward to ... lunch in Bléré, enough to make anyone smile! Le Cheval Blanc was the unexpected gem that Sal and I discovered on our trip - and after one or two dining mishaps on my adventure this year, I decided to take the new crew there for a repeat performance.


Tournados de boeuf


Bavette


Chocolat fondant

Yes my friends, these dishes did in fact taste even better than they look! And the array of vegetables!!! The Guide Michelin doesn't even give this place a fourchette et cuillère croisé - which can only mean that they forgot to eat there - but I have to say, if you ever find yourself in this part of the world, make sure you have time to have lunch or dinner here.


Courtyard

Sadly though, there is no other reason whatsoever to stop in Bléré. After tablecloths and a heavy lunch, what's next on the agenda? Why a visit to ...


Château de Chenonceau

The original building at Chenonceau was a mill on the river Cher, which was remodelled completely by Thomas Bohier and transformed into a Renaissance château. His dynamic wife Katherine Briçonnet ensured that Chenonceau became a fixture of court life in 16th century France.


Kitchen equipment

Imagine working in a kitchen like this! I for one, however, wouldn't want to have to polish all those copper pans.


Harvest time


Château sur Cher

Chenonceau has a long history with influencial women at the helm. The château passed back into the hands of the monarchy under Francis I due to a taxation dispute, and Henri II gave Chenonceau to his mistress Diane de Poitiers in 1547. She created a magnificent garden in the grounds, and built the bridge over the Cher. Following Henri's death, Catherine de Médicis reclaimed this much-loved château from her rival and ruled France from here for several decades, built more gardens and hosted lavish and spectacular court parties - including putting on the first known fireworks display in France for the coronation of her son Francis II.

Makes a girl think, all this château hopping ...


... do I keep waiting?

Or do I go out and find my own château?