In praise of bookshops, dear reader….

Tags

Auckland, Dear Reader, Dick Bruna, Edward Rutherfurd, Grey Lynn, Lucy Cousins, Maisy Mouse, Miffy, shopping

This morning,  on a crisp walk in the winter sun with my grandson, I called into a local cafe to grab a quick latte, and went outside to wait for it. Directly beside the cafe is a lovely little bookshop, Dear Reader by name, which I have often felt drawn to as I walked by, so today, for the first time, I gave in to temptation and ventured inside – it was heaven!

The smell and the feel of the books, the diverse selection, the signage, the bright and inviting sofa (perfectly placed for a quiet and comfortable browse) –  the sheer ambience of it all was delicious! While I am very much enjoying my nannying stint, I certainly realise why I am a librarian by profession, and why I so enjoy the milieu in which I work. There is simply nothing like holding a well-crafted book in your hands, be it fiction, non-fiction, children’s literature or otherwise. Neither can you beat chatting with a passionate bookstore owner, who knows their stock so well – the lovely lady in this store even loaned me her reading glasses since I had left mine at home!

As I was on nanny duty (and waiting for coffee),  I only had a short time to browse, but the first book that caught my eye was Edward Rutherfurd’s Paris – a recent release of which I was unaware – strange for such a Francophile!  Next I moved down to the children’s section, stopping first by a lovely display of Dick Bruna‘s Miffy books  - oh how my two daughters loved Miffy, and Bruna’s other titles too - I saved their copies which have subsequently been read to my grandchildren.  It was lovely to discover too, a title we didn’t have, Miffy’s Dream ( mental note to buy this when the new baby arrives).

Since I was in my element, I couldn’t resist quickly seeking out some Maisy Mouse titles,  - my grandson’s favourite character of the moment - and was delighted when the shop owner directed me to a good-sized cache of Lucy Cousins‘ Maisy books. Of course I couldn’t resist buying one – it just had to be Maisy goes to the Library!

I shall return to this lovely neighbourhood bookshop, when I have the time to indulge myself - hopefully very soon.

The allure of Venice – in the words of another …

Tags

bacari, Cookbook, Italy, Polpo, richard beatty, Venetian Cookbook, Venice

If you have been following my blog, you will be aware of the impact that the city of Venice had on me during our first visit there last year – ever since, I have struggled to describe the indelible impression it made on me. I have been able to produce only single adjectives – breathtaking, beautiful, colourful, stunning but nothing that truly describes it.

By serendipity, I now have those words, albeit not written by me, but by someone far more eloquent, who has captured in one short paragraph what I believe to be the essence of Venice. Where did I come across this beautiful piece of writing? – well of all places,  in a cookbook. A friend who knows of my passion for Venice, recently recommended a cookbook called Polpo : a Venetian Cookbook (of sorts) written by Russell Norman. I was able to get my hands on the book sooner than I expected as I discovered a copy amongst my daughter’s burgeoning and ecletic collection. As I flicked avidly through it, looking at the recipes and beautifully styled platters of food, I knew I had to have it.

Recently, I curled up on the couch and began to read in earnest, rather than leafing though the beautiful photos, and I was amazed when I read these words: “Venice is a city built on water. It is preposterous. If you couldn’t see it with your own eyes and touch it with your own fingers, you would think it is some poetic fantasy. It shouldn’t be there at all. But it is. And it is beautiful beyond words.” There, in a nutshell, the author effortlessly captures my own first impressions of Venice – the beauty, the impact and the essence of it. Thanks for that Mr Norman! I love too, how he later describes it as a “city of mind-boggling Majesty.”

It would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention the cookbook itself – Polpo is a Soho restaurant set up by Russell Norman and Richard Beatty, and is based on Venetian bacari (backstreet bars). The book of the same name is a wonderful read, with well explained recipes (often with fascinating anecdotal asides), and beautiful photographs of the tempting cicheti (small plates) described within. I am now eagerly waiting for my own copy of the book to arrive so I can get cooking and tasting, plus I will have a little bit of authentic Venice in my home…

You can see a collection of recipes from the book here and another interesting article here.

Related articles

• Eating like a Venetian in the heart of London’s Soho… (travelbella.wordpress.com)

Green with envy and full of admiration ….cycling in Provence

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Cycling, France, Provence, Travel

Just a quick alert for those of you who want to cycle in Provence – check out this post on my new favourite blog “Through French Doors” - if you are casual cyclists like my husband and me, it will inspire you and maybe turn you just a little bit green … This  family is living the dream, and reading the post brought back wonderful memories of our far too short cycling jaunt in Provence  - these plucky Kiwis have 18 months … and will provide vicarious enjoyment for many I am sure.

Meanwhile I will indulge myself with a few photographic memories from our own distant trip from a few years ago, and remind myself that we were in Provence only last year (albeit sans velo), and that will be there again this time next year….

Following a New Zealand family in Provence …..

Tags

Christchurch, cycling in Provence, France, Le Barroux, New Zealand, Provence, Travel and Tourism

Dear Readers

Imagine my excitement when a dear friend sent me the link to a new blog she discovered called Through French Doors, which will chronicle the adventures of a family of four from Christchurch, New Zealand, as they spend 18 months in Provence. I think I was probably turning green with envy as I read of their move, all the while acknowledging that it was precipitated by the disastrous Christchurch earthquake.  I am in awe of those who can turn adversity in to positives, and I am very much looking forward to following the daily life and adventures of Emily, Jake, Harriet and Claudia from their new place in Le Barroux, at the base of the iconic Mont Ventoux.  If you love things French, Provence and cycling you may want to follow them too……

Re-thinking cycling in France…

Tags

Burgundy, Cycling in France, Dordogne, France, La Maison Chaudenay, Loire, Paris, Rick Steves, Susie Kelly, Vicki Archer

For the next few months, I am a full-time Nanny for my youngest grandson and it certainly is a more physical use of my time compared with my usual full-time job as a librarian in an academic library, where I sit in front of a screen for most of the day! I am loving my new temporary role, but am finding it hard to put aside time to create new posts. However, I have been able to take a few moments to re-think my approach to our forthcoming trip to France in 2014.  I have stumbled upon a plethora of pretty and stylish B & B’s throughout France, where bikes are supplied to guests (or can be hired nearby), so that we could explore the countryside at our leisure. It dawned on me that this might be a lovely way to get in a little bit of cycling, rather than doing it through an established company.

Having taken it upon ourselves to organise the cycling aspect of our trip, I would still highly recommend companies like A Walker’s World - the guided and self-guided tours they offer are extensive and well organised- you can see this from my previous posts where I have described the Provence trip we did a few years ago. Their advisors are excellent and I am sure they will be able to suggest, and probably book, beautiful places for us to stay- but where, that is the question?

Jill Grant (from A Walker’s World), has encouraged me to explore further afield than the the South of France, which is my region of choice. At her suggestion, I have recently been exploring attractions and places to stay in the Loire, Burgundy and the Dordogne via the Internet, and the idea of exploring more of France than we initially planned is appealing. La Maison Chaudenay for instance, looks pretty irresistible and comes highly recommended by friends of our travelling companions. So, after discussing this revamp our trip with them, we are hatching a new plan…

But how do you plan such a trip?  When we planned our France/Italy trip last year, we all found The Internet to be an amazing tool for research and planning – there are some incredibly talented writers posting really helpful hints on their blogs (see my blogroll), and combined with recommendations from friends, Trip Advisor, and using well trusted guide books like those written by Rick Steves and Steve Smith, it is possible to plan fantastic trips for yourself.

It also helps to look at brochures like these on A Walker’s World website – they surely whet the appetite and give a good base from which to start planning. Personally, I have found it helpful to immerse myself in books written by those who have done similar trips, or who live in France. My French Life by Vicki Archer is my favourite of those who base themselves in France, but at the moment I am enjoying a lovely read about a bike trip following in the footsteps of Marie Antoinette - The Valley of Heaven and Hell : Cycling in the Shadow of Marie Anointette by Susie Kelly.  It is written with great good humour, and provides well-researched historical background, plus it is full of useful comments about independent cycling in Paris and beyond.

What I have found useful in planning such a trip, is to keep a journal and annotate it with pertinent information as I find it - hints taken from books like Vicki’s and Susie’s, which you won’t find in mainstream guide books. Watch this space to see where our re-vamped trip will take us and maybe come along for the ride….

Related articles

• Road trip in France (bubbleandchic.me)

Au revoir Avignon…

Tags

Avignon, Eurostar, France, L'Isle Sonnante, TGV

While researching for our next trip to France,  I stumbled upon Steve Smith’s presentation on You Tube, which I wrote about in my last entry – and almost forgot to report on the final evening we spent in Avignon before we returned to London, via TVG to Paris and Eurostar to London-so here goes:

On our return in the late afternoon from the magnificent Pont du Gard, we made it our business to soak up as much of the convivial atmosphere in Avignon as we could. Performers in town for the Annual Arts Festival continued to entertain as the sun went down. We walked the lovely tree-lined streets and watched the colourful pagentry unfold as we sought out the two restaurants highly recommended by Elodie, our tour guide.  We had decided to treat ourselves to a beautiful meal to end what had been an exquisite time in Provence. La Fourchette was fully booked but we were lucky enough to gain outdoor seating at L’Isle Sonnante, where we had the best meal of our entire trip – the restaurant owners were welcoming and helpful, the ambience was perfect, the food was delicious and beautifully presented – it was truly a perfect conclusion to a very full and exciting day.

The following morning, we readied ourselves to leave on the TGV for Paris, knowing full well we would return to Provence – luckily that will be in May 2014 . And while I have your attention, if you get a chance to travel via TGV in France or Eurostar – go for it – both trains offer a fast, efficient and very comfortable service – it is a brilliant way to travel, especially if like me, you are not keen on flying. Initially I was not thrilled about being in a train under the English Channel either, but it was so exciting, so different – I would recommend it to anyone. We certainly intend to do it again, just for the thrill of it, when we return to France next year….

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• Eurostar launches new services to southern France (twentyfourseveninfrance.com)

An armchair tour of France with Steve Smith …

Tags

A Walker's World, Burgundy, Cycling Europe, EuroCheapo, French Riviera, Loire, NIce, Paris, Rick Steves, Steve Smith, Travel and Tourism

Courtesy of an enforced break due to a stomach flu, I have been able to catch up on some travel research for our forthcoming 2014 trip to France. Readers will know that I am a great fan of the Rick Steves guide books, the books on France being co-authored by Steve Smith. I subscribe to the Rick Steves channel on You Tube and it is an excellent resource. Today I have done an armchair tour of France with Steve Smith as my guide and it is excellent. For those of you contemplating a trip to France, viewing of this clip may well useful.

Five tours are described - Paris in Seven Days, Paris and the Heart of France, French Riviera in Seven Days, Loire to the South of France, and the Wine Regions of Eastern France (you can find out more about them here).  While I am more likely to be an independent traveller rather than a member of a tour group, the clip has some very valuable hints such as the best times to visit attractions, how to avoid the tourist throngs, making the most of cities at night, and much more. The tour also opened my eyes to parts of France which I had not really contemplated visiting such as the Loire and Burgundy districts which I may now consider.  Jill Grant from A Walker’s World here in New Zealand, has previously provided me with information on some of the Cycling Europe  bike tours in these districts and they certainly are enticing.

Watching the part of the video devoted to the Paris tour, makes me realise how much we missed on our first visit -The Marais district, Monmartre, and Versailles to name but few, and also how much more we could have seen in Nice.  I am sure I will be watching it again and again, but in the meantime I need to research further and can use this armchair tour and some excellent blogs as my guide – you can see some of my favourite travel blogs in my blogroll, including Eurocheapo which always has good advice, one of the most recent being this persuasive article about staying on the Ile Saint-Louis in Paris – sounds good to me!

The pièce de résistance – the Pont du Gard

Tags

France, Italy, Nimes, Pont du Gard, Radicondoli, Rome, St Peter's Basilica

In my view nothing can prepare you for the first time you see this magnificent structure – it truly is breathtaking! Elodie picked us up in Nimes at the appointed spot and dropped us in the carpark for the trail leading to the Pont du Gard. It was a balmy afternoon and there were a lot of people making their way to the World Heritage site, probably due to the fact that there was going to be a riverside concert in the evening – a perfect place for a musical event with the Pont du Gard as a backdrop. When it came into view, we stood stock still, probably open-mouthed – no words adequately describe how stunning this structure really is. Both of us felt privileged to be able to walk over it, under it, beside it and to simply sit back and admire it, truly incredulous that it could have been engineered and constructed so long ago …..

Thinking back now with the benefit of hindsight, and having recently been privleged to visit some amazing historical sites on our recent trip to France and Italy, I think my first glimpse of the Pont du Gard garnered an overwhelming first response, much like those I experienced stepping into the tiny little church in beautiful Radicondoli, or the magnificent St Peters’s Basilica in the Vatican. See why here:

Related articles

• Day 9 (IV) Pont Du Gard @ France (alwaystravelicious.com)

Nimes in the afternoon sun…..

Tags

Arena of Nimes, Arles, France, Gard Department, Languedoc-Roussillon region, Maison Carrée, Nimes, Pont du Gard

After Arles we set off for Nimes which is in the Gard Department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Elodie dropped us near the Palais du Justice and we wandered off in the very hot sun towards the amazing Roman Amphitheatre, the Arena of Nimes – it seemed to me a much more jaw-dropping structure than the one in Arles. The huge blocks from which it is constructed are very imposing and it is impossible not to try and imagine how the Romans managed to put it together…

Moving on, we found the Roman temple we had heard about - the Maison Carree, and that was similarly stunning, so well preserved,  with six huge Corinthian columns. It would have been easy to while away all of our time there, but there was more to see – the enticingly cool side streets, a stunning church, pretty buildings with exquisite balconies, and a return to the cafe bar we had seen beside the Arena, for a quick wine and contemplation of the magnificent structure which stood before us. I will let my photos tell the story…. before we head off to the Pont du Gard – the highlight of our day….

Next stop? … Arles

Tags

Arles, Bouche-du-Rhone department, France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Roman amphitheatre, Vincent van Gogh

On the advice of Jill at A Walkers’ Word, we decided to stay on in Avignon for an extra night so that we could take in some of the historic sights on offer. Having completed our unguided ride, we moved the following morning to a different hotel (Kyriad Cap Sud), since we could not stay on a Le Lavarin.  Jill had booked a private afternoon tour to Arles, Nimes and Pont Du Gard - Roman sites and Historical Places, so we spent the morning in bustling Avignon, which was still bulging with festival artists and tourists. We did a little shopping, enjoyed more street theatre, and ate in the shade in the bustling Place de l’Horloge.

Feeling sated, we headed off to the Tourism Office to rendezvous with our tour guide, Elodie. We expected to have a few others on the tour, but were delighted to find that it was only we two in the comfortable mini-van. Our driver was a lovely young woman who was very flexible, and was happy to oblige our desire to see Arles, Nimes and the Pont du Gard, though the tour was advertised as Nimes, Uzes and Pont Du Gard. So we substiuted Arles for Uzes and we were delighted that we did, although I have since heard that Uzes should not be missed, so I am keen to see it on our return next year.

We had only limited time explore Arles which is in the Bouche-du-Rhone department (in the region fo Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur), so we decided just to wander the streets and take things as they came. Arles has a wonderful Roman amphitheatre – it is an imposing and magnificent structure but perhaps not as impressive as the one we would soon see in Nimes.  Arles definitely has different feel to it- apparently more of a Spanish influence, though as I have not been to Spain, I could not compare.

The ubiquitous Hotel de Ville was set in a large square, where people were simply relaxing in the sun or finding a shady spot to rest – in fact on reflection, the whole place had a relaxed air to it. Arles is pretty, with orange roofops, delightful streets and I always delight when I see washing hanging from the windows! There were shutters galore too, to keep me happy. I was so excited when we found L’Espace Van Gogh, the place where Van Gogh recuperated after the ear incident….. It was busy –  full of tourists, but was a profusion of floral colour and a welcome respite from the hot sun.

As we returned to our pick up point, we found an enticing shop selling glace icecream, and of course had to sample the goods – delicious and refreshing on such a hot afternoon! Next stop - Nimes….

• Day 12 (I) Arles Amphitheatre @ Arles France (alwaystravelicious.com)
• Day 12 (III) Streets of Arles @ France (alwaystravelicious.com)