Bonjour Quilts

Hong Kong with Kids: Science Museum, Disneyland and Ocean Park

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:50:00 +0000

What to do in Hong Kong if you have the littles along with you? There's plenty to choose from, including Hong Kong's Science Museum.

There is plenty of stuff to keep kids of all ages entertained.

It's also very interactive and hands-on, just the way kids like it.

And I learned a lot about...um...ah, what was I learning again?

The mirrors room was tons of fun.

Monkey skeletons are scary:

I managed to get ahead of the kids for a bit in the biology area - I came back and steered them away from these ones:

4pm in a museum was not where I wanted to answer those questions, if you know what I mean.

Adults and kids alike will really enjoy this museum, and it's a handy option if the weather's not so great.

Next up is that timeless treasure: chez Disney.

Just like the slogan promises, it was magical. From the metro carriages that take you into the park:

To all the other typically Disney sights, with a touch of Asia.

The first time I've ever seen Beaker's knees.

Winter is a fantastic time to visit - we arrived an hour after opening and there were three people in front of us at the entrance ticket stands. Does that ever happen in the US?

The longest ride wait was 20 mins - and only for one of the rides we encountered (most were only a 5-10 min wait). No need to elbow in to get a place at the afternoon parade, either. It was very civilised:

Our blond kids had the locals fascinated:

At least a dozen Chinese families asked if they could take their photo with our children (adults not invited). There were plenty who didn't bother asking, like these two guys:

It was amusing, annoying and kinda weird in equal amounts.

Come 8pm it was time for the fireworks and a twilight stroll down Main Street:

Hong Kong Disneyland is smaller than the US parks (we never made it to EuroDisney so I can't comment there) which makes it perfect for a single day out. No need for 3 day tickets.

I would say the rides are more on the quiet side - which was great for us, having younger kids. If you have adrenalin-junkie teenagers, you'd be better heading to...

Ocean Park.

A much bigger amusement park - a blend of rides, animal shows/displays and deep fried seafood vendors.

Again, we all had a ball here, even though our kids weren't big enough for over half the rides. The penguins made up for it. And the seals:

Macaws:

Pandas:

Really weird goldfish:

Teddy shoes:

One of the roller coasters we could all go on (except the baby) - how good is that view?

At the end of the day there is a hologram/laser type show around the large central fountain, complete with music, pyrotechnics and the odd dragon. Needless to say, the kids (and us, actually) were impressed.

So, a few more options to consider if you find yourself lucky enough to travel to Hong Kong.

If you're looking for more you'll find previous posts here and here.

A bientôt!

Fun in Hong Kong: the Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery and Tai O

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:55:00 +0000

Back again with more fun things to do in Hong Kong! You can find the first instalment back over here.

We decided to pop over to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha, a 34 metre statue of the big man at the Po Lin Monastery.

We took the Ngong Ping 360, a cable car, over to the island. What a fantastic way to travel.

We paid a little extra to get the glass bottomed car (known as the Crystal Cabin) which the kids loved.

Don't worry, someone cleans the nose prints off after every ride.

When you hop off the cable car you make your way through the Ngong Ping Village, which as far as I could see was a street filled with take-away food and souvenirs.

But once you get past that little pocket of commercialism you find yourself in the Po Lin Monastery grounds:

Dominated by the bronze Tian Tan Buddha statue:

Built in 1993, you'll have to climb up 268 steps to make it up to his lotus throne.

Once there you will be treated to beautiful views:

And some lovely smaller statues known as The Offering of the Six Devas (not the Sex Divas, as I accidentally typed), who face the Buddha with their gifts.

In the background of this photo you can see the golden-roofed monastery (the building behind it, under all the scaffolding, is apparently the monks' accommodation).

So we headed back down all those stairs:

To see the Po Lin Monastery.

It is filled with so many beautiful Buddha-y things - you really must see it.

You can't go in (or take photos of the interior) but there are many large open doors so you can watch the monks praying amongst the gorgeousness.

It's hard not to be affected by the peace and calm that emanates from the building.

On the way out we walked through an area where incense offerings could be made.

Of course, the 3 yr old touched the tip of an incense stick. Of course he did.

We didn't have a great deal of daylight left but we decided to make a quick visit to the nearby Tai O fishing village.

We caught the bus from the Ngong Ping and 20 minutes later (after a rather curvaceous ride) arrived in a village very different to the Hong Kong we had seen so far.

The village is essentially mounted on stilts. You can pay to take a boat ride through the waterways (which we would've done if we'd had the time) or just do like we did and wander the several streets that are built on land.

The best house in the village (the one that appears on all the postcards)

There are market stalls everywhere, specialising in dried seafood. Every sea creature you could think of had been caught, dried and sometimes, pressed.

Check out the whole shark hanging on the back wall in this photo:

We were racing the bus schedule so we didn't get to spend as much time in the village as we wanted (I didn't get to see the temple, boo), but we were still very glad we made it there.

We took the ferry home from Lantau Island that night and we were all rather tired.

Another weekend is upon us, hooray! Hope you all have a good one!

May the 4th be with you...

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Sat, 04 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

And have a wonderful weekend!

Noosa and Eumundi

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:37:00 +0000

We had a weekend away at Noosa to coincide with one of the mister's biking events.

Noosa is on the Sunshine Coast, about 130kms north of Brisbane.

It's a super popular tourist spot for anyone who loves the beach, eating out and shopping.

What is this stuff?

You know you're in Queensland when you find beer stashed in the palm trees.

The Noosa River meets the ocean here so you get both beach front and river front businesses and homes.

Sweeeet.

Spotted in the river mangroves

Saturday morning I tagged along with Marg and her daughter on a trip to the Eumundi markets.

Eumundi is in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, about 20kms inland, southwest of Noosa.

We arrived early (7am, how's that for early) and had no troubles at all with parking or crowds.

By 8am we were a little peckish and sat down for a yummy cooked breakfast without having to wait for a table.

The markets are very popular with good reason - plenty of original and quality handmade items with a dash of fresh produce and cooked food stalls.

Despite having breakfast less than an hour before, we caved in and had some teeny dutch pancakes:

Amongst the all the lovely, tasteful wares there has to be some crassness, or it's just not Australian.

Case One:

Keyrings and coin purses made from cane toads.

I know hate is a strong word, but Queenslanders hate cane toads. Introduced in 1935 from South/Central America to eat a beetle that destroyed sugarcane crops, the species bred like Catholics* and badly affected some of our native fauna. Not to mention poisoned our cats and dogs (their skin is toxic). To add insult to injury, the bloody things didn't even eat the beetles. Way to go, Australian scientists!

Case Two:

Firstly, are you eating? If you're eating: stop eating.

I don't actually even know what sort of functioning device this is supposed to be.

But it's made from a kangaroo scrotum. I bet he sure misses his scrotum.

Lordy, did I have fun typing kangaroo scrotum in the flickr tag box. And look, I've just typed it a few more times.

Alright, enough silliness from me. Just go and visit Noosa and Eumundi and don't forget to pick up your very own kangaroo scrotum. I bet they're really soft.

View from a lookout in the Eumundi area. I had house envy.

Enjoy the end of your week!

*I am allowed to say this because I am Catholic. I also have 4 children which proves the point.

Bonjour Quilts

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:15:00 +0000

Today it's all about the admin.

Firstly: I changed my name to www.bonjourquilts.com. Well, my URL. You know what I mean.

I've been meaning to change for a while and the demise of Google Reader was the push I needed. So please do update any links that you need to.

Secondly: no more Google Reader come 1st of July. If you're an aggregating type you'll need to find yourself a new platform.

Replacement options are out there - most folks in the crafty sphere are changing to Bloglovin' or Feedly. If you are with Bloglovin' and want to continue following me, click below:

If you're with Feedly, just add www.bonjourquilts.com to your feed.

It's been a bit boring around here, just a whole lot of this since our shipping container arrived from France a few weeks ago:

At least someone enjoys unpacking boxes:

The rest of us, not so much. So I've given myself a very nice incentive to get it done:

This is my NEW MACHINE!! *hyperventilates, pokes self in eye with seam ripper*

I've jumped ship from Bernette to Janome; I hope she lives up to my high expectations. I'll be sure to let you know once I get her out of the box.

A few lovely commenters on my Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show post reminded me that I didn't show you my purchases, so let me correct that.

For some reason Marg and I found ourselves very drawn to the Japanese themed booths - I picked up these various cuts with the idea of making some new lounge room cushion covers.

Happy colours!

I am also pulling bits and pieces together to make a low value quilt of some sort - these will go towards that collection. (For the non-quilters, by low value I mean low colour value, not that I'm making a cheap and nasty blanket.)

Continuing on with fabric news - I've just ordered some vinyl from the US to re-cover our dining room chairs (see tartan in first photo). Cats, children and fabric-upholstered seating don't play well together.

I found some pictures from last year and realised I hadn't shown you the Christmas gift I made for a lovely French friend who was very good to our family while we were there. She really loved this quilt:

And this one:

So I combined the fabrics from the first with the design of the later, et voilà:

The backing is a print from Dear Stella's Ikebana called Medallion in White (with a thin border of Tiles in Charcoal from the same line). Quilting was a simple grid down the centre of all the sashing lengths.

It's lap sized and my friend seemed quite happy with it.

Hopefully I'll have some more sewing, Janome sewing, to show you in the near future. Until then, have a great weekend!

Things to do in Hong Kong: Yum Cha, Markets and Trams, Oh My.

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 07:54:00 +0000

We stopped off in Hong Kong for a week on our way back from France to Australia.

We thought it might help us adjust to the new time zone and the warmer weather, and we were right on both accounts.

January is a great time to visit Hong Kong - the weather was perfect, the crowds were minimal. We even managed to time our trip to coincide with the locals going back to school, which was fantastic when we went to Hong Kong Disney (more on that in a later post).

Advert for an anti-aging serum. Love the name.

I have lots of Hong Kong Awesomeness to share, but before I do I'd like to say a big thank you to Jo over at The Ghost Who Shops. She was kind enough to email me with some great advice on enjoying her city-state. Thanks Jo!

High on my agenda was partaking in Yum Cha - traditionally a morning/lunch/afternoon tea experience that consists of lots of small portions (called dim sum) to share:

Yum Cha: Hong Kong's answer to tapas

You can either order from a menu, as we did at Lei Bistro:

Or choose from the carts circling the restaurant floor, as we did at the Metropol:

The fun part is making sure you don't end up with chicken feet. Unless you like chicken feet.

For getting around, you can't beat public transport in Hong Kong. Buy an Octopus card and you'll be able to travel (bus, train, ferry, cable car) everywhere without having to look for change. A bonus when sightseeing with kids and extra hands are hard to come by.

The tram system is excellent. Jump on at the back and exit at the front - remember to duck if you have a little one in a baby backpack.

What George Clooney* rides when he comes to town

Trams are a great way to get a feel for the city as well:

Why, hello there.

We took the tram/metro to Kowloon one afternoon to visit the Temple Street Night Markets:

Loved the gates:

You probably won't find anything life-changing at the markets but it's a good place to pick up some cheap and cheerful souvenirs.

If you're over at Kowloon at night you might as well stick around for the Symphony of Lights which lights up the skyline every night at 8pm.

The kids will enjoy it; the adults will be probably just be amused. It's greatly improved by having an ice cream in your hand.

Frick'n Lasers

We caught the ferry home

If you're short of evenings in Hong Kong I would recommend you visit Victoria Peak over the light show.

You catch a tram up to the top of the Peak:

Steep incline makes for wacky pictures

You'll be rewarded with a spectacular 360 degree view over Hong Kong.

A peek from The Peak.

Make sure you check the weather forecast for the days you're there so you can pick the clearest time to visit. I would've loved to go back during the day, too.

Well, that's probably enough for one post - I'll be back with more later. There is so much to do in Hong Kong.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

P.S Congratulations Eva and J on your new baby girl!!

*This is only fair given the Hugh video last week:

Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:28:00 +0000

Hi there everyone! Hope you all had a great Easter (if you celebrate it) and are having a wonderful weekend.

My email account was hacked yesterday - I'm so sorry if you received a strange email from me. Well, stranger than usual. Hotmail was onto it fairly quickly and shut my account down - it was really hard for me to verify I was the account owner because I hadn't changed all my alternate contacts since leaving France. So learn from my mistakes here - make sure all your security details (phone number, alternate email, etc) are up to date as it makes account reactivation so much quicker.

But back to the crafting! The weekend before Easter I convinced Marg to come out again and we headed off to see the Brisbane Stitches and Craft Show.

We met up at South Bank Parklands, with its gorgeous bougainvillaea arbour:

And then marched on to the Exhibition Centre (straight past the markets, no stopping, how's that for dedication):

I was still wearing a moon boot for my broken foot at this stage, so marching is probably a little over-exaggerated. However, we got there all the same.

There were 25 or so quilting/sewing related stalls (out of 100) which isn't a bad ratio.

We enjoyed looking over the exhibited items such as the Queensland Lace Guild display:

This was made by a man, baby! *said in an Austin Powers voice*

There were the Challenge Quilts which had to include this source fabric:

Lots of interesting techniques to study (but for the love of Liberty, don't you dare touch):

Once a Goddess, always a Goddess: Jeannie Henry

Plumage: Sue Byrnes

Fleeing in Fear: Lyn Barber

Egyptian Delight: Jane Rundle

We also spent some time perusing the Texstyle Exhibit, which showcased fabric based design projects created by Year 12 (graduating) high school students.

We loved this dress (for its techniques - we are both past our ra-ra skirt wearing days):

16th century Russia inspired dress with hand felted bodice and nuno felted skirt-

Brittany Thompson.

Nuno, you say? Why yes, the technique of felting loose fibres to a lightweight, gauzy fabric. And did you know it was developed in Australia?

Fabulous

After all the lovely fabric:

Textures:

Ideas:

Finally a use for all that bubble wrap

And seeing the guts of a Bernina machine:

We were very hungry and decidedly parched:

A late lunch on South Bank.

Then we wandered down to the Brisbane River:

And caught the ferry upstream:

Ye-olden-day version we saw from our modern ferry.

The Brisbane Customs House (c. 1889): it's not a French medieval town, but it'll have to do.

Dark clouds were brewing and a storm warning was issued. Marg's lovely daughter offered to drive me home, saving me a train ride. Or even a bike ride:

Great idea, although not sure if they get much use?

Lipton Ice Tea. Gee, that reminds me of something:

Oh Hugh, never stop dancing. Or taking your shirt off.

Have a great weekend, tout le monde!

P.S. I was doing nearly the exact same thing in Marseille this time last year.

There's no place like home

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 06:27:00 +0000

Hello from the sunny shores of Australia! Well, it would be sunny if it would stop raining, but that's what you get when you live in a sub-tropical climate.

I hope you've all been keeping well over the past few months (and sewing and eating and travelling). Thank goodness for blogs - I feel like I've been able to stay up to date with the world even though I haven't been participating.

We've come home to the lovely city of Brisbane, Australia. The climate took some adjusting to after a European winter, but we are loving the outdoor lifestyle again.

Brisbane River

Our house is in need of a little TLC after many years of tenants. If we think about what needs doing we get a little overwhelmed, so we're taking it one job at a time.

Weeds are the easy part.

I managed to break a bone in my foot, which has slowed me up a bit. (No funny story there unfortunately, I just accidentally kicked the doorjamb.)

I caught up with Marg, in real life, and it was wonderful. It even stopped raining while we were together. Behold the power of blogging!

We have been delighted to have two members of our family returned to us, looking as young as the day we left them at Chez Grandparents before our voyage to France.

I read somewhere that a cat's memory only spans 18 months. I don't believe it though, as these two have picked up right where we left off (lots of snuggles and purrs). Not that you'd believe it from the photos.

Nothing says I love you like disdain.

Not impressed. This was what I got after calling his name at least 5 times.

Our household is currently running on the quarter of our belongings we were able to bring by air - the rest arrives by sea sometime this month.

Of course, I could fit the sewing machine in!

I've even managed a bit of sewing - I tried to make a cushion cover to enter in the 2013 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Emerald, over at Ali's blog.

Problem is, I don't really like how it turned out. Will have to try this pattern again on a different scale with different colours.

We haven't had much chance to travel since we've arrived, between working on the house, back to school (kids), back to work 2 days a week (for me) and the record-breaking amount of rain we've had this summer. Hopefully the sun will pop out again soon and we will get to take a day trip.

Until then, you'll just have to put up with sewing posts and a bit of Hong Kong.

Bless my husband, he spotted this one for me.

Yum Cha: no dumpling left unturned.

What?? They ate all the dumplings?

I can't wait to tell you all about it - Hong Kong was fantastic!

Until next time, keep safe and dry.
A bientôt!

Happy New Year, Goodbye (and a little bit of Gordes)

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Did you all have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays? Can you believe 2012 is almost over? (Already over for all my Australian/NZ friends!)

I wonder what 2013 will bring us all?

I have a few last photos to share of our anniversary overnighter in Gordes.

(We also stopped off in Bonnieux for a few minutes to enjoy the view in the last light):

Once we arrived in Gordes we ahhhhed over our nice room (an anniversary gift to each other):

The lobby

I only took the sewing kit. Such restraint.

Mirrored wardrobe in the bathroom. Noice. Seeing my backside reflected to infinity, not so noice.

We took a stroll through the deserted streets, admiring the Christmas lights:

Puddy tat warming his buns on an uplight

Then it was back to the hotel for a decadent dinner:

We both marvelled at how little admin is required when it's just the two of us. So easy!

After a huge meal we headed back to our room.

Have to love a hotel that leaves such lovely treats when they turn down the bed.

The next day we drove home to relieve the babysitter and took the kids to the Rognes Truffle Festival. I was hoping to post about that before we left but time is getting away from me.

We have five days left in France and only three nights left in our home. Things are pretty busy at the moment and I can't see me having time to blog again until we are settled in at home in Australia.

I'm still planning to blog once we get home although obviously the travel component will be greatly reduced and much more Australian. The crafting and sewing will continue.

My feelings on our imminent departure are mixed. Given I've already had two glasses of wine (hey, it's New Year's Eve!) and I'm feeling a little emotional, let me just say this:

I love France.
I love Australia.
I love that our fourth baby was born in France.
I could not have enjoyed France as much as I did without knowing Australia was there for me to return to, whenever I wanted.
I'm sure Australia has changed in our three years away. I know I certainly have. It may be hard to readjust to my old life.
Travelling with four children can be tiring, frustrating and expensive - but none of that will be what we remember when we think back on our life in France. I'm so glad we pushed through the difficult stuff and made the most of our time here. We have no regrets. (Non, rien de rien...)
I'm actually looking forward to sitting still and not travelling everywhere for a change.
I miss being able to deal with difficult things in my mother tongue.
I know as soon as I get home I'll miss speaking French.
I'm so, so glad we had the opportunity to live overseas.
I'm so, so glad I decided to start this blog.

Merci beaucoup to all of you who've accompanied and encouraged me along on this journey. This blog has forced me to finish projects, process photographs and keep a journal I will treasure in the years to come. The bonus has been meeting so many wonderful new friends, either virtually or in the flesh. You guys rock.

So, I'll see you in February, okay? We are stopping in Hong Kong for a week on the way home so if any of you have any hot tips for things to do/see/eat I'd be eternally grateful if you left me a little note below.

Happy New Year, tout le monde, and may 2013 be your best year yet!

P.S I'll be turning the word verification back on for comments while we're away. Sorry, but I'm tired of Canadian pharmacies trying to sell me (and you) viagra. Seriously Canada, what gives?

Fromage, tu vas me manquer. *sob*

Apt in the Luberon Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:48:00 +0000

Before I take you on a short tour of another lovely village, I wanted to say thank you to Pink Chalk Fabrics for choosing my Modern Chevron quilt tutorial for the finals of the Handmade With Love Tutorial Contest 2012.

Voting closes today so pop over and vote for whatever takes your fancy in the four categories. You'll also find a link to all 130 tutorials that were submitted to the contest - tons of free inspiration all in the one spot!

So, back to the lovely town of Apt which is located in the Luberon Valley, Provence.

We visited about a month ago on a Saturday, because Saturday is market day. And Sara Louise had told us Apt is one of her favourite markets so we thought we'd better check it out.

Sara was right. The markets are large, stretched out along many of Apt's picturesque streets and alleys, and have a great variety of vendors.

Provençal quilting (known as boutis) where stuffing is used between two wholecloths

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the cheese.

Walking through the stalls we came upon the 11th century Cathédrale Sainte--Anne.

Looks a little spooky, huh?

If you want more spookiness you can go down under the main altar into a pre-Roman crypt.

And then down another level to the spot where Christian worship supposedly first occurred in the town.

The passageway has stone tiles (around 1000 years old) decorating the ceiling and there are relics housed behind the grate (said to be the bones of Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, but I have no idea how they verify these things.)

Notes and prayers to St Anne had been stuffed through the grill:

After the markets began to close up we walked a little further, trying to find a restaurant for lunch (they were all full).

So instead we went to a wood-fired pizza van and picked up some lunch-to-go:

Which we ate in the park across the road:

The pizza was fantastic and the kids had a ball running around the grounds.

So don't forget - if you're looking for a great market, try Apt on a Saturday.

It's exactly two weeks and two days until we leave France. I think I've finally come to terms with it.

Plus we've run out of Vegemite so it must be time to go home.

Have a great weekend, everyone. We're off on a one-night getaway in Gordes for our 14th wedding anniversary. Photos will follow! (Of Gordes, not our anniversary celebrations. Ahem ;)

It's bloody cold here

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:34:00 +0000

After several weeks of balmy high teens temperatures (say 60-65˚F), winter has finally caught up with Provence.

We had snow today!

Of course we have our fingers crossed for a White Christmas.

The Aix-en-Provence Christmas Markets have been open for a few weeks now.

This is our fourth Christmas here and I still can't get enough of this tradition.

But before we toured the markets we attended a Christmas Carols concert (in English) at the St Sauveur Cathedral. There were adult and children's choirs complete with ringing bells and candles for the audience.

The highlights for me were singing The Twelve Days of Christmas (everyone really gets into that one) and the 3 year old asking his father when we would be singing Gangnam Style. Hmm.

After the carols we enjoyed the magic of the markets.

The lights:

The stalls:

This stall smells divine - ribbon-woven lavender

The book markets happened to be on at the same time (in the Hôtel de Ville square)

The Santon display:

(And buying a few more to round out my own collection)

The kiddie rides:

And of course the mulled wine and roasted chestnuts.

The Rotonde Fountain at one end of the Cours Mirabeau looks stunning in lights:

The shopping strip doesn't look too shabby either:

Speaking of shopping, how's yours going?

I need to get into gear. I've sent the Christmas cards and my handmade gifts are coming along well, but the shopping...not so much. There's still plenty of time, right?

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend (perhaps with some Christmas shopping)!

Malta: Mdina

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 22:16:00 +0000

Here's a recommendation for another great day out in Malta: the ancient walled city of Mdina.

It's old and beautiful and serene (although I imagine in the high season not so much that last one).

The birth of the city can be traced to the Phoenicians in 1000BC who apparently built the first wall around the hilltop (and called it Malet).

Then the Romans built a small city on the same spot and called it Melita.

In the 9th century, under Arab occupation, the city walls were further fortified and a moat built. The name Mdina is derived from the Arab word medina, meaning 'walled city'.

By the time the Knights of St John took up residence on the island (1500s), Mdina was the home of the governing council of Malta as well as many Maltese aristocrats.

The Knights built a new capital, Valletta, and Mdina was left in peace to become the 'Silent City' as it's often called.

We wandered the streets for a while before eating lunch at the Indian restaurant Sharma. It was the best Indian food we've had since leaving Australia - absolutely delicious.

After lunch we took in the Knights of Malta 'Show' for which I only have a half-hearted recommendation. If it's raining or your kids are really bored then it's not a bad bet. There is a short film followed by a walk amongst the mannequin dioramas (which might scare the Mdina out of your kids). The audio guide equipment was hit and miss - a few of us had a hard time hearing over the static.

In the afternoon we visited St Paul's Cathedral. St Paul, who was shipwrecked on Malta in 60AD, supposedly lived in Mdina for a while before he returned to Rome.

Then we had a spot of afternoon tea at the Fontanella Tea Gardens.

The view from the balcony was fab.

By the time we'd finished the sun was starting to set, bringing a beautiful golden hue to the stone walls.

As we walked back to the car (none allowed in the walls, there are two large car parks outside the city) we enjoyed one last view back at the Mdina Gate:

And then at the city itself from afar:

A great visit - don't miss Mdina if you ever find yourself on the Maltese Islands.

Malta: the Hypogeum, Tarxien Temples and Marsaxlokk

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:20:00 +0000

Well, I made it into the Circle of Moms Top 25 European Blogs - just - the roller door hit me on the backside as it came down. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for this blog over the three weeks - you're the best!

Back to Malta. The Maltese Islands may be small but they're attraction-packed. We did a lot while we were there and still could've done more if we'd had the time. And that's without all the summery activities (beach, boats, diving, etc) given it was November.

Here's a quick outline of one of our days where we managed to fit in three great visits.

First up, we hit the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum - an example of the amazing megalithic temples dotted all over Malta.

The Hypogeum is fascinating. It was an underground burial chamber built somewhere between 3600 and 3000BC (1000 years before the pyramids!) by some of the earliest inhabitants of the Islands, who were thought to have come from neighbouring Sicily. It was discovered by accident in 1902 when workmen broke a hole through the ceiling while trying to install a cistern under a house.

The necropolis is huge - some 500 square metres, probably holding around 7000 bodies. It has three levels, the deepest being over 10 metres (33 ft) below ground. The whole thing - passages with separate chambers, stairs, columns and beams, were chipped out of rock (with basic tools). Generation after generation (for a thousand years) continued with construction, adding new chambers as required.

Bodies were put to rest in the chambers closer to the surface and the bones were then moved to chambers further in the back once the meaty bits had decomposed. Eeww. Speaking of eeww - can you imagine being on the construction crew? Sitting down there in the dark chipping away at the rock with an antler, the fetid particles of a thousand decaying bodies in the air around you? Sure makes cremation look good.

There are many unanswered questions about the Hypogeum and the mystery is part of the appeal. Why did the original builders start these traditions which are nothing like those followed in Sicily? How did they get light into the necropolis when archaeologists haven't found a single scorch mark indicating the use of flames? And most of all - why did they one day just stop using it? There is no explanation as to why it was abandoned after hundreds of years of work to build it and the interring of generations. Gah! I want to know!!

Some useful stuff:

Photos are not allowed in the facility (the whole thing is located inside a building in a residential area).
The tour is about an hour and kids under 6 are not allowed (the mister and I took our two big kids in shifts).
The tour is via audio guide over a walkway constructed through the Hypogeum so as to protect the rock. It's actually quite roomy down there now they've taken all the bodies out (for those who get antsy in enclosed spaces like me) and although I've lingered on the grim details, the tour won't frighten the kids. Our two loved it.
Most important point: you must book your tickets in advance. We booked ours online a good month and a half ahead. In the high season you'd want to try earlier. Only 80 people a day are allowed in the Hypogeum to protect the temple from carbon dioxide damage.
There is no dedicated parking, you have to find a spot on the street.

We parked down there on the left.

Just a few blocks over from the Hypogeum are the Tarxien Temples.

Seen on the walk to the Temples:

Most excellent door knocker

Back to the Temples:

The complex was discovered by a ploughing farmer in 1913 and was later excavated by the same fellow who oversaw the works at the Hypogeum.

The Tarxien Temples are a grouping of three temples (known as East, South and Central Temples) and were built at different times, the oldest in the same era as the Hypogeum.

New walkways being constructed while the 3 yr old strolls

It's not really known what exactly they were used for (religious, political, economical reasons?) but they were communal centres. Relics have shown there were also most likely animal sacrifices in the South Temple.

Altar depicting animals near where sacrifice remains/tools were found

The temple culture ended abruptly (as I mentioned with the Hypogeum's creators) however the Tarxien complex saw further use in the Bronze Age when it was turned into a crematory/cemetery.

She's got legs (and not much else)

After our morning among the ruins we headed further south for lunch in the fishing village of Marsaxlokk.

It's only a small spot but perfect for a seafood lunch by the ocean.

The bay is full of traditional, brightly-coloured Maltese fishing boats, called luzzu.

Parents - you know when you nag your kids not to do something and they don't listen you?

Honey, please don't x, you might y.

Sweetie, if you keep xing, you're gonna end up ying.

Listen up kid: if you y, don't come crying to me.

x = stand on the boat ramp runners

y = fall in the water

Well, y did indeed occur. The adjacent diners enjoyed the lunchtime show much more than a certain child enjoyed eating her meal in wet clothes.

Getting wet in 3...2...

Lesson learned?

We can only hope so.

An Introduction to Malta

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 23:22:00 +0000

We spent the second week of November in Malta.

Look. I'll admit it. I had to get the atlas out:

The Maltese Islands - right below Sicily (Italy) in the Mediterranean Sea.

But I'm so glad we went there and here are a few reasons why:

1. The history of Malta is AMAZING. From Stone Age temples to invading Turks to medieval knights to Napoleon to WWII bombings... the Maltese have seen it all and bought the t-shirt.

2. The Maltese Islands are small but they pack a punch - there is easily enough to fill two weeks of intense touristy behaviour.

3. Malta is cheaper than mainland Europe.

4. Maltese is the national language, but everyone also speaks English. Everyone (almost) is also friendly.

5. It's warmer than mainland Europe.

We caught a cheap Ryan Air flight into Valletta (the capital), arriving at midnight. Accommodation is less expensive than what we'd pay in France so we decided to spend our usual amount to get a fancier apartment (being our last holiday in Europe and all). By fancy, I mean we woke up to this view the next morning:

We were pretty happy. To say the least.

Some thoughts:

I loved these boxed in balconies that were all over the place, whether new:

Or old:

The Maltese have been through a lot and are fiercely proud of their heritage. I loved how the Maltese Cross was incorporated into design everywhere you looked:

The local beer is very drinkable (especially on a warm day):

The doorknobs are adorable:

History is everywhere. 500 year old sandstone walls:

Other reminders of the incredible things that came to pass right where we were staying:

The language, Maltese, although not cyrillic, was greatly shaped by Turkish occupation:

And unlike French, you can't kind of guess your way. It's nothing like English. (Rarely a problem except for street names, which for the majority seemed to be only in Maltese.)

Malta is a very Catholic state. St Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked on the island in 60 AD and it all started from there.

I'd say 2 out of every 3 houses had statuettes such as these next to the front door:

The roads are a little crazy - lots of potholes and a maximum speed limit of 70 km/hr (45 mph) which isn't always obeyed. Our cosseted children's eyes nearly popped out of their heads when they saw this:

Seat belts optional?

Malta has a slightly less finished feel about it - not rough, just rustic. That is a huge part of its charm:

We had a wonderful time there.

I won't lie. I did think about it:

But of course we didn't. Our loss, huh?

Château de Villandry, Loire Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:38:00 +0000

This post outlines some of our adventures on our Spring Trip in April/May 2012.

The Circle of Moms Top 25 European Blogs voting ends tomorrow (Nov 21st). I'm not sure if I'm going to make it so if you've ever enjoyed a tutorial or photo on this blog I sure would appreciate your support with a vote. It only takes two clicks!

I was going to delve into Malta but thought I should wrap up our Spring Trip with this final post on the Château de Villandry in the Loire Valley.

Villandry was built in 1536 by King Francois I's finance minister, Jean Le Breton.

Monsieur Le Breton had an existing medieval castle demolished to make way for the château.

Entrance courtyard from two perspectives:

The Le Breton family owned the château until 1754, when it became the property of the Marquis de Castellane, a nobleman from Provence.

He had the castle renovated to bring in some 18th century comforts.

Something special hiding beside the table in this alcove.

One of the outbuildings constructed under the Marquis:

We saw these hungry fish in the moat; they freaked us out:

Death by a thousand hickies

The château changed hands again in 1906 when Joachim Carvallo, a Spanish doctor and art collector, purchased the property.

Moorish craftsmen built this mosaic ceiling in Spain in the 15th century; after purchase it took a year to reassemble in Villandry (3600 pieces!)

Carvallo restored the castle and undertook the huge project of returning the gardens to their original Renaissance glory.

The gardens...oh, the gardens. They are the star of this château.

Very well tended:

Fact: Tractors are sexy

And 10 points for the loveliest use of lettuce I have ever seen:

The grounds are quite large, including a labyrinth, ponds, fountains and a kids' playground - all in separate garden 'rooms' to explore.

As you'd expect, our children had a ball.

The (then) 2 yr old in trouble for trying to jump in the pond with the swans.

In summary: go there! The castle is lovely but the gardens are spectacular. Don't miss it.

And just to wrap up, here's the all-in-one speed meal we had at the restaurant just outside the castle:

Slow-cooked duck with sweet potato mash, quinoa salad, strawbs with Chantilly crème. 'Twas good.

That ends the Spring Trip 2012 series. If you are looking for other posts from this trip, here they all are:

A brief stop in Beaune

Versailles: mooching around the palace

Versailles: the glorious gardens

Amiens and ANZAC Day in Villers-Bretonneux

Honfleur, Normandy

Giverny (Monet's home and gardens)

Camembert

Mont St-Michel

Château de Chenonceau

Château du Clos Lucé (Leonardo da Vinci's last home)

Château de Chambord

See you soon with Malta photos or a quilt -whichever I finish first!

Back on deck...

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:00:00 +0000

...after a week away on holidays.

A week spent on an island in Europe:

Somewhere warm:

With a fascinating history:

European with a Middle Eastern flavour:

Here's one final hint:

Can you guess?

A big thank you to those who popped over to cast a vote for me in the Circle of Moms Top 25 European Blogs. I've just made it into the Top 25; fingers crossed I'll stay there. You can vote every day until the poll closes on Nov 21.

Back soon with more show and tell!

P.S. Thank you for giving me a reason to buy a bag of Maltesers. They didn't last very long.

Autumn Randomness...

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 20:34:00 +0000

Hi everyone, hope you had a happy Halloween (if you celebrate it - sadly it's not really France's thing). Have you emerged from your sugar comas yet?

I also hope that anyone who had to face Superstorm Sandy's wrath is okay and life is getting back to normal.

After several storms and low temperatures, I can't deny it any longer. France is in the grip of autumn.

I have mixed feelings about this change of season. On the one hand it's beautiful, on the other it means we're even closer to leaving. I'm using cheese to get myself through the pain.

I was nominated for the Top 25 European Moms blogger award for 2012, which is a lovely compliment. At the moment I'm languishing at number 43, but if you've got a moment you could click the button below and vote for me. Apparently you can vote every day (if you're really feeling frisky) until 21 November, when the poll closes.

Speaking of polls - good luck USA with your election on Tuesday! The fate of the free world is in your hands, no pressure.

I know it's a really important event, but can I be honest and say I'll be glad when it's over? Is America done with hearing about it too?

Although the election lead up did produce this Bad Lip Reading video (no political statement being made here - I just think it's hilarious):

And on that note, thanks for dropping by and I hope you're having a great weekend!

A bientôt!

Château de Chambord, Loire Valley

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:58:00 +0000

This post outlines some of our adventures on our Spring Trip in April/May 2012.

The Château de Chambord is a glorious example of French Renaissance architecture; the largest and most visited castle in the Loire Valley (according to my Lonely Planet Guide).

And it really is spectacular: 156 metres (170 yds) long and 56 metres (183 ft) tall, 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces and over 400 rooms.

I have to be honest and say that it was not my favourite castle.

The château's history goes a long way toward explaining my view.

King François I initiated construction in 1519 and the castle took 30 years to build, although technically, it was never completed.

The salamander, the emblem of François I, decorates many surfaces throughout the castle

Chambord was built as a hunting lodge (Comtesse de Thoury, the King's mistress, just happened to own the domaine next door. Isn't that a coincidence?) Some of the rooms are furnished in line with the hunting theme.

While the design credit for the castle is disputed, but many experts believe that Leonardo Da Vinci designed the super cool double spiral staircase that internally links all three floors of the castle. (You might recall from this post that King François I and Leo were good mates.)

The second floor level of the staircase has ornate vaulted ceilings.

The external staircases are rather lovely too:

Including this one, which lead us up to the roof.

They say that the roof was designed to look like the skyline of Constantinople.

Speaking of the roof, the ornamental outcrops were made from tufa limestone as it is relatively soft and lends itself to easy carving. Unfortunately it erodes after years in the rain, so had to be replaced more frequently than stone. Many examples of the original roof pieces can be seen on the ground floor.

More super soft limestone

As you would imagine, Chambord was crazy expensive to build and construction halted several times due to lack of funds (not to mention a few wars here and there).

By the time François I died in 1547 he had spent a massive 7 weeks total in the castle. Turns out when you build an enormous castle with huge rooms and high ceilings it is very expensive to heat. Then there was the fact that the château was miles from anywhere, so all supplies had to be brought along when visitors came. And finally, because the castle was never intended to be a permanent residence it was never furnished - hunting parties would bring the 1500's version of fold up furniture with them. Given these parties could be up to 2000 strong you can imagine the logistical nightmare they would have been to organise.

Ornamental wood fire heater

François' son, Henry II along with King Louis XIV both continued work on Chambord. During the French Revolution the castle was stripped - all removable furnishings were sold and floor boards were used as firewood.

Chambord fell into disrepair several times only to be revived by various kings and other royal relatives.

The birth of the Duke of Bordeaux (known as the Comte de Chambord). The château was given to him as a baby in 1821.

During the 18th century sections of the castle were partitioned and lower ceilings installed to make the building more inhabitable.

The French government bought the château in 1930 from the Comte de Chambord's heirs. Shortly before WWII broke out many of the Louvre and Compiègne museums' artworks were stored in Chambord's chapel for safety (including the Mona Lisa).

The Chapel

As you can see from its history, the Château de Chambord has never been a home. Hell, it's never even been fully furnished - even now, open to the public, many rooms remain bare. It's so enormous and so opulent, but really, it's all a bit of a waste, insomuch as that it was never really used for the purpose for which it was built. Of course, being open for all of us to enjoy now goes a long way to redeeming this and I do thoroughly recommend you visit. It's stunning. A bit sad, but stunning.

Another example of what I'm trying to explain: the Coach Room displays beautiful horse drawn carriages built for the Comte de Chambord (saddlery provided by Hermès!). They were never used.

But it's spectacular, there's no doubt about it.

I hope you can squeeze in a visit one day!

Nice's beautiful façades

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:35:00 +0000

Not much to say really.

I'm just spending this rainy autumn day remembering my wander amongst the gorgeous buildings of Nice on the French Riviera.

I wish every town put this much effort into their buildings.

There are a good twenty blocks of this. Can you imagine it?

Oh France, I love you.

I will be back later this week with (hopefully, finally) the last of our Spring Trip photos (spoiler: CASTLES!)

Hope you're all having a wonderful week so far! x x

Blogapalooza in Montpellier

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:48:00 +0000

That's right - we had another Blogapalooza over the weekend, this time in the seaside city of Montpellier.

You can find the write up from our very first gathering here, and our second (redux) here.

What a fantastic bunch of people to meet!

Lovely Aidan organised the shebang and folks came from as far away as Paris, Bordeaux and Monaco to attend.

We met for lunch at Chez Boris:

Where the walls (and ceilings) are chalkboards:

And the menu is heavy on the meat:

We were seated right in the back where there were plenty of dark walls and no windows, so you'll have to excuse the grainy photos (consider it ambiance :)

Karen, Abby and Colleen checking out the gorgeous cushion Nicola made for Aidan. Logan (Abby's husband) in the background explaining what size steak he'd like.

When you put a bunch of repressed English speakers together in a foreign country you get a lot of fast talking. And when you get a lot of talking at once it gets really LOUD!

Lovely Aidan with her cushion (and a French lady laughing at us all in the background)

We received a few amused looks and a nearby diner even wandered over to ask us who we all were.

Nicola, the seamstress extraordinaire

We didn't care, we just kept on yapping.

Even when the food came out.

I don't think Logan got the steak he wanted.

Although it did get a little quieter when they served dessert. The lemon meringue was scrummy.

Aidan and Jennifer's girls kept each other company and even left a little reminder of their stay (encouraged by the staff).

It was a fantastic day and I'd love to say a big hello and thank you to all those who attended, especially Aidan for organising it all.

Here's everyone:

Aidan - Conjugating Irregular Verbs
Jennifer - American Mom in Bordeaux
Nicola - Growing Berries
Karen - Little Sweet Spots
Julie - The Provence Post
Sarah - St Bloggie de Riviere
Heather - Lost in Arles
Jennifer - Gustia
Abby - J'adore Ma Vie
Meredith - Talking Story in Provence
Colleen - Life 2.1

A great list for those who love expat blogs!

Nice, France, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:17:00 +0000

If you're looking for Part 1, it's over here.

We made the most of our last day in Nice before we drove home - the day started early for me again with the sunrise.

There were a few early morning exercisers, a few not-quite-finished-from-the-night-before party people and some giggling old ladies out for a sunrise swim (all with those cute bathing caps).

The seaside restaurants and lounges were all setting up for the day.

The 'beach':

Once the pretty colours had been chased away by the sun I made my way towards the Vielle Ville, enjoying the sites on the way.

Hotel Negresco

Bikes for hire

The gorgeous light fixtures outside L'Opéra de Nice

The streets in the Old City are narrow and colourful with an Italian feel. (The influence of Nice once being a part of the Roman Empire?)

Where we actually ended up eating lunch that day. Much more crowded at midday.

Even the laundromat looks inviting:

The antique market was setting up on the Cours Saleya as I arrived.

Plenty of trash:

And treasure (which is, of course, all in the eye of the beholder):

These vintage buttons were expensive but gorgeous (I only bought 4, very reserved).

I was too frightened to look inside this book in case it had pictures. Remember my trip to the French gyno?

After my morning wanderings we checked out of our apartment and headed up to the Parc du Château.

This Parc is located on top of a 92m hill right next door to the Old City.

The views from all sides are spectacular, whether it be over the beach:

Or Vieux Nice:

Or the Port (loving the hot pink silos):

There is much we didn't get to see in Nice and we'd love to go back. However, with the number of weekends we have left in France almost down to single digits it's unlikely this will happen. Boo.

But we never say never!

Bonjour and Bienvenue au Travelling Pic Stitch Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Welcome to my stop on the Travelling Pic Stitch Blog Hop - organised by the lovely Katy and Laura.

These girls had the idea of getting bloggers around the world to piece together some quilting goodness, the colours of which have to be based on a photo they have taken during their travels.

So, what sort of piecing? Why, English Paper Piecing of course. Is there any other? (No really, I'm serious, is there any other??).

This hand sewing technique is the perfect project to take on the road when travelling. If you would like to see a concise explanation of EPP, just look here at Florence of Flossie Teacakes' most excellent write up.

There are many stops on the Blog Hop (which goes until the end of next month) and anyone can join in by creating their own piece and linking up on 30 Nov.

And yes, there are prizes courtesy of some lovely sponsors:

Paper Pieces (whose code PAPER20 will get you 20% off at checkout)
Fabricworm
Pink Castle Fabrics
Marmalade Fabrics
Fat Quarter Shop
Want It Need It Quilt
Aurifil

Good stuff!

Now, here's what I got up to with my first ever EPP attempt.

My photo came from our recent trip to Nice on the French Riviera.

The colours on the right below were pulled from photo by the Playcrafts Palette Builder. Because I'm very fond of turquoise I decided to go heavy on the blue and add just a pop of orange to represent the terracotta roofs of the Vielle Ville (Old City).

I used Kona Solids Cyan, Lagoon and Tangerine plus an off cut of turquoise curtain voile (with light interfacing on the back).

I tried my hand at few different shapes:

And eventually sewed them together to make an abstract geometric pattern.

I've been needing an iPad case for a while so I decided to use the piece to decorate a linen foundation.

I used double sided interfacing to adhere the piece and then reinforced it by stitching around the edges.

I was expecting it to look like a dog's breakfast so I was very pleased with the outcome.

This lasted 14.7 seconds until I realised I'd made a rather tragic mistake:

Flap closes on design. Bugger.

No going back once you've fused that sucker down, so I had to do some creative cutting to salvage the thing.

Note to self: double check the placement before fusing. Then check again.

Anyhoo, I now have an iPad case that can hold an iPad. I consider that a win.

There you have it. I tried EPP for the very first time and not a single swear word was uttered (the moment I discovered my appliqué was upside down doesn't count as technically the EPPing was over by then). I really enjoyed the zen of the process and hope to do some more.

And so the show goes on! For the complete list of Blog Hop participants over the two months, see here.

For some quick links you can see yesterday's stop here at Jo's blog Bearpaw and tomorrow's stop will be at Ramona's blog Ramona Rose.

I will be back soon with some more pictures from Nice, see you then.

Scrap Love: Embroidery Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:04:00 +0000

Who doesn't love a scrappy project?

Not just the look of them but also the fact you're squeezing a little bit more life out of your much loved fabrics.

(found here)

(Downside: it encourages scrap hoarding. Big time.)

This technique can be used with scraps of almost any size - these fabric tiles are one inch squares.

My cutting template came from an empty plastic milk bottle. I wrapped it in waste cloth and warmed it under a low iron to relax the curve, then stashed it under a big stack of heavy books until cool. Opaque plastic works best as you can easily trace a template straight from the grid on your cutting mat.

Trace a bunch of shapes on the paper of your double-sided appliqué interfacing:

Then iron onto the wrong side of your scraps:

Let cool and then cut them out.

Another great thing about one inch fabric tiles is that it's easy to test out designs on your cutting board, using the grid as a guide.

Replicate the one inch grid on your chosen backing fabric with water soluble marker:

One of the problems with fixing the tiles in place is the need to put waste cloth on top of them before ironing. If you lay them all out it is near impossible to keep them all in position as you place on the cloth - so I iron mine on one line at a time.

I just iron each line lightly and quickly, enough so they won't move, then move on to the next line (don't use steam or your water soluble grid will disappear).

Once I have all the lines in place I then give the whole piece a thorough going-over (hee) with steam or a bit of water on the cloth to make sure those suckers are well stuck.

I like to further fix my squares with hand sewing and always draw a guiding grid because I am terrible at keeping straight.

Then it's up to you what you want to do with it! It's a very colourful, scrappy canvas for whatever purpose you decide.

I chose to embroider over mine. I sketched out a design and used the old window light-box trick to trace it onto my canvas. (If your design is very fine this method won't work so well, the tiles make it hard to trace though.)

It takes a little more effort to bunch through the extra layer of fabric, but nothing too difficult.

I finished this one off using my usual method:

And it's now having a lovely time in its new home in New Zealand. Hi Sarah!

So if you're holding on to those last tiny scraps of Mendocino or Flea Market Fancy (original issue) why not put them to use so you can enjoy them everyday?

Tuesday I'll be back with another little project - my very first English Paper Piecing (EPP) attempt as part of the Travelling Pic Stitch Blog Hop. Check out Chelsea's gorgeous work if you want to see how it's done.

Anyone can join in (there are prizes!) so check out the details. All you need is a needle and thread, paper and fabric. And fingers. Fingers really help.

À mardi!

Nice, France, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:10:00 +0000

Hi everyone, hope you're having a great week so far!

Commiserations to any Hawthorn supporters out there. We enjoyed the game over a quiet Bundy and Coke or two - very refreshing at 7am!

I have some pictures from Nice for you today - so if you are up for a ramble around this infamous Mediterranean city, read on:

We arrived Saturday afternoon, just in time to see the mister cross the finish line for his week-long road bike event.

Viewed from the finish line, looking across the road:

The romantic Hotel Negresco (built 1912)

Looking up:

Scary casino jester head

Looking down:

We were experiencing the last weekend of the heatwave that simmered France in August, so a cold one of these was required:

French beer isn't my favourite (I prefer Belgian) but this was cold and wet and deeeelicious.

That evening we were all a little tired after the journey and excitement of the day. I offered to cook and so went down the street to pick up some take-away pizza to eat in our apartment.

As I waited for our order to cook I took a short stroll on the Promenade des Anglais, where I came across some sort of small parade:

And couldn't resist snapping a few more shots of the Hotel Negresco, which I think is even prettier by night.

The next day I was up with the sun and left my sleeping beauties behind to explore the streets.

This amazed me - an apartment block with doors that open from each landing of the stairwell straight out to the front of the building. Not even a screen door. As an occasional klutz and a mother of young children, the thought makes me shudder.

Nice has a big expat scene - it was the winter destination from the late 1800s and hasn't looked back since. Plenty of Englishfolk retired there (and still do, lucky sods). Many Russian well-to-do also settled in Nice during the turbulent 1910s. The Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral was built in 1912 and is the largest church of this denomination located outside Russia.

1865 - when Nicholas, Russia's heir apparent, died in Nice (for whom the Cathedral is named)

It was too early for visiting hours so I admired the beautiful mosaic work from the gates. I had every intention of returning later to see inside but unfortunately time ran away from us (a good reason to go back to Nice again, methinks).

Most of my wandering that morning was around the Medecin area, just north of the Promenade des Anglais, where the buildings have fabulously ornate façades and very classy porticoes.

In an age of 'get it built quick and cheap' these buildings are a beautiful deviation from the norm. I happily spent a few hours walking around with my chin up in the air and *ahem* photographing people's windows.

Also seen out and about:

Very early on; had to have my coffee and croissant

Super cute yellow car

Across the road from super cute yellow car. D'oh.

Would have loved to take this home and turn it into a glass-topped table

Loved this vintage sign even though there is something deeply disturbing about a coffeepot drinking its own coffee.

That day the kids had a ball on the beach and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the Promenade (followed by lazy afternoon naps). That night we ventured down to Old Nice for some Indian food (best we've had in France) and then soaked in the evening ambiance.

The streets were bustling with diners and tourists:

And the kids loved this more modern art display:

Hardcore naughty-corner alternative for very bad children

And it wouldn't be France without a beautiful merry-go-round that's over a hundred years old:

Probably enough photographs for now (sorry for anyone on dial-up) but I will be back with more soon. Nice is too wonderful to be contained in just one post!

Ansouis revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Kirsty@Bonjour) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 22:44:00 +0000

We visited Ansouis in autumn last year. We also spent an evening there a few weeks ago and I'm happy to report it's just as gorgeous in summer too. I seriously doubt there is a bad time to visit.

I purposely reserved a later table for dinner so that the mister and I would have a chance to wander around the village a bit in the 'golden hour'.

The school holidays were over and the lack of tourists was notable (except us, of course).

As the sun began to set a beautiful golden light settled in the streets.

Twilight soon followed - time to eat!

We ate at La Closerie that night - a restaurant that has received good reviews. I'm happy to report we also enjoyed our meal there. Delicious food (we had the Menu Gourmand), attentive service and a great wine recommendation from the staff. Book a week out though - it's very popular (this was the second time I'd tried to get in.)

The entree was a killer: crab meat salad with avocado and dressing, a papadum-ish back shell and two crab claws (pre-cracked and read to eat). The two chives for antennae completed the picture.

Thank you, Ansouis, for another lovely visit!

I'll be back with some photos from our Nice trip early next week.

Have a great weekend, everyone. We'll be up at 6.30am on Saturday to watch the Australian Football Grand Final - good luck Swannies!