Roll call

Since we got back from Turkey, we’ve had a party for M’s birthday, bid farewell to my friend Marie (boo) and entertained a couple of visitors.


First up - a few snaps from our little gathering. I was a bit busy being the host that boast the most roast, so we didn't get many - but here's a couple:

Ale, Luca & M

Bec & Agi

Claire & Juliet

Olivier/Jesus, Antione, Manu & Marion

Birthday cake (tasted a lot more awesome than it looked!)

And a bit of the edge of my boobie. Bonus.

Birthday boy blowing out candles while "Happy Birthday" was sung - in 5 different languages!

As for visitors - 

First up we had Tommy and Kerri from London, with whom we had an awesome time.

It had been far too long since we’d seen Tommy, given how very close we are geographically and their visit to Nice for the long weekend worked out perfectly for a catch up.

We spent the Saturday - day - touring with them and then intended to head into Cannes for dinner, but Peter Balconio worked his magic (or it could have been the fact that Kerri and I smashed our way through 3 bottles of Pommery ... hard to tell) so we decided to stay chez nous.

I cooked, we all drank (excessively?) and Kerri and Tom ended up staying the night.

Sleepover? Not so much.

Group passout? Yep.

There are blessedly no photos from the shameful evening shenanigans, only a lot of bottles that need to be recycled.

I will tell you this though – M didn’t actually make it out of bed the next day til about 2.00pm. And that was only to move to the couch.

Ouch.

In soberer pre-champagne times

We were a fly-by for Kirsty, one of M's old work mates, on her way between Italy and Paris.

I bowed out of most of the tour-guide duties (how many times does one need to visit St Paul de Vence, really?) and stayed at home typing up notes on the Rise and Spread of Islam and Short Stories and Emily Dickinson and all sorts of fascinating topics.

We also went for dinner on Saturday night at what is my new favourite restaurant in Cannes. Le Bistrot Gourmand.

I can’t believe we have been here for 20 months and only just discovered this place.

Delicious food, absolutely wonderful and lovely, friendly service - which is rather rare round here and all-round one of the best meals I’ve had in France. We will definitely go there again. Probably tomorrow night actually, with M’s aunty and uncle, Marg and Andy!!

That’s provided they get here though, as they are meant to be catching a train from Avignon to Cannes but tomorrow is a National Strike Day, so nothing’s going nowhere. We’ll see! Fingers crossed.

Well that’s all for now! Next few week's line up includes Marg and Andy, then off to Paris on the 24th for M's birthday present weekend (Mumford & Sons Concert - whoo hoo!) then Mezzle, then Cus and Ash and Barcelona.

That's a noice line-up, non?

Work/Life balance is important ya'll. Just cause I'm a working woman again doesn't mean I'm going to give up my gallivanting ways! 

No sir-ee.