Magical French Word

I'm sure many of you have seen this but, if not:





Whether you live in France (and, for example, teach teenagers who drop this word into almost every sentence) or are a merely a tourist, hoping to visit this magical land known as France and looking for some sage travel advice, this video is for you.


Jaime - I expect you to be down with your french lingo come July 29th!!



xxx
B

Inspiring

I have more free time because school is pretty much done and dusted.

It's AWESOME.

I spent three hours at the beach yesterday reading my book (The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, very good thus far), snoozing in the sun (and getting sunburnt in the weirdest pattern on my right arm) and swimming in the beautiful aqua sea.

I also spent quite a lot of time contemplating what exactly would possess a person, usually of a certain age, to expose themselves so regularly and routinely to the sun's rays that their skin takes on an unnatural purple tinge from being so tanned and resembles an old handbag my grandma once had in terms of texture.

These lizard ladies are everywhere on the beaches here and it's icky.

Yes, in comparison I do look like an albino whale which is doubly icky, but that's beside the point.




In other news - I present to you two really cool websites that I've been idling away some time with:


1. The Burning House

This blog presents readers with the simple, if frightening, proposition: If your house was burning, what would you take with you?

People then compile a photograph and brief explanation of what they would take - and why.

It's fascinating to see the mix of practical and personal, significant and banal, nostalgic and valuable.
The photo compositions are also pretty sweet.

It got me thinking about what I would take

• laptop
• iPhone
• camera
• Sound of Music DVD ....... 

I think I will leave the cool list and photo making to more creative minds.



2. Dear Photograph

This tumblr page invites readers to take a picture of a picture from the past in the present.

It's really cool, and the captions are sweet and make me go "awwwww" quite a lot.

Dear Photograph,

That stop sign gave me a good excuse to stop cutting the lawn.

Dear Photograph,
Grandma loved this beach.




Hope you are all having a nice weekend!

xoxo
B
aka - the albino whale

Visiting Le Petit Village

One of the things my mum always used to say to us when we were young and misbehaving, particularly at the dinner table was: “you’ll never get invited to Buckingham Palace for tea acting like this!”

Now - there were a few problems with this reprimand:

1. By the time we were old enough to talk back (so around 3 years old for me I’m guessing) we would retort that we didn’t WANT to go to Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen.
2. I’m not sure how or why mum thought that the idea of tea with the Queen was a form of positive reinforcement (a night out on the town with Hot Harry however, now we’re talking!)

But it was all to do with getting us to be polite, use our cutlery properly and behave in a manner befitting young ladies.

Yeah – mum got used to disappointment with us pretty quickly.

Anyway – this strange introduction is my way of pointing out that going to Le Petit Village to stay with Sara Louise and The Husband was a bit like visiting with royalty – Blog Royalty that is! And I so wanted to be on my best behaviour - correct usage of cutlery and everything!

Ever since the Blogapalooza, Sara and I have kept in touch and tried to find a time where we were all free to do some catching up (and by “catching up” I mean hours of mile-a-minute talking complimented by a whole lot of eating and drinking!) And finally, last weekend, our catch-up date occurred.

Friday night M and I hit the road and headed to Provence. We met Sara and The Husband in another “petit” village near theirs for a lovely dinner al-fresco. The conversation flowed like wine (and the wine flowed like ...... well, wine) and even a brief bit of rain couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm and enjoyment. Once back at Le Petit Village and checked into our gorgeous gite, we got to meet the real star of the weekend – Fifty! Every bit as cute and cheeky as I’d expected, we received lots of kisses and cuddles.

The next morning M and I headed to Apt to visit the famous, sprawling marché there and stock up on some supplies for the BBQ lunch we had planned. Once back, the boys got busy BBQ-ing while Sara and I made salads and lamented the horribly unseasonable rainy/grey weather that was dampening our summer BBQ. We were joined for lunch by Brother-in-Law, Child-Bride and La Petite which was great as La Petite is super cute AND it forced M and I to speak in French which usually necessitates actually thinking before speaking – which, those that know me will agree, I don’t normally do.

Wandering around the village after lunch and meeting the various inhabitants was a trip. The village itself is gorgeous, with views over the Luberon that would make Peter Mayle cream his jeans and stunning old stonework and winding paths. The characters, err .... I mean people who live them are JUST as Sara describes them in her blog, so it was like stepping into a story book.

Case in point – on Sunday we went for a walk to go pick some cherries (see photos below) and stopped at Le Petit Bar for a drink. It was lunchtime and the bar/restaurant was bustling. Tourists were turning up to take advantage of the beautiful scenery. And the only thing the Parisian had on offer to eat? Andouillettes. Disgusting tripe-sausages best described as having an “earthy” flavour but which frankly – smell like poop. That’s a way to keep the tourists coming back!! Sara kept saying that people probably think she makes up half the stuff she writes about things that happen in her village. Not a chance – there is so much blog fodder in this village; she doesn’t need to delve into fiction. (Although I really think she should turn her blog into a book – and I will keep harassing her until this happens!)

To cap it all off on Saturday night we went to another village to a new Wine and Tapas bar – and by golly, it was brilliant! Delightful, friendly, informative service, delicious food and tasty wines.
Winner winner chicken dinner!! Sara and I wanted to go back the very next day but were pooh-pooh'd by the two boys.

It was a rather late start on Sunday with a breakfast/brunch (let's be honest and call it lunch) in the back garden at Sara’s house, a wander around the village, cherry picking and then a drive to another nearby, insanely pretty village. Point of comparison: in this tiny little village the Bar had sandwiches to eat (no stinky sausages in sight) AND plenty of rosé to drink! It seems so simple and yet the Parisian in Le Petit Village is making a mess of it ... if only there were some other people who could take over the bar and turn it into something great ............. I wonder who could do this ........????? :-)


Photo time - as always, click on the photos for bigger and better versions

The Gite all ready for a BBQ lunch - with Sara and Child Bride

Local tour guides earning their tips

Admiring the view, despite it being windy and overcast.

And enjoying that there happened to be a bike race occurring down below! 

The view towards the village from our gite

I like wine

I like Tapas

This place had all bases covered. 

Me and my bosom-buddy 

(and the pretty scarf she very generously gifted to me!)

Photo not doing the tasting platter justice

Trust me - it was delicious, the green bean tart in particular. OMG

Sunday walk around Le Petit Village

Fifty leading the way

Boys on one side, Girls on the other. 

A likely hiding place for Nazi-ghost Zombies methinks

All eyes on the main attraction

The view - the patches of purple are the Lavander that's just about to go ballistic

I don't know why I look like I'm squat/sitting. 

I'm seating-challenged. 

Cherry picking!

M ate more than he put in the bag. 

The boy loves cherries

Summer in the south of France ya'll

This is how we roll. 

village prettiness

That's Le Petit Bar on the left

Visiting nearby villages

You'll notice only The Husband was brave enough to get this close to the edge. 

I love the old stonework. So pretty. 

Apparently this little village is famous because a Monk committed suicide by throwing himself of the edge here. Awkward. 

Proof of evolution

Last photo taken as we were driving away. 

A simply wonderful weekend – spending time together reaffirmed my belief that Sara is a true kindred-spirit who I am so grateful to have met. She makes me laugh and I delight in her presence. Despite talking non-stop for 2 days I still feel like we barely scratched the surface! And The Husband - wow. Ok, I’ll admit it – I’m a bit in love with The Husband. He is the sweetest, gentlest giant, so funny and thoughtful and the way he looks at Sara – heart melting stuff. He and M also got on like a house on fire – not that they were really able to get a word in edgewise!

Hopefully we’ll get them down here to stay with us soon. I’ll start stockpiling the rosé!

Gros Bisous
B
xox

Disneyland

So it's about that time in the school year, when reports are done, grades are locked in, things are winding down and no power on this earth can convince students to do more work.

That leaves teachers with only one option: time to watch a Film.
I've tried quizzes. Pictionary marathons. Class parties. Fun games.

And the secret to keeping the monsters entertained?
Junk food + Disney films = Good times

I let them bring in whatever food they like (which seems to just be endless bags of Haribo sweets - which I keep calling "lollies" even though it earns me weird looks) and we sit and watch a film.

With my 6eme History/Geography class my GENIUS choice is Hercules.

It loosely relates to what we've studied 'cause we've been doing the Romans .... and Hercules is a re-telling of the Greek myth .... sorta ..... kinda ..... ah shut up, it's a great movie and I know all the words to the songs.

Anyway, to make the movie viewing more pleasurable, I like to play the movie on my laptop so I can connect it to a projector and speakers for a more cinematic experience.

This morning chez nous was a bit of a kerfuffle.

Below is a transcript of the texting between M and I:

M: Did you take an Aussie plug converter
Ed: Our laptop is Aussie. She don't like no Frenchie plugs in her, she's a classy broad. Sadly, I've neglected several times to take an adaptor with me and given that her battery life is about 36 minutes, this sucks ass!


B: Yep, sorted. Traffic is hideous though. I need a motorbike. Or a hovercraft.


35min later


B: i did, however, leave the extension cord at home so can't plug anything in or use any of the gear because these classrooms were built in the 19th century and only have one power outlet.


M: You muppet. Surely the school has an extension cord?


B: Probably, but apparently not in Cell block D. I've even wandered around randomly asking other teachers. I really hope "Avez-vous un grand cord d'extension???" and hand gestures trying to show something long and plug-like translates into French .....

B: Nevermind, we've found a classroom and are watching the film on a TV from 1985


M: They had TVs in 1985?


B: in colour and everything. It's about the size of a shoe-box.


M: You could always get a cardboard box, put a sock on each hand and deliver a fantastic Punch and Judy style sock puppetry masterpiece.


B: Excellent suggestion but I'm not wearing any socks. Hercules is such a great movie! "Memo to me... Memo to me: Maim you after my meeting."


It made me laugh anyway.
And the kids loved the movie - one of the girls even sang along with me which makes her my favourite.


In other news: Guess where we're going tomorrow????

Le Petit Village!!!! 

Yes that's right, we're going to hang with Sara and The Husband, have some cuddles with Fifty and hopefully meet all the other memorable characters that populate Sara's blog.

I can't wait.

I think this is how some people must feel before visiting Disneyland: it's a place you kind of know, you've seen pictures and read about it and tomorrow it will all be real!

It should be a fabulous (and raucous!) weekend - gird your loins Petit Villagers - the Aussies are on their way!

B
xx


PS: I'll be taking a cardboard box and some socks with me to Le Petit Village just in case everyone gets a bit bored and there's no TV .....

History lesson

As I mentioned, my darling mummy was perturbed that I haven't blogged about the final stage of our trip back in April.

And I do feel that I should finish
(1) because we stayed at one of THE loveliest BnB’s I’ve ever seen
and (2) because of the ANZAC Day dawn service we attended.


First up: the BnB.
Les Chambres d’Aumont, located 15 minutes out of Amiens.

Beautifully restored, tastefully furnished. The owners were away for the weekend so we had the place all to ourselves.

Both Herge and M quite fancied the lovely French girl who came to serve us breakfast each morning. They both felt that she would be more efficient in her work though if dressed in a French Maid's outfit.

Queue eye-rolling from me. Clearly they'd spent too long together in a 2-man tent.

This photo is a little funky and really doesn't do the gorgeous room justice

The 4 guest rooms are located here

And this is the little shack the owners live in.

Not too shabby

Next:
Amiens itself was lovely - we didn't spend that long there, just enough time to check out the famous Cathedral (the tallest in France) and to find a nice river-side place for lunch.

Finally - Villers Bretonneux and ANZAC Day

A little bit of background for my non-Australian non-New Zealander readers.

ANZAC Day – 25 April – marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. This is significant as it was the first time Australians and New Zealanders fought under their own flags, rather than as part of Great Britain.

When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only 13 years. The government of this 'new' nation were eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. So off to war they marched.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli in Turkey (see this blog for photos from my trip there last August) on 25 April. What had been planned as a bold attempt to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight fairly horrific months. News of the landing on Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war. The creation of what became known as the “ANZAC legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations and indeed for Turkey too.

The Australian War Memorial in France is located in Villers-Bretonneux.

The school in Villers-Bretonneux was rebuilt using donations from school children from Victoria (many of whom had relatives perish in the town's liberation), and above every blackboard is the inscription "N'oublions jamais l'Australie" (Never forget Australia)

The small but informative and interesting Franco-Australian museum located in the school that we visited the day before ANZAC Day to brush up on our historical knowledge.

I know some people see the recent increase in attendance at dawn services, particulary from younger people within Australia and abroad as merely another sign of mob mentality and a chance for bogans to wear their Aussie flags to another non-sporting event.

However, I found the service incredibly moving.

I've attended many dawn services in Australia, mostly at Victor Harbor where my grandma goes and this one was particularly memorable.

Brigadier Chris Appleton gave the opening address, and he spoke beautifully and passionately on how important it is to commemorate the dead without glorifying war. That we all must recognise that the events that caused those millions of deaths should never be allowed to occur again.
That we cannot see their deaths as pointless – that we must not.

It was sobering and I’m extremely glad we made the little deviation to our travel plans to attend.


When we first arrived, just moments before the ceremony began, even though there were over 5000 people (and a surprising number of French people too) sitting in a dark field, it was eerily quiet.

and slowly ....

.... the sun came up

After the Last Post had been played, a commemorative address given by K.Rudd and hymns and National Anthems sung (or mumbled), it was time to leave.

I really like this photo

(the one below, not the hideous one of me above)

And then it was a long, cold walk back to the car in the early morning haze.

Hope you're still with me!
Sorry for the history lesson. I'll be back blogging about my weird, trivial crap tomorrow.

B xx