As seen near Saintes… (signs!)

as seen near Saintes...
We were on our way to a party in the Charente last Saturday and followed this car on a roundabout…

Benji and I had a party to go to near his parents’ place in the Charente last weekend.  We found ourselves following this guy, somewhere near Saintes…

HOMME 55

CHERCHE A

RENCONTRE

FEMME 48 AN ET

AIMENT NATURE

MARCHE. ANIMEAUX

TEL….

He’s saying:

Man 55

Looking to

Meet woman 48 years plus

Loves Nature

Walking. Animals

Ingenious.  I hope he’s found his woman.

Speaking of signs, here’s one I recently spotted on someone’s front door :

dog con
You should ask a French person how to say this one

I think their dog’s name is Polo… and he jumps, and he’s a…

And I love this one too, seen on the back of an old guy’s truck:

Buvez du Vin!
Beziers Propaganda Association for Wine sticker

DRINK!!!!!

…and I’ve just thought,

L’AMOUR + LES CHIENS + LE VIN = LA FRANCE!?!   Ooh la la.

romance frenchie style
romance, Frenchie style

 

 

still rockin’

check out those heels!

So what happened there?

France-Australia-France.  A few days stretched into a few months… and whammo I completely lost touch with blogging.  It wasn’t at all planned – and I didn’t realise how much I’d miss all of this.

Now I’m staying put right here and am so extremely keen to give you a glimpse of everything that keeps me ‘offline’!

It’s been a lot of fun, catching up with everyone back ‘home’ (my one of two) – long-overdue quality time with family and friends, Christmas, tasting Aussie wines, sampling Adelaide beaches, eating out Asian, English spoken all around me, dodging the sun, dodging the mozzies, listening to the magpies and cockies. And then the angst, the dreadful countdown and finally the tears at the airport.  But I am so lucky to have made it there.

…And I am very lucky to be happy here too.  Back into Winter, some snow!, back to the stove, back in my apron, hot foods to enjoy, snails to devour, red wine instead of all thse whites, vines being pruned,  back to the cleaning, back into walking the village with Mat, back to school, back to French!…  Now the flowers are out, Spring has sprung, the vines are budding, we’re nearing the end of the scary time for frost risk, Hollande is IN and Benji’s Picpoul is tasting mighty good in the sun!

Yep, the VW’s wife is back and I hope you are well!

The spring has come running back into my step – and I feel like the dancin’ lady clicking her pointy heels.  Phew.

december to may!

chicks with wheels in Adelaide

nice wheels

I was out walking near Mum and Dad’s and noticed this, admiring its impeccable condition – a well-loved machine with an Aussie flag pinned with pride.

I then noticed a guy, arms folded standing on the footpath,  also admiring it.

It made me laugh, the car’s position so far from the curb – so  typical.  These  things think they can get  away with anything.

And then the owner arrived and the guy and I shared a nice smile.

check it out!

Bonne Annee for 2012!

xmas tree adelaide

Yes it’s been a while.

It’s now even 2012!

So a Happy New Year to you, full of good health, love and happiness

Since all the excitement of the last post…  (way back then in November!?!!) with my bro asking ‘what’s with the Aboriginal flag?’ and a mate describing Benjamin as looking like Braveheart, a few km’s have been covered.   I haven’t been blogging, but I’ve been busy snapping and am now itching to finally share the last month and a bit.  Wanna guess my whereabouts?!?

It all started out like this…

la tour eiffel
my first ever sighting of this beautiful monument from the sky... the Eiffel Tower
old aussie young aussie
these guys look like they're heading for home
land ahoy
blues skies, looks like we're getting there

Now for some real clues.

wide streets in the burbs
streets in the suburbs
the fruits in season
hills hoist
a backyard 'hills hoist'
king gees?
could that be King Gee's and Blundstones?

 

You must have it by now.

If not, take a look in the backyard…

out in the backyard
out the back
good coffee, good bubbles (what WAS I thinking having a Frenchie bottle up here! - thanks Kate and Hamish for a bloody good one), good breakfast, good beer, good Asian (thanks Kate R) and good gelati!

Yep, I’m HOME and so happy to be here!

I thought I should add that Davo is a big give-away… (how many years has Dad insisted on keeping his little mate in the yard?)

Oz here we come!

Happy 1st January and may 2012 be a great big good year.

so typically French!

chez le coiffeur
the barber shop in Carcassonne

Do you ever find yourself smiling at some of the things you pass by during your day?

I love those moments and have started to record them with my camera.  I can’t help it.  Everything in France seems so exotic to me, being a ‘non-Frenchie’!

Here’s some pics to share with you, but be warned!  There’s a few of them, so I hope you don’t get bored!!

baker at the market
Pierre the baker having a ‘tranquil’ pause at the morning market
Citroen 2CV
A lovely orange 2CV, shining like a beacon in the morning light
citroen 2CV
…those 2CVs are EVERYWHERE!
chien chic
‘Chic Dog’ (you know how they put their words backwards!) – every pooch needs a parlour

pooches

Hotel de Ville de Narbonne
Hotel de Ville in Narbonne flying the Bleu Blanc Rouge
Frenchy frilly bits
Frenchy frilly bits…
hanging out to dry
…and not so frilly bits
les chaussures roses
…les messieurs like a bit of pink too
Mamy Jeanne's recipe book
It’s the real thing! – one of Mamy Jeanne’s much-loved recipe books

…a Mamy Jeanne dish

(& check out the brilliant photo of her!)

our village library
And while we’re on the topic of books, I just love this. It’s the bookshelf in our local village library… gives you a small taste of what the public are reading up on! Recipes, winemaking, a history of Europe, a history of France and, bien sur, a little bit of psychotherapy.  Tres francais.
colon poster
Yes, it’s the GIANT COLON!! Be curious!! Roll up for a visit to the centre of the giant colon!… (thanks for the poster Mat, you know me too well!)
the cheese trolley
Colon health, giant ‘chariots de fromage’ (cheese trolley). Ever heard of the French paradox?
brocante
At the local ‘brocante’. This poor guy got caught, but we still hear his friends in our garden at night
french doorhandle
the doorhandle to one of my favourite brocantes
Cine
a cinema in Limoux (where Blanquette is made)
baguette in a basket
take-away baguette
a trip to the patisserie
Really love this one too. The scene, the clothing (so now!) and the little guy at the back just happens to be some Vigneron I know…
lady of minerve
a regular vision in these villages
les hommes de Toulouse
les messieurs sur les bancs

Still there?  Hope you made it!