Category Archives: Lifestyle

The Loire ConneXion Strikes Again!

July 9, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

Once again, we were in the Loire on the first Friday of the month so were able to attend the Loire ConneXion’s monthly get-together organised by Summer Jauneaud. The last two times, it’s been at The Shaker in Amboise with its exceptional view of the Loire and Amboise castle.

This time, it was in Montrichard, an historical town in Sologne just 5 minutes from Chenonceau, built on a hill next to the Cher River, its keep looming majestically above, which so far we’d only seen in the winter when we went to stay at Yvonne David’s wonderful B&B, Le Moulin du Mesnil. Yvonne’s son Jason, who’s a chef, has just opened a restaurant there called “La Plage”, (the beach), which seemed a little strange to me because the sea is a long way away.

But it really does look like a beach and this year, swimming in the river is even allowed. There had been intermittent rain all day but the evening turned out to be fine. We were able to enjoy our tapas and local sparkling wine (crémant) outside on the terrace with our new neighbours Françoise and Paul and about 40 other English speakers and anglophiles, some of whom I’d already met at other events. Unfortunately, I didn’t check first to see if the chairs were dry before sitting down!

We ate our meal inside and then went outsideagain for dessert and coffee so that we could change groups and mingle. It’s very interesting to hear how people end up living in France. There’s a real mixture of people like me who have been here for many years (though I pretty much hold the record with 37 years!) and others who came to France because of their spouses or jobs or decided to retire in the Loire for other reasons. Not all speak fluent French.

Next month, we’ll be meeting on the second Friday of the month at Summer’s to attend a production in English written and performed by some of the members’ offspring. Should be a very interesting evening.

If you’re interested in the Loire ConneXion and you’re on Facebook, become my friend (Fraussie Grouet) and I’ll invite you to join the community. If you’re not an FB user, just send me an email and I’ll put you in contact with Summer.

And in the meantime, drop in to La Plage for lunch when you’re visiting Chenonceau or watch the sun set over the river in the evening. Jason speaks English, of course! And Yvonne might be giving a help hand as well.

La Plage, 2 rue de la Plage, 41400 Faverolles sur Cher. 02 54 32 66 08. Open every day. Café, restaurant, ice-cream vendor.

France, Lifestyle, Loire Valley

Meeting the Neighbours in Blois Part 2

June 27, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

Each time we’ve come down to Blois since we signed the final papers in April, most of our waking hours have been spent getting the gîte ready and planting potatoes in the rain. So this time, we decided we’d have a holiday. Yesterday was our first “work-free” day so after a côte de bœuf cooked on the barbecue in the garden, admiring our reflowering wisteria, we cleared the table and set off for a walk in the twilight. These are the longest days in the year when it doesn’t get completely dark until 11 pm!

As we were walking up our road on the way back from a long ramble at about 10.30, we saw two couples about our age in front of a house whose ivy-covered front façade gives directly onto the road and could hear them laughing and saying, “Shh, not so loud. Don’t be so noisy” – in French of course. So as we got closer, I said, “Who are these people making so much noise in our street?”. Everyone laughed and I introduced us as their new neighbours. Relationnel chipped in, describing the house. “Oh, yes, then you must be the Australian!” came the reply! Once again, my fame had gone before me. Mr Previous Owner had obviously been paving the way for us.

We chatted and joked for a few minutes, then Françoise suggested we all come inside for a digestif, explaining that they had been celebrating her husband’s birthday. We accepted with alacrity. Françoise and Paul arrived in Blois 24 years ago from the Paris area and found intergration into the local community difficult at first. Since Françoise has a degree in English and Paul works for an American company, they have hosted many English speakers over the years, mainly youngsters, but Françoise told us a very funny story about a 74-year old American who came to stay and was surprised at the lack of air-conditioning. She even wanted to change host families but in the end, Françoise was able to get her into the local bridge club and, from then on, things improved considerably.

Their neighbours from just a couple of doors down, Liliane and Alain, are real locals. Well, not quite. Lilian is, as she, her parents and grandparents were born in Les Grouets, which is the name of our neighbourhood. She knows all the local history and was able to fill us in on the area. I had noticed Alain’s accent but didn’t like to ask where he was from. Not that he would have minded. He’s a great wit and obviously the life and soul of any party.

It turns out he’s Solognot from the region called La Sologne, between the Loire and Cher rivers and only a stone’s throw from here. It’s known for its forests and lakes and was a favourite hunting ground of kings and princes. Its most famous châteaux are Chambord and Cheverny. You may remember that we went to a huge brocante at Chambord in May.

We learnt from Paul, who’s in IT, that we’ll be getting a fibre connection in 2014, which is wonderful news. Françoise brought out her iPad (oh, wasn’t I jealous!) and took photos so I told them about the blog and the Loire Connexion community for anglophones masterminded by Summer Jauneaud. Françoise was delighted because she doesn’t have a lot of opportunities these days to speak English.

The time slipped by incredibly quickly, no doubt helped along by some sort of mint on the rocks digestif and we didn’t leave until well after midnight! What a wonderful start to our holiday ! And very encouraging for our future life at Closerie Falaiseau.

France, Lifestyle, Paris, Sightseeing, Travelling

Saint Denis Cathedral – The Mediaeval Cave that Helped Win a War – Prix de Diane 2012 – Hats & Horses

June 19, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 1 Comment

This week, young Australian blogger René de Valois from Cognac & Cigars (alias Brainy Pianist for those of you who regularly read this blog) takes us to one of my favourite places, the Basilica of Saint Denis, where most of the French kings and queens are buried. Another Australian, Francophoney, takes us to a cave near Arras where New Zealanders and British miners helped to win World War I and, on a more frivolous note, Out and About in Paris takes us to one of the big horse races in Paris, Prix de Diane.

La basilique cathédrale de Saint Denis

by René de Valois from Cognac & Cigars

After spending the last couple of weeks travelling around Portugal & Croatia (more to come on that later), I figured I really should start exploring a few more of the sights in and around Paris that I’ve neglected a bit towards the end of semester.

Today I decided to visit the Basilica Cathedral at Saint Denis, just outside of Paris, which is significant for a number of reasons. Not only is the monument an important example of early Gothic art, but it is also closely linked to the history of the French monarchy, having been the final resting place for the vast majority of kings and queens beginning in the 6th century. Read more.

The Mediaeval Cave that Helped Win a War

by Francophoney, all things French as seen by an outsider

Fifteen metres underground in the French city of Arras, you’ll find lots of caves. They date back to medieval times, and were used as chalk quarries before they were commandeered during the First World War in 1916. New Zealand and British miners were enlisted to extend the cave network to the front line in an effort to surprise German soldiers. By the time they were done, the cave network extended to more than 20km.

Carriere Wellington (Wellington Quary) gets its name from the city in New Zealand, while neighbouring caves were also given New Zealand city names. This aided the 500 New Zealand miners navigate the cave system, while the British soldiers used names from British cities. The cave pictured is one of many built by the kiwis. Read more.

Prix de Diane 2012 – Hats and Horses! (Part 1)

by Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

Whew! This is another one of those Mondays when I’m thankful that I don’t have a real job. I’m exhausted and suffering from sensory overload after marveling at all of the elaborate hats at thePrix de Diane yesterday. But I wouldn’t have missed a second of it because I’ve been looking forward to the famous horse race ever since Stéphane and I first went to Chantilly last year. Read more.

Lifestyle, Paris

Broderie Anglaise

May 21, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp Leave a comment

Black Cat’s about 3 ½. We’re walking through the local hypermarket which is not my favourite place. I have a tendency to go as quickly as I can and get it over and done with as soon as possible. “Mummy, can I have the top?” she asks. “What top ?” I say, rather surprised because the only clothes I buy there are underwear for the kids and corduroy jeans and anoraks for Leonardo and we haven’t set foot in the shop for a couple of weeks. “The witty white one”, she replies. “Where?” “Over there !” she says excitedly.

We go in the direction she’s pointing to from her seat on the trolley. And we find a little white camisole top made of broderie anglaise. I look at the price of this minuscule piece of clothing and say, “I’ll make you one”. Which I did, with matching shorts. I was astounded that she’d not only noticed it the last time we were there, but she’d also remembered it and was able to find it again!

Her love of clothing has not diminished though she has become more reasonable with age. Fast forward to last week. We’re wandering through the streets of Paris, in behind Les Halles. “Did you see, Mum, broderie anglaise is back in fashion ?”, she says. “It’s flesh-coloured.” This I have to see. So we backtrack and I see a rather badly-cut dress on a headless, legless dummy and another somewhat bored-looking one in shorts and a blouse.

“What an unattractive window”, I say. “Really? I think it looks good!” “Don’t you think it’s a bit stark ?”, I say. “All the windows are like that these days. You’d think they could make a bit more effort”. “But that’s the fashion”, she replies. “Less is more you know”. I think I’m getting more old-fashioned by the day. It must be a generation thing …

France, Lifestyle

Favourite Flowers

May 17, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

Peonies are one of my favourite flowers. They don’t come out for long but as soon as they do, I buy them on the market on Sundays. I like the pale pink ones best. We have a bush growing in the garden of our “little house” (next door to our Renaissance home) in Blois but one’s definitely not enough so I’ll be planting more, maybe even trying my hand at cuttings. In the background of the photo, you can see the lovely watercolour that Black Cat brought back unharmed all the way from Australia at the end of her study year, despite the weight restrictions!

Another flower I love is the orchid and I’ve learnt how to make the flowers come back again the next year. Leonardo used to buy me one each year for my birthday in April and I was delighted when two of them reflowered recently. Brainy Pianist took up the tradition in Leonardo’s absence and added a beautiful specimen to my collection. When the flowers die, you cut the stalk off after the third “eye” and keep watering regularly. In September, put it outside if you can, to simulate the tropical winter, and next spring, you should see a little shoot appear! My little April violets have been reflowering each spring for many years now.

Tiny pansies are just so cute, with their delicate faces, and they come in every imaginable colour combination. I’m thinking about where I’ll grow them in Blois. We came across these in a public garden bed when cycling near Château d’Ussé. Absolutely irresistable! It’s a favourite ride in the summer, as the road leading to the castle which is set up on a hill, is flanked with sunflowers in summer.

I’ve always dreamed of having a house with wisteria in front. Mr Previous Owner must have pruned ours at the wrong time this year because it looked very meagre compared with his photos of the house from last year and other specimens in the neighbourhood such as this one, in the very same street. Venice in the spring when the wisteria is in bloom is absolutely breathtaking as you can see if you click on the link to my Sunday’s Travel Photos.

Waterlilies and, in particular, the nympheas in Monet’s garden in Giverny, immortalised in the oval rooms in the Orangerie Museum in Paris, are something I love too. I have a special connection with waterlilies. When I was born, my father, a true romantic, went out to pick them for my mother. He was also the one who chose my name – Rosemary.

Relationnel is also a romantic. Before we lived in Paris, my ground-floor office, whose window looked out onto a little courtyard where I planted lots of flowering shrubs, was opposite a flower shop. Always when I was least expecting it, I’d see the florist coming towards me with a lovely bunch of fresh flowers courtesy of Relationnel who would phone her up from work. She always made sure they went in my special vase.

So, what are your favourite flowers?

Lifestyle, Paris

Outlet Stores in Paris

May 13, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 5 Comments

Saturday was satisfying if not exciting. We went to Usine Center in the north of Paris (on the way to Charles de Gaulle Airport) and I was able to cross quite a few things off my never-ending list of things to buy for the gîte in Blois. I first learnt about outlet stores many years ago when doing a translation on McArthur Glen in Troyes, a historial city about 2 hours south-east of Paris. I then learnt there is another big outlet centre in the area called Marques Avenues (marque = brand). There is also one in Saint-Denis in Greater Paris. These are proper stores with last year’s fashion, kitchen and dining ware at bargain prices. Even cheaper during the sales of course when they’re crowded.

The goods displayed on hangers and shelves just like anywhere else so you don’t have to scrabble around to find things. They often have special offers as well. In the first store we went to – Sym, a brand of women’s clothing – where the pants were already reduced from 89 to 59 euros, there was a further 30% if you bought more than 2 items, bringing the price down to 40 euros. I didn’t have trouble buying 3 pairs as they have a wide variety of styles and colours, though not a lot in my size which, unfortunately, is the most popular!

We then went to another shop where I found bedspreads, table runners and tablecloths for about half the price I would have paid in Galeries Lafayette. Also, I found the colours I wanted – I had had no success whatsoever in the Paris stores where white, beige and taupe (a sort of mushroom colour) are all you can find. these days. I picked up a couple of kitchen items in another shop, then we had lunch. We usually eat at a chain called Oh ! Poivrier but they weren’t offering anything very exciting.

We ended up in the French version of a food court, but it was mostly fast food (Chinese, pizza, couscous, harmburger and grill) so I ended up eating entrecôte (fairly safe!) with French beans straight out of the tin. Relationnel had some rather unappetising French fries with his. The girl at the coffee bar had run out of milk so I had expresso instead of cappuccino. And to think we were avoiding the Ikea cafeteria!

Before going to Ikea, just a couple of minutes away, where we picked up various missing pieces from the time before. we went to the DIY chain Castorama. I at last found some bedside lamps. I was beginning to get desperate because everywhere I’ve looked (including the big department stores), I haven’t been able to find anything I like. I’m still not entirely satisfied, but at least they are neutral and will do until I find something more to my liking. We picked up a few more things such as a new shower rose for the upstairs bathroom and some rendering to redo the wall where Relationnel drilled the hole in the downstairs bathroom (I’ll tell you about that story another time).

The next item on the list was a bedbase. We inherited a matttess in good condition, but of an unusual size – 120 cm – and have been looking for a base for the spare room. Our favourite second-hand website leboncoin.com came to the rescue once again. The owner lives on the second floor, up a narrow stairase, in a tiny street in the 3rd, with no possibility of parking close by. We organised the roof rack beforehand and I unwittingly commandeered a young man walking down the street (I thought he was with the seller!) to help me carry down the base so we managed to put it on the roof and drive away without getting a fine (we happened to to be in an Auto’lib parking lot).

I’m delighted because I’ve at last taken care of the most difficult things on the list.

Usine Center Zone industrielle Paris Nord 2
134, avenue de la Plaine de France
BP 70164
95500 GONESSE
Tel. 0820 42 03 42 (0.12 cts TTC/ minute)
Fax. 01 48 63 24 62

Opening times:

Every day, all year, 7 days a week
(except 01/01, 01/05 and25/12)

Monday to Friday, 11 am to 7 pm

Saturday & Sunday 10 am to 8 pm

Public transport

RER B station ” Parc des Expositions Villepinte ”
Bus 640 from RER station
Get out at “Centre commercial” (just follow the crowd)

Lifestyle, Loire Valley

Planting Potatoes in the Rain

May 10, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 12 Comments

The weather was so beautiful on Monday that we decided that it was time to do some planting. We dashed out to Truffaut before it closed and filled our trolley. We started with gardening gloves (3 pairs for me – rubber, roses and everything else), a large pronged fork, an edge cutter, some perennial fuschias, more gladioli bulbs (not mouldy) and lilies for the front bed, some evergreen bushes with little yellow flowers to frame the front door, another evergreen to fill a large empty pot, thyme, rosemary and sage, 4 different raspberry bushes (so that we’ll have fruit from June to October) and organically-grown potatoes.

Thoughtful had already prepared the potato bed when he came at Easter which was very fortunate because when we woke up next morning, you guessed it – it was raining. I suggested we wait until it cleared during the afternoon but Relationnel said we should plant the potatoes before the earth was completely sodden. He was right , of course, because it rained steadily for the next 4 hours, showing no signs of letting up. We downed our gardening clothes (not that I really have any) and set to work.

Being a city girl, I had no idea how to plant potatoes (though I drove a tractor once to harvest them!). Fortunately, Relationnel’s parents had a market garden so he is very cluey about that sort of thing. You hoe a furrow and then plant the potatoes about a half an arm’s length apart. The potatoes are pre-germinated with several long sprouts. Then you cover them up to form a mound so you know where to find the potatoes when they’re ready to pick about three or four months later.

The next thing we planted were the raspberries. This caused a slight disagreement as Relationnel wanted to put them on top of a mound that has all sorts of vegetation on it already. I couldn’t really see myself climbing up a mound every day to pick raspberries particularly when I get old and decrepit!

Now raspberries are the one thing I do know how to grow, because I had a long row in the garden of my house in the suburbs of Paris when the children were little. I couldn’t see why Relationnel wouldn’t let me plant them along the fence of the vegetable garden which is just perfect. It has a neat little path just in front to pick them. If you’ve ever had raspberry bushes, you’ll know that you have to get down on your hands and knees to pick the ones at the back so you really do need a path in front.

It seems Relationnel didn’t want to “waste” good ground on my raspberries. I asked him what else he wanted to plant, pointing out that he was using up most of the garden on his potatoes. That seemed to solve the problem. So we agreed that I could put them along the fence up as far as a daisy bush that he wanted to keep. I was perfectly happy with that.

By then, we were very muddy and wet, particularly my hair which I had stupidly put in a ponytail sticking out the back of my cap. My inappropriate jeans were also falling down by then and I couldn’t pull them up again because of my excessively muddy gloves (thank god we bought those rubber ones!) I think I’ll buy some of those chic gardener’s overalls they sell at Le Prince Jardinier. My socks were soaked because my rubber clogs kept getting sucked into the mud and coming off. Rubber boots – that’s another thing we’ll have to bring down from the cellar in Paris.

We finished off planting the herbs halfway up the mound which is fine by me because I’ll still be able to snip off bits in my old age. At the end of the day, the sun came out and we were able to plant all the other things we had bought. I was also able to try out my nifty stool cum kneeler that we bought last time and that I had completely forgotten about! Good think Relationnel was there to remind me. What I hadn’t bargained for were the little beasties that headed for the gap between my socks and jeans when we were pulling out the long weeds. I’ve been suffering ever since!

France, Lifestyle, Loire Valley

Gardening Again!

May 7, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 6 Comments

Yesterday, after I don’t know how long, the sun suddenly decided to come out, so we hit the garden. The trouble about grass is that it grows and if you don’t cut it often enough, it gets too long for the mower. It’s been so long since we’ve had a garden that we’d forgotten that little detail of course. The catcher was filling up so quickly that Relationnel eventually took it off altogether.

My job was therefore to rake up the piles of moist cut grass and put them into large rubbish bags as well as trim the edges of the garden beds. The ivy is doing its best to take over as many beds as it can as well as any spare walls (and we have a few of those!) so we had to attack that as well as I’d like to plant something more interesting, particularly in front of the house. Also, you can’t let the ivy get onto the roof tiles as it stops the rain from running into the gutters properly.

We now have a a garden bed ready for planting. I’d bought some gladioli bulbs one day at the supermarket but they all looked pretty mouldy yesterday so I don’t know how many will actually produce anything. When I first told Relationnel about them, he wasn’t very encouraging, telling me that people usually plant gladiolis next to corn stalks! I don’t have any corn stalks … We have a lot of hollyhocks though and they don’t seem to need corn stalks to keep them up, despite their height.

We did find a beautiful flower up on the sloping wood behind the house though. It’s an orchid it seems. Mr Previous Owner had told us about them, but this was the first one we’d seen. Unfortunately, my photo is a little blurry and when I went back this morning to take another one, it was already beginning to fade.

We’ve also moved the bird bath so that it’s near the tree with all the feeders in it. We have this incredibly cheeky little mésange (tit or chickadee) that taps insistently on the window with its beak if the feeder is empty or doesn’t contain its favourite bread crumbs (those from my home-made bread of course). You can hear lots of cuckoos in the grounds of our local Vicomté castle across the road as well.

This morning, I am sad to say, I can feel every muscle in my arms and legs. Falling UP the stairs in my haste to put my gardening clothes on didn’t help either. I can see I’ll have to garden more regularly!

Australia, France, Lifestyle

I’ve Joined the Kindle Community!

April 25, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 11 Comments

I’ve always been a ferocious reader. I had the great fortune to have a father who let me read absolutely anything I wanted from both his own library and the town library (he had to sign a paper saying that I could take books from the adult section when I was still a child) and who encouraged me to use a dictionary. I’d be lying in bed reading at night and call out hopefully “Dad, what does ‘testimony’ mean” and he’d inevitably reply, “Look it up in the dictionary”. So I’d take my trusty Pocket Oxford from the bedhead behind me and look it up.

As a result, I grew up knowing the real meaning of words and how they are used. And I love words. I loved the Latin at church and I adored learning French at school. And my love of reading has never left me. I remember the very first book I ever read – an abridged version of Peter Pan. I think it probably shaped my whole life. I was fanatical about the Pollyanna series and read and reread them constantly. There was also Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, What Katy Did and The Bobbsey Twins, The Secret Seven and The Famous Five. But I soon left them behind for Gone with the Wind and Anna Karenine.

Dad had the complete collection of Maupassant’s short stories and novels (in English of course) which I devoured. How much I really understood I don’t know, but it introduced me to the fascinating world of France. My love of literature and French led me to an Arts degree with French honours despite my mathematical leanings and I was overjoyed when I came to France to discover that such a thing as a technical translator existed. I went on to get a masters in translation at ESIT in Paris and have been a freelance technical and legal translator ever since. What a wonderful excuse to have a bookshelf full of dictionaries of every kind!

One of my big problems has always been to find enough books to read particularly on a reduced budget when my children were small. Libraries obviously solved the problem for French books. I also made the wonderful discovery that my beloved Russian novelists translate much better into French than into English. Fortunately I found a library nearby which had a good collection of English novels so I reread all the classics. My taste in reading is very eclectic and I’ve always loved rooting around in other people’s libraries to see what I can find. I’ll read anything that someone recommends.

When I began teaching translation at ESIT, I started swapping books with my students. With the coming of Internet, especially sites like the Book Directory and Amazon where you can get the latest novels (well practically) without having to pay postage, my access to books changed dramatically. I can talk to my aunt in Australia about what she’s reading, order her suggestions off the Net and receive them within a couple of days! When we moved into Paris, I found a wonderful source of second-hand English books at Book-Off on rue Saint Augustin. AT 2 or 3 euros a time, I can fill my carry bag. They also buy the books back again (at 20 centimes!) thus eliminating the problem of where to put all these books once I’ve read them.

But there I was the other night, wandering aimlessly around, sifting through my bookcase and wondering what on earth I could find to read. I was sure I had a whole stack of unread books on a shelf somewhere. Sadly, that was not the case. I finally found Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day which I had totally forgotten and am thoroughly enjoying.

But now, thanks to Leonardo, I have a Kindle with international 3G so will never be short of reading material EVER AGAIN – provided I remember to charge it of course!

Croatia, Lifestyle, Travelling

The Eternal Dilemma of What to Pack

April 23, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 6 Comments

Let’s face it. No matter what you do, you’ll never look like a local. It takes years of living in a country to blend in with the masses, and even then, your hairstyle or the way you walk or wear your handbag will give you away at some stage! So you may as well go for comfort and practicality. I’ll never forget the time Black Cat spied a group of people way across a vacant allotment on Magnetic Island in North Queensland and said “Those people over there are French”. And you know, it turned out they were !

The range of temperatures you are going to encounter also makes a difference when you’re packing. If it’s going to be 0°C at night in Orange and 30°C in Townsville on the same trip, you virtually need two sets of clothes. But if you’re coming to France in May, it’s going to be much easier. How often you can wash will also determine what you take. If we are travelling for a month, I try to alternate accommodation with and without a washing machine so I can wash every few days.

Sometimes when we get home from holidays, I put the whole suitcase in the wash. That’s when I know I took the right clothes. If you come back with things you didn’t wear, you should note it for next time. I don’t usually take anything very dressed up. In France, at any rate, people don’t necessarily change to go out at night. They simply wear smart clothes to work that are also suitable in the evening with maybe a change of shoes or bag that they keep at the office. In fact, that’s one way you can pick the tourists in a restaurant at night – they’re the only ones dressed up!

Pick one or two basic colours – not necessarily black! – from your wardrobe and see if you can work around them. It’s fairly pointless taking a top that only goes with one skirt or pair of pants, for example. Remember that no one is going to know that you wore the same outfit the day before, except that you changed your T-shirt or blouse. If you get sick of wearing the same clothes all the time, shout yourself something new. Everyone says layers are the best and they really are except that you don’t want to end up looking like the Michelin man!

Skirts and tops are obviously more versatile than dresses because you can adapt more easily to the season. Though I’ve seen Black Cat – who really is French because she was born and bred here – wear a dress with a top or pullover as though it were a skirt. Unless you are absolutely certain that you aren’t going to gain a gram during your holidays, avoid clothing that is skin tight in the hope that by osmosis with the slim French women of your imagination, you might just shed a few kilos along the way. Wishful thinking I’m afraid!

Perhaps you’d like something more specific. Well I’ll try and remember what I took (and wore) on our holiday to Croatia last year where temperatures ranged from 10°C to 35°C and our activities included cycling, walking, swimming and sightseeing. I prefer to wear a lot of blouses so I’ve learnt how to track down inexpensive ironing services wherever I go! I also have a foot problem which means comfortable shoes are a must.

– 1 pair of lightweight jeans

– 1 pair of beige pants (full length)

– 1 pair of light brown pants (full length) and more dressed up than the others

– 1 pair of fushia ¾ pants

– 1 pair of white ¾ pants

– 1 pair of ¾ jeans that can also be used for cycling if it’s a bit cold

– 1 brown skirt the same colour as the long pants

– 1 red polo neck sweat shirt (to go with all pants except fushia)

– 1 blue polo neck sweat shirt (to go with beige & white pants & jeans)

– 1 light brown jacket same colour as pants & skirt (to go with beige and brown)

– 1 white denim jacket (for fushia & white pants & jeans)

– 1 long-sleeved denim shirt/jacket

– 3 T-shirts (white, red & light blue) (I don’t often wear T-shirts but they can be useful)

– 3 white blouses (for fushia pants & jeans)

– 1 pale yellow blouse (for brown & beige)

– 1 pale pink blouse (for brown & beige)

– 1 green & white sleeveless check shirt (that only goes with one thing but it’s my only sleeveless blouse!)

– 1 decent-looking caramel-coloured waterproof jacket with hood and white fleecy-lined front-zip jacket to go underneath

– 1 pair of walking shoes

– 1 pair of walking sandals (also used for cycling)

– 1 pair of ordinary sandals

– 1 straw hat

– enough underwear & socks for 5 days with 2 pairs of socks for each pair of pants

– swimsuit & pareo & plastic shoes

– cotton kimono & scuffs

Cycling

– 2 pairs of denin shorts for cycling (because they’re the most comfortable)

– 2 cycling T-shirts that are fast-drying and no-iron

– 1 windcheater for cycling

What would you add or subtract?

Aussie in France