Sunday’s Travel Photos – Dubrovnik
Voting for a New President
As I explained in Battling with French Administration, I have only started voting relatively recently and this is only my second French presidential election. The first time, we were here for both rounds. Of course, it would be much easier if they adopted the preferential voting system in France, but having the two rounds is all part of the strategy and I don’t think any of the politicians would agree to eliminating the second one! This time, however, we will be in Blois the second time around. Black Cat will be away on both occasions.
So how do we go about voting? First, I’ll describe the normal voting system. When you become eligible to vote, you have to register with your local town hall. It’s wherever you’re registered on 1st January that counts. We are registered in the 1st arrondissement. Even when they move (provided they don’t go too far away), most people prefer to keep their original voting office rather than spend hours waiting around in queues to change it.
In about March, you receive an electoral card with the address of the polling station (usually a school) that you have to take along with you to vote, together with your ID. You hand them both over to the person sitting behind a table with all the ballot papers (bulletins de vote) in front of them. After they check your ID, they give you a little blue envelope and you take a copy of each ballot paper (10 this time because there were ten candidates) and go into the voting booth (isoloir – love the name!), put your paper in the envelope and throw the others in the bin. Since we also receive the ballot papers by post, I prefer to select mine before I go. It’s a simple piece of white paper, about 10 cm x 15 cm with the name of the candidate printed in black ink.
Then you go to another table, with your envelope and ID. At our voting station, there are tables on either side of the see-through voting urn with a person at each table. One has the register with half the alphabet and the other has the rest. The person standing behind the urn reads out your name. After it’s located on the register, you sign and the urn keeper pulls back a lever so that you can drop your envelope in. When you have done so, he says in a stenorous voice, “A voté” (has voted). It’s all very formal. I was actually surprised they let me take photos but the urn keeper was very pedagogical, explaining everything to me in detail.
Now if you can’t physically go to your polling station on D-Day, the only solution is to find someone to represent you. They don’t have to be attached to your polling station (they just have to live in the same town), but they do have to go there to vote for you. You have to go along to the police station beforehand with the details of your proxy (full name, birth and place of date), your ID and your electoral card. You’re given a little bit of paper that says “récipisse à remettre au mandant” (receipt to be given to the proxy) that you hand over with your ID. A proxy can vote for one person living in France and one person living overseas.
So with Leonardo in Australia, Black Cat in Thailand and Forge Ahead in Madagascar, there’s only Thoughtful left. He’s going to vote for Black Cat and Forge Ahead so Relationnel has found two work colleagues to vote for us. And they tell me they’ve simplified matters. We haven’t been to the police station yet …
I’ve Joined the Kindle Community!
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!
Bruce McAleer, Bike Tour Guide – Travelling to Provence – Crossing the Berlin Wall
This Wednesday’s features from other people’s blogs. Thanks to Judy McMahon from MyFrenchLife, a global community of French and francophiles connecting like-minded people in English & French, for her profile of Bruce McAleer, Vicki Archer, an Australia writer who lives between London and Saint Rémy de Provence and author of French Essence for her tips for travelling in Provence and Andrea from Destination Europe, also an Aussie Expat who’s been living in France for the last 5 years, food and travel blogger for her very informative post on visiting the Berlin Wall.
Profile: Bruce McAleer, Bike Tour Guide
by Judy McMahon from MyFrenchLife
Bruce, can you please describe your business to us?
I offer day trips by bike from Paris to numerous locations in the countryside of Paris. My tours generally include a well-known destination (Chartres, Giverny etc.) but are mostly designed with getting off the beaten path in mind. We bike through scenic countryside, quaint country villages, medieval towns and pass by various châteaux. I take people to unknown places not covered in guidebooks. Read more …
Travelling to Provence
by Vicki Archer from French Essence
I am often asked about travelling to Provence and while I am neither an expert nor a travel guide I do love Provence with all my heart. I spend most of my year getting there, being there and dreaming about there… I thought I would put together a series with travel tips, websites and information that might help when planning a trip… Simple details, that I take for granted… yet if I had known them way back… it would have made all the difference… Read more
And part 2: http://frenchessence.blogspot.fr/2012/03/travelling-to-provence-part-two.html
Crossing the Berlin Wall
by Andrea from Destination Europe
Imagine getting a new job, moving into a new apartment and spending just one last night in your old apartment only to wake up in the morning to find you have been barricaded in by a barbed wire fence with no way in or out. You have no access to your job or belongings. Read more
The Eternal Dilemma of What to Pack
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 cyclingWhat would you add or subtract?
Birthday Lunch at Carre des Feuillants
Every year on my birthday, Relationnel takes me to a surprise venue. In 2010, it was La Cascade in the Bois de Boulogne and last year it was the Ritz, no less! It was a perfect spring day and we were able to sit outside in the inner courtyard. I am embarrassed to say that I don’t remember what I ate but I know it was delicious and that the service was impeccable. The Ritz is currently closed for Renovation.
This year, I had suggested we have lunch at Les Ombres, the restaurant on top of the Quai Branly ethnic museum because I’ve seen photos of the stunning views of the Eiffel Tower but with a temperature of 12°C, uncertain skies and disappointing reports about the food, we decided to change venue. What an excellent idea! Because Relationnel chose Michelin 2-star chef Alain Dutournier’s Carré des Feuillants just off Place Vendôme. Not exactly in the same league.
Discreet but warm welcome into a very modern and spacious dining room. We both chose the all-inclusive “Idées de la Saison” menu including drinks, starting with champagne to accompany the mouth-watering mises en bouche. Then the starters: fresh wild salmon on a bed of boletus mushrooms, smoked salmon with horseradish and blue lobster with tiny fried spring rolls, followed by melt-in-the-mouth suckling lamb from the Pyrenées with cress and aubergine lasagna. The cheese was a strong Roquefort with a dried fruit centre.
We had a glass of Montée de Tonnère chablis 2010 from Château de Maligny with our starters, followed by a Domaine Gauby côtes de Roussillon 2002 with the lamb and a Château de Carles 2008 fronsac with the cheese. Relationnel asked if he could try a demi-sec white instead which proved to be a much better combination. The wine did not seem to be limited.
Only the desserts , based on vacherin and raspberries, were disappointing. Either Alain Dutournier isn’t interested in sweet food or he’s chosen the wrong pâtissier! I’m not a big fan of desserts but when I have them, I like to remember them! The petits fours with the coffee were good though. In any case, the service was perfect throughout, attentive without being obsequious and all was well orchestrated. When I was reading the menu, the print was too small so the waiter went and got me some glasses!
Alain Dutournier, who comes from the southwest of France, has three other restaurants : Au Trou Gascon (his first address) in the 12th arrondissement, Pinxo in the 1st and Caves Marly in Versailles. Pinxo sounds very interesting from the blurb on the DVD that you get when you leave : “Original concept conceived and created by Alain Dutournier – contemporary french (sic) restaurant – dishes executed in an open kitchen – surprising combinations, creative and authentic cuisine that focuses on the products – instantaneity of preparation and quick sampling are key words – all the dishes presented by three parts can be easily shared. Wide choice of authentic wines by open price levels (NOT MY TRANSLATION, by the way!). Might just try it sometime.
Sunday’s Travel Photos – Mostar – Bosnia Herzegovina
I described our visit to Mostar in Part 4 of My Croatian Itinerary series. It was a terribly hot murky day and it felt as though we had reached the end of the earth, but the little cobbled street leading up to the famous arch bridge and over the other side was absolutely full of tourists. It was so wonderful when we finally reached the shady inner courtyard of the Ottoman house and had it to ourselves.
Adjusting to Living in Two Houses
Well, so far, I’m not doing so well! Relationnel came back to Paris on Sunday night by car and I followed by bus and train on Monday afternoon because I had to wait for the EDF man to increase the wattage. When I caught the metro in Paris, I suddenly realised that I had left the keys to my Paris apartment in Blois. Fortunately the train was late so Relationnel was home by the time I got there. I’ve now borrowed the keys from my cleaning lady.
When I took my shower in Paris, I had trouble getting used to the taps and the shower rose being at the wrong end! Then when I woke up during the night, it took me a while to work out where I was. That has never ever happened to me before. I am always totally aware of my environment the minute I wake up. I walked into the bookcase, then the divider before I finally realised I was going in the wrong direction.
Next morning, I was about to set up my computer (I had taken my CPU to Blois to transfer everything to my laptop but never found the time) when I discovered I had left the multi-socket thing in Blois as well. Sigh. Relationnel brought home another one at lunchtime but in the meantime, I had a rather frustrating morning trying to work with the laptop which doesn’t have all the files and programs I need.
I had no problem adapting back to my Paris kitchen though. It’s so much more practical! I don’t have to kneel down to take things out of the oven for a start. I pull out a drawer to get to the saucepans instead of bending down to find them in a low cupboard. I have plenty of bench space and a high stool to sit on when my feet are tired. The sink is made for people over 1 m 70 and there’s lots of food in the pantry (though nothing in the fridge …).
However, when I walked into my office, I was greeted by two flowering orchids (birthday presents from Leonardo in the past) and some African violets that had bloomed in my absence but I had missed the tulips on the balcony altogether! I hope that the wisteria will still be in bloom in Blois when we go back at the end of the month. I adore wisteria and the Loire is just full of it at the moment.
We have always made the choice not to have a country house or a beach hut so that we are free to go where we want on holidays because we love discovering new places. As a result, I don’t think I have ever spent more than one week at a time in any place other than my home of the moment, except maybe two weeks in a house near Albi about 10 years ago! So I don’t usually have any trouble remembering where I am. When I spent the day alone in Blois on Monday, I really felt at home which I guess is what made the transition to Paris more difficult.
All the downstairs rooms are now furnished and decorated even if there are still a few details missing. You can see the photos on the website for the gîte under Accommodation: www.closeriefalaiseau.com.
This time, to make the transition a little easier, I dug out one of the two sweat shirts I wore most days in Blois. I immediately felt better. Maybe there is something to Linus’ security blanket after all!
My Croatian Itinerary – Part 4: Split, Mostar & Dubrovnik
When we got to Split from Ancona in Italy, we drove off the ferry and were immediately searched. Maybe the customs official found it strange we should have so much luggage. Well, the car fridge already takes up a fair amount of room and then there’s the bike gear and stuff. Anyway, she finally waved us on and we followed the Tom Tom to our rental flat. Unfortunately, the entire street was being dug up and we eventually decided to drive through the roadworks to get there despite protests from the workers at the other end but our hostess Antonela was waiting for us and explained the situation. The up side was that Antonela said we could park in the courtyard.
The flat was clean and comfortable with free wifi and a washing machine. It was also very well located, just a short walk from all the sights. We couldn’t use the terrace with the seaview because of the roadworks but it didn’t really matter. We really enjoyed Split. There were lots of historical places to visit, we found a restaurant on the edge of the bay with an excellent “fish plate” (Atlantida) went to the early-morning fresh fish and fresh produce markets and had a wonderful bike ride on Marian Hill which I have described in Cycling in Croatia.
After two nights in Split, we went to Dubrovnik via Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina where it was shockingly hot. We went through border control twice and waited in long queues each time for no apparent reason.The speed was limited to 60 kph most of the time, also for no apparent reason. We saw shell-shocked buildings along the way and walked over the famous arch bridge built by Suliman the Magnificent which was destroyed during the Yugoslavian war and rebuilt, bought a souvenir for the Christmas tree, had lunch in a very friendly restaurant called Hindin Han and visited Biscevica House, a traditional Ottoman home.
The drive along the coast to Dubrovnik was quite stunning, with little islands everywhere. We went through a small stretch that is part of Bosnia Herzegovina, its only coastal section, waiting in long lines at the border once again. When we got to Dubrovnik, we had parking problems. We hadn’t realised you can’t take your car into the walled city, not even to drop off your luggage. We finally parked in an extremely extensive parking lot near one of the entrances, grabbed a minimum amount of stuff and went to find our flat.
The apartment we stayed in was recommended to us by Black Cat and it was perfect. A large comfortable room with a basic kitchen and a shower room, right in the middle of the old town, but in a tiny street up several flights of steps, a haven from the noise and bustle of the tourist trade and very reasonably priced. The owner’s son, Matko Jelic, who speaks both French and English (his wife is Irish) was very kind and helpful and even found us a free parking place outside the city walls from which we were able to take a bus back to the city. There wasn’t a wifi connection but Matko indicated a café in the old town called the Skybar with free wifi. The connection code is on the bill – you just have to order a drink.
We stayed three nights in lovely old city of Dubrovnik and I particularly enjoyed the rampart walk at sunset. Unfortunately, it was there that I ate some unsavoury prawns and got the infamous “turista” that kept me indoors and close to the bathroom for most of the time we were there. We had booked an all-day boat ride to some of the islands but I wasn’t up to going. But one day we’ll go back!
Next instalment – Zadar. The itinerary so far: Paris – Annecy – Milan – Ancona – Split – Mostar – Dubrovnik.
Antonela Cmrlec Apartman Riva Branimirova Obala 6 SPLIT +385 (0)98 937 0942apartman.riva@gmail.com Konoba “ATLANTIDA”, Obala Ante Trumbica 13, 21000 Split Matko Jelic Zvijezdiceva DUBROVNIK www.apartmentsdubrovnik.com matko@apartmentsdubrovnik.com Restoran Hindin Han Jusovina bb 88 000 MOSTAR Tel/Fax: 00387 36 581 054 Mob. 00387 61 153 924 The Skybar Pridvorje 5, 20217 Dubrovnik
The Romance of a Sale – Zen Things in Paris – Laines Locales Wool Festival at Prébenoît
I’m afraid I was so busy last week setting up house in Blois that I didn’t bring you my usual Wednesday’s other blogs post. But I’m back in Paris and my computer is up and working again. Thank you to the authors of this week’s posts: Petite Paris, an Australian-based independent bed & breakfast booking agent for anyone planning to travel to the romance capital of the world, on Zen things to do in Paris; Llamalady, an Irish llama and alpaca breeder living in the centre of France, who also runs a carp fishery and a holiday gite, reporting on a local wool festival; and Bread is Pain, an American living in the Rhone-Alps “slowly eating and drinking myself through the country”, talking about her love of sales.
Zen Things in Paris
from Petite Paris
When it comes to Paris, we already know the usual recommendations. We know the rule is Laduree for tea. Pierre Herme for Macaroons. Coffee at Cafe de Flore. Or at Lipp Or at Deux Magots. We know that a visit to the Louvre is a must see. Eiffel. Piere Lachaise. And we know all about the Batobus river boat tours. The Moulin Rouge. and the Opera. And these are all great, bien sûr… Read more.
Laines Locales Wool Festival at Prébenoît
by LLamalady from Blog in France
We are just back from a chilly and breezy but interesting morning at a wool festival. It was organised by Laines Locales of Limousin and was held at nearby Prébenoit Abbey. Had the weather been better we would have cycled there – it’s about 10 km away – but we’d have been blown backwards! Read more.
The Romance of a Sale
from Bread is Pain
I love sales. Love them. I will buy things that I don’t really find attractive or things that I absolutely do not need based solely on the fact that they are on sale. As a dear friend of mine puts it “really, by not buying it you are losing money because it is such a good deal!” (RIGHT?!) This statement pretty much sums up my feelings when I see something marked down. “Why look! It’s a goose leash! We don’t have a goose, I know, but one day we might and come on, honey, it’s 70% off!” Read more.
