Les hommes tres courageux...

Well, sorry I have not written for a while but strangely I have not seen that much French around – maybe more French articles and things come out in the summer over here? I have no idea but as we make our way into autumn I am aware that I have not been posting much and that not much has been attracting my attention. I carry a camera with me to capture any interesting images but alas, the camera case has remained firmly shut!

I did come across this article however by Matt Johnson, called Legacy of the Kiwi tunnellers and it’s a heart breaker. Matt talks about the kiwi contingent who worked underground in Arras, France in preparation for the big push in WW1. What a horrific life – working around the clock they tunneled almost 90 metres of limestone a day, linking a series of medieval quarries which would eventually conceal 24,000 troops.  With some pride Matt comments that their commanding officer struggled to impose a military sense of discipline on this troops and ended up just letting them do their thing – many of the men working underground were from mining communities in NZ, such as the West Coast, and knew more than their commanding officers about the best way to approach the work. Different arms of the tunnels have names or NZ locations carved into the sandstone.

It must have been a hell of an OE notes Matt, but probably the phrase used by the guides is just as telling – “les hommes tres courageux”

Another food related post

On a similar theme as the previous post about locating restaurants, just noticed a new website where you can search menus - quite a clever concept - of course it means restaurants have to list with the site but check out http://www.menus.co.nz/ to find something Italian, Turkish or even FRENCH near your home town. Plus a great review in this weekends edition of the weekend newspaper in their Canvas supplement about Pastis Restaurant up in Auckland - bon appetite... yum

Unbelievable!! Jasons French Restaurant Guide

I do believe we have reached some new low today :( - I saw that Jason's - the travel guide experts - have a new section on their website which they were very proudly letting everyone know about today - yes, they have a searchable restaurant database for - wait for it - French dining!! Yes, I kid you not.

I immediately had to have a look so jumped onto their link (http://www.jasons.co.nz/) and searched under my home town of Auckland -North, french-restaurants and what did this database tell me?????

My two fine dining options for authentic French food are..........

A cafe in Albany and horror of horrors.... Valentines Restaurant - yes apparently the Glenfield Buffet at Valentines is also known as being the place to go for French dining - oh noooooooooo

Tour of France on TradeMe

Just spotted an interesting TradeMe listing by Sue and David Sweet operating under the seller name of 'devine'- they are offering 18 days touring France. They offer small personalised tours - only 6 people - and it sounds great!!

If your interested check out their TradeMe listing under number reference 361559008 or their heading of "18 days touring France" (category Travel, events and activities, holiday packages, international)

Book Review - C'est la Vie

Book Review - Cést la Vie by Suzy Gershman

I loved this - started reading it and before I knew it, I was stopping every 5 minutes to do another chapter. The author is an American lady who has obviously travelled extensively around France but at 52, finds herself suddenly widowed with the opportunity to live her dream - to settle in Paris for a year.

Shes funny (paying for her husbands funeral with her credit card to get the airpoints), honest (none of the French clothes fit her) and certainly gets out and about. I enjoyed hearing about the nightmare of finding an apartment, the things she learnt and her first post husband romance. 

And shop... my god, she does not stop!! In her 'real' life Suzy Gershman is the author of a range of travel guides aimed at shopping - "Born to Shop"and so now I know all about linen, furniture and clothes shopping. Its light weight and might even offend some people but as she says at the end of the book "I have eliminated the depressing parts. You won't miss them at all".

She sounds like a very gutzy 52 year old lady - I should be so brave

A romantic dinner for eight...

And from the Southland Times newspaper a great (or should I say grate...) article about two French cooking types who have had the clever idea of cooking their way around our country. Two Parisian chefs highly trained in traditional French cuisine who wanted to fund a holiday have struck an idea that has taken them the length of NZ - they offer their professional cooking services to in-home diners.

Serving up to 15 people a three course French themed dinner, the couple have travelled from house to house around Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Nelson and Marlborough. They are now in Queenstown.

Not only has their innovative idea earned them travelling funds, they have kept in touch with many people they have cooked for and these links have provided the introduction to further cooking engagements.

Want to learn French?

Found a great website the other day {sorry I have not posted for a while - been a bit sick :(   } - there are some clever people out there that just see a business opportunity and develop it - this website helps you find a tutor for a whole range of things including, you guessed it, French language tuition. My first impression of the site is that its got lots of foreign language students looking for some extra pocket money whilst over here in NZ and that there are heaps of people in the deep south offering their services - yippee, its not all Auckland focussed!!!

Check it out if your interested in learning French (or any other topic for that matter - it had heaps of tutors listed)

www.findatutor.co.nz/

Enjoy!

War memorial for Kiwi Soldiers in Le Quesnoy

A lovely article today in the news about New Zealand soldiers (the NZ Rifle Brigade) who died in active duty near Le Quesnoy, 93 years ago in WW1. Heartbreakingly, their sacrifice took place just a week before the War ended.  122 kiwi soldiers died.

They have not been forgotten by the locals at Le Quesnoy, a small town near the Belgium border.Yesterday it was announced that a new memorial museum and hotel is to be built in their honour.  Described as a "NZ hotel in France" by Military historian Herb Farrant, the hotel and museum commence construction in about a years time.

One of things that draws me to France is the history of people who have died on French soil defending all that is good and fair. I believe my grandfather on my mothers side was wounded in WW1 as a member of the British Engineers Corp. I hope some day to stand where he might have stood and pay homage to him and his generation.

Happy Birthday to ME...

Today is my birthday, I have just turned... are you kidding?  think I would tell you??

Its been a stunning day all around and I feel tired from the heat and just getting out and about. Of course there was a bit of French flavour on my special day - firstly a trip to Yvonne Sanders Antiques in Auckland at 474 Manukau Road. I checked out the French tiles, chandeliers and furniture - nice, nice, nice but nothing really grabbed my fancy.

Then we made our way along to Newmarket where we checked out some shops we dont normally browse - book shops (oh my god, so many nice books on you know where), kitchenwear shops (French knives...) and ended up along in Parnell at Corsa De Flori (hope I  have spelt it correctly) and Cavit Interiors. A $46,000 dining table reduced to a mere $27,000 on special - I kid you not. Didnt buy that!!

Home now to relax for a bit and maybe read some of my new autobiography about an Aussie woman and her French boyfriend... bliss.

Enjoy your day - I certainly have

Christchurch in our thoughts today

Christchurch is in all New Zealanders minds today - you think about it abit and try to imagine how people are feeling and coping, you go and make a cup of tea and get distracted for a bit and then suddenly, you remember it again.

Thinking about you Christchurch and all the people who are scared, grieving, shocked and trying to get through another hour


xxx

NZ Herald " A French Affair".....oh la la!!

In todays NZ Herald is an article about Amanda Taylor-Ace, originally from Devonport in Auckland who, 12 years ago or so upped sticks and made her way to live in Provence. What a life - she has developed a neat old traditional style farm house into a kind of B&B and markets her rooms and tours (cooking, walking etc).

The article has a great line in it - "In the short time I have spent with her, she has me privately questioning the choices I am making in my life"- don't we all know that feeling!! Here is a lady who is living her life and living her own dreams in technicolour and you have to respect that.

http://www.joiedevivre-unlimited.com/

I had heard about Amanda - she is talked about regularly in books by an Aussie woman who has written a couple of really funny travel books about France. Check out Anne Rickards book "Ooh La La! A French Romp"...

Their paying you to go to France!!

Ok that got your attention but seriously - if your young, doing advanced Uni study, interested in beautiful old France and care to apply check out the "New Zealand-France Friendship Fund Excellence Scholarship"on http://www.nzvcc.ac.nz/scholarships/nzfff

Why can't I find a fund or scholarship prepared to pay me to travel to France (I'll need First Class Travel of course plus a bit of accommodation and money for sightseeing...) and do 'research' myself - I am sure I could be EXCELLENT at it!!

Cheers

Dahlia "French Doll"

How beautiful Dahlias are - they are a recent discovery for me, only really in the last year but what a selection, what colours, what beauty.

But, I confess, I did not love the Dahlia "French Doll"- sad but true - she (are Dahlias female?) was so subtle beside the vibrant colours of her sister Dahlias - enjoy the photo of the very chic white French Doll.

Check out the options at Dahlia Haven in Auckland - http://www.dahliahaven.co.nz/

Beautiful French cosmetics - available in NZ

I can't remember what I was originally searching for but I stumbled across this site - http://www.meccacosmetica.co.nz/ - its full of to-die-for French cosmetics - I remember now, I was searching for Diptyque candles. The site is really worth having a look through if you love fine cosmetics and beautiful skin care.

French songs by Celine Dion

Let me confess right up front that I am a bit of a Celine fan - not as die hard as some others surely are but ok, I have some CD's and ok, my partner did shout me a ticket to see her over in Australia (alas, its was the one concert she cancelled...). As a joke today when he was in the Warehouse he saw her CD in a pile of cheap stock and bought it for me - 'Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi'- not reading or understanding French means I have to imagine what that titles about and more interestingly, what each song is about....

I have one of her CD's thats a live in concert one and I singggggg along, making up the words as I go. No doubt I would be bitterly disappointed if I did know the words, its much better in my imagination as she can be singing about anything, but knowing Celine, its about LOVE...

"Voyage en France"- take a trip around France up in Auckland!

Just wanted to make sure that people knew about the course of offer through the University of Aucklands Centre for Continuing Education all about - you guessed it - FRANCE!!

Its under the Culture section of their programme and its called Voyage en France (with Veronique Guilloteau). It looks fasinating - a virtual tour of France and its culture and regions. Taught in English with the odd necessary French word thrown in!

Its session ID 102221 - check out the website at http://www.cce.auckland.ac.nz/ - it starts on Saturday 26th of February - wouldnt this be nice if it was available around the country...

Night folks

A touch of France in New Zealand

Well, here I go, I have done it - one of my New Year resolutions was to be more creative and voila, the delightful Keryn has created this new blog for me. Now all I have to do is fill it.
I confess to a few sleepless nights worrying about it all: What will I say? Will I find enough to 'talk' about? Will anyone care or even look?
But in for a penny, in for a pound. My blog is about my interest in France - I live away around the other side of the globe but somehow, the country and culture always catches my attention.
I hope you will be interested in some of the stuff I see and comment on - and if you wish, you would be most welcome to become a groupie... you know what I mean.
Looking forward to getting to know some others other there - anywhere in this world - who share a love of France and her culture.
Trixie xxxx