Intricate Scarf Tying Paris Style

It's always fabulous going to Paris in the summer. Those hot, hot Paris days are fantastic. But you really want it to chill down just a few degrees, the chocolat chaud is so much more tempting, and the scarves magically appear. Literally overnight.

Every Parisian knows how to tie a scarf. They wear them everywhere.

On the bus. Avec le chien, mais oui. 

Leading a tour  up Tour St Jacques.
I see now that this is #3

At Le Jules Verne

I think this lady was actually Canadian,
but she was styling her scarf with the best of them. 

Taking in the Arc de Triomphe

Wheeling your bike through the
Luxembourg Gardens

They start learning young.

Sorry for the blurriness, it was getting dark. 

And there's lessons in intricate scarf tying in pretty much every window.

For women

and men

There are lots and lots of websites to help us with tying scarves.Through the magic of youtube there are also many, many instructional videos on how to tie scarves for those of us who didn't grow up in Paris and learn at our mothers side.

French Masquerade

Paulita Kincer is a blog friend and author, and fellow participant in Paris in July this year. She runs the lovely Dreaming of France meme each Monday. My reading dance card is usually quite full, and I don't often have time to sneak in lengthy books, so I haven't got to reading either of her two novels. Paulita made a very generous offer of a free ebook to anyone who wanted to review her books for Paris in July. I definitely thought about taking up her offer, but I'm about to launch into 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and I fear it's going to take all my time for the next fortnight or so. Then I remembered I had her short story, French Masquerade, already loaded on my kindle. Parfait!

French Masquerade is a story about marriage, about friendship and about Paris. Joanna has been married to Simon for 20 years, it's all become a bit staid, and a bit boring. Their marriage stalls after a bout of flu strikes the family. Joanna's friend Sylvia presses her to go to Paris for a bit of R&R. Joanna has been there before, and is a bit reluctant, but it is Sylvia's first trip.

Sylvia could have tried to convert her to a new religion or to become a vegan. 

Naturally I loved it when they take trips to many places I've been. Joanna and Sylvia visit some of my very favourite places in Paris. Sainte Chapelle. The Arc de Triomphe. Opera Garnier. Musee and d'Orsay plays a bit part in the story. I have visited there, but somehow it didn't capture my soul as it seems to do for most other people.

Two paintings at the Musee d'Orsay feature in the story, I wasn't familiar with either of them, but was naturally curious.

Les Raboteurs de Parquet by Gustave Caillebotte

Fete Champetre by Titian

When I go back to Musee d'Orsay, as I will one day, I'll have to remember to seek them out.

Joanna and Sylvia go in October, my next trip will be in October!

The light felt different in October than it had when she spent the summer, and the crowds were different too, more older tourists. 

I can't wait to see that October light, and be one of those older tourists!

Dreaming of France is a wonderful Monday meme
from Paulita at An Accidental Blog

Le Tour de France Exposition 2013

Yippee. The 101st Tour de France starts today. In England. Yes, England. This most French of traditions doesn't always start in France! Tonight we're sitting in our cozy lounge room in Australia, watching the first stage from Leeds to Harrogate.

Last year we were in Paris for the tour, but I didn't really see any of it at all. Naturally the racing was on during the day, and we were very busy out and about being tourists. There was an exhibition on the fence of the gorgeous Jardin du Luxembourg to celebrate the 100th Tour de France.

In 2103 Le Tour started in Corsica/Corse

The photos were a fascinating history, both of cycling itself,
and this most fascinating of events. 

Everyone interacted with it in some way

Gallic Books is hosting a Book Tour de France Giveway. 

Saturday Snapshot is a wonderful weekly meme
 now hosted by WestMetroMommy

Paris books for kids from the Guardian

I do love a book list, and a Paris book list even more. We've seen a list about Americans in Paris, and now this list is from The Guardian last year, suggests books about Paris for kids. I really like this list as most of the titles were quite unfamiliar  for me. It's always great to add to the Paris TBR.

(see my review)

Such a wonderful and varied list. Certainly something for everyone. Kids or not. 

Books on France, a great 2014 challenge
 from Emma at Words and Peace

Loyal Creatures

This is not the book to start at 1am, when you'd really quite like to get to sleep, but just want to read a few pages of something- because you then find yourself still awake at 2 am, halfway through and wondering if you should then try to get it finished or really try to get to sleep. But you try to sleep for an hour or so, and then give in and finish the book at 4. No, it's not the book for that.

Loyal Creatures tells the inherently moving story of a young man, Frank Ballantyne, who signs up with his father to join the Light Horse Brigade in 1915. Frank is 16 and too young to legally join up, but he lies about his age, as many young men did.

Jeez, I thought. What if he doesn't take us?
I'd been keeping that worry buried for days on the ride to Sydney. But it was out now. The shameful life ahead of us if me and Dad didn't do our bit. Me dying a lonely old bachelor with no wife and kids. Not even knowing what a girl's skin feels like. Dad getting spat on in the pub and probably no more work. 

Frank left school at 11, and has been working around his farming district with his father since, helping him find water and dig bores. He is a great horseman, and has an inseparable bond with his horse Daisy. Frank and Daisy do join the war effort and travel to Egypt by boat, and take part in the desert campaign in Egpyt and Palestine.

Morris Gleitzman wrote Loyal Creatures in the evocative Aussie lingo of the time. It can be a fine line between authenticity and over the top ocker. A few chapters in and I was firmly entranced with his linguistic style.

Egypt was foreign, but the weather was Australian.
Heat and dust. Flies I reckon I'd met before in Dubbo. 

I gave Loyal Creatures to Master Wicker after I finished it, and encouraged him to read it, knowing that it was not his usual fare, and as such was a bit of a risk. He started it but found the authentic language difficult, and he didn't finish it. Which is a great shame I think.

Morris Gleitzman tells such an astonishing story in Loyal Creatures. The story of Frank and Daisy was initially created as twenty minute monologue, a performance piece for one actor, created at the request of Michael Morpurgo in 2012 when the stage version of War Horse was about to tour Australia. I saw this performed at the CBCA Conference Dinner at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. It was astonishing. As is Loyal Creatures.

Top Ten Favourite 1001 Children's Books I've Read Before I've Grown Up (so far)

I'm an occasional Top Ten contributor. I'm not clever enough to think up a list each and every week, but occasionally a special list looms, and this week is one of those lists.

Top Ten Tuesday is a great weekly meme

 from the folks at The Broke and the Bookish. 

A few years ago I set myself somewhat of a challenge. To read all 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. Yes, all 1001 books. That's a lot of books, even if many of them are picture books. Still, I'm over a quarter of the way through now! Time to see what my favourite of my 1001 reads have been so far.

The first six are easy. Massive standouts. Incredible books.

see my review

see my review

see my review

see my review

see my review

Beyond that it's a bit difficult. I could pick any number of books. Here are some I thought of today.

The Secret Garden
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Old Yeller
Thursday's Child
The Three Musketeers
I am Not Esther
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler

Breakfast at Le Meurice Paris

Breakfast is not usually that much of a big deal. Even in Paris. I would typically have yoghurt for breakfast when in Paris, starting the day in a modest way in preparation for the onslaught to follow. It's true that even the yoghurts of Paris are special. Very special actually, and so a treat in themselves, and I would stock up from the amazing displays at any supermarket, or the corner shop. Last year I modified the yoghurts a bit and had them leaves and dust style.  Sometimes we would have some amazing pastries, croissants for a euro, from the local boulangeries. But even breakfast can be as special as you want to make it in Paris,  especially when you glam up and then trek off to Le Meurice, a luxury hotel on the stylish Rue de Rivoli.

While most of us mere mortals can only dream of staying there, we can all dine there. Dinner is rather expensive for most (David Lebovitz had an astonishing dinner there), lunch much more reasonable, and breakfast the bargain deal of them all.  We can all dream of breakfast there. You can breakfast in two rooms. We feasted in the Restaurant Le Meurice- Alain Ducasse. 

It's one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever been in.

It feels like Marie Antoinette just stepped out. 

The table was groaning with pastries.
Either the best chouquettes in Paris are hidden from view,
or I'd eaten them all by this stage. 

We made a tactical error and ordered the eggs hollandaise with salmon too,
not realising that it wasn't included in the buffet price.
Rookie's mistake.

Even les toilettes are 5 star. 

Hotel breakfasts can have a bad reputation, but a 5 star hotel breakfast is really something special. A way to peak at how the other half live. I can't remember the price exactly, but I think the breakfast was about 40 or 42 euros. A definite bargain. Totally worth it. I'll be going back. 

Hotel Le Meurice
228 Rue de Rivoli, Paris 75001

Breakfast is served 0700-1030 during the week, and 0700-1130 on weekends.

It's Paris in July!

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking
a fabulous weekly meme at BethFishReads