Amsterbel, the city that never stops ringing!

So what exactly to say about Amsterdam I am not sure... It would have to be one of the most fascinating places, for example: tobacco is not allowed to be smoked indoors but weed, go right ahead ladies and gentlemen, and the more the better, at least that's what the mantra seems to be! Me and big sista Bron stayed in a Christian Youth Hostel (yes that may come as a surprise) and right next door was a row of prostitutes doing their "thang" in their little doorways, we wonder what the Christians have to say about that?

Away from the tourist packed Red-Light District is where the real Amsterdam is and it would have to be high on my list of most beautiful cities. The canals bordered with Dutch architecture (buildings leaning every which way), the great shopping boutiques and of course Dutch pancakes are just some of the great things to be experienced! We walked the streets, boated the canals and finally spent a day on bikes which really is the best way to see the bike driven city. To say Amsterdamians like their bikes is an understatement: car parks are built just to park bikes in; you're more likely to be run over or dinged at by a bike than a car; sometimes the streets are impossible to walk on as there are so many bikes parked everywhere!

After a while the whole smell of pot EVERYWHERE gets a tad overwhelming and well lets just say it, boring, like people, get a new hobby cause this city does have a life outside the 'coffeshops' selling every kind of drug you can imagine, all legal of course!

One other thing about Amsterdam is that there are always always bells ringing. At least thats what it seemed like at 6am every morning with bells going off at every church in town.

After doing some serious Amsterdamage we bid farewell today and are now camping on someone's floor in London for 3 hours till a shocking 4am start.

Dubrovnik tomorrow, summer loving here we come!!

Au Revoir aux Alps :)

It is my last night in the French Alps and despite having a great time I am definitely ready to move on. I need to be back in the city, I’m craving some crowds, shopping, bright lights and some adult company and as luck would have it I am heading to Amsterdam on Saturday via Paris for 8 hours tomorrow night.

The last week here was spent doing more hikes. I almost made it to the top of an extremely high peak but my legs simply couldn’t take the almost 90 degree slope anymore, still I saw a small patch of snow so it was worth the pain. We also went to a nearby village called Briancon which is in an old fortress surrounded by what was once a moat. The rest of my time has been spent trying to entertain bored children, swimming, taking a break in the sauna and playing football.

Today however we went to Italy. How great is that, one hour of driving over the winding mountains and we were in another country, another culture, another language. We went to Torino, a large village with the oldest Egyptian museum in the world, the reason the grandparents took us there. After checking out some mummies, coffins and rocks we took a walk round the town. The Italians sure love their plazas, ice cream and of course luxury clothing. Unfortunately I didn’t have the luxury to look at the shops but I did manage to see a dog visiting Chanel. Seems the Italians are just as mad about dogs as the French. After eating a huge chocolate Gelato which was considered the smallest size we headed back to France just before a huge storm sunk in. It is still raining and the clouds are so low I can nearly touch them, a sure sign it is time to move on to a hopefully sunny Amsterdam and then the beach in Dubrovnik. Happy days here I come!!

P.S. Photos to come, internet is too dodgy here to upload due to big towering rocks everywhere I look!

Les Montagnes

France certainly has it all. The most beautiful city in the world, a coast on the Mediterranean, the picturesque Alps and of course, cheese to blow your mind!

I have arrived in yet another amazing place called Monetier which lies in a valley in the Alps. The place is famous for its hot springs but being Summer and around 30 degrees everyday I doubt they would be very pleasant. I am still with the two girls, their grandparents, two of their cousins plus another boy staying in the family's chateau that could be out of a movie. Of course it would so much more amazing if it was winter as the skiing here is apparently very very good! Some of the mountains are still capped with snow but at ground level the heat is nearly unbearable.

So far we have spent our days swimming in the pool, taking hikes and the last two afternoons me and the kids have been rock climbing. The first day we climbed a huge cliff using tiny metal steps to help us. The view was amazing (see pics), looking straight down the valley that is scattered with little villages that are all incredibly old, some which look like they're starting to fall apart. Yesterday we just did abseiling which was fun but not challenging enough!

It all feels quite 'olden day' here as the houses are very old and everyone eats from their gardens and plows their fields by hand. There are no traffic lights and barely any proper roads. I almost feel like I am in the novel Jean de Florrette, without all the rabbits of course.

In France it would seem that meals are integral to one's day. Lunch and dinner take anywhere between 45 minutes to 1 and a half hours with at least three courses (main, cheese and dessert), a long time compared to the simple sandwich lunch most people eat in Australia. Dinner is eaten incredibly late, around either 8:30 or 9:30, sometimes later which is actually fine as I'm usually still recovering from the food onslaught at lunchtime. I know I'm definitely going to miss the food here when I go back home, especially the baguettes and cheese. I'm sure the French would scoff at what we Australians consider good bread and cheese. Here no one eats simple cheddar cheese: instead every fridge in France is I'm sure stocked with compte, Gruyere, Parmesan, Swiss, mozzarella and my favourite: goats cheese (that's to name a few). I can totally understand why an entire course at mealtime is dedicated to this heavenly food.

Lesson learnt= one must love cheese to be french!!

This is my last night by the french seaside as tomorrow we are heading to the alps for hiking and water rafting, can't wait!!

Thursday we went to a beautiful place to snorkel. It was in a tiny village (if you could even call it that) called Mejean where I discovered the beach 'french style'. There was no sand but rocks and cliffs surrounding aqua water which makes for a perfect photo! I got a small tour around the even smaller village where I am staying- Martigues, which in fact looks a lot like the 'economy' version of Venice. All the houses are painted different colours and there are canals running through the centre.

Friday night I was assigned to taking the kids to Shrek 4. I had no idea there had even been a 3 so that along with the translation issue made for a confusing time and then the smallest kid got scared so we went outside and ate 'bonbons' instead.

Today we once again trekked through the French hills to the glassy water where we found a new spot to jump off the rocks. I am most definately going to miss the sea but I have been told there is a pool and a river where we are headed.

The French sure know how to take a holiday- eight weeks of sun, 'beach', relaxing, eating good food and whatever else takes their fancy. It's certainly not hard to be French in this regard!

Just passed another few days in paradise. Lazing by the pool, sleeping, being lifeguard for the kids, entertaining a couple of very cute French toddlers and enjoying the beautiful weather. We barely leave the house, why do so when everything one needs is right next to your deckchair? Every meal is more delicious than the last, today for lunch a huge piece of barbequed lamb with some potatoes and fried zucchini flowers from the garden, yum!
Yesterday one of the adults and I took the elder children scuba diving. Apparently the French don’t have any rules about this sport as we do in Australia, where you have to get a licence to dive. Here they just gear the kids up and chuck them in the water with the assumption that they can actually swim. Unfortunately it was very windy and quite cold so most of the kids came out sobbing, I watched from the dryness of the boat feeling glad I didn’t have to jump into the cold water. Now I can say I have been to the Mediterranean, it is incredibly salty but a beautiful colour. However I have to say, I don’t think anything comes close to the beauty of the beaches and the water in Australia.
Of course Paradise is not quite complete without my friends and family and I am very much missing the land we call Oz. Sometimes I think how great it would be to stay and live in Paris but thinking that brings up that little feeling: home is where the heart is, well mine is definitely planted firmly in Australia! All I can say is thank god for skype as without it being here ‘sans certains’ wouldn’t be possible. How people used to travel without their loved one before the invention of the Internet I am clueless. I could never have waited six or more weeks for a letter, maybe that’s my inner ‘modern snob’ talking but I simply cannot imagine it.
Just watched Spain win, very happy indeed! Now to bed for tomorrow we’re going snorkelling early in the morning.

So French, so amazing!

Time escaped from me during my last week in Paris. Monday night I met Elin for 50 cent chicken wings at a Canadian bar. They were incredibly tasty and I was so pleased with the cheap find until I saw the bill and realised my cider had cost me 7.50 euros...??
Wednesday, the moment I had been waiting for, Tessa arrived for a fun filled 3 day trip to Paris. Unfortunately one of the girls decided to get sick thursday morning so I had to spend half the day at home. Nevertheless we still managed to visit Place des Vosges, Jardins des Tuileries, a trip to Musee d'Orsay and a picnic under the Eiffel Tower which Tessa decided she was too sick and tired to climb... A mistake no doubt!!
Friday was hot, there is simply no better word to describe the day. Metro=hot, walking=hot, talking=hot, eating=hot. And yes I am talking weather. We went to Montmartre but soon turned back as we were on the verge of melting. So it was that I gave Tessa the ultimate Paris shopping experience (in search of good air con): Galleries Lafayette and Boulevard Haussman. Finally the sky gave way to a downpour, while we were walking home of course! The night was spent cooking steak and mashies and eating in the garden with Elin. A close tie with a picnic by the Seine. One last outing, sans Tessa who let her cold get the better of her, to cafe Oz with Elin, a bit of dancing then homeward bound for my last sleep in the city of love (for a while anyway).
Yesterday I bid goodbye to my amiga Tessa and caught the TGV down to Aix en Provence where my family's family lives. I was left to look after 6 children last night, fortunately most are old enough that I don't need to be constantly supervising. I think I have found the real France. I am in Martigues, a half hour drive from Marseille, staying in a huge old house with a big pool. The garden is full of fruit and veggies, a blossoming grape vine, deck chairs, day lounges, soft grass sans whistle-blowing police and an amazing view over the huge lake by which the village sits. Today I ate, drank, swam and lounged around like the french do in their summers, of course with a little child minding on the side.
I think I have discovered the french 'raison d'etre' right here by the pool in the South of France.
A bientot!