Parisian Strolls & Romance, With Old & New Friends, France.

As the lush fields and vineyards rolled away we delved into Parisian traffic around 3, and headed for our air BnB in Bastille area. With a few wrong turns we still arrived in good time and found it quite easily. We were greeted by a super friendly Natashja who showed us around her two bedroom, sunlit and colourfully decorated flat. We carried all our luggage up the 4 flights of stairs, made friends with our new feline friend who lived there then headed to Gard D'Lyon to drop off our cute little Fiat. 

We caught the efficient metro back to goncourt which was only about a 10 minute walk to our Parisian flat, picking up a few snacks and wine on route. Sean then ducked out to get us coffees while I make a cheese plate to greet Bridie with on her birthday! To my excitement he came back with coffees and two smiling faces!!! I hadn't met Tam (Bridie's Scottish fiancée) before but immediately felt like I'd known him a lifetime as he was warm and lovely, and as for seeing Bridie, it seems no matter the distance between us she will always remain such a treasured friend and it was so lovely to see her gorgeous face!

We all sat around on the floor catching up, snacking on cheese and even popped a delicious bottle of Veuve Clicquot for the occasion! Hours went by before we realised we should head out for dinner before everything had closed! We stepped out and walked up the canal until we came to a busy little bar which offered us cheap delicious spritz and free Aperol sunglasses before we settled on a buzzing little Italian place for some hearty food and tasty wine.  Following that we found a trendy nightclub in an old factory by the canal for a beer then home to bed.

The next morning we rose slowly and set off in search of a crispy chocolate croissant from an adorable little corner patisserie. We washed this down with an overpriced ($7 Aussie dollars) bad coffee and a waiter with an attitude before hiring bikes and taking to the streets. With a little difficulty at first we finally managed to hire out 4 'working' bikes, with sean in the lead we drove around crazy round-abouts and down cobbled streets along the canal. The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous morning seeing Paris by bike in the best of company! We passed the Notre damn and wheeled into luscious green gardens (not allowed to be walked on) until we stopped by the fountain to catch some sun. 

Hungry for lunch we found a little brasserie and patisserie a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower for a fresh baguette and coffee. Fuelled and feeling thirsty we all rode home in the afternoon sun, swapping up to route and delving down unknown streets and dodging traffic. Sean and I picked up a tasty white wine while Tam and Bridie brought home another cheese plate! We kicked up our heels and devoured all that we had until it was time for dinner. 

We ordered a trusty uber to take us to a trendy little area full of busy bars and tasty looking restaurants. Not being able to resist yet another happy hour we enjoyed a spritz in the sun then stumbled upon Le Restaurant Mimere au Piano for some delicious French cuisine! The boys were super satisfies with their tender steak fillets while Bride's and I shared salmon and kingfish ceviche, with a delicious buttery mash and a wine to match.

Adamant to make it to a free concert near by to see Mika perform, we ordered another uber to take us there. We then braved the big crowed of people despite the falling rain and found ourselves a little spot. Shoulder to shoulder the square was packed with excited and rowdy fans as Mika came on stage. It was Devine eve dancing in a wet drizzle trying to work out if Infact the French speaking man onstage was actually Mika.. Which was only confirmed when 'love me' was performed to us! 

The four of us were swept away with smiles as we jumped on the tube and headed back towards our area. We all agreed on one last boogie and a drink at Le Tiki lounge! This is literally a bar we by chance stumbled upon as it was down an unsuspecting quiet street across the way from our apartment. As soon as we walked in I felt as if we stepped back into the 50's. The bar was crowded with slick hair styles, black jeans and tattoos, and the ladies complete with tailored outfits and high heels! We found ourselves a empty corner, sipped away at our strong cocktails and danced to well selected rockabilly music until we couldn't groove any longer and a step back across the street found us to our beds, smiling at our beautiful jam packed day! 

Our last morning with Bridie and Tam was far too brief as we set out on the sunny Sunday to find a nice breakfast spot. Bridie led us to the perfect place which served eggs, pancakes, real coffee and even Vegemite?!?! An unlucky 45 minute table wait and restricted by time we settled for a nice croissant and coffee down the road before they ran off for their train back to London.  

Sean and I then ventured down the canal to Bastille Sunday markets which were hundreds of little stalls selling food, drinks, crafts, jewellery and more! We found ourselves some delicious local wine and fresh produce before running back to the apartment to pack up and move to another air BnB in monmatre area. The rain started to fall and we ordered another uber to take us across the city.. Only to climb 5 flights of spiral stairs to finally reach 'the sweet nest'.

Our new room was barley that.. It resembled a wooden sauna and was fitted with a single bed and a shower that I would barley fit a thigh in. The roof was slanted so we couldn't stand in the room and spent most of our time in the sunny lounge area. Off that was another common shower.. Which I had great difficulty getting in (having to squat down..) so you can imagine the pain Sean's long legs had. 

Exhausted, hungover and missing Bridie and Tam already, after a tasty and expensive Burger up the road we spent the afternoon in a deep sleep waking in the early hours of the eve. Hungry again we cooked up all our fresh veggies from the market and made tasty veggie stacks topped with delicious melty Langres cheese and wine! Spending the eve booking further travels we called it a night and headed back to our single sauna to spoon. 

The heat of our wooden shoebox room sent us out to face the day early! We jumped on the underground and headed back toward Bastille area to visit all of the opshops I had frequented at before! Picking up a smooth macchiato and croissant at a busy little cafe we set off in search of Parisian pre loved items! To my disappointment the prices of these goods had doubled so we left with fewer items than I had wished! Tired of rummaging through massive bargain bins we settled on a tasty bagel for fuel. We then headed up one of the main drags to browse some of the high street shopping on route back home.

We had previously read about secret well kept flowery streets that are open to all but tucked away behind what looks like a private gate. We took our chances and explored some of the gated communities finding adorable little pebbled streets untouched by traffic and rubbish. 

Under the summers sun and after a big day shopping (with not much to show) we followed our thirst to the Main Street in monmatre for happy hour cocktails. This area is always buzzing with tourists, street artists and next to none locals. The main attraction in the area is the moulin rouge and the sex shops that line the busy road, and of course with that comes the 'cheap drinks' and 'typical' French cuisine like escargot and frogs legs.. (However the quality of these are very questionable.)

We then stopped by the famous Le chat noir cafe for a few beers and crisps before calling it a night, heading home for left overs and a bottle of French wine. 

Another pretty day in Paris we ventured down the back streets of monmatre to find a cafe Sean had read up about. Soul kitchen served us up a delicious salad and coffee on brightly coloured tin tables. The food was organic fresh and tasty and the staff were friendly. We then climbed the steps to view Sacré-Cœur and the view over Paris. Spotting the Eiffel Tower from a far we decided to head back across the river to spend some more time with the unwanted gift. (she was originally gifted to Barcelona but they didn't want her so Paris got her). 

We sat on the grass and sipped away at an expensive and tasteless iced coffee, refusing selfie sticks and eiffle tower key chains from hundreds of sellers and watching a bunch of suited men pop a bottle of champagne worth hundreds of dollars. After a few touristy photos and no proposals (much to the disappointment of my friends and family.. Although should it have happened here I would have rejected such a cliche thing), we went home to freshen up before dinner. 

We set off to meet Marie (who used to live with my friend Lucy, and could be described as French Lucy therefore will respond to 'Frucy') at a pub she chose called dirty dicks in Pigalle area which is a funky bar/cool crowd area. Unfortunately dirty dicks was closed so we headed down to street to a funky dark bar, we were welcomed with big smiles and a cocktail list. They were flavoursome, strong and unusual.. Just what we wanted to kick off our night, however the price kept us from ordering another and we headed down to a busy bar down the road for a tasty beef tatare, salmon steaks and a bottle of wine. We had one last nightcap before farewelling each other and heading back home. 

Our last full day in Paris was spent exploring by foot, we walked all the way to the other end of the city in search of pretty gardens and train tracks converted to more gardens! Like any city you really feel the change from one area to the other they change dramatically; culturally and visually! As it was a sunny summers day the parks and train walk were sprawling with people enjoying the warmth. We picked up some lunch en route and walked the entire way back but along the canal.. Which took us the good part of the afternoon. 

We headed back to Pigalle area for dinner, in search of snails we settled on a place which served us well. The snails were how I remembered.. A little chewy and taste of what they are drenched in which was a pesto like oil, they were tasty but I was happy for Sean to finish them off. Our main courses followed, my salad was generous and Sean's tatare was bland, we washed it down with a boring bottle of white and went home to pack. 

Happy to leave our sauna we left after lunch after a lazy morning and headed on the train and Orly bus to the airport. Our easyjet plane was delayed so just after 7pm we were finally flying and looking forward to tasty Italian food and juicy wine!! Ciao Rome.

Bonjour champagne and sunshine; Epernay, France.

After a painfully long wait to go through customs at Charles De Gaulle airport, we had another wait at the Europcar counter before fetching our cute, shiny black Fiat 500 mini, & escaping to freedom on the French roads. We jumped on the highway out of Paris towards Champagne, & within an hour & a half, we arrived in the gorgeous country town of Epernay. 

We parked up & headed off in search of somewhere we could grab lunch. Walking through a lush green park that featured fountains & glorious garden beds, we found a bright yellow corner restaurant that offered a decently priced set menu & some respite from the French sun. Our meals were tasty & generous, however they were also meat heavy - rich & filling, so we agreed on the fact that we wouldn't need dinner! 

We paid up the bill & returned to the car, setting off to find our next Air BNB accommodation. After we managed to slightly get lost, we worked it out & pulled up outside a house in a friendly neighbourhood. Our host Emilie greeted us & showed us to our room before she ducked off back to work. We decided to dump our bags & head off to find a champagne house Sean had heard about. Driving south for a good thirty minutes, we arrived in a town called Grauves, & shorty at our destination, Champagne Pierre Domi.

We pulled in & were greeted by a friendly Frenchman who showed us through to the tasting room. He didn't speak much English, nor us French, however we managed to communicate that we would like to taste a few of his wines. We tried three different drops, firstly the Grand Reserve Brut which was my favourite, the Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay which was Sean's, & finally a 100% Pinot Meunier which was interesting & tasty. We decided to buy one of our favourites each, & we were shortly back in the car, & back on the road towards Epernay.

Heading North this time, we ventured to a hillside town called Hautvilliers, which is allegedly where Dom Perignon produced his first batch of what he called 'the best wine in the world!' The town was cute & small with loads of nooks, crannies & flower pots. We stumbled upon another cellar door called G.Thibault, which offered a beautiful view over Epernay & beyond. 

We went inside & were sat at a table whilst the two ladies running the place were literally running around trying to serve the masses. We finally decided to taste a Grand Vintage, Brut Reserve & a Brut Rosé. All three were okay, but unfortunately not as great as Pierre Domi! We paid for our tasting along with a half bottle of the Rosé & headed off again. 

Arriving back home right before Sean had too much bubbles to be able to drive, we quickly got changed & headed off to find oysters for dinner. We indeed found them at a fishmongers in the centre of town. After communicating with the fishmonger with the limited English he knew, the end result was a dozen oysters, & after picking up our bottle of duty free veuve clicquot, we found ourselves in a small park in the centre of town next to the oldest monument in town, a stone door! We dived into our delicious, fresh oysters & clinked our flutes together, toasting to the fact that we were in France & treating ourselves!

After hanging about until around 8, we walked home jolly & a little drunk, got there & headed straight to bed. It was so hot we couldn't sleep without the curtain & window of our attic room open, however even at 10pm the sun was still out & bright, birds were still chirping & kids were still playing! It was a bizzare change from an African winter but eventually we somehow managed to drift off!

The next morning we arose at 8:30, had quick showers & set off on foot towards Avenue De Champagne, the main road in Epernay where many champagne houses line the streets with golden gates & white stoney yards. Our destination was Mercier, & after 20 mins of walking we made it through the doors. We went on a tour of the caves in a small train, listening to the history & methods of Mercier. Following this was a tasting, & we received three coupes to try; the grand brut, the vintage & the rosé. All were very good, yet still not as great as the first place we visited, so we passed on buying anything, & then it was back to the house, back into our Fiat, & back on the road to be in Paris to meet Bridie & Tam by mid afternoon!

Cape Town Peninsula, Scaling Lion's Head, & Magical Madame Zingara's - South Africa

The next morning we decided to head out for a takeaway coffee and scout for some Saturday vintage markets, in luck we found a few okay ones to scavenge around and I went home with a new dress! After a quick lunch at home with a view of Table Mountain, my friend Cristina whom I met in Bondi had organised for her boyfriend Charl to drive us around the peninsular as she was away in Italy! 

Jumping in the nice Audi we hit the road and to my excitement I was seated next to a giant, drooling chocolate Labrador named Bullet. We took Bullet all the way to Simonstown to meet some friendly, intrigued penguins before stopping off in the afternoon at the Workshop - 'The smallest pub in Africa' for a few beers. 

Working up an appetite we curved further around the beautiful coastline, via their house to drop off Bullet and further inland to a suburb called Observatory. The rain was bucketing down and we were relieved to finally find our destination, disguised like a normal house, we entered a bustling, quirky and warm Italian restaurant; Ferdinando's. Greeted with big smiles, Charl and Cristina are friends with the owners who fell in love in Ibiza in 2008 without being able to communicate due to differing languages. The pizza was scrumptious, the cocktails were tasty and the limoncello was a treat as we clanged our glasses and set back off into the rain to find home. 

The next morning, being Sunday and sunny Charl collected is from the house at 11am and we drive around the cape's coast until we reached Hout Bay market. A creative market with with food, wine, music, crafts, jewels and vintage goods! A few Bloody Mary's later it had reached the early afternoon and Charl dropped us back home for a hot bath, a delicious home cooked meal, a bottle of red and bed! 

Monday morning sprung around quickly and we were well rested and ready to hike up Lions Head. The walk up took us a little short of an an hour and rewarded us with spectacular 360 views of Cape Town. We spent some time up here breathing in the fresh crisp air, soaking up the sun's rays & and taking in the serenity before descending back down the mountain and home again. We then ordered an uber, drove about 20 minutes around the city side of Table Mountain until we reached Kirstenbosh gardens. We spent the next hours frolicking through kilometres of gorgeous gardens and green grass at the foot of the mountain, until the rain started to fall and sent us home. Heading back to Ricks for dinner and to meet Jess, we devoured a few cocktails and shared some tapas plates.

 

Our last day in cape town was spent packing, with a brief break to head out to Latitude 33 for a tasty coffee and a browse along Long St. We also walked to the suburb of Bo-Kaap, a colourful display of houses that highlights the cultural contribution from the 19th century Muslims.

That evening we treated ourselves to a show which was said to be very impressive; Madam Zingara's. Arriving at 6 we were served tasty fish canapés, bubbles and vodka slushy cocktails. We were then seated around 8, with a table of strangers we soon made friends. The acts were quirky, funny and entertaining. We were presented with a 3 course meal whilst midgets made jokes and a strong man held up a bicycle while his partner was riding it like a hamster. The show finished around 11 and we ubered home and into bed. 

The drive to the airport was no more than 20 minutes and we arrived in good time to board our flight! Via Qatar, 20 hours of flying time and a two hour transit we finally arrived into France at 7:30 Thursday morning!!! Bonjour Paris! 

Swimming with Sharks, Trekking Table Mountain, South Africa

Our heads were heavy when the alarm sounded at 4:30. Still pitch black outside, Sean, Katie, Holly and myself stumbled into a van after loading our luggage onto the truck. The van dropped us to a bigger van, full of sleepy foreign faces and we drove until the sun had risen. We arrived in Gansbaii at around 8am and were welcomed with a coffee and a breakfast spread. Riyan, our driver and guide for the day then briefed us on what the morning was to bring us! Excited, nervous and still a little sleepy we all jumped onboard the boat and headed out to shark alley.

The water was rough and we were skipping waves and crashing down hard against the deep sea, before the 25 minutes was up my head became heavy and shrunk between my knees. Within moments of arriving at our destination I was vomiting off the side of the boat whilst trying to squeeze into a saturated, cold and uncomfortable wet suit. The first five people jumped into the choppy ocean to set their sights on a great white. The men slushed fish insides in a bucket making a broth which spills into the ocean and attracts the scary predators, whilst dangling a tuna head as the visual bait. 

Each time the large fish swam by it was quite easy to see from the boat so with the direction they hold their breaths and go under for the viewing! Before too long we were up, and I was eager to get in the icy water to distract myself from the sea sickness and violent shivers. Within moments of emerging ourselves in the water an incredible, graceful and captivating creature came into view. His eyes flickered as he was looked at us beyond the cage, it was exhilarating! We had a few more turns of heading under into the deep blue to get a good look at these incredible great whites as the swiftly swam by before getting back on board to let others in. 

I headed straight back over to the other side which I claimed as 'sick bay' to patiently wait as my teeth chatted from the cold and I heaved over the side. Fortunately we all had another turn in the water and this time they even came closer.. It was such a beautiful experience being so close and not at all did I feel threatened or scared.. Simply awestruck and grateful. 

Just short of mid day the motor started back up and headed on into dry land. Thankful to get off the boat I ran for a hot shower feeling frosty and still sea sick. We were treated to a tasty lasagne lunch and a cold beer... Which my stomach rejected before loading back into the van and heading to Cape Town... Our final destination in Africa! 

We were finally dropped at our new hotel; Ashanti, just after 4pm, eager for another hot shower to wake us up and refresh us before our final group dinner. We met the group in the foyer at 6 and walked just two blocks onto long street to dine at a local restaurant; Arnold's. Sean and I opted for delicious game to celebrate the last night on 'tour'. I ordered a tasting plate of ostrich, gemsbok or oryx, crocodile curry, warthog ribs. Sean ordered a gemsbok wellington. After a massive day we were super keen to get to bed and get a good nights sleep! 

We woke around 9, packed up our bags and checked out of the Ashanti lodge. Opting for Uber as the safest and cheapest means of transport in Cape Town we caught one to our air BnB that we had booked online and a short drive away. Pulling up and knocking on the door, it was a little disconcerting when we had no answer.. And no wifi.. And no phones. Fortunately a friendly neighbour offered to call them and when there was no answer he took us inside for coffee and wifi. Half an hour later and still no response we banged vigorously on the door one last time and were extremely relieved when the door opened!! (She had been in the shower). We dumped our bags in the quirky, colourful and clean house and took up the neighbours generous offer to drive us into town for our Robben Island tour. 

Just in time we met Chloe, Jess, Katie and Hollie at 1pm in line and jumped on the ferry to take us to the island! The ride was about 45 minutes, crammed with other tourists we set off through the harbour passing by lazy seals and distant whales! We were then ushered off the boat and onto a bus to drive around the extremely small island which has been transferred from a place to dump victims with leperocy, to a jail that housed nelson Mandela as a political prisoner for 18 of his 27 year sentence to now a museum. 

Extremely insightful and interesting, it was a really good tour which was hosted by a former political prisoner himself. We were taken into several different quarters and had a brief look at the small village before getting back on the boat and back to the main land. Just shy of 6 we all decided to have an underwhelming meal and some beers down on the waterfront before calling it a night. 

After a beautiful nights sleep in a comfy big bed sean and I woke to our sunny little house which greeted the big beautiful and bold sight of table mountain! After a quick coffee and some tasty eggs in town we ubered to her base ready to climb the beast! It took us about an hour, sweating it out as the winter's sun was shining down on us! It became steeper as both the incline and view was stealing my breath! Finally reaching the top the view was absolutely epic, What a beautiful city!!! We explored all of the different viewing points which varied with mountanes landscapes to infinite Oceans to sprawling cities!!! 

Jumping on the cable car for the decline it was just as thrilling as it circled around and within minutes we back at the base. Heading back to our house on foot for a quick shower, we set off to a restaurant named Rick's Amercain Café to meet the girls and take advantage of happy hour cocktails and cheap tequila! A delicious evening of berry mojitos and tapas plates, followed by a funky cafe by day/bar by night we had one final drink and farewelled each other one last time.