Lightly Toasted

Wish we had taken more videos when in Paris but 2 is better than none yeah?

Ice skating on top of Hotel de Ville Metro

As we got off the metro and came up on ground level we discovered the ice skating ring on top of Hotel de Ville station. There were plent of people in there skating and having a good time. If you look closely one of them falls and they boo at him It was fun watching too.

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View of Paris from The Eiffle Tower

This is a short video of how Paris looked very early on a February morning in 2008. The temperature up there was surely below zero and we literally froze but it was a fun experience. The top most viewing tier was closed for renovations but this was high enough for the vertigo me!

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We had a short but lovely break at the enchanting picturesque Kangaroo Valley last weekend. Kangaroo Valley is situated between the regions of Shoalhaven and the Southern Highlands. Last weekend despite a rainy Friday out of Sydney and the late start on the motorway — the drive was really smooth all the way through and actually look less time than expected. Since we left late afternoon we couldn’t see much beyond the lights of our own car racing down the pitch black of the night but the meandering roads around the Morton National Park past the Fitzroy Falls and then on to the historic sandstone Hampden Bridge and then Kangaroo Valley is really breath taking. We took a little turn off the main street into the golf course which was going to be home for the next 2 nights. In the morning while we were making our big cooked breakfast we had a pack of kangaroos big and small… a whole little family of 5 that hopped along and came by almost to our breakfast deck and stopped to check out their new neighbours! It was a sight to behold how they came by to check on us as we made breakfast… not to mention a huge wombat came and stopped in the middle of the road as we were coming into the valley the previous night… The Wombat knew we were going to stop so it didn’t really hurry across rather stopped and inspected us and then shuffled away slowly into the bush across the road, ah life is so difficult! It made our day… and then to see wild kangaroos up so close - it was commune with nature in more ways than one. There is a very good reason they call this place The Kangaroo Valley.

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Our flight was delayed leaving Sydney for Brisbane and another flying up to Brisbane half hour earlier, cancelled. Commotion all around. We were onboard after some more delay and then took more time before we taxied onto the runaway and then finally took off piercing through the thick grey clouds. I could spot Brighton Le Sands between the patches of thick rain clouds but in moments we pierced through a few layers of thick dense fluffy cumulous clouds. Qantas served a light lunch which was nice and soon in about an hours time we were descending over Coolangatta. Landing into Brisbane was exactly like landing at Heathrow or maybe the air traffic was just bad at that particular time. We circled over Moreton Bay at least twice if not more. Luckily the car hire was snazzy and so was getting our bags off the carousel and we were northward bound to beautiful gorgeous Sun-shiny Noosa except that it was going to rain the next three days in a row. We had an inkling so it didn’t really bother us. It looked really lush and green. And yes it was raining, sometimes a bit heavier than normal. We stopped at a café in Coolum for a quick bite and reminissed Kath and Kims holiday at the Coolum Hyatt! And then we’re off again driving along the costline heading up to Noosa. It was raining all the way but was still pretty. David had recently ordered the Now 69 from Amazon. It was perfect we raved up the volume and sang along to “The Journey Continues” by Mark Brown featuring Sarah Cracknell & Elena Kats-Chernin. Watch the video of the song here, its on Disc 2, track number 14! Addictive! Love it, love it, love it! It was pretty much one of our theme songs for this short holiday and can I just say poo on iTunes (DS yes you were right) for not letting me buy songs from other iTunes music stores e.g. iTunes UK!
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Indeed, we’re off to Noosa for Ruth and Andew’s wedding and a short holiday! Life is too short to absorb youself in work all the time. Past week has been very busy on many accounts and to make matters worse I fell sick early on this week. It started off with a throat irritation like they always do and then landed up with a secondary infection in my throat. All drugged up, and hallucinating but should be OK soon. Touch wood.

Its far from complete but its good to see I have started to put my photos together… Adobe Lightroom does make the job half as simple with cataloguing and sifting good from bad ones but still putting up a gallery from thousands of photos is a mammoth task. I am glad the process has started and look forward to posting more as time goes by. Hope you enjoy seeing some of the things I enjoy doing most. Enjoy!

We followed down the historic Seine river for a few minutes and a couple of turns in and out and suddenly I spotted the monumentous Eiffel Tower standing in all its glory… What a masterpiece… I noticed the driver look in the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of my elation…I curtailed my jollity for the moment and reclined back on his leathery upholstered back-seat… Ahhh I sighed like a grown up with contentedness and relief now that I had finally witnessed it with my own eyes. The excitement and the joy was so overpowering it was hard to bottle up, but I did very well even if I say so myself :). we’re at long last in the fashion capital of the world, we were indeed in the country of Ratatouille, the city of Musée du Louvre, L’Arc de Triomphe, Moulin Rouge!

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And soon we were boarding another British Airways aircraft. This time the flight was going to be a nice and short 40 minutes! In my humble opinion Terminal 4 at Heathrow is too congested. Both for take off and landing. We taxied for a while till we got out close to the airstrip and waited our turn to take off. There were flights taking off almost every 45 odd seconds at 9 on a Sunday morning! Finally, we were air-borne having a lovely bacon sandwich with café au lait flying over the Queen’s Windor Castle and then over the English Channel and soon we’re in the French air-space. The aircraft was starting to descend and I was craning my neck from my window seat to spot the Eiffel Tower even though we were miles away. I was passionately curious.

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We arrived this morning at 6:30 am at Heathrow. Its winter and 6°C :). The flight from Sydney to Bangkok and then onward to UK was really nice. We watched The Darjeeling Limited, a documentary on Paris which was very informative and perfect for getting us in the mood and then a few other odds and ends like Run Fat boy Run)… time went by too quick. I just did my first ever 21 hours flying with a short break of course. Nine to Bangkok and then another twelve to the UK.

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I cannot even begin to tell you how excited we are for our upcoming travel. If you aren’t sure what I am talking about here is a little recap to Bonjour Paris! We are anxiously counting down the days till we take off. Its not going to be a short flight, but having travelled Sydney to San Francisco to Washington DC to Raleigh all in one day with no stopovers… I’m imagining this Sydney to Paris, Charles de Gaulle International Airport via Bangkok and London isn’t going to be too far from my American Adventure.

Silhouettes on Paris

I’ll be wide-eyed most of the time in fantasies of what France will hold. Lovely winter, grand avenues, atmospheric little backstreets, exquisitely designed gardens, cosmopolitan, botique, the chic and their hauteur, the historic pillars of the ancient times, the church of Notre-Dame the royal palace of the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, legions of art galleries and museums, the Pompidou Centre the royal palace of Versailles, Champs- Elysees, the cafes around Marais, St Germain, the walks around Quartier Latin, Montmartre… there is so much to see and so much ambiance to soak up.

Time is running out and there is still a fair bit to be done… It would be so nice to watch Audrey Tautou’s Amélie all over again to get us in the mood if only time wasn’t a constraint. But despite the long flight there is a lot of joy to be had in anticipation of this great sojourn in gay Pari. Truly, Bonjour Paris! Here we come.

carrousel de paris