...and before you know it, it's back to school

My month of frenetic jet-setting around Europe is at its end now; I got back from Stockholm yesterday night and now it's back to the grindstone again (well before a trip to the States in October...but that's for a wedding).
I'm realising that the reason I feel so frazzled when I'm working is that I'm trying to squeeze in a full month's worth of work into just a few weeks, all the time.
Stockholm was fantastic, I loved the city, the people and most of all, the way you say "hej" - pronounced like "hey" - whenever you go into a shop or get on a bus. It just feels so cool and laid back. I was ready for a bit of Parisian sun though, but looking out my window this morning there doesn't seem to be an optimistic outlook; grey and heavy clouds ready to drop their loads.
So after a summer of Chablis, Warsaw and Stockholm I'm feeling very European and also very guilty about my huge carbon footprint. No more European flights in 2008.

Country Living

Things are going quite nicely in the countryside. Last night I invited G's family over for dinner and made a traditionally English dinner:

Deep fried breaded mushrooms with garlic mayonnaise

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Roast leg of lamb with mint sauce and honey cider gravy

**

Apple crumble with ice cream

I was in the kitchen all afternoon, especially for the breaded mushrooms which took ages, but it was worth it because they all loved it! I was quite surprised because the lamb and mint sauce was quite sweet (the recipe I found had a honey cider gravy with it) and the French aren't usually big fans of the sucré/salé (sweet/savoury) combination.

Anyway, even G's grandmother was impressed, which was nice, because her cooking is simply fabulous. It took much less time to stack the dishwasher than in did to make the meal, but G's help in that area was greatly appreciated!

So today we're winding down and getting ready for our trip to Warsaw on Tuesday with my parents. We're going for five days and it should be really nice to discover a new city again. It won't be long when we get back before we're off again, this time to Stockholm. But that's a whole other smorgasbord.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the French delight at Alain Bernard's gold medal in swimming. Let's see if Laure Manoudou can match it....

Escape to the Country

I'm currently ensconced in my tower -literally. G and I are in Chablis for most of August, trying to set up our new home in the countryside. The "tower" is attached to his grandmother's house, but is still independent, so we have our privacy as well as being conveniently placed to go around for nourishing meals twice a day...

Chablis is extremely quiet during August, give or take a few passing tourists, but with a bit of sunshine and a few lengths in the pool it's really the relaxing time that I needed after a rather hectic spring and early summer in Paris, setting up my business and trying to hold down two jobs.

I'm still living in Paris too, but from now on will be spending much more time here in Chablis. Not only to see G a little more often (he's here Mon - Fri) but to try to establish a life for myself here too. Make friends, join some clubs, find a band maybe, and perhaps a diving centre.

For the moment it's nice just to relax and concentrate on decorating our house, while keeping my translation business afloat, which is much easier away from Paris.

Right, it's dinner time.

A wreck!

No, I'm not describing the most fantastic week that I've just spent in Anguilla, but the next kind of dive that I've been able to notch up on my (rather short) list of diving experience.

Anguilla was truly amazing. The whole experience. Sunshine everyday, fabulous food every night, amazing wine, interesting people, turquoise seas and azure skies. Truly, it was an experience I will never forget. On the photo I took (above) you can see the hotel's private beach, the main house and the Michel Rostang restaurant (circular) which overlooks the bay on both sides.

The only obligation we had during the week was to be present at dinner each night, to talk to the eight other people on our table about whatever they wished to know about the wine, the pairings with food and all the other things that rich people care to ask about. I discovered an enormous capacity for making up ludicrously inaccurate descriptions for wine and food and nodding sagely while people gave their own (also wildly creative) opinions on the pairings. By the end of the week our world had reduced to whatever would be on the table that night, and during the meal on the fourth night, the criticisms began to creep into the conversation (not ours, we were like kids at Christmas every night!)

One particularly pompous Englishman let it be known that "the food and wine pairing in the starter was a disaster" - please! Nothing about spending a relaxing seven days on a tropical island (short of a shark sampling the way your leg tastes when paired with salt water) could be described as a "disaster." Losing your house, falling ill, getting fired; these are disasters. We took the light view and just rolled our eyes and changed the subject when comments like these threatened to spoil the incredible efforts that the six chefs had made.

There really was no need for criticism. The six chefs were really incredible and the food was consistently wonderful. It was like eating at a high-class restaurant every night, without the hefty bill.

The highlight of the days in Anguilla was the diving. We did 8 dives in total, over four days, and we did several different diving spots:

The Sarah
The Oosterdiep
Frenchman's Reef
Frenchman's Reef (west)
Crystal Reef
Shoal Bay Reef
Blowing Rock
Anguilita

They were all fantastic experiences. We did our Open Water diver certification in Egypt last year, and I thought I would have forgotten everything, but apart from a few water-in-the-noses panicky moments, it came slowly back and we enjoyed every minute of the dives.

G was especially proud to have seen a nurse shark, the first shark he has seen while diving. Unfortunately I was in front and didn't see it, and no sooner did it appear than it had left. He has another witness though, so I have to believe him.

So on Monday morning last week it was extremely hard to get back into the swing of real life. I did overtime at work and translations were coming in thick and fast, plus the jetlag really didn't subside until Thursday.

I can't complain though, only two more working days and it's holiday time again, this time low-key, in England and at home in Chablis and Paris.

Right, time to get that ironing done!

Lucky Girl

I have just had a wonderful two days, I went to a hammam to get my skin buffed up ready for the sunshine, had dinner with friends, went to the beauty salon for a pre-holiday manicure and basically enjoyed a relaxing couple of days, with a bit of translating here and there.

Tomorrow, G and I are going to a wedding, a friend of his from school is tying the knot in the rather beautiful Pavillon Dauphine, in the Bois de Boulogne. I have never been there before, but from the website it looks really stunning.

Then, on Sunday our dream holiday begins. We're flying to Anguilla, a small island off St Martin, for a week of gastronomy and relaxation. G's Chablis wine estate exports to the US, and his US importer has organised a week where master wine producers and master chefs come together to blend their talents, with a dinner each night created by a different chef, using wines from the producers. The Malliouhana, where we're staying and where the event is organised, is well-known for its food (apparently) and so it's a safe bet that we'll eat well.

I'm very excited about the whole event, not least because I'll get to spend a whole week with my lovely G, but also because this kind of opportunity does not come up very often and it's vital to enjoy it to the full.

Our friends from New York are also coming to the island at the same time as us, so we'll be able to catch up with them and perhaps go diving together, sip cocktails on the beach and leave our busy working lives behind us.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go and sit on my suitcase.

Hélène Darroze

On Friday evening I enjoyed one of the most delicious, luxurious and expensive meals I have ever had. Perhaps simply the best.

Hélène Darroze is a young chef who recently received her second Michelin star. I may be wrong, but I think Pic in Valence is the only other woman who has received this accolade. OK, she is now a trendy name in the gastronomical world, and she has prices to match, but I really believe it is worth it.

We decided to go for the tasting menu with a delectable selection of 7 courses. After our scrumptious pink champagne apéritif, we started with small lobster slices and vegetables, drizzled with almond gazpacho. The second starter was foie gras with asparagus and crispy artichoke. This was followed by an aubergine caviar ravioli with sheep's cheese, with tomato and basil. Then came the fish course, which was a fantastic tuna fillet which melted in the mouth, surrounded with a duet of piperade and balsamic vinegar sauces. The meat came in the form of a stuffed tomato, but here the stuffing was duck confit and foie gras. The cheese trolley came next with a selection from the south west and then the grand finale began with a panna cotta with strawberry sorbet and strawberries and a final chocolate grenache with raspberries. Coffee and delicious truffles followed, as well as macaroons and nougat of all kinds.

The experience of this dining extravaganza will stay with me for a long, long time. I did wonder if it would be worth the price tag, and of course there is an argument which says that a month's rent should be spent on housing and not splashing out, but it was such a pleasure to treat my parents to this experience that I think it's worth the pasta and butter meals I'll be eating for the next two months...

Keep on Rockin'

35 guests, a room rather too much like a church hall, and a very unclear "client" meant that the Mumblers' latest gig did not go as swimmingly as we would have liked.

We spend on average 6 hours a month in rehearsal, practising chord sequences, backing harmonies and rhythms, to get the songs up to a performable standard. We were feeling quite confident that we would play well. What we weren't expecting was the atmosphere of absolute calm which settled in among the party guests.

First of all it wasn't a wedding, but a one-year after party to celebrate the wedding that happened twelve months ago. So there was no real post-wedding cheer in the air. Secondly we'd been told to play "whatever" we liked, and thirdly, we began playing and dinner was served.

Our repertoire contains gems such as "Hot Stuff", "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" and "I Will Survive"; hardly dinner music to say the least. The guests gave us half-hearted applause with a glass of wine in one hand and prawns in the other.

There was a brief twenty-minute interlude which got people on their feet, and we were able to put our usual energy and bounce into singing, but "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - as well as we played it, unfortunately put them back into their chairs, and there they stayed for the rest of the evening.

Several people thanked us (not the groom though...) and despite a few rather irritating requests for salsa, polka and tango (what are we - a juke box?) the whole thing was wrapped up nicely.

I'm really looking forward to Saturday 21st June, when we do a gig outside at the Café d'Orléans in Paris. We've been to that same bar every year for the Fête de la Musique, and the audience is always large, cheerful and willing to dance. Here's hoping!

Concert Fever

It's that time again. It doesn't feel like five minutes since I was complaining about not getting enough sleep and two years later here I am again, using that as an excuse for why my little blog has been neglected like an old shoe for the last few weeks.

The month of June is always so packed with work (the French realising that it's about time they got on with something before the holidays start again) and concerts (everything comes grinding to a halt in July and August so June's calendar is always jam-packed). This month I have three concerts to do, last month there were two and I'm trying to run a business and hold down my day job as well. The old biological clock doesn't even get a look-in.

It's all change in September though. Our choir director Bonnie has decided to leave for a year to go to Cambodia to help people; a brave and daring venture for anyone. So we're getting a new director who seems to be extremely gifted musically, but I haven't got to know him yet. Anyway, that's all to be discovered.

The band is also 'disbanding'. We're shutting shop for a variety of reasons and I'm quite relieved that I don't have to make the decision myself. Concerts are lots of fun and practices are usually pretty enjoyable, but our opinions on repertoire, direction and organisation are fairly disparate to say the least.

We have a private gig tomorrow and then the last gig ever of all time on June 21st. So, come down to the Café d'Orléans at Mouton Duvernet (line 4) from 8.30pm to see the Mumblers' finale concert.

OK, I'm going back to dreaming about my "Epicurean" week in the Caribbean planned for July.... watch this space.

Speaking too soon

Well, as my lovely Aunty J pointed out to me at my lovely niece Chloe's christening last week, "You don't keep your blog updated anymore!"

She is of course right, and hopefully will be happy to see this my first post in over a month.

I spoke, as we often do, too soon, and now my business has sprouted wings and is off like a shot. I've had four quite major projects to complete and everything is going rather swimmingly. I've almost made back the salary cut I took when I started working part-time, so it's actually a pretty satisfactory state of affairs.

The only problem I have now is trying to juggle the two things. If I get a translation project on a Monday to be handed in on a Wednesday I end up working in the evenings, because I do my other job at the beginning of the week. It's much more complicated than it is interesting so I'll spare you the details, but suffice to say that I have work and I'm rather pleased about it.

The last two Thursdays (1st and 8th) have been public holidays here in France, so we visited my family last weekend (and for little Chloe's christening), but the weekend before we went to the Ile de Ré and the Bordeaux region.

The Ile de Ré is brilliant for several reasons. The first is that everyone is absolutely charming and friendly to you, the place is totally devoid of Parisian gruffness. A breath of fresh sea air.
Another reason is that you can go anywhere on the island by bicycle, and you can hire a bicycle in practically any village or hamlet on the island. There are bike lanes all over the place with their own signposts and they are all protected from the traffic.

We also went to Sauternes, Pauillac, Pomerol and Saint Emilion. No, not for the scenery or the museums, but to taste the wine there. Bordeaux wine is truly delicious, but the amount of pomp and circumstance given to the fermentation process in some of the big haut-médoc chateaux is just ridiculous. Of course they have to do something to justify the three-figure price tag, but I really struggled to understand how 75cl of fermented grape juice can end up costing the same as a holiday for two in Greece.

The holiday was short but very relaxing, away from the hum of the city, and it was just what we needed.

Now go and read L's recent post about finding weevils in her pasta - she spins a much funnier yarn than I do!

Part-timer

I'm currently in the process of setting up my own business, as I've mentioned here before. The hard part has not been the French bureaucracy, which I honestly thought would be the real nightmare, but the confidence that I need to take a job and just get on with it.

I've done hundreds of translations inside businesses, advising people on how to word their correspondence, their presentations, their reports, but I just can't seem to find that same confidence to work alone.

Admittedly, it has only been three weeks since I got my auspicious numero de SIRET, but I can't help thinking there are stacks of other translators tapping away more quickly, more effectively and more confidently than I can.

I'm also using the two days a week I have supposedly to concentrate on my business to see family, friends and take short trips. I'm in England at the moment visiting my family and it's so lovely not to be flying in late on a Friday to leave two short days later.

I've been playing with Chloe today at "hidey-boo," her 11-month old charm sweeping away any thoughts I had of applying to more agencies, catching up with old clients and generally networking.

Blood is thicker than water, but I've a feeling my bank balance is going to be getting thinner if I keep this up!