Fun Stuff | Pippa Rea

Love Locked

by Virginia Rea

We wanted to place a padlock on the famous “Love Lock” bridge in Paris, Pont des Arts.

Libby kindly brought us over a padlock engraved saying

James Patrick Pippa Ginny Forever x

Pippa had asked exactly what she wanted engraved but then she remembered that there was one other name she wanted on it so on the back she wrote Nibbles

Pippa found a place on the bridge and we threw away the keys, locking our love forever.

Locked on

James Patrick Pippa Ginny Forever x

Nibbles

Pippa ready to lock us on

Together forever

All of us locked together

Fun Stuff Memories

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Jardin du Luxembourg

by Virginia Rea

We spent the most beautiful day picnicking in Jardin du Luxembourg. Terrine, salads, baguettes, strawberry tarts, raspberry tarts, chocolate tarts, pear tarts (plenty of tarts!) and wine…….

Patrick is mortified that in most of the gardens in Paris you can’t step on the grass and yesterday they even had police patrolling the edges! Luckily he didn’t bring his footy – we could have had an international crisis on our hands!

Patrick, James and Pippa all sailed gorgeous toy sailing boats on the lake with the Palace as a backdrop. They played in a playground that you had to pay entry for, we wandered the grounds and Pippa rode on a pony though the canopy of autumn trees.

Libby & I didn’t really sit on the grass when the police weren’t looking

Ponies under the autumn trees

Pippa setting sail

Toy sailing boats

Patric & James setting sail

Bon Appetite

Godmother Libby

Fun Stuff Memories

Bonjour Libby

by Virginia Rea

Today Libby arrived and other than that we dedicated it to resting and relaxing in the apartment. We greeted her with champagne, foie gras, camembert (at the very convenient downstairs cafe), a full fridge of macaroons and crepes ordered from a hole in the wall!

We have many more fun things planned to share with Libby for our last two days in Paris!

Fun Stuff Memories

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Macaroon Chefs

by Virginia Rea

After seeing so many pastry and cake shops we had to try our hands at the art of perfecting infamous macaroons. Cook’n with Class is a small cooking school in Paris near Montmartre. A taste of France, A love of Cooking…….It sounded just perfect. We were in a small class of 6 people and across 3 hours with the guidance of our lovely French pastry chef, Constance, we made 3 different flavoured macaroons. Whisking, stirring, brushing, piping and banging. Yes, banging! That surprised us all! Constance dropped the tray without warning creating a very loud, impacting bang! It didn’t take long before we realised that was part of the art so off we all went on “banging” the air out of the macaroons!

Our favourite?………Salted butter caramel of course!

We will be sure to try our new skills out when we get back to Australia!

Fun Stuff Memories

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Aurevoir Eleanor

by Virginia Rea

Eleanor left us on Sunday. It also happened to be the first day it was cool and rained slightly. We took the train out to Versaille to see the magnificent opulence and grandeur of Chateaux Versailles first built as a hunting house by King Louis XIII and later extended to become a Palace by King Louis XIV.

The visitor numbers were incredible – a moving blanket of people through the rooms. The children marvelled to hear the life of both the kings, in particular the stories of wives, mistresses and the number of children to both wives and mistresses! James could not relate at all with King Louis the XIV who at the age of 15 (virtually the same as James) was found a suitable child bearing wife of age 22 and had 10 children in 10 years (and that’s only the legitimate ones!). Equal intrigue were tales of beheadings and servants having to test food for poisoning. Pippa found it interesting that anyone was able to visit King Louis XIV so long as they weren’t beggars, ladies of the night or had small pox. A visiting a man was required to wear a hat and a sword and if he didn’t have one he could rent one before he entered the room. We also found it interesting that King Louis XIV had a “fake bedroom” which he would go to every morning for his ceremonious risings in front of a hundred visitors after spending the night in either his own real bedroom, the queen’s or one of his mistress’. (I hope all these anecdotes are remembered correctly.)

French onion soup was on the menu for our last dinner with Eleanor.

Outside Versailles

Eleanor & Pippa Outside Versailles

King Louis XIV real bedroom behind us

Versailles Gardens

Hall of Mirrors

King Louis XIV’s ceremonious bedroom

Louis XIV with his gorgeous dancing legs

Where Louis XIV welcomed visitors including commoners

Ceiling

Versailles Gardens

Versailles

Last Dinner

French Onion Soup

Out on the Town!

Fun Stuff Memories

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Extrordinary

by Virginia Rea

Saturday saw us take in a few of our advised must do “tips”

The first was to head along Rue Montorgueil, Foodie heaven and just a short walk from our apartment. I could have literally spent all day eating my way from one end of the street to the other! There were so many patisseries and we sampled as instructed the infamous eclair chocolate from Stohrer, but there was fruits, cheeses, salads, seafood, produce and of course cafes. I think I might have to sneak back……..it is after all, just around the corner…….sort of!!!!

Come on James….

More Sweets

What to choose

Even carved vegetables

A whole street of food…..

Next we headed off to Montmartre and Sacre Couer again. Secretly I was cursing Melanie because we had already been up there on Tuesday and as I stood at the bus stop in the hot sun having reluctantly dragged myself away from Rue Montorgueil, I was doubtful. Melanie had told us about the freestyle soccer performer at Sacre Coure and it had been backed up by Claire and Russ but he wasn’t there on Tuesday. The hill is a hard climb for Pippa, but there he was, sitting on the concrete pillar stretching and “psyching” himself up. In the hot sun on the asphalt we waited, probably for 40 minutes; I doubted again, thinking this guy is full of himself. Then he performed………….Wow! Then he went up the lamp pole……….

Incredible, Talented, Extrodinary!