S is for Stars: a kitchen with a couple of Michelin stars

Views across Saint-Emilion from the restaurant patio

Experiencing a two star Michelin kitchen.
A birthday treat from Bruce and Cathy.
Hostellerie de Plaisance, Saint-Emilion

S is for Saint-Emilion: my unbirthday

Celebrating my dawning new decade over lunch in Saint-Emilion

A very merry

Unbirthday to you,

To you, A very merry

Unbirthday to you,

To you,

It's great to

Drink to someone,

And I guess that

You will do,

A very merry

Unbirthday to you!

Statistics prove that you've

One birthday

One birthday every year

But there are 364 un birthdays

That is why we are all gathered here

A very merry unbirthday to all

To all

A very merry unbirthday to all

To all

That's how we sing the day away

A very merry unbirthday

To all

My wonderful unbirthday companions gathered in Saint-Emilion.
 Fred, Cathy and Bruce thank you for this special day.

F is for Foodies: fine fare in Bergerac

With Cathy, enjoying Bruce's choice of wine!

Eating well, L'Imparfait in Bergerac

Bruce, Cathy and Fred taking in Bergerac after lunch.

That famous nose, Cyrano de Bergerac statue of the square

Cousins having fun - with Bruce at Eymet en route to Bergerac

F is for Family: finding my Wedderburn cousin

The Bloemfontein Wedderburn's. Nanny Ina and Grandpa Percy with their 3 sons, Uncle Ralph, my Dad John and Bruce's father, their oldest son, Uncle Bobby (Alexander)

Our grandparents, Percy and Ina Wedderburn

These last few years I have discovered my roots. It is almost as if a light was switched on in a long forgotten and dusty room. Memories like cobwebs and long forgotten stories.

I have spent many hours dipping into my mother's Wedderburn Book, getting to grips with the history of my family. 

These are a set of photos from the book, it is the Christmas of 1957, taken at Kalkwal, the family farm on the Modder River north of Bloemfontein. We would all gather and these family holidays at the farm would define both my and Bruce's childhood memories. These were happy days as the Wedderburn brothers got together with their parents and their growing families. 

Life then took its course and the family dispersed, caught up in their own lives and busyness.

Bruce and I lost touch as young adults. He moved to the UK, established his life with Cathy. I met Fred, we lived in France for a few years before returning to South Africa. We focussed on careers, businesses and raising our children.

The wonder of the internet and social media reconnected Bruce and me, and here I am, some 40 years later sitting around a table at their home in France, meeting his wife Cathy, sharing a glass of wine, reconnecting and bridging these 4 decades. Cathy and I looked at each other and wondered why we waited so long to meet.

The Wedderburn family in 1957.
Bruce and I are the little ones in the front row and we almost the same age.

L is for Les Cardot: a home on a hill in Aquitaine

Les Cardot

Even though a card game kept us up to 2am last night, I was up early for a swim, a good coffee and taking in this beautiful place that Bruce and Cathy have created here in the south west of France. The old homestead with its finely hewn stone walls glows in the morning light and has a 360 view across gently rolling hills.

Food for the soul.

An early morning scene.

Glowing in the late afternoon sun

R is for Rural France: road tripping on the French backroads

We said farewell to Joan and Boris our B&B hosts in Juillac and started to make our way across to Aquitaine to visit with my cousins Bruce and Cathy Wedderburn.

We had thought of a quick visit to Lascaux to view the recreation of the famous cave paintings that date back 20000 years, but the summer crowds defeated us and no afternoon tours were available. Another time.

There is something quite special about rural France on a fine, hot summer's day. And hot it was, 'la chaleur', a heat wave across the country! We were close to 40 degrees as we pottered along the backroads.

Hay bales, vineyards, apple orchards, buttery yellow sunflower fields, rows of huge walnut trees all among patches of forest and charming farmsteads.

You turn a corner and a chateau, set on a hill, floats above the bucolic setting.

Rural France.

Hautefort Chateau.

S is for Sarlat-la-Caneda: the appeal of old facades

Beautiful details, the old walls of Sarlat

Sarlat-la-Caneda, southwest France in the Dordogne.
An evening strolling around this lovely village.
With temperature hovering around 36 degrees it was a good place to be, the narrow cobbled streets seemed cooler, the old honey-coloured buildings leaned in, secret squares with restaurants, quaint shops selling the local speciality - foie gras.

Well preserved, lived in and very livable too.

Honey-coloured stone, reflecting the light of a late evening.

All about Foie Gras here in Sarlat.

J is for Juillac: a peaceful stopover

A morning walk around Juillac

Who am I kidding!
So peaceful I was stressed, nothing open on a Monday and the Boulangerie closes for a long lunch break, so no coffee or lunch....a shock to my system after Paris.
Eventually Fred found a village en route to Hautefort, bought us a hunk of delicious local cheese, a baguette, a bottle of milk and we had an alfresco lunch in a farmer's field.
A good strong coffee soon after, by now it was 6pm!
The coffee kicked in and I was then ready to start our afternoon venture to Sarlat-en-Caneda.

P is for Paris: an evening along the Seine

Saturday evening in Paris. Strolling along the Seine. Alexander III bridge 

Detail of the lights on the bridge.

Watching the sunset and the light changing on the Eiffel Tower.

11pm and it is now dark.

Pride of a nation.
Tribute to the horror of Nice.

F is for Foodie Interlude: Chèvre Salade at Cafe Madeleine

Finding a perfect Chèvre Salad!

The delicious goats cheese is grilled on thinly sliced french bread, drizzled with a balsamic reduction, lightly sprinkled with thyme, walnuts, dressed leaves, pops of tomatoes. Quite delicious and brings back so many wonderful memories.





And to finish, an espresso with a taste of a petite madeleine.

I am in Paris!

B is for Barbie: a childhood remembered

Barbie, Ken, Alan, Midge, Skipper and Scooter.
My dolls.
They defined the 60's, my childhood, spending hours and days creating make-believe worlds, setting up their homes, dressing them and for a decade my collection expanded.
My mother made clothes for Barbie and friends. She knitted blankets and sewed linen for their beds. Pa made me the furniture. Shawni now has my collection.

No question I had to go past the Barbie Exposition being hosted at Les Arts Decoratif on the Rue de Rivoli.
She is 57 years old, a universal icon and the brochure talks about the 'ancient dolls and dresses' on display.
Oh my!

I delighted in seeing these original dolls and how they have evolved over the decades. Behind the scenes videos on the design process was fascinating as was how Mattel has contextualised and evolved Barbie through the decades.

Who knew that Barbie got to the moon before Armstrong! In my day she was a nurse or air hostess and played tennis.

Barbie, friends and family.

First time Barbie comes to Paris.

Quite wonderful the impact of one person's vision.

S is for Summer Sales in Paris: a declaration realised

I am not quite sure when I first made the declaration to go shopping during the Paris sales for my first grandchild.

We lived in Marly le Roi 30 years ago. Shawni and Barry were babies. I recall window shopping while wandering around Paris, loving the children's clothing, the French designer flair, the colours and styles just beautiful. I remember buying gorgeous mohair wool and knitting for the kids, buying seersucker pink fabric and sewing a pair of pants for Shawni using a trendy Parisian pattern.

It's the Summer of 2016, it's July in Paris, the summer sales are in full swing and my first grandchild is due in September so I went shopping.

How completely wonderful.

July in Paris, shopping for Baby Hadfield.

T is for Toiletpaper: Summer of 2016 at Galaries Lafayette

Lipsticks and handbags, of course! 

Ties flop through holes in a book, kilts and scarlet macaws.

Galaries Lafayette, summer 2016, Tioletpaper takes over.

Window shopping in Paris.

Galaries Lafayette invited Tioletpaper, an Italian duo, Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, to create it's Summer of 2016 look.

I am completely intrigued and wowed, the window displays are eclectic, comical, startling, colourful: parrots, croissants, fish, jars of jam, lobsters, cars, lipsticks.

Under the wondrous stained glass dome is a phallic Eiffel Tower squeezed between enormous 'eggs'.

Blue, blanc en rouge, lobsters and sunbathers. Crazy about those knitted shorts.

Handbags, croissants, macaroons and waffles.

A little orange dress among the clutter!

Irreverant Tioletpaper installation under La Coupole, Galaries Lafayette.