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Tuesday 18 June 2013

Noir.

Can you believe that on Saturday we were almost half way to Nimes before we realised that the train we were catching was actually.....from Avignon. Sometimes I can't believe how downright dim we are....I'm ashamed to admit that I'd even been reading the ticket to check the time and it still hadn't registered that my husband was driving the car towards the wrong city. Thank God for the eleven year old who luckily realised our folly. Once we turned around the GPS said that we would have seven minutes to spare once we made it to Avignon....and we still couldn't work out where exactly the TGV station was. Desperate times meant that I felt justified in changing the GPS language from French to English.....and discovered that the station we were looking for was on the other side of town.....in a field. Three minutes. I kid you not that we almost jumped out of that station wagon before it had come to a standstill, ran up the escalator onto the first platform we came across and threw ourselves onto the train which was just arriving. It was our train and we made it. I still don't know how. Why are all of our French train experiences like mini self induced massive coronaries?

My eleven year old daughter and I were in Lyon to take my new pink handbag back to the shop....now it has gone to the Dior workshop to be mended and hopefully we will be reunited before I leave the country. Meanwhile, across the road was a shop notorious for it's beautiful scarves. I know that I'd had my heart set on a particular pink one, however when the chap checked on the computer, the only one available was in Bordeaux....which is rather a long way away. Nevermind, we were seduced by the beautiful black 'Le Songe de la Licorne' with fluoro details:


I bought my first Hermes scarf in Sydney after I received my first pay check from my first ever proper job......way back in the mists of time. I have added to my collection at a rate of one every ten years.....unlike my friend the eternally glamorous and hysterically funny Faux Fuchsia.....who's strike rate is much higher.....at about one every ten minutes! She also has a seriously impressive repertoire of knot tying. Even though I have a book, I usually stick to this, my favourite knot, which I taught her how to wear in London:


Now, if you would like to try this at home....all you do is lay your scarf, pattern side down, and keep folding it in on itself...about four times....until you end up with a long roll:




Tie a loose knot in the centre:


Position the knot, depending on whim, either in the centre or off to one side:


Pass the ends around behind your neck and then manoeuvre each end through the knot, one side at a time:


Pull down firmly on the red toggles.....et voila:


Lucky for me, they threw in a box of Knotting Cards, so, with some practice, maybe I can move into uncharted territory, beyond my old favourite.....I'm thinking about attempting the halter neck boob tube.

Meanwhile, on our return from Lyon we rushed over to the Pont du Gard for the spectacle 'Les Feeries du Pont'. 

This is how this ancient Roman aqueduct looks on any given day:


From our picnic spot on the grass it looked like this:


That was before darkness descended and Ulysses embarked on his magical journey through time and into the future in 'Ulysse au Pays des Merveilles' or 'Ulysses in Wonderland'. Then it looked like this....wonderland. Covered in this instance in groovy, hippy, flower power blooms:


I don't think I have ever seen anything so cleverly executed and spellbindingly beautiful....the whole family were entranced.....even the two year old. If you ever find yourself down this way when one of these performances are on then make sure that you buy tickets. You'll regret it if you don't. Consider yourself warned.


Due to crowds, traffic and a long walk we didn't manage to reach home, which by the way is usually only ten minutes down the road, until well after midnight so I suppose that we were up most of the night....well, by our standards anyway. Which leads me into a segue for the Daft Punk song that every radio station around these parts are playing ad nauseum and that I just can't get seem to get out of my head:




On the upside, it's a great song to jog to.

Rx

14 comments:

  1. dear romy, do you know i drove all through france in a stick shift w/o gps? i think i deserve some kind of award for that. it was gripping.

    to think that you were a 10 minute walk away from me just kills me everytime i hear it. please stop reminding me!!! ugh.

    your scarf is perfect and if i ever get one i will tie it just like that.

    the lit aqueduct is mind blowing.

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  2. thanks for the tutorial! I luff that scarf.

    I wish I could conjure you and Janet into my city for just a day so we could have a giggle and some lunch! S many things make me laugh out loud when I think back!

    I do not know how you cope with the language issues!

    miss you xxx

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  3. Oh what a great trick for tying your Hermes!
    I have several booklets but have never noticed that one.
    Your new scarf is gorgeous.

    I have an IPhone case that is black and white by Kate Spade...it looks very much like yours...perhaps yours is by Kate also.

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  4. Love the light show on the aquaduct, and thanks for the new knot lesson with your beautiful new scarf, shall give it a whirl with my (one) hermes scarf. I live in hope another will materialise at some stage....
    We have had bad experiences with trains in France too. We caught the Paris - Venice sleeper last year. I had booked the tickets online from Australia. The Italian train website offered an english translation, but wouldn't process my payment for some reason. After multiple tries, I used the non translated French website. Success! I don't speak French, but I printed out the page with our details on it and presented it to the guard once on the train and we were moving. He had problems locating us on the passenger list, but put us in a spare cabin. Then he came back and translated the printout for us - "this card has been denied, no payment has been received. Tickets for 0 people on the xyz train on x date etc etc". Oops. We ended up with a free ride to Venice, the guard couldn't work out what to do with us so left us to it, the only problem was our credit cards wouldn't work on the train, and we had no euros, so we couldn't buy food. Wound up in Venice at 7am, hungry, tired and dazzled by the effect of walking out of the train station straight onto the Grand Canal and its stunning buildings. xx

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  5. Very stylish scarf Romy. I love the toile screen in the background. xx

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  6. love the song! came over from FF for the scarf tutorial. leaving the house now with scarf tied perfectly, many thanks.

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  7. also, I love the look of that French house and keep thinking about the secret Princess Diana Photo and laughing out loud!!!! x

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  8. Gorgeous photo of the aqueduct all lit up. Glad you made the train. Just all too stressful really. Loving the scarf. I will try and tie that one day soon (admittedly on my non-Hermes scarf) and hopefully I will get it right. I am hopeless at tying scarves and always seem to just throw them around my neck any which way with a randomly placed knot. I definitely need upskilling!

    Sent you a quick email re Denmark.

    Take care.

    xx

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  9. Hi Romy - lovely to find you via FauxFuscia and the Hermes scarf tie!! Thrilled you have posted this demo! Jennyxx

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  10. Love the scarf tie - will give it a burl on my non- Hermes scarf! Was watching the Liberty scarf tutorials this very afternoon, for some inspiration as it is indeed scarf time in Sydney now that the temp in the afternoon is 19C, and we are all complaining! I was in England in April and we had snow dome snow at the Tower of London. Makes me appreciate home so much more!

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  11. Hello R it's 3am Sydney time and damn insomnia has got me in its grips. This happens sometimes after the 1am (baby) feed. Anyway I found your blog via the wonder that is FF. my god and I thought Faux loved pink. Small wonder you gals hit it off you are practically twins. Loving your H scarf action I'm a small scale devotee myself. Love your blog, travelled back in time and reads heaps of the old stuff. I visited Hobart last October.. Someone told me five days in Tassie would be enough to see around, let me tell you they were wrong. As for your France sabbatical... You are living my absolute dream. It's freezing here, enjoy the warmth.

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  12. Thanks for the demo on the scarf tie! Haven't undone mine since you did it for me just in case I couldn't redo. Yay to you. Love your posts.
    More on train trouble in Avignon later. You are not alone x

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  13. Thanks for the scarf tutorial Romy, I'm still on my Hermes training wheels so every tip is appreciated.
    xx

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  14. It's the happiest song in the world.

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I LOVE hearing your thoughts! Rx