Kanga And Wombats Adventures

Visiting Terry and Annie today was going  to take us out of Paris into the countryside.

It’s hard to describe our relationship with them! A blip in 1969 when our family met Terry in Lisbon for one day on our way to England, another blip when we’d corresponded after both our mums (cousins Dorothy and Edna) had been diagnosed with dementia.

When their daughter Carolyn and husband François visited Sydney and then moved here permanently with their two daughters, Angela and Stella, the communication and contact ramped up a bit. We were honoured to be invited to their Australian Citizenship Ceremony.

Finally, in 2016, we met up in person at Swanage, on England’s south coast, and it was like we’d been always been next door neighbours! Instant bond, forever I hope!

Terry and Annie have visited Australia 3 times since then. It’s been great getting to know them and share in Terry’s love of family history.

Terry had been instrumental in arranging a mini family reunion with another cousin,  Pam, on the very first day of our trip to the UK.

And here we were, 6 weeks later, in their home territory.

As we stepped off the train at St Nom  Terry’s first words were “Finally, you made it”!

Terry and Annie live in St Nom la Bretèche, about a 45min train ride from the centre of Paris. Terry said we’d come at the worst time of the year, wet and cold, but I thought the autumn colours looked pretty. Not pretty pretty, but pretty!

Their village is typical of French villages, narrow streets, stone houses, the church at the centre of the community.

We were taken on a little tour of all the backstreets, where they used to live, where they go to watch the Paris fireworks high above the village on Bastille Day, and where you can actually still see the Eiffel Tower on a clear day!

Annie was waiting at home with their French grandchildren, Sunny and Zia, whom they’d been minding all week as it was half term holidays. Unfortunately,  Zia was unwell, so spent most of the day sleeping.

Annie had cooked up a storm! She’d cooked Lapin a La Cocotte, a traditional rabbit stew with mushrooms and onions (her mother’s recipe) and it was delicious!

Mozzarella,  tomato and basil salad, roast spuds,  a French apple and almond cake, cheese, wine…… Seems like we spent all day eating, and talking of course.

The most wonderful part of the day however, was meeting their son Thomas  whom we’d  heard so much about. He and partner Fabian  were so lovely and made a huge effort to speak English for us. We really appreciated that!

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. Some hasty pics were taken and goodbyes said. Not sad this time, as Terry and Annie will be in Australia for Christmas.

Back at Abbesses, we took a different route home and stumbled across this tiny little park. We knew it must be special as there were 2 groups of tourists being guided around to the front of one particular house. We deduced someone important must have once lived there. We had some googling to do!

The little park was actually called Place Emile Goudeau after a popular 19th century novelist, poet and journalist who founded the famous literary club called Les Hydropathes. In the picture above, the group of tourists on the right are huddled in front of a black building called the Bateau Lavoir, a residence and meeting place of notable artists and theatre people, including Picasso!

Not only that, but the green structure in the foreground is what is known as a Wallace Fountain. They are considered integral parts of the Parisian landscape and were once rare points of free water for poor citizens. Not many remain in Paris that actually function, and those that do are shut down in Winter so they don’t freeze. Amazing!

Gina welcomed us once more, and we set about stuffing ourselves for the second time that day!

The couple next to us had ordered a raclette  which consisted of a huge triangular prism of cheese suspended on a hook next to a burner that slowly melted the cheese. The melted cheeses was then ‘shaved’ off with a large flat knife and smeared over veggies, potatoes, bread and salad. We couldn’t believe they could eat all that cheese, but they did!

We vowed we’d return in another 7 years  but only if Gina promised to still be there!

We’d had a great day. To finally see where T & A lived put some context into the places and people with whom they shared their daily lives in France.

It hadn’t been a frenetic stay in Paris, but it was perfect for us. We’d had just the right mix of family, sightseeing, and culture.