Airport Train

2 weeks ago I jumped on a plane last minute (bought the tickets Saturday and flew Sunday), thankful to my husband for stepping seamlessly into the breech while I went home to Australia be with family. My aunt was diagnosed with cancer just 6 short weeks ago and although she was initially told she’d have some time things went downhill rapidly and she passed away last night. I’m so grateful that we got to spend some final time together and I could show her loved she was. This week there is 20% off all new subscriptions and all profits will be donated to the Fitzroy Community Hospice in Central Queensland. Life is too short, call your loved ones and seize the day.

After flying 16 547 kilometres it made sense to stay a few extra days to see my friends and eat everything I miss when I’m in France. Left to my own devices in Brisbane I rose with the birds and watched the sunrise over the river, pulled on my activewear and slotted straight back into Aussie life. Since my last visit babies have been born and it was with great joy that I got to meet them and have cuddles. My days were spent catching up with my oldest friends and evenings were mostly junk food binges, early nights and desperately trying to befriend the neighbour’s cat.

I think Sydney is the most beautiful city in the world and if you ever fly in book a seat on the left hand side of the plane for the best view. I stayed at the Shangri-La which was quite treaty but (in my opinion) it’s the best value in Circular Quay, I think because it’s probably due a little refurb and it’s 2 blocks up a steep hill which puts quite a few people off. I got a good last minute deal online then an upgrade because the receptionist was French and made the most of the view, staring at it from sunrise to sunset. Sydney public transport is easy to use and you can just tap your bank card to swipe on and off which I’m waiting for them to figure out in Paris. I caught the airport train in and out (part of my girl math when booking the hotel), the bus to Bondi, a ferry to Manly and didn’t need a taxi the entire stay which was wonderful.

I dropped off books (always hustling) to new stockist Côté Nord which is a beautiful French boutique and while refilling the (online) shelves at Ma Petite Librairie I got coffee with founder Vanessa and we immediately bonded over living similar lives in opposite countries (Aussie in France and Frenchie in Australia), exchanging info on potential schools for our imaginary moves and generally reassuring each other that the grass is always greener where you water it.

Then I made time for the iconic Bondi to Bronte coastal walk, coffee in hand while scanning the horizon for whales doing their annual migration. There’s a special sort of cognitive dissonance I have while walking by Icebergs pool where it’s impossible to comprehend that I’m allowed to live there (ok, housing prices aside) and yet I don’t. I stopped to chat with a few woman along the way when I asked to borrow some sunscreen and the general openness and friendliness had me beaming.

I landed back in Paris just in time to scramble home, shower, collect the children from school and take them to their weekly activities which helped me settle back in to regular life as quickly as possible. Then it was back to work and a glorious tour at Foire de Chatou with Pam of Olive and Branch and her guests on a French antiques retreat. I almost managed to come home empty handed but at the last stall picked up a few plates to replace some breakages at home.

On Saturday I revelled in the sunshine at the food market and filled my trolley high with all the seasonal fruit and veg plus some delicate little quails stuffed with raisins and everything necessary for good old comforting pea & ham soup. Then in the afternoon we attended a beautiful christening and all my intentions of making a wholesome dinner went out the window as the children stuffed themselves with cheese, sugared almonds and macarons.

Sunday morning was wet and windy but we needed to exercise the children a little so tempted them to a nearby brocante with the promise of a toy car each and they took their time choosing, eventually conning me into buying a whole stable of horses which honestly I should have seen coming, but cheaper than a museum outing and with a decent number of steps in I’ll call it a win.

On Sunday afternoon I went to pick up my daughter from a birthday party and during the obligatory “stay for a drink” at the end got chatting with some mums from her class, making the rookie error of introducing myself to people who clearly knew who I was (being the Aussie mum I tend to stand out at pick-up and on excursions) and having to recover as best as possible. As the conversation flowed it was comforting to realise that almost everyone had a half-baked plan to move to the countryside (or another country) and we aren’t the only parents filled with what-ifs and why-nots and we all laughed as we agreed that we all wanted more from life but also more time on the sofa doing nothing.

Have a great week,

- Emily

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Cheese we’re eating this week:

• Vacherin Mont-d'Or - a runny Swiss cheese that’s wrapped in a piece of bark from a spruce tree and sold in a wooden box. It’s a seasonal cheese and only for sale in the colder months.

• Camembert de Normandie - a raw cow's milk cheese with a soft bloomy rind. It’s protected in France by an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) which means it must come from a specific area.

• Comté - a semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk from the Jura Massif region of France, this one was aged 12 months.

All three cheeses were bought from Fromagerie Saint Vrain at Marché Maubert.

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Pea and Ham Soup

It took me 5 years in France to learn to buy the right ham to make this… you want to ask for a jambonneau, jarret de porc or un petit jambon.

• 1-1.5kg ham hock

• 1 onion

• 1 box/packed of split green peas (mine was 500g)

• Finely chopped carrot and celery (optional)

• 1 bay leaf

1. Saute the onion (and carrots and celery if using) in a little olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt (the ham itself is very salty so hold back on seasoning in this recipe).

2. Add the ham, bay leaf, split peas and cover with about 2 litres of water.

3. Leave to simmer for 2 hours (skim the top for the first 15 minutes or so)and check occasionally if it needs a little water top-up. You want it to be a thick soup.

4. When the ham is falling off the bone pull it out, shred the ham and discard the bones and any fat and sinew.

5. Check the soup is at the desired consistency and keep cooking if it’s a little thin. Some people like to blitz it together into more of a puree but I prefer to leave it as is. Add the ham back in and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Bon appétit!

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Real Life Brisbane Photo

Will the Ibis be the mascot at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics? My kids love the book Bin Chicken all about this bird.