Bright bright sunshiny day

Last day in Paris! A little bit of tape to hold it together and I took my camera running. Amazing sunny morning makes me so sad to be leaving.

Running around Paris

It was a foggy start to the week in Paris but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to capture a couple of pics of the Eiffel Tower on my morning run. Unfortunately no pics from later in the week when the weather has improved because my camera has broken It still works but the plastic flap that covers the SD card and battery no longer stays shut So definitely not ideal for running with! It is less than a year old so I am hoping that it will be covered by warranty. Until now it has been an excellent little camera, perfect for everyday use and traveling! However, I am considering ‘upgrading’ to a digital SLR so I can start learning more about the nuts and bolts of photography and how to take better pictures. Any recommendations on particular cameras or what to look for?

Sightseeing in Paris

Although I will be in Paris for a week, today was my only day with no meetings. So I took advantage of the time to myself to do some sightseeing. I have traveled to Paris before and been to all the usual tourist haunts (Eiffel tower, Louvre, Musee D’Orsay, Arc de Triomphe) as well as a few slightly less frequented locations. I didn’t want to waste my one free day standing in queues so I went on a walking tour of Paris. It was a grey and overcast day, threatening rain but despite this it was lovely to be out in the fresh air and in Paris!

First stop the Arc de Triomphe

The Eiffel tower

A meander along the river Seine past the Musee D’Orsay and the Louvre

To Notre Dame, where the sun showed it’s face for a few minutes!

After about four hours walking my feet were getting sore! So I took the easy option and got the Metro back to my hotel. A lovely day in Paris and I also found a couple of nice locations to run. Unfortunately not super close to the hotel but hopefully in the morning without all the traffic it won’t take too long to run there!

Food heaven

Yesterday I arrived in Paris. While I loved to food in Rome, Paris really is food heaven! street markets only a block from the hotel entice you in with delicious smells wafting down the street and provide sensory overload with the amazing variety of food available.

And the patisseries… My words cannot describe the jaw dropping array of magnificent creations on display (and the pictures are pretty average too as they are shot through the glass)

I sampled one (I only have so much willpower!) and it tasted as good if not better than it looked (is that even possible!)

Tomatoes

It is probably the onset of winter that makes me long for the hot summer days again (although i hate really hot weather during summer… the grass is always greener right?) but it got me thinking about summer gardening and vegetables. For me the smell of summer is fresh bruschetta – warm, vine ripened tomatoes, freshly picked basil and a little garlic and olive oil… mmm sounds good doesn’t it! And it is as much the smell as the taste, although the taste is pretty amazing! You could have it with nearly anything – I’ll even eat it straight from the bowl (but maybe that’s just me!)

Anyhow enough daydreaming. It got me thinking that many people reported having trouble growing tomatoes this year. I was chatting to a neighbour in late summer and her tomatoes were eith still green or had died. For some reason mine grew well so i thought i’d provide a few brief things i think made the difference.

Location
I had tomatoes in a number of locations getting varying amounts of sun. I think this extended the season as some ripened early and others later.

Maintenance
In other years I have simply planted and waited for the fruit to be ready to eat. This year was a very wet summer and at times I noticed a little mould starting to attack the low leaves on the plants. I was very thorough about picking off diseased leaves and making sure the airflow around the plant was adequate. I also provided my tomatoes with regular feed (seaweed and chook manure).

Timing
I started my tomatoes very early in a greenhouse and so by the time I planted them out they were quite mature. I think in a short (cold, wet) season this was a big advantage!

Since I had such a good year this summer I’ll probably try the same again next year. So knows, maybe they will all fail leaving me with a lot of pesto and no bruschetta! But hopefully not

Garden update

I am very lucky. Even though I am away my garden has not been neglected! L has been super busy turning over the soil in a new garden bed and getting some autumn planting done!

He has started onion seedlings, garlic bulbs and pak choy seeds!

I’m looking forward to seeing their progress when I get home

He’s also been tending the kale, silverbeet, spinach, broad beans, carrots, rocket, radish and beetroot that I have already planted.

The silverbeet before I left… I’m sure they are much bigger now!

Carrots that I thinned before I left!

Paleo breakfasts while traveling

I’m looking for suggestions. I am still trying to eat Paleo while I am away and while lunches and dinners are relatively straightforward breakfast is more challenging.

The hotel offers quite an extensive array of cereals, cheese, ham, dried fruit, nuts, smoked salmon, boiled eggs, juice, cakes, bread rolls, croissants and other pastries… so I am reasonably well catered for with boiled eggs, smoked salmon, nuts and fruit. But some days the eggs have been abscent – then I am at a loss – what can I eat?

And what if the next hotel does not have eggs? I don’t have any cooking facilities or ability to make my own breakfast and even ordering at a cafe is difficult as it is time consuming and with the language difference you don’t always get what you expected!

Any suggestions for food I can preferably pre-purchase from the supermarket the day before (that does not require refridgeration) that would be suitable for a Paleo breakfast?!