Around the world....

having travelled around the sun for  four decades, hopefully we get smarter, clearer and sparkly

 i have realised a few things this last year 'round....

• i like being on an adventure
• being scared does not mean give up
• only doing one thing at a time is ok
• paying attention to the little things makes the world slow downand one feel younger
• blooming is a slow process, can't you smell the fragrance of joy
• cloud gazing with a child is one of the best things to do, ever
• faces are wonderful
• looking into the faces of those you love feels like home
• there is not enough glitter and sparkles in the world
• i am an artist
• i am free
• i am blessed
• i am loved
• i can twirl
• simple stuff makes for an interesting life
• sleep is goooooood

see you in the on going spin cycle......

sparkle & twirl*

ps. still feeling jet lagging in my brain, better posts & more photos to come

Paris....

Time to say goodbye to Paris & France.

We are on our way back home.

Know that there will be a lot more here about France and our adventures.

Thanks for your interest and comments.

*sparkle & twirl

around the world

The good bread....

 What does one say when they are leaving a little bit of their hearts behind?

We are on our way home. This time next week we will in our own home. Surrounded by our own people. We will be us but with such an amazing suitcase of memories & experiences.

This place will be on thing we will miss.

 The crispy, buttery goodness.

The fork-tongued bread which invites you to break off a little endy for the walk home. 

 The variety. Each with its own flavour, texture and crunch.

We are bread snobs now, for sure.

 Gifting this food was always a delight.

Even the time we were invited to lunch on a Sunday, so we bought the chocolate mousse cake (for 8-10) Saturday. Only to receive the call late that night as their child was very sick in hospital.

Sadly we ate chocolate cake for 3days. 

Kids loved it when i said, 

"Sure you can eat it for breakfast."

Only in France.

Ahhhh.........Mmmmmmm.... 

 I loved the Millefeuille.

The 1000 crispy layers of pastry separating the creamy custard.

 Divine raspberry creme macarons.

 Tarte au Pomme.

Aurevoir, Madame Serres. 

Your kindness and generosity made this little family feel well nourished in so many ways by you & your girls, daily.

They helped me with my pronunciation of the pastries and always wished me a bon journe. 

sparkle & twirl, but not while eating french bread.

then only sparkle.

twirl later.

*

Pinterest...

I love this site.

The last few weeks i have browsed through beauty, collected images and am hoarding ideas. Guess what there is no clutter, it takes up no space and inspiration abounds.
My new kind of collecting.

~

~

This is one board i have made. 

All images are traced back to the original source. 

I haven't added any of mine, yet.....

http://pinterest.com/danasparkle/

if you click on each picture it will take you directly to Pinterest.

I promise if you have a little time to waste, you won't be disappointed.
Maybe you too will become addicted...
Happy pinning....

sparkle & twirl*

oh, good title for a new board....bye.....

Knock, knock.....

Whose there?

Love these door knockers.

Does your door have one of these?

This one is well used as the forefinger is shiny & silver from wear.
These are thought to keep "evil" away.
In the big apartments i think they are just to alert someone in the building that someone is there.
Modern times have replace their function with buzzer buttons and pin codes.
The door knockers remain. Sigh....
Participating in An Accidental Blog - Dreaming of FranceMonday Meme.

sparkle & twirl*

The good & the bad....

So here it is. Living in France is hard. 

Of course it is old, beautiful and amazing. It is France.

This is the blog where i say all the blah....

I still love it but today is the day i realised that after 2months you either stay & get seriously better at being French or you go home. I reached that point today at the market and i want to go home.

Yes, of all places at the market. Buying the fruit & veg. You get your basket, fill it with the items on display. Then there are things in the back that you have to ask for. You wait in line. Pay attention to the queueing system. Very important in every shopping experience here.

Then a girl takes my basket, i think I'm going to be served, but she puts it in back. Why? Then i wait for 2more people to be served & its my turn. The man gets my basket from the back, i put in 2 more oranges, ask for champignons, ail (garlic) and  une citron (lemon). What i get instead of lemon is a wedge of pumpkin. What did i say?

I nod my head and come home with pumpkin, because asking again means I might get more pumpkin. What is the word for lemon? I want to cry. Walking home and instead, laugh & laugh at the absurdity. This is my realisation either get better or get out.














Citrouille is pumpkin. French husband said i pronounced lemon correctly, the vendor just misheard me.














Other stuff thats dumb here....

• the dog shite everywhere!
• some balconies have little spouts for rain water runoff that sprays you on the footpath or right at the front door of the building below!
• every place indoors is overly heated, outside is freezing, then you catch a metro, go into a shop, in your winter woolies and you melt, then go outside in the cold all wet with perspiration and get pneumonia!
• everything has a time, don't ask for a coffee or tea before 3pm as the cafes will not serve you until lunch is over, strictly 3pm! restaurants won't feed you before 8pm!
• kids make france less romantic!
• the saying goes "the world is your oyster", well French men think the world is their toilet. i guess thats why they don't have a problem with the dog bombs!
• if you don't know the rules waiters don't like serving you very much and they love to show it!
• don't get sick on a sunday or monday without medicines, very inconvenient to get even paracetemol!
• bathrooms.... so much to say, i'll keep it brief. bathtubs with hand held shower heads, really people, how is this a good way to wash. I miss standing under a shower and have the water pound your shoulders, soak your hair and wake you up. I think this is one of the main reasons people here are so grumpy. Crap showers. Hairdryers that blow cold air... no kidding. 

Theres more but now i just sound like I'm complaining. Getting these out has helped lift my mood.


Mostly it is autumn leaves and baguettes here, with an edge that i guess when you live here you get used to dealing with. I will miss the amazingness, the old stuff and the ordinary everyday sparkles of beauti-ness everywhere. I am ready to go home.

Thanks for the memories, France.

Sparkle & Twirl*

Shout it from the rooftops....

“May you always have walls for the winds,

 a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, 

laughter to cheer you, those you love near you 

and all your heart might desire.”

 ~Irish Blessing

 I have this collection of photos.

I have showed you walls, doors, windows, so here are the rooftops.

The style of ones roof is wide and varied in the south west of France.

It is impossible not to notice them.

They are steep, pointy, terracotta, mossy, wonky and interesting.

 The higher in the mountains you get the steeper the roofline.

People have adapted to the snow, and for a person who has not lived with snow, it is is fascinating.

 Here the roof protects the road. Grass grows on the roof. 

Water flows down the mountain. The cold freezes icicles along the edges.

Super cool!

 Old weathered building & roof, captivates my imagination.

How many cars get fixed here?

 The view from the roof, spectacular.

 "How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home. "

 ~William Faulkner

 Shades of red, brown, tan & terracotta.

 Dome roof love.

 Roof with bubbles.

Urban roofline. 

"for a long time...maybe I felt inauthentic or something, I felt like my voice wasn't worth hearing, and I think everyone's voice is worth hearing. So if you've got something to say, say it from the rooftops."

 ~Tom Hiddleston

 Basic black.

Neat & guttered.

 “Mine was the twilight and the morning.

 Mine was a world of rooftops and love songs.” 

― Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy

 “I'm good at exploring roofs. 

You never know when that kind of thing comes in useful.” 

― Enid Blyton, The Rubadub Mystery

The right side sunken & wonky.

Pointy & religious.

A journey through some rooftops i captured along the way.

They are more like the roofs i imagine in fairytales. 

Villages alive with stories. Lived and waiting to be made up.....

sparkle & twirl*