Le premier fromage

Here it is my trusty readers - the first cheese of the holiday & let me try to describe the beauty & wonder of this brie. It's called Brie de Meaux and while it smelled like Steve's socks after our flight, it's flavour was rich, smooth, creamy & strong. Hmmm... Okay, no cheese today. I am limiting myself to one every two days due to the dire consequences!

This photo is an indicator of our view from the sardine-like Eurostar. We were so lucky to get such a fantastic seat ... not. However, it really didn't matter as the view was nothing more than lots of fields & tunnels. The train was incredibly fast. Amazing! I've never been on any train that can move like that! So, whilst it was a very cosy ride, with no where to put your luggage unless you have very good upper body strength (to lift 18kgs up onto the parcel rack) it was quite quick. The lady sitting along from us left her copy of American Vogue, which I am sure she just flicked through as it is about 2.5cm thick, so I am "recycling" that (though it is all ads, ads, ads - crazy!) & I need a little trolley to carry it!

Now I suppose all you "healthy" types will be demanding an explanation regarding this... Okay, okay, they are macarons from Laduree. It was all very innocent really. Steve & I were just taking a walk around St Germain des Pres, stretching our legs & recovering from our jam packed Metro ride, avec luggage, when we happened to pass by this iconic tea room and really, you just cannot be in Paris and NOT have tea there. You can't! We "forced" ourselves to consume these tiny morsels of meringue & fondant (they were citron, rose, caramel with salt & berry flavoured). It was our duty as good tourists! It was delicious too but certainly contributed to the Euro haemorrhage that was our first day in Paris.

This photo was one of a few in a beautiful and tranquil little park amidst the rush & bustle of St Germain. I love its composition, with the books, and I am wondering if Steve can make me one when we have our new garden! And bien sur, le pigeon Francais, who is not dissimilar to his Australian compadre but probably prefers a crusty baguette crumb to your simple white loaf.

So readers, day one of our holiday has been wonderful, despite us being completely exhausted. This little computer I am using has a tiny keyboard so I am making many, many typos & I have lost several drafts as I've been blogging for no apparent reason (merde!) so I am going to wrap it up for today & will be back with more soon. xxxxxxxxxx