What I’m grateful for in Paris

Hello again, I had a whirlwind four days in Paris celebrating NAIDOC Week and researching a travel story for Women’s Health magazine (will let you know when it runs). Here’s a very short list of what I was grateful for while there July 7-11.
1. OLD FRIENDS: It was wonderful to find myself amongst old friends (while making new ones) while in Paris for four days. David and Sue travelled down from Norwich to catch up, Aline was there to help me do more ‘research’ for Paris Dreaming, and Catherine whom I first met at a writers salon in New Caledonia is taking one year sabbatical to write in Paris. We all managed to have dinner at one of my favourite restaurants Nomad’s- with Ania a colleague from Australia - who arrived in Paris the night before I left. There’s something to be said for breaking bread with friends from around the world at the one time in a wonderful city like Paris.
2. THE AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY: I am grateful for the Australian Ambassador to France, David Ritchie. A man with a fab sense of humour, David hosted a NAIDOC event in his residence where I addressed the intimate crowd on how Aboriginal writers and writing closes the gap in literacy and ignorance. It was a memorable evening as I spoke with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. Stunning, as you can imagine!
3. MACAROONS: I was excited but a little nervous that the hotel I was booked into – Cadran -had its own chocolate bar with the most delicious macaroons. Do I need to explain? If so, you’ll have to keep your eye on Women’s Health magazine for the story I am writing.
4. THE SEINE: Cruising the Seine was a perfect Saturday morning thing to do to calm my nerves after the chaos of the past three weeks.
5. BREAD: Every time I go to Paris I swear I will never eat bread back home again. I had a carb overload with the wonderful French breads... and butter (it really does taste better), cheeses and of course foie gras! As I have always said: at least if we had been colonised by the French we would’ve had better food and better fashion than what the English imposed upon us.