A sailboat and the Man in the Iron Mask

We went sailing courtesy of Grey Goose, on a divine 20 foot sailboat with Francois, Eric and Marie Rose . . .it was wonderful . . .

I particularly liked the deck . . . and the bleached wood.

And there is no denying, we do love the French Riviera . . . I would say 30 oysters chucked for just us and Petrossian caviar and blinis was a nice touch. Grey Goose layed the luxury on pretty thick . . .we loved that the caviar came in little hoops that said "eggciting". Sailing around St. Tropez would have been nice but we would not have gotten to see the prison where the man in the iron mask of history and legend, who to Alexandre Dumas was King Louis XIV's twin brother, was held . . .

We sailed into the sunset, I do like the pace of life on the water and the fact that one can really breath.

I wonder what it would take to have sticky rice, somtum and chicken from soi polo transported to us . . . apparently they have a motorcycle delivery service, I wonder if that extends to the Med, now that really would be rather something, Petrossian x Jae Gee, someone should try that sometime.

The thing with being on this amazing boat and just rolling along on the water is it awakens you to the simplicities in life (or at least it did to me), that it really can just be so simple and it is freedom that is perhaps the biggest luxury of all. If only I did not forget my bikini and I could have jumped into the water as the sun was beginning to sleep.

Paris, Firemen and Fireworks

After a week of Discerning France by Grey Goose, I found myself in Paris amongst good friends and a fair bit of entertainment. The hour queue to the Petit Palais was a change after a private tour of the Louvre but worth every bit even if the grumpy man in front thought all women going to pay homage to Yves Saint Laurent and his legacy were vain. It was inspiring.

Alexia

Our return to Paris was also the night of the World Cup final, La Palette was definitely a Spanish Bastion, thankgood ness they won . . . I think my Uncle Boonmee shirt got about as much attention as the game initially. Thanks P'Joei, the movie will be screening in paris soon.

Let's not forget that Paris itself is glorious, especially in the summer. I was introduced to Joli ice cream at Colette by Guillaume Salmon, ice cream never tasted so good nor PERFECT. It's some technology that hits up the ice cream and remixes it or something. There really is nothing as glorious as strolling and catching up with old friends.

Then there was the Bal des Pompiers on the eve of Bastille Day where the day when France were liberated adn became a republic, all the fire stations in the capital have a party, they celebrate like there is no tmr and one does wonder what would happen if there was a fire when all the fire stations are turned into a big ball and firemen dance the night away. We went to he one on teh Rue du Jour, a reunion with Caroline and other Parisian peeps. . .It was definitely a ball. It is odd that in a fire station one drinks champagne and queues for grilled sausages. There were many women around queing up also for the attention of the heroes, only the lucky few succeeded, I was happy with just a pose. . . and a view of the fake Tom Jones and swril around the pole. It was a shock that the Fire Club did not light up in fire with all that body heat.

There was news of rain but what Paris was up for on Basitlle Day or the day of the great parade in the air and on the streets was a serious torrential storm, much like that of monsoon in Thailand. I was happy to see my daughter Cleo over a love burger even if my espadrilles did get wrecked . . .

M/M Paris Love Burger

Then on to Alex de Betak's Parisian home to watch the fireworks in Trocadero. No words can describe the light show we witnessed. I was very luck to have commentary by Liya Kebede's son Suhl and daughter Raya, defo two of the cutest and sharpest kids I have ever met, they even gave me a prime location on the balcony with them.

The footage speaks wonders, to see the glittering Tour Eiffel syncrohhnicsed with firewoeks, as Suhl said, it's like Symmetry (he is only 10 years old) . . . it was magical, like Disneyland a bit :).

And talk about Finale . . pretty fiting to be watching it from one of the masters of light and sound and show himself . . . and what a finale it was, as far as I was concerned, perfect for my last night in Paris.