Solitude for Gabríel Garcia Márquez

I have yet to meet anyone that does not profess to loving One Hundred Years of Solitude, and to follow it up with how 'Márquez's magic realism brought Latin American to the world.' It was,  when I was in my 20s, a literary rite of passage for those that aspired to be well read. Well, I confess: I still have to read it.
It has been on my reading list for years, and like Ben Okri's The Famished Road, I just cannot read and finish it. Maybe it's just me and magic realism. But with 2014 being the year I read everything, One Hundred Years of Solitude has just crept up the reading list - nothing like the death of what the world calls a brilliant writer to suddenly make one seek out a piece of their work - or in this case, a Nobel Prize-winning piece of their work - if only to understand what the world has been talking about all these years. Gabríel Garcia Márquez, or 'Gabo' as he was affectionately known throughout Latin America, was a prolific writer. Colombia and his adopted Mexico, together with the world mourned the loss of a remarkable writer on April 17, 2014.

Happy 20th Anniversary South Africa!

Today marks the 20th Anniversary of South Africa's first democratic election of April 27, 1994. South Africans will go to the polls once again on May 7 to cast their ballots in the fifth democratic election of the country. By all standards, the country is still a young democracy. In just two decades it has changed from being a country with a legally mandated national policy of racial oppression to one that is transitioning to being inclusive and representative of its diverse people.

I have been watching  BBC's South Africa Direct series and Working Lives shows which have been covering the country - presenters have been meeting and interviewing South African's from all walks of life, discussing the social and economic issues with captains of industry, average working and middle class South Africans, and my all time favourite population sub-group: the 'Born Frees'.
This is a term used to refer to the generation of young South Africans who were born after 1994. They are the ones who will be voting for the very first time this year. The are the ones who did not grow up under apartheid, and the ones who see a South Africa of possibilities, no matter the colour of their skin. That on its own is something to celebrate.

Despite progress made in the past twenty years, the challenges of high unemployment , rising inequality, stagnant economic growth rates, and persistent industrial action in the mining sector remain at the forefront of economic and political debate for this democracy that is still in its nascent stage. Disappointment in progress that has not happened fast enough; anger for slow service delivery to the poor; despondency in a government that has not changed the lives of many; and in equal measure  determination to be a part of the change will be all the emotions that will decide voter choices next month at the polls.

Today however,  for South Africans across the country and in the diaspora, marks the day South Africa truly became a nation free to all. Happy Freedom Day South Africa!

Books: THE WIFE by Meg Wolitzer

Title: The Wife
Author: Meg Wolitzer
Published: 2003
Genre: Fiction

The Wife opens with Joan Castleman making the decision to leave her husband, Joe while en route to Helsinki where he is to be honoured with the Helsinki Prize, a literary award which is the culmination of what he has worked for all his life. Meg Wolitzer takes the reader through the lives of Joe and Joan: from Joan's days as a freshman at Smith. She goes on to have an affair with his professor, Joe. His marriage crumbles, his wife leaves him, taking their baby son with him. Joe and Joan move in together - while he attempts to write the great American novel, she works, supporting his writing dream and in the process abandoning her own writing ambitions. They raise their children, she works, she edits his writing, and ultimately writes his books for him, and he gets the accolades while she plays the dutiful wife by his side.

Hidden delights at Le Kaïku, St Jean-de-Luz, France

I made reservations early and we apparently got the last table for four. Who would have thought that St. Jean-de-Luz, a small fishing town would require advance booking for their restaurants. It is a 15 minute drive from Biarritz, and like the other small towns in the region - St. Jean-de-Luz also had its own charm.
We walked around the bustling, cobbled streets, and slowly made our way to Le Kaïku. It is hidden away - a step or two below the pedestrian path, with a small sign and menu board outside, which is so obscure you'd probably walk past it.
Again, not a huge restaurant - but one with an open kitchen and a clientele that ranged from young couples, to more mature couples and young families in between. The restaurant only serves one seating at lunch - and I cannot count the number of people that were turned away.

Sundowners at Le Comptoir du Foie Gras, Biarritz France

One of the things we delighted in was the local custom of saving those few hours before the sun sets for tapas and sundowners. Around 7pm, the tables outside most restaurants came out onto terraces, or pavements and were quickly populated with people.  Le Comptoir du Foie Gras served up foie gras with its perfectly chilled bottles of rosé.
'A hole in the wall' my husband called it. A bit, but not quite. The tables are barrels that have been placed randomly around the bar counter.

Les Rosiers, Biarritz France

As if the Basque region had not been a gourmande's delight all on its own, we found yet another gem in Biarritz where we had one of the finest meals at  Les Rosiers.
It is not on the tourist trail in the city, it was a bit of a drive from our hotel. Hidden away in the residential non-descript part of Biarritz, this was a gem of a place. Small, with an approximate seating for twenty. The service was excellent, the food was excellent, and en plus, the chef - whose feet I was ready to kiss after our meal - came out and made the tour around the restaurant meeting the patrons. It was a great evening, served up with genuine smiles and bonhomie. 

Exploring Espelette & tasting Basque cuisine, France

We hired a car and decided to explore a bit further beyond Biarritz. I have always been curious about the the town Espelette - a curiosity fed by references to the spice produced in that area: piment d'Espelette. The spice is not fiery as one would expect from a chilli product - but has the mildness of cayenne pepper.
The town is a 30 minute scenic scenic drive from Biarritz, and has built its entire tourism around the production of its peppers, which are harvested, hung up to dry outside houses and celebrated in a festival d'Espelette in October. We walked around the town, bought the local produce which comes in the form of dried spice, salt flakes, jam, jelly and every condiment from mustard to olive oil. The signs in Espelette, as in many of the small town around this region are in the Basque language, and you will spot the Basque cross on everything from the linen, to the ubiquitous souvenir merchandise, as well as the green, red and white of the Basque flag.

Sea, Surf and Espadrilles - A photo tour in Biarritz

There is a fairly laid back attitude among the locals in Biarritz, almost typical of most towns with a high community of surfers. We walked around discovering little corners of the town. It is not a big town, and the community spirit amongst the locals was a refreshing change from the brusqueness of the Parisians.
Every other store tempted with delights of some Basque delicacy, or pastry - leaving us with no choice but to get into the spirit of things. So we stopped at Pariès and sampled the mouchons - a type of macaroon; the owner of the 'Real Chocolate' store plied us with his piment d'espelette-flavoured nougat; Maison d'Adam - which is a famous pastry shop specializing in Basque macaroons and the delightful Basque cake became our go-to place for their takeaway goodies - we returned again, and again in the week we we there.

Eating at the fishermen's port at Chez Albert, Biarritz

A five hour TGV trip from Paris to Biarritz, a walk around the town for an hour or so, and we were ready for dinner just after sunset. Reservations were made by the hotel concierge at Chez Albert, and for a change I went in blindly. I have written often about striking a balance between well-rated, as per  Trip Advisor or in Michelin Guides traveller tips, and local knowledge when it comes to picking restaurants in places foreign. I let the concierge be the local knowledge in this case, or more simply the one who refers all hotel guests to Chez Albert. Who knows?  As we left the hotel though, I did a quick search on Chez Albert and read some positive reviews.
A friendly host and a menu of mainly seafood dishes, with traditional Basque dishes. I have made it a point to sample some of the traditional culinary delights of Basque cuisine while we're here, but on this night I kept it simple, sticking with the catch of the day of a roasted Saint-Pierre served with vegetables. Their paëlla looked and tasted just average - although I must admit I am not such a fan of this dish -  too much of everything in one dish for my liking.

Books: THE TRINITY SERIES by Fiona Snyckers

Title: Trinity Rising  &  Trinity On Air
Author: Fiona Snyckers                      
Genre: Fiction                                    
Published: 2009  &  2010

The first two books, in a series of three written by Fiona Snyckers were meant to be my holiday reading. I finished them in two days, before the Spring break. I could not put them down. They were hilarious. The protagonist Trinity Luhabe, is a young 'born free' South African about to begin her first first year at Rhodes University. Even though her father is a former Robben Island prisoner and anti-apartheid activist, and her mother a former activist and social worker,  "Trinity Luhabe is so over the whole Robben Island thing."

Books: FASTING, FEASTING by Anita Desai

Title: Fasting, Feasting
Author: Anita Desai
Genre: Fiction
Published: 1999

I enjoyed Fasting, Feasting enough to finish it but can't really say it is was one of my favourite reads. Anita Desai weaves her story around an Indian family with three children - all three of whom represent the family's ambitions in some way.
Uma, the eldest is unmarried, clumsy and not particularly bright. The author describes her hunger for knowledge, and her attempts at being scholarly - but it is apparent that her thirst for knowledge is probably that of a spiritual kind. For this her aunt Mira-Masi, a widow and a rather odd character becomes Uma's guide. She encourages Uma's search for spiritual knowledge, inviting her for spiritual retreats and ashrams, much to Uma's parents' discouragement.

Tea break at Le Café Kousmichoff

Not quite high tea, but good enough. I met a friend, who is a very good designer and photographer, for tea this morning. It ended up being lunch at Kusmi Tea on the Champs-Elysées. I've walked passed the Kusmi Tea store  a few times but only recently learnt that this is their flagship store in Paris, and en plus, that there is a tea house with a terrace beyond the colourful tea canisters displayed in the store.
It does not have the old world feel of Mariage Frères with its wood panelled interiors and that slightly sultry feel to it. In fact Le Café Kousmichoff  is just the opposite - bright decor, Havana-inspired (or is it communist-era inspired?) prints on the wall and an interesting mix of old school black and white photographs. I 'turned tourist' on the waiters and went about taking pictures here, there and everywhere as they tried to get our orders.
As per the blurb at the back of the menu: "Café Kousmichoff offers Franco-Russian fare which is a tribute to the history of Kusmi Tea founded in St.Petersburg in 1867 by Pavel Kousmichoff and established in Paris since 1917."

History lessons in Bayeux, Normandy

"A wealth of history can enrich us"  

This trip was an entire history lesson wrapped up in a holiday. A visit to the Normandy D-day Beaches was long overdue, and as much as we did not see even a fraction of the numerous historial sites that commemorate the Second World War around this area - we saw enough to come out of it more knowledgable than we had been.
If you do go, be prepared to visit  a very small town. You can probably walk the length and breadth of Bayeux in two hours. Its entire tourism is managed around the famous Bayeux Tapestry and its War Museums. Bayeux was the first city to be liberated during the Normandy D-Day landings of 1944. It was also the only city that was not destroyed during the German bombings.

Finding Wanderlust at the Cité de la Mode et du Design

When Wanderlust - that is the venue - opened in Paris two years ago, a friend was quick to let me know that: "They've taken your blog name!" Not quite, but my photoblog Wanderlust in PARIS is very similar to Wanderlust's site name: Wanderlust Paris, so a lot of traffic gets directed to that blog. Good for me I suppose, not so much if you're searching for the hippest, coolest place to dance the night away in Paris and you land on a photoblog.

Mont St. Michel revisited - A photo tour

The Spring school holidays are almost upon us, and I just got around to organising all the pictures taken during the last school break. Better late than never.
It was Normandy, once again, with a visit to Le Mont St. Michel and a few days spent in Bayeux. This felt like an entirely new trip for me - if you recall the last trip to Normandy passed in a bit of a haze.

This time, we spared time for a tour of the Mont St. Michel Abbey, we had the famous agneau pre-salé at a hotel restaurant - Mont St. Michel is not exactly a gastronomic heaven, barring one or two places - and we ticked off this historic place as definitely done and fully experienced.

A promenade along les Berges de Seine

A couple of weekends ago, looking for a bit of inspiration on what to get up to on a Sunday afternoon, I thought a walk and lunch along the banks of the Seine would do it. Les Berges are deemed the coolest place to hang out and a definite hot area for the young and old alike. Following on the advice of Hip Paris blog and others I plied my children out  of the house with promises of some really cool places along the Seine, and great places to have lunch. Let's just say the marketing exercise by the city of Paris has been a wondrous success.

The economics of a foreign language

The Economist recently published an article on a study about the worth of a foreign language. To briefly summarize: the overwhelming negative listed against the better decision-making and cognitive development positives was an underwhelming 2% premium on earnings to Americans - with French, Spanish and English earning different premiums.

This had me thinking about my experience with speaking a foreign language in a foreign country.

These days the words flow easier. I no longer phrase, re-phrase and edit my sentences, silently trying them out in my head before I blurt them out. I am not yet dreaming in French, but I am at least thinking in it - there is less mangling of my articles and verbs, and an easier switching from English to French. On some days I do not have the energy to conjugate the conditionnel and on others the  plus-que-parfait just stumps me.  

Speaking a foreign language requires energy, significant alertness and constant levels of concentration. On the good days I am like the language Energizer bunny, on others, Franglais (a convenient mix of French and English words) flows easier off my tongue, and on the worst days I speak in perfectly enunciated English only.

Thirteen years ago, in the early days of the opening up of Europe when foreigners were still viewed with much suspicion, my English-accented French was grudgingly tolerated; these days speaking English earns me better service than it did back then. Sales people are more tolerant of my average French, and even quicker to make the switch to English. Sparing me further embarrassment or saving their language? I still haven’t figured out which one it is.

Government officers are not as easily won over though, but I have also learnt that when dealing with civil servants, start with your best French; maybe use a sprinkling of Franglais –and even then only if you’re truly stuck – but never, ever use English. They are still as quick to dismiss you if you flaunt your foreignness by not using their language.

The good service I get is all a matter of economics. I represent the expat, but not the immigrant. Fact is, no matter where you are in the world, that distinction earns you a certain kind of treatment. I am not here to steal jobs from the French, or burden the country’s social services. If anything I inadvertently wield potential spending power. That is what earns me better service, not my engaging personality. Knowing this, I am happily playing along to the script: I greet in and exchange niceties in French, make a few enquiries in some light Franglais, and then make my switch to English, all depending on how quickly and efficiently I want to be served. Speaking a foreign language carries quite the premium for me in France, and for now I am milking it for all it’s worth.

This article was initially published on African Writing blogs as "Why speaking English gets me better service in most places in France."

On local politics and cabinet reshuffles

Out with the old, in with the new.         Photo: www.dw.de

After his Socialist Party's crushing defeat at the polls this past weekend, The Hexagon's President, François Holande was quick to make like other past Presidents of the Republic: fire the right hand man. So Jean-Marc Ayrault is out, and Manuel Valls is in as the new Prime Minister.
Debates abound on whether Marine Le Pen's anti-Euro, anti-immigration National Front Party poses a real problem to a left-leaning France or whether the high abstention rates of French voters - at a new historic low of 53% -  is the real concern. There have been only two new appointments: Ségolène Royal  as Ecology Minister and Manuel Valls; and a number of reshufflings, all of which have made the evening news debates a lot more interesting.

France's new ecology minister.Photo source: AP/ Patrick Kovarik

The real people to watch though are Michel Sapin, who takes over the Finance portfolio, and Arnaud Montebourg who was named Economy Minister  - a portfolio that now includes industry and the digital economy. Manuel Valls may have been given the responsibility of 'managing' the country under the President, but it's the appointment of these two - the ones taking over the helm of France's economy that are under the most pressure.
They will have to steer an economy suffering through its highest unemployment rate at 11%, a slowing growth rate, an extended recession, and a leadership that is seen as either reluctant or unable to implement change. Bonne chance to them!