"2 turntables and a microphone!"

I am not so often in France but one of my biggest pleasures is to go back to my record collection and to my turntables. I have collected records for as long as I can remember. In the mid-80s, at the age of 15 I was having my own radio show on the local radio station and continued until my early 20s. I even continued my radio show when I went to Portugal to study. Speaking French over the Portuguese airwaves. But they obviously liked it since my show was reviewed every week in the National newspaper. I have also Deejayed in a few clubs and friends parties. I then had to keep my collection for myself as my job took me around the world and I could no longer commit to any regular show. Lately, I have been thinking about starting “radio-ing” again thanks to the help of the internet technologies. Don’t be surprised if it becomes a reality quicker than expected…

Lapin de Garenne

We went directly from New York to the French countryside and it was a bit of a ‘culture lag’. Nevertheless, we always are greeted by my mother’s excellent cooking and on this very day we lunched on a real ‘Lapin de Garenne’ (wild rabbit). The ‘Garenne’ has a very subtle flesh and you could fear that it tastes quite gamey as any other wild animal but it is not. The only drawback is that they are always killed by hunters in the wild and as a result you have to mind the bullets while you eat it.

Les Petites Maisons

We went to Washington and came back from New York on KLM since there was a nice promotion. At the end of each flight the flight attendants present its “WorldBusiness Class” passengers with a choice of blue-and-white Delftware houses. They are porcelain reproductions of old Dutch canal houses or from its overseas dependencies and a new model is issued every year since the creation of KLM. There are now 89 of these porcelains filled with the Dutch liquor called Bols jenever. A nice touch if you actually ask me even though if you are a frequent flier with KLM you surely don’t know what to do with them after a while. (On the picture models 11, 33, 52 &53).

Lupa, 170 Thompson St, NY

There is no secret that I like food. I also sometimes like watching food related movies and read food related books. A year ago or so I accidently laid my hands on a book called 'Heat' written by a certain Bill Buford who was recounting his own personal story of having left his dream job at New Yorker magazine to work as a low-level "kitchen slave" in one of New York's most famous restaurants, Babbo. I had never heard of neither Babbo, Bill Buford or the owner of that restaurant Mario Batali. Strange for someone supposedly interested in food you will wonder. But the fact is that French people like me are not necessarily exposed to all the celebrity Chefs form the 'English' world. While in New York, and not having booked Babbo, I settled on Batali's other restaurant, Lupa, and that was an amazing experience. Winter Italian fare. Pasta e Fagioli, Polpetti di Vitello e Ricotta, Tartufino... simple but heavenly!

The times, they are a-changing...

After a stop in Philadelphia yesterday giving us just enough time to sample the famous local Philly Cheesesteak and to witness the snow that felt overnight here we are back in New York. Always a delight to visit even though the signs of the recession are everywhere to remind us that the times are far from being fantastic. How about saving 1 USD at Gray's Papaya? We actually preferred to brave the cold front and walk through the streets of ever welcoming Greenwich Village.

Record of the Week: The Phantom Band 'Checkmate Savage'

Album of the Year alert! A few weeks into the New Year and all the critics already prove justified for what could be one the records of 2009. The Phantom Band is an excellent Scottish group that digested a huge array of influences. Very difficult to pin down or categorise. Just let me drop a few names they have been compared to so far and you will understand what I mean if you have not yet heard them: Beta Band, Neu, Bonnie Prince Billy, Nick Cave, Captain Beefheart, Super Furry Animals, … Can you see any link in between all those? Quality. The record is out today on Chemikal Underground. If you’re not yet convinced, go and visit their page on MySpace.

Smithsonian Institution

Museums, museums, museums. Apart from all the governmental bodies, Washington houses tons of museums. All of them are free. There is so much to see. After a nice start through the Eastern Market and more crab cakes and grits we headed back to the National Mall to explore the Sculpture Garden, the Natural History Museum with all the kids and families and finally the Hirshhorn Museum for some great Contemporary Art. Visiting museums is a highly tiring activity of course, so we ended up resting and warming ourselves around a nice American meatloaf in one of Washington's popular hangouts, Busboys and Poets. A nice cosy hip place without the attitude.

Washington DC, Day Two

It is always strange to see for real those monuments you have been seeing since you have been a kid. The White House is probably the most ‘moving’. Lincoln Monument is somehow quite touching and Capitol Hill cannot fail to impress. Washington probably is a boring city in the long run but the it boasts a few amazing features like the National Mall (you will surely have seen it crowded with about 2 million people a couple of days ago during Obama’s historical speech). The National Mall is bordered by incredible free museums all administered by the Smithsonians. You could easily spend days and weeks exploring all the Art and education on offer.

Obama-nia

The inauguration came and went. Washington is back to quiet mode or so it seems. A good time to visit the city really. It is amazing to see all the Obama advertising everywhere in the streets and in the shops. Even places like Starbucks fly Obama flags. It is very bizarre. Very extreme. I can’t imagine restaurant or café chains flying Sarkozy (or any other politicians) flags in France.

Boeuf Bourguignon

It has obviously been much colder than this a few weeks back but I find the weather to be still rather cold. After all, it is more than 30 degrees colder than what I was experiencing two days ago so there is nothing strange in feeling cold outside. With this kind of temperatures there is nothing better than a slow cooking and hearty Boeuf Bourguignon (Burgundy Beef, and that's where I am originally from) to keep you warm. After all that winter food I will have a good reson to go back to the swimming pool when I am back in Australia to burn all those extra calories.

Perfect Breakie!

Oh! No better way to start this first day in Paris than with my favourite French Breakfast for a cold winter. Hot chocolate, croissant and Libération newspaper. It was also market day in my corner and I just loved browsing through all those nice fresh products on display. I could not help buying a few things I do not find elsewhere (or not tasting as they do here) like Boudin Noir and Boudin Blanc that will compose my lunch. Also, I would like to see a few movies that I did not have the opportunity to view wherever I was this year. Les Plages d'Agnès, an autobiographic documentary about Agnès Varda and Séraphine with the usually excellent and touching actress Yolande Moreau.

SQ332 - Choose your seat!

Last time I took SQ332 between Singapore and Paris was nearly 3 months ago. If you remember I was raving about the quality of service and the comfort of the flight due to the lack of passengers (see here). Well, I was far from guessing it could be even better (for the passenger but worse for the airline). Today, the flight had to be my best flying experience ever (and I can say I have flown quite a bit over the past 20 years!). 7 passengers in between first and Biz (for 50 seats) and 24 passengers in Economy (for 228 seats). It really gives you the impression of flying your own private plane which is a delight on such a long haul flight. I wonder how long SQ will maintain this day flight for? I have always suspected that the people travelling for Business purposes were choosing to fly the night flight in order to get a full day at work so this day flight has never really been full but never that empty neither! I also hear rumours that SQ might replace the B777-300ER by an Airbus380 on this route shorlty. If that's the case they will definitely merge those two flights into one. That's sad because I find it to be the perfect timing. Departing Singapore by 2 pm and arriving by 9 pm in Paris on the same day is just perfect.

Record of the Week: Rick Tomlinson "Night time recordings from Göteborg"

Each new release from Mancunian man Rick Tomlinson is a small event since not only they all are so lovingly crafted but the finger-picked guitar music played on them has this amazing intimate feel... After dozens of releases on various labels like Twisted Nerve or Blackest Rainbow and self released CDs or Cassettes usually under the Voice of the Seven Woods moniker, Rick finally created its own label Tchantinler Recordings. This very recording is an improvised solo acoustic guitar recorded back in January 2007, in Göteborg. Releases continue to be limited though and the best way to get hold of this one (465 copies) is to order it directly from his website.

Ayers Rock

Indians make their pilgrimage to the Taj Mahal, French to the Eiffel Tower, Nigerians to Aso Rock, Americans to the Statue of Liberty, Brazilians to the Sugar Loaf, etc... Like many Australians and tourists alike I had to make my pilgrimage to Uluru. I could not decently pretend to be a Permanent Resident without having seen it, could I? I walked the 10 kilometres around its base and the fact that the surroundings are rather flat makes it even more impressive. The most vibrant colours surely appear when the sun is low and this is where thousands of people rush to take millions of pictures. Clic, clic, clic. I am happy to have seen it (I have been wanting to for a very long time), the same way I am happy to have seen the other icons I mentioned earlier. I am also glad there are many more sites I am looking forward to.

Handsome Devil

As mentioned a few days back when I posted the picture of the Green Tree frog that came to visit me, Australia has a good array of unique species. One of them is the Thorny Devil. It is a kind of lizard that lives in the Red Centre I am currently visiting. Sandplains are its natural habitat. It feeds on insects and despite its appearance is a rather friendly animal. Actually, I just noticed today that the cover of my Lonely Planet was also displaying its picture. Otherwise, I visited Alice this morning which was a bit dead. The Papunya Gallery I wanted to go to is only reopening on Monday after some long Christmas holidays. I hit the (dirt) road south to see some ancient petroglyphs at Ewaninga after having visited the fascinating Desert Park.

Ochre Pits

Here I am in Alice Springs (also known as 'The Alice'). It is very hot but dry. As a result I am hardly sweating at 39ºC while I am dripping in water in Singapore when it not even 26ºC. The walks amongst the MacDonnell ranges are absolutely soothing . It is pure silence except from the wind and a few insects and birds. The smells are particularly fantastic. Gum trees, barks and dry woods. I also made it to the Ochre Pits which are no longer used but that have been of importance to the Aboriginal communities when they were trading the Ochre whith other communities. They consist in several layers of multi-coloured, layered rock that were traditionally used by Australian Aborigines in ceremonies and in painting. They are considered some of the choicest ochre and are soft to touch, vivid, with a slight sheen to it. The colours are truly amazing when seen for real, especially the golden and yellow ochres.

Territory Nature

Darwin is a small city. From my residence to my office there is hardly any building. I drive through these expanses of wetlands and Northern Territory grasslands. The picture above (taken midway in between my house and my office) is very representative of the environment, at this time of the year, which is called "The Wet" (November to April). Green and Blue are two of the most common colours. It also sometimes is Green and Grey (when the clouds are heavy) or Green and Orange / Pink / Red when the sun rises or comes down. There are only two seasons "The Wet" and "The Dry" and I really wonder how it looks and feels like during "The Dry".

Masked Lapwing

Australia is famous for some of its endemic species like the Wombat, the Emu, the Tasmanian Devil or the Kangaroo of course. But there are so many other unique species. Some even being very regional and only existing in a very particular and restricted area. Here, in the Northern Territory, there are millions of birds in the sky. The most common probably is the Masked Lapwing that can be spotted as frequently as we can spot pigeons on the Piazza San Marco in Venice! They are a bit more shy but they are known for their bold nesting habits, being quite prepared to make a nest on almost any stretch of open ground, including suburban parks and gardens, school ovals, and even supermarket carparks.

Swimming Pool

You know that I am not (unfortunately) really a 'sporty' person. I do not especially enjoy exercising just for the sake of it. I prefer visiting galleries, record hunting, theatre going and all the rest. Actually, I prefer just travelling... The only sports I used to play sometimes were tennis and squash. That said, I have always loved swimming. But swimming for pleasure. It is only recently that I took swimming as an exercise. There is a pool not too far from my place of work and residence so I have started the habit to go there on a daily basis to enjoy in the open air and cooling water. I just do laps late morning or during lunchtime. After 20 or 30 laps I really feel the effort but it is an exercise I enjoy doing and on top of that it really empties my head.

Above is the 50-meters lap pool I am going to.

Record of the Week: N.A.S.A. "The Spirit of Apollo"

This is hot hot hot! 16 of February promises to be a great date for new music releases. After Morrissey, as featured last week, another BIG record of 2009 is being issued on that date. N.A.S.A., standing for North America South America is an incredible project. Let's say it is an hip hop project but do not expect hip hop on the strict sense of the term. More like hip hop from the U.N.K.L.E. Project. Actually, there is not even any need to describe it. Suffice to have a look at the featurings: David Byrne, Method Man, RZA, John Frusciante, Karen O, Tom Waits, Santogold, M.I.A., George Clinton, The Cool Kids and so many more. Eclectic? Certainly. Quality? It delivers. Production? Top notch!

Visit MySpace here to sample some of these fabulous tracks (and their Girl from Ipanema Remix).

Frog on the wall!

That is exactly one of the reasons I like darwin. the presence of the nature is amazing here. Especially at this time of the year. from the flocks of bird that come to rest on the treetop of the mangrove next to my house to the hundreds of fish you can spot in any pond, river or sea. We were having a barbecue at home with friends and this amazing Green Tree Frog climbed on the wall to socialise with us. I have just done some research and I understand it only exists in this part of Australia and in New Guinea. I also read it was actually very docile and was even traded as pets. Its lifespan can reach 16 years. According to wikipedia it also secretes some peptides with antibacterial and antiviral properties, some of them have even been found to destroy HIV. I hope it will come back to visit me (It is actually still on my wall as I write this).

Coffee

Coffee! It is an essential of any morning for tons of people. It is also a social place at work where people informally share company's information. To be honest, I have never been a coffee person. I even despised the smell for a while. Give me an English Breakfast tea anytime. Oddly, I moved in that house in Darwin nearly two months ago and it was fitted with an extremely user friendly and convenient coffee machine. I had to give it a try and started to acquire a test for the brew. In a matter of months, I now have the impression I am already addicted. When I move out of this place, I just wonder if I will get back to my tea mood or if I will continue to ask for my morning coffee!

Papunya Tula

As mentioned earlier in this blog, upon arrival here, I did not know very much about Aboriginal painting even though I appreciated it from day one. Visiting galleries, talking to people, reading books I am now starting to have a much better idea and comprehension of all the different movements and schools as we would call them in Europe. There are so many different styles from the Arnhem bark paintings depicting the local wildlife to the Central desert dot painting through the Western Desert amazing ochres. Visiting galleries inspire me so much but kind of make me feel dizzy because of this explosion of colours and creativity Aboriginal Artists seem to be gifted with. The most famous movement was initiated in the 70s in Kintore / Papunya station over 200 km from Alice Springs and a wonderful book which details the lives of all the contributors to the Papunya Tula movement was issued last November. Essential!

In the picture my favourite living Artist, Walangkura Napanangka.

Have you fed the fish?

We have this small pond (or whatever you may call it) by the front door of our unit in Darwin and we bought a few fish when we arrived. The daily ritual was to ask each other if we had fed the fish. Unfortunately, I am temporarily alone so I can't ask: "Have you fed the fish?" but I surely enjoy the company of my 5 little friends who come to suck on my finger if I put it on the surface of the water. Sadly, in a week time they will be left to another tennant. I hope they will be cared for as much as they are now. They seem to have acclimatised quite well to this environment that surely offers them more space than a tiny glasswalled aquarium.

Cold wave

I continue to be fascinated by the cold wave that is hitting Europe. Flights delayed in Roissy and people stranded at the airport, school buses not operating, electricity production overheating and the list goes on and on. I will hopefully have a taste of this in a couple of weeks. Or hopefully not, since I realise it must be depressing after some days but I would not mind trying it for a few hours. I was actually thinking about this morning while I was cooling down in the swimming pool. Sorry for being sarcastic... I am just trying to be sincere. Erm...

Cold vs Heat

From the moment I woke up watching the French news to the time I checked my friends status on Facebook it was all about snow and record low temperatures. The status were reading "It's Siberia here" or even better "-10 C, my hot water pipes are frozen!". So let me send another view from my balcony bringing a bit of tropical heat. The clouds are heavy on the left, the night has started to fall. On your right, it is still daylight over Darwin. In the middle, a mini rainbow starts to form. Temperature 35 C. The colours are different every evening and I continue to be amazed. I wish I could see the sunset from the plains of Kakadu. It must be magical!

Record of the Week: Morrissey 'Years of Refusal'

The first title for the album of the week this year will be awarded to Morrissey. Nothing groundbreaking but it is hard to be disappointed by this ex-Smiths frontman. The long awaited new album entitled 'Years of Refusal' has been canned as early as December 2007 and many stories abound to find an explanation to its late release. The fact is that the whole album has already leaked all over the internet but will only be officially released on the 16th of February 2009. That's a long wait for any fan who will already have listened to all the tracks hundred of times as a loop before the record is even officially released. Sales will probably harmed in the process so I will not be pointing you to any particular website illegally offering the whole thing for download and will simply ask you to bookmark the 16th of February in your calendar as a reminder to go and buy the real thing.

ps: The first single to be issued is by far the highlight of the whole project: "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris"

La Galette des Rois

There are a few French traditions I kind of miss abroad. On a daily basis I do not miss the French baguette, the saucisson or the camembert as some of my fellow countrymen do but I admit that I missed the Foie Gras or the Boudin Blanc for Christmas and last year I was very annoyed not to have gone to Carrefour in Singapore to get a Galette des Rois (King’s Galette) on the 6th of January. The tradition of the King’s Galette is linked to the three Wise Kings in religion but, religious or not, these galettes pop up in the windows of all the bakeries in France shortly after Christmas until late January and disappear. It is of course impossible to find one in Australia so I decided to make my own. I really thought it would be more complicated to make.

Mr Emu

After Mr Barra and Mr Croc, I bring you Mr Emu! We went bag to the wildlife bush out of Darwin on that fine Saturday and continued to explore the rich flora and fauna the wet season brings. The number of birds flying in the sky, resting in the trees or grazing on the ground is particularly impressive. Then you have the usual kangaroos and wallabies, the lizards, let's avoid the snakes and crocs and come face to face with emu. Much less agressive than its cousin the cassowary.

It's Friday, it's fishy... It's fish!

I mentioned it on a few occasions on this blog before and here it is. The Barramundi, also known as Mr. Barra, is THE fish of the Northern Territory. Its name originates from the aboriginal word meaning "large-scaled river fish". It is actually not currently the season and the only Barra you can buy is frozen and as a result is not the best. From the different options to see some "alive" and "for real" are Aquascene in Darwin or the Aquariums that scatter the region.

Florence Falls

Darwin is surrounded by two popular parks. The biggest and most famous of them all is Kakadu but Lichtfield is smaller and nearer and thus more accessible from Darwin. It can be a bit tricky to visit Kakadu during the wet season as many roads are closed due to floods. But it is during this season (and actually even better at the end of the wet season) that the nature flourishes and both the fauna and flora become lush and abundant. Going to Lichtfield was a very nice way to start the year. The Florence falls you can see above are quite a relaxing and inspiring spot.