Nice bits of Paris

The farmers are revolting

Here's the latest in political reportage from Paris - tractors!!


I know there's only two here at the Bastille, but there were around 1,300 of them, apparently. We must have stood and watched about 400 of them go past, with lots of beeping of horns, waving of flags and victory salutes from the crowd. It's safe to say they're really not very happy with Mr Sarkozy...

Eiffel Tower

The view from the top was definitely worth the wait for the elevators (and the inevitable tussle with grumpy Italian teenagers about the finer points of queue etiquette).



In other news, I appear to have bought an Eiffel Tower biscuit cutter from Dehillerin's. Oops.

Paris!

We've been sailing on the river (looking for houseboats with cars, gardens and patios on deck - oh, and the odd monument, natch) and cruising the Tuilleries for carousels. The strange woodland chap below was hiding out in the Tuilleries too, waiting for passing small children.

All the fun of the fair...

Ryton Rugby Club had a mini Hoppings last weekend, so M made good use of the Pony Express. It had to be a pink horse, of course...

Ol' Lunnon Town

...was looking rather photogenic on Monday night. I was staying near Millbank for a conference - this was taken from Lambeth Bridge. Westminster's not an area I've really been to before (I'm usually a Kensington or King's Cross/Holborn/Covent Garden girl), so it was good to have a wander round somewhere new. I was quite taken with some of the warren of streets behind Millbank and near Westminster Abbey - there were some rather fantastic hidden churches, and lots of lovely (and no doubt very expensive) houses.

You say potato...

We've had a bit of a potato fest this week. First of all, M planted some with her Grandad on Monday, then we did these at the allotment on Friday, and today we've been helping some friends do theirs. And we had roast potatoes and potatoes dauphinoise for tea. I'm potatoed out.

Spring is here! (part 9,487)

As you can tell, I get pretty excited by gardens in spring. It's all about bright lime green colours, an abundance of foliage and beautiful bulbs.

Here's my patently-not-very-abundant-as-yet new herb bed (rosemary, lemon balm, bay, sage, mint, curry plant and lavender). I got fed up of trogging down the back steps in the rain to the back yard to pick slug-ravaged plants, so I've installed them all in the front garden instead.


In fact, the slugs are going to have to make do with raspberry canes (which they don't appear to like), and mint (ditto). Sorry, chaps.

Easter decorations (part 2)

The chicks might not be the most sophisticated cake topping, but they made us all smile. No matter how you carefully arranged them, that one on the far right insisted on leaning at a drunken angle.

Recipe for the phenomenally chocolate-y tart over at Recipes for Millie.