So what do you pack when you travel? How much does the contents of your suitcase vary between your outward journey and the return?
Our suitcases are carrying wine on the outward journey -- 3 bottles each, which is the limit you can bring into Australia. For a glimpse of what we carried home to France in December 2012, take a look at these photos.
My suitcase: top right, a hat -- all the women in my family have this wonderful brand of crushable sun hat. Below that a box of
VitaWeats, a cracker that you can only get in Australia. A couple of books, borrowed from
Niall and Antoinette, that I had already read on the flight over. A tube of citrus scented gel, a gift from a friend, and great for tired feet. The blue centre bottom is my bathing suit. The two objects wrapped in white plastic bags top and bottom left are skin care products in bulk dispensers -- one body lotion, the other sunscreen. You just can't get this size pump action dispenser in France.
Simon's suitcase: on the left some neoprene booties which he bought to protect his feet while doing aqua-aerobics at the Australian Institute of Sport. Some socks and T-shirts. Ventolin for his asthma. A pair of sandals and a pair of jeans. In the middle, a full sized Australian flag -- Simon's parents were having a clear out, and we thought the flag might come in handy. In the plastic bag are some books, also from his parents, with sentimental value.
***************************************
A la cuisine hier: Tomato soup, simple and satisfying, especially if served with croutons sprinkled with a bit of cheese.
********************************************
Au jardin hier: Sweet cherries, two of the sour cherries, pears and plums are all flowering. Pears and plums look good, but my impression is that the sweet cherries are not flowering very heavily this year.
*****************************************
Nature News: The first of the Claise Valley orchid species,
Early Purps (as anglo naturalists refer to them), have begun flowering.
4 comments:
my suitcases r filled with food going both ways....to France I take big Costco bags of pecans, and hot sauce for my daughter....coming back I bring cheese (once it was 5 camemberts), sometimes salt or lavender products...once i even brought cans of quenelles in sauce nantua (because u cant get here)
I always take clothes back to France, because in the U.S. clothes are of good quality, are much less expensive than in France, and fit me better. I also take back grocery and drugstore items (paracetamol, non-prescription allergy medicines, etc.). To America I bring wine, Speculoos cookies, and good Dijon mustard, because various relatives like those items especially.
Melinda: ah, yes. Cheese. Always an adventure. Camembert is probably OK in a suitcase, Pont l'Eveque, not so much...
Ken: I brought home clothes this time too -- not because they were necessarily cheaper, but I've gone down two sizes and was fed up with baggy clothes. Being in Australia meant I had some time to spend shopping (which I get bored with very quickly and so avoid normally). We get deliveries of inexpensive painkillers from the UK, brought over by kind friends.
efficient. I tend to bring mostly books, even when I swear, like food, other places have that, I still bring.
Post a Comment