Bonne Anne...

Bonne Anne...

Had a great Xmas week with brother Stephen and family.... lots of good food wine and country jaunts. Images from very cold day at Pont De Gard and St Remy De Provence where Vincent was interned for a year and churned out 150 paintings! Leaving early Tuesday for five days in Florence and then meeting friends for a week in Venice then some snow time in Chamonix!

Xmas Eve...

Local expat Brit artists Tod and Kate put on a huge and amazing Party for Xmas eve that left me and other in tatters and worst ever hang over... Oysters Paella Wine Games No Sleep.... great ambition... no idea...

Rose and Evie in Paris

Few images of Rose and Evie in the snow in Paris.... shopping.....

Happy Xmas to all......

Rose and Evie off today for a couple of days in Paris shopping in the snow... We have been having fun locally including hunting for game to fill the pot, making wine and packing. Brother Stephen and family here this week for festivities and numerous gatherings. Happy festive season to all....

Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks | Video on TED.com

Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks | Video on TED.com

Amour Paris....

Fantastic long weekend in Paris with friends. Highlight was a very extensive retrospective of Basquiat paintings from the 80's and some quality dining experiences. Cold now and snow throughout country.... awaiting a flurry down south and hopeful for Xmas. Brother Stephen and family here for a week of festive indulgence and village life on Xmas eve .... Rose in Corsica again this weekend to do final blend for the Vermentino wine and is also looking at doing a Rosé in Provence. Planning departure for Italy January 4.

Going Troppo ....

Had a great time with Giles and Suzanne who left for Spain on Sunday. Had a last hoorar at the village bar with friends and crazy locals. Then onto huge thanksgiving lunch that lasted 10 hours and ended up in drinking games with inevitable consequences. Rose and I going with Danielle and Nikolai to Paris for a long weekend this Friday, kid free! There is a Cy Twombly exhibition at the new Gagosian Paris Gallery, a major Basquiat retrospective at the Musee de art Modern and the Pompidou has a Gabriel Orozco exhibition - should be fun!

Pont du Gard

Many adventures this week but none to surpass the Roman built Pont du Gard. One of the greatest roman engineering achievements. We are being treated this weekend to a huge thanksgiving dinner with a couple of American writers living in the village who have become good friends. We are fully settled in and now all reluctant to leave except Evie! Still coming home but who knows what the future holds...

Looking for Bouillabaisse...

Exploring Marseilles with Giles and Suzanne and the Uzes market for supplies. Getting cold but sunny days on the whole. Village life is great - hanging out with some cool people, consuming too much van rouge and generally getting into the swing of things. So many artists and loving the easy access to Europe. Pulled Evie out for some home schooling as she is getting hassled by girls in local school - much happier. All others are progressing well with language and loving new friendships.

More Corsica....

David Byrne....

David Byrne on architectures influence on music on TED - cool site!

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_byrne_how_architecture_helped_music_evolve.html

Corsican Feast....

Returned last night from Corsica where Rose is putting together a white Vermentino for Ulithorne - its a beautiful refreshing white wine variety and is widely grown on both Corsica and Sardinia... will be a good addition to the brand. She also has a mission to find a quality Rosé from Provence and maybe a Tempranillo from Rioja Spain. The plan being to source single variety organic grapes from the best sites in the world for that variety, make a great wine with the grower and put them under our label - also a good excuse to travel. The 5 hour boat ride over to Corsica was a bit rough for the kids but we loved the Island's rugged interior and villages on the West coast. It would be great to sail around - next time. Rose has to go over again in December to do the final blend but that wine should be back in Australia in March next year.

Copenhagen Danish....

Have had 2 days here which was definitely not enough but did see a great Anselm Kiefer exhibition just up North. Images attached. Back into the fold tomorrow then Tuesday we are all driving to Nice and getting the Ferry to Corsica where Rose is making some wine with a local dude....

Munich.....

I was in Munich for 2 days and have taken in so much quality art....my feet and mind are in overload.... images of Cy Twombly work from Brandhorst Museum which was amazing and then onto a portrait exhibition of Marlene Dumas..... it couldn't get any better. Landed in Copenhagen this am and seeking contemporary art and design.....