We’re back in Melbourne. This is the final newsletter in the La Melonne series—I wanted to wrap up this project and mention future endeavors. We left Melbourne in May 2022 and arrived back in January 2023. We’re still catching our breath.
I really enjoyed writing about our journey. I’ve taken some quotes from my favourite newsletters below. From German Nude Spa, our visit to a German sauna:
The Sauna Meister entered the sauna room. He was in his sixties, with a grey crew cut and slightly bandied legs. His long, damp dungeon days had taken their toll on his toenails, which had receded as if in shock or protest. I laughed internally. Here was a man whose job it was to torture naked Germans in a wooden box. The Sauna Meister placed what looked like a snowball on each of his fire pits. Hisss. A murmur of appreciation came from the geriatric, perspiring crowd.
From, Horses For Main Courses, our visit to a French horse butcher or boucherie chevaline:
The butcher stepped out from the cutting room. No white hat. But he was very friendly. We explained our situation. Dan is a Kiwi recently obsessed with horsemeat. It’s his first foray away from the safety of Anglo meats and he wants to get his nose wet sampling your finest cuts, bonus points if the old nag was a racer or a veteran of the Kentucky Derby, but we’ll settle for a broken down Clydesdale if that’s all you’ve got.
From Bat Attack, our unfortunate night in Savoie:
‘There’s a bat in the room!’
Charlotte corralled the errant bat into the bathroom. She closed the door with a glint in her eye and a look of a mother who was not going to let a blood-sucking-bat near her baby and would employ any means necessary against this marauding mammal. I shuddered. Who was this savvy bat huntress?
In the chaos, I caught the baby as it slipped off the bed. Thank God.
Lastly, looking back at In Search of Lost Time, our visit to the Vide Grenier or flea market at Le Beausset, I do love the photography in this newsletter, as it captures the France I wanted to find, particularly the fountain shot and the busy alleyway scene.
Future Projects
I am visiting the Lost Trades Fair in Bendigo next month. I hope to write up my visit and profile some artisans—watch this space.
I’m brainstorming ideas for another newsletter. Stay tuned, folks.