I’m sorry not to have posted for a while – I’m clearly not as committed a blog writer as Rod, although I have had limited access to the internet, so that’s my excuse…
Before I left France, I squeezed in a couple more art museums, and had the privilege of going to an amazing jazz ‘soiree’ in the gardens of a beautiful old building. I then caught the tail end of a street festival which appeared to be a combination of a pagan summer solstice celebration and a commemoration to John the Baptist. It involved dancing around a huge bonfire in the middle of one of the town squares, people dressed in traditional costume and general good humour and bonhomie amongst the townspeople.
A train trip back to Charles de Gaulle airport allowed me four hours of countryside viewing, and then a few hours hanging around before my flight to Kenya (via Abu Dhabi).
And then home :). I know Australia is my home now, but having been born and spent my childhood and early adhulthood here in Kenya, it is definitely in my blood.
The main purpose of the trip to my homeland was to attend the wedding of a lovely young couple – Suzy and Pete. Suzy is the youngest daughter of my oldest friend, Wendy, and I am delighted to have been able to attend. I must say that it was a most beautiful wedding, held deep in the African bush. It was effectively a three day event, which was wonderful and gave people the chance to get to know each other, and for the bride and groom to spend quality time with all of their guests, many of whom had come from UK, Australia and from far flung parts of Kenya. We stayed in a safari lodge, some of us in cabins and others in tents (including me). We had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities including game drives as well as game spotting from camel or horseback as well as on foot. I went on a few game drives, and was delighted by a herd of elephants that had the tiniest baby amongst them. Ah, joy.
As the wedding ceremony, held on the banks of a river, drew to a close, a couple of hippos surfaced and a beautiful rainbow adorned the rapidly storm-charged and blackening sky. Luckily the rain held off until most people were back at the lodge for the reception. Then it poured!!!
Celebrations lasted through to the wee small hours with drinking, dancing, and laughter. I gave up at around 2am, and was escorted by an askari (guard) back through the bush to my tent (a necessary precaution given that we were in the middle of a game reserve, and a lion had been through camp the previous night).
The parents of the bride have been hosti g over 20 of us in their home in Nairobi and then at their farm at Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley