Paris pied à terre

I left Pearl's place earlyish, trying to beat the 40C heat.  I was gobsmacked at the new road leading north.  Who'd have thought that daggy, crowded South Road would become a concrete behemoth as it leaves the city.  At 7ish on a Saturday morning I had the road virtually to myself, but I could imagine tanks rolling in, gargantuan military hardware and goose stepping uniformed marchers.  Certainly took my mind off the forthcoming heat.

Quite a few kms out, it resumes being the highway I knew and loved as I regularly drove to and from Wentworth over 8 years ago.  It was my first opportunity to see the Riverland after the big floods.

I stopped for a look-see at Banrock Station, one of my favourite vineyards with its mud brick buildings and wetlands.  There was water as far as the eye could see, totally obliterating the 'wetlands'. The winery was in full swing with families happily breakfasting.  It was still early!  I was making good time.

My preparation for the Gobi Desert paid off and, for some reason, my non-functioning aircon managed a zephyr of cool air.  I pulled into Little Paris way ahead of schedule.

You may remember this book that I blogged about late last year.  Sandrine is a francophile who epitomises the philosophy it espouses.  She knows and uses every good thing that Mildura offers.  But it was very hot so for 2 or 3 days we did little but enjoy the airconditioned comfort of her new house.

a welcoming drink (Sandrine loves Italy too)

I got quite good at making these.

we also ate well

Flowers and Bobbin loved the art nouveau touches

I  loved my ensuite with the shower of my dreams

Sandrine walks early each morning.

I joined her later for breakfast on the terrace.

Madame S is also a garden designer.  She had the garden started well before the house was built.  The window sills provide the perfect tomato ripening ledges. I spent a wonderful cuppla days reading gardening books and the adventures of people living in Paris and on a barge in Amsterdam.

I also reacquainted  myself with this one which I had given Sandrine sometime ago just in case we never get around to the Santiago pilgrimage.  I have  now got it out of the library and am having some cunning ideas...

Of course we did venture out to cool venues sometimes.

We went to lunch at the Visitor Information Centre cum library cum aquatic centre to try their wonderful dumplings which we discovered weren't being made that day, the chef having been taken to hospital with chest pain - not food poisoning.  The panini, fortunately, were excellent as was the news that the chef is ok.

We bought breakfast pastries at Stefano's cafe where we met a man fascinated by a bum shaped peach.

Then on the Tuesday, the long anticipated drive to Wentworth to checkout our former home, Riverbank.

It is still strange to me to be in our once minimalist New York Room, now the rather frantic https://curlytree.com.au/pages/about-us .

Riverbank still looks the same from Wharf Road,

and I was very excited to meet the man converting the Wheeldons' shed into the gorgeous riverside house I always thought it could be.

We also saw the portable levee in place.  Steve and I had often wondered how this would work but the Darling never rose high enough while we lived in Wentworth.

The wharf is closed and poor John Egge sits paddling his feet.

The flood waters are now receding.

Wentworth has a rather abandoned air, admittedly it was another 40C day and people were probably bunkering down.  I got the feeling that businesses are following the  council offices and moving to Buronga / Gol Gol.  Perhaps Wentworth is becoming a riverside housing estate.

neither of these businesses are now in Wentworth

I recalled my true self,

and my true home

but not before we used up some Frangelico left by a former visitor with the instruction to mix it with lime juice and soda.  Very strange.

Also following instructions, I made a cheery toadstool from the origami pack that Pearl had given me as a farewell present, and left it with Sandrine's umbrella - rain was forecast. Once again I packed my car as though crossing the Gobi, but rain came overnight with some slightly cooler weather.  After a pit stop to pick up nourishing pastries from Stefano, I was on the road again, Geelong bound.