After work swims

A swim and a spot of SUP at 5pm. Perfect!

Crevettes

The other day I swung past the Market to see whether they're open on Christmas Day. For me, Christmas Day is the 25th - here most of the celebrating (and more importantly eating) happens on the 24th. Yes - the market's open on the 25th. We will be deciding on our meal on the 25th, it will depend on what goodies have come in on the boats that morning.

As I was there, I couldn't resist buying some prawns for dinner. This time I made a delicious nasi goreng. My prawn-shelling speed has increased enormously since we arrived. Now I can get a kilo done in under 10 minutes.

This year the prawns are a bit late and somewhat smaller than usual. I'm not sure why, but they are still absolutely delicious!

Bon Appetit!

Shades of blue

The sea and all the shades of blue really are gorgeous here. I was just looking over my blog and realised it had been a while since I'd included some lovely sea pics. So here we are.

The Ile of Pines, the Marina beside the Market in Noumea and Lifou. If I had a few more free minutes every day I would find myself a good little possy to settle down and watch the changing shades of blue of the ocean. Some days I have to stop and savour the colours and just revel in the delight of living in this little corner of the Pacific!

I particularly like the one of Charles on the beach in Lifou. Yes, he's in his work gears. This was taken on a work trip - not a bad day in the office!

Quickies and Fast Food

Before we came to Noumea I struggled to imagine what it would be like. Everyone told me that it was super expensive and the shopping was awful - but the brochures described Hermes and L'Occitaine en Provence shops. Hmmmmm....

And to be honest my first trip to town was a bit of a shock. Beaten up old pavements, decrepit looking buildings. I remember telling my sister that I felt like I'd got off the plane in a tropical version of Gore. Yes - Gore in Southland, NZ. A friend's son had a small tanty when he realised his parents had brought him to a place with no...get this...escalators, and asked him to live there!

Two years on and I really enjoy my shopping trips in town. I've got used to it. There are no big malls which is great. I know the shops I want to go to and I will go straight to them. I've gotten over the fact that the prices are astronomical and now a shop is a real treat for something that I really need (or want). I shop differently to how I did at home. And I buy a lot on line!

Rather than focusing on what's missing, it's great to enjoy the warm breeze and linger in the Place des Cocotiers watching the guys doing hiphop and the ladies in their beautiful bright mission dresses.

And after a bit of shopping with the kids in tow - a challenge with strollers, dodgy pavements and shops that are all over the place - a bribe is often necessary. Fastfood works wonders.

Yes - there is a MacDo. It's expensive and there are two. An alternative is the Frenchie version of MacDo - Quick. Now I really don't like Quick for the food but it's a great place to have here. Look where it is! And the playground is the best indoor playground in all of Noumea. A great place to park up on the Terrace, lock the kids in the playground and soak in the view. Bliss.