Bizarre Things Packed in my Suitcase

Bizarre Things I've Packed in my Suitcase

When packing for a trip to France I usually follow my own advice and my various packing tips in my posts and guides 

• Paris Packing Guide – Essential Tips For The Perfect Wardrobe
• 10 Simple Packing Tips For International Travel; and
• 8 Tips on How to Look Parisian and Not a Tourist... however, this trip my suitcase looks different, very different. Some things may seem bizarre, but once you know what they're for, I think it will make more sense. It does to me, and I thought you might like to get an insider's view of how planning ahead and doing what might seem bizarre can be necessary when living between two homes in both hemispheres. Believe me, it can get a little weird and wacky at times!

After spending a few months in Australia, during which I cruised to New Caledonia (all in the name of research for new blog posts!), I'm heading back to France with my family to our country home in the Côtes d'Armor region of Brittany.

We plan to enjoy the last of summer, the dramatic changing colours of autumn, time in the garden, long lunches and family excursions to, as yet undiscovered by us, quaint towns in and around our region.

Two Hair Wigs and Jackie O Vintage Clothing

This year again while in France, we'll be ducking across the channel via Brittany Ferries to attend Goodwood Revival, a three-day festival held each September at the Goodwood Racing Circuit. There'll be all types of racing cars and motorcycles that would have competed during the circuit's original period of 1949-1966. It's one of the biggest classic car race meets of the world and is described as:

"The only historic motor race meeting to be staged entirely in a period theme, Goodwood Revival is an immersive celebration of iconic cars and fashion." - Goodwood Revival Offical Website

Our family has been attending this incredible car racing event for years and we all have fun dressing in period clothing and driving around in our classic Lotus 23B. In case you're wondering what it looks like to attend this car racing event, here's a collection of outfits we've worn.

When in Adelaide on a recent trip I scoured second hand shops and vintage stores looking for an authentic 'new' outfit to wear to Goodwood. I hit the jackpot in A Star is Worn recycled store when I found a vintage A-line dress and matching coat reminiscent of the stylish fashion of Jackie Kennedy and a mint green (fashionable at the time) day coat. 

Deciding to do something radically different this year, I opted to ditch a matching vintage pillbox hat and go for a wig instead. Turning my short black hair into a 60s voluminous beehive hairstyle was going to require more skill than I could manage. So I investigated the world of wig wearing.

With the very helpful ladies from Bonnie Wigs in the Adelaide Arcade, we planned a new look and after a few hours of trying on wigs and setting hair, I ended up with two wigs, hair net, pins and a wig grip neatly packaged and ready to pop into my suitcase bound for Sydney and then later, the UK via France.

Turning the clock back to the 60s is the mission this Goodwood Revival, so while my husband and sons will be donning their woollen caps, silk cravats and brogues, I'll be teasing my beehive and slipping my feet into pointy court shoes as we head off to watch period Porsche, Jaguar and Ferrari cars scream and roar their way around one of the greatest race tracks in the world.

And that's why I have two wigs and vintage clothing packed in my suitcase.

'Magic' Globes

I've wished for a while now to have two extra power points installed into our lounge room walls to plug in lamps and create a soft glow. Our house walls are made of stone and over a metre thick so we think twice, at least, before committing to any electrical work. It's not so simple to just 'add another quick' power point in the wall, even though you really wish it was.

So when I saw 'magic' globes advertised, I knew it could be the end of extension leads, electrician fees and no dust by drilling through the stone walls... Yay!

Don't know what I'm talking about? Well, they are not magic - no surprise there really - but are pretty nifty all the same. Magic globes are light bulbs that are powered by LED batteries but have a screw-in bottom so that you can screw them into any lamp base. This is useful if you have an old lamp with an electrical cord that doesn't work as you are in theory only using the lamps' socket holder to hold the battery powered globe in place. So as if by 'magic' your globe will light up without any need for mains electricity. 

The hunt began to buy magic globes for myself a couple of months ago when I was last in France. "Never heard of them" was the answer at Leroy Merlin (French hardware store) when I asked about them, "must be new - we don't have them" I was told at Bricomarché (another French hardware store), not found in Carrefour or E.Leclerc supermarchés and also not available at any of my local lightning stores - so much for searching in France for these globes. The magic was wearing thin by this stage!

Amazon is always an option, but not Amazon.fr because they don't sell them. Amazon.uk had them, but the shipping was four times the already inflated price of the globes and by the time the globes arrived at my house, I could have eaten out at a Michelin Restaurant... alright, maybe not a full meal, but you get the picture! I just couldn't bring myself to do this. 

So guess what I did? As soon as I arrived back in Australia, I bought from Amazon.au a few packets of magic globes and adapters (to give me options to interchange between bayonet and screw-in fittings, mostly because I can't remember whether the lamps in my French lounge room are bayonet style or screw-in), all for a fraction of the price. Challenge met successfully!

Now all I have to do is get these globes which are still in their boxes and carefully packed in my suitcase amongst some linen (embroidered by my granny) to the house and then install them and Voila - I'll be sitting in my lounge room basking in the soft glow of my lamps and feeling very happy with myself!

Retro Chess Set

Sounds silly to take a chess set all the way from Australia to France, I get that, but I have my reasons. Anthony, my youngest son, and I have started playing chess together regularly and I love the time we spend together ('cos it's usually a long game) and if I'm really honest, I'm also hoping to stave off any pre-disposition I have to dementia. My father suffers terribly from an early-ish onset of the disease and together with my blog writing and various other brain activities, I'm trying to live my best life while I can and keep my mind active. 

Also, I got slightly hooked on 'The Queen's Gambit', a 2020 American period miniseries based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. Following the life of an orphan chess prodigy and her quest to become an elite chess player while struggling with mental and health issues, I determined to learn the rules and start playing.

At home in Newcastle (Australia), we have a polished board with beautiful resin pieces, our classic board, and also a Harry Potter LEGO board with chess pieces which Anthony had fun building. Quite by accident one day, I found a retro sky-blue and creme chess set in the book and games store Harry Hartog, and knew instantly that this would be a perfect chess game for our lounge room in France. It's delicate colours will blend well and it doubles up as a decorating item on our linen ottoman in front of the fireplace.

Now when Anthony arrives in early September to join me at the house, I know we'll have fun playing chess together and chatting over a G&T or Kir Royale. And that's why I have a box with a new chess set in my suitcase this trip. 

Antique Silver Knife Rests

Finding gorgeous antiques in France is something I love doing, in fact I've even written a couple of blog posts on how to do it Finding French Antiques and Vintage Items in France and Marche Saint-Ouen (les Puces), Paris - The Largest Antique Market in the World. However, even though I've fossicked in vide-greniers, brocantés and markets in Normandy, Paris, Brittany, Provence and even the Durtal International Antique Fair, I've not found my perfect knife resting set.

The use of knife rests is said to date back from the early 18th Century and possibly the late 17th century. When the gentry and ruling classes sat down to a meal, they typically could have up to 12 courses and most likely only had one knife and fork per person.

To keep the table or tablecloth clean, they would rest their cutlery on a piece of wood, but in later times, it was on more intricate and delicate designs made from precious materials like silver or gold, mother of pearl, or carved horn or ivory. 

Secondhand and antique pieces I've found and use in my home

Knife rests were made for the wealthy to match the pattern on their chinaware, or made from crystal cut to match the pattern of their glasses. They are a collectible item now and you'll find sets either still in their box, or loose at many markets, fairs or brocantes.

However, I'd not found a set I loved that had enough pieces for my table setting, until by chance I found an antique solid silver set on Etsy while in Australia. So you guessed it, these knife rests are packed in my suitcase and coming with me this trip. 

While it would have been nice to have found just what I wanted in a tiny, quaint French antique store, I'm not hung up about that sort of thing, and I'm just happy that when my family sits down to our next meal in France, we'll have somewhere to place our knifes as we enjoy each other's company and each food course prepared in our little French kitchen. Sometimes it's the little things!

I've a few other interesting things in my Samsonite carry-on bag, but that's maybe a story for another day.

Au revoir and I'll see you in France...

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