Dear Australia,
I love you. You raised me, bathed me in sunlight and blessed me with beautiful beaches, an awesome lifestyle and my treasured family and friends, but I am sorry, I am leaving you. This little holiday at home has been magical, but the time has come, and I am going back to my adopted country, France.
Now, don’t be like that; please don’t be jealous, we absolutely cannot compare the two of you. And don’t be so presumptuous please- it’s not the wine I’m leaving you for. It’s also not the amazing markets and restaurants, nor is it for the fashion. You did everything right, my dear homeland, but you did one thing wrong. There is just one thing missing in this relationship…. Let me explain…
Chère France,
I love you, too. And I am coming back to you, if you will take me. How you have such a strong pull on me, honestly I don’t know. In reality, you treat me kinda mean. You’re painfully cold 6 months of the year. You make me drink too much wine, eat too much bread and not do enough exercise. You made me tolerant of passive smoking, and living in overpriced shoebox-sized flats. You make me spend too much money on pretty things I probably don’t need. Your metro is an efficient but dehumanising experience. Your lovely pebbled pavements ruin my stiletto heels and your thousands of poodles leave their sh*t everywhere. Too many of your shopkeepers are rude and obnoxious; your Michelin star waiters refuse to serve me real cappuccinos and most of your café coffee sux.
OK OK … maybe that was a little rough, after all, for a love letter, this didn’t start so well. No need to be insecure. I do love your amazing fashion, and strolling around the city at night is like living in a walking museum. Your effortless elegance, manicured gardens and romantic summer nights certainly wooed me, but that is not why I am taking you back. I’m coming back, my dear France because you offer me in abundance one thing Australia cannot – real cheese.
That’s right baby. Unpasteurised, unhomogenized, unadulterated, raw milk, artisanal, wonderful… CHEESE! Fresh ones, aged ones, soft ones, hard ones, stinky ones, mild ones… I’m only just getting started. You know you’ve got what I need my love, and over 400 of them….
So yes, you won me over.
Yours truly,
Rachel
At Rungis Markets, Paris with a 'Mega Mont d'Or'
And so there we have it. Going home after almost two years in the land of wine and cheese, I have returned as a changed woman. Arriving in Sydney was like walking into my hometown with a brain transplant. My country has not changed a lot, but I have evolved enormously. I’m the same person, with different eyes, and slightly evolved tastebuds. A new language, a million crazy stories, hundreds of new friends and bank accounts in multiple countries.
Out of habit, one of the first things I did was to check out the cheese selection at the local delis and department stores (like, isn’t that what we all do)? Wasn’t that just a depressing experience? Hate to say it but Australia really is the communist Cuba of fromage. We are living in the height of cheese communism. How can such a developed and progressive country still have strict bans on raw milk production? As long as Australia keeps a ban on raw milk cheese production, I’m going to have a hard time living there!
So I’ve decided to do something about it. Next month I’m launching a campaign in conjunction with Slowfood International and Australia’s top chefs to lobby against the ban on Raw Milk production and sale in Australia- the principle thing preventing artisan cheese makers cultivating a rich and diverse industry. Let’s support local producers and artisans and support the freedom of choice over what natural raw foods we have access to.
Watch this space and stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, check out some reading material on the issue here, and while you’re at it, join my Facebook Cheese Fanclub ☺
See you at the Paris fromagerie!
Rachel
xox
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Great post Rachel, yeah I know exactly what you mean. Many homes, many pieces of heart everywhere. Im not sure if the world has became small or we became bigger so we can reach all this experiences. Anyways I guess we re lucky to be able to live all them.
Welcome back to France, , Paris or Lyon, whatever, actually you should came to Lyon , there are very nice things here to see, specialy cheese, st marcelin, st felicien and so on. Wish you a nice trip back to France!
Hello Rachel. Welcome back in France. Heureuse de te lire et de lire que le fromage a été le moteur de ton retour, très rigolo. Sympa ce partenariat avec slowfood, je croise les doigts.
On se voit quand tu veux.
NB : il n’y a pas tant de crottes de chien dans les rues de Paris… C’était pire, bien pire avant !!!! ,;=)
Loved this post — as evidenced by my own blog name, I relate totally to that Sydney-Paris heart in two homes (actually three for me, now, as I’ve added England — and its own yummy cheeses! to the mix).
Pleased to have discovered your blog (and you on Twitter!) and look forward to exploring more. Good luck with the Aussie cheese campaign! We’re headed back to Sydney for a while next month.
Cheers and happy travels.