Last night

Last night was a very long night...where to start?
Our friend "V" and his girlfriend own the most fabulous restaurant that has become very "du moment". Last night we were treated to their best table located on the private dining deck with views over the entire bay and port area. It was honestly breathtaking watching the sun set, sipping on champagne, eating fresh oysters surrounded by some of my nearest and dearest in France...oui, la vie est belle!
My very talented friends who are both architects were present along with our good friend the interior/exterior designer and of course "HRH", "V" and his partner (the restaurant owners) and myself. As expected the food was divine...(especially the oysters!) and also as expected after 3 Gin Fizz's (and several bottles of champagne) I was well on my way before the entrees had even arrived!
Cut to the end of the meal- and everyone has decided they ARE ALL coming to India as well...our friends the architects have practically signed the contract to overseee the plans for the hotel in Udaipur and my designer friend has booked a flight to come and assist as project manager in September!
I am thrilled of course, as you can imagine the idea of having more friends along to share in our Indian adventure the better. But I never imagined they would ALL be keen to come along and so soon into the piece! The wine flowed, trays of food came and went and all in all it was just fabulous.
But...that's not where the night ended is it?

My assets...

Just inspected my ass as I was walking out the door for our "big night out" and have realised the situation is far worse than I first thought. It's dire. I could either a) invest in some of those awful spanx contraptions or b) wear 12 inch heels to elongate my legs (tricking everyone into thinking I'm a glamazon) or c) forget it all and just get drunk before I leave, solving all my problems in one foul swoop! Yes I know I'm terribly politically incorrect...so bloody sue me. Garcon? Get me 2 drinks please...oui, oui j'ai dit deux!

To detox or not to detox?

Sooo looking forward to a night out with some of my hilarious french friends this evening. Especially my very close friend "V". Unfortunately we always seem to get into trouble whenever he's around... I wonder why? All the local socialites around town seem to call him "The Pimp" whatever the hell that means. I've certainly never seen any prostitutes hanging around him so am completely baffled as to how he got that nick name...
Anyhow must remember not to overindulge tonight...possibility of that? Zero, in all honesty. The food is always too delicious and the cocktails just seem to keep appearing on the table. I take no responsibility for any of it.
Hmmm what to wear? So bloody hot out there that you could get away with a bikini and not much else  ;-)
How the hell will I cope in Mumbai? Those saris can get quite heavy...perhaps a salwaar kameeze is a little lighter?
Will fill you in on what we get up to tonight of course. Can only imagine!
Seriously considering a detox pre Cap Ferret and post big night out though. Bloody boring I know, I know...
P.S Hello to you all from Germany, Sudan, Botswana, Dubai and now Nigeria too!

Gym?

Mumbai...wow, really? I'm actually starting to get quite nervous/excited about it all. Twenty seven days till we arrive apparently. S#*t. This is really going to happen...it has all seemed like a dream up till now. Like I have been sleep walking my way through all the preparations leading up to our new life.
On arrival we will have to find somewhere to live, attend the boys school orientation day, join our leisure club of choice (toss up between "Waterstones" or Breach Candy club), then we will need to have our container delivered, pick up our two cats from the airport, secure a driver and house keeper, fly to Udaipur to begin design approval meetings for the hotel and catchup with our business partners. All pretty straight forward...well here's hoping. Fingers crossed. So many questions. So many variables.
My mother (Queenie's mother or "QM") and her partner and my darling brother have all informed us that they can make it to Mumbai for christmas. So, as you can expect we are over the moon! I'll also have to start organising the itinerary for their 3 week sejour once I get settled. Will probably do a week in Mumbai for christmas etc and then fly down to Udaipur to show them the building site. We will then head onto Jaipur, Agra- to see the Taj Mahal (bien sur) and then hopefully onto Varanasi with them. I am especially looking forward to going to such a spiritual place with my family...will be amazing for the little princes to share it all with their loved ones.

We are off to Cap Ferret again this summer! Next week we will be renting a gorgeous beach house with our french friends and have quite a few others flying over from London to join in the festivities. Some right characters they are too...we have my glamourous gilfriend who is an actress, we have our friend the scientist (rather mad with a penchant for punk music), the fabulous couple who are both well entrenched in the British fashion industry and my girlfriend from high school who owns her own ad agency in London. It is going to be absolute madness...I can only imagine. Most of us will be in need of a serious detox after that week I can assure you. My liver hurts just thinking about it all.
And perhaps I should do a little exercise before our "vacances a Cap Ferret?" That would mean heaving myself up off my sun lounger and going to the gym...Hmmmm. They might have a gorgeous personal trainer just waiting to whip me into shape? After two kids my ass has certainly seen better days. Maybe the cut out bikini wasn't the best purchase after all? Oh shit. It's all too much for me right now. Stuff it. I need another drink. Garcon? Where the hell did he get to?
Oh and just as an aside...I am absolutely disgusted at the entire "Casey Anthony" case. Absolutely revolting. Some people just do not deserve to be parents in this world. Namely: Casey Anthony. Karma is all I can say for now. KARMA. Makes me so mad!!! NOW I need a bloody drink...for sure.

Introducing the family

Ok so firstly, hello to all the readers from India, France, Italy, Fiji, Canada, The U.K, Korea, Australia, The U.S of A and a little place called New Zealand that I absolutely adore! I was completely overwhelmed by all of the messages I received yesterday... Don't forget to follow the page if you intend on reading more to make it easier to find us again! It appears I have a few unanswered questions for all of you. So I thought I would share more about who we are.

Queenie (That's Moi)
Age: None of your god damned business. But I'm not long out of my twenties!
Birthday: April 4th
Languages spoken: English, French and Hindi (Okay I have some hindi classes booked in already as I need a little brush up)
Hair colour: Black
Wine of choice: Veuve Clicquot Rose Champagne
Most likely to splurge on: luxury cars, holiday homes, kids designer clothing, Jo Malone or Diptique candles and... okay, Christian Louboutin shoes and Chloe handbags too (if you're asking me to be really honest.)
Go to song after a few drinks: "Stuck in the middle with you" by Stealers Wheels


His Royal Highness (HRH- the hubby)
Age: Not too keen to divulge that one either but lets just say that he had a fantastic 40th party not too long ago!
Birthday: November 5th
Languages spoken: English and French (but his french is always better after several glasses of vino!)
Hair colour: Brown...ahem, well it was once.
Wine of choice: Chateauneuf du Pape
Most likely to splurge on: luxury cars and overseas holiday homes. And yes he has his sights on a small palace in India to do up...sigh not another renovation.
Go to song after a few drinks: "Born this way" by Lady Gaga...hmmm don't ask.


HRH and I have been married for 11 years now...it just sounds far too long doesn't it? We got married in a palace in India and then honeymooned at the Lake Palace in Udaipur. It was sickeningly enough just like a fairytale. Sounds like a whole lot of B.S but it's true...awww- even I feel nauseous just reading it. Two years later "Prince M" came along and then 3 years after that out popped "Lil G". And what do you know? We had suddenly made our own little house on the prairie.
Somewhere before the wee princes arrived so did "KCM" my little brother. Literally- he just showed up on our doorstep one day. "HRH" was thrilled to have another "man" in the house (well just barely a man as he was still a teenager!) And before we knew it my brother was a permanent fixture in our home. Ten years later and I have only just coped with the fact that he has fled the nest. Lord help me when it comes time for the princes to leave. Oh God, I think I need another drink just thinking about it all.


Ooh bfore I forget, I have some fabulous news to tell you next time! Not enough time right now so will save it for tomorrow.  Right, I'm off to get a drink at the bar. Too hot to sit out here anymore- was 41 degrees the other day! Just nabbed myself a fab new sunhat...don't tell "HRH" he already thinks I have about 5 too many. Now, back to a drink....I think I need a spritzer (with a twist of gin perhaps?) Garcon?

My fantastic new "theme" song

So last night one of my very best friends here in France invited me over to his jaw droppingly beautiful apartment. He is very high up in interior design/architecture and has one of those fabulous "of the moment" abodes. His latest addition being a rooftop outdoor bar with a 360 degree view of the city...it is honestly to die for.

So where was I? Right, yes- anyhow he invited me over to celebrate the new business venture in India. He is absolutely obsessed with the hotel we plan to build in Udaipur and announced to everyone at the soiree that he was dedicating this song as "my theme song!" I have to say that I was quite thrilled to be the centre of attention at one of his shindigs as they are always swarming with fabulously eccentric characters. Like playwrights, European aristocrats and once even a really successful porn star.Well that was a crazy night...or what I remember of it at least.
Since last night though, I can't seem to stop listening to "my song" and decided it had to be shared with you all. "HRH" has been driven mad with it playing all morning poor thing! So without much further ado I give you "The lake of Udaipur" by Le Tone. I love the clip btw. Think it has that actress out of "Bend it like Beckham" at the beginning? Is it?
Anyway I'm off to grab a bite to eat with said darling friend from last night. My shout of course as a remerciement for the lovely evening he threw in my honor. I wonder if the restaurant serves Bloody Mary's before midday? Surely...

Research?

So I bumped into my gorgeous girlfriend the other night when we were out and about for "aperitifs" and of course one thing lead to another...before I knew it, it was 3am and we were topless dangling off the back of their boat. I say boat but know that yacht is the correct term to be used. I'm not really into boating. All I know is that it was far too large to have been docked in the quaint little port we found ourselves in and the french locals seemed none too impressed. Of course that could have also had something to do with the very loud music coming from the yacht and the fact that "His Royal Highness" (my hubby) kept peeing off the back. Yes, I was slightly embarassed but "HRH" is generally quite harmless...Except of course when he fell off the yacht, heaved himself up onto one of the wee wooden fishing boats nearby, cut his foot open, screamed- and then sadly managed to crack the fishing boat in half. I don't really know how he managed the last bit but yes, well...enough said about that. We did leave them a bottle of champers on the still floating half of the boat to make up for it.
Anyhow the topic of conversation of course lead onto our upcoming travels and I was more so embarassed about the fact that I knew shit all of nothing really, about Mumbai. I mean, of course I've been to India before...I did get married in a palace somewhere in Rajasthan you know. Well- so did Liz Hurley and Katy Perry so nothing special there. But I had never really lingered in Mumbai as such.
My girlfriends gorgeous husband had just gotten back from Mumbai on business raving about his favourite bar Aer. (Will have to give it a whirl myself!) After talking to him for a while I realised I was completely unaware of how India is likely to emerge from this decade as the second largest consumer market in the world, with a buying middle class numbering over half a BILLION...holy shit, yes I just said BILLION. It turns out "HRH" was actually onto something with this whole Indian project of ours. Thank god.

The Indian economy is already the fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity in the world and in the top ten in overall gross national product. I learn't those last facts from my latest purchase (no not the new Fendi boots!) but my new book. "Being Indian" by P.K Varma. I thought I needed to do a little research on where I'm actually moving to. Most of my perceptions on India seem to be rather archaic these days. What about yours? But still...the disparity of wealth will be a tough one to cope with. How can you just walk past poverty without stopping to help in some way? I don't know if I could do that...well, we'll soon see I suppose. Surely "HRH" won't mind if we adopt some beautiful little babies without homes?
Anyway, I'm just going to settle down on my sun lounger and peruse the pages of Mr Varma's book...of course there's one last thing I need right now. A drink. Where did that waiter get to? Garcon..?