Time for something a little different

June 18, 2012 at 5:28 pm | Posted in madagascar, musings | 1 Comment
Tags: Madagascar

So… I disappeared off from the blog. I’ve not stopped baking- in fact have done lots of baking – but have not had time to write about it because the last few months have been rather dominated by work (and baking for work).
But I’ve escaped work for 3 weeks and am currently in transit to a small place called Mandritsara in Madagascar where some very wonderful friends of mine work in a hospital. I’m going to be spending 2 weeks Peter, Clairelise and their 2 girls hanging out and sharing on their lives. And as this trip is the result of the 2012 resolution to be be a bit more adventurous I hope you don’t mind me using the blog set up under my 2010 resolution as a place to share my thoughts on fulfilling this resolution!
This is a bit of an epic adventure. And like any serious journey it involved setting out at 4:30am yesterday (Sunday) morning for a day on a plane. First heathrow to Paris and then Paris to Antananarivo finally arriving at my hotel sometime after midnight!
The major discovery from yesterday’s travel is that Air France does good food (although perhaps not a surprise when I think about it). The croissant handed out on the hop to Paris was proper- buttery, crisp and light. And the chocolate cake served on the long hail flight was an amazing dark chocolate cake with only enough flour to provide structure and not distract from the high quality chocolate! (the haagan daz ice-cream served as a snack was also a good touch). Think the only time I’ve had better food on a plane was an upgrade to business class on a work trip to the USA.
And what of Madagascar? Today I’ve been taking in easy. But went for a walk around to see some of ‘Tana. I was struck by the French colonial legacy of bakery- the market stalls sell croissants and baguettes!
There are many profound things to be said about this country- and perhaps I’ll even write some down. But right now- I’m enjoying the warm welcome of a lovely hotel and looking forward to heading up country tomorrow on a mission aviation fellowship flight to Mandritsara.
Hopefully I’ll get some time later in the trip to tell you more about my trip- no doubt with a food angle!