Christmas spirit

"May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve."

Best X-mas gift this year. 

A Swiss touch in the kitchen

X-mas table decorations: simple, traditional and festive

We cannot go without the Italian Panettone 

Busy baking with Expat Girl

In remembrance of Nonna... struffoli fatti in casa!

Babà au rhum à la napolitaine.

Paris' Christmas windows

Every December many Parisians stroll down to the 9th arrondissement to admire the Christmas windows of the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, glittering and shining even at 10 am in the morning. Much to the childrens' delight many mechanical figurines make the windows even more exciting. 

I must be honest, despite Covid restriction I did venture out an hour to take a quick peak, it is a tradition I just cannot skip... especially during current times when the Christmas cheer is hard to come by.

I did not dare enter the department stores thinking I might be pushing my luck but it was a real treat to watch the toddlers standing in awe in front of the colourful windows... a true breath of fresh air for the lungs, for the mind and for the soul.

... and then we went into lockdown... again!

Friday afternoon and we are heading back to Paris early after a short half-term break. We cannot ignore the heavy feeling in our stomach. 

As of today France is on highest terrorist alert and on total lockdown. The only difference is that schools remain open as do the parks. However, if you live further away than 1km of a green space you won’t be able to reach it since the max radius to walk, run or grocery shop for necessities is 1000m.

We are heading into at least four more likely six weeks of staying home 24/7 except for the kids who - until further notice - are allowed to attend classes. 

Education is probably the main reason many parents are heading back to the Hexagon's capital this weekend given that most of us have been recommended to “télétravail” whenever possible. Nevertheless, over the past two days Paris has registered over 1000km of traffic jam heading OUT of the city!!!

Expat daughter who will be turning 18 soon is not happy because according to her these are suppose to be the best years of her life. Now that she is finally old enough to go out at night and meet up with her friends for a drink, she can’t even ride her bike to enjoy a bubble tea in the Marais with her besties!!!

Whatever the situation, it too will pass and as long as we stay healthy and safe we will come out the other end eventually... in the meantime I am stocking up on bottles of Prosecco and continuing my yoga classes online to keep sane. 

Happy Halloween

It’s a family affair...

When family calls you do not hesitate. When Neapolitan family requires your presence you do not have a choice! Therefore, the four of us travelled back to the roots over half-term... to bella Napoli... despite Covid. 

In order to enter the region of Campania we need to get tested, so 72 hours beforehand we diligently stood in line at a Parisian lab and the held up our heads to have a cotton swab poked up our nostrils. Ahhh, cosa non si fa per la famiglia?!?

All this to participate at my little niece’s first communion which in Southern Italy is nearly as important as a girl’s wedding. All the preparation had been made for a full blown bridal celebration but then had to be reduced to a handful of family members a few days before due to tightening of Covid regulations. Nevertheless, the main character of the day was happy because her cousins had defeated the odds and travelled from Paris just for her.

A short church service will lots of social distancing reminders and a scrumptious home-cooked feast at my sister-in-law's flat rather than the planned catered event in a smart castle (?!?) overlooking the Bay of Naples was marked by loud discussions about the pros and cons of the current political situation and the Covid-related suffering of the local economy. "La familia" was not completely reunited due to number restrictions but those of us who had managed to attend the gathering thoroughly enjoyed our short time together.

Bella guagliòna mia, tanti auguri per la tua Prima Comunione. Ti aspettiamo a Parigi... 

Vote! Vote! Vote!

It seemed vital last time around... back in 2016... when it was hard to believe that Donald Trump would actually win the US presidential elections... need I say more?

This time around casting my vote seems even more important. New York State has voted Democratic in national elections since 1988 so I am not sure how much of a difference my ballot will make but I have the freedom as well as the right to vote - a privilege not every citizen in this world can claim - so, I WILL VOTE!

A few months back, my teenage daughter asked me if she could participate at a black lives matter demonstration in Paris... after we had just been confined for 3 months due to Covid outbreak?!? Honey, get real! 

Instead I sat her down and asked her to join me while I registered to vote. There are ways and ways to make a difference and timing is everything! This weekend we sat down in front of the computer together casting my vote. However, Expat daughter was not impressed with the format and I don't blame her. 

Having to print your electronic ballot is one thing but having to tape your printed template of an envelope to send the other end of the pond seems mighty old-fashion for the world's leading technology power. Whatever the process might be, whatever nationality you are... if you have the privilege to vote.. USE IT!

Back to school

 

Expat with Kids recipes

Looking for some inspiration in your kitchen? Have some time to cook together with your kids during self-confinement? Why not check out my Expat with Kids Recipes blog?

I have a passion for cooking and a curiosity for any new recipe as long as it is easy, uncomplicated and fast to prepare. Desserts are my speciality but I can bash up a 5 course meal if I have to in a couple of hours.

I adore recipes and have been collecting them since my teens. Only few know, that tucked away I own a third blog called Expat with Kids Recipes. As of late, I have decided to blow some wind into its sails and have revamped the site entirely.

Expat with Kids Recipes are a mix of origins true to my own heritage and travels. You'll find Swiss, American, British, Italian and French recipes. My faible for the Caribbean is also quite apparent in my choice of exotic recipes.

My biggest success is definitely the Italian Tiramisù recipe but the Raspberry&Prosecco version isn't bad either. So, tell me, which is your favourite?

Click HERE, enjoy and BUON APPETITO!

Feeling slightly competitive...

So far, we are doing pretty well as we head towards the end of the second week of self-confinement. We have found our daily routine between télétravail, online schooling, live-streaming uni lectures, yoga classes via zoom, exercising that ancient treadmill and, of course, the virtual aperòs with friends.

We also have more time for family meals and board games... turns out Monopoly has become a brilliant tool for the kids to practice their negotiation skills... and believe me their Neapolitan side comes out in full flare at times.

We do not regularly play board games but I have found this a good way to take Expat hubby's mind off work and cheer up my teenage daughter who is missing the interaction with her peers tremendously. Of course, it all starts heading south when Expat boy - who hates to lose - realizes he is running out of cash... but the giggles and the laughs far outweigh the Mummy-Son gaming feud.

The French government meanwhile has confirmed a further two weeks of lockdown and I am waiting for Amazon to ship the Louvre Cluedo game by tonight.

Paris is officially on lockdown

As of Tuesday noon we are officially on lockdown prohibiting all but essential outings. President Macron - appalled by the population’s lack of collective discipline - declared in a somber speech that France was at war and the situation was to be taken seriously. He quoted Philippe Pétain’s infamous 1940 speech: “The spirit of enjoyment has overpowered the spirit of sacrifice.”

Therefore the entire nation is now to self-isolate for two weeks. When leaving home we need to carry a signed form, or attestation, explaining where we are headed and why. The good news you are still aloud out to exercise as long as you go out alone and stay within a 2km radius of your home. The bad news is that my arm is in a cast and therefore cannot go for a run!

However, routines can change fast. Yesterday my day began with a virtual Board meeting and ended with a personalised online yoga class. I followed a webinar about college application essay writing with Expat Girl and watched a youtube lesson on how to use zoom. The highlight was undoubtedly the family lunch. The silver lining to the current situation is that the family is reunited and, once your kids have left home for their studies, family meals are all the more appreciated. Buon Appettito!

It's just an illusion...

An invitation to the Musée de l'Illusion popped up on my facebook feed... that's weird I have not heard of this museum before. A bit of googling confirms it has opened just one month ago. There is no excuse I gather my girlfriends and we are off to explore.

Turns out it is not really a museum rather a few rooms scattered over two floors hidden under a scaffolding in the 1st arrondissement. Our first impression is a rather spartan space but as we go along with the interactive experiences and shoot the photos we are invited to take from a specific place in each section the fun gets better and better.

The parcours exercised our little grey cells by providing a scientific and rational explanation for what our eyes could neither explain nor understand. Every corner of the museum taught us extraordinary things about our vision, our perception and the functioning of our intellect. The goal was to discover why our eyes perceive things that are incomprehensible to our brain.

My first is surreal, my second is as educational as it is playful and my third is unique curiosity. Who am I?..... An optical illusion!

Of the three of us, I was the only one brave enough to jump into an illusion created by the Vortex Tunnel that at first was fun but then drove me slightly crazy as I made my way forward stepping through what seemed a slowly rotating cylinder. What began as a light-headed sensation turned into a real struggle – and yet the surface was completely stable and flat!

For over an hour our reliance on senses were tricked and as we entered the fascinating world of illusions we were confused and amazed... and ultimately also educated!

It's all about deceiving your eyes and entertaining the mind! Definitely worth a try but be sure to visit at a time without too many people, and take your camera with you.

Having fun in the smart playroom

Vortex Tunnel: more challenging than I thought!!!

Can you see him?

Feeling slightly sick looking down into the void.

It's all about illusions!

Love these guys...

... an intimate moment of friendship and conviviality...

Je mange donc je suis...

How can I resist an exhibit entitled "Je mange donc je suis"? Even more so when my teenage daughter asks me to accompany her because it's part of a TOK homework assignment. Theory of knowledge will ring a bell IB (International Baccalaureate) parents!?!

Of course, the fact that it is held at the Musée d l'Homme is another plus not to mention that "Je mange donc je suis" must be one of the most quintessential phrases for the rhetoric, erudite, food-loving French.

I eat, therefore I am....

How does the act of feeding oneself, vital and daily, at the same time shape our identities through cultural practices, rituals and prohibitions? What role has food played in our evolution? Are there any "gendered" foods? What are the environmental impacts of producing resources to feed the world today and tomorrow?

Discussing all these questions with a teenager - ignoring the TOK complaining - was enlightening as we discussed the development of taste, table manners, gastro-diplomacy, agricultural models, culinary heritage and meat consumption. No, Expat Girl was not becoming a vegetarian under my roof.

A good mix between the research carried out by scientists from the National History Museum and works by modern and contemporary artists including Pablo Picasso, Gilles Barbier, Pilar Albarracin and Liu Bolin, as we discovered preconceived ideas on how we produce and consume food.

Albeit feeling slightly doomed as it seems we are heading towards ever increasing contemporary food-related challenges, it did satisfy our appetite… for knowledge!

A peek out of the Musée de l'Homme onto the Eiffel Tower

An unusual tourist strolling around Trocadero

Gilles Barbier's hommage to chocolate!

A simple, unpretentious museum with a nick for unconventional exhibits.

Back to where it all began...

A long weekend and we are heading out of Paris... of course! This time to catch up with friends and family in Geneva and Lausanne.

Geneva was home for nearly a decade, it is the place where I lost my heart and married my handsome Italian in the little Anglican church in the city center before we set off to travel the world.

Lausanne is where Expat Boy is now studying hard, having found his passion and following it with great dedication and determination.

It was also an opportunity to visit yet another University with Expat Daughter even though EPFL was not necessarily on her "wish list". The architecture of the Rolex Learning Center was definitely worth the visit.

Last but not least, we enjoyed a home-cooked Neapolitan family lunch at my sister-in-law's new flat with a view... and what a view!

Ah, it's good to be back!

Domaine du Château du Crest... and the scenery is magnificent.

Ready for a glass of local wine.

A typical Geneva autumn day... nevertheless I am happy to be back!

Lunch with an old friend at La Belotte, one of my favourite spots in Geneva.

The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is a research institute and university in Lausanne, specializing in the natural sciences and engineering.

Its roots can be traced back to the foundation of a private school in 1853, 

which to start with only had 11 students. Those days are long gone though with student numbers in Lausanne now totaling over 10,000. 

The Rolex Learning Centre is the campus hub and library for the ÉPFL. Designed by the winners of 2010 Pritzker Prize, Japanese-duo SANAA, it opened on 22 February 2010

Archival Constellations of the Montreux Jazz festival. This installation called "Jazz Luminairies" is based on the UNESCO Memory of the World collection, digitized at EPFL cuts, remixes and replays 5'400 jazz greats and over 13'000 videos. The mind boggles!

A morning jog along the lake.

When a photo says more than a thousand words!

... and finally a quick visit to the new Platform 10 “arts district” in Lausanne brings together the Cantonal Fine Arts Museum, the Elysée Museum and the Museum of Design and Contemporary Arts.

Happy Halloween

A Dutch phenomena

Expat daughter and I had done our homework and googled Netherlands' population of 17 million people. We knew that they were the world's No.1 bikers but what we didn't know is that all together the Dutch own 22.5 million bicycles. This means that on average they own 1.3 bicycles per capita. More than any other country in the world.

One of the more spectacular products of the bike-train system is this sea of bicycles you see at any train station in the Netherlands

Almost a quarter of the Dutch population cycles every day.

Less than 0.5 percent of Dutch cyclists wear helmets...

... it’s just not present in their culture, because they’ve ultimately decided that it’s far more important to build this culture of everyday cycling, and to build safe streets, instead of requiring people to protect themselves.

For decades, the Dutch have had a country-wide network of bicycle trails. You can get from one city to another on a bike, no matter the distance. 

The bike is an integral part of everyday life rather than a specialist's accessory or a symbol of a minority lifestyle, so Dutch people don't concern themselves with having the very latest model of bike or hi-tech gadgets.

Cycling is so common that when you ask people whether they are cyclists or not, their response is: "We aren't cyclists, we're just Dutch."!

The Dutch regard their bikes as trusty companions in life's adventures. In that kind of relationship it is longevity that counts - so the older, the better.

The fact that everyone cycles, or knows someone who does, means that drivers are more sympathetic to cyclists when they have to share space on the roads.

Utrecht built the Netherlands’ first bike lane in 1885. 

The average speed of the Dutch on a pedal bicycle is 12.4 km/h...

... and the average speed on an e-bike is 13 km/h.

Come give it a try!