Time to go again...

It's time, time for my boy to start his next big adventure. Six months ago he left home for university. My greatest consolation for letting him go was that he was following his dream and the excitement and motivation was written all over his face. Half a year down the road Expat boy couldn't be happier with his choice of studies and his new found circle of International friends.

I am delighted he decided to come home to relax with his family during his short 10 day summer vacation and it seems like he has never left.

I look at him and see a flashback reel full of baby rolls, big hugs, sweet smiles, superheroes, car cars and football. When he's not looking I watch him, happy and proud seeing the person he has become, he has changed, he has grown, he has matured, he is positively blooming. My little boy has become a man.

Over the past twelve months he has completed his International Baccalaureate, turned 18, had his tonsils removed, held a six-month job, found a lovely girlfriend, started Uni abroad, and is about to embark into a six-month internship in yet another country.

I couldn't be more proud of my pumpkin. You are tenacious. You are gentle. You are protective. You are faithful. You are generous. You are fun. You are committed and you love deeply. So hold on to your dreams and don't forget you will always be my big boy!

You go get'em!!!

Behind the scences of a football stadium

What to do with three teenagers on a hot sunny day in Madrid? A museum visit was out of the question and we had already surrendered to the heat during the panoramic bus tour through the city centre. 

A sudden brainwave: a tour of Madrid's football stadium home to the world renowned Real Madrid Team. 

The Bernabéu tour took us around the club’s most iconic spots and gave us a spectacular view from above the stadium, from the Presidential balcony, from the players' perspective, from the pitch itself, and from the coach’s viewpoint, sitting in the heated ergonomic seats in the bench area. The tour route included the players’ dressing rooms where the RM star player’s locker had already been cleaned out since he had officially left the club the day before.

We explored the history of Real Madrid through the Trophies Exhibition, which houses the club’s trophy collection plus thousands of items that are part of its heritage, including shoes, shirts, balls, photographs and documents. 

However, to witness the Bernabéu in its full glory you'll just need to be lucky enough to catch a ticket for "El Clasico", the yearly Real Madrid vs Barcelona game!

Named after the club’s legendary president who headed Real Madrid between 1943 and 1978, the Santiago Bernabéu stadium was opened in 1947. It has a capacity for 81,044, 245 VIP boxes and four restaurants

Real Madrid's Golden Book

Those were the days... nobody had ever heard of Nike or Adidas 

The history of a logo. Its merchandise today grosses more than any other football club in the world!

Spot the mistake!

24 hours and Real Madrid's star team player has been eradicated from the locker room;

How many tweets in 3 hours?

Trophy after trophy after trophy!

A glorious stadium

A glimpse of the city

It's all about the food

When you ask your 18-year old what his favourite pastime is in Madrid the answer is clear: apart from clubbing... enjoying the food... obviously!

Come to think of it, he's right...

A simple bocadillo de Jamòn Iberico can have me raving

My neighbour makes the best margaritas

A fancy dip that is quite simple

The atmosphere is clue!

Piña a la parilla... a whole new discovery!

An unforgettable Piña Colada

(photobombed by a pink flamingo)

Yet another friendly neighbour's hidden talent: paella valenciana

The best ice cream in town is undoubtedly Italian 

When the kids get to choose the restaurant

Milhojas de dulce de leche transported me back to Buenos Aires in a second

Limoncello o hierbas? Licor digestivo. 

Any sweet tooth's galore

It might be pink but it still thoroughly overpriced!

Expat with Kids Recipes

My friends know I have a passion for blogging. My Paris blog is a home for all my photos - because you cannot stroll though Paris without taking pictures - as well as an outlet to share my Parisian adventures with the world.

To keep a close link to Switzerland I have also continued my original Lugano blog Expat with Kids, a funky lifestyle website for the English speaking community in Lugano that began back in 2010 as the first English online Ticino guide.

Only few know, that tucked away I own a third blog called Expat with Kids Recipes. I adore recipes and have been collecting them since my teens. A giveaway to my Swiss upbringing is that I have been a loyal subscriber to Betty Bossi since 1996. My recipe blog came to life since I decided to have all my favourite recipes in one place and available online to wherever I travel.

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.

The one thing they all have in common is that they are easy and fast to prepare. Simple ingredients and straight forward directions keep it hassle free and tasty!

My biggest success is definitely the Italian Tiramisù recipe. So, tell me, which is your favourite?

A panoramic view of Madrid

One of the glories of having friends to stay is that you are obliged to at least give them a taste of the city no matter how hot it might be. Let's face it... I won't make my teenagers visit the Prado or any other museum during the summer hols in a town they call home... therefore the next best option is a double decker bus tour around the entire city.

At 35°C under the burning sun, equipped with sun hat and Spanish hand fans, we settled on the top deck of the bright red Madrid City Tour Bus as not to miss a thing listening to the guide through our red headphones. Turns out Expat daughter decided to listen in Chinese to see how much she would understand having studied the language for four years. One of her friends listen in German, the other in English and I opted for the Spanish version. Who would have thought the guided bus tour could also turn into a language lesson? 

The advantage of sitting on the top of a double decker bus is the marvellous panoramic view...

... allowing for a whole new perspective...

... and I like what I am seeing.

Unarguably the most beautiful building in Madrid is "Correos"!

Originally used as the headquarters of the national postal service of Spain, the building now serves as the seat of the Madrid City Council.

Shutters are kept closed in order to keep out the heat.

At over a hundred years old, the Gran Via, is one of the city’s main arteries and one of its most iconic avenues.

Its construction, between 1910 and 1931, marked the beginning of the modernisation of the city, with the appearance of the country's first skyscrapers and the adoption of modern architectural trends originating in the United States.

The Palace is an iconic hotel that has thrived since its opening in 1912. With 500 suites it was Europe's largest hotel at the time and the first to offer in suite bathrooms along with a telephone in every room.

Siesta time

What's it really like to be an Expat Wife

Something's been bugging me terribly over the past two days... a podcast that has been doing the rounds amongst my Expat friends. Now, I usually don't get worked up about small details but somehow this Conde Nast Traveler's podcast struck a nerve... and not a good one!

Entitled "Women Who Travel Podcast: What It's Really Like to Move Abroad" the podcast's guest chat about the many highs (and lows) that come with living an ocean away from home, what it really takes to move abroad in the first place (and in some cases what made us decide to stay), and explore why the word "expat" itself is a problematic term.

It made me realize just how big the Expat generational gap is between the women who spearheaded through unknown territory before the internet access and those who sailed on the net into (nearly) any country on the globe with most information at the tip of their fingers before even setting foot in it.

We had to figure it ALL out without Google, Facebook groups or WhatsApp chats when we started off. These ladies don't even want to call themselves Expats because it seems an unfair word?!?

Women who travel are not automatically Expat women. A language exchange does not make you an Expat. Teaching English abroad for a few months does not make you an Expat. Following a boyfriend to another country does not necessarily make you an Expat wife. Yes, an Expat wife is a term I am proud to call myself surrounded by many awesome Expat women and connecting with local and global Expat networks.

Border crossing to keep your visa is NOT to be considered... such a bad idea on so many different levels.

So ladies, please stop generalizing and do your research: An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than their native country. The term often refers to professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either independently or sent abroad by their employers (companies, universities, governments, or non-governmental organisations).

Immigration is the international movement of people into a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle or reside there.

Yes, we miss our National food and feel homesick, however, we come to terms that we have chosen the Expat lifestyle (through work or love). We have kids who might feel home is a different place to ours and that sometimes hurts. The ultimate Expat experience is actually giving birth in a foreign country.

Towards the end of the podcast the ladies touch on the big secret of being an Expat without even realizing it: it's a little thing called sharing.

Sharing is the best quality of an Expat. This does not mean connecting because you share the same language or similar personal experiences because you come from the same place. Expats share for the sake of helping others!!! They share their knowledge, offer advice, and happily give out their secret tips.

According to current estimates, there are over 8 Million company transferred Expats worldwide. Still only 1 out of 4 is female. The majority of women living abroad are Expat partners who joined their husband on this adventure abroad. The Expat network empowers and supports the millions of Expat Women worldwide who have been brave enough to quit their job and joint their partner on his adventure abroad.

Here's to all my fellow Expat wives and partners, may we keep on supporting each other in a community that I am proud to be a member of!

It's official, we have a third campus!

"Oh my God the new campus is so cool."

When during your holidays you are hanging out in your living room on a hot summer afternoon taking a break from the sun and you hear one of your daughter's friends making that comment about the Instagram account, you know the school has nailed it.

After years of planning, months of negotiations and weeks of refurbishing to make the three buildings in the center of Paris fit for purpose, the moment has finally arrived...

... last week the "Commission de Sécurité" gave the school management an "avis favorable" for the opening of its new campus.

I cannot describe how delighted I am to receive this news after much hard work by many people over these past years. Bravo to the Head of School and the Board for committing the school to the project. An immense appreciation goes to the Leadership team for poring over the plans and moving things along. The IT team, the building maintenance, the departmental teams and even the students were all instrumental in designing and creating the learning spaces.

The "avis favorable" was a very important step in the project, as it means that the school now has the formal authorisation that the building is fit to house a school. The new Middle School campus will open its door in September to students from Grade 6 to Grade 9.

It's official! The Cortambert Campus has officially been cleared for opening! We have ourselves a third campus!

When a number changes your life

Yesterday I realised there is yet another emotion Expat parents share, no matter which country you are in... the IB results! Over 165,000 students from 2799 schools across the globe received their Diploma (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP) results.

As the International Baccalaureate celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, students from across the world received the results of their May 2018 IB diploma exams yesterday at 2pm GMT. Many a student was sitting on needles along with their parents waiting for the announcement upon which a crucial decision rested... will they have the required points to access their first choice higher education? It is a life-deciding moment that all IB students share across the globe. Luckily for most it is good news since the IB is all about inclusive education.

The IB believes that an inclusive education is something every IB World School should embrace and work towards. Students should be prepared to exercise their rights as citizens and take their responsibilities in the wider community. The IB Learner Profile implies a commitment to help all members of the school community to learn to respect themselves and others, as well as the world around them. Inclusivity then is larger than a recognition of cultural diversity. 

In this first session of 2018, more than 607,000 examination papers - the largest number since the introduction of the Diploma Programme in 1968 - were processed in 75 languages. Yes, that would be seventy-five languages! Over 13,000 examiners across the world worked together to establish accurate, internationally-benchmarked grading criteria across subjects, and ensure consistency throughout the evaluation process.

The average diploma point score globally was 29.78 (of 45 possible maximum) but the kids' school in Paris achieved a significantly higher average with a very healthy 34 points... 

... and a special shout out goes to an exceptional young lady who has hit one out of the ball park and straight into our family's hearts! You go girl!

Congratulations and well done class of 2018. So proud of you all! Good luck to all IB graduates in their future plans.

A souvenir from Expat boy's graduation: Class of 2017

Pit Stop with Pintxos

Paris to Madrid by car equals 1250 km in roughly 12h50min. according to Google maps. Well, I love to drive but there are limits. Therefore, every year we make a little treat out of our long journey South and stop in San Sebastian.

The identity of San Sebastián as a seaside resort began over a century ago, when this wild stretch of Atlantic coast was favored by Spanish royals on holiday. Since then, Donostia as the city is known in Basque, has also established itself as a world-class gastro-paradise. In 2016 it was even nominated European Capital of Culture, whereafter the city has begun to reinvent itself as a cultural destination.

The moment you arrive in San Sebastián, La Concha beach invites you for a dip or a pleasant stroll along the shore, even when the weather is bad. It is a great way to relax after a 9 hour car ride. At which point we have earned our world famous pintxos (a variety of small snacks typically eaten in bars), for which every bar in the Old Town is a treasure trove. And of course, the Tinto de verano cannot be missing either!

La Concha de San Sebastian...

... when the tide is out!

Calling it a day

Off to the old town in search of some pintxos.

A typical Spanish scene... 

... all that is left after a delicious meal.

Strolling back along the Concha towards our hotel feeling happy.

On the road again...

Same as every year... we hit the road to escape the big city heading South in search of the sun... and when you see the first Osbourne bull you know you've nearly reached your destination...  1250 km and every single kilometre is worth it! Viva Espana!