The most Neapolitan of them all: Ad10s Diego!

Today is a sad day in our household. With a Neapolitan husband and an Argentinean son football comes close to religion. Expat boy's hero - for good and for worse - has taken his last dribble and left many soccer fans across the globe feeling like having lost a father, a brother, or a friend. 

In Napoli Maradona had risen to God-like status during his 7-year stay. The infatuation is difficult to explain as the people's love for him is deeply visceral and moves through generations. 

Maradona was presented to the world media as a Napoli player on 5 July 1984, where he was welcomed by 75,000 fans at the Stadio San Paolo which at the time was an unprecedented welcoming ceremony. A local newspaper stated that "despite the lack of a mayor, houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters because we have Maradona".

Maradona played for Napoli at a period when north–south tensions in Italy were at a peak due to a variety of issues, notably the economic differences between the two. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their first ever Italian Championship in 1986–87. He won the Scudetto (league title) for this city not once but twice. 

Murals of Maradona were painted on the city's ancient buildings, and newborn children were named in his honour. He had restored the pride in being Neapolitan, in being Southern-Italian! His were indelible years in the memory of all Neapolitans. He had worked himself into the hearts and the history of this city. A symbol of a coveted redemption and a desired resurrection.

It has been said by many that he represents the synthesis between genius and recklessness. The Argentine was ungovernable and governor at the same time, in football and in life. His weaknesses and his errors (notably off the soccer field) are equal to his immense greatness to cancel themselves in the myth. 

His most famous goal remains the one scored against England during the 1986 FIFA World cup. "A little with his head, and a little with the hand of God" as the champion said himself: "Ahora sí puedo contar lo que en aquel momento no podía, lo que en aquel momento definí como «La mano de Dios»... Qué mano de Dios, ¡fue la mano del Diego!". 

Grazie per averci fatto sognare. Grazie Diego!

My photos - My Paris

I am no professional photographer, useless at manual mode and own a pink camera. Over the past ten years my canvas has been colourful and my inspiration the Eiffel Tower. Every year I print some of my pictures to sell at the school Holiday Bazaar to raise money for charity. This year the holiday season will be different in many ways and charities need all the help they can get... so here I am - sitting in confinement in Paris - choosing my favourite shots to prepare my greeting cards à la Parisienne!

Paris in the fall

Those were the days...

Gone are the days when restaurants and bistros were open for business. Paris' social scene has come to a screeching halt during Covid times. We are into our second confinement and no one could had ever dreamt that the year would end in such a desolate manner.

Hospitality sites may not be permitted to reopen until next year, as "non-essential" shops and religious sites wait to find out if they will be able to reopen from December 1st. It has been decided to postpone Black Friday from Friday Nov 27th to Dec 4th! Imagine someone would have told you last year that Black Friday would be held a week late?!? If the government can do that, it can get away with anything!

While some restaurants in other countries have managed to adapt to lockdown conditions by offering a takeaway or delivery service, in France the traditional eat-in model has been harder to reinvent. The good news is that florists will be able to sell Christmas trees outside their shops beginning today.

Hanging in there until further notice... President Macron is scheduled to hold another speech on Tuesday.

Lockdown No.2

Passy is my hood. It is one of Paris' many endlessly entertaining neighborhoods with real people that make cozy communities in the midst of this vast, high-powered city. People know their merchants as if it were a village. You find a frenetic and human vibrancy that tourists often don't get to discover.  

Bustling with delivery trucks in the morning, people queuing in front of bakeries at lunchtime to buy their "Menu sandwich", kids running across the pathments with their scooters at 4:30pm and young office workers enjoying Happy Hour on the bistro terrace after work. I usually have to dodge Parisians walking their dogs and pushing baby strollers in Passy's vibrant market street.

It has all gone eerily quiet these past two weeks and although children are still allowed to attend school streets are empty, restaurants and shops are closed, traffic is down to a minimum and the mood is somber and rather resigned. 

During the the first lockdown it seemed the Parisians were still defiant putting up their usual feisty side, this time around we are continuing our daily routine as best we can working around restrictions and just waiting to get through this year 2020.

Go Philly!

This has been a rare week in which all-consuming coverage of the pandemic has been overshadowed by the extraordinary electoral battle going on across the Atlantic. It was the perfect excuse to take my mind off the lockdown and be transfixed by the drama unfolding in America.

I've been glued to the TV since Tuesday evening waiting to see how the US Presidential elections pan out. Never had I expected such a reality show... and it is still unfolding three days later. 

I went from hopeful to disappointed, to frantic, to nerve wracked, to disgusted, to hopeful, to excited. I am still waiting for victorious to kick in but it's looking pretty good right now.

My Dad was born in Philly and Pennsylvania flipping to blue would have made even him rejoice albeit being a life-long Republican. I have missed him dearly these passed days knowing he was a big CNN fan ever since they launched in 1980 and would have enjoyed following the US Election live coverage 24/7 together with me. 

This year the integrity of the US election process has been put to the test and I truly hope that the traditional values such as diversity, racial equality, women's rights, immigrant rights, working with foreign allies will be fully embraced again and taken back to the White House... meanwhile I will return to watching TV and continue to lose track of the day.

It's not over until it's over

 ... glued to the TV since yesterday...