X-mas plans have changed...

Change of plans... our Christmas in Naples has been cancelled due to Italy going into lockdown as of Dec 24th. Before we knew it, our family of four were on the last plane back to Paris transiting through a completely deserted airport.

Long gone are the days of pre-Christmas holiday travel stress when easyjet canceled flights at midnight on Dec 23rd or Alitalia doesn't deliver your suitcase until 4 days after Christmas and you've been wearing the same clothes throughout the all the festivities... yes, we've had our fair share of Christmas travel adventures!

This morning I was out and about early to avoid the Parisian crowds... orata, gamberi, tortellini, panettone, dolcetti for the Italian tradition... turkey, cranberry sauce, mince pies, christmas pudding, mistletoe, poinsettia and lots of Christmas glitter for the Anglo saxon celebration. 

Luckily I had secretly popped out to buy a proper Christmas tree the week before... all it took was Expat Girl expressing a wish to have a tree that reaches the ceiling... how could I refuse... I know, it is not really sustainable... but then again we have been stuck inside for most of this year. This was my treat!

So, we are now in business for Neapolitan Natale tonight and British Christmas tomorrow! I'm just wondering if I can sneak in a French "Bûche de Noël" into the menu.

Tanti Auguri di Buon Natale! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

First time we'll be spending Christmas in Paris

Deserted Napoli airport on Dec 23rd

Woman on a mission early morning Dec 24th

A little culinary indulgence at La Grande Epicerie

Our local market in full swing

Thank Goodness for Marks & Sparks, where else would I find all the British Christmas goodies?

Who knew that Mistletoe was called Gui in French?

Scottish High Tea... my favourite meal

Despite its aristocratic name, the truth is that ‘High Tea’ began as another name for a workman’s supper, and was far from an elegant meal. Relegated to the working lower classes in the early days of tea drinking in the 1600s, afternoon or high tea was served on a high table at the end of the work day, around five o'clock.

For working families returning home exhausted, it was a substantial meal consisting of the most common dishes, such as kidney pie and steak, cheeses, pickles, and bread.

By legend, low tea began because the Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria’s (1819-1901) ladies-in-waiting, suffered from “sinking feelings” around four o'clock in the afternoon each day. The story has it that she would have her servants sneak pots of tea and breadstuffs to her. Eventually, she began inviting friends to share not only her tea, but also small cakes and butter sandwiches, served on low tables. The practice became so popular with other hostesses that it went down in history as the social event that is still recognized today. 

It's my absolute favourite Scottish tradition...

Typical Scottish treats

All home-made irresistible goodies

My kind of menu

Fudge doughnuts for a third of the price a Parisian patisserie charges

Red velvet cake with a Scottish twist

Never seen or heard of Lucaffé before.

Scottish strawberry jam to go with the piping-hot, flaky scones

Scrumptious double chocolate and vanilla iced biscuit

An adorable place for afternoon tea

My favourite bakery in St. Andrew's

Homemade fudge

Chocolate brownies to go

If this window were a cake it would be called Battenberg

Do you think this little bar serves tea?

A week in Scotland

Talk about perfect timing. My mum turned 80 this week and Expat girl had uni visits the following weekend... in the same country!

So, off I trekked to the far, far Northwest of Scotland to spend a few days surrounded by fresh air, sheep and Gaelic heritage. A little island with rugged nature and generous, friendly locals with an accent to die for. A wee celebration with delicious Hebridean seafood and a scrumptious sticky toffee pudding to mark the occasion. Yes, all the ladies in our family have a verrry sweet tooth!

Lots of long walks along the windy coastline, watching surfers in the freezing cold waters and avoiding crossing paths with the scary-looking highland cows. A friendly greeting here and there from friends as well as strangers. “Hayye” is my new favourite word, a cooler version of the Italian “ciao” in my opinion.

After three days of Scottish breakfasts and teas - because who needs lunch and dinner - it was time to wish Mum farewell and head on to Edinburgh to meet Expat girl arriving from Paris.

With four hours to kill at the airport I rented a car and took myself to visit Blackness castle along the West-Lothian coast. Lucky me, it was an exceptional day with blue skies and glorious sunshine which needed to be enjoyed to the max.

So on I went to explore yet another castle... this one being Linlithgow Palace, Mary Queen of Scots birthplace!

Back to the airport to pick up Expat girl and whizz her up to St. Andrew’s where we endulged in a real dish of fish and chips followed by homemade fudge ice cream.

The uni visit at St.Andrew’s was instructive and short given the size of the town. We squeezed in a visit to the castle grounds and the cathedral before meeting up with a friend who guided us towards the best scones everrrrrr. Clotted cream and strawberry jam and we are in teatime heaven.

On to Edinburgh where a university open day was scheduled. An intense day of talks in sustainable development, geography, climate change, sociology, international relations, politics, economics and East Asian studies have led to utter confusion of what to study once Expat girl gets her International Baccalaureate.

Nothing better to clear your head than heading down to Edinburgh’s legendary rugby stadium to watch the varsity match between the Universities of Edinburgh vs St.Andrews. The girls selling the tickets asked us which side we were on... a minute of silence while mother and daughter stand looking at each other... neither of us are not known for being at a loss of words!!!!

Bagpipes, mascots, rugby chants, spitting fires, kilts and lots of alcohol ... fun for part of the match but we decided to skip the second half in search for some tea and cakes... back to the city center and into Harvey Nichols. My daughter needed a little lesson on British shopping culture.

More tea, more cakes, more happy faces!

Today - after yet another yummy breakfast - we visited the castle of Edinburgh and the Golden Mile because a bit of culture has never hurt anyone.

Following our instincts we veered slightly off the beaten track to discover the quaintest teaplace. Turns out it won Scotland’s best cafe award in 2018.

Carrot cake, Lime & Courgette cake, Coffee & Walnut cake and a brownie to sooth our sweet tooth before we head back to Paris with our heads and hearts full of Scotland’s exceptional hospitality and wonderful sweets. It was grrrrand!

Hebridean beach seems like the Caribbean

Curing my sweet tooth with fudge doughnuts

Blackness castle

Homemade Scottish pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast

Light reflections throughout the centuries

Linlithgow castle where Mary Queen of Scotts was born

St.Andrew's cathedral grounds

Scrumptious scones with jam and clotted cream

Where cultures clash: a Scottish bagpiper in front of an Italian pizzeria in Edinburgh

British icon: the red telephone booth

Best cakes in town: the Scottish Café

Venturing into the side alleys in Edinburgh

More cakes...

A menacing view from Edinburgh castle

Where to study?

Time has come to clarify her ideas. Expat girl has two more years to go before completing her International Baccalaureate but we are taking the Swiss approach and preparing well ahead of time.

She has visited two campuses in the US last year while visiting on of her besties in New York. Thankfully it was a no go from her side: too far, too expensive and too American... her words!

Following a European University fair last fall in Paris we came across a charming Admissions officer from Aberdeen and we will be forever thankful to her for putting Scottish unis on our radar.

Aberdeen seemed a bit far off the beaten track but we did venture up to Edinburgh this weekend to attend the University’s Open Day.

On a glorious sunny day - whom everyone we met seemed to comment on - we ran from one building to the next crisscrossing across the central campus along thousands of other anxious looking teenagers and their eager parents.

Our schedule - meticulously planned ahead - was a marathon of 25 minute talks by different heads of faculty. Starting off with an Intro to University of Edinburgh seemed like a good idea, followed by
Geography, Sociology, Chinese/ East Asian studies, Sustainable Development, Economics, Int’l. Relations and Business.

No time for lunch, so we grabbed a toastie of Vegan Haggis (Robert Burns would turn around in his grave no doubt) and kept going and at 3pm we sat in on a sample lecture of “Geography and climate change”.

We got out just in time to catch a cab and headed down to Murrayfields’ rugby stadium to watch the varsity match Edinburgh vs St. Andrews. Getting into the Scottish spirit (minus the alcohol) it was an unforgettable experience. 10’000 uni students with a few accompanying parents scattering amongst them and who felt like they were back in their teens... if only for 80 minutes! Bagpipes, beer and a bunch of courageous big laddies fighting over a rugby ball while the crowd cheered loudly with the sun shining in our faces. What a glorious way to end an Open Day!

St.Andrews University which we had visited the day before seemed on a different planet. However, during the University tour and the following Admissions presentation, the community’s closeness and engagement clearly shone through which to Expat girl was a welcome change compared to the big city daily aggression of Paris.

Now our next move is a trip to the Netherlands in October to compare the Dutch unis with the Scottish programme.

Just goes to show: it is great to be a globetrotting Expat speaking different languages but when the time comes to decide where and what to study, the choice is not quite as obvious for an International student as it is for Expat girl’s local Swiss friends.

And so it is we continue to cover our European options from North to South from Scotland via the Netherlands, across Italy and down to Spain...

... the good news is: time is on our side!

St.Andrew's university building... one of many scattered across town

Global climate strike in St.Andrew's #climatestike

Time for some reflection at the beach

A quick cultural tour of St.Andrew's cathedral grounds before we leave

Squeezing into the benches at Edinburgh University

The inside cupola of McEwan Hall at Edinburgh Central campus

Varsity rugby match on a sunny Friday afternoon... enjoying every minute!

An invitation to celebrate the Queen

It was an unexpected invitation and therefore all the more appreciated. A garden party at the British embassy in Paris to celebrate the Queen’s birthday.

In the eight years I have been living in Paris, my curious self had always wished to take a peek inside what is regarded as the most splendid British embassy building anywhere.

They tell me the Hôtel de Charost (named after the family who built it in 1725) once belonged to Pauline, Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister... now, that says it all!

It was she who sold it to the 1st Duke of Wellington in August 1814, for 861,500 francs (about £40,000) throwing in all her sumptuous Empire furniture, which included a luxurious bed, a series of monumental clocks and splendid ormolu firedogs.

Jumping out of the taxi in front of the beautiful portal, the commotion of guests mixed with armed police, embassy security guards and beeping screen doors was a usual Parisian sight.

Unfortunately so was the queue! As I started walking down the avenue in the opposite sense of the line my heart sank... turns out 3000 persons had received the same invitation! The queue seemed to wind endlessly around the block.

On the verge of turning around to head back home, I realized people were moving along speedily. Bravo to the British embassy security staff, I have never been in a queue this long but also this fast!

Ten minutes later I am standing in the spacious cobble-stoned courtyard with century-old reliefs on the walls to find a fish&chip food truck parked inside with yet another line.

Heading straight for the building’s entrance I am greeted by two bag-pipers in their Scottish attire alongside a huge Union Jack.

Walking through the glorious reception rooms I discover the enormous garden for which the British embassy is so famous for.

I am not disappointed as I find a perfectly cured lawn framed by flowers and hedges all in full bloom.... but wait there is a little passage way to the left... and... another second garden the same size as the first.

I feel like Alice in Wonderland. I am surrounded by a beautiful English garden hearing my mother tongue spoken with the proper accent, the lawn is still damp from the last rainfall 30 minutes ago and the sun has decided to come through just in time for the party. A large band is playing traditional bagpipe music in the other garden and a theatre group is performing Shakespeare at the end of “our” garden.

I bump into a friend and we find ourselves a Pimms and munch on watercress sandwich while we tour the grounds basking in the warm sunny breeze. Much to my delight there is also a stand offering Pimms Jelly! I'll have two of those please, actually three.

Whatever the budget of this enormous well-coordinated delightful event, Lord and Lady Llewellyn (the British Ambassador and his wife, which he incidentally gave lovely credit to during his speech) certainly pulled off a brilliant party that had us all forget Brexit at least for an evening.

Long live the Queen!

Make Britain great again!

A welcome that made me smile

A typical Parisian embassy interior decoration

The ball room looks very similar to the US embassy...

... but this is unique to the British embassy!

A romantic view onto the garden

My favourite corner of the British embassy

Looking onto Hôtel de Charost from the garden

A Pimms to ring in the summer...

... followed by Pimms jelly cups!

The"other" garden with a music stage at the very end

Catching a taxi home to get back to reality