Celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

It's a complicated story. Where do we come from? Without explaining any further I'd just say: Don't forget your roots, no matter how many you have. Celebrate them all. Therefore I will be honoring a unique occasion thinking of my British heritage this weekend:

The Jubilee weekend is at last upon us, the queen celebrates 60 years as Monarch in 2012.

On Sunday 3 June an immense party will unfold across the United Kingdom as thousands of street parties are held in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. But the grandest table of all will be in Piccadilly, where people will gather from all over the land for a single extraordinary party, right in the heart of London.

For the first time in its history, Piccadilly will be closed to traffic and decked out in bunting, bringing the spirit of the traditional English summer fête to the centre of London. There will be entertainments – craft stalls, fairground rides, vintage cars, brass bands, tea dances and much more – and a 500-seat table will be set up along the length of Piccadilly, where guests can enjoy a homemade picnic or buy food from the many stalls and shops that will line the street.

If you are planning to have a Jubilee get-together this weekend and need some bunting and partyware then look no further! Hurry and order everything you need at britshop based near Zug.

Following is a recipe from The Baking Book to make with your kids for this special occasion : http://www.dk.co.uk/static/html/features/thingstodo/recipes/JubileeCupcakes.pdf

Find out everything you need to know about what's happening when over the Diamond Jubilee weekend in the definitive guide: www.thediamondjubilee.org

Expat with Kids hits 100'000 pageviews

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
J.W.Goethe

I did it! I really did it! Expat with Kids blog has reached 100'000 pageviews!

18 months ago - after browsing through blogs such as Pioneer Woman or La Mom (yes, I know, my benchmark was way too high) - I decided that I can do this as well. Never would I have dreamt of 100'000 pagesviews of a blog that I created, develop, nurture and cultivate: Expat with Kids

Well, I have built a loyal group of followers: 110 facebook supporters, 105 Google friends, 80 twitter followers and 24 Networked Blogs companions. My biggest feat, however, is managing to captivate a Swiss audience that is nearly as large as the US viewership. This shows me I am reaching my target.

Thank you, thank you all for clicking away, making comments, sending me e-mails, inquiring for information. It gives me tremendous satisfaction to know that followers out there enjoy my posts. I feel gratification to scout and share useful information and fun facts to help my readers discover a wonderful part of this world: Lugano.

I would be curious to read your comments about what you think of Expat with Kids? Any dedication, description, advice, recommendation, compliment or criticism is welcomed and encouraged.

IWCL Int`l. Spring Party

The International Womens' Club of Lugano is honoured to invite you to their INTERNATIONAL SPRING PARTY on May 26th from 19:30 on at Lugano's hippest spot "Al Lido".

Every year the IWCL hosts their traditional and always excellent IWCL Spring Party and trust me, it is not to be missed. This year there will be an exclusive concert by ORPHELINE along with a live DJ set. Wondering who Orpheline is? I will give you a little treat. Click here and get into the groove!

Talented, Lugano-based, photographer Marian Bader will be taking your pictures which you'll be able to buy online after the party at http://marianbader.com/.

The door-price is CHF 50.- and includes finger food buffet, 2 drinks (wine or soft), concert, party and wonderful conversation.

Please RESERVE your spot by e-mailing the IWCL at iwcleveninggroup@gmail.com asap.

Feel free to share this invitation with your friends.

Have a great evening!

Venue: International Spring Party
Where: Al Lido, Viale Castagnola 6, 6900 Lugano
When: Saturday, may 26th, 2012
Time: 7:30pm
Price: CHF 50.- (dinner, drinks and dance)

International Museum Day 2012

Every year since 1977, International Museum Day is held worldwide sometime around 18 May. This year, the museum community will celebrate the 35th anniversary of this event: more than 30,000 museums in around 100 countries will hold special activities on this occasion.

The theme of the 2012 International Museum Day, “Museums in a Changing World. New challenges, New inspirations”, invites museums and their visitors to wonder about the role of museums in our society, in an era of numerous changes: IMD2012 is as much about museums growing and shaping their future, as it is about displaying and interpreting new issues like climate change, new media or social responsability.

Discover, explore, experience! On the International Museum Day which is celebrated on May 20th in this country, Swiss museums propose insights into their fascinating collections to children, young people and adults.

Over 130 museums all over Switzerland open their doors for you and will offer a wide range of activities - mostly free. Click here to find a museum near you.

As the weather forecast is rainy - this is a good opportunity to see and do something new. Check out the Museo Cantonale di Storia naturale in Lugano who have a special progamme with children's actvivites planned for today between 10:30 and 17:00.

Tips for an Expat

"Let nothing deter you from your happiness - see your path clearly"

Often moving abroad causes a major shift in your daily activities. You leave your old job, your relations with family and friends are on a distance, you stop temporarily your hobbies etc. This shift is in the beginning compensated by new activities such as the search for a new house, finding new work etc. Once the novelty has worn out, you might experience all sorts of mixed feelings from happiness to despair. You can also go through an identity crisis. Who am I without my roles, relationships and job? Am I still the same person? And what about the recognition I used to get for fulfilling those functions?

Learn how the move overseas impacts your identity
Recognize the cultural differences and see how they impact you
Learn how to maintain contact with your Self while living abroad
Re-discover your old talents and learn how to use them in the new environment
Discover your new talents
Set up new goals in your life
Get back the sense of direction  in your (new) life
Discover that living abroad can be a unique opportunity for personal growth

Now, all of the above is easier said than done but if you tackle one matter at the time, set some (reachable) goals in a (reasonable) time frame and believe in your own qualities the hurdles might seem a bit less daunting. And remember a postive attitude and a smile work wonders!!!!

Ticino Junior Spring/Summer 2012 now available

It is finally here. It has finally arrived. The Ticino Junior guide is now available for the Spring/Summer of 2012. Click here to be transported into a world of ideas and activites for your kids in every part of the Ticino: http://www.luganoturismo.ch/TicinoJunior You can also find them on facebook under Ticino-Junior. Happy reading.

InterNations May Networking event

InterNations are happy to invite you to their May 2012 Lugano get-together, to mingle, catch up with friends, and meet new people.

InterNations will be meeting on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 from 7 pm onwards, at Bar-Restaurant LA LANCHETTA on the shore of Lake Lugano. La Lanchetta is particularly appealing during summer time, when they open the whole front wall. You can enjoy your aperitivo right on the lake.

Live the InterNations spirit – Nobody stands alone!
For many guests, it’ll be the first InterNations event; quite a few arrive on their own. Please be open to making them feel welcome. If you see someone alone in a corner, it’d be great if you introduced them to your friends. Thus you can share the spirit of connecting global minds, and every member will have a lovely time. Thanks from InterNations Lugano Team.

Venue: InterNations Lugano get-together
Where: La Lanchetta, Viale Castagnola 16, 6900 Lugano
When: Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
Time: 19:00

Entrance fees for the event: 

Free for Albatross Members

CHF 10.- for basic members

CHF 20.- for attendees who are not on the guest list. 

The entrance includes one welcome drink as well as a tasty selection of appetizers and snack foods. After that, as usual, drinks are pay self (pay as you go / no tabs)!

Please sign up for the event by visiting their site here. Search for the event website where you still need to put yourself on the guest list to attend the event. 

"Happy Mother's Day" means more

"Happy Mother's Day" means more
Than have a happy day.
Within those words lie lots of things
We never get to say.


It means I love you first of all,
Then thanks for all you do.
It means you mean a lot to me,
And that I honor you.


But most of all, I guess it means
That I am thinking of
Your happiness on this, your day,
With pleasure and with love.

List of Summer camps in Ticino

"A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours."
 John B. Priestly

Need a little help with your summer holiday planning? Yes, it is time already to start thinking about the holiday camps (Colonie d'estate) for your children. The good news is that there is a larger choice of possibilities every year. But take a look at the programme for yourself on Ticino's best children site: Ticino Bambini.

Most of the activities are in Italian but children learn fast and they manage to play and communicate even without speaking the language.

Following are just a few from the long list that I thought I'd mention:
The A-club Summer camp is very varied and offers something for all ages: A-Club Summer Camp.

The WWF Summer Camp is excellent for nature-loveing kids: WWF Summer Camp.

Vivi Lugano is a programme offered by the city of Lugano in your neighboorhood community: Vivi Lugano.

A Pink Wedding

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”

Aaron Siskind

To conclude my week of pink posts, please let me introduce you to a delicate, creative, skilled, intuitive expert in photography. Andrea Kühnis has always had a passion for photography and it shows.

She shoots stunning and powerful pictures to celebrate the most special moments in a couples' life and memorizes it for them for eternity. From Weddings to Newborns, from Portraits to Landscapes. She encourages couples to bring accessories which matter to them to their engagement shooting. She captures the happiness in the newborn's parents' eyes and catches it on camera. She is inspired by childrens' smiles and nature's perfection. She combines the elements to create truely special pictures.

Check out her website at: http://www.andreakuehnis.com and admire more pink wedding photos below. 

You can contact Andrea Kühnis at: Herterenhof, 5430 Wettingen, Tel:+41 (0)79 568 12 29. She has  three more free dates left beween May and September, so you better hurry! ;) She'll travel across the globe for a perfect shot!

Effects of the Colour Pink

"Drawing is feeling. Colour is an act of reason."
Pierre Bonnard

You might have guessed that my favourite colour is pink. I am told that the meaning of the colour pink is unconditional love and nurturing. In colour psychology, pink is a sign of hope. It is a positive colour inspiring warm and comforting feelings, a sense that everything will be okay. I admit that I tend to make everything OK and see the positive sides rather the negative ones in an situation. Would that make me a "hot pink" personality?

Here are some details about my favourite colour.

The Colour Pink Represents:

Unconditional love: Pink relates to both unconditional love and romantic love.

Compassion: Empathy and understanding are the fuel for pink's nurturing.

Nurturing: Pink is both the giving and the receiving of love, understanding and respect.

Hope: Pink inspires the possibility of a positive outcome.

Effects of the Colour Pink:

Calming: Pink calms our emotional energies.

Non-threatening: Pink lacks any aggression or anger, although the deeper pinks can be more assertive and confident.

Affectionate: Pink offers warmth and tenderness to friends and family.

Caring: Sensitivity and tender loving care relate to pink's feminine and intuitive energies.

Immature: Pink is the colour of the sweet young girl, before life's experiences take over.

Variations of the Colour Pink:

Blush: Similar to skin color, this very pale pink has sensual and sexual connotations. It is non-threatening but lacks passion and energy.

Rose Pink: This is the pink of universal love and unity. It is mature, feminine and intuitive.

Salmon Pink: There is a touch of orange in salmon pink. It encourages the flirt, and can be a sign of the timid lover, all talk and no play.

Orchid: This is an unusual lavender-pink and relates to the unconventional and the individual doing his or her own thing. It is the non conformist.

Fuchsia: A blend of deep pink and blue, fuchsia inspires confidence, assurance and maturity, a more responsible and controlled nurturing and love.

Hot Pink: Hot pink inspires a more passionate, playful and sensual love. It exudes warmth and happiness and a love of life.

Pink Colour Personality

If your favourite colour is pink - like myself - you are likely to display at least some character qualities of the colour personality linked to pink. You may also hold some of the more negative character traits associated with the meaning of pink.

Pink is a feminine, warm and compassionate colour. The meaning of pink is that of love, romance and comfort.

The pink colour meaning linked to personality explains the character traits most associated with people who have pink as a favourite colour.

So if you have a pink colour personality you have a generous, warm, loving and compassionate nature.

If you have pink as a favourite colour you display maternal and the traditional feminine traits of caring and nurturing and need to give love and attention to others. You also need a great deal of love yourself and crave protection, safety and security.

You are very romantic and sensuous and enjoy the idea of being in love. You sometimes feel as your life is missing romance and because of this you lose yourself easily by watching romantic films and reading romance novels.

You are a positive optimist and always find the good in everyone. Because of this you may have placed your trust and affections into undeserving people.

On the downside of a pink colour personality you can be overly sensitive and hurt easily.

With pink as a favourite colour you can also become too reliant and dependent on others and lack the confidence to go it alone.

If pink is your favourite colour you need to really treat and pamper yourself. Put your needs first for a change and really look after yourself. Find ways to make the best of yourself both externally and internally. A new hairstyle, stylish outfit or soothing massage will make you feel and look good.

Begin to be open and receptive to others showing their affection for you. Receive ALL compliments with a big smile and a big thank you!