Friday, May 17, 2013

French Strawberry Hearts recipe

Given the bad weather outside rather than providing you with an excursion tip I thought I'd delight you with a recipe that will keep your kids busy at home. T'is the strawberry season and we have spent the last two months eating strawberries with cream and sugar. I therefore decided to come up with a new twist to our habitual pudding:


Ingredients:
500gr Gariguette strawberries from France

Sweet dough:
220 gr flour
120 gr glazed sugar
90 g butter
1 good pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of chemical yeast
1 small egg

Cream:
50 gr butter
50 gr sugar
1 egg
50 gr ground almonds
1 tablespoon of flour
70 gr  cheese spread
1 untreated green lemon

Preparation:
1.) Make the sourdough by mixing the flour, the glazed sugar, the butter, salt and yeast until you obtain a fine sandy texture. Be careful not to overheat the butter.
2.) Add the egg
3.) Roll the dough in a ball and set aside for 1 hour minimum.
4.) Flatten the dough on a paper cooking sheet and spread it into a buttered heart shaped mold. Cut off the extra around the mold.
5.) Make it all slide on a cooking grid and precook the pie crust for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C.
6.) Prepare the cream by mixing the butter and sugar.
7.) Add the egg. Mix well.
8.) Add the ground almonds and the flour
9.) Finally mix in cheese spread and the zest of grated green lemon.
10.) Pour this cream on the precooked sour dough and bake for 10 minutes at 200°C.
Let the pie cool down.
11.) Remove the strawberry stems, cut them in half and lay on the pie in heart-shaped formation.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Ticino Discovery Card ... more than just a card!

With the long weekend coming up, would you like to travel around Ticino for 3 out of 7 days for 87 CHF only? Here is the solution.

Take advantage of a universal and practical Ticino Discovery Card. You can use it to travel with the public and tourist transportation within the Canton Ticino. But that's not all! To enrich the offer there are also several tourist attractions, all included in the price of this advantageous card, that you can reach and visit easily by taking advantage of an ecological mobility with a full respect of nature!


This card is a modern and easy solution, allowing you to travel comfortably by bus, train, railway, funicular, cable car or boat and giving you the possibility to explore the beauty of the area.

The price of the tourist card is unbeatable: CHF 87. - for 3 days chosen out of 7 days.
Half-price, Swisspass and SBB GA subscribers only pay CHF 77.-.
For young people aged between 6 and 16 years the price is CHF 47.-.
The total value of the services offered by the Ticino Discovery Card is very attractive and allows you to enjoy real savings.

From March 16th until November 3rd, the cards can be purchased at the counters of some transport companies, train stations, as well as travel agencies, affiliated hotels and local tourist offices.

Click here to see the brochure: Ticino Discovery Card
Click here for a few suggestions: Excursions

Have fun and enjoy discovering the Ticino!




Monday, May 13, 2013

Looking for a group of 3-4 to dare the Verzasca Bungee Jump

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
Franklin D. Roosevelt

You may have heard of House Hunters, the top-rated HGTV series, that follows buyers and their agents as they tour homes for sale. It is produced by a TV production company in the U.S. called High Noon Entertainment.

Well, this same TV production company is producing a new Travel Channel series called “RIDE-iculous” which will premiere this summer and the Casting Producer is looking for YOU!

The show travels internationally featuring unique and amazing rides. Tina Seiler will be coming to Lugano, Switzerland on May 27, 2013, filming the 007 Dam Jump.


They are looking for a group of 3-4 attractive and outgoing friends to jump off the same Verzasca dam that James Bond once did in the opening scene of "Golden Eye", as they film. Expats and locals living in and around Lugano are welcome to sign up.

The company that operates out of the dam is a fully licensed company and has express permission from the owner and operator of the dam to conduct these jumps. Only one jumper is allowed at a time and there are various jump types available based on skill and experience.

Which one of you will dare to take the world's craziest jump, throwing themselves at the end of an elastic rope off the top of the Verzasca dam, which is a good 200 metres high and surrounded by the narrow rocky walls of the mouth of the Verzasca Valley. You'll never again produce so much adrenaline in one go!

Everyone in the group must be over 21 years of age, English speaking and available for the entire day. High Noon Entertainment can offer each person $50 for their participation, reimbursement for all travel expenses, and food and beverages throughout the day. After the episode has aired, they promise to send you a DVD of the show.

Ready for that thrill? Contact Tina Seiler: tseiler@highnoontv.com or 001/303-872-8760

Saturday, May 11, 2013

A picturesque hike down Monte Bré

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. "
John Muir











Thursday, May 2, 2013

How to travel across Ticino

Did you know that children can travel across all of Switzerland throughout the year for CHF 30.- if accompanied by parents or grandparents?

Have you heard of the latest Arcobaleno passes?


The Arcobaleno tickets are the latest development in the new Integrated Fare. The tickets on offer range from single tickets to tickets that save you time and money, such as the multi-journey travelcard and the multi-day travelcard.

The new Arcobaleno Integrated Fare is an important step forward in encouraging the use of public transport, as it makes access to its services even easier. The logic behind the Arcobaleno pass has now been extended to tickets: it is no longer necessary to purchase a ticket for single journeys (e.g. Lugano – Bellinzona), but rather a ticket for one or several zones that you can use to travel freely on all the means of public transport within the given validity period. Changing from one means of transport to another using only one ticket.

All Arcobaleno tickets and passes are accepted by the following transport companies:
Autolinee Bleniesi (ABL) - www.autolinee.ch
Autolinea Mendrisiense (AMSA) - www.amsa.ch
Autolinee Regionali Luganesi (ARL) - www.arlsa.ch
AutoPostale Svizzera SA - Regione Ticino - www.autopostale.ch
Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi (FART) - www.centovalli.ch
Ferrovie Federali Svizzere (FFS/TILO) - www.ffs.ch, www.tilo.ch
Ferrovie Luganesi (FLP) - www.flpsa.ch
Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi (TPL) - www.tplsa.ch
Società Navigazione del Lago di Lugano, limitatamente alle autolinee (SNL) - www.lakelugano.ch
Autoservizi Pubblici Bellinzona (tramite AutoPostale)
Trasporti pubblici Città di Mendrisio (tramite Autolinea Mendrisiense)

Please also note that:
- The Navigation Company of Lake Lugano (SNL) offers a discount on its ferries to Arcobaleno pass holders
- The Navigation Company of Lake Maggiore (NLM) accepts monthly and annual passes on the Locarno-Magadino shuttle service
- The Locarno - Madonna del Sasso Funicular Railway (FLMS) accepts monthly and annual passes
- ASF Autolinee s.r.l. accepts Arcobaleno passes for the Lugano-Gandria route on the Lugano-Menaggio line.

If you click on the following link you can download the booklet on Arcobaleno tickets and passes: http://www.arcobaleno.ch/fileUpload/downloads/14/010_opuscolo_ingleseDEF.pdf

Map of the ticket zones: http://www.arcobaleno.ch/fileUpload/downloads/27/Arcobaleno_Cartine%20A4_Biglietti.pdf

Following is a short film in Italian informing about the new Arcobaleno pass:



Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Let's meet at the Lido di Lugano

Today, May 1st, is when the Lido of Lugano officially inaugurates its season. It is a Lugano tradition to head down to the lake - no matter what the weather is like - to have the first ice cream of season!

So go ahead, dip your toes in the water and have a drink on their lovely terrasse while the kids have a run along the sandy beach.









Monday, April 29, 2013

A rainy day in Lugano








Thursday, April 25, 2013

IWCL Charity Committee invites you to Make-A-Wish

"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. "
Plato

Come and join the IWCL's Spring Party and dance with live music under the stars…
All this while supporting the work of Make-A-Wish ® Switzerland...
Help grant the most heartfelt wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses in Ticino...
It will be an unforgettable night for all...



The Int'l Womens' Club Lugano know how to throw a party, so you have no excuse not to show up.
The action starts at 19:30 at Lugano's Lido which opens its doors in new spleandour for the season 2013.


Entry of CHF 70.- covers cocktail dinner, 2 drinks, water&coffee/tea.
You may also buy lottery tickets at CHF 5.- each or CHF 20.- for 5 tickets.
There are fabulous prizes to win. Here is a sneak peek of some of the lottery prizes:

* A night and breakfast for two in Hotel residence Villa Sassa

* Dinner for two people at Villa Principe Leopoldo

* Voucher for stay for two people at Kurhaus Cademario Hotel&Spa

* Esthetic whole body massage with Aromatherapy at Nouvelle Beauté

For the ones deciding last minute, please don't forget to write to iwcl.charity@gmail.com so the Charity Committee can make sure to have enough food for everybody. Contact IWCL Charity Committee Victoria, Jinny or Esra: iwcl.charity@gmail.com

Let's raise the roof and with it make a wish come true for a child or two or more. It is up to you!

Venue: Support Make-A-Wish Foundation in Switzerland
Where: Al Lido, Viale Castagnola 6, 6900 Lugano
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2013
Time: 7:30 PM
Price: CHF 70.- p.p.
Contact: iwcl.charity@gmail.com
For more info click on: http://www.make-a-wish.ch/

Monday, April 22, 2013

Celebrating World Book Day in Lugano

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."
Charles W. Eliot

After last year's success, Lugano's nine children libraries and the intercultural libraries BISI (Biblioteca interculturale della Svizzera italiana) and RICCIOGIRAMONDO (Biblioteca interculturale per la prima infanzia) of Lugano will return to celebrate World Book Day and offer the "EXCHANGE OF USED BOOK" this Wednesday, April 24th, 2013.

You will find all the action going on at the Quartiere Maghetti from 12:00 to 17:00.

Participation is free and open to all: babies, children and adults. Just come along with one to five books (no comics) and you will receive the same number of tokens in return that allow you to pick (an)other book(s).

From 14:00 to 16:00, the theater Fioriecolori will be presenting an entertaining and imaginative play called ARTURO THE DRAGON in which the storyteller will involve the audience.

Don't miss it and ... Have fun!

Venue: "Exchange a used book"
Where: Quartiere Maghetti, via del Forte, 6900 Lugano
When: Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
time: 12:00 to 17:00



Sunday, April 21, 2013

Swiss are preparing for the hiking season

We are still waiting for the warm spring temperatures to arrive. It actually snowed yesterday in some parts of Switzerland!

This video of Swiss mountain cleaners might make you smile until the sunshine comes out.

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