Freelancing? No, just blogging!

“One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests.”

 - John Stuart Mill

Looking back onto my first 2 weeks of blogging experience I dare say it takes more time than I ever imagined. In order to write you really need to get your stuff together.......first, your info must be accurate therefore some back-up verification is needed, then a little history lesson never hurt anybody along the way.....more research. Finally you can start writing your blog.....after you’ve found and/or decided upon a subject. Some days are easier than others to come up with a post, that is helpful to others, that interests me and is fun for my friends to read.....not always “naturellement evident”!?!

While I’m trying to keep expat kids and expat hubby happy along the way, I am continuously learning about new blogging features which takes a great deal of time but is fascinating. This computer progamming (even though very basic) really open up a whole new world to me.

In the belief that I am opening a whole new world to you, please keep on following me (either through facebook’s Networked blogs or directly on my webpage www.expatwithkids.blogspot.com

Off to prepare some food for the kids who come home from school for lunch. ;)

Lanternata di San Martino

"San Martino"  di Giosuè Carducci.

La nebbia a gl'irti colli

Piovigginando sale,

E sotto il maestrale

Urla e biancheggia il mar;

Ma per le vie del borgo

Dal ribollir de' tini

Va l'aspro odor de i vini

L'anime a rallegrar.

Gira su' ceppi accesi

Lo spiedo scoppiettando:

Sta il cacciator fischiando

Su l'uscio a rimirar

Tra le rossastre nubi

Stormi d'uccelli neri,

Com'esuli pensieri,

Nel vespero migrar. »

Tonight we are off to parade through the streets of our Lugano neighbourhood accompanying our kids with their home-made lanterns in honour of San Martino.

In the olden days, this Saint was remembered on November 11th, when work in the fields was mostly finished: the fruit had been harvested, stocks of food for the winter had been piled up and the next planting season had been prepared.  

Times have changed, but the “lanternata” of San Martino is still a date not to be missed, a contagiously happy atmosphere when kids carve a beet (large turnip), put a candle in it and carry it around town with all the other kids and parents of the neighbourhood.

We call this “lanternata”, an old tradition in order to give thanks after the last harvest of those beets. 

We carve the beets (not quite like jack-o-lanterns), we hollow them out, except we leave less thick walls. The design is not carved all the way through, but is only cut out of the coloured skin and so the light shines through brightly. 

After a 30minute walk around the neighbourhood all the kids get a hot dog and punch in the “Piazza”  (Center square) which allows everybody to have a very cheerful walk home and happily give thanks for the nightly hike with friends and lanterns!

Mousse au Chocolate recipe

“There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.”

Linda Grayson, The Pickwick Papers

Following yesterday's chocolate blog I thought I might add 2 Swiss Chocolate Mousse recipes. Both are super-duper easy to prepare and taste delicious. Go ahead and plunge!

Toblerone Mousse

Ingredients: 

200gr roughly chopped Toblerone 

450 ml whipped cream 

3 medium egg whites 

Milk chocolate curls or tiny Toblerone triangles for decorating 

Preparation:

1.) Melt the chocolate in double boiler 

2.) Cool slightly 

3.) Fold in the whipped cream 

4.) Whisk 3 egg whites until stiff 

5.) Fold into the chocolate mixture 

6.) Serve in small glasses decorated with the chocolate and chill

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

5 dl whipping cream

200gr dark chocolate

3 eggs

30 gr sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence or 1 little envelop of vanilla sugar

Preparation:

Mix egg yolk, sugar and vanilla

Melt chocolate in a double boiler

Whip the cream stiff

Add the warm chocolate to the sugar/egg mixture and mix thoroughly.

Add whipped cream to mixture.

Fold in the stiffly whipped egg whites carefully.

Refridgerate for at least 4 hours.

More Chocolate 2010

One of my favourite events is coming up: the chocolate galore exhibition!

From November 11th to 14th, 2010 Piazza Riforma is hosting the EUROCHOCOLATE annual chocolate exhibition from 10:00 to 20:00. You’ll find chocolate in every shapes, sizes and form of presentation. Not only can you try it, you can buy and take it home! Even if you just want to wander around the stands, it gives you great ideas and all sorts of inspiration for new presentions and/or recipes.

The show came to Lugano for the first time last year and attracted 60’000 visitors (Lugano officially has 58’000 inhabitants to its name!!!) I have added a separate slideshow from last year's event just make your mouth water.

This year the event will spread across the town center. 

There will be a childrens’ work shop “Children Chocolate” at Asilo Ciani, every day from 10.00 to 19.00. Eurochocolate has created a play path, aimed at children aged between 6 and 11 years running along the cocoa route. This educational game allows children to travel through the world of cocoa accompanied by the young Aztec Nanauà.

The FIAF - Italian Federation of Photographic Associations is host of “More Chocolate” with a photo exhibition “Dulcis in Foto” at the Asilo Ciani on the theme of chocolate, in which the shots, made by amateur photographers, capture the most significant moments of the food of the Gods, from production to pleasure to taste.

You’ll find a Choco Quiz organized by Alprose in Piazza Manzoni. Look for the School of Chocolate by Nestlé Perugina. “Advertichock” at the Quartiere Maghetti will propose chocolate in advertising from 1900 to 1930, a review of one hundred original images belonging to the Historical Archives of Advertising Paola Mazza.

http://www.eurochocolate.com/it/svizzera2010/programma/20101111.html

The restaurants around Piazza Riforma and Quartiere Maghetti will be offering chocolate themed dishes during exhibition days. 

So, as I said it’s choclate galore this weekend in Lugano. Ready, set, goooooooooooooooooo!!!!

 

Easyjet is late!

“Like a bad British Rail apology from the 1970s, passengers were informed that the flight had been cancelled that morning due to staff sickness.” 

Source: The Independent

Yesterday we boarded an easyjet flight (if they’d have a frequent flyer programme, we would be top of the list) and much to our surprise:

a) they were ON TIME boarding

b) they were ON TIME taking off

c) they were ON TIME  landing

Now that hasn’t happend in the last year. I am serious. On average we travel with easy jet once per month. Expat kids and myself were ecstatic. You might think we are exaggerating a wee bit. Let me tell you of our past adventures. 

Our average delay is around three hours, add the two hours you need to show up before take-off: makes five hours and you haven’t even gone anywhere yet. We’ve had flights cancelled at midnight (after waiting since 2pm in the airport) with no alternative solutions (i.e.bus, hotel, anything??????). 

We’ve been flown off to our destination on Christmas Eve only to find they hadn’t shipped our luggage due to lack of time?!? 400 furious passengers queuing yet again at baggage claim on Dec 24th (and the entire Expat family spent four days over Christmas wearing the same jeans, turtlenecks and underwear!). In the past, we have managed to board an easyjet plane only to be taken off the plane again two hours later and sent to a hotel (we were lucky this time!!!). 

Therefore, given that the plane was on time yesterday I decided to share this positive experience with you.

I am writing all this also to share my secret of staying alive & kicking in Lugano. TRAVEL, TRAVEL, TRAVEL. I love Lugano but I do miss the big city action and therefore need to get away from time to time in order to come back zened out (yes, that is a word nowadays). 

Lugano airport (http://www.lugano-airport.ch/pdf/Orario_2010.pdf) is tiny and has four international destinations to its name therefore the closest alternative is Milano Malpensa. It is a 60 minute drive from Lugano but worth the hassle considering the cheap flights that are available there.

Easyjet might be late, it might be frustrating and very often tyring but nothing beats a 50.- Euro ticket to a European destination and we loooove our weekend escapes....if we manage to get to our destination!

What to do on a Sunday in Lugano?

The Falcon

Cry of the falcon pierces the air
Shrill call echoing far and near.
Majestic raptor surveys below
Sharp eye and talons, friend or foe?

M.D.Hughes

One idea is to take your family off on a trip to Locarno for a falcon show and then continue on to the Valle Maggia for lunch.

At the Falconeria just outside of Locarno you can enjoy a great bird of prey show which includes owls, vultures, a bald eagle, and a kara kara. Even though the show is in German and Italian, it will not stop you from enjoying the magnificent birds. They fly high in the sky, free, and then dive steeply to catch food and thereafter return faithfully to the falconer’s arm. The performers walk up and down the bleacher steps directing the birds to fly over the heads of the audience.  You are “brushed” by owl wings more than once! The majority of the bleachers are under cover, which makes it a perfect rainy day event. At the end of the show you even get to pet one of the owls. A must see with kids!

Well hidden on a wooded hillside above the river Maggia (this location alone is worth a visit) you’ll find  the "Ristorante da Enzo”. This rustic-modern “taverna” (which we call “grotto” in Ticino) is nested under giant chestnut trees, equipped with benches to sit along stone tables. You’ll also find nice white table-clothed tables inside where you are surrounded by local works of art. The “tartar” is phenomenal. Generally, all meats are recommended! The ravioli are spectacular and they show off an excellent wine list.

The hospitality of the owner Enzo adds to the flair, of course, and entices you to let loose with a good glass of wine, enjoy the flavours and the sights while your kids are free to play in the woody surroundings.

10 reasons why you would want to live in Lugano

“My rank is the highest known in Switzerland: I’m a free citizen.”

George Bernard Shaw

I dare say I absolutely agree with the great Mr.Shaw. The feeling of freedom (especially for the kids) is omnipresent. I must add though: as long as you obey the rules and there are many of them.

Living in Switzerland you need to adapt as in every country, but here the system works like clockwork and therefore so do you. Once you've accepted that, you're flying.

Here are the 10 best reasons I can think of why I like living in Lugano:

1. Breath taking nature

2. Good weather nearly all year round (micro-climate)

3. Swiss organization with Italian flair

4. Safe environment for the kids

5. Good public schools

6. Respect for others and environment

7. Excellent food

8. Good quality service (although expensive and only between 8am until 18:30 when everybody goes home for supper)

 9. Close to Milano (for shopping and cultural events)

10. Close to Engadin (for skiing and some jet-setting)

Vita Parcours - a healthy Swiss invention nobody has ever heard about abroad

“Our paths are to be found in the most beautiful gym of the world: nature. "
Josef Bächler, Percorsi Vita

Living in Ticino is all about living outdoors. You make the best of the spectacular nature around you: hiking, mountain biking, skiing.  It’s a sporty lifestyle to be enjoyed with your family. Furthermore, these are all activities that parents will continue to enjoy with their kids even when they have grown up.

An activity less well known abroad but typically Swiss is the “Vita Parcours”.

Vita Parcours are paths devoted to sport, equipped with obstacles or stations distributed along its length for exercising the human body to promote good health. They are mostly 2 to 4 km long with 15 exercises along the path.

Equipment exists to provide specific forms of physiological exercise, and can consist of natural features including climbable rocks, trees, and river embankments, or manufactured products (stepping posts, chin-up and climbing bars) designed to provide similar physical challenges. The degree of difficulty of a course is determined by terrain slope, trail surface (dirt, grass, gravel, etc), obstacle height (walls) or length (crawls) and other features.

The original Vita parcour was invented in 1968 by Swiss architect Erwin Weckemann with support from Swiss life insurance firm "Vita" (nothing like a good Swiss insurance to take care of you). They are now maintained by the Zurich insurance. The first course was built in Zurich, Switzerland. The about 500 Vita parcours are free for the public and often located in forests close to the cities.

Washrooms/changing rooms are usually located at the beginning of the track.

I have added the official Swiss Vita Parcours link as well as the Lugano and the Ticino Percorso Vita links for you to take a peek at.

I highly recommend taking off on a sunny, autumn afternoon to discover the parcours closest to you, walking or running. Your kids might even know it already, given that some schools take advantage of these paths during gym lessons. Nothing beats the healthy, natural Swiss lifestyle.

Kids growing up

“The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise” Alden Nowlan

When exactly does it hit you that you're kids are growing up and that one day they will leave the nest? It's the day you realize that they don't really need you anymore! Personally I have not quite reached that point although I feel it is drawing close. Expatkid boy has just turned 11 and expatkid girl is 7 heading 17, if you know what I mean.

I drag them across Europe, expecting them to stay well-humored even when our easyjet flight is 5 to 6 hours late, dipping them into diffenrent cultures, plunging into various realities with 3 or 4 diffenrent languages and they take it all in strides. I DO admire them and I am very proud of them. They are little people finding their way in a tough, unpredictable world. Flexibility and adaptability are the key factors in this time and age and they have this down to a fine art. Throw them into any intercultural situtation and they will not only swim and stay afloat, they will make friends and find a way to survive making the best of the situation.

Add a bit of cyberspace, i.e. internet, messenging, facebooking "et al" to it and their survival skills have no limits.

They say our kids are an extention of ourselves....well, I am fascinated to see what my 21st century kids are turning out to be like with a bit of guidance, some clear rules and lots of common sense!

All Souls' Day (Dia de los Muertos)

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal,

love leaves a memory no one can steal. 

From a headstone in Ireland