SHALL WE ?

What now ?

As I've been talking [writing] about single life and wondering about why being single or being in a couple, I'm now going to talk about what to do...

Once we managed to:

- feel good being alone

- clearly know what we want - or at least, what we don't want

- know what we expect of a serious relationship

- feel ready to get involved in one 

We are almost able to forget that:

In a society where a subscription to the gym happens to be a much more long-lasting commitment than a relationship that works, it may be normal to rather spend a monthly amount of 50€ - be in great shape and multiply dates without expecting anything of them - than spend a huge amount of time and energy trying to make a relationship (that may not result positive) work. Because at least at the gym when the subscription ends, we have muscular abs and ass.

But let's take this problem the other way around:

Let's admit it; it's always a nightmare to quit the gym. Actually, it's much more complicated than ending a relationship. There's always something like a two-months notice, a recorded letter, blablabla.

With a shitty relationship, if it doesn't work... well it just doesn't, end of the story - if we disregard the relationships when you see your ex again, after the break-up.

- Copyright Slim Aarons -

So let's try to make it, in a serious relationship (if - of course - we see an opportunity).

Easier said than done - we agree.

But it's funny to see how something that used to scare you or something that used to not to get you interested can suddenly become something very easy to do. If you've met someone that suits you, it's probably normal. I guess.

We would think it's complicated to "settle down", live with someone we ignore his/her way of life, but it's not that complicated. If he/she suits you, I think it's just something natural.compatible.

Well, okay, there are some inevitable stuff we may wonder about once we've moved in with our "dear and beloved half":

I'm thinking of...

"Oh my, we're gonna be like every evening together ? What are we gonna do ?" -- Well, you don't know, the relationship may stop tomorrow.

"Okay so is there something like a schedule or a timetable for cleaning ? cooking ? doing laundry ?" -- Actually, your dear and beloved half is not a roommate. And your couple is not a company either.

"And what about grocery shopping ?" -- It's the exact same thing sweetheart.

"What about my single life's habits ?" -- Well if you're a girl, you probably won't sing Mariah Carey/J-Lo/this-kind-of-diva while cleaning the appartment. And if you're a guy, you'll probably have fewer pizza-beer/Burger King meals a week/month. 

"What about my wax depilation ? I have to wait three weeks before the appointment... That's not cool and absolutely NOT SEXY." -- Yes, you'll have to learn to be loved as you really are. And this includes being (a bit) hairy sometimes (if you refuse to shave). But "being loved as you really are" may also include singing Mariah Carey. Yay.

"Do I have to suffer the all "before/during periods moods" ?" -- Oh-oh yes my friend, and it's just a beginning. You can still try to understand if there is really something going wrong and let it go if it's objectively senseless. You'll learn not to listen, and you'll find peace, I promise.

As well as I think a human being isn't made to live a lifetime on his own, I think he needs his times of loneliness, and he needs these moments of loneliness to do not always occur at set and regular times.

These moments seem vital to preserve intimacy, desire and mystery, and those three "ingredients" will create an interesting relationship where sharing and communication will probably be king.

FLOWERS, TREES, MADRID

Botanical Garden

We wanted to visit the Prado Museum of Madrid but when we arrived at the entrance... well, we couldn't even see the entrance. Too many people were standing in line to visit it. 

It just took us a few steps to realize there was a quiet and lovely place in front of it waiting for us: the Royal Botanical Garden.

It was founded in 1755 by King Ferdinand VI and installed near what is called today "Puerta de Hierro" (next to the Manzanares River).

In 1774, architects Francesco Sabatini and Juan Villanueva were ordered by King Charles III to move the garden to its current location and to organize it into three level terraces.

This garden was made to exhibit plants, promote expeditions for the discovery of new plants species and teach botany.

It now contains more than 30,000 plants and flowers, and about 1,500 trees, through three terraces and two greenhouses. 

Lots of plants had already come into flowers because it's summer but most of the 2,000 species of dahlias were flowered and it was beautiful. But it's probably even more beautiful at springtime when all trees blossom...

We could walk through small paths under the shades of big beautiful trees (oak-trees, palm trees, cedars, bamboos...), some of them lead to little fountains or ponds. 

Once into these gardens, we managed to forget the avenue (and its traffic) that's next to it, we almost can't hear a thing, except cicadas' warbling. It's quiet and refeshing. 

To see more tropical plants, and feel more humidity, the greenhouses are open and shelter amazing species of plants. One of them also shelters fishes in a basin. 

Even if my opinion can't really be unbiased (because I'm crazy about everything when it comes to Nature and trees) it's a real heaven of peace in the middle of a more than 3-million-inhabitants city.

When is it open ?

From November to February: from 10 am to 6 pm.

March and October from 10 am to 7 pm.

April and September from 10 am to 8 pm.

From May to August from 10 am to 9 pm

Entrance:

3€

1 + 1 = 3

A Weird Equation...

What scares/slows us to live as a couple ?

That commitment would be synonymous of losing freedom ?

Personally, I've never been a huge fan of the all commitment thing, and I loved making the choice of living on my own and I completely accepted it. Yet, when I met someone and when the "commitment door" opened, I dived into it without realizing I was.

Where the fuck were my reason and mind at this time ? Present or too busy choosing the "perfect outfit" to seduce him during dinner at the restaurant ? I don't know. And today I'm walking on the other side of the road. The one with all the couples.

Lots of people think that living as a couple means losing our freedom.

I think they're mistaken. Completely. Although, I understand where does the fear come from.

What scares us is to become 1, forget ourselves. To forget our own identity, to become just a couple, at the cost of two distinct identities. And therefore, to forget we can still live things on our own, without the so-called soulmate/half/alter-ego. The implicite scary idea is that the love story we're in may last for a long time, like a lifetime or something like that. We imagine we're going to miss some stuff. But what could we miss ? We have absolutely no idea; so that's absurd.

However, we have to keep paying attention because there are two kinds of not-to-become couples (and those two kinds can often get mixed up): 

- The one when the man/woman absolutely loves and approves everything the woman/man does/loves because he/she loves her/him. She'd come back from the hairdresser with a ridiculous hairstyle and he'd say "no sweetheart, I swear I love it. It's easy if you love it, I love it." -- OMG, SHUT UP !!

- The one called "WE", when both partners only speak with the first person plural. Both of them can't consider themselves as an individual and henceforth only exist as a couple: "We did this", "We loved that" -- OMFG, KILL ME NOW !!

Why couldn't we preserve the wealth of difference of opinion, of points of view that "being a couple" offers ? Why, on the pretext that we're living together, should we combine our opinions to only make one in the eyes of others ? To show that we're well and truly close and that we come together as one ?

That's impossible, it'd be too stupid. And yet, I believe that most of the couples of our society fell into this trap, because a couple is only real in the eyes of others. It is real only if, in front of it, there is someone to testify its realness.

- Copyright Slim Aarons -

So, being with someone to come together as one, okay, but as long as we remind that before all, we are unique. Well before being united to someone.

We can love someone but don't be silly or blind !

Let's shade the "I'll love you till death do us part, no matter what happens blablabla", please !

Let's dare the honesty of "I love you, it's wonderful but don't get carried away, let's wait and see..." [No ? Am I too cynical ?!]

I'm not going to give you all the exemples but if one day one of the partners becomes disabled, we have to admit that it may be problematic and it's the kind of thing that requires hell of a strength to cope and live with it over time...!

I'm just asking for a little less hypocrisy in that dream:

Women version: "Honey, let me get sure you won't become a first-class homebody, a beer in one hand (and the belly that comes with it) in front of TV, because I may crave the 25-year-old digital marketing intern if you do"

Men version: "Sweetie, you were tremendously beautiful when you were pregnant, and maternity suits you down to the ground but now you gave birth, maybe you could try Pilates, couldn't you ? I'm just saying because my young secretary subscribed recently and it looks pretty cool..."

I feel like if we can find someone to say this to, and stay with him/her, the relationship will be healthy... And it seems like it's a good start... don't you think ?

BIO(TI)FUEL

Big step for the entire world...

New energy sources are finally existing ! 

It's in Spain that this treasure was found/realized thanks to algae and a process transforming significant quantities of CO2 into bio-crude oil by the company Bio Fuel Systems (BFS). It's the result of "an engineering idea followed by a research project developped over 3 years by a team of engineers and scientists in colaboration with the universities of Alicante and Valencia."

This process is an accelerated conversion of CO2 into energy through solar energy, photosynthesis, the eletromagnetic field and a powerful catalisation process. It realizes in a few hours what nature took millions of years to produce. 

It is a huge advance into the field of renewable energies because most of them usually have to cope with two problems: low power density and intermittence.

Some of us can even call it a revolution because it's reducing CO2 emissions (by saving what we produce), and achieving for every cubic meter of water the energy equivalent of one million cubic meter of sea water. Which means more respectful techniques regarding the environment: less CO2 emissions therefore less greenhouse effect therefore less global climate change and more stability, more protection of nature, particularly oceans and their animals because of less and less looking-for-fuel actions (e.g. the Arctic Ocean and polar bears).

Yes, J.R. Ewing can go back where he came from, his business is outdated. 

To learn more about this long-lasting, respectful and easy-to-produce process: this is the BFS website.

ESFoundation

ELISA SEDNAOUI FOUNDATION

You probably know - or heard about - Elisa Sednaoui as a fashion model and/or actress.

Well, two years ago, this talented and inspired woman founded Elisa Sednaoui Foundation (ESF) a NPO to promote creative learning and cultural exchange with children. 

Thanks to her son, Elisa got a better understanding of the issues children can have. She realized how it's important for them to follow their dreams and that's why she wants them to be able to freely express themselves, telling what they think, what they wish, how they feel about the things they experience... in a creative and open way.

ESF is about creating projects (centers, workshops...) that enrich personal and educational development of worldwide children. These projects are based on innovation and creativity but also on sharing and exchanging culture and traditions.

Every child should have access to culture and should be able to express creatively to develop his personal skills and state of being.

- Copyright M&R AroundTheWorld - 

In 2013, 30,9 million girls and 28,4 million boys did not attend school. 

For the luckiest children of developing countries who are able to attend school, they do not have time to interact, play and share moments with others after school because of heavy tasks and responsibilities waiting for them at home.

They just don't have time to think about what would make them happy, what would make them get away even for a few minutes. And it's unfair because they're just children. Playing and sharing actually is the only thing they should think of, to grow up and blossom.

ESF makes it possible for those children. It gives them back imagination, hope and opportunities to develop and grow educationally and personally.

Creative learning, in any of its kinds, is really positive for children and young people. It fosters open-mind, acceptance (and self-acceptance) and it allows kids to express themselves and understand others. It provides them a sense of community and sharing that are essential to make them good citizens of the world.

The first project took place in Egypt (in Luxor), where Elisa Sednaoui grew up.

The aim of this pilot project is "to build an environmentally sustainable community cultural centre in the heart of Luxor’s West Bank, where her father built her family home over thirty years ago. The initial focus of the project will be to provide after-school activities for children and young people in the community."

The next one is taking place in Italy...

To know more about this wonderful Foundation and its projects and make a donation, find them here and follow them there.

(UN)SATISFIED ?

A couple of weeks ago I was venturing the crazy but plausible idea that there are probably good reasons to be in a couple. As I fell into this trap almost one year ago, I'm convinced there are excellent reasons for this.

Before being able to quote them, like before being able to live them, I believe there's a certain amount of stages to pass. And among those, the fact that it's vital to know how to feel good when living alone.

Yes, because why bothering going out with someone if we're not able to like ourselves ?

How can we be happy with someone if we cannot be happy on our own ? The aim is to share happiness with somebody, not to entrust somebody to take care of our happiness and wellbeing. Otherwise it would come to give someone a crystal ball begging him/her not to drop it. It can't work, it just can't !

Sometimes we dream about someone hoping he/she's going to save us, to make us rise, to make us escape our own reality; and then, once we think we found this "someone", we realize he/she's just human after all. Not a superheroe. Then it's disappointment and break-up. Yet, it wasn't his/her job, apart from us, nobody is going to do the job to be happy and feel good.

- Copyright Formento & Formento -

This phenomenon often leads to a paradox, a neurosis proper to human being: single people want to be a couple, and couples envy the single life. Jeremy is dreaming of a sweet and cute little girlfriend waiting for him in his appartment in front of TV like "Paul's girlfriend", and Paul is dreaming of flirting nights and Tinder plans because there is no routine in this kind of things.

There is a chinese quotation saying that "marriage is like a besieged city; the ones outside want to come in, and the ones inside want to go out". Well I think sometimes there's no need to be married to think this way, being in a couple is enough to fit the metaphor.

Why do we always want what we don't have, particularly in this field ? By the way, is it something we envy or something we desire ? To me, the idea of something we envy is more linked to impulse, instinct, to quick consumption, rather than something we desire which seems deeper, more visceral... Maybe we have to start looking for an answer in this field...

People who are in a couple think once they're involved in the relationship, they won't be able to enjoy the dizzy and flighty side of single life. And single people despair and feel like they'll never find anyone to build something with.

Therefore, human beings would be unsatisfied animals unable to decide between several frustrations, as said the cynic french writter Beigbeder: living alone consuming pseudo-relationships on temporary basis, experiencing frustration of loneliness that comes along single life, or being in a couple sharing everything (or almost everything) with someone we chose, experiencing frustration of not being allowed to live alone and what comes along it...

PS: There are for sure people happy and satisfied with their situations too.

ELLIOT FOR WATER

Today I'm introducing an original and oh-so-useful concept...

ELLIOT FOR WATER

Elliot For Water is "the first search engine that gives the possibility to its users to help the people in need of drinkable water". 

Its aim is clearly to make our web wanderings/researches U S E F U L.

When I heard about this project I instantly thought "Oh my god, why nobody did it earlier, that's fucking awesome !!". And I installed it on my computer.

We're living in such a way we forget that what we drink, what allows us to cook, to shower/wash our hands/teeth, to pee (and more), to laundry and so on, is something precious and invaluable.

- Copyright The Endorphin Company -

Every year 2,6 million people die because they do not have access to clean water, which is more than 7 thousand people everyday. Half of these victims are less than 15 years old. 

They all die because of water-related diseases.
A study made by "Solidarités International" NGO states that 3,5 billion people drink unsafe water everyday and 1 billion people do not have any toilet. Around 272 million days of school per year are missed (especially by young girls having periods) because of the lack of infrastructures allowing them to go to the bathroom, and it seriously impacts on their education.

In our daily life we tend to forget all the issues that result from unsafe water and lack of water infrastructures, but it goes from health to education.

That's why Elliot For Water is here. To remind us that we can act, even just from behind our screen when we are surfing the Internet.

"Elliot For Water donates 70% of its profits to buy Solwa Technologies*, solar energy based products that purify dirty or polluted water through desalination, the irrigation of arid grounds, and the dehydration of food. [They] will also take care of the primary necessities of the villages in which this technology will be implemented."

*an Italian company working with solar energy

To learn more about this wonderful search engine, help it to grow and start saving lives, let's go to their page, and install it.

It's one thing to realize our planet and people living on it are in trouble, It's another to act consciously and sustainably for it.

Elliot For Water is therefore a great opportunity for everyone of us. Let's start acting !

FROZEN YOGURT

Yummy and healthy recipe...

40°C in Spain today !

I thought it was a good day to try a frozen yogurt recipe.

I'm crazy about frozen yogurts: they're resfreshing, healthy and tasty (only if you use healthy ingredients, of course). And they can easily replace a meal in summer.

- Coloured jars from Tiger - 

Ingredients for 2:

1 bottle of fat-free drinkable yogurt (strawberry flavor in this recipe)
2 fat-free plain yogurt
Cookies (gluten free here)
1 mango
1 peach
1 kiwi
1 pineapple


Directions:

Mix drinkable yogurt and plain yogurt until it becomes homogenous
Pour it into the bottom of your glasses
Put them in a freezer
Mash the cookies
Cut all fruits in pieces
Once the yogurt is frozen:
Put the cookies
And the fruits making "floors"

You can eat it right away if you want to or you can put glasses back in the freezer to get frozen fruits too and eat it later.

You can choose any kind of fruits and you can also replace cookies by cereals or nothing at all. At your convenience ! 

I hope you'll enjoy it...

SUMMER READING

Stay Close, Harlan Coben

This book has spent one year on my shelf before I read it.

I kind of forgot I bought it. Then I moved from Paris to Spain and it travelled with me.

When summer comes I'm always looking for great novels that get me away.

I'm always looking for novels that absorb me, that make me say "yes, wait a minute, I really gotta finish reading this paragraph", because the plot is just amazing. Maybe that's because I really like literature (in all its shapes) but I love the feeling this kind of books provides.

I discovered Harlan Coben with one of his first novels Miracle Cure (1992) that captivated me. 

I didn't really know I liked thrillers until I read his books.

Then I read Play Dead (1991) which is deliciously frightening and decided to buy Stay Close (2012) to be sure to read a fascinating story [one more time].

I started reading, and couldn't stop.

I read it in two days. Harlan Coben's writing is still effective, accurate, and incredibly captivating.

He's got the talent to slowly put the reader under pressure and he subtly leads you on a way making you think you can find who's the bad guy or murderer [everytime I start reading his books I'm thinking: "this time, I'll catch the murderer before the outcome"] but don't get wrong, it's always a fail, he's too good ! 

- Sunglasses RALPH by Ralph Lauren - 

I let you read the synopsis, I have to go to the bookstore to find a new one ! 

"Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she’s got two kids, a perfect husband, a house with a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at the age of forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Broome is a detective who can’t let go of a cold case – the disappearance of a local husband and father seventeen years ago.

As the terrible consequences of long-ago events collide in the present, three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that not even those closest to them would ever suspect, will come to realise that the past never truly fades away. And as each confronts the dark side of the American dream – the boredom of suburban life, the thrill of temptation, the desperation that can lurk behind even the prettiest facades – they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper thin as a heartbeat".

PS: Master of suspens, Harlan Coben is New York Times best selling author. 

Discover his universe: here, and enjoy !

WOODSTUCK

WOOD STUCK FESTIVAL !

A group of french friends launched its woody woodpecker company: WOOD STUCK.

They're offering wood skins for smartphones.

Original, caring of Mother Nature and easy of use wood skins.

Wood Stucks values are simplicity, quality and respect (of people and nature).

Every product is made in France and certified by the FSC label (Forest Stewardship Council) to respect and maintain natural communities and high conservation value forests, but also to create equitable access to benefits.

To satisfy everyone, they offer different kinds of woods: mahogany, oak, walnut, wenge...

The fact that every tree is unique makes every single wood skin unique too.

And they're sanded by hand.

A very precise work for a high quality product.

Between the year 2000 and the year 2005, 73,000 km² of forests have been destroyed and researches have shown that every minute 2,000 trees are cut in the world.

It seems vital, for our planet and our future, to take care of our environment even if it's on a small scale.

Wood Stuck is a way to begin to change our consumption habits, step by step, and to be aware that another way to consume is possible. It means changing our way of thinking and changing our way of spending. But it's definitely worth it !

PS:  For each purchased product, a tree will be planted in France with an online follow-up of their reforested park.

Find them: here and there 

GAYPRIDE

The Right To Shoes

The Gay Pride 2015 ended yesterday in Madrid

And same-sex marriage is now allowed in every state of the United States of America

But it's no reason to take it for granted. Quite the opposite.

37 years after Harvey Milk fought for gay rights in California [and was killed for it and his success], 77 countries still punish homosexuality (gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders) with prison, torture or forced labors and in 11 countries (like Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Yemen...), homosexuality is liable to death penalty. 

Who would have thought it would still exist in 2015 ?

When I see the way women are treated in those countries, no wonder why homosexuals are punished or liable to death penalty...

Wasn't there a time where human rights existed ?

To another scale (and in a much more evolved country like France) homosexuals still experience very strict rules to do blood donations. It's been a ban since 1983 because HIV was much more present in this population and given the time to notice the virus' presence... It was safer to proceed this way.

But time has changed. And when you know that in 2011, 42% of european students (attending a study on contraception and sexual relations) had sex without using any mean of contraception, with a new partner, I think we should also be careful about heterosexuals for blood donation too !

Anyway, I'm glad to see that brands such as Adidas bring their support to the LGBTQ community creating a new pair of Stan Smith and Superstar (around 100€), but also flip-flops (50€) to color our summer.

- Copyright Adidas -

Everybody is already wearing the regular Stan Smith so why wouldn't we get a bit more original and much more supportive by buying these ? And for those - like me - who are not afraid to wear flip-flops with any kind of clothes, why not to get the ones below ?

- Copyright Adidas -

Worldwide brands are very powerful, sometimes more than politicians, so let's be part of this powerful reign and use our compulsive fashionistas' desires and purchases wisely. At least, for once !

UNUSUAL PLACE

WHERE TO EAT & CHILL IN MADRID ??

I discovered the following place during a journey in Madrid. 

It was 3pm on a saturday afternoon, I was with a few friends of mine, starving (and hungover), wandering in the streets to find a nice place to fullfil our empty stomachs - even if it's hard to think in such conditions. 

We finally ended in the street "Calle Ventura de La Vega", and got into this restaurant called SAPOREM, attracted by its menu made of "tapas" and small dishes to mix and match.

The decoration is very lovely; modern and original with small details that make you feel like home.

We first thought there was no terrace - but as starving as we were, we were ready to give it a miss - but a waiter took us to a patio in the back of the restaurant.

Now we could get a new lease of life by eating and resting.

After sharing our tasty dishes, drinking a few glasses of "Tinto de Verano" (a typical spanish drink made of red wine and iced lemon Fanta - it seems weird but it's actually good !), we were ready for dessert and asked for the menu...

The waiter came back with a particular menu...
And from this moment, we knew we were falling down a new (but really nice) trap: a menu that suggests one slice of amazingly big cakes + an amazingly big homemade cocktail.
It was 5pm when we ordered.

[...]
Well, it was 9pm when we got out. No need to tell you it was a great afternoon !!

It was the perfect place to relax and enjoy some good food.
Moreover the "cake and cocktail package" is original and very appreciable if you want to enjoy a little snack while drinking a delicious homemade cocktail.

If you want to freshen up and eat good food during Madrid's warm days, don't miss this place !

For twice as much pleasure, we can find them in two places:

"Calle de Hortaleza, 34" and "Calle Ventura de la Vega, 5"

Enjoy !!

MADE IN PARIS

Last week I was presenting a french fashion brand from the city of Lyon, today I'm going to talk about a street-wear brand I discovered two years ago in Paris [and from Paris]: LES PARISIENS.

You might think every thing is in its name, but let me tell you the story.

LES PARISIENS is actually two friends combining their skills to create a real "Made in France" brand, even more than Made in France: Made in Paris.

One of them, Sylvain Montassut, is a fashion designer [he got his professional experience during interships and jobs in designer houses like Francesco Smalto and Emmanuelle Khanh] and is taking care of the creative part of the brand. The other one, Ousman Bamba, is taking care of the business part of it. 

Every piece of the collection is made in Paris, and finishing works are sewn by hand (e.g. hand-stitched leather yokes on hats and beanies). Even if those techniques are expensive, they're the core of the brand and its strengths, and they are proud to say they stick to their values.

They want to offer products inspired from the street so people can identify and afford it. 

They target young people from 18 to 30 that may not be able to afford premium or luxury brands, but that don't want to wear what everybody else is wearing (clothes coming from big fashion chains like Zara, H&M and so on).

They put emphasis on quality rather than quantity to produce high quality clothes, with small collections that change quite often. This way they allow their customers to get different products so they are not all dressed the same way.

They also observed that in France, people are not very proud of their country or district (compared to the US), so they wanted to create this "patriotism" and make people realize that they live in a beautiful country with great opportunities, in fashion, but not only.

They both live in Paris and they've always seen people coming from all around the world to visit Paris and do some shopping. But they see tourists with shopping bags coming from worldwide store signs. 

To them, it's completely non-sense because if you're going to Paris, you want to bring home something authentic, something that really DOES come from France, not something you can shop anywhere in the world.

That's why they wanted to change it, at their own level, by offering an alternative street-wear brand.

LES PARISIENS is therefore a state of mind, a way of dress and a way of life.

Meet them here.

Discover collection there

HOT DAY COLD DRINK

As a heatwave is hitting Europe, I decided to make a cold and fruity drink as a survival kit.

These 38°C are anything but unusual in Spain -- where I'm living

But it's still nice to enjoy some cold drinks and try some new stuff !

I really got crazy about fruitjuices during a trip to Sri Lanka where my friends and I discovered a place where they were making fresh fruitjuices with completely-unkown-fruits like sour sops and woodapples.

I love those drinks because we can choose any kind of fruit (or almost) and change all the time.
We can also make it tastier with yoghurt / milk / icecream and transform it into a lassi, smoothie or milkshake.

So here's the pineapple, kiwi, banana fruitjuice, with passionfruit and strawberries to snack.
As easy as pie, you cut the fruits, put them in a blender with ice cubes and it's done ! Enjoy !

WEDDING TIME

Last weekend, I went back to France where I celebrated my cousin's wedding
(in a small town named Ambillou, next to Tours, into the Vallée de la Loire)

She and her husband-to-be rented an amazing old hunting lodge: "Le Domaine de la Trigalière"
where most of the guests could stay for the weekend thanks to 7 houses.

- La Trigalière Cottage -

The [moving] ceremony took place outside, in front of a small chapel, under a hard sun. At the end of it, every guest was invited to write pieces of advice for a wedding anniversary of his choice, so the newlyweds could read it when the time would come.

Then, we enjoyed the cocktail in the garden in front of "La Trigalière Cottage", which dates back to the nineteenth century, where we had dinner and danced all night.

The morning after we could rest and lie poolside before having a tasting lunch of local products such as terrines and goat cheeses.

The tasting was led by professionals, really passionate about their job and region : La Balade Gourmande.

- Gardens and pond next to the 16th century house "Sainte Christine" - 

Every house on the domain was very warn and comfortable. Rooms are painted in bright colors and have visible beams which is lovely and authentic.

The domain offers different paths to go for a walk but also for horse riding and cycling. This place is so peaceful it makes you feel like you are lost in the middle of nowhere and the only thing you have to do is to relax and enjoy.

I wish I had more time to spend in this magical place and enjoy a few more breaststrokes in the swimming pool and a long walk through those big fields at sunset. Unfortunately, a weekend is always too short !!

Places to visit:

- Château de Gizeux (offering wine tasting)

- City of Tours

WEDDING OUTFIT

It's always a headache to find the perfect outfit for a wedding, we never know what to wear - a dress, a skirt, pants - and it suddenly seems to be the BIGGEST problem on earth.

It's important to stay cool and to keep in mind that this is absolutely NOT a problem. It's actually a welthy-people problem, so we should deal with it with casualness.

However, when guys only have to choose their tux's color, and to choose between tie, bow-tie or no tie at all, we have a bunch of options.

I wasn't able to find the perfect skin-tight top to fit with my skirt so I bought a swimsuit. It perfectly matched and nobody noticed. To keep it simple, I wore black high heels and a clutch bag. I also made sure I had a black leather jacket if the weather was bad.

Swimsuit: Galeries Lafayette Paris | Skirt; Maje | Clutch bag: Lancel | High heels sandals: Minelli