Early spring in the south of Sweden

Sorry, I am outside the subject of Aquitaine, but I just wanted to show you a couple of photos from my trip back home to Sweden. The snow has just melted away, we even saw a heap of snow still there in the shadows, and the trees are getting that tiny first bit of green but overall the colours of the landscape are grey and wintery. Above you see a friend`s house where the Swedish flag decorates the house. This is very common in Sweden. Flags everywhere, in the gardens, on the house, inside on the tables... and I have never seen any French flags in France at anyone`s home.  Read on if you want to see some bits and pieces from a week in Sweden.

This shows how much gravel they use to make the roads and walking paths possible to use when it snows. The snow melts and here comes the gravel, a typical spring sign!

Clara was surprised to see the tiny pine cones. Nothing like the big ones we have in Landes.

A house with children is not complete unless you add a trampoline. Impressive to see how common they are!

Nature lovers but stuck with a difficult climate, a greenhouse is the solution. Look at how cosy this one is, more a spot to be alone and read than to really focus on the plants.. but we are early in the season too.

Can`t have a garden without growing something... like fruit trees and berry bushes. Here you see plums in Amaretto. Heaven.

Many thousands of years ago, Sweden was caught under a thick layer of ice. As it moved over the country, it brought huge stones with it and they fell down at various places when the ice melted. Like this stone, the same as I used to climb when I was a child.

Clara in front of the enormous heap of branches that are lit up in a great fire to celebrate the arrival of spring on the 30th of April, Valborg. This night is a big party night for the young Swedes.

One Swede out of seven has a boat. Can be a small one or a big sailboat, but the long coasts give us plenty of occasions to enjoy the sea. In France having a boat is a thing for the rich, not here. 

Another spring sign! He is preparing for summer by putting back the mast. All the boats are taken out of the water for winter and the masts are taken off. I remember the excitement of going with my parents to do this - then I knew that summer was getting close.

This is the main icecream brand mascot. Might surprise you to know that only the Americans eat more icecream than the Swedes in the world! We eat icecream all year around, with a huge peak in summer. I remember being a child and eating icecream every day in summertime! There is a company specialized in icecream that roam the residential areas with an icecream truck. A special melody announced its arrival - a melody I loved to hear as a child.

If you go to Sweden, don`t forget to look out for the beautiful china from Höganäs eller Rörstrand. Here an example of Swedish Grace from Rörstrand.

Some of the friends I met up with during my stay. These girls rock!

My mum enjoying the sun. Always chic, still as beautiful as ever at 76.

A view over the suburb just outside Norrköping where my parents live. Maybe you can't see much details, but most houses are made of wood, not stone. Many use geotermal installations to heat their houses and they all sort their garbage. Ecology is not just a word, it has an impact on how people live here.  

If you want to see beautiful photos from a traditional home in Sweden, check Mitt liv på landet, a blog about living on the countryside.

San Sebastian leaves me speechless

Café in the Gros district of San Sebastian

Just to make things clear: San Sebastian is not in Aquitaine. It is very close though, go on for fifteen minutes once you cross the border and here you are, saying Hola and Gracias (most of my Spanish vocabulary right there) and experiencing a completely different culture. You are in the north of Spain, in the Spanish Pays Basque.

Why do some places get it all? To define what San Sebastian is all about, imagine first that you take the most beautiful and spectacular place by the sea, two bays surrounded by hills and with the hazy mountains further away. The main beach La Concha is simply spectacular. That place in the sun leaves me speechless....

The Victoria Eugenia theatre

Then add the most beautiful 18th century architecture, blending ashlar fronts with ornated balconies and stonelaid pedestrian paths. Then you mix with a happy outgoing people that talk too loud and love being out in the bars and you get a glimpse of what San Sebastian is like. If that wasn't enough, let me also add that San Sebastian is the city with the highest Michelin star ratio per person in the world. You can't walk into a bar without admiring a long line of plates with little pintxos (like tapas but here they are called pintxos).

I found an article in The Guardian (Is San Sebastian the best place to eat in Europe?) that perfecly reflects my feelings about San Sebastian and its cuisine - part of the basque culture. Fresh, natural ingredients prepared with an high degree of perfectionism, yet simple and direct. And like he says in the article, you get good food wherever you go...

Pintxos

When you come into a bar, the cold pintxos are displayed on the counter. Order something to drink, then take a plate and serve yourself a few of them. When you leave, the waiter will ask you about how many you took - and the worst thing to do ever is to lie. Don't forget that most bars also serve hot pintxos, that they make to order. The old part of San Sebastian, Parte Viejo, overflows with bars....

My photos are taken during different times of the day, from full sunlight to the last rays of sun and also with an overcast sky... I didn't get at chance to take any good daytime photos from the main beach La Concha.... so I guess I have to go back!?  Poor me. It takes a whole hour to go there.

Beach Zurriola, the surfers place, at daytime.

Zurriola at the end of the day. See that surfer with his board?

Café by the Zurriola beach in the last rays of sun. Behind you see the congress building Kursaal.

The Kursaal seen from the other side. The green and white columns are lamps on the Zurriola bridge across the river Urumea. At night, they and the Kursaal are lit up with a soft light. People walk and bike along the river and the sea.

The five star Maria Cristina hotel by the river Urumea. Created by the Spanish queen in 1912.

Details from a statue at the Maria Cristina bridge

The old part of San Sebastian, Parte Viejo, where you find small shops, restaurants and, more than in any other place that I know of, lots and lots of bars.

Plaza de Constitucion  in the Parte Viejo

A small harbour at the foot of Mount Urgull.

Detail from the Ayuntamiento building

Approaching the Concha bay with gardens and palm trees

Very last rays of sun by the Concha bay at low tide

Further to the right of the Concha bay

Diputacion Foral and the sumptuous garden of the Plaza de Gipuzkoa

The Concha bay seen from the Mount Igeldo. Please click on the picture! Photo Wikipedia.

Overview of San Sebastian. The smaller bay shows the Zurriola beach, the bigger bay the Concha beach. The green hill in between them is Mount Urgull. At the south end of the Concha beach you see the Mount Igeldo, a view point you can reach with a little train. The old part is next to Mount Urgull. You can also see the river Urumea and several bridges.  Photo Wikipedia.

Note: The full correct name of this city is Donostia-San Sebastian, where Donostia is the Basque name.

Easter in Paris

This Easter weekend we went to Paris to visit my husband's brother and show Paris to our children. Paris, o Paris....

My first stay in Paris I was a student (studying at ENSAM and ESCP for those who know about French schools) and living in Cité Universitaire, a huge student area. I had a cosy room of 8m2 all for myself, with WC and shower in the corridor, in a building that was situated about 2 metres from the périphérique, the ring road around the centre of Paris. From my second floor I had an excellent view over the six lanes and quite some noise from the cars.
But that was OK. The heating pump was running at maximum capacity, creating a near tropical climate in some rooms, forcing my fellow students to strip to T-shirt and boxer shorts, while other rooms, like mine, were further along the pipes and received no heating at all. My room was a fridge and I routinely put on two thick sweaters when I entered. When I said I had never been so cold as in Paris, I wasn't joking. In spite of all that I still spent one of my best years as a student in Paris.

My next stay in Paris, a few years later, my living conditions significantly improved. I had a fancy job and a fancy apartment a block from the Eiffel Tower. I also fell in love with my husband to be. Since then, Paris will always have that rosy shimmer of happiness, a glow from those young years of no worries and much fun. Being in love in Paris is hard to beat.

There was a third stay, living in Rueil Malmaison, a posh suburb just outside Paris with a small child, but I am not sure it enters in the Paris category. Let me just say I think it was closer to the true experience of the Paris region that most Parisians live, being at the mercy of repeated transport strikes and relying on a nanny to get everyday life to function.

To me, Paris is a compulsory stop if you want to visit France, but do not believe that Paris is France.  Like for most countries, the capital has a life of its own, sometimes pretty far from the rest of the country. For worse or for better. Go there, but don't believe you know France because you know Paris!

This time we were not so lucky with the weather. Mostly rain for two days. It generally started to rain as soon as we stepped out of the car. But here you have some photos with little details that speak to me, little things that are different, of all the things I love about Paris.

I love the cafés. I love watching people, taking it easy, sipping a coffee. Essence of Paris for me.

Look at these tourist photographers and the people posing in front of the Louvre Pyramid. I have a hard time admitting that I am now one of these tourists that real Parisians look at with a sigh. Paris needs the tourists, but doesn't really love them. Nah.

Everywhere chocolate shops and bakeries with exquisite, magnificient cakes for every taste. Daily temptations.

 

Just one example. The cake we had at my husband's brothers place. Raspberry charlotte with rabbit decoration.

This was new to me, all these bikes that you can rent. There were many bikers around, parents with young children - no one with a helmet of course. Special lanes for bikes.... I was impressed.

I love this! Suddenly we turn a corner and there, on the pavement, a small orchestra playing Mozart. Culture is everywhere in Paris.

Number one on the children's list of top ten in Paris. They do have the most beautiful carrousels, old style, they look like they are hand painted.

I had forgotten how rich Paris is. Porsche is everywhere... and we saw many Cayenne, the Porsche version of a four wheel drive, which cost (at least) 100 000 euros. These cars are much more rare in my village...

A Japanese restaurant called Matsuri where the food is put on small plates on a transport band. You pick any plate that looks nice and pay according to the number of plates you have taken. The children loved the idea, but finally few of the dishes where to their taste.

I remember when these transparent waste bins came for the first time, to avoid terrorists to put bombs in there. Now they are still there - still because of bomb threats? Or maybe just practical?

Love the contrast of this striped decoration at a the Palais Royal. It is called Colonnes de Buren. 

Some examples of archtectural details that add to the charm and beauty of Paris. The ornate balcony, the statues around a window, a golden angel. Look out and you'll see things that this everywhere!

Finally, another contrast I love. The Louvre and the Pyramid. Old and new, living together.