Sweden to the Rescue

With the house slowly taking shape there were a number of things to organise before it will be finalised. One of the most important issues is to get a kitchen and some bits and pieces of furniture. What better excuse than to check out the IKEA in Genova on a late Sunday afternoon. Only 1 hour and 15 minutes away (I drive quicker than Google Maps indication of 1h55) and let’s get crazy in Blue and Yellow land. It is quiet interesting to see that Ikea Italy has managed to give the store a little bit of an Italian touch, with an Espresso bar and Italian meals and as it looks like, a little bit more of designer things in the aisles.
They are open everyday until 20.00 and receive between 5.000 to 15.000 visitors per day !

I decided to get my office table and things for the guest room. With a nice bed and some funky bedcovers guests will be able to enjoy Ikea luxury and comfort at Seborga.
The kitchen will be for next week cos this is giving me headaches and frankly, it is too complicated to design the living room with a sitting area, fireplace, big windows but also a table to dine and an open kitchen ahhhhhhh Jean des Bouvries to the rescue!

Well at least these problems are more luxury problems and I guess in the end it will not matter too much since the good weather will force …Outside living !

The difference is..?

Some people have raised eyebrows when I mentioned that I moved to Italy and purchased a house. To far from Nice and the airport, to far from anything that is lively etc etc. But the most frequent was; you will miss the good weather of the South of France.

Well to reassure all those optimistic people and the ones that are disappointed that their holiday address might not be as fun and sun as it used to be… Here is a picture of the view the coast line of Bordighera that, in my humble opinion, doesn’t look that bad after all.

With the sun and 18 degrees, I guess for the moment life is no different that the Cote d’Azur (that for the record is only 30 minutes away).
But I suspect that it just might be an attempt to get invited to Casa Bosco and experience the difference?! Let’s wait and see if the bookings for the upcoming summer will be as high as the temperature.

Voting for Dummies

The elections in Italy are approaching and in all the towns, men with big bellies and jeans that always seem to slide down, set up metal frames. These frames are being used later on for each party to put its party campaign poster on it. Over the last couple of days these empty places have been filled up with colourful campaign poster of at least 7 different parties. When taking a closer look at them I noticed something ought… On the one from Berlusconi for instance, they show the party name and leader and the big logo but this one was crossed out.

Wow, in the sleepy town of Bordighera a fanatic non supporter of the big Berlu has staged a silent action against him. But the next day I noticed that all these posters seem to have it and at the end of the crossed lines there even is a sign that looks like a pen or pencil. Hang on, this is basically showing voters how to vote ! Dear Italian voter, please select our party by using a pen or pencil and use it to produce two lines that cross eachother in the middle. This is for sure indiot proof voting and I am sure that nobody will ask for any assistance.

Strange actually, when I voted for the first time at 18 years of age, I remembered a huge DJ like mix panel with all the names of the candidates and you just needed to push the button. I guess this would be to difficult to show on those election posters so the Italian still rely on old fashion methods to elect and another president to run the country.

Yoghurt Rules!

I generally watch Italian television to start to learn the language and to understand the culture a bit more. This is of course quiet subtle but with a business eye I have spotted a new thing that I have not seen before in terms of commercials. Everybody know the classic commercial that takes around 30 seconds and generally served in between films or long programs. Well, the Italians are be able to squeeze an advert in during a football match when the referee is writing down the booking of a player. This on itself is not very remarkable but than there is the extended infomercial. I spotted that one when I was trying to watch “Who wants to be a millionaire’. The presenter announces the break and I am expecting plenty of commercial and there is only one. During which the presenter is present, although he has had a change of clothes.

The particular one I saw was filmed in a trendy living room with the presenter talking to a beautiful lady (of course not his wife) that feels hungry. He acts (and pretty lousy) that he has the solution and opens a SMEG fridge that is filled (top to bottom) with one type of yoghurt, he picks one and serves it to her. Apparently this yoghurt does more than many men have tried to achieve cos she seems to getting quiet excited about. MMMMMMMM, cremoso, mmmmm Buono etc etc. This yoghurt is providing her with an orgasmic sensation that of course was well-known to the presenter but now shared with us in an intimate environment. A final close up of the packaging and the slogan and we are back at the show. The presenter looks like nothing happened but it sort of feels that he has a lot of explaining to do to his wife.

This type of infomercial is close to hidden camera programs that show cheating husbands, although that never involves yoghurt and the presenter of a quiz show.

Wake up and smell the business!

Over the last period, JuniorSenior and yours truly have been chasing potential clients from St Tropez to Milan and this with varied success. One of the main problems we encountered was the extremely long decision making process, sometimes of budgets that were hardly worth waiting for (although EVERY budget for me is worth waiting for) but this week was no different up till the later part of the week, during which all of a sudden everybody seemed to wake up and wanted to get us to work for them. This is a luxury position and we are fortunate to be in this position and therefore gladly accepted a luxury real estate group, a golf and spa resort, a wireless IT provider for yachts and a luxury brand of shoes and if all goes according to plan a prestigious university !

However the result of the bursting pipeline we are now faced with a list of very sharp deadlines and a queue at creative studio but we are not complaining. This what it is all about, hard work and good preparation and now we have to show them that we are the creative and innovative agency that we claim to be. A new challenge but this is the challenge that makes our work interesting and worthwhile.

Maybe in the near future we will install those red ticket dispensers that we had before at the bakery and call our clients… Number 17; Nike, please move through to window number 7. Number 18; Rolex, window number 8 is ready to take care of your adverts. Nah, that would take away the excitement of getting and signing a client! No tickets here, just a crazy Dutchman in a pink rocket …

Scratch your parking time

Today I had a meeting in Sanremo at 11.00 and I drove slowly along the sunny coast line listening to the latest live CD of Muse (not song number 11). When I arrived at rue Verdi where my meeting would take place, I spotted a fantastic parking space completely empty and I parked with a big smile, what a good start ! I got out of the car in search of the parking meter. Well, strangely enough, where ever I looked, nothing to be found. On the other parked cars I didn’t see any printed tickets so I guess I was safe. The meeting carried on for almost 45 minutes until the client proposed to have a coffee in the local bar to conclude the meeting.

We walked outside and a pink piece of paper was flapping on the front screen of my car. Black and pink, not a bad colour scheme but something told me that this spelled …parking ticket. Indeed it was. My client felt pity for me and paid for the coffee during which he explained the procedure. When you park there you need to go to the nearest newspaper shop ( in this case at least 5 minutes walk) where you buy a big carton card. This card has many different part that you need to scratch like the ones you use for making money.

The opened boxes correspond to the time you are staying there. This card you need to put in the car and will prevent it for being fined. Welcome to the Parking Lottery ! Mr Bos, come on down and scratch your parking time ! A funny story that costs me 36 euros, but after a quick evaluation I decided to file this pink paper in the nearest bin. Sometimes it serves its purpose to life in Italy but drive a car with French licence plates.

A solution is needed...and quick!

This afternoon I chilled a bit working at my 'stam cafe', preparing the upcoming week. After some bevarages of the espresso kind a visit to the toilet is a more than logic result. The place is quiet stylish and the toilet area is no different. However since it seems that today the whole of Italy has decided to visit my 'quiet office' I fear for the worst and I am not dissapointed. When I push the door open it is clear that there have been a number of people before me that are as good at aiming as Stevie Wonder. What is it with men? Do we have problems to focus? Do we get messages when we do our thing that says 'more to the left or right?". Is the toilet round not round enough or not large enough? Do I need to start wearing rubber boots everytime I go to the loo? For Pete's sake, there must be a solution !

I have taking things in hand (!) and decided after I surf my way back to my table to find a solution! A solution that guarantees that every men is be able to aim better and prevent us from wearing rubber boots.
A quick search on the internet learned me that this is a world problem, something that keeps heads of state awake when they dont speak about hunger, war or global warming. Many things have been tried, incrusted flies in the porcelain that makes you want to aim for it or a urinoir in the shape of big friendly lips (of the upper kind) but nothing has succeeded to get a solution.

I simple reckon it is a size problem. Men are just always busy and thinking about three things at the time (cars, women and football, give it a try it is not easy). The solution is a bigger toilet that will enable men to think and do their thing.
And I am happy to contribute to the solution because I have been able to find the manufacturer of the only toilet that will solve this problem.
As you can see in the picture, this one is currently tested in Orlando with lots of success and we all know that if it works in the States it will be easy for us.

Today, I have send off an email to the company for a trial toilet seat that can be installed in the South of France and enable the French to be at the leading front of the wee industry! For sure something Sarkozy was waiting for, just my apologies to him in advance cos it might be a bit too high for him...

Seborgian Food Fest

What better occasion to be wished for as Easter Sunday to check out the gastronomic skills of the ‘Il Principe” in Seborga. Upon entry, the welcome was very friendly, what else would you expect? We are among Seborghini ! The host of the evening Mr Ferrari (no really) also the Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated the table with a massive stomach move that indicated that the word ‘diet’ is not part of the Seborghini vocabulary. After a small chat with him, I quickly found out that he was the ex owner of the plot of land where the house is been built. That makes the decision easy tonight for leaving a tip… Mr Ferrari recommended the tourist menu, which is not that heavy and covers the things that Seborga is famous for which.

So to kick off the meal, I got a huge plate with all types of meat, salad and grilled vegetables, very tasty indeed. Moving swiftly on the next plate was of the same size and had home made ravioli in sauce Bolognese, not very gastronomic as a choice but I loved it. With a bit of time for another small chat he explained that Seborga is rather serious about their independence and that was clearly visual when the waiter showed her jumper with on her arm the flag of Seborga. It all sounded and felt a bit like Corsica but less violent!

Ready for the next phase? Bring it on! Seborga rabbit, a big bowl filled with three huge pieces of rabbit in fresh tomatoes and olives and served with small cubes of potatoes, oufff this is serious stuff.
I almost finished the dish but my stomach seemed to start to imitate that of the owner and I was still one stage away from the final coffee. Mr Ferrari asked if all was well and invited me to have a look at the desserts. Not the card but a huge table in the middle of the room that offered a variety of desserts that much have made Willy Wonka jealous. I decided to go for the pear cake that seemed a less heavy option than the strawberry meringue.

A nice piece of cake that normally is drenched in Calvados but I decided to leave that to him. (he moved to the corner of the restaurant and had two pieces) The coffee was a welcome end to a huge meal but unfortunately a coffee brand with a strange taste, but I have to admit that my bodily functions as well as my head was kind of busy dealing with the amount of food that I was given. I staggered to the car (had my picture taken with the Minister of course) and had a quick look at the house that was covered in darkness and silence. What a meal and what a village! What will have it in store for me next ?

Weekly Casa check-up

Saturday afternoon, after the storm, was bright and sunny and perfect to visit the house. As always I was curious to see what has been done and what hasn’t. Upon arrival I noticed straight away that the windows and doors have been placed in the house and it gives it a more ready feel to it! The staircases have been finished with the black Italian stones and a number of little walls have been built to indicate the different gardens.

When I enter the house I find a big pile of parquet on the floor which has not been used. The workers explain that the floor is still not dry enough so I need to wait a bit more. The bath tube has arrived and also the shutters, but my God, the colour ! The shutters are Hulk inspired and can be seen in the dark from at least Cannes. Who the hell is in charge of the colour schemes? Is there some kind of architect taking the Mickey out of me??? The good thing is that the window frames and shutters are of solid wood and not plastic but I really don’t understand the colour. Well, I guess this is something that is kind of an acquired taste, something that will grow on you. For the moment they are placed inside the house and that is kind of handy because they brighten up the room…

But apart from that it looks like things are moving, with literally 3 weeks from the proposed date, things are taking shape. But it is clear that they will never finish it all before the 15th although, to be honest I never really believed in that. They have an additional 30 days to get things sorted before the penalty clause will kick in and that I am sure they are not to keen on. In any case tomorrow I will have another look before diner at the gastronomic restaurant of Seborga. Run by the always smoking, big moustached signor that is also the Minister of Foreign affairs. I am not making it up but in the Principality of Seborga everybody is taking this very seriously. Naturally I support the same cause ! Free Seborga !

Stormy Bordighera

On Friday I was working from my temporary office on the beach front of Bordighera. It is a peaceful place where you can get a lot of work done and they serve some great coffee and whisper when they do so, to not disturb you. It has a nice view on the seafront and it will be a perfect place to relax in the summer time when the sun has arrived. At the end of the afternoon the colour outside turns to something greyish almost like a smog effect before soon the wind start to show his force. It is amazing within minutes the whole place is activated and chairs are being put aside and door are closed, people speak to each other as if judgment day is upon them.

I continue to work and don’t really pay attention until I hear a strange sound… I look outside and the plastic castle for the kids is blown into the air and it seems like the wind is really showing off. On the funny side, the birds and seagulls are floating against the wind and basically drop like stones in the sea when the wind turns. People enter the place with their clothes and air completely blown into a different shape. It is almost 19.30 and the owner starts to get worried that nobody will take the effort and go down to the restaurant. I reckon it is a good time to leave and prepare myself for the worst.

The wind is blowing fiercely and the waves collide against the rocks, it feel pretty cool and I start running like a small kid. Trying to beat the forces of nature, even as an adult isn’t easy but great fun !
I try to make some pictures but the wind kind of makes its hard to get a well focussed one and I run back home. On the way back I pass several restaurants…they are all completely full with people and it looks like the Italians need a little bit more to move them away from their food and favourite restaurants!

Just hanging

With the Easter weekend close and the stomach already pretty well accustomed to plenty of chocolate Easter eggs I was wondering what the weekend has to offer.
The weather is apparently not going to be great, rather grey and windy and there will be a fast increase of tourists visiting Bordighera so it might be better to just leave. But where to and what to do? I had a quick look at some of the travel websites and there is really nothing interesting that is worth pursuing. Having said so, I looked at a website that offers more interesting packages than your average travel agent. Go hunting in Kazakhstan and you can shoot with basically anything (tanks are not included), sounds like fun…

Than there is a weekend and which you can relax and meditate… well that is maybe after I had my mint tea.. which for the moment is not winning it from the espresso. The last and final option seemed extreme but a life changing experience, combining suffering and cleansing of the soul, interesting and you don’t need to bring your own cross ! Excuse moi? Well, the voyage will take you to the Philippines, upon arrival you will get your crucifix and a bunch of nails.

The travel agent has found some capable men that will hammer you on it and stick you in the ground. Don’t worry the view apparently is wonderful and your are facing south so you might get a tan too. There even is a doctor on site that can give you a tetanus injections, cos the nails are maybe a bit dirty. So having been nailed on the crucifix you can admire the scenery and contemplate your life and the changes you want to make to. I am sure that your first thought will be…change of travel agent ! But than again, he has enabled you to experience something that not many have experienced before and it will certainly bring you close to Him. (even more if you don’t take the tetanus injection)

Have a good Easter and just read a book or so.

The smell of success

During days when you drive up and down the coast, doing presentation after presentation, write some articles and debriefs you are basically doing the thing you like to do, which is for me something useful. However in the little time during which you have some time to spare I read lots of newspapers and sometimes read about big events that are being attended by lots of people and even get a fair share of media coverage. They are generally held in the USA and have low access barriers (eg idiots can participate too) which is very democratic and often quiet funny.
The world champion hot dog eating this year is American (what a surprise) and he is generally proud of it.

The Canadians are often in direct competition with the USA but tend to take things to a higer level up til today ! Vermont organised...one sec...The Annual 'Odor Eaters Rotten Sneaker Contest'. Yes, you can imagine the smell of success here...
Who comes up with these ideas and who participates? The wonders of the world I guess.
But it must be a releave to the Americans that there is a contest they can beat the Canadians at and I am looking forward to see the Hot Dog champ to give this one a go. I bet that it involves lots of training (and trainers) Redbull and maybe they should be tested on EPO and of course the illegal use of stinkbomb and acid. But I guess Dr Rachel Herz, author of Scent of Desire (shown on the picture) has all this covered. Oh dear, I will stick to doing meetings.

A view to a kill

Sunday as mentioned was the weekly meeting with Casa Bosco during which I inspect the place as if I was Bob the Builder and know all the ins and outs of the building procedures... The excitement of actually visiting the place has become rather an affaire of 'what will I find this time'. Each time the access road to the house is changed and blocked by a huge piece of metal and a plastic sheet to indicate that this is private property. Entering the house I notice that the only thing they have done is putting black stone pavements on the inside of the doors and window frames. Oufff, that is a scary when I am one month away from getting the key.

However the house is 'en plein soleil' and its warm and quiet and the view! With about 20 degrees and a clear sky the view is breathtaking and makes my worrying less important. I sat down on the corner of my garden and have a good look at the house. Strange, soon this will be mi casa and I have to take of the garden and decide where to put the teak table and connect my WIFI access. Oh yes and the tiny question of ....what kitchen to buy, which desk and cupboard to order and all the electronic appliances that makes our life easier! Maybe afterall it isnt so bad that things will take some extra time to finish because I am not ready at all :)

Grand Prix de Bordighera

The Formula 1 season has started and the Italians are obviously very excited to support their Rosso Ferrari and newspapers covered with interviews ( I think the only person of Ferrari that has not been interviewed is the cleaner) and the images on the television add another dimension to it. But since the start of the season is in Australia, the city of Bordighera decided to take it a bit closer to home. For this reason they have organised the GP Bordighera for.... dirt bikes. You know, the motor cycles that make a sound like they have been eating Chili Con Carne all year round! Nothing wrong with these bikes but this year it enduro, meaning ...through the city and even better just under my window and small balcony.

I think it was God that created Sunday to be a day of rest but he forgot to mention this to the Bordighera people cos this morning at 8.30 I had 100 bikes going up and down the road like there was no tomorrow. Sleeping became impossible and I was tempted to built a big speed bump in the road but decided against since they would probably only like it!

Since the weather was great a visited to the house in Seborga was a good escape plan.
Got in the car and tried to open the gate that normally lets me escape Bordighera but today decided that I wouldnt ! After having checked the gate several times the solution came in disguise of an old lady that took some tissue paper and started to rub the sensor on the gate and...voila, the opened! I guess you need to rub it the right way and that takes experience.

So, it was off to Seborga to take the progress (which was not a lot) and than a little bit of email and debrief work at the local beach house before heading off to Monaco to enjoy another classical evening with the philharmonic orchestra of Monaco.
This beats the noise of the dirtbikes and figures crossed that it will be over by the time the concert is over.

Full throttle

I just arrived at home, its about 21.30 and I am still smiling after a crazy week ‘at the office’. This week I had several important meetings, some to present JuniorSenior some to discuss how and what we will do for them. This meant that I was clocking up quiet a few kilometres between Cagnes, Nice, Monaco, Italy, Cannes, Grasse and that several times. The advantage of driving to meetings is the time you have in the car to make calls and scribble ideas on a note pad. And in the evening it is good to drive back when its dark, with some good lounge music to relax and of course test the power of my engine. (just for the record mum, no I didn’t do more than 180km)

At the (home)office there are plenty of emails to be answered and new prospects to be added to the list. Its hard work, doing 100 things at the same time and trying to stay focussed but its all great fun and very often the contact with the clients are very rewarding. This week was not different but we managed to crack some hard clients nuts (well not literally) and make them want to work with us! We had strange meetings with smart and professional business men who often are a bit blinded by their ambition.

But also meetings with people that complimented us for sticking with them and never giving up. Obviously doing business and being an entrepreneur is all about that; never giving up, staying focussed and positive and when you are down just get up again and try again. Clients and potential clients see and feel this and since they have started in a similar way they appreciate this and support this. The support being given us the chance to do business with them. In the end it is of course up to us to proof that we are the company we say we are but we are a bunch of highly motivated, stubborn but dedicated people that deliver! So after a such a week, during which we break speed barriers and push each other to the limit, we need a little break that is called weekend.

But well… I have another meeting on Saturday so Sunday will do than. I guess it is all about investing yourself but when you like what you do, that isn’t bad at all and it will all pay off in the end! But for now…SLEEP!

The principality welcome you...

Although I am still almost a month away from getting the key of the house things are moving forward. Today I got the paperwork by email to become a full resident of the principality of Seborga. What an honour for a simple Dutchman like moi. The document was send by my real estate guy and is just an A4 paper which indicates my desire to enter the principality and become a member of this elite society, well I guess that’s marketing Seborga style.

It will also mean that now I will become entitled to pay tax in Italy which is for many a flexible thing and a sport to find ways of paying as less as possible. The election of Berlusconi would be the icing on the cake for many so all eyes are on the upcoming elections.

For me it will be different cos I have the Prince to elect and to honour and get my own flag to put up in the garden, Seborghinis are proud people.
They have been fighting for over 60 years to get their independence ( I support this case strongly cos it will mean….no more taxes) and they even have an army. But don’t invade Seborga in the morning cos the butcher and grocery store owners are than attending to business.

Well I will now sign off the documents and wait if they will accept me, although I have good potential according to the mayor. When I marry somebody and get two kids I will increase the total population with 10%. Bless them !

By the way, the motto of Seborghini is ; 'Sub umbra sedi' which is Latin for "Sit in the shade' I guess that says it all :)

Baby you can drive my car

I like to be in Monaco and just sit on a terrace and observe the people walking by, the cars, the yachts, but I don’t really have the time for it.
Today however the weather was great and my meeting was on the terrace next to Maxim’s and a great place for coffee and funny things.

My meeting was a bit late and I ordered a coffee in advance and started to have a look at the people passing. As usual there were many elderly couples, well dressed and carrying ridiculous looking small dogs in even more ridiculous expensive carrier bags. Than there are of course the women of the rich Monaco based businessmen that have the extremely hard task to spend theirs husbands (or lover) money quicker than the price of a barrel of oil is raising.

It is a skill and they feed it every day with grace and skill. Observing them closely it almost felt like they are under pressure to spend more, quicker and on sillier things than their colleague gold digger friend… Switching my attention to cars than. In Monaco you can basically see any type of car Before it comes on the market and although Monaco is only 2km2 and has a speed limit of 50km, the amount of fast and seriously expensive cars is mind boggling.

Some are old timers that are being driving by an eccentric millionaire that is really having a laugh. Than there are the Ferrari’s in all colours (yellow is nouveau riche and spells bad taste) and of course the cars that are so special that they make heads turns and traffic stop. But for me the funniest things are the 4x4. The Hummers, Cayenne, Mercedes G etc etc are so big and getting bigger every time that Monaco is having to change its parking spaces to cater for them. However the thing that makes me smile the most is the drivers, women that go shopping in these cars but generally drive tiny cars or no car at all.

This causes many situations that make me smile. A huge Cayenne stucked in the last corner of the parking, a Hummer that takes up three parking spaces and takes the lady 20 attempts to get it parked. But the best one remains a lady that drives a large Bentley that is so complicated for her to drive that when she is in the port of Monaco she parks it at the Riva garage (boats!!!) and smiles to the workers and each day there is a lucky worker that gets to turn around the car and take the corner that she is not be able to take. Only in Monaco !

Don't drink and network !

Monday night I was in Monaco for a cocktail that was attended by over 200 important decision makers and ceo’s (do I count myself among them….) The evening kicked off at 18.30 but you never be there at the real start, that would be to eager… So at 18.45 I entered the Sea Club at the Meridien Hotel, gave my invitation and kissed my way into the crowd. (In the South kissing is still a big thing and I am not against it) After having spend almost 8 years here I know quiet a few people and its always nice to see each other at this event. Naturally there are also the people to avoid but in the end you will still meet them, shake hands and move on.

As my entry in the JuniorSenior is still fresh, people are curious and exchanging business cards and explain and reply to many questions is actually good fun.
An other important part is that at cocktails the food is generally not bad at all (but I never seem to be able to eat) and the drinks are open bar, meaning, you can drink as much as you like, in my case that is a lot of San Pel! However, the people I was talking to persuaded me to have a glass of champagne and I made an exception to my non drinking rule. Continuing explaining and getting used to my almost Italian like use of gestures I manage to slam the glass out of my hand and on the floor. A suit covered in Moet and glass everywhere, a fantastic way of getting attention…

Funnily enough one of the main reason to attend was getting to know the new decision makers and there were a few on my list. However one I could find at all up till a nice lady handed me a napkin to get rid of the bubbles on my suit. “Nice to see you again Erwin’ oh dear, the thing I fear the most. People that know me but I cannot remember their name. Think Think Think. Say, sorry for the glass, you can put it on the bill, I joked, realizing that it was the head of the Meridien events department. She smiled and said, I was looking for you to present the new director of the group (marketing). Fantastic, that was the person I couldn’t find!

A friendly looking lady give me her card and hand and we exchange a couple of words….and realizing very quickly that she is …Dutch ! Great, 5 minutes later, I have one important person less to meet and a meeting set up for the next week, I guess broken glass brings luck after all!

National Women Day

Yesterday it was international women day something which is being celebrated in many countries and generally involves flowers and a nice diner. But when I turned on the tv in the morning to have a look at the news, I saw pictures of a face so familiar to many in France and beyond. The face belonged to Ingrid Betancourt, the Franco Colombian hostage taken by the FARC about 6 years ago. A lady that I didn’t know very well before but when you read about her and what she has tried to do for her country you can only admire her and support her cause. Seeing those images in the morning I thought that she might have been released, as a number of other hostages have been over the last months, but unfortunately this wasn’t true.

They showed pictures of a once strong woman that now looked frail and without any hope for release, although I think she is probably still stronger than she appears to be.

The released hostages have made comments about her being ill and in need of medical support but it seems like the Farc is not willing to hand over their most valuable hostage not even when the French president is making it his priority.
National women day might be a big marketing effort of the companies to get in more revenue and it probably is but when you really look at the essence of that day, I think of her.

After the interviews with her family and friends, the documentaries that were on French television I think that she embodies a strong woman that is/was trying to make change happen and fight for it and even more die for it! That is something many political leaders now a day lack, real determination to make a change and fight for what they believe in. With elections in Italy, France and the USA, this fight is something all those political leaders should take a lesson from and make politics issues something to fight for. I sincerely hope that one day she will have that chance to make a difference and proof to everybody that having the will power and a strong fighting spirit can make a difference!

Ingrid Betancourt is for me the woman that should have been celebrated yesterday.

Italian women revenge

Italy's highest appeal court has ruled that married Italian women who commit adultery are entitled to lie about it to protect their honour.

The court gave its landmark ruling after hearing the case of a 48-year-old woman, convicted of giving false testimony to police by denying she had lent her mobile phone to her lover.

The appeal court did not agree that she had broken the law.

It said bending the truth was justified to conceal extra-marital relationships.

I guess that after all the sweet talking Italian men, with sun glasses and mobile phones are getting slightly worried that women have changed the rules of the game.
And they managed to confirm it all in court!

The country keeps amazing me everyday, but today I guess it is 1-0 for all Italian women on the scale of revenge.

After lunch delight

No secrets here but it has been long known that I appreciate an espresso now and than.But having previously entered into a world of espresso, where drinking an espresso standing at the bar is not a simple gesture but a ritual. I recently walked into a new and funky looking café bar called Dersut, Bottega della caffe, and had a chat with the owner. As it turned out, they were not actually open yet, but the pestering sales man in me, apparently guaranteed a friendly welcome.

He quickly showed me around and the smell of coffee was already making me want to come back. This I have done several times since and I have even become a member of it which entitles me to have the friendly ‘Ciao !” when I enter the bar and after 10 visits a 100 grams of the best beans they could find. Good enough reason to come back!

But where I initially showed up to drink a simple espresso during lunch hours, I now got curious and found out that they offer plenty fresh fruits mixes and even better…funky coffees.

Si, si, Italians don’t stop at a simple espresso or capuchino, they have a wide variety that will keep you awake for the rest of the month. Today I entered the shop and waited patiently to order my espresso, just behind the local police officers. You know the type, cool sunglasses, tight fitted uniform with leather boots and a revolver that looks like a third leg at those tiny police officers and of course a funky well trimmed beard. They order a coffee that sounded very complicated and made the lady go and pick up a small machine and a number of bottles with strange looking liquid in it.

Did I discover an illegal trade of something? Is the police in Bordighera addicted? When the drink was finished, I will spare you the details but it involved a whole mix of handlings, the policemen smiled and drank it peacefully. This was so intriguing that when it was my turn, I said in real Meg Ryan style ; I’ll have what they are having! The lady behind the bar smiled like the well kept secret was being prepared for the Virgin coffee drinker from Holland. When the steaming glass was put on the counter, there was just one order; no zucchero, just turn with spoon! Ok, that’s easy. When I finally was be able to drink it, half the shop was observing me and I was scared that the police officer would arrest me but he smiled and said, c’est tres bon. Aller, lets go for it!

Mmmm, a mix of coffee, crème de café and some other things rather sugary but a great taste! I smiled and the people in the bar were all relieved and continued talking. I need to have this again, they only problem is… I have no idea how to pronounce it!

I go wacko !

Stress, work overload, too busy personal life all these things are apparantly ingredients to become mad! If you read the number of articles about people suffering from the above mentioned things you wonder how we at JrSr still stay on top of it all….

Well its simple; we are just wacko’s ! Or maybe a bit clearer..we eat wacko’s !
And if you join us at the forthcoming BCC event (www.bccriviera.com) you will understand things even better cos the theme is….You are what you eat!
Well I have recently discoved Wacko’s in all shapes and form and flavours and I have become a real Wacko, ever since! Its all very eye catching, with the packaging of each flavour you will see a potato head that is just completely silly! And in this world ( Il mondo di Wacko’s) there is space for everybody and stress and being busy is simply avoided by the taste of for instance the gusto Paprika. Of course you will only get a bit of those VIPs (Very Important Potatoes) and I have to say, it does wonders for potato kind.

So, if you are feeling stressed or you are just ready to become part of Wacko mondo, than just drive across the border and get your bag of crisp ! But be warned, once you go wack, you never go back !

Italian birthday

Tomorrow it will be one month since I have become an Italian residant and today I was thinking what I am missing in terms of Nice, France.
After a long think, no reason to be negative, I realised that I am missing my brioche and pain au cereal and Bon Mama rhubarb jam and maybe the occasional visit to Chez Gesu or the Barachois. It sounds that I am food obsessed but these are I guess the things you miss when you leave a place where food is so important.

But apart from these negative food facts I am really enjoying the life here. The people seem to be more friendly and open than in Nice and I cant say that they don’t like food like the French.

Certain things are of course still challenging, the language is not that easy and with all the channels on tv in Italian and no foreign news papers around I am obliged to force feed myself with the Italian language and that is actually great fun!

But what did I actually learn?

• Shouting is a proper way of communicating,
• Scrubs in Italian is almost as fun as in English,
• good coffee is cheap and comes in 100 shapes,
• internet connection is not and complicated to get it to work,
• Italians recycle but the bins always seem to be full
• football is like oxygen – don’t try to take it away cos they will kill you,
• fruit and veggies are fresh and have flavour,
• Italian bread is so light, they sell it to you with a cord attached,
• money under the table is a law, Berlusconi will confirm it soon
• singing on television is good as long as the presenter is blond, female and
good looking, cleavage is a plus
• tv commercials are about food, cleaning and telephones,
• a Fiat Punto can do 160 on the motorway,
• Italian police officers get special beard trimming lessons,
• Waving your hands and making gestures gets you airmiles, apparently…

And the list goes on and on ! Enough material to stay put and bore everybody again with my stories !

Progress is a state of mind

I have never been in the lucky position as to see your house being built before your own eyes. At times it is stressful and frustrating but this is soon taken care off with the excitement of where to install the kitchen and office and which part of the garden will be for the pizza oven.

However a new built property can also give you headaches in terms of what you can and cannot do. When I purchased the house, I put down a list of 7 changes that for me were primordial to get the house turned into my Casa. 5 of these points were approved and the others I can do a little bit later. With the interior design it will therefore be a real place that is almost like a tailor made shirt! And I do like my shirts !

But there are always problems, so Sundays are the days when I spend at least one hour on site inspection every corner of the house and keeping a close I on the progress.

This Sunday was no different and with a nice sunshine and splendid view on the sea I slided down the not yet prepared road of my house. First surprise …a huge hole in the garden that was being filled up with bottles of beer, metal frames and wood pieces, generally things you put in the ground to grow a tree of beer … Moving on I noticed that the inside was moving forward with about 100 meters of electric cables sticking out of the wall, a gadget environment needs a fair share of wires ! The outside wall offered yet another surprise. On the brick wall 5 colours were displayed; a Yellow like a banana, Orange like Easyjet, Red like a Ferrari etc, The thought that one of these colours would be for the outside wall made me a bit scared. I would see the headlines in the Seborga Gazetta; Mr Bos signs a product placement deal with Easyjet and turns house in a orange flagship. Luckily there were still some workers around and I asked one of them if this was what I thought? ….I was right! Oh dear, I think a chat with the architect would be a good idea, even more when I try to get from one part of the garden to the other side and there is no staircase, just 2 meters of space.

Progress is being made but it would be rather annoying if the house is fantastic but the only downside is …you can see the house from Nice!
Newly built is certainly not boring and I don’t regret it at all but you have to be ready for those surprises and know ways to persuade the builders to change their ideas.
(flower tiles in the kitchen mmmm) but they are a good bunch of workers and if they don’t progress quick enough they can always get the help of some Polish workers.