Club Med Nabeul, Tunisia

Muscle and Medals at Mini Club Med

For some reason the Hub has something for Club Med. Maybe it's a French thing, because when I was buying tickets at Wild Wild Wet in Singapore, the French ladies queuing up behind me talked about going to Club Med (Bintan) too. And if you've watched the cult movie Les Bronzés they were also waving their arms away in some Club Med. Sea, Sex and Sun...

So though I blanch at the idea of indebting ourselves just to spend a week doing nothing and stuffing/drinking oneself sick, I gave the details of my Carte Bleue over to said Club and condemned the family to another week of excess and certain weight gain.

Positive thing was that I've never been to Tunisia. And in my lost youth I've dated a rather cute Tunisian guy for a few days, so I've some interest in seeing (more than a decade later) his homeland (and countrymen).

We flew into Monastir from Paris and had the joy of hearing the same child scream from Orly Airport onto the plane into the bus all the way to our hotel. His chic mother looked absolutely helpless and hopeless. In fact many of those rich people's kids could be quite painful as we were to discover during our stay, made the Babies look like angels in comparison. Many a time I was really tempted to tell the parents that certainly a little swing of the cane from time to time couldn't do any harm.

Our part of Tunisia looked dry. Desert-like, with olive trees and cactuses everywhere, half-built houses and buildings and herds of goats on both sides of the highway. I was pleasantly surprised to see many Tunisian women in casual wear in the streets, sleeveless tops and all. In fact we could go topless on the beach or poolside and nobody would try to stop us from doing so.

Club Med Nabeul is more than 3 decades old from what I was told. About time it received a facelift. Our rooms were simple with 2 single beds each, a bathroom with shower and a ceiling fan. The cool thing though was that the rooms were cleaned and tidied up daily unlike in the cheaper French Clubs.

Now if you want to go to Club Med you must like to party a minimum. Which I don't. I know, I am a bore.

Senegal (made me want to visit the country)

At Club Med, they engage you 24h/24h. Music, dance, arm waving all the time. Peace and quiet is not a given. And best to like sports because they are really top for that. They have tennis courts, a private beach filled with top quality catamarans, surfs and kayaks, rollerblading grounds, archery grounds, outdoor gym etc etc. And those GOs (Gentils Organisateurs) usually have qualifications like "Junior Champion at Roland Garros in 2006", "Senegal's Top Archer", "France's Champion in Rollerblading in 2005, 2006..."

Couscous

And to make it worth your money, you must like to drink. Now they only do all-inclusive packages which means that you can drink (even alcohol) 24 hours a day. I found myself drinking like 3 Sangrias and 3 Mojitos most days after Noon plus a few Diabolos here and there!

Dessert Buffet

Did I mention buffets 3 times a day? All you can eat and drink. The quality of the food is so-so, but there is variety and alot of effort usually goes into presenting our meals e.g. garden party, beach party, pool party etc.

Poolside Buffet cum BBQ

Lamb Tagine

There were also themes every evening and if you didn't have the right clothes for a certain evening, you could always purchase something in the Club Med Boutique (business 1st, babe). There's a spa (European prices), a mini Souk, afternoon tombolas, fried doughnuts at 4pm, a performance (in French, of course) every evening.

Cocktails on the beach before dinner

You could also go on excursions to visit Tunisia, ride a camel in the grounds and play golf in Hammamet (also European prices).

Mechoui

For those with children, there are clubs for children of different ages and they look after them almost all day long from like 9am till 9pm with a shower break in-between (5:30 to 7). The babies preferred to stay with us though and we usually had to threaten and bribe to get them to spend a few hours in their Club.

Tunga

One thing Hub and I took a liking to was archery. Almost every afternoon at 4 sharp we would turn up to shoot a few arrows. And he also did a bit of wind surfing now and then. I regret not taking the opportunity to learn how to rollerblade or play tennis (didn't bring tennis shoes), apparently they were good even with total beginners.

Mini Souk at the Pool

Finally, guess what? I didn't buy anything. I stood amidst rows and rows of ceramic bowls, leather slippers etc and I didn't buy anything.

Mom's Birthday

Strawberry Shortcake from Four Leaves

For once I happened to be in Singapore (or actually it was the day of my departure) when mom turned another year older, so together with the family (nearly 20 of us!) we threw her a dinner at a Tze Cha stall in Buangkok the day before. They do pretty decent Golden Fragrant (basically with curry leaves and spices) dishes and a rather mean Salted Egg Yolk Crab. I love salted egg yolks, so I'm definitely won over by the dish.

Salted Egg Yolk Crab

A few days earlier I was at a local-expat BBQ organised by Viv (before she left to work in Phuket) and got the chance to try 2 different tasty cakes from Four Leaves. That was where I ordered mom's Birthday Strawberry Shortcake from. Baby Boy ate at least 2 slices of the cake, what a little pig.

Hope you'll enjoy very good health and lots of happiness, mom, in the years to come. Happy Birthday once again!

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (1* Michelin)

We never got round to dining at l'Atelier de Joël Robuchon when we were living in Paris. Probably due to the fact that you can only make reservations for dinner for 6:30pm which is a little too early in a country where you usually dine at 8. But a few weeks ago we managed to squeeze in lunch at said restaurant and absolutely love it.

Entrance to the open kitchen (we were given a tour)

At l'Atelier you eat at the counter surrounding the open kitchen. Not very comfortable and certainly not to be done in a group, but when you're just 2 or 3, it's quite fine. Since it was our first visit to the restaurant and since we liked everything in their Menu Découverte, we went for it.

The Kitchen

The menu consists of 9 tasting portions. They were small but added together made up a full meal. We actually had to refuse a complimentary portion of very good potato purée when it was offered to us. We had a few glasses of different wines to go with our meal and they were served a little too cold. Low temperatures help to mask the bad qualities of a wine which shouldn't be the case of our grape juice.

The Wines

I am not endowed with the gift of describing food like my guru Umami. I'm a basic person who either like something or not at all. And I certainly liked/loved everything that I was served in this restaurant. Everything was cooked just right, the lamb was so tender it melted in the mouth (yet it was served pink), the desserts were refreshing, everything was perfect as far as I was concerned.

L’AMUSE-BOUCHE

LA TOMATE en gaspacho aux petits croûtons dorés

LE CRABE ROYAL aux fines lamelles de raves épicées

L’ŒUF cocotte à la crème légère de morilles

LE FOIE GRAS de canard chaud aux sucs d’hibiscus, cerises et amandes fraîches

LA MORUE fraîche poêlée aux fins aromates

L’AGNEAU DE LAIT en côtelettes à la fleur de thym

LA CAILLE farcie de foie gras et caramélisée avec une pomme purée truffée

L’ORANGE à la mandarine givrée avec un voile friand à la cassonade

LES FRUITS ROUGES rafraîchis d’un sorbet au citron vert et basilic

We were seated next to a Mexican family of 4 (the father is a friend of Ferrari's L. Montezemolo) who were returning customers. They loved the food there too.

But behold the bill. Nearly 300 euros for 2. Thank goodness I had the whole afternoon to digest it.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

5 rue de Montalembert

75007 Paris

Tel : 01 42 22 56 56

http://www.joel-robuchon.com/

Meeting a Few Friends in Paris

YR's Terrace

We were in Paris for just 3 days in early August - en amoureux. Eldest Son was in Singapore for 2 months and the Babies were spending a few days with MIL in the countryside. We rarely have time to be alone just the 2 of us since we started having children, what with our families being far away and all. In any case, most people we knew were away from the Capitale when we were there. So we had to make the best of our couple time.

However, we did reserve an evening for Hub's former colleague YR and his Russian wife. They live near Montparnasse and have a terrace outside their flat which gave them a view of the roofs of Paris. Sympa. That evening, after watching Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis and walking through the weekly Sunday Art Market in Montparnasse (nearly bought a painting, still thinking about it, check out http://www.virginiadezan.com/ and tell me what you think of her paintings), we went to YR's place and spent the evening playing hide and seek with the rain on his terrace. Always lovely meeting them, a really intelligent, kind and interesting couple.

Then on Tuesday (our last day in Paris) we went our separate ways Hub and I to meet our respective friends for lunch. Hub lunched wonderfully at Le Clocher Pereire (Umami, he loved your recommendation!) with P while I had pork ramen and gyoza in a Japanese noodle shop in Rue Ste Anne with my Chinese friend B.

That should have been it except that P made a big fuss about wanting to meet me as well and so we found ourselves making our way to Argenteuil that evening to have dinner with P and his girlfriend S. We had just arrived in their street when we saw quite a scene before us : just minutes before, 2 cars had crossed each other's path and one of them had flown across and turned turtle!

P's House

We had a lovely (if tired) evening. S made us a delicious Scallops in Champagne Sauce and we caught up a little, visited their new house etc.

Scallops in Champagne Sauce Saffron Risotto

Meanwhile, sorry K that I couldn't join the other Singaporeans at your house for a super BBQ, would have loved it but we had to return to the countryside for the kids as you knew. Hopefully another time...

Brunch at the Blue Elephant, Paris

Soup with Vermicelli and Sliced Beef

Many moons ago I invited the Hub to the Blue Elephant on his birthday which was generous of me since in those days I was still living with a student mentality and had difficulty buying the need to spend a few hundred Francs on a Thai dinner. Nowadays of course in accordance with my glorified maid status I no longer bother with prices or at least if I do I would pretend that I didn't.

A few years later I had Sunday Brunch in said Thai restaurant with my Singaporean girlfriend MF and I remembered being happy with it though still whinging about the lack of Thai desserts as we know them in Asia (namely the steamed tapioca and tako that I just adore). At that time we paid 29 Euros per head. A few Sundays ago when I brought the Hub there to brunch using his funds, the price had gone up to 39 Euros. And still no Thai desserts as we know them in Asia.

But as I had expected, he was happy. The restaurant is situated in Bastille in a seedy but interesting street filled with lots of restaurants, bars and cafés. It's actually in some kind of cheap between-2-walls transformed into an exotic paradise with wood, bamboo, flora and fauna, a bridge and a pond. We arrived early and got a table on the mezzanine overlooking the buffet area and it was just perfect.

View from our table

The buffet consists mainly of a fresh salad station, a soup station (you choose your own noodles and ingredients and the cook prepares it for you), a starter section (e.g. satay, fried hors d'oeuvres, tim sum...), a main course section (e.g. different types of curries, stir-fry dishes, rice, pad thai...) and a dessert and fruit section. The quality is quite good and the selection while not as important as buffets come in Asia is OK, I guess, especially after years of living away from Asia. Unlike many Thai restaurants in Paris where the owners are usually Chinese of some sort, the Blue Elephant has a real Thai cuisine with a nice and gentle Thai service. I sometimes do wonder why Chinese waiters are usually so rude and impatient, though it doesn't mean that we are not good people as a race. Anyway I digress.

Soup Station

Salad Station

Dessert and Fruit Station

So the Hub was really happy with his brunch and I gained a few points in his book for that.

Blue Elephant Paris

43-45 rue de la Roquette

75011 Paris

Tel : 01 47 00 42 00

http://www.blueelephant.com/paris/index.html

Shopping at The Mall, Firenze

How could summer be complete without a teeny bit of Summer Sale, right? When the Hub was off to play golf at Lésigny I drove myself to the Outlet Village La Vallée Village. When the rest of the family went to the beach at Viareggio near Florence, I spent my day at...THE MALL. Yes, the famous designer outlet 35Km from Florence.

Before that, let me touch quickly on our hotel in Lésigny. The Best Western Abbaye du Golf Hotel was situated in the golf course itself and is part of an ancient abbey. For those living in Paris, this would be quite a good option for playing golf especially in August when they actually discount the green fees. For those visiting Disneyland Paris, a few hours of golf could also be factored in as the golf club is less than 30 minutes from the Theme Park itself. Can kill many birds with the same stone.

View from our hotel room

Golf Hotel at Lésigny, France

Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Burberry, La Perla, Armani, McQueen, Ferragamo...It was like arriving at Ali Baba's cave, I didn't know where to start. But of course being fat and poor made things easier which probably explained why the Hub didn't bother to warn me not to overspend or set me a budget.

I've actually never gone near any Fendi or Gucci boutique before truth be told (or at least I walked in and out very quickly in the ones in Singapore last month). So when I finally did, I honestly do not understand what the fuss is all about. Why would anyone want to pay hundreds of Euros for canvas or stiff leather with the Gucci logo all over? Though the super high Gucci heels were quite fabulous - except that I'll never have any occasion to wear them. I finally settled for a raffia and leather purse from YSL and I still feel so happy whenever I think of the soft feel of its leather. My other purchases include a black linen skirt, cream leather key purse and a pair of golden leather sandals from Ferragamo.

I took a bus from The Mall to Florence after my shopping. The trip lasted an hour and cost 3 Euros (best if you could buy the ticket beforehand, they run out fast on the bus itself). I actually prefer this option to driving as the road is very windy, narrow and steep. Also, taking the bus allows one to enjoy the lovely Tuscan landscape.

I was last in Florence 2 summers ago. But one doesn't forget 3 weeks spent in the Tuscan city. My feet led me to all the boutiques that I've visited on my last trip, all the way to my favourite gelato shop Coronas, across the Arno river to the street where the Hub would drive past to pick me up and bring us all to dinner near the Piazza Michaelangelo. The restaurant's name is Chalet Fontana and it offers good quality al fresco dining in a lovely garden terrace.

Voici one good way to spend a hot summer day in August.

The Mall

Via Europe, 8

Leccio, Regello.

Italy.

Brilliant Weblog Award 2008

I received this award from Precious Moments in my absence which of course is a wonderful change from all the bills and (negative) bank statements waiting me upon my return.

I would however not go so far as to accept that my blog is brilliant, especially not in design (didn't have to do anything thanks to Blogger), though I dig that diamond that came with the award and will be most happy to hang on to it :-).

And I do spend quite alot of time and effort sharing my life with all and sundry, and when I'm not too lazy or tired I do try to be smart and be at least brilliant in my spelling.

"Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design.

The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere.

Here are the rules to follow : When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’.

Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

All the bloggers have wonderful work and content in their blog and all deserve to get this."

As the tradition dictates, I will now pass on this award to my fellow blogger friends :

Rojak Rendezvous

Lekker

Daily Affairs

Pris' Life in Germany

Bibou and Angel Thru The Years

Umami

Sraikh

Bella Tigre

Lost in the Wilderness (mainly in Portuguese)

Those who already know the above blogs will more than agree with me that we have some of the most beautiful, informative, delicious, inspiring, friendly and interesting blogs around thanks to them. Those who don't, don't wait, do go check them out NOW!

Thank you, Precious Moments, once again for having thought of me for this award.

La Ferme Saint Simon, Paris

Gambas rôties et foie gras poêlé, velouté de petits pois écossés

This was the 1st nice restaurant that the Hub brought me to when we were still dating. And that after he had brought his good old friend B there first. But still, it was a nice restaurant and we eat really well there. It was therefore with nostalgia and stars in the eyes that we dined at La Ferme St Simon one evening recently in Paris - after a break of many years.

We nearly didn't make it there though and actually had to race through Paris to reach it before they closed the kitchen. Before that we were at the Bastille, in the Théâtre de la Main d'Or, more precisely having a good time catching Dieudonné and his one-man show "J'ai fait l'con". He was brilliant as usual and the theatre was full full full, we were packed like sardines in it and quite a number of people had to sit on the stairs - but nobody complained and he was welcomed to the stage with generous applause. Electric atmosphere. But it started late and therefore ended late.

I ignore the polemics surrounding Dieudonné's alleged anti-semitic views. From what I understood of the guy after watching a number of his shows, I do not think that he's racist in any way (he's half-African). Provocative, yes. In fact, too much. Politically correct, not at all. Angry, probably. Because let's face it, all the tragedies and atrocities in this world are never given the same attention or treatment. Black slavery was a drawnout, murderous affair that is almost forgotten today. The Palestinians are crying but you usually only hear the Israelites. I think that he only wants to draw our attention to the injustice in this respect, make us think about it. In any case, Hub and I enjoy Dieudonné very much. Especially his good timing in delivery. As I must have also said it before, you need to have some general culture to be able to understand his shows. You go there to have a good time, but to have that good time the brain gears have to be working. In this show he sketched out his asking Jean-Marie Le Pen to be his child's god-father (!), the pgymies in the Camerounian forest, Colin Powell/Bush and the Invasion of Irak, some sort of an Ode to the Palestinian Suicide Bombers (aiiii)...

In any case he'll be giving a performance at Bercy on Dec 26. Just so you know.

So we arrived at the restaurant just before the kitchen closed and left the car with the valet (thank God for valet parking). The restaurant was still as we remembered it, calm, elegant and simple. It's situated near the French Parliament, Musée d'Orsay, Ministeries and the foreign embassies and has a simple and very French menu. The last few times we were there, I had always started with their green bean and duck liver salad, but this time around I decided to try something else and was happy with all the choices I've made. Everything had been cooked to perfection and the ingredients were nicely married no matter how unlikely matched they may seem at first glance. The service was discreet yet attentive and the sommelier knew her job and her food and could offer good advice for the wines. A lovely way to end our evening.

Saint-Jacques justes saisies, nid d'épinards frais en crôute de Parmesan

Mille-feuille, crème vanillée au kirsch et sa déclinaison de fruits rouges

La Ferme St Simon

6 rue de St Simon

75007 Paris

Tel : 01 45 48 35 74

http://www.fermestsimon.com

Mer de Sable

We originally planned to visit Parc Asterix (again) but decided at the last minute to go to the Mer de Sable in Ermenonville also north of Paris. It had been a rainy week plus we didn't feel up to spending hours queuing up like we did at Gardaland just 2 weeks before.

This park was quiet. No queues at the cashier. No queues getting in. No queues for the rides. So we got to do everything by the time the park closed at 6pm including watching the 3 shows available. Wow. For once.

But just a quick note of warning to those who do not like rubbing shoulders with the masse populaire. This park is smaller and cheaper (19 euros per entry) than both Parc Asterix and Disneyland Paris. So it is inevitable that you get mainly clients from the poorer suburbs of Paris and from the region north of the Capital, not to mention groups from the centres de loisirs (holiday childcare centres). Parking is free (versus 7 euros for Parc Asterix) and there are just a few kiosks selling coffee, drinks and sweets.

One of the 1st thing MIL said when we arrived at the park was, "Why, it feels like one's in the banlieue (suburbs)!" And I couldn't help thinking as the day progressed that whether we like it or not, those people are different from us. It's a world between the civilised snobbish friendliness of Parisians and these loud and often inconsiderate people from elsewhere. I had quite a headache after one African insisted on sharing his passion for loud rap music with all within 200m around him, for example. And you didn't dare tell him off as he was really quite gigantic, if you wish. Those foufou stuff is very filling from what I know.

Back to the rides, they have a little of everything and I would recommend the park to those with young children (e.g. 2-8) and who do not enjoy queuing up. For older children and adults, there is a rather cool water ride (a good plunge - just great) that if I may say so is actually more exciting than the ones I've had in the more famous parks. Their shows are mainly Cowboy-Red Indian shows with good equestrian displays.

Calamity Jane Show

Around the Mer de Sable, you have the little town of Ermenonville and it's actually a really pretty one with a most beautiful castle and lovely stone houses. Probably will be a good idea to visit the town quickly (maybe have a picnic in the forest opposite the amusement park) when you're there.

All in all we had a good day though I doubt if we'll return to the park again. I'm a big child and need a more sophisticated park to play in.

Cinque Terre

Manarola

One couldn't live in Italy and not visit the Cinque Terre (Five Lands - a Unesco World Heritage Site) at least once. It is composed of 5 villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare) perched on a cliff along the Liguria overlooking the Mediterranean sea. About 2,5 hours from where I live in Modena.

Ideally one should rent a room in one of the 5 villages to better take one's time to explore the region. But in August almost everything would be rented out not to mention be very expensive, so we decided to set out early at 7am and spend a full day there. In any case with the Babies we wouldn't be able to walk the 5 hours normally needed to cover all 5 villages by foot - one way. So we ended up covering 2-3 villages by foot and the rest by train.

I would recommend that one drive to Levanto and park there for free, buy the Cinque Terre Tourist Ticket (less than 9 Euros for adults, around 7 Euros for the over-70s and half price for children above 5) and visit the 5 villages from there. There's a train travelling from Levanto to La Spezia and the 5 villages are situated in between. We'll need a ticket to go onto the paths (part of the National Park) linking the 5 villages anyway. And the tickets provide free access to a few museums and also bike rental under certain conditions.

From Riomaggiore to Manarola

Vernazza

We drove all the way to Monterosso al Mare and parked our car in a covered and secured carpark for 15 Euros (full day). Then we took the train to Riomaggiore (the village furthest away) and walked to Manarola (shortest and easiest path - 20 mins) where we had lunch in this Michelin-recommended restaurant Marina Piccola overlooking the sea. They served really good home-made pasta with seafood and had reasonably priced local Cinque Terre wines. After lunch we walked to Corniglia (1,5 hours). From Corniglia we took the train to Vernazza which we found to be the prettiest of the 5 villages and had excellent ice cream near its Marina in this gelateria called Il Porticcerio or something like that. You may wish to know that there is almost no beach (except at Monterosso al Mare) in the villages and the sea is often very choppy, though it didn't stop people from spreading out towels here and there to sunbathe or jump into the sea for a dip. We finished our day at Monterosso again and had dinner at the restaurant Ciak Lampara which was good if a little too expensive.

Monterosso al Mare

MIL agreed with me that the villages looked better in pictures than in reality. When you are there, you will of course be impressed with the breathtaking scenery and the sheer ruggedness of villages perched on cliffs. Try imagining how life must have been tough and isolated for those living there in the past before they had the train etc. But the buildings are not elaborate or well-maintained and are often just plain concrete covered with a pretty (often peeling) coat of paint. After beautiful old cities like Verona, the Cinque Terre looks cheap.

Vernazza

Still, we really enjoyed our day there and are already hoping to return and cover the paths that we couldn't cover by foot on this trip. Definitely worth at least a visit.

3-Way Anchovies

Anchovies Baked in the Oven

Anchovies before I lived in Andalusia I knew only as Ikan Bilis. Yes, the air-dried smelly but very delicious once-cooked ones. But in Spain you find the fresh ones easily at the fish monger's and they also eat them canned or in jars (preserved in oil) so I've also gotten into eating my anchovies fresh since.

Yesterday we visited the weekly Monday market in Modena with MIL. She saw some fresh anchovies and expressed desire to have them. Being the ahem devoted DIL that I am, I promptly bought nearly a Kilo of the good stuff and had them prepared in 3 different ways being unable to decide on just one cooking method.

So last evening we had the anchovies

1. Grilled on the BBQ with some herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper
   
   
Before being grilled


2. Baked in the oven with olive oil, fresh red chilli, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper


3. Fried in Tempura batter
   
   

Tempura Alici

Everybody liked Method Number 2 best. Needless to say, fresh lemon should hang around waiting to be squeezed generously over the anchovies. We accompanied them with a freshly tossed baby spinach and rucola salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Shine For Singapore

Another year away from Singapore during National Day. My sunny island will celebrate her 43rd Birthday in 9 days. This year's NDP Theme Song is titled "Shine for Singapore". We can listen to the theme songs and watch the parade on http://www.ndp.org.sg/.

Happy 43rd Birthday, Singapore!

Shine for Singapore

Music and lyrics by Benny Wong

Performed by Hady Mirza

Have you seen a star,

One that guides you no matter where you are?

However vast the sky may be

Or dark it seems

You can be sure, it's always there for you and me

Have you heard a song,

One that moved you, one that made you sing along?

Your dreams and hopes will all come true

If you believe that every vision begins with you.

*Shine for Singapore

This is your song

Deep inside your heart where it belongs

It'll always stay, strive for your goals.

You will achieve with visions so bold.

# Shine for Singapore

This is our song

Reach out for the sky, far and beyond

As one we'll stand, we're Singapore

It's here that we belong

Have you heard a song,

One that moved you, one that made you sing along?

Your dreams and hopes will all come true

If you believe that every vision begins with you.

Nowhere I'd rather be, this is home to me

This star shines strong and free

Repeat, *,#

Ready, Steady, Gone...

To :

Visit the MIL

Catch a few French movies

Watch Dieudonné's one man show "J'ai fait l'con"

Brunch at Blue Elephant

Have a picnic at night with a few friends on the terraces of Paris

Lunch at l'Atelier de Robuchon

Shop till I drop

Catch the play "Le clan des divorcées"

Lunch at the Champs Elysées with B

Watch the Hub play golf at Lésigny

Visit Mer de Sable Theme Park

Spend a week at Club Med Nabeul in Tunisia

Drive back to Italy WITH the MIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!