THANK-YOU

A big heart-felt thank-you to all of you who texted, emailed, called or commented to show your support and let me know that you too have felt (or are feeling) the same at some point in the face of mothering your children. Thank-you also for reminding me that things will improve. It really made me feel better (that and a little more sleep)!

Often, I have felt it is a tabou to voice such feelings of overwhelmingness (yes, that's a word! I just looked it up!) in the face of so many mothers seeming calm and collected, happy to be with their kids all the time and apparently never wanting to be anywhere else even just for a second.
(let alone working a Prosecco into the routine at 5pm so as to cope with bath and bed-time!)

But then, sometimes, you open up and admit to feeling fed up and overwhelmed and tired and in need of some "me-time" and you discover you are not alone and that it's ok and that it doesn't mean you don't love your kids nor that you are a bad mother... just that you are human. Phew!

There's a lot of guilt tied to what we perceive as our shortcomings in motherhood and a lot of frustrations as we wish to do better and more. A neverending subject tied to one of the most difficult "jobs" in the world; mothering.

During my first few weeks of pregnancy (of William) I read a book that I really enjoyed on the subject by Ayelet Waldman - and googling the title so as to post the link to Good Mother/Bad Mother, I have just discovered there is another book with the same title by Gina Ford which has good reviews... maybe another book to add to my reading list.

To read a bit about Ayelet Waldman's thoughts on "Bad Mother (A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Moment of Grace)" click here

Happy Reading & thank-you again ;-)

Happy Mummy

It's not quite as much an event as when my books cleared customs in Turkey, but it's always good to receive an order of books in English - especially before we leave on holiday! Happy, lucky me!
I'll let you know what I think of the toddler books as soon as I've gotten my teeth into them.

For books to read when pregnant (or if you have a pre-toddler baby) see this post. Over a year down the line, I definitely recommend Tracy Hogg's Baby Whisperer solves all your problems. Her E.A.S.Y (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You) routine and general good sense really helped us with Emma!

back to Turkey...

No, we're NOT moving back to Izmir! but it sort of felt like being there on Saturday.

We visited Brunnenmarkt in the 16th district of Vienna. Lots of veggies, fruit, shoes, cheeses...

and lots of people from the Balkans and surroundings. We heard languages from the former Yugoslavia, Romanian, Polish, Turkish and saw stalls held by Indians.

It was a lot messier than Bostanli market but hearing stall holders calling out "buyurun" and seeing signs with the price indicated next to "ekmek" (bread) felt familiar even without the sun and the sea. When we saw a Turkish restaurant in the middle of the market it made us nostalgic for the food, so we went in for lunch.

I had some "sarma" and veggies, and Steph had a "tavuk" (chicken) kebab and couldn't resist the baklava and çay. Wouldn't you know it, the owner of the place comes from Izmir.

While we were there, we tried out Emma's new portable "high-chair" in preparation for our holidays in Croatia. Actually, it's pretty handy having our own portable baby highchair wherever we go since a lot of places don't keep them and especially now that Emma can eat most of what we eat and wants to "participate" a bit more.

On Sunday, we went to another restaurant we had spotted a while ago, off Mariahilferstrasse: VaPiano. A really nice environment with a good concept: Pizza, Pasta and Salads (as well as drinks and desserts) tailor made with the toppings/content of your choice. Yummy, central, affordable, non smoking (there is a small smoking area), ideal for a quick lunch, and - they have highchairs for kids!

VaPiano in Vienna: Theobaldgasse, 19, Wien 1060 - Tel:01/581 12 12

Smart, cute and eco-friendly all-in-one

How ecologically green are you?
Most of us try to use as few single-use plastic bags as possible. Yet, I for one, often forget my big re-usable carrier bags in the trunk of the car or even at home because most of the green carrier bags are big, ugly and bulky and don't fit into your purse (if they do, they won't be able to fit all your food shopping in).
So unwittingly, I end up either having to pay for a carrier bag -paper in Switzerland, re-usable plastic at Spar in Vienna, re-usable plastic covered material in major supermarkets in France- or get a free plastic one (unfortunately most places in Switzerland). Even if I have managed to remember my bulky re-usable carrier bag, I end up with a couple of plastic ones when buying fruit and veg anywhere but a market, if only to weigh the fruit and veg. So much for saving the planet and thinking of my kid's future.

Another inconvenience of most re-usable bags is that many cannot be machine washed so once you've spilled some yogurt, say, you can either through the bag out (paper) or have to scoop out the mess and wipe it with a cloth and that's a real pain in the tush.

So, I am thrilled, to promote (because I really think it's a very smart idea and anyone who knows me, knows I love smart inventions) and hopefully convince you to buy a Trolley Dolly bag so that you never have to use another plastic bag again.

Because:

• you will take this one with you when you food shop
• it will fit and carry all the stuff you buy
• it will even fit your parking ticket/tube card, pen, shopping list, I-pod...
  
• it can be machine washed
• it will not break
• it is rather cute
• you won't need to use any plastic bags (not even to weigh the fruit and veg)
  

Imagine the thrill at the till when you say; "no thanks, no bag required, I have what it takes".

Have a look at the below. It's Zoe, mother to three and the inventor of the Trolley Dolly Bag

Then compare it to the one you have or one of the below:
flip and tumble
chico bags
turtle bags

if you're as smitten as I was this is the place to go!

Happy shopping!

Thriller at Prison Break

Fellow blogger and Mum Duke from Confessions of an Expat's Wife, recently wrote a post on an innovative exercise routine carried out by inmates of the CPDRC (Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center) in the Philippines.

Granted, I am a music and dance fan and am convinced that both dancing and music are great ways to chill and get rid of any negative vibes, but I think this is absolutely brilliant!

I'd have cut the final scene though - I'm not sure I'd have prison inmates carrying out a murder even if it is in a theatrical form....

Fair is fair - Four Reasons Hotel in Bodrum: Review update

About a month ago, we spent a weekend at the Four Reasons Hotel in Bodrum. No doubt one of our last escapades as a twosome not taking a break from parenting. ;-)

When choosing a hotel we don't know, we often read travellers' reviews... and logically, we also write them.

So shortly after our return, I wrote a post on this blog reviewing the 4Reasons (or the fact that 2 were missing in my opinion) outlining the inconvenience we had experienced.

We also sent in our feedback ("Great! but wait for 2008!") to tripadvisor.
Our review was posted on May 17th and is currently the first one you see of the 8 available reviews. It's also the most recent.

So now that you have the background, here's the update:

On May 28th, we received an email from one of the owner's of the 4Reasons Hotel offering apologies and two days of free accommodation at their hotel.

Better late than never. Although I doubt we'll make it back there with all that's going on, I just wanted to say that we appreciate it and also that giving your feedback makes a difference, both to the customer and the business.

So next time you feel you've overpaid, been ripped off, or badly serviced, let it be known!

Click on the letter to enlarge

Preggie books

Being pregnant in a foreign country means you don't have your usual family & friends' advice on hand and your usual reference points.
Luckily in my case, there are a couple of newfound friends who are also pregnant with whom to exchange experiences of various body changes and kicking baby stories. Hurray!

There are times though, however fun the chat (or the web-surf), nothing beats a good book!

<-- These have been my companions on this 30-week journey (so far - Hurray! Hurray!) ranging from the serious to light-hearted if totally honest & friendly.

Most fun and good bedside reads: "minus nine to one" by Jools Oliver & "Shopaholic & Baby" by Sophie Kinsella.

Liz Fraser's "The Yummy Mummy's Survival Guide" and "The Best Friends' Guide to Pregnancy" by Vicki Iovine are both a good mix of fun and practical.

Liz Fraser's book Yummy Mummy's Survival Guide is very much in there with advice on pampering yourself as much as you possibly can, while you can, explains what happens to your relationship with friends, your body image and partners, and shares tips on baby showers, what to pack for the hospital and labor.

Vicki Iovine's Best Friends' Guide to Pregnancy was funny yet brutally honest and a very easy read-in-the-order-you-like with sections ranging from Sex and Pregnancy to Looking and feeling your best or I can't eat/ breathe/ walk and I'm scared to death.

Gina Ford's "The New Contented Little Baby Book" has me a bit confused as I read it sort of at the same time as Tracy Hogg's "The Baby Whisperer Solves all you Problems" - not a good idea! Although both are very much pro-routine (as opposed to demand feeding) their timings in getting baby into a feeding/sleeping routine are not the same and you end up trying to figure out what the differences are and which would suit you best when you can't possibly know at this stage!

I found Tracy Hogg's book easier to read with her E.A.S.Y routine (Eat. Activity. Sleep. You) and her check lists to help you determine why your six-week baby or under is crying. I liked her "Common complaints-Probable causes" and her feeding/sleeping charts.

Yours truly, novice at mummyhood, found Mrs. Ford's lengthy paragraphs hard to follow : "if your baby is xxx-ing then you must be yyy-ing, which leads to zzz-ing so you might want to try xyz-ing, however without abc-ing..." AGHHHH! What was that?! Maybe at a later stage when it all becomes a bit more real. Right now I found the best part of her book was the "Common problems in the first year" section which is brief and to the point. I am sure, however her book will come in handy later on.

Finally, "Le Guide Pratique de la Femme Enceinte" takes you through the weeks & months explaining all the possible physical changes, ailments, exercises and sizes. It is an informative but not particularly fun read.

I have recently acquired "The Panic-Free Pregnancy" written by M.D. Michael S. Broder in the form of Q&As; "an Ob-Gyn (who) separates fact from fiction on food, exercise, travel, pets, coffee, medications, and other concerns you have when you're expecting". I don't exactly plan to read this through and through, rather use it as an ad hoc reference book.

That's all for now! Any other books you can recommend? 70 days left after all...

Four Reasons Hotel in Bodrum: Review

A couple of weeks ago we decided that a week-end in Bodrum might be nice before the summer crowds move in and before my preggie tummy gets so huge it becomes unbearably uncomfy to drive that far in a sitting position....

We booked a room at the Four Reasons Hotel* found on the small hotels of Turkey website **

On the positive side:

-a nice view, the pool and the rooms were just as beautiful and simply decorated as shown on the websites
-the hotel manager spoke excellent English and French (and no doubt Turkish)
-service was good, breakfast (my favorite meal in Turkey and looks like I'm not the only one!) and dinner were yummy

Less impressive:
-the directions & map from their website were absolutely useless in getting us there
-the promised wireless connection remains yet to be found
-they've lost Serenity, and they might have misplaced Attitude too....


You see the 4Reasons' name not only plays on that of the world famous hotel chain, it also hints at four pillar qualities (Serenity, Quality, Design, Attitude) the hotel promises visitors. These are very visibly stamped on the hotel wall as you arrive, as well as on the hotel website, brochure, etc.

The marketing background of the owners makes it hard to believe they promise these unwittingly. Nor is it possible they are unaware of currently and regrettably failing to keep this promise, since they were staying at the hotel at the same time we were.

What am I talking about? Well, imagine being woken by bulldozers at 7h30am on Saturday. How's that for Serenity?

After breakfast (luckily, lower down by the pool the noise was minimal) we mentioned this little inconvenience to the hotel manager who apologised and said he would have a word with the workers. He later assured us that we would be able to enjoy our grâce matinée the next day and that work would start much later on Sunday morning.

To cut to the chase, on Sunday we were woken at about 7h45am. As far as I'm concerned, 15 minutes does not count as sleeping in Thankyou very much.

We again enjoyed a lovely breakfast but were frankly disappointed.
At checkout when asked how we had enjoyed our stay, (by the manger but with the owners present) we once again commented on the noise explaining what a shame it was that although the season had begun the bulldozers were still at work (and on a week-end!).
Regrettably, no gesture whatsoever was made in terms of a discount or any kind of client compensation. There goes Attitude....

Now I don't know about you, but when I book a hotel, I read reviews. When I am treated with a pro-active-client-service-attitude that can turn an unfortunate incident into an opportunity, I will whole-heartedly recommend the venue, write a raving review, go back and take friends and family with me. In fact, I will probably remember the place more positively than had nothing remarkable happened in the first place.
A lost opportunity my friends....

It's easier to claim Serenity, Quality, Design, Attitude than it is to live by them. On the other hand, the bulldozers should be temporary, Attitude can be regained and hopefully the rest will remain the same....

* click here and here for more about the 4Reasons Hotel
** Small Hotels of Turkey also publish a book on a yearly basis called "The Little Hotel Book"

Rainy London Town

Oh, and by the way.... our pre-Christmas trip to London was super!
Lots of decorations everywhere so it felt like Christmas is on its way
Loads of people bustling and walking and shopping and drinking in the open air huddled below gas lamps (beloved invention!)
Ok, London is definitely getting more expensive every year and the £ dwarfing every other currency is clearly not helping...
But everything looks so lovely and yummy and tempting. From the crisp Thomas Pink shirts on Jermyn Street, the scrumptious oeufs bénédicte at Richelieu's, the gorgeous tea tins, cheeses, charcuteries, Foie Gras and assorted Christmas hampers at Fortnum and Masons to the mixed nuts, crisps, cheddars and white chocolate covered strawberries at Marks and Sparks, it was a feast for the eyes and a thoroughly tempting shopping experience. You've got to hand it to them, the English do have wrapping & packaging (both literally and figuratively) down to a tee. I wanted to take all of it back with me.

So enjoyed the oysters and Muscat and the fish and chips too (I recommend Randall & Aubin on 16 Brewer Street, W1, Soho London)
Portobello market in the rain and running for shelter in a pub with a dripping but merry crowd!

The Christmas stalls at Covent Garden and the handy Metro Tesco's everywhere.

It's a funny feeling going back to a city you've lived in. You know your way around; some of your landmark spots are thankfully still there -although they might have changed the branding on their coffee cups and the staff is now Albanian.
While it feels familiar it also feels different; one of your favorite restaurants has given way to a whole new block of glass office buildings their escalators wrapped in sparkling lights, the formerly colorful and spicy Indian is now empty and depressing, the once scruffy mall with the dingy, but well stocked health food store, has turned into a modern complex with smart boutiques and cafés, its previously grey facade is now bright-white and garnished with trees and benches, and the student hall you lived in has been converted into something different and undefined.
Strangely, it is the informal dealers like flower vendors that have kept their habits and venues. High-street shops and cafés have come and gone. Big brands have taken over entire buildings turning them into museum-like showcases that have become weekend excursion venues for the dream-hungry consumers... Among them, many no doubt, are working poor.

Some things, happily, are the same, no matter how many years go by.
The thick air in the tube stations, whooshing upwards and outwards as yet another train moves on; the persistent emanation of rancid and over-used oil, common to most larger cities; the familiar chugging of a Black cab making a turn; the merry "good night luv" as you climb out of your cab or leave a pub...

London town... nearly a decade since I lived there, and I'm thinking it's true; time does go by more quickly as time goes by.

Christmas London Covent Garden Yummy Expat Musing

Art Thou Art?

Art is different things to different people.

Some like to be swept off their feet by it, stirred deep within. Others expect art to be provocative and challenging; to comment or rebel thus carrying a socio-political mission. Others still, need it to be beautiful and pleasant to live with, or on the contrary represent nothing but another smart investment.
And of course, you may have all of the above expectations although probably not from the same piece of art.

Art, whatever your expectations of it, is spreading to/ appearing on/ using (all depends on your definition of art) more and more media, from the very mundane and practical to the truly innovative and weird. Theoretically, there's nothing new to this, in fact I'm sure every generation comments on how now-days art is no longer what it used to be and how can a can of beans/ electronic noise/ swirvy incoherent colors or dots/ be art?

DNAARTNAARTAARTARTRTT DNAARTNAARTDARTDNART DNADNAART NARADT ARTDNARTNDAA DNAART NARTAD AARTDN ADNAR TNARAD DNAARTNAARTAARTARTRTT

No intention of trying to define art. I just wanted to share an interesting concept I have come across, which in its form is commonly accepted to be art (a photograph, sculpture or painting) but is in fact a reproduction of individual human blueprints.

The stuff that not-so-long-ago showed tiny, if key, differences in between what makes a human, human and not a chimp. The stuff that enabled the cloning of Dolly. The stuff that in the movie Gattaca would allow you to choose your profession or lead you to a pre-defined destiny. The stuff you inherit and that if insurance companies have their way, will cost you loads in coverage that will no longer be prophylactic if they find you carry a cancer gene...the stuff that makes you, specifically, scientifically, you - your DNA.

Now you can have a portrait of your DNA in your living room! Or your partner's. Or have them sitting side-by-side.


It's innovative, it's funky, it's colorful and supposedly what makes you, you. Is it art?
DNA11.com or dna-art.nl


ART
DNA DNA-ART

Bond is back - not!

Just back from Casino Royale, the latest James Bond film - or not.

Funny, how although I am not a huge fan, I've somehow seen just about all of them... James Bond films have become such an institution that they've been on TV again and again over the years.

Anyway, back to Casino Royale; it's based on the first Bond book written by Ian Fleming, the one that never made it into film until now. The story is supposed to take place at the beginning of Bond's career and recounts his first mission as a '00. However, it's set in today's world with Albanian terrorists and money laundering in Montenegro.

Perhaps to avoid too many clashes in chronology, the story is not obviously linked to any key political context other than the bad guys being private bankers to terrorists, so the whole film is very much focused on Bond.
But a Bond with none of the trademark gadgets from Q, no nuclear or satellite bombs to be disarmed, no over-the-top evil villain nor hallmark flirtations with "Bond girls".
Gone is the refined, suave if slightly macho 007 we were accustomed to. No more sarcastic familiarity and twinkle in the eyes à la Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan. In his place is a blond Bond, portrayed by Daniel Craig, who looks like a boxer (not the dog species naturally) and is a violent, ruthless and cold blooded killer (ok, he has a license).
His usual elegance has been replaced by clothes that look like he's walked out of a laundrette without doing the "press" cycle (except for the scenes in the casino). Dialogues with M (throughout) and a fellow spy (opening sequence) are cold and hard, with none of the usual innuendos.

So in the end, although the scenery of Montenegro, Venice and the Lago di Como is fabulous, the stunts impressive and the plot full of somersaults, it's no longer really a James Bond. It's a 2 hour and twenty minute long thriller, with a ruthless and cold-hearted, steal-eyed and brutal secret agent, who after each confrontation and his enemies dead, is left bruised and bloody, colder and lonelier than ever.

Bond films might have reached the end of their life cycle, but they were different from all the other action/thriller movies. James Bond was the world's most notorious secret agent, and his lines might have been out-dated and sexist, but they were unmistakeably his. Sure, he would punch and fight, but there was nothing gruesome about it. Now with Casino Royale, we might be at the beginning of Bond movies that are just like any other thriller.

Casino Royale James Bond

Istanbul

Istanbul was great.
We were there on our own, not playing guide to friends, nor sharing our stay with business related matters. Also, having been a few times now, we've been to all the main tourist must-see locations, so we could just wander as we pleased.

It felt like autumn - it was chilly and windy and leaves were falling- not spring-like as it is in Izmir. Don't get me wrong, I definitely appreciate the warmer climate, but it somehow feels weird for it to be greener than ever in November. So I enjoyed the wind and the leaves and the Istanbul autumn sun.

It was urban. What is that supposed to mean? Well, there are lots of different cafés full of people reading weekend editions, sharing brunch and a chat. The streets were busy, young and old, fashionistas and devil-may-care, students and families strolling, window shopping and sitting on benches. I love urban trekking; discovering the contrasting neighborhoods and districts of a city, its shops and cafés, museums and buildings, parks and squares, and people from different walks of life. Istanbul is superb urban trekking territory.

Wherever you turn, there's a feeling of history mingling with modern chaos. Old crumbling buildings, renovations going on, trendy shops and bars siding with older börek shops or incense vendors, entire shops dedicated to baklava and other honey coated pastries next to up-market deco shops, banks next to knick-knack vendors, mosques and ruins. Buildings from the nineteenth century are by far not the oldest. Some are in superb condition, other are a threat to public safety, especially in a region often visited by earthquakes. The fact that they have not managed to turn it into a homogenous picture perfect newly renovated postcard gives it a rough class in my eyes. It's still a mess, and far from the polished glamour so many cities of historical importance seem to ooze, but it feels real.

There's an air of creativity and vibrant energy. Cafés, jazz clubs, garden lounges, saunas and shops are sprouting where you would never guess to look; behind the doors of a crumbling building and shabby entrance lies a café in the premises once occupied by the Italian Labour Association (Società Operaia Italiana), on terraces, roof tops, in court yards, basements, dead ends, you name it. Istanbul is vibrant with (chaotic) life.

People have gotten their tushes into gear and are being very creative in making the most out of things. Better still, they are often doing it with taste and not in view of making a quick buck on a tourist's need for a toilet-stop. I don't mean to sound patronizing, but it's definitely a welcome change, and I fully appreciated it. There's loads to discover in Istanbul and the fantastic thing is you have to look for it, it's not just being served on a plate according to some proven marketing recipe. In this respect it kind of reminds me of Belgrade; both cities manage to preserve some form of authenticity amidst the trendy urban imports, which makes them all the more enjoyable. Perhaps working on a budget has something to do with it?

more pics of Istanbul


Kanyon Shopping Mall Urban Shopping Istanbul Review

Potato Pita

In utter despair of the heating ever coming on again, I resolved to try heating myself from within. No, not in a spiritual way, or by doing exercise, but via good old carbs.
I tried J. 's recipe of Bosnian Potato pita.

Although tasty, mine looked nothing like her pics.

If you can do this without the phylo pastry tearing when folding the pita into "loose cinnamon bun shapes", let me know!

Off to Istanbul for a few...

P.S. the heating is now working!!!

Quarterly random bits

Before heading back to Geneva for 10 days, and since we’ve been in Turkey for four months and a bit, I thought I’d share a quarterly review on random bits and mysteries that remain to be resolved:

1. The average Turk is generally rather laid back in terms of timeliness (yavaş, yavaş), quite gentle and soft-spoken… Except behind the wheel. Watch out! Bye bye Dr. Jekyll, Welcome Mr. Hyde! Honk-Hoooonk! The relaxed Turk turns into speeding lunatic who has to overtake the car ahead even if he'll be turning off the main road 20 meters later anyway. Huh? It's like: "Hurry up so I can go home, lay back and relax!" Still a mystery to me!
   
2. Turkey is a control freak’s paradise; you’ll be able to let your controlling instincts run wild and no one will get offended when you remind them to come/go finish the job/ - in fact it’s the only way to get things done here.
3. When speaking with locals or ordering in a restaurant, remember Greek salad is not Greek, nor is Moussaka. And Baklava is certainly neither Greek (μπακλαβάς) Serbian (баклава), Romanian (baclava), nor Lebanese (بقلاوة).
4. Do the sales people realize that helping and encouraging you to buy from the shop is part of their job?
5. Luckily, the ones that are helpful really go out of their way to give you a hand!
6. Any given supermarket or market has at least 300 different white cheeses which are totally indistinguishable from the outside (all square blocks in saran wrap)
   
7. Petrol is the most expensive on earth!
   
8. When stopped by the police, or by an annoying promotion-person just say “turkçe konuşmiyorum” (I don’t speak Turkish) and you’ll instantly get an apologetic smile and a wave to move on.
9. Advocating the use anti-perspirant /deodorant that promises 7 day efficiency is a very near sighted strategy... (euh, gross!)
   
10. Ataturk is never a subject to joke about

More, with a fresh perspective, when I return!
I'm so happy to be going home!!!!!