Canada

It's been almost half a year since we came back from the trip. And it felt like we jumped into the whirlpool of household problems and work-related issues right from the plane. It took (what felt like) a super-natural effort to bring the house back to the comfortable level. The kids settled back into a school-home routine easily: they were relieved to have normalcy in their lives.

The summer flew by in one breath. I got an exciting new job, the Big Nomad took up an unexpected teaching course, and the Little Nomads went to summer camps. We went day-tripping, camping with friends, sucked into our regular super-normal suburban life, occupied with comfortable little world and global superficial issues. Two weeks upon arrival, someone had asked me: "How was your trip?". I had to stop for a moment to recall if I really went anywhere... It felt surreal, distant, and hazy; like a book I read or a movie I saw. Could I have been a part of it?

I come back to my blog quite often, driven with nostalgia for places, foods, scents,  feelings. Sometimes, it is a recipe that sparks a memory or a question from someone, but most of times it is a case of convincing myself that this trip was part of my life, it was really me traveling through three continents, 6 countries, and cities I am too lazy to count.

Read more »

How to be unambiguously Canadian

Roots handbag

How do you identify a Canadian in a crowd of tourists on St Marco's square, the Louvre, the Pyramids, etc? Look at the backpack or purse they are carrying (never mind the bright red baseball hat with a maple leaf on it) - it will most probably have a Roots symbol on it! It is like a secret sign - the Masonic handshake, the "know" symbol of a sort, that whispers "you are here too, eh"?

I love Roots purses for their casual ease and functionality but had not thought they'd be more than just a purse when I packed two on my trip. Incidentally, I've had a few conversations with fellow-Canadians inspired by the bright-red Roots purse I was carrying.
A rare Canadian is fond of red-and-white flag-waving, instead, they are inconspicuously wearing Roots abroad!


The Impression of the Day.
The Little Nomad: You know, mom, girls at school are not girlie-girls at all.
The Nomad mom: What do you mean? They don't play with Barbies?
The Little Nomad: No, they don't. The fight with boys and some are even stronger than any of the boys!

Maybe that's one of reasons French men are so lean?

Read more »

The Wazemmes Market

One of the largest markets in France, the Wazemmes Market combines the liveliness of French markets' afternoons and the hustle of a Middle-eastern bazaar. Open 3 days a weeks, the market draws the biggest crowd on Sundays (up to 50,000 we were told). It really felt that all 50,000 showed on a day we went there! The covered market, although not as exciting as the outside, has a great cheese shop (if you are willing to wait in line)! The flea markets sells everything from bijou to carpets.

The shouts of street sellers, the smell of cooked food (everything from Arabic delicacies to Spanish paella to traditional French pastry), the colorful sight of flower stalls and rows of vegetables make this market a great place to visit and shop! We bought way too much our family would need for the next few days: vegetables, ripe fruit and ripe cheese :), freshly-baked, still warm bread, and off-the-stove middle-eastern dessert for the kids! From now I know what I'll do on Sunday afternoons!

The Impression of the Day: Gap Canada is couture! 
While the Little Nomads and I hang out at the market, I heard someone speak to me in French. I turned around to see a thirty-something French dad, whose outfit would certainly qualify as hyper metro-sexual in North America (and "just-went-out-for-a-stroll-on-a-Sun-afternoon" in France) with an equally well-dressed three-year-old sitting in a stroller, which I would not even know how to operate. After my usual Je ne parle pas français, the guy switched to perfect English and inquired where I bought the hats the Lille Nomads were wearing.
-Canada, - I said. Gap Canada.
The disappointment showed on the Dad's face and he sighed: "Oh, I'm sure we don't have them here. But I'll check, thanks!"
It sounded the way we'd say: "Oh, you know, such and such bought her dress in France and of course, you can't buy that here!"

So yeah, Gap Canada, let's show who REALLY sets the global fashion trends!!!

Read more »