The Avengers or how does humour save the world

The Avengers is every ComicCon fan dream – six superheroes that not only fight the evil Loki, but also fight each other in some scenes satisfying the curiosity of comics geeks who couldn’t help but wonder about the winner of a battle between Iron Man and Thor, or Captain America and the Hulk.

For the rest of us is just a funny and easy film to watch and one more reason to love Robert Downey Jr. who not only saved the world, but brought life in this 200 million $ blockbuster. Because all the special effects and tight polyester suits would be zero without his amazing humour and energy. I will only spoil the scene when Thor yells at Loki in iambic heptameter “You take the world as recompense for your imagined slight”, an antique line that immediately exasperates Iron Man. “Now there’s this guy - Shakespeare in the Park.” And the chemistry between Iron Man and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) should inspire the producers to launch a film with the two characters.

For me the 3D technology (the film was converted in 3D after production) was just a business decision, so the price of the tickets could be higher, as I didn’t notice any amazing effect that justified the effort of wearing the glasses.

But do you know which is the trendiest and most talk about sport after the release of the Avengers (and The Hunger Games as well)? A sport that inspired even Louis Vuitton to feature a themed window display this month in its stores? 

Well, archery, one of the oldest activities known to man found a new life and the specialized clubs in US report a raise in attendance.

Great sandwich idea from Keukenhof

Long walks always make me hungry and not even the wonderful tulips from Keukenhof change that, so between two species of flowers we had to stop for a quick snack. The loooong lines kept us away from the restaurants, so we had to be grateful for some sandwiches (Broodjes) with ham and curry mayo. And quite a discovery they were. Then I heard that the Broodjes (sandwiches in English) play such an important role in Dutch culture that they organize not one but two Tastiest Sandwich of the Year competitions.

Since I came back I’ve been eating them every day as I created my own version. So if you are curious here is my recipe for two sandwiches (depending on the size of your bread).

Ingredients

3 tee-spoons of bio mayonnaise

½ tee-spoon of mustard (you can add more depending on your taste)

a pinch of curry powder

ham cut in fine slices

Cut the ham in medium sized slices and grill it in a pan without adding anything else for 2 minutes. Mix the mayo, mustard and curry and spread it on a slice of bread then add the grilled ham. If you have time, you can prepare your own curry mayo, by adding a pinch of curry in the normal mayo recipe. Enjoy!   

Workouts for rainy days - jump rope

Luxembourg transformed me in a meteo dependent person and these long and rainy days don’t help much. So if you need somes good vibes and energy (and don’t count on the sun because it will shine in other countries) why not try a workout. We have been speaking so much about childhood in my French course, so I wanted to remember my child long jump rope sessions. So YouTube helped and now I have again the power to cope with the rain. 

 

Hope it helps you too!

The Dutch seaside at Noordwijk

I’ve been always fascinated by the idea of going to the beach just to hang out, despite the lack of warm weather, to read a book, take a long walk (with your dog if you have any) or just listen to the waves. After my tulip afternoon at Keukenhof I have just discovered the perfect place to do this. It’s located in Noordwijk and has an atmosphere that reminds me of Etretat in Normandy (minus the spectacular rocks). 

And the strong wind didn’t keep people away from the beach so there was quite a show there –two brave surfers plunging in the freezing sea, children playing barefoot with the kites and me shivering with a red nose drinking hot chocolate.

Apparently the weather gets warmer in summer considering that the resort attracts around one million people each year. But regardless the season it’s well worth a 10 minutes drive if you are going to Lisse. 

How do books work?

For the celebration of the International Book Day here is a poster that summarizes my feelings for books
 

EasyJet comes to Luxembourg

www.wort.lu announced that EasyJet enters Luxembourg with London Gatwick flights starting 29^th of October 2012 and I can’t be happier as I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between low cost airlines and Luxembourg.

 One can just imagine the level of lobbying and pressures that EasyJet made, but this is a welcomed and good competition for the airlines operating from Luxembourg at very high prices.

My dream place

It’s been on my bucket list for two years and last weekend I finally got the chance to live my dream. Ever since I saw the first pictures of Keukenhof, the famous flower garden from Netherlands, I had been wanting to set foot in the park. And moving to Luxembourg helped a lot. So after checking the weather situation (yes, the smart phones transformed us in AccuWeather freaks) off we went.

We first saw the huge fields of tulips and experienced the amazing smell, but nothing prepared us for the picture perfect piece of land in Lisse where 7 million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are in full bloom.

Don’t worry about the parking, you’ll find a place because everything is wisely organized. And don’t forget to buy the parking ticket from the ticket office where you also pay for the entrance – you will need it at the exit. 

There’s a plan available for purchase, but I just prefer to wonder and be surprised by the discoveries I make. So just keep your eyes open and be prepared for the show. And yes, the numbers and data are amazing, the most photographied park, a record number of tulips and so on, but once you’ll arrive the only thing that will count is the capacity of your memory card.

You will instantly feel the energy

Smile

Take a deep breath

Walk on water

Fall in love

Discover the windmill

Fight the big crowds for a perfect place

Meet my Josephine’s sisters 

 And a cute black pug that appreciates beautiful things

And just enjoy the show

There’s a boat trip available every hour, but as it was such a busy period we could only find place late in the evening, so we have one more reason to come back.