Duomo di Milano

It took 500 years to build the 4th largest gothic church in the world and the largest church in Italy. Commissioned in 1386, the Duomo was not finished until the early 1800. Regardless of your religious affiliation, it is amazing. I was quite surprised though by the experience inside. It was rather dull and not as magnificent as one would have expected.  Very limited light on the inside. Nonetheless, impressive.

At the Triennale Design Museum - Milan Italy

Amazing exhibit questioning "what is Italian design?"

To respond to that question, several famous Italian designers (furniture, design, cars, clothes, etc) were featured with their interpretation.

One of my favorite responses is from Alessi is featured below:

Also featured were chairs designed by various Italian artists.  Here are a few of my favorites;

Pics from Dijon (#2)

Place Wilson

Palais des Ducs et des Etats de Bourgogne

Les richesses et l'elegance du patrimonie architectural

About the Mustard!

About a week ago, I took a gastronomy tour of Dijon offered by the Office of Tourism and aptly titled "Saveurs et Piquant."  This almost 2-hour tour focused on the top three specialities of this region (outside of wine) - - Mustard, Pain d'epice and Cassis.   It was  rainy Friday and that worked to my advantage.  I was the only person that showed up and had the private tour in..of course, French.

This post focuses on the mustard and future posts will uncover other delicious delicacies...

When we think of Dijon, we think of Dijon Mustard. What surprised me the most was to learn that:

1.  Most of the Mustard is produced in Canada.  Dijon Mustard does not have protected designation status and so if you follow the recipe, mustard made anywhere can be rightly called "Dijon Mustard".
Fortunately, there is "Moutarde de Bourgogne" that has protected status and requires that at least 30% of all the mustard seeds come from this region.

2. Famous Dijon Mustard brands - Maille and Amora are owned by Unilever.

3. At Maille, one can buy seasonal collections of mustard (see above for new Fall flavors).

Pics from Dijon (#1)

Arc de Triomphe  de la ville de Dijon s'appelle la Porte Guillaume

Dijon, a beautiful historic town is the capital of Cote d'Or department and the Burgundy region.  It also has the status of the "City of Art and History."

This town inherited great palaces, elegant buildings and splendid architecture from the old Burgundian nobility.

Enjoy your gum and keep the streets clean

This is one of several popular street signs on the "grand rue" in Besancon.  This sign invites chewing gum enthusiast to "stick" their gum on this pad, instead of throwing it on the ground. The interesting thing is that these pads are changed almost everyday.  What an innovative way to keep the city clean.

Keep on chewing!!

Add caption

MOVE: 6 Suitcases weighing 130 lbs and 194 Boxes

That's what 20 years collectively looked like. Shocking! Surprising. If you were to boil down your life and "stuff" into boxes how much would it be.  What do you think is necessary? A burden? Just stuff that you collected over the years?

All these thoughts run through my mind as I was looking around an empty apartment and realizing that everything important we owned was boiled down to just 2,300 lbs which was packed into 194 boxes. Our prized possessions weighing 130 lbs traveled with us as we made our move to France from Chicago.
This blog chronicles our move to France and attempts to capture interesting experiences along the way.

Bienvenue...

When was the last time you "cried out?" Indignez-Vous

Stephane Hessel’s “Indignez vous!”, has already become an editorial phenomenon in France selling more than 600,000 copies in the first three months.  He is disgusted by complacency and is calling for people to "Cry Out" and get outraged again!


Hessel argues that French people (and I'd argue all people) should re-embrace the values of the French resistance, which have been lost, driven by indignation and the French people need to get outraged again.


"Indifference, the worst attitude" was the chapter that resonated the most with me. As we live in a complex world where "Who controls, and who decides" is not always clear.  We live with inter connectivity and interdependence and there are still somethings that are unbearable. The worst attitude is INDIFFERENCE, saying "I cannot do anything, I'm doing my job."  We already see this playing out with the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor.  The lack of universal rights for all people.  What are we doing?  How are we crying out? Are we making a difference? Or being complacent?


To quote his last sentence and within that coupled with my own desire, we say "CREATE is to resist. RESIST IS TO CREATE."

Iphone, LTE, Tablets. Are We Really Connected?

The first 15 days of 2011 have already been very intense.  The recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES) showcased a multitude of new networked/convergence devices which promise to connect us and other gadgets in an easier and faster fashion. Nigeria, a third world country is also rumored to be launching their Long Term Evolution (LTE) network which is said to deliver internet connection at 4G speeds.  Just as I was reeling from this, Apple and Verizon announced the availability of the iphone on Verizon's network.
At the same time, we've seen senseless shootings in Arizona.  Southern Sudan is fighting for their independence, Tunisia's president of 23 years steps down and flees the country, and the Catholic Church is accelerating the beautification of the late Pope John Paul the second.  All these in the pursuit of unity and bringing people together.
But, are we really connected? On one hand we have technology and increasingly sophisticated gadgets that deliver connectivity.  On the other hand, we have worldly events that are reaching for unity, but in reality have been tragic.
So, as we set out into 2011, what is the meaning of "connected" to us as individuals, to the brands we support and to the world that we live in.  Merriam-Webster.com defines "connected as joined or linked together."  How can we and how should we deliver "connectivity" in 2011. What will it mean to us and to our brands.  How should we deliver promises that enhance this connectivity? WHAT ROLE WILL YOU PLAY?

What is the value of your smart phone?

Bonne Annee et Bon Sante!

I just got back from a wonderful holiday vacation in France and although it was a vacation, I could not help but put on my account planner/ work hat.

All over the newstands in Paris were mobile/ smart phone magazines...yes, glossy, well designed, beautiful magazines - "think GQ like" for quality and content.  The particular one that caught my eye was titled "Your Phone, Your Magazine."  So, this got me thinking just how important our mobile devices have become to us, so much so that they command their own high quality magazine.  If you think about it, we are talking about phones - devices that allow us to connect and communicate and yet we are celebrating the hardware and technology within these devices.  It is amazing how far we have come with technology.  In just a few short years, a whole new publishing genre is emerging.  I don't know how successful the sales of the magazines are, but they are clearly addressing a consumer need.  I don't know about you, but I can certainly imagine kicking back with my copy of "Your Phone, Your Magazine"...on a subscription basis of course:)