Matteo & Riccardo

Guess who is Matteo, and who is Riccardo...

27 June - two years later...

Twenty-seven June, two years later. In between many, many things.

And many more to come…

(Ps: looking back at the comments to the post of last year, I have to say they have been almost prophetical…)

A spasso per Roma

Mathilde, week 33rd

Matteo, week 33rd

Back home...

It has been a long and tiring mission: long working hours, a lot of kilometers, a lot of heat.

But after two weeks like this, there is nothing like being back home.

Back to my family…

Habemus incunabula

Red as my scooter, red as our couches, les M&M’s (or, better, Baby) has now his/her new baby carriage.

The father would have liked it with BIG driving-wheels, as that of the Americans, to show off in the park with the other dads. Unfortunately it wouldn’t have fit in our elevator. The mother would have liked it as light as a feather, to easily manoeuvre it on the sidewalks obstructed by the parked cars or to easily load it and unload it on our car. Unfortunately they have not yet made them in titanium. In the end, the simpler, the better.

We thanks grandpapa et grandmama Iweins very much for their present - which, by the way (knowing us) probably saved us from neverending discussions on which baby carriage to pick.

Merci! J

Les Iweins chez Les M&M’s

While Matteo is wandering about the mountains of Kashmir meeting community organizations, woman associations, widow groups, etc. to discuss livestock packages, poultry packages, microfinance packages, mobilization strategies, feeder roads, small dams, etc. etc. Mathilde received a pleasant visit: Madame et Monsieur Iweins on a pleasure trip to Rome.

And while thanking them for having taken care of Mathilde in my absence, and for having replenished our new home with new tools and household appliances, I am sorry I missed their visit, and look forward to seeing them very soon.

In August…

Greetings from Muzaffarabad

Artistic picture from a local newspaper

Salaam. Greetings from Muzaffarabad, AJK (you can check on Google Map where the hell it is J).

After a few days of internet troubles, today internet has been clement, and I am back on line. Just to say that all is well, food is bad but I am eating regularly, I have not yet been shot, kidnapped or carjacked (and therefore I could not yet put in practice the teaching of the UNDSS Security in the Field Training Course), and that I’ll probably be back to Islamabad on Wednesday.

Insha’Allah.

In partenza verso nuove avventure! (Leaving towards new adventures!)

Kashmir has been no doubt the part of India that I liked more. Now I am going to discover the 'other side' of Kashmir: the Pakistan side, or, as they call it here, ‘Azad’ Kashmir: ‘free’ Kashmir.

See you in a couple of weeks!

L’auberge ‘Les M&M’s’ is getting ready for the crucial test

After Silvia, Sara & Tommy, and Patricia, our auberge has been tested by another distinguished guest: Ingrid from Brussels, who stayed with us for a few days in the past days.

We do thank Ingrid for her company (and for her salads!). And while waiting for her official review, we feel we are ready for the ‘crucial test’: Les Iweins, who will be visiting us in the coming days…

Les M&M’s in Umbria: in giro per le viuzze di Perugia*

(*) Les M&M's in Umbria: wandering around Perugia's alleys...

Les M&M’s in Umbria: Perugia

Perugia, the last leg of our short journey in Umbria, was probably the city that I (we?) liked the most. Assisi and Gubbio are indeed beautiful, two little medieval jewels - but at the same time a bit ‘too much’: too clean, too tidy, too ‘for tourists’.

Perugia on the other hand is a nice mix: certainly as precious as Assisi and Gubbio, but at the same time more lively, more vibrant, more ‘true’.

University town, I decided I will study there in my next life…

Les M&M's in Umbria: Gubbio

Assisi, a mosaic of churches. Gubbio, the second leg of our journey, a whole of medieval palaces and houses. It is nice to (re-) discover Italy…

Below, ‘la Fontana dei Pazzi’ (the Fouls’ Fountain). They say that if you go round the fountain three times, you get crazy. Saying demonstrated…

Les M&M's in Umbria: Assisi

We may disappoint a bit our followers, but for once we decided not to take a plane, not to embark in ‘exotic’ trips, and to discover instead our own backyard. On the occasion of the June 2nd long week-end, we thus decided, together with Agnes and Xavier, to discover the green and gentle Umbria, a couple of hours by train from Rome.

The first leg of the trip was Assisi, birthplace of San Francesco and 'spiritual' capital of Umbria - as it has been defined.

More on this leg and on the rest of this short trip in the next few days. Good night for now…

Il gelato di San Crispino

Thanks to Riccardo (true Roman) for the hint. Our review: the ice-cream is certainly good, but the portions are a bit too small, and the attendants are unpleasant…

Mathie, Patty & Matt in Rome

Mathie & Patty in Rome

Two bachelorettes in Rome...

While Matteo was playing at Indiana Jones in Indochina, Mathilde was enjoying her last few weeks of ‘freedom’ in company of Patricia (who you may remember from our India posts), who came from Seville to visit Mathilde.

Above the two ‘bachelorettes’ who get ready to go dancing. Guapas!

Les M&M's in Angkor

Mathilde 2008

Matteo 2011