We are entering a completely new world, a world that will be different from everything we have seen and experienced so far. Covid-19 has forever changed the world as we knew it. The new times will be exciting and difficult at the same time, because we are lacking experience in how to face and adapt…
All posts by ann
Dear Quarantaine, I must admit…
I must admit, initially I hated you. I hated you a lot because you reduced me to the small world of my house and garden in Ghent, Belgium. A social life that only revolves around the necessary visits to the supermarket, and that deprives me from seeing family, friends and colleagues, is utterly boring. No…
Every day is a good day
Whom we were yesterday is not necessarily whom we are today or whom we will be tomorrow. Simply because situations change. Sometimes suddenly and drastically. We all know what sudden and drastic means today. Behind the masks When I was a child, tears for example were seen as a sign of weakness. I never cried,…
Tweak the plan, not the goal
We hope you are at home and doing fine in these difficult times of lockdown and quarantaine. Today, things do not longer go according to plan. Countries are closing, cities and villages look empty. Many businesses are reaching a critical point. The good times seem far away. We could conclude: it is beyond our own…
My 7 reasons to love Italy
There are plenty of beautiful countries on the planet. True. Over the years, I have travelled the planet extensively. But still, each time I arrive in Italy, it feels like coming home. My fascination with Italy started in early childhood thanks to uncountable family trips to the Veneto, Lombardy, Tuscany and Le Marche. At that…
Een eigen plek onder de Italiaanse zon
Mijn verhaal in de Gent 2020 editie van Second Home Magazine. Of je nu de voorkeur geeft aan de magie van een geweldige stad, het prachtige landschap, de oneindigheid van de duizenden kilometers rotskusten en zandstranden of de puurheid van de bergen, Italië heeft het allemaal. Het vinden van de perfecte plek onder de zon,…
Niksen, the art of doing nothing
Not many Dutch words make it to the list of internationally widespread terms. The most well known are probably “Afrikaans” and “Apartheid”. But now there is also a new lifestyle concept that is trending these days. It is called “Niksen”, the noble art of doing absolutely nothing ! In my native language “Niksen” literally means…
Judging a book by its cover and other airport learnings
Have you ever bought a book because you loved the cover? I recently did so in Fiumicino Airport, where I spent five full hours. Not exactly a lot of fun on a public holiday, but sometimes things do not work out the way you want. Depending on how you look at it, I was either…
The eternal holiday appearance
Work to live. Don’t live to work. “You are on a holiday?” Maybe. I get this question regularly, even when I am close to being submerged… For some or other reason I regularly meet people who think I am on a holiday. In the beginning I thought it was because I am a woman, passing…
Don’t be so “busy, busy, busy” all the time !
One of my friends recently wondered how come that with all the different assignments I have on my plate, I can still show up “all smiles” and “all zen” in no time. Indeed, I am capable of just dropping urgent and important stuff, in order to pop up where the fun or excitement is. How…