Vietnam, there we go!!!!

Well, for those who are not up to date with the latest movements of the Verdeja-Bellemans, our coordinates will change latitude in the following summer. We're going back to Ho Chi Minh City, (Saigon), Vietnam. When I say we, I mean Yil, Lía, María Luisa and I, because An is going there already next week. Yes. She is starting in her new position on April 1st and will be commuting to Bangkok every one or two weeks until we all go at the end of the school year.

Vietnam has been growing and changing by the minute from the day we left it 2.5 years ago. Although we wanted to stay longer in Bangkok, we know is going to be a great journey to a known place, friends and opportunities. Lía is very excited about it and Yil was the owner of the decision to bring Leyla (the cat) with us. So, she is coming, of course.

Bangkok is a great place to live and grow. We're leaving behind a great community of friends and a beautiful land full of lovely people. It all is close by, so we'll be back one way or another.

Vietnam, get ready for us, because there we go!!!

Artistic Veins

Who would have thought that reaching the 40's, one can still find out that there is a hidden talent inside you that has been unexploited.

I finally have decided to take painting lessons in Thailand since 6 weeks now. And while it was originally intended to simply relax myself, it actually turns out that I have quite a natural talent for a rough painting stroke a la Van Gogh, Monet, etc... The feeling is amazing (Ro...it can compete with your Golf feeling) I feel so energized and would like to paint whenever possible. I see suddenly the world with other eyes. I look at the environment around me and think how great if would be to capture it on a painting. I see suddenly colours and shadows that I had never seen before.

While for sure I lost the opportunity to become a famous painter, I do know that I have found a hobby that allows me to keep the other side (is it the right or left side) of my brain active and I finally found my own passion outside of my work and family.

Let me first share you my Vietnamese productions which I have done at home without any teacher's inputs. I am very proud of them and I have already several friend of Maria Luisa who have shown interest in wanting to buy them... Who knows, this could be a nice alternative job to Marketing VP in Unilever?

These are my two first paintings which where inspired by Cubism. Not really a style I like, but a very good practice to get the basics of painting right. Maria Luisa loves them, so I already promised her to hang some paintings in her room when we move back to Vietnam.

Here are two reproductions of Van Gogh - thinking by the way a lot of Tio Lu when painting them. The one of the vase with sunflowers is very famous. The portrait is also painted by Van Gogh but is showing another painter called Armand Roulin. This specific portrait I choose in order to practice the art of portrait paintings. My next challenge will be to start painting from pictures. I have already identified my first portrait painting from Yil. I'll post it when finished.

The landscape is a copy from an impressionist (female - Dutch ?) who I cannot recall the name. It caused me a lot of sweat to finish, but I managed to finish it very close to the original painting. Yil adores this one! This weekend we will go to the park and will paint the landscape our eyes will be perceiving in real life. I am very excited.

Now I am on my way to Vietnam for a new job and Ro and the kids will be following in July. You can guess already...I plan to continue my painting lessons there.

London. Fourty. Mamma Mia!!!

Every year Unilever somehow achieves to send An away for her birthday claiming the urgency and the importance of her presence in a business meeting somewhere far from her family. This year was no exception. Murphy's law were meticulously in track and her birthday, on March 19th was to be spent midway between Thailand and the Caribbean, namely London.

If you can't beat them, join them... (or the other one about the mountain and Mohamed)

I've never been to London. It was the only part of Europe I didn't visit during my backpacking years there. Always wanted to go and find out for myself how true was what everybody said about it. So I thanked Murphy for making this opportunity possible. And, as much as it was a gift for An to be together on this important birthday, it was also a huge gift for me to finally make acquaintance with this magical city.


Five minutes away from hearing the Big Ben chiming from the south shore of the Thames path, I was feeding the street artists, some statues, singers and an invisible man... going back in time to take their places and be grateful people who, like me now, where feeding me.

I brought a journal for my days in London and a page was skipped by accident. I didn't want to go back and write in the middle of my stories up to that moment, so I somehow thought I could draw something to fill up the space. Well, I'm not Alber, nor Rosa who are the artists in the family, but I was surprised that at the end it looked like something with a meaning. Humbly I sent it right away to Alber looking for his approval. He told me "stop doing presentations and starts with perspectives". It was kidding, of course, but anyway I loved it and kept drawing. Now I have another three drawings in my repertoire and still growing. [click to enlarge. Drawing was made from memory]

Then the big night came. As part of the celebrations of An's 40th birthday (don't worry, mine are coming soon too) we bought in advance tickets to watch one of the many musicals in London. We chose Mamma Mia, and have to say that we enjoyed every second of it. The actors, the dances, the songs (all ABBA songs) and the story itself were worth every pound (every pound!!!). All around London were tickets kiosks selling "last minute" tickets to all the shows in town. I have the feeling I'll be back in London sometime to watch more of those.

The night finished at "Floridita", a cuban restaurant with a band and DJ where we could dance some salsa while having some tostones with our food.

Happy Birthday Vida!

HONK, the ugly duckling

This is one of the pictures of the Cat in Honk. I'll be posting some more later including the kids as ducklings and froglets.

Can anybody see me? I'm hiding behind the trees.