Heritage…Arts and crafts from Istanbul in Geneva now!

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Artisanal, Crafts from turkey, cultural heritage, geneva, Geneva Old Town, Héritage Genève, Heritage, Home Decoration, Istanbul, Rifat Ozbek, Suggestions, Turkey, Turkish Art, Yastik, Yastik by Rifat Ozbek

I’ve got very very good news!

Finally a chic and authentic boutique opened by in Geneva Old Town, in of my most favorite streets. Elif, our friend and owner of the store, made a very nice and high quality selection of hand crafted, artisanal crafts  from Istanbul.

This stylish boutique, called Héritage Genève, reflects the rich cultural heritage of Turkey, with its array of hand-made cushions, art collectables, home textiles and scarves.  All of the products on display feature original contemporary designs and have been created using traditional fabrication techniques, originating from Turkey.

One of the main part of her range is “Yastik” by Rifat Ozbek, a famous Turkish designer. “Yastik” means cushion in Turkish.

Elif says,”We were blown away by Rifat’s pillows, especially when we discovered just how original they are. Each one of them is hand-made with authentic material such as ikat, suzeni, and velvet, and is scented with a hint of lavender. Lavender is known for having positive effects on the mind, so it is easy to see the benefits of relaxing on a sofa decorated with Yastik cushions, made by Rifat Ozbek!”

My favorites are..

Of course the Yastik! Could not choose one yet, I want all of them to change everyday :))

There are more at the back of the store…

You can make combinations with beautiful candles like these..

Beautiful artisanal items..

Turkish coffee service cups, very elegant and modern… Of course suitable for serving your espresso in a different style!

And these lamps are so sympa!

On the second floor, there is an art gallery as well and this week there is a new exhibition called TurcArt, of Turkish paintings, sculptures and photographs..

So, don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy this beautiful artisanal environment. I am sure, Elif, with a perfect sample of Turkish hospitality will happily host you…As she says rightly, “Hand-crafted in Istanbul, Turkey, all of our goods are designed to be handed down from generation to generation, appreciating in both value and distinction. Our goods have great appeal for customers who are looking for something unique, rich in cultural heritage, which they are not likely to see elsewhere in Geneva!”

Congratulations to her and her husband for presenting this rich culture in such a nice way and wishing them luck on their new journey!

You can find more of their range in their website, here, as well.

Amsterdam, the city of colors and tastes, with kids!

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Amsterdam, Easter Holiday, Holiday with kids, Holland, Travel with kids

Amsterdam, the center of partying for Europeans, may not be on top of your list, when you go for a holiday in Easter with kids! However, there are so many things to discover with them in this beautiful city, even without partying, beleive me:)

Our list for 4 days, prepared by Cenk and Hande who’s living there for sometime now, was something like this..

Lebanese Feast from Rola

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Dinner with friends, Lebanese Cuisine, Lebanese Food, Rola

One of the very nice things about Geneva is the fact that you are surrounded by an international community, sometimes even more than the Swiss! So you can learn more about these international cultures than the one we live in! Can’t decide if it is good or not so good?

I am one of the most lucky ones to be friend with a wonderful Lebanese cook Rola introducing this delicious cuisine, homemade style! Almost everybody loves Lebanese food and it is even more so for me, as I lived most of life in my country Turkey and city Istanbul!

This is a fit & gourmet holiday!

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French Alps, French Cheese, Paradiski, Peisey-Vallandry, Ski Holiday

Coming from Istanbul, you can imagine that I am not that expert on skiing but I am definitely one of the experts for enjoying the ski holidays!!

Anyone who enjoys snow,sun, fresh air, lots of delicious food, especially cheese and wine, wonderful scenery around, would enjoy it! And you don’t have to ski to enjoy these as there are other options like mountain walks, hiking, snow-shoeing, etc that you can do to explore and burn the calories!

Mexican Nights in Geneva!!

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mexican, taco, wraps

Actually it’s our house!! Would be good to have Mexican Nights somewhere else though!!

Ours were easy, relax, taco and wrap making dinners. Made 3 different fillings, meat, beans and chicken. Made lots of guacamole, tomatoe salad, greens and used sour cream.

Kids loved making their own wrap but pretty difficult to eat of course!

A yummy, lovely homemade cream workshop

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Beauty, Cream, Homemade Face Cream

Have you ever cooked a face cream?? Well, I did!!

We had one of the best days in our lives, making our own homemade face creams, fully natural-organic, very little number of ingredients (compared to commercial ones), lovely friends, chats and big laughs!

We forgot how the time passed and enjoyed the wisdom of that great woman, Allison as usual! Everytime we meet, it is like reading another wonderful book!

Plus, my orange-jojoba day cream works so nice and so yummy, I can even eat it! The process itself is a bit like making a mayoneese, so with that yummy orange smell and creamy feel, of course you want to eat it!!

We were soo lucky beacuse it was the first time for making it like a workshop for friends. And as she is a perfect teacher, she was so well organised even for the first time!

Thanks sooo much Allison! For all!

Bicycling with kids in Annecy

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Annecy, Around geneva, Bicycling, bike, Holiday with sports, Ride

I always love Annecy! For only touristic walks or for shopping or paddling on the lake.. All of them are always so nice!

And I always come back with loads of pictures that fill my phone’s memory!!

Interlaken Episode 2: Giessbach Waterfalls

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Brienzersee, Giessbach, Giessbach Waterfalls, Holiday, Interlaken, Lake, Waterfalls

After a boat trip in Switzerland, Bernese Oberland, Brienzersee, that I mentioned in my previous post, you first see the Giessbach waterfalls from the lakeside like this..

Turquoise lake, green mountains, blue sky, flowers.. Interlaken, Episode 1: Lake Tour

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Brienzersee, Holiday in Switzerland, Interlaken, Lake, Nature, Neuhaus, Summer, Switzerland, Thunersee

One might wonder why on earth you would visit Switzerland during summer and leave the beautiful beaches in South & West of Turkey (or some other coasts around the world)! Well, after seeing Interlaken, I won’t ask this question again.

It is not possible to write about Interlaken in only one post as it deserves so much more!! If you have ever been to this part of Switzerland, you probably know what I mean. If not, after my few posts or going around web, you can soon understand why!

Bicycling in brocante (antique) market, 2 hours in Nyon!

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Antique, Bicycling around Lake geneva, Brocante, Family outing in Geneva, Fun with kids, geneva, Ice cream, Lac Leman, Markets, Nyon, Sunday

We love Nyon, a small, quiet, lake side town next to Geneva. On Sunday we decided to take the train with our bicycles and enjoy the Sunday even though the weather was weird and unpredicatable -as usual in Lake Geneva!

We’ve visited Nyon a few times and each time we love the quiet and peaceful streets, the view, rooftops, the castle and the park..

When Geneva is quiet and lonely on Sundays, Nyon is always packed with people, lively and looks very “social” with the shops and restaurants open around!! And this time we had another nice suprise, “Brocante” the Antique or second-hand market/bazaar, I think the same market as Rive (Brocante de Rive). I heard that every last Sunday of the month, you can visit this market in Nyon.

I think one of the signs of getting old is that you appreciate and get interested in old things!!! I hated antique or anything second-hand but now passing the 40 years this summer, I think my time has come. I loved many details in the market and could have bought a lot if I was alone (and not with kids around me) and not came with bicycle!!!

All the streets are invaded with stalls, with so many different things…Like these boots !

and of course the old stereo..

My favorites were these..

and this for placing my Turkish Meze?!

how about these for salt-pepper and different spices on a lovely tray?

And these colorful bottles for drinks..

I am not an expert in these markets but is 80chf a good price for them??

And loved these wooden spoons..

And I actually have seen those just last week at someone’s house, someone I adore and love so much!

She is a great fan of these markets and has lots of wonderful things she bought from there, like these glasses..

She says the secret is to go there without a target and look around for everything and visit every week and maybe twice a week if you can to finally find the piece you’d love!

As there are some weird stalls that distracts you like these..

or things that are all against vegeterians!!

Wooden toys..

cool lamps, chairs, coke bin..

Old telephones, a real nostalgia!

any size color bottles for collectors..

beautiful silver stuff..

and some Mickey Mouse nostalgia..

There were some stalls near the lake side and we actually rided bicycle along them!

And this is the way to our favorite ice cream place, Galeteria Venetzia… might be the best in lake Geneva! They even have a diet version, bitter chocolate without sugar and it is sooo delicious!

and this is how it looks like from the inside waiting for your turn..

And you can finish your day relaxing in the park next to lake..

as the kids enjoy some Harry Potter trees around!

If you are interested in markets like these, there will be another one in Chateau de L’Isle in Morges. We might meet there as I will go with a shopping bag this time!