mariev's VirtualTourist Home Page

Since i'm a techno-challenged (what else could you expect from an IT software engineer ?), one finger typing and lazy person, it can be a loooooong time before this homepage is built.
But i swear : i will do it (just don't hold your breath until this day, please ?)

For now, i'm working on my travel pages.
And, even there, you may find more than one page "under construction" at the same time...

The adds will be progressive and somewhat random : when i have the opportunity to scan a photo or to take one with my brand new digital camera....(hmm! now it's my second digital camera and the pages are still progresssing slowly)

English being obviously not my first language, all my pages will certainly be more image than text directed.

I'm 45, engineer (IT, specialized in financialsoftware quality control); married since 17 years with a wonderful guy whose only major default is a dislike for travel. We have 2 children (14 and 8).
I love classical music, medieval art, archeology, roc climbing and good food.

I started travelling early : i was born in Ouagadougou (then Haute Volta, now Burkina Faso) from parents working for the UNO.
Soon , my family went back to our 'root' city : Strasbourg (i generally say i was born there, while i actually landed there aged 3 months).
Later, i followed my father assignments over western and northern Africa. The travel bug was caught.

I live in Paris since 1986,. While i travel less since i have children, i still have opportunities, for instance when visiting my all over Europe spreaded family (father born in Brno, grand mother from Como, wandering uncles, aunts, cousins, cosmopolitan weddings...) or for work.

Not travelling much just now, i will do a bit of work here.

The pages i'm presently working on are :
- Reims
- Bruxelles

2 pages are permanently under construction
- Strasbourg (i'm so often there nowadays)
- Paris of ourse

And after ?
I really have to dig out and scan my El Djem photos...(and some other remnants of roman Tunisia like Sbeitla)
or mayvbe Gouvernorat de Tataouine (a bit sleepy now but not finished)
or Bennodet...
or Tonnerre...
or....
well, i'll see

Since i'm on VT, several people asked me for receipes translations (for me food is an essential part of a culture) , i tought i could put some of them here (i will place them in travel pages under 'local customs' or in travelogues).

There will be receipes from :
- France - "cuisine bourgeoise" type
- France - Alsace (traditional) (where i come from)
- Italy (north) (my mother's family)
- Tunisia (south) : my parents lived there and my best friend's grandmother (Tunisian) is here and has accepted to give some of her 'secrets'.

For the firts two, if you want a specific receipe, and can't find it, don't hesitate to drop me a line (i don't know exactly what people could be interested in, so i translate on a whim or when i'm asked)