During quarantine in Brussels, our family had a trip around the world. Every Sunday the kids dressed up to represent the country we were visiting using only what we had at home. We cooked our version of food from the region we were visiting, we painted the flag and learned about the culture and history.
It was a great way to keep ourselves entertained and look forward to the weekend. Here are some of the pictures we took during the lockdown culinary and cultural trip around the world… We hope to visit some of these countries to experience the real deal, once it is safe for all to travel and welcome tourists.
The first country was Mexico
It started as something simple, but we realized our kids were really into this. It then became a full-blown project we are now very fond of.
Next up, Brazil!
Our kids then asked to visit Pakistan, so we flew to Islamabad
For the occasion we cooked some mutton as well
For Easter, we visited Greece. Two leaves and a gown made this outfit
And a pair of PJs pants did the rest for our daughter
Our version of meze: tzatziki, dolmades, taramosalata, olives, feta
Our greek food for the day was greek-style roast lamb with potatoes
This little Steve Jobs opened the visit to the United States of America
With Rosie the riveter we got some motivation after 30 days of quarantine: we can do it!
We indulged in some gourmet hamburgers
Neighboring France was next with this paper made Marie Antoinette
Jacques-Yves Cousteau took us sailing and learning about oceans
The food was amazing, and so was the wine. But the absolute winner of our visit to l’Hexagone was the crepes suzette
Morocco was next with our attempt to recreate berber clothing
Cardboard and glue were our allies
We made couscous with roasted vegetables, lamb, chickpeas, mint and some almonds. We definitely have to visit Morocco and try their food now
Here our daughter is portraying Italian Rita Levi-Montalcini, who won a Nobel prize for her work in neurobiology
Our family is half Italian and half South African, so we decided to visit our home countries.
While our son is king Vittorio Emanuele II di Savoia, the first king of Italy after its unification in 1861
We had a traditional aperitivo with spritz and bruschette
Representing South Africa Christiaan Neethling Barnard, the cardiac surgeon who performed the world’s first successful heart transplant
A kitchen towel and a green t-shirt made wonders here.
“Saguquka sathi ‘bheka’ Nants’ iPata Pata” sang this proudly South African version of Miriam Makeba
Of course we had a “braai” (the South African barbecue) and it was a blast
China was exciting as Chinese food is an all-time favorite in our household: we made duck pancakes, sweet and sour pork, beef in oyster sauce
Straws, oven paper, and red paint were all we needed for this Chinese empress outfit
While glue and spaghetti helped for this straw hat
Here’s Bartolomeu Dias and his astrolabe
In May we planned a real trip to Portugal, it was only natural that one of our stops was the land of the three F’s (Fado music, the Fátima pilgrimage, and Futebol).
Amália Rodrigues gave us a feel for Fado: something you cannot define, explain, or understand, but rather experience
Piri-piri chicken was part of our meal in Portugal, that included also Pastéis de natas and Port wine
In early June the deconfinement began, but we had one last Sunday to visit Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh look was recreated with some sewing threads
We made Pho-bo (here in prepping stage) and many other delicious takes on Vietnamese food
Vietnamese Cold Chicken Salad (Goi Gao)
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