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Today, there’s the LGBTQIA+ pride in Paris, as a fervent ally of this community I wanted to honour them this week! Long called gay pride, today we only say pride, to bring together everyone and no longer just homosexuals. And for those unfamiliar with the term LGBTQIA+, it means: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and more, as the acronym can have even more categories, in its full form: LBTQQIAAP One of the A's stands for Ally, like me, for all those who support equal rights. But if you only remember the first one, that's great! (The photos in this article were taken in Paris in June 2019)  While many cities around the world have already celebrated it, more will take place in the summer, an event always eagerly awaited and even more so this year as many were cancelled last year. The first march took place in June 1970 in the United States, to commemorate the Stonewall riots in New York. Indeed, on June 28, 1969, a police raid took place at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village (NYC). A bar frequented by gay and transgender people. Recall that at that time in New York, it was forbidden to serve alcohol to homosexuals, as well as to cross-dress. Only this time, the police face a rebellion. Five days of riots followed. 2,000 participants and 400 policemen were reported during the first night. This event undoubtedly gave birth to the LGBT movement in the United States and around the world.  This is why June is considered Pride Month in many countries, and every year since 1970 more and more cities around the world have joined the movement. You probably noticed this month, small multicoloured flags on the internet, social media, some store windows ... This is the flag of the LGBTQIA + community. It was created by an American, Gilbert Baker in 1978. The first 2 flags were hand-stitched & dyed by the artist and used in the march of San Francisco on June 25, 1978. Each colour represents a particular word: Red LIFE Orange HEALING Yellow SUNLIGHT Green NATURE Blue HARMONY Violet SPIRIT Originally the flag had 8 stripes, the pink (sex) and turquoise (magic) have been removed to facilitate mass-production. However, the colour brown (inclusivity) and black (diversity) were added in 2017 for more inclusion towards people of colour. The video below tells the story of this flag very well: In my article Superwomen 3, I talked extensively about same-sex marriage around the world, as well as the right to parenthood, and all the inequalities that still exist. I recalled in my article Superwomen 5 that lesbians in France are not allowed to freeze their eggs or to have IVF (in-vitro fertilization). In recent weeks, there has been a lot of talk about donating blood, because in most countries in the world, homosexuals and bisexuals are not allowed to donate blood or under certain conditions such as several months of abstinence before blood donation. (Australia, United States, France…). The UK made a change to their law about ten days ago, allowing people in a monogamous relationship for more than 3 months to donate blood without restriction. France is expected to allow anyone over the age of 18 to be an unrestricted donor next year. Still too many laws are unequal and inadequate today, it is up to everyone to support equal rights for all.  Today is also the birthday of my godchildren, Hannah and Noam, the twins of 2 amazing dads! I witnessed the difficult journey for them to become a family, the laws, the disappointments, the failures and finally these 2 miracles. Love has no gender, colour, religion, border. Love is Love. So today, I'm not just celebrating their birth, but also determination, courage and love ... I am proud of you, I love you!!  Reread my articles from the Superwomen Series here: LINK. But also, all the articles of My Solo Wedding in Santorini: LINK. No article next week, it's my birthday on the 1st of July!! I'm going to celebrate for a few days... Next Post: Saturday July 10 Happy Pride!! Love & Joy, L.
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I’m very excited because I’m going to spend Summer in Paris again. I love this city, so romantic and inspiring, it's no wonder that many artists and authors created here. So this week, I'm taking you again to the French capital, to visit my favourite garden: the Luxembourg Gardens.  Created in 1612 for Queen Marie de Medici, to enhance the Luxembourg Palace that she chose as her residence, this palace occupied by the Germans during the Second World War, is today the place of the Senate, which owns it, gardens included. It was transformed several times over time, in its current form there’s a French garden, an English garden, separated by a geometric forest, but also a rose garden, greenhouses with orchids, an orchard with old apples and even beehives. Everything is conducive to daydreaming in these 25 hectares of greenery and art / architecture. What I love most is its collection of 106 statues spread all over the park, like witnesses of time and history. Among these the Greek actor, a bronze sculpture of a man with a mask on his forehead and a manuscript in his hand, you know how attached I am to Greece, my country of heart since My Solo Weddding in Santorini. And yes, this is the Pantheon in the background (read Article Pantheon Paris). Or even the bronze model that was used by the sculptor Bartholdi for the Statue of Liberty (statue mentioned in my article Spring in New York). He actually gave it to the Luxembourg Gardens. Many activities are available in these gardens, tennis, bowls, ponies for children, exhibitions etc. But my favourite thing is to relax, sunbath, wander, have a coffee, watch the clouds as I said last week (reread Superwomen 5), and of course to write ... Without forgetting what makes all the charm of this magnificent place, the large pond where children play with small sailboats. So restful and calming. Spending time here, you’d almost believe you're at home like a Queen ... My previous Articles about Paris:
Have a fantastic week everyone! Love & Joy, L. Since last week I spoke again about my egg freezing in Madrid, I thought an update on this very personal topic was a good idea. As a reminder, I received this Gift from Science one year after my Solo Wedding in Santorini. And for this article, I’ve chosen to use my photos of clouds, all the photos are mine, like for my article Meditation. The sky is a great source of artistic inspiration and to me it represents hope. Hope I wish to radiate and spread in this patriarchal world ...  First of all, I’d like to point out that in June 2021, France is still one of the 3 countries in Europe (Austria and Malta) that don’t allow egg freezing for singles and lesbians! In 2019, a law was passed to allow all women to use this procedure, unfortunately this law was rejected by the Senate recently, and right now we have absolutely no idea when it’ll be possible one day ... As we celebrate Pride Month for the LGBTQ + community of which I’m an unconditional ally, it seemed important to me to recall this system anomaly. At the present time it seems unthinkable that single women and lesbian women can’t freeze their oocytes and use IVF!  However, women who rebel, like Teresa Xu, a 31-year-old single woman who went to Chinese court in 2019 - another country that bans freezing for single women - to demand equal rights. Unfortunately, again, no hope was obtained. An injustice even more outrageous since Chinese men can freeze their sperm, which is not the case in France, no gender discrimination on that side (good or bad, the debate is open!). After 40 years of IVF (in-vitro fertilization) and 30 years of freezing technique, we’re moving too slowly. And more and more women who travel to foreign countries (myself included) to have this type of procedure, which is sadly reminiscent of the case of abortion. Not to mention that the cost of treatment and travel is not accessible to everyone.  Incredible women who never stop fighting for our happiness, Australian Dr. Debra Gook opened the world's first egg bank in 1994 at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne (Australia). After 5 years of intense research, she’s the one who discovered the technique of freezing oocytes. Despite this great advance, the medical world was reluctant, yet the practice of freezing sperm dates from the 1970s ... Then another woman, Dr. Eleonora Porcu, Italian, decided to follow in her footsteps, followed by Dr. Nicole Noyes in the United States. Thank you to all these women, and the men who support them, who support us, for making a difference and offering future generations the freedom to choose!  Reread my previous articles: And I’d like to highlight my Superwomen series: Keep your head in the clouds, the only place you see the sun, stars, and rainbows! Love & Joy, L. While I’ve just renewed my vows and celebrated the 4th Anniversary of my Solo Wedding in Santorini (read the Article again), here I am celebrating another anniversary, just as unique and special: the freezing of my eggs 3 years ago!! I’ve explained extensively why and how it all happened in my Article Gift from Science, I invite you to re-read it: And for those who follow me for a long time, you know that I made this wish come true in the magnificent Spanish capital: Madrid. That’s the reason why I’ve chosen to show you more this city that I adore, and where I lived for several months for the success of my cryopreservation.  If there's one place I've spent a lot of time, it's the Retiro Park, located in the heart of Madrid and very popular with locals, especially on sunny days. First, with its large rectangular ornamental lake adorned with an imposing bronze equestrian statue from 1904, the place is romantic and relaxing for a rowboat ride. Or the many gardens, perennials, French flowerbeds or the rose garden that I told you all about in my article: Rainy Day in Madrid. In the first heat, taking refuge under the 15,000 trees in the park is a real breath of fresh air. Moreover, built between 1630 and 1640, it was for a long time the royal secondary residence. Today there are 2 palaces, the Crystal Palace built for the colonial exhibition of 1887 and the Velazquez Palace, both rich in know-how and architecture that serve as an exhibition hall. And with the many fountains and statues present in this park, it’s a really pleasant and peaceful place. Another area where I walked daily, the Royal Palace. In its surroundings, you’ll obviously find the Almudena Cathedral, to which I devoted an entire article, many gardens including the Plaza de Oriente located between the Palace and the Royal Theatre. Old or modern buildings, strolling through Madrid is always fascinating and you sometimes come across architectural surprises such as the Temple of Amun. Temple built in Debod in Egypt and dating from the 2nd century. It was donated by Egypt to Spain in 1960, as part of the safeguard of the monuments, which were to be flooded by the waters of the Aswan dam. Another very famous place, the Plaza Mayor, which is always crowded. From 1590 to 1854, it changed and transformed many times to finally retain the style that we know today, with an equestrian statue of Philip III dating from the 17th century. This square measures 423ft (129m) by 308ft (94m) and is pedestrian only, which is in fact a privileged place for meetings, it’s also surrounded by many restaurants. Strolling the surrounding streets immerses you in the historic atmosphere of this vibrant capital! And at the end of the day, nothing better than going for a few tapas at the San Miguel Market. In these sumptuous covered market from 1916, a heritage of Spanish know-how for iron architecture (like the Crystal Palace), you can taste all kinds of specialties and delicate meals prepared by the greatest Spanish chefs, but also international and Michelin-starred chefs. For more than a decade, this space has been considered the first gastronomic market in Madrid. No wonder then to find caviar as much as traditional paella ... Bon appétit ! This city with its many famous museums is exciting for lovers of history and art. I’ve already introduced several of them with some very fascinating exhibitions: I hope you enjoyed this walk as much as I enjoyed sharing my memories with you ... Have an amazing week everyone! Love & Joy, L. |
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