All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Top New Camper Vans: ‘Alphavan’ – Mercedes High-End Sprinter With “Unequaled Roominess”

The Alphavan is built on Mercedes’ largest Sprinter, the 736-cm (290-in)-long extra-long-wheelbase variant with super-high (299-cm+) roof. For comparison, that van is nearly 1.5 m (5 ft) longer than the Sprinter 144 that underpins notable campers like the Winnebago Revel and Westfalia James Cook. 

ALPHA Living Space

  • Spacious living room conveys home feeling
  • Choose from two different styles
    • Soft line: modern structured wooden finish combined with warm grey surfaces
    • Pure line: soft earthy white finish combined with warm grey surfaces
  • Seating covers can be exclusively individualized based on your request​
  • Feel yourself like home with a fantastic ceiling height of 2.10m (made possible by the extra height of the base vehicle)

ALPHA Kitchen

  • High quality design kitchen​
  • Single cast countertop – smooth rounded edges​​
  • Spacious drawers, feather-light movement and premium Soft-Close technology​​
  • Brushed stainless steel push locks enriching the design surfaces
  • Three generous compartments in the entry area allow for easy access of frequently used items​​
  • Two stowing compartments with integrated LED background lighting provide high end atmosphere while realizing superb practicability​​
  • A comfortably large 90 liters Dometic refrigerator in a central location welcomes you​​
  • The countertop blends beautifully into a flush mount two-burner Thetford induction cooker​
  • High-end sink armatures underline the elegance of the interior

ALPHA Bathroom

  • Spacious and bright bathroom with outside window, style “white-pure”​​
  • 100% water proof​​
    • Single cast bathroom construction
    • Polyurethane sealed edges
    • Side window with 100% waterproof frame fittings​
  • Thetford toilet with SOG ventilation system​​
  • Additional ceiling ventilation​​
  • Space saving pull-out sink
  • Extractable shower head​​
  • Water-protected storage bin in the upper area for showering items​​
  • Flush mount integrated bathroom door​​
  • Premium door handle with innovative magnet lock​​
  • Additional useful built-in closet between bathroom and sleeping area​​
  • Clothes rail in upper part​​
  • Shoe compartment in lower part

ALPHA Relax Area

  • Sleeping space of 200x160cm​​
  • High-end mattress​​
  • Sophisticated ventilation concept:
    • side-windows left and right for fresh air
    • ceiling window allowing circulation and unforgettable star gazing during clear nights​​
  • Windows with fly screens and separate shades

ALPHA FlexPort

  • Alpha FlexPort 220x170x128 cm (LxWxH)
  • Integrated chair holders in the rear doors​​​​​
  • Lashing system in the floor and side walls for safely securing stored equipment​​
  • Optional design storage bags for the side walls​​
  • Convenient hooks on rear doors and front wall of FlexPort​​
  • Seating and stowing capabilities on and inside the design round-edged floor cabinets left and right​​
  • Single cast closing flaps of the cabinets with integrated Soft-Close technology and warm grey design

Website

New Food Books: ‘Petite Patisserie: 180 Easy Recipes – Elegant French Treats’

Christophe Felder, along with his longtime collaborator, Camille Lesecq, are back with a new volume that focuses upon the delightful small pastries that are one of the highlights of the art of French baking. Both children and adults adore these often bite-size indulgences. Included here are all the fundamental recipes–the classics and the traditional favorites–along with original, inventive creations. 

A delightful volume devoted to the delicate, charming treats that are the soul of France’s neighborhood patisseries. With Felder’s expert guidance, any home cook can now re-create the sweet enchantments and small indulgences that are the hallmark of many a holiday in France.

Recipes include amandines, babas, biscuits, bostocks, creams, croquantes, croustillons, financiers, flans, madeleines, Alsatian manderlis, Napoleans, petits fours, sablés, tartlets, and much more.

The book opens with a section on twenty-seven base recipes from which all others can be made, including pâte brisée, pâte sucrée, sablé breton, dacquoise, pâte á choux, feuilletée rapide, and crème pâtissière. It is then divided into chapters of increasing complexity, with a final chapter on “funny” cakes–playfully decorated small cakes designed to delight children or for parties.

Each recipe comes with precise preparation and cooking times, step-by-step decorating tips, and suggestions for vegan and gluten-free alternatives–this seemingly petite package contains a wide range of sweet and simple pleasures to delight big and small gourmets alike.

About The Author

Christophe Felder is one of the most respected pastry masters in the world, having achieved fame during his fifteen-year tenure as the pastry chef at the Michelin-starred Hôtel de Crillon in Paris. In 2009, he founded Studio Christophe Felder, a pastry school open to the public and located in Strasbourg in his native Alsace. Together with Camille Lesecq, former pastry chef at Le Meurice, they operate a patisserie, Les Pâtissiers, in Mutzig, Alsace.

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Design: London Architect Boano Prišmontas’ “Prefab Home Office Pod” (Video)

Design, Manufacturing & Installation by Boano Prismontas

Are you working from home? Do you need a space where to focus on your hobbies, your crafts, or just find relaxation away from your busy life? We designed a modular customizable garden room that can be built in just 1 day and fit gardens or backyards of any size. –

Video and Editing by Dylan Drake – Sculptures by Liz Parr – Mycelium Light by Natura Studio – Metal works by Can of Gas

Morning News Podcast: Supreme Court Debate, 2020 Election Dynamics

Supreme Court vacancy sets off debate as President Trump plans for Ginsburg successor, Joe Biden can’t count on Catholic vote as traditionalists swing to Trump, and scams spreading online that can cost you thousands.

Art History Video: ‘The Ordrupgaard Museum Impressionist Collection’

Our latest exhibition, Gauguin and the Impressionists: Masterpieces of the Ordrupgaard Collection, has humble roots in the home of Wilhelm and Henny Hansen.

In this video produced by Ordrupgaard, discover how the Hansens transformed their private home into a jewel in the crown of the Danish art scene.

The Ordrupgaard museum in Denmark is the permanent home of important works by French Impressionists as well as Danish art from the Golden Age. Learn about the lives of Wilhelm and Henny Hansen, and what circumstances led them to begin this exceptional, methodically acquired collection – part of which is now featured at the Royal Academy.

Website

World News Podcast: Thailand Democracy Protests, Supreme Court Seat Vacancy Battle

D/W Radio News 24/7 reports: Thousands demonstrate against monarchy in Thailand, political battle to replace Supreme Court seat, and other top world news.

New Aerial Travel Videos: Bucharest, Romania (2020)

Bucharest, in southern Romania, is the country’s capital and commercial center. Its iconic landmark is the massive, communist-era Palatul Parlamentului government building, which has 1,100 rooms. Nearby, the historic Lipscani district is home to an energetic nightlife scene as well as tiny Eastern Orthodox Stavropoleos Church and 15th-century Curtea Veche Palace, where Prince Vlad III (“The Impaler”) once ruled.

Travel Documentaries: “Passport Home” – Pete McBride Photographs The Grand Canyon (Video)

Photographer, filmmaker, and Sony Artisan Pete McBride shares this short film “Passport Home”, a glimpse of his documentary “Into the Canyon” that is nominated for Outstanding Nature Documentary at next week’s 2020 Emmy Awards.

“For years I’ve studied the world through a lens to tell the stories of others, my own, and the magic and complexity of our shared world. But after years of documenting stories I started noticing something consistent. Wherever I framed my lenses, change revealed itself before me. The places where I had ventured and worked were facing constant challenges of overuse and destruction, of being loved to a point of permanent change.”

“It was at this point that I realized my cameras were no longer just a passport for adventure, but tools to help protect the places where we adventure – those wild places we love. Now I shoot not for likes, instead I document because I want to cherish and protect the places I love…so the next person can stand in my tracks and see the magic just like I saw it. Cameras are passports to our curiosity, our creativity, our world, and they are even tools to help protect not just far away, but our own back yards.”

Learn more: https://alphauniverse.com/

New Video Walking Tours: Cefalù In Northern Sicily

WALKING IN CEFALU, SICILY: Cefalù is a coastal city in northern Sicily, Italy. It’s known for its Norman cathedral, a 12th-century fortress-like structure with elaborate Byzantine mosaics and soaring twin towers. Nearby, the Mandralisca Museum is home to archaeological exhibits and a picture gallery with a portrait by Antonello da Messina. The beaches of Mazzaforno and Settefrati lie to the west.

►Map of the Walk◄ https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mi…

▼▼Video Timeline Links▼▼

0:00 Drone Intro & Map of the Walk 1:14 Beach Walk 5:31 Historic City Center Entrance 8:39 Medieval Wash-House 11:29 Porta Pescara 12:55 Tourist Pier 23:50 Street Walk 27:00 Scenic Viewpoint (Bastione di Capo Marchiafav) 31:00 Street Walk Toward Duomo 33:13 Piazza Duomo 38:00 Cathedral 43:37 Street Walk 50:03 Walk towards La Rocca Entrance 52:53 La Rocca Entrance 1:05:43 Scenic Viewpoint (Cross) 1:10:26 Scenic Viewpoint 1:23:00 Ruins of the Castle