*** Update May '13: I'm going to my first Burning Man this year and will spend another 3 weeks in Cali (mostly SF) as from August 22. Can't wait!! ***

Me: I'm half Swiss and half Spanish (a non-Catalan from Barcelona), born and raised in Zurich but with my heart in San Francisco, always; a modern gypsy who has spent most of the past 7 years abroad and is now longing for a home base, preferably not in Switzerland; a big believer that in life everything's possible and an eternal optimist; a fearless chick, well, most of the time anyway; I love nature but will only live in a big city by the water; sometimes I dance in the kitchen; I'm not artistic but I think in vivid pictures and when music touches me profoundly I tear up; I L-O-V-E food but am a mediocre cook, and should I ever mention the word 'diet' or utter some dissatisfaction about my body you know that I must be out of my mind in that very moment; salsa music warms my heart but my salsa dancing skills leave a lot to be desired; I go out of my way to help people, especially those close to my heart; I'm more street smart than book smart but I love to read nevertheless; hence I love browsing through bookstores and always buy way too many books (have I mentioned that I'm a slow reader?); people call me 'The Fashion Police'; I love hosting get-togethers, HHs, theme and dinner parties, as long as I don't have to do the cooking; I heart Latin America, particularly Cuba and Colombia; I believe in networking and am called a 'people connector'; except for the really bad stuff I will try everything once; I have a very good sense of orientation and often know a city better than the locals; I love hole-in-the-wall restaurants but would never give up drinking champagne; I'm big into quotes and sayings; I love to drive a fast car on a highway but don't own a car on principle; I'm easy-going but highly opinionated, and don't find this contradictory; I like to say that I'm not into sports but in reality, if it's competitive, I'm all up for it.

Living and loving life, with all its ups and downs, to the max.

I got back home to Zurich in January '10 after years abroad, working in Spain and San Francisco for 4 years and traveling in Central and South America for one. I still spend a few months every year in SF. And I'm yearning to go and work abroad again.

Currently trying to get better at salsa dancing, looking for a new squash partner, improving my cooking skills, and learning to skate like a pro to become a badass roller girl with the local roller derby team.

seeing the big picture, connecting the dots and people. Trivia. Going with the flow. Identifying a singer or band after a few beats of a song (I'm really bad at naming the song though). Organizing (trips, closets, lists, you name it). Preparing mousse au chocolate. Remembering faces (remember this when I randomly approach you somewhere while out and about...). Crisis management. Being up to do something fun in a heartbeat. Being the leader of the pack. Getting lots of sleep. Teasing and being teased.

My smile.

I prefer non-fiction books (especially Malcolm Gladwell) and memoirs to novels. I recently finished Edmund de Waal's fascinating family history 'The Hare With Amber Eyes'.

I hardly watch mainstream but indie and foreign movies, and particularly like French and British comedies. I absolutely love Pedro Almodovar but I'm not sure what to think of his latest movie 'The Skin I Live In'.

I'm up for any fun activity which gets my adrenaline pumping and any fun event which makes me laugh (Lucha Libra, Bay to Breakers, or have you ever heard about the 'Bring Your Own Big Wheel' race in SF?).

I LOVE music, unless it's metal, rap, techno or minimal electro. Always happy to learn about new artists and old ones I had never heard of. My latest discoveries are James Vincent McMorrow, Bettye LaVette, and Gregory Porter, and my last three musical obsessions have been Buika with Chucho Valdés, Diogo Nogueiro with Los Van Van, and Temper Trap.

Sushi, sushi, sushi. And dim sum, Vietnamese, Italian, Thai, tapas, New American, anything cheese, Burmese, sweets, Mexican, Brazilian BBQ, good coffee, and yes, champagne. I am into food porn and will travel for food!

The emphasis is on 'things', not people nor emotions nor the obvious things we need to survive, so here's my list:

1) First and foremost, music
2) My passport (to travel to places my mum does not approve of)
3) The world-wide-web and a good internet connection
4) My laptop
5) Chocolate
6) Lots of beauty sleep and siestas (not technically a 'thing' but still...)

And as much as I love my iPhone, I actually could live without a cell/smart phone. Hell, I was doing just fine without one before 1998.

(to steal from another fellow online dater) why anyone would believe that their soul mate lives within 5 miles/kilometers of their zip code or in a soul mate at all. Life. My last trip and where I could go next, which is Cuba respectively California. Why most of my 99% matches are in SF (and in Portland, Seattle, Brooklyn and Montréal), and if there's a correlation between this and the fact that SF is the place I feel most at home. How to get back to SF for good. Or somewhere else exciting. Manifestations, mine. Us human beings, the society we live in, and what's going on in this world. Similarities and differences between men and women. My dating stories, which range from the good, the bad to the sometimes ugly. Why so many people are scared to live and love wholeheartedly. How and where to find my kind, smart, fun and sexy man with similarly itchy feet.

Going out on weekend nights is for amateurs. There, I said it.

is that I can recite from Fawlty Towers' "The German" episode. That I don't own a tv and don't understand how people can. And that I'm kinda suspicious of men with cats... ;-)

the thought of hopping on a plane to go on an international date excites you, because you are a fellow modern gypsy with a 'geography is but a detail' attitude. If you are a happy person with a positive attitude, have a kind heart and a BIG zest for life, are smart and intellectually curious, have a wide-range of interests and tastes, live a healthy life, and if you love to eat and to cook.

And I don't have a type per se, but I have a HUGE thing for groomed beards (you should see my beard porn collection on Pinterest!), thick rimmed glasses, and cool tattoos. And, may I dare say, you need to be stylish. Just like this guy... Or this one... Or this one... And if you are this guy, please call me!! ;-)