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"A week with"... the world of Luigi Colani - "A potted history" of the flip-flop - "Report" : Couch surfing - come and sleep on my couch - "What to do with" octopus ? - "Insights" : The Lloyd Hotel

"A week with"... the world of Luigi Colani
German visionary designer Luigi Colani designs cars, planes and furniture, taking his inspiration from nature's curves. A figure of the world of design since the 70s, he now has a cult following. He welcomes us to his offbeat world.

"A potted history" of the flip-flop
The Egyptians invented the flip-flop over 5,000 years ago so they could walk on the sand without burning or hurting their feet. They are strange objects, consisting of a sole and a leather strap. They can signify equally poverty, coquetry or virtue. Then those flip-flops arrived in Japan and peasants started wearing them. Just the thing for walking in the rice fields, they became very popular. During the 20s, flip-flops went down a treat on beaches, in particular Copacabana beach in Brazil. Associated with partying, the sun and pretty girls, the flip-flop became the symbol of Brazil. It was then mass-produced and has become a cult object all over the world.

"Report" : Couch surfing - come and sleep on my couch
Have you heard of couch surfing? It was the brainchild of a young American, Casey Fenton. In 2004, he launched the concept and the web site couchsurfing.com. An Internet platform that enables people from all over the world to meet each other and put each other up for free. It's all about squatting a stranger's sofa for the night, the week, or perhaps more... A good way to blend conviviality and save a little money. We met a few Parisian couch surfing fans.

"What to do with" octopus ?
On today's menu - a tasty-tentacled mollusc - the octopus. Today, William Le Deuil, from the Parisian restaurant "Ze Kitchen Gallerie" in Paris, shares his way of cooking it with us, in an Asian style. And he also gives us a top tip for taming octopuses.

"Insights" : The Lloyd Hotel
The Lloyd hotel is located in the heart of a trendy district of Amsterdam, the Eastern Docklands zone. Architects, designers and artists have worked on this building first built in 1921 to make it into a place where visitors could really feel at home, with a mobile library, a recording studio, and a kitchen for clients who want to make their own food! It has no less than 117 rooms, ranging from one to five stars, and therefore suits all budgets. The surface area varies, of course, and the level of comfort too, but never the care taken over the hotel's atmosphere.