MEET LULU 🇫🇷

The Paris Girl with a Sketchbook Full of Dreams

Born in Paris. Growing up in Madrid. Usually somewhere between a museum, a sewing machine and a slice of tarta de queso.

Some children look at a beautiful dress and think:

“I want that.”

Lulu looks at it and thinks:

“Hmm… I could make that.”

And then, approximately thirty seconds later:

“Maman, où sont mes ciseaux?”

Meet Lulu.

She’s eleven, she’s French, she comes from Paris and she now lives with her family in Madrid’s elegant Barrio de Salamanca.

She has brown hair, a head permanently full of ideas, a sketchbook that goes almost everywhere with her and a tiny curly Doodle-Poodle girl who firmly believes that every photograph should include her.

Lulu is creative.

Romantic.

Curious.

A little dreamy.

And occasionally so lost in her imagination that someone has to remind her that the rest of the family has already crossed the street.

“Lulu!”

“J’arrive!”

Welcome to the third member of our LITTLE EXPATS gang.

And Madrid may never look quite the same again.

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FROM PARIS TO MADRID

Lulu was born in Paris.

So perhaps some things were inevitable.

She loves beautiful buildings.

Old photographs.

Fashion.

Little cafés.

Museums.

Pastries.

Bookshops.

Flowers.

Interesting doors.

And walking through a city without necessarily having somewhere to go.

Then her family moved to Madrid.

And Lulu discovered something rather wonderful:

Madrid is an excellent city for daydreaming.

Paris gave her elegance.

Madrid gave her colour.

Paris gave her pâtisserie.

Madrid introduced her to tarta de queso.

Frankly, the move is going rather well.

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BONJOUR, MADRID!

Lulu attends the French school in Madrid, and languages are one of her favourite things.

She loves learning them.

French is part of who she is.

Spanish is becoming part of her Madrid life.

English belongs to her increasingly international world.

The only slight problem?

Sometimes they all arrive in the same sentence.

“Maman, ¿dónde está mon sketchbook? I need it maintenant!”

Her mother understands.

Usually.

Her friends have learned.

Mostly.

And Lulu?

Lulu often doesn’t even realise she’s doing it.

Someone will occasionally ask:

“Lulu… what language was that?”

She’ll think for a second.

“Toutes?”

All of them.

And that’s one of the lovely things about growing up internationally.

Eventually languages stop sitting neatly in separate boxes.

They become part of you.

And occasionally part of the same sentence.

---

MADE BY LULU

Lulu loves fashion.

But she’s not particularly interested in simply buying it.

She wants to know how it works.

How does a sketch become a dress?

Why does one fabric fall beautifully while another one doesn’t?

What happens if you change the sleeves?

Could that old shirt become a skirt?

Could you add a ribbon?

Could you remove the buttons?

Could you—

Lulu. Stop.

Too late.

The sewing machine is already out.

Lulu loves designing and making her own clothes.

Her notebooks are filled with dresses, jackets, bags, skirts and occasionally creations that may require engineering permission before anyone can actually wear them.

She loves fabric shops.

Buttons.

Ribbons.

Patterns.

Colours.

Vintage pieces.

And clothes that have a story.

One day she wants to create something entirely her own.

And knowing Lulu, she’ll probably photograph it, draw it, sew it and then make a cake to celebrate.

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THE GIRL WHO GETS LOST IN PAINTINGS

Here’s something else about Lulu.

She genuinely likes museums.

Not because an adult has told her they’re educational.

She actually likes being there.

Lulu can stand in front of a portrait and immediately start wondering about the person inside it.

Who was she?

Where was she going?

Was she happy?

Did she like that dress?

Did she choose that dress?

And most importantly:

Where can Lulu find that fabric?

Madrid is therefore rather dangerous territory.

There is art everywhere.

Paintings.

Photography.

Design.

Architecture.

Grand museums and tiny galleries.

And Lulu doesn’t want to simply know the name of the artist.

She wants the story.

One day she’ll take LITTLE EXPATS through Madrid’s museums in her own way.

Not:

“Ten Important Paintings Children Should Know.”

Far too boring.

More like:

“Five Paintings I Would Like to Climb Into.”

Now we’re talking.

---

CLICK!

Then there is Lulu’s camera.

She loves photography.

Not necessarily perfect photography.

Lulu photography.

A beautiful balcony.

A friend’s ridiculous expression.

A dog asleep under a café table.

A reflection in a shop window.

A pink Madrid sunset.

An old doorway.

A fabulous pair of shoes.

A cake five seconds before somebody eats it.

She sees things other people sometimes walk straight past.

This does, however, make travelling anywhere with Lulu slightly complicated.

A ten-minute walk can easily become forty-five.

“Lulu, come on!”

“Un moment! La lumière est parfaite!”

The light is perfect.

Obviously everybody has to wait.

---

RETIRO IS CALLING

One of Lulu’s favourite Madrid places is El Retiro.

Especially with her girlfriends.

They walk.

Talk.

Take photographs.

Draw.

Laugh.

Discuss extremely important eleven-year-old matters.

Change the subject seventeen times.

Walk some more.

And eventually begin negotiations about cake.

Lulu loves sitting somewhere with her sketchbook and simply watching Madrid happen around her.

People.

Dogs.

Trees.

Boats.

Clothes.

Colours.

Sometimes she’ll sketch.

Sometimes she’ll photograph.

Sometimes she’ll simply stare into space.

Do not disturb her.

She’s probably designing something.

---

AND THEN THERE’S TARTA DE QUESO

Every Little Expert needs a serious area of expertise.

Lotta has ice cream.

Spencer has approximately seventeen opinions about etiquette.

And Lulu?

TARTA DE QUESO.

Lulu loves cheesecake.

Not likes.

Loves.

And Madrid is a particularly excellent city in which to have this problem.

Creamy.

Soft.

Baked.

Almost runny.

Classic.

Experimental.

Lulu is willing to investigate them all.

For journalism.

Naturally.

This could take years.

We appreciate her sacrifice.

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MAMAN, LET’S BAKE!

But Lulu doesn’t only want to eat sweet things.

She loves making them with her mother.

Their kitchen becomes a little French-Spanish laboratory.

Madeleines.

Cookies.

Chocolate cake.

Tarts.

Strawberries.

Pastries.

And, naturally, experiments involving tarta de queso.

Sometimes everything looks magnificent.

Sometimes the cake comes out looking absolutely nothing like the photograph.

Lulu doesn’t mind.

A slightly disastrous cake still tastes like cake.

C’est la vie.

And anyway, mistakes can be decorated.

Preferably with icing.

---

THE LITTLE CURLY SHADOW

Then we have Lulu’s dog.

A tiny curly Doodle-Poodle girl with considerable personality.

She accompanies Lulu on walks, family adventures and park days and has developed an impressive ability to appear exactly when Lulu is trying to take a beautiful photograph.

Lulu may be attempting to capture the perfect Madrid sunset.

And there she is.

Dog bottom.

Again.

Lulu has accepted that this is part of her artistic journey.

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WEEKENDS ARE FOR ADVENTURES

Madrid is a huge city, but Lulu loves that you can escape the streets and suddenly find space, trees and nature.

Weekends might mean Casa de Campo, a long walk, a picnic, bikes, family activities or an excursion outside Madrid.

And Lulu loves all of it.

Well…

Most of it.

There is one small issue.

Nature and Lulu’s little curly dog occasionally result in mud.

Mud and carefully planned Parisian-inspired outfits are not natural friends.

“Oh là là…”

But five minutes later Lulu is laughing again.

Because adventures aren’t supposed to stay clean.

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LULU & THE GIRLS

Her friends are hugely important to her.

Lulu loves girls’ afternoons.

Walking through Retiro.

Looking at shops.

Trying cafés.

Taking silly photographs.

Making bracelets.

Drawing together.

Talking about school.

Talking about clothes.

Talking about absolutely nothing.

Sharing dessert.

And occasionally planning their entire future before dinner.

Lulu is not the loudest person in the group.

She’s more likely to observe first.

Then suddenly say something nobody else has noticed.

She’s thoughtful.

Warm.

Creative.

A little romantic.

And gloriously absent-minded.

You might be explaining something very important to Lulu when suddenly she interrupts:

“Wait.”

What?

“That curtain would make an amazing dress.”

Welcome to Lulu’s brain.

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BEAUTY ISN’T ABOUT MONEY

Lulu likes beautiful things.

But there’s something important about her:

Beautiful doesn’t mean expensive.

A pressed flower can be beautiful.

An old photograph can be beautiful.

A homemade birthday card.

A dress somebody made themselves.

A crooked cake baked with your mother.

A picture of your best friend laughing.

A little dog covered in mud.

A Sunday afternoon in Retiro.

Lulu notices those things.

And perhaps that’s her real superpower.

She finds beauty where other people forget to look.

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LULU’S LITTLE EXPAT CARD

NAME: Lulu

AGE: 11

BORN: Paris, France 🇫🇷

HOME NOW: Madrid, Spain 🇪🇸

NEIGHBOURHOOD: Barrio de Salamanca

SCHOOL: French school in Madrid

LANGUAGES: French • Spanish • English — occasionally all at once

LOVES: Fashion, sewing, drawing, photography, museums, parks & baking

ALWAYS CARRYING: A sketchbook or camera

CREATIVE OBSESSION: Designing her own clothes

SWEET OBSESSION: Tarta de queso

HAPPY PLACE: Retiro with her friends

WEEKEND HEAVEN: Family + Casa de Campo + friends + something sweet

DOG: One tiny curly Doodle-Poodle princess

SUPERPOWER: Finding beauty in ordinary things

SECRET WEAKNESS: Pâtisseries

BIG DREAM: To create something completely her own

FAVOURITE SENTENCE:
“Attends… ¡mira! I need a photo!”

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PARIS GAVE HER STYLE. MADRID GAVE HER COLOUR.

Perhaps that’s what makes Lulu a real Little Expat.

She doesn’t have to choose between Paris and Madrid.

She carries both.

French words and Spanish sunshine.

Parisian memories and Madrid adventures.

Museums and parks.

Fashion and friendship.

Croissants and tarta de queso.

She’s growing up between languages, cultures and cities — and creating something entirely her own along the way.

Sometimes with a pencil.

Sometimes with a camera.

Sometimes with a sewing machine.

And occasionally with far too much sugar.

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MEET LULU 🇫🇷

THE PARIS GIRL WITH A SKETCHBOOK FULL OF DREAMS

She’s eleven.

She’s from Paris.

She lives in Madrid.

She sews.

She sketches.

She photographs.

She bakes.

She explores.

She daydreams.

She mixes languages.

And she takes tarta de queso extremely seriously.

If you ever lose Lulu in Madrid, don’t panic.

Check the museum.

Then Retiro.

Then the fabric shop.

And if she’s still missing?

Try the cheesecake place.

LITTLE EXPATS

BIG WORLD. LITTLE EXPLORERS.

TRAVEL • SCHOOL • FOOD • CULTURE • ADVENTURE • SPAIN