Dordogne, South west of France

As wednesday was 15 August and a holiday in France, Seb and I took a long weekend and spent four days in Dordogne. This little get-away was centred around the theme "nature and pre-historic".

We drove for about 6 hours from Paris to reach Dordogne. We lodged at a lovely bed-and-breakfast with friendly hosts.

Seb and I canoed 14 km where the river Dordogne winded through a few of the most beautiful villages. The picture on the left is Beynac.


We visited Lascaux 2 at Montignac. This was the famous site of pre-historic art. The original one was discovered in 1940. In order to conserve it against deterioration and pollution; carbon dixoide exhaled from humans, fungis growth from humidity, Lascaux 2 was created about 200m away. Using the latest techonology, 90% the cave drawings were recreated. It was really amazing to see how our ancestors could already draw so well around 17000 years ago.

In the town Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, we visited La grotte du Grand Roc. There were two parties in this area. In the cliffs of Laugerie-Basse, our guide explained to us how ancient men around 17000 years ago lived. They were know as the Cro-Magnon men. They did not live as cave men but used the cliffs as shelters for their tents. He also explained the use of these cliffs during the medieval times. There were other interesting explainations but you had to be there to understand them better.


A little uphill of the cliff was Grand Roc cave. In here, we could see all kinds of crystallizations. It was amazing. With the guide, we understood how these stalagtites, stalagmites, eccentrics etc... were formed. It was really beautiful. Notice the picture where there were a few darken lumps. These stalagmites had been touched by humans thus they were polluted and died (no more growing). We were forbidded to touch them.

This was really a lovely lovely place. Showing us what nature could do.



And I kept the best for last. We droved through small roads, past many beautiful villages and castles all the way to the next department, Lot. Here was the really famous Gouffre de Padirac. It was a big hole leading to the centre of the earth. (Yeah, I was living my childhood fantasy with Jules Verne's Journey to the center of the earth.) Thanks to advance technology, there were three elevators available for the lazy tourists. Still, this place was not wheelchairs or baby-prams friendly as there was still quite a lot of walking and climbing in the abyss.

At the bottom of the abyss, I felt so small looking up. The most amazing thing was hidden from here. We had to walked down a long tunnel and we could see a stream along our path. At the end of this underground tunnel was a long queue of people waiting to embark on a boat. We travelled by small boats along 500m of the underground river to reach the treasure.


As no photo taking was allowed, I invite you to view this God's creation from the 360° virtual tour. It was breath taking. No one could imagine of this great beauty underground.

The cave of Grand Roc was amazing enough but the Gouffe de Padirac, I can't find the right words to describe it.

The region of Dordogne is Périgord and it is the land of foie gras and ducks gastronomy. As I do not like foie gras, I tried duck dishes. After having 4 days of rich food, I am going on light chinese meals for this weekend.

This short getaway definately refreshs my mind on my long forgotten geography lessons. All the visits are guided and most are in french. However, there are printed explanations in other languages. I hope you will enjoy the links I provided.

Post National Day

It's post national day. As a singaporean, I would like to wish my nation a happy birthday.

When I first came to France, this day was important. I did not do special celebrations but I proudly mentionned my country's birthday to everyone. Now, the feeling had waned. I am a Singaporean but I do not feel so Singaporean. This does not mean that I will not be loyal to my country. 4 years in my host country, I am more interested in the happenings here since it affects me directly. I do still keep myself updated with the on-goings in Singapore. I speak with my mom for at least an hour weekly. I read alternative voices concerning Singapore online. Sometimes, it just saddens me to know the truth. Will you choose the blue pill or the red pill? The choice is difficult if you are in the Matrix Island.

Do you think these articles will be highlighted in the mainstream media?
Pity the heliconias

Nation Builders - A new video by Martyn See

$2,500 to rent a 3-room flat?

To end off on a lighter note, have fun reading this from talking cock.
NATIONAL DAY SPECIAL: 60 SIGNS YOU’RE A TRUE SINGAPOREAN

One red chilli

I wrote earlier about my chilli plant. There are plenty of green chillis and I had already used a few to go with my dinner. I was just giving up hope that I will have red chilli when I finally saw one today.

I am delighted. Here's the photo of the single red chick among the other green eye monsters. I hope the others will turn red soon. The green chillis tasted a bit too raw.

Vous or Tu?

In France, there are two ways in addressing peope. 'Vous' is the formal way to address someone whom you do not know or to an elder whom you respect. We 'vouvoyer' the waiter, a stranger, our neighbour, our teacher and often our boss. 'Tu' is the familiar way to address someone whom we know well and is close to us. We 'tutoyer' our friends, little kids and our parents (unless you are an aristocrat, you might have to 'vouvoyer' your parents).

In the beginning, I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out who to 'vouvoyer' and who to 'tutoyer'. It was not a difference of just two words. Different set of grammars and rules applied with regards to 'Vous' or 'Tu'. Take the example of just a simple "How are you?". "Comment allez vous?" when we "vouvoyer" and "Comment vas-tu?" when we "tutoyer". See, it is two different phrases. Out of three words, two are different.

Today, during my second piano lesson, my teacher asked if we can 'tutoyer'. I was relieved as I am more familiar with the 'tu' grammar. Also it brings our teacher-student relationship to a more intimate level.

I hate this uncertanity of how to address a person. It is like a game and it is so french. Since I am not a french, I am in the least position to suggest to someone to 'vouvoyer' or 'tutoyer'. So, I usually wait until the person suggest us to 'tutoie' each other. And I have to remember whom I 'vouvoyer' and 'tutoyer'.

In my previous company, everyone 'tutoyer'. In my present company, I tutoie everyone including the directors. Then just yesterday, I overheard two colleagues 'vouvoyer' with one of the directors. I felt uneasy. I have no idea if I should switch back to 'vouvouyer' him. It is so awkward. What a stupid system! The french language is difficult enough without this. Can't the french make life easier?

Helsinki, Finland

I was in Helsinki last week. As it was a short work trip, I visited the uptown of Helsinki only on one evening. It was summer time and even at 8pm, the sky was still bright.

Helsinki is not big and tourists who visit Finland usually only stay a day in Helsinki. It is the scenary up north that attracts visiters.

I was given a short introduction by David, my colleague who had been to Helsinki many times. In the old days, Finland had been part of Sweden. In 1809, Russia conquered Finland. We could see two types of distinct architectures in this city. The image below is a typical Swedish building. The Russian buildings are flat and not stylish.

Finland has a population of about 5 millions and about a million live in the Helsinki region. 86% people speaks Finnish and about 6% speaks Swedish. Thankfully, most people can understand English.

There are two outstanding cathedrals in Helsinki. One is the white Helsinki Cathedral. The other is the red Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral which is the largest orthodox church in Western Europe.

In 1917, Finland became independant. It is really a cold country with -5 degrees during winter. We were fortunate to have 21 degrees throughout our stay. I had the occasion to try reindeer soup during lunch. As it was in small bits, it tasted like bacon to me. David took a moose burger during dinner and it did not seem so nice.

I am not sure when I will get to visit Helsinki again. I hope that I won't be there during the cold months. Overall, this trip was pleasant as our clients were pleased with our presence. That's what it counts.

My anti-social cat

It is confirmed that we cannot have a second cat. Past experiences of Bao Bei seeing another cat were usually nasty. Bao Bei had seen stray cats at Chartres and she puffed up and snarled like a crazy animal. We thought that this was because she was not at the comforts of her home.

One of my colleagues is going on three weeks of work trip and I volunteered to take care of her cat. We decided to do a trial on last sat where her cat would stay with us for a night. The moment Bao Bei saw Miya, she went crazy. She was snarling and rushed off to the balcony. Miya was a sweetie. She tried to approach Bao Bei and meowed at her in such a gentle manner. It was like 'Hey, let's be friends and play.' Bao Bei replied back growling, 'Go away'. I could not recongise that this was my cat. Throughout the whole night, Seb and I could not sleep as Miya tried to communicate with Bao Bei and we were scared that Bao Bei would hurt her. Miya was really a sweetie coming to play with us and sleeping with us. Bao Bei was really stress and afraid as she did not come into the house at all. We put her food and water outside but she hardly touched them. We could not approach her as she was too aggressive.

The next day, we returned Miya to her owner and were sorry that we could not keep her lovely cat for three weeks. Bao Bei is slowly getting back to normal life. More than 48 hours after the affair, she still stays in our room and would not want to venture into the living room. I guess Miya's scent is still around. I could not understand how she could be so anti-social. Is this the general character of black cats?

Good lunch

I have been reading food blogs and one of my regular read is The Travelling Hungryboy. Since I was recently at one the best restaurants in Chartres, I would like to share with you some delightable dishes.

Seb and I were in Chartres over the weekend to do grocery shopping with Seb's grandma as Seb's parents were on vacation. Mamie, grandma in french, decided to treat us to lunch. She joked that she had been eating lousy food for a week thus, she deserved a good meal.

We headed to Saint Hilaire in the uptown of Chartres. This was not the first time we were there and by now, we knew quiet well the owner Sébastien. He was a young chap who was passionate about wine and good food. While waiting for our food, we were served with 'amuse-bouche' (amusing the mouth).
For entrée, mamie and I had lobster and scallops in fresh cream sauce. I was not used to creamy food and after this dish, I was almost full.

For the main dish, we had braised duck in between layers of mashed potatoes topped with foie gras.

After the main dish, a basket of cheese from this region, Loir, was presented to us. Seb was tempted to try ten different kinds but out of politeness, he tried three. There were more than twenty different ones. I did not like the cheese texture made in le Loir so I just tried one.

To finish our meal, for dessert, we had a raspberry ice cream on top of freshly picked fraises du bois (wild berries) and right at the bottom were shredded mint ice. This was the perfect dessert as it was cooling for the weather and light weight for ending this hearty meal.

If you ever do visit Chartres for its famous Cathedrale, do check out this little charming restaurant. We had a good chat with Sébastien as he was telling us where and when to pick mushrooms and how best to cook them. Only mamie and him were exchanging ideas. Seb and I were just listening and had no idea at all what most of the mushrooms looked like.

Afternote: I wished I would describe more about the food but I am just a starter in this area. I hope the photos showed how tasty the food were.

Travels travels

This month, Seb is travelling alot more than usual. He usually goes Belgium for a day by speed train. Last week, he was in Luxembourg for a day. Yesterday, he was in Belgium and today, he had left for Turkey for three days. Next week, he is going to London for three days and I will be heading to Finland for three days too for my first work trip.

Some couples do not mind being away from each other for a short period of time. But Seb and I really enjoy each other's company in the evening watching TV, being in the same room doing our own reading, eating dinner etc. Basically, we need to see each other and hear each other's voice daily. Being on business trip does make us miss each other dearly. But I can do without it. Still, I am excited for my coming trip as I have never been to Finland. And being able to travel for my new job so soon is a positive thing.

Now, we need to organise the care of Bao Bei. She would be alone for two days. I do hope my kind boss will be able to pass by our place to feed her and check that she is well.

For this weekend, we will head to Chartres for a good rest. I will go pick up Seb at the airport on Friday night on the way to Chartres. He had been waking up at 5 am for his travels and I would want to nurse my cold before attacking the next week.

Weather update

These two weeks, it had been rainy in Paris and the temperature had dropped drastically.
In this summer season, the rightful temperature should be 10 degrees more.
Due to this unexpected cold season, most of my colleagues were down with cold and flu.
I was not spared too. Yesterday, I was having a cold and had to search for my winter pull and pyjamas.
In our apartement,we had central heating and it had been switched off for summer.
Thankfully, from this friday onwards, the weather seems to be better.
Today, it was 19 degrees. By this saturday, we should be enjoying 29 degrees.
I can't wait for this weekend.

The other side of the Causeway

I read this article this morning and this is not the first time I read on such cases. In Malaysia, once you are born to Muslim parents, you are forever a Muslim and you cannot marry a non-Muslim.

Last year, I read about this Chinese man who was brought up by muslim parents. When he was born, the hospital made a mistake and two babies were swapped. His real Chinese parents had the baby of the muslim couple. Now, the two men were staying with their real parents. However, the chinese man had difficulty in coverting his religion.

Same case for a muslim woman who was converted christian. She could not change her religion on her identity card.

Makes one think that depending on which side of the causeway you are born, religion freedom can have a great impact (positive, negative) in your life.


PS: For non-Singporeans and non-Malaysians, the causeway is a bridge that joins Singapore and Malaysia.

SOLDES

It's the sales month here in France. Normally, shops are closed on sunday in France. But for the first sunday of sales, some shops were opened. I had the opportunity to go window shopping along rue de Rivoli yesterday after church with Seb.

When I first arrived in Paris, I found it weird not being able to do shopping on Sundays. Even those big departmental stores like Printemps, BHV and Galleries Lafayette are closed. If they can have their way, these shops will want to be opened on Sunday. It is the French law that forbids shops to be opened on Sunday. The labour union fights for the welfare of the working people. It does not want workers to be exploited to work on weekends. Furthermore, small shops will lose out to big departmental stores who have more resources to stay open on Sunday. Traditionally, Sunday is a time for family lunch and a walk in the park.

Since a while ago, the law has been laxed. Now, shops are given a few occasions to stay open on Sunday. Usually, shops opened on Sunday during the sales period and the christmas season. Now, do not be despaired if you are an Asian tourist on a 'Visit 6 europeans countries' 15 days tour and arrived on a Sunday for your one-day Paris tour. I just read in the papers today that Louis Vuitton (yes, your favorite luxury goods) will be opened on Sundays now. In order for a shop to be opened on Sundays as well, it must have a 'cultural character'. And the 1900 sq meters LV shop along avenue des Champs-Elysées has achieved that by creating an art space on the eigth floor. Still, please be reminded that each tourist can only buy two articles. ;)

Alernatively, check out LV's website for the ultimate online shopping therapy.

Note: if you are living in a western country and wonder why I emphasise on shops opening on Sunday, do visit Asia where shops are opened daily from 10am to 10pm; and in Singapore, where MacDonalds never close.

Late parenthood

There is this trend in developed countries where first time parents are getting older. We read so often that people have kids later. In our parents' generation, people have their first kids between their early-twenties and mid-twenties. Now, people are first time parents around their early-thirties to mid-thirties. That is a ten years gap compared to the generation before.

Today, we are in the information age. School life has extended resulting in later entry into the working society. We start 'adult life' later compared to our parents. We are information overloaded. We are constantly filled with information and are lured to try out every new things. The possibilities are indefinite. Except some of us do not try hard enough to love unconditionally. By the time we 'settle' down, we have most likely reached the big '3'.

The GG (generation gap) will widen between parents and kids. Now, it is still common to see four generations in a family. Great-grandmother at 80 years old, grandmother at 55 years old, mother at 30 years old and child at 5 years old.

In the next generation, it will be rare to have four generations under a roof. Grandmother at 75 years old, mother at 40 years old and child at 5 years old. Of course, I was just quotating two extreme examples above. In the first case,all ladies gave birth at age of 25 and in the second case, at age of 35.

So, what is my point? I can elaborate on this issue and the consequences. I can close this entry in a different direction. But what I just want to point out is this:- Children in the next generation will have to cope with loss of their parents at an earlier age than the children of this generation.

It is never easy to lose a parent. No matter at what age. But if we are older and have our own children, maybe it would ease the pain a little.

PS: if you catch no ball (Singlish speaking), don't bother. this entry was written at 1 am in the morning while I was suffering from insomnia. this entry is caffeine driven.

Update on my balcony

I bought a small chilli plant two months ago and it has grown more than twice its size. There are chillis growing out. I am so happy. Soon I hope, I will have big juicy red chillis to go with my meals.
Don't the chillis look as though they are wearing skirts? Click on the photo to see it better.

For the other plants at the balcony, they are growing well too. My lavender plant is growing in all directions.

Gardening really makes me feel zen.

Of put, strike price, collar and leg

I changed job and I changed domain totally. I used to work for an ERP software. Now, I work for a financial software.

From terms like permanent inventory, linear depreciation method, recurring entries, balance sheet, back order, invoice statistics, etc ...., I am now faced with terms like swap, FOREX, PV(present value), put option, strike price, collar and legs. Legs are deals of a contract.

Welcome to the financial world.
After a week of absorbing all the information and creating SQL scripts, I am so looking forward to the weekend. The best news is that my boss had a little meeting with me earlier on and he was pleased with my performance of this week. How encouraging of him. Let's see if I can continue to maintain this level of concentration for next week. I am exhausted.

I will go watch the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End tonight. Seb had a long week too. We both just want to relax and wait for Chow Yun-Fat with his "Welcome to Singapore."

Let's talk about price again.

3 weeks ago, our kitchen window broke. It was a Sunday and we were out at church followed by furniture shopping. Along the way home, Seb and I noticed that there were fallen tree branches along the road. The wind was very strong on that day.

Upon reaching home, the first thing I saw was broken glasses on the kitchen floor. The kitchen window was not firmly closed that morning and with the strong wind, it smashed and broke. While I was cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, Seb went downstairs to pick up the broken pieces. Our kitchen faced the narrow backyard and there was rarely anyone there. So no one was hurt.

On this occasion, our neighbour's window was broken too. She told Seb that she would call up a repair man to check on the price. The man came and quoted 550€ for each window. That was really expensive as we only needed to change the piece of glass. This contact was taken from a pamplet in the letter box. Warning: Never call the guys listed in those junk mails.

Finally, our kind neighbour contacted her insurance and they sent a repair man to fix the windows. Our insurance did not have any contact with such services. The cost was 163.22€. We will send the bill to our home insurance and hope that the insurance covers the full bill.

See the before and after repair. Over here, there are really no control of prices for these kinds of repairs. Sian.

Eyeglasses

I can't live without my eyeglasses. The current eyeglasses I have was made in Singapore more than 3 years ago. So, recently I went to make a pair of eyeglasses.

In France, eyewear is super expensive. I made a no-brand ordinary eyeglasses and that cost me 530€ in total due to the high degree of my glasses. A "free" pair of sunglasses was thrown in to make the offer looked sweeter. Still, my current pair cost me 80€ and it was of very good quality. I paid for the new eyeglasses and will be getting a full refund back from my company's insurance.

In France, most companies provide their employees with an insurance. It is called the "mutuelle". For a small fee which is deducted from the pay, the "mutuelle" covers the outstanding medical bills when the social security does not pay the totality of the bill. A good "mutuelle" usually pays in full the outstanding medical bills.

In my previous company, I had a good mutuelle. The mutuelle covered 200€ for the frame and 400€ for a pair of glasses. Without the mutuelle, it meant that I would have to pay the eyeglasses out of my own pocket.

And on my first day of job, I discovered something better. In my current company, I have a better mutuelle. I do not know all the details yet but the mutuelle covers up to 400€ for the frame and 600€ for a pair of glasses.

I would never imagine buying a 1000€ eyeglasses. In one week's time, when I collect my new eyeglasses, I will be the owner of a pair of SG$1000 eyeglasses that most probably cost SG$160 if made in Singapore.

When I first arrived in France, I was often shocked by the prices here. I am slowly getting used to the standard of living here. I guess if I live here longer, I would not even bat an eyelid at such atrocious prices. Let time tells. . . .

Christmas came early

Today is my last day with Exact Software. In accordance to tradition here,I did my pot de départ (farewell party) with everyone in office. I brought champagne and tibits.

In return, I was pampered with gifts. It was like christmas except that I was the only one getting the presents.

I got a lovely pot of plants. A big red heart shape cushion to remind me of Exact's corporate colour. Some scented perfume bottles and pot pourri. And to remind me of the pizza lunch we had so often in the office, I received a pizza cutter. It was so sweet of my colleagues and boss. I guess they really appreciated me and it made leaving a little bit harder.

Tomorrow, I will embark on a new journey. One that avoids the metro line 13. Yipee! And for encouraging me, Seb bought me some flowers and a nice card. I hope I can sleep well tonight.

Counting down to the end of the month

I am finally counting down to my last work day with Exact. This is my first job in France and I have been working here since 3 years and 3 months. The longest period I ever stayed in a job. My new job starts on 1 June and I am slowly feeling the anxiety of having to know a new company, new colleagues, new boss and new environment.
I will definitely miss this company. I had learnt a great deal about french society, french culture, french people, french humour and french working style.
One thing I will not miss though is Metro Line 13. Au revoir la ligne 13!

Lovely pineapple entrée

We celebrated my mom-in-law’s birthday last weekend. As the weather was fine, we had lunch at the terrace.
Lunch was catered and as entrée, we had this lovely pineapple, crab and avocado salad. It was nicely presented and the portion was big. After this, I was no longer hungry for the rest to come.

Château d'Amboise

There are many castles dotting along the banks of the river Loire. I had already visited a few like Chambord, Chenonceau and Chaumont over the years. Last Friday, Seb and I decided to visit Château d'Amboise.

This royal castle was an important place for French kings from mid-15th to mid-16th centuries. On the terraces, we could see the Loire valley below. It was a first where Italian tastes were introduced into the Loire Valley.

I find the entrance fee expensive at 8.50€. The castle used to be bigger but a huge portion was demolished when Louis-Philippe received it.

The photo on the left is the bedchamber of Louis Philippe with Empire-style furnitures. Coincidentally, this is the "in" color for this season and I do like it. However, I doubt Seb allows wall-paper of this color on our new walls.

The whole visit took us about an hour.

In the Saint Hubert Chapel on the castle's ground lied Leonardo da Vinci. He was invited to stay at Amboise by François I. The king was a great patron of Renaissance arts. Da Vinci died in 1519 in the Manor of Cloux (Close Lucé) and was interred, according to his wishes, at the château.

After the castle visit, we drove down to Mont-Louis where we visited the wine yards and wine producers. Mont-Louis produces wine on a small scale. My father-in-law used to get his supplies of Mont-Louis wine from one of these producers. However, the wine yard was passed on to the son and the standard of the wine dropped. We were armed with a mission to buy from different producers each a bottle of 2005 white sec (dry) wine in order to find the right wine to his taste. We only managed to get three different bottles since most of them were closed.

In the evening, the family of 5 became wine tasters and finished the three bottles. Verdict: None pleased the family.

For the next blog, I will try to find old photos of the other castles that I have been to. I find them more impressive than this one.