Munich again

I just realised that the last time we visited Munich was almost 4 years ago. Wow. Time flies. We spent 4 days over the long weekend to visit Nicole and celebrated her birthday.

The weather was great and at times too hot. This time round, we flew there. Once everyone was settled on the packed plane, the pilot announced that a technical problem had to be fixed before we could fly. It took 2 hours for the repairs to be done and during this time, no one could leave the plane because we were in the middle of no where. We took a bus to get to the plane. No other plane was available and some passengers were complaining as flights between Paris-Munich catered mainly to business purposes.

Baby A fell asleep once the plane started moving. He woke up only when we landed. My fear that he would have ear pressure due to altitude changes were unfound. At Munich, Nicole and her dad came and fetched us. We had a late lunch prepared by Nicole's mum before heading back to our hotel to freshen up. Baby A enjoyed exploring their home and even played with Nicole's childhood toys.

In the evening, we had dinner at Ratskeller's in the city hall's court yard. The next day, we celebrated Nicole's birthday at the Beergarden in the English Garden. During this trip, we visited the uptown, the Residenz Musuem and the Tresury Musuem. Seb had a great time browsing thru' the huge collection of Jazz and Classical CDs in Ludwig Beck and of course trying to be reasonable in his purchaes.

As the FIFA World Cup was going on, we watched in a beergarden the live broadcast of Germany against England on Sunday. Germany won and the atmosphere was great. Baby A entertained himself with the pebbles on the ground.

As this was not our first time in Munich, we were cool with this trip. No rushing, no plans. Just leisure. Still, we were dead tired at the end of each day. It was not easy to travel with a baby who just walked and me being pregnant. Baby A did not want to eat baby food jars and throughout the trip, we shared our meals with him. We ordered food in function of what Baby A could eat. One thing for sure, he loves bretzels and we love Munich.

He can walk while the other is starting to kick hard

At a few days short to 14 months old, Baby A is walking by himself. It had been weeks since he cruised from furnitures to furnitures. He could have walk by himself but due to lack of confidence, he would hold on to our finger to walk.

This week, he walked all by himself at his grandparents'. He spent a week there and I guess the big terrace and space in the house made him wanted to explore by himself. We had him back at home today and it was amazing seeing him walking all by himself. Now, we had to remember to close all doors especially the kitchen's.

And baby A's little brother was starting to give strong kicks. He weighed around 650 grams a week ago. It is always a special sensation to feel baby kicking in me. Just a few more months to see the little one in real life.

Volkswagen Touran

We changed car. I chose the color of our Nissan Note and this time, it was Seb's turn to choose the color for the new car. Finally, he got the chance to own a black car.

With technology advancement, this car offers more gadgets than our previous one. I was skeptical when told about the Park assist function. Well, we had our new car a few days ago and Seb tried it out twice. And it works!
Check out this demostration video.
It is amazing. Definitely an essential feature for me, who can't park parallel.

Saint Renan saturday market

When Tim and Carmen came visiting, we spent a few days at the summer house in Brittany. The last time Seb and I were there, it was during the week of 15 August, 2008. At that time, I was not aware that baby A was 10 days old in me.

Each time we come here, we make it a point to visit the Saturday market at Saint Renan. The market is full of local products and has a lively ambience.
Our visitors enjoyed the market. We bought strawberries, honey, bread, seafood, artichokes, crêpes etc.

For dinner, we had a spider crab and a normal crab. To cook them, just boil a big pot of water then put the crabs in for 20 minutes. The four of us (Seb and baby A not included) had an enjoyable time eating them.

Is global warming really bad?

Recently, I finished reading Michael Crichton's State of Fear. This book changed the way I think about global warming and islands disappearing and glaciers melting. It comes with facts that some glaciers are actually growing, islands would not disappear and not every cities are getting warmer.

I read this news onLow-lying Pacific islands 'growing not sinking' in BBC
Extract:
The islands of Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia are among those which have grown, because of coral debris and sediment.

The study, published in the magazine the New Scientist, predicts that the islands will still be there in 100 years' time.

I would still make an effort to be environment friendly. But on news about global warming, I would take it with a pinch of salt.

Maybe this one article will give you a further insight.

Extrait:
All of this matters because the IPCC has been advertised as the last and definitive word on climate science. Its reports are the basis on which Al Gore, President Obama and others have claimed that climate ruin is inevitable unless the world reorganizes its economies with huge new taxes on carbon. Now we are discovering the U.N. reports are sloppy political documents intended to drive the climate lobby's regulatory agenda.

The lesson of climategate and now the IPCC's shoddy sourcing is that the claims of the global warming lobby need far more rigorous scrutiny.

A nice spring day at Auvers-sur-oise

A few sundays ago, we went to Auvers-sur-oise where Van Gogh left his prints there. Like this plaque showing that he had lived and died in this house on 29 July 1890.

Auvers-sur-oise is a nice city with plenty to offer for art lovers looking for impressionist paintings. It even has a castle.

While visiting, we saw this giant dog. Many people stopped to take pictures of it. A search on internet shows that it was a great dane. And it seems that Scooby Doo was a great dane. Interesting.

The dog was patiently waiting for its owner and it was not long before she came and took him away. Baby A could use this great dane as a pony. He looked at it but with not much interest.

One can easily spend half a day in this city. There is a train station so it is easy to get here from Paris. We went to visit Isle Adam after Auvers-sur-oise. It was a chic and quaint town and we had a nice lunch there before heading home.

3 times in Munich over 3 weeks

This is written to myself for future reference:
I write so much lesser over here because I have been very busy. Even the journals I kept for baby A and his younger sibling had not been updated recently.
Well, I was away in Munich every week for 3 consecutively weeks. The first week for a day, the second week for 2 days and the third week for 3 days. Work obliged but they were good trips. In one of them, I even got to meet up with Nicole for a nice catch up. We will see each other again in end June for her birthday bash in Munich.
I guess I would allow myself another worktrip in first week of June if necessary. After that, I would be too big to move easily. Already, my back was starting to hurt.
For the next few weeks, I would still remain somewhat offline here. Because Tim and gf are coming to visit. I already put up a nice itinerary for them and sincerely hope that they will enjoy their time here.
Ending: Baby A weighed 10.15kg and measured 74cm as of last thurs. Really an average boy in perfect health. Here, he was looking out at the balcony with his friend Evan.

AOM

I sponsored a girl in Thailand since 3 years. I joined this sponsorship program created by a french humanitaire organisation. I came to know this organisation through a church concert.

Each month, I donated a sum for the schooling of my girl. In school, she would have lunch and stationery provided. She would learn to read and write. My girl's name was Aom. Her parents lived in a slum nearby Bangkok. She had a younger brother and a younger sister. Her father was an odd job worker and her mum sold noodles.

Other than donating money, I also communicated with her. We would write to each other. As Aom was about 6 years old when I started to sponsor her, it was the center's staff who often wrote on her behalf. Aom did drew pictures for me and I sent her postcards and stickers.

Once she drew my son after knowing that I had a boy. It was so sweet of her.

Recently, I received a call from the organiser in France. She informed me that Aom had moved. I knew in the previous 2 letters that her parents had divorced. It was difficult for Aom's mother to take care of her 3 children alone thus, she decided to move to North Thailand to be with her family. I was surprised to get this call and even shed tears. I lost contact with my girl forever as we had no idea where she moved to. I thought I could sponsor her until she graduated and maybe even visit her a day. After all, Bangkok is not that far from Singapore.

I decided to take up a new girl. This time, a girl from Philippines was proposed to me. I do hope that I can visit her one day. And that she will benefit from this program.

I hope I made a difference in Aom's life for the past 3 years.

Falafel

Each time I had overseas visitors, I would bring them to rue des Rosiers if time permits. There, we would grab a falafel and so far, none of my visitors were disappointed.

Last week, Diana and Bey came visiting after extending their Europe tour. It was great having them as mom cooked lots and we all enjoyed her food. It was always easier to cook for several people than just a few. Seb even made a rabbit stew that truly impressed Diana.

On Sunday, the places opened in Paris were limited and our favourite hunt was Marais. The streets around rue des Rosiers were mainly occupied by the Jews during the WWII period. Here, you could still see Jews in their traditional costumes. And just along this street, there were a few Jewish eateries.

The queue for a take away falafel was always long. For 5€, we had a pita bread filled with salad, fried eggplant, humus and chickpeas balls. It was overflowing with ingredients. Even my mother enjoyed it with the free helping of chilli sauce.

If you have the chance, visit this street before it lost its charms forever to the hippy boutiques pushing up like mushrooms.

Egg Hunt

Easter was Baby A's first egg hunt at his grandparents'. As Baby A was not walking yet, it was his dad who carried him around. And as Baby A had no idea what to look for, it was his dad searching for the eggs.
There was a tricky one perched high up and even Baby A's cousins did not see it. So of course, it was picked up by Baby A's helper, his dad.

The kids were told that they had to divide their loots equally even if one found more than the others. Baby A had his share and since he was not eating chocolate, we gave some back to his cousins. I still had a basket of them in my living room.

Baby A however did chew off a little of the red aluminium package of a chocolate egg. We had to force it out and he was very upset by it. Granny appeased him by giving him just a tiny little bit of chocolate. Let's see if next year, our boy can hunt the eggs on his own and eat them in moderation.

Coming soon in Oct

Today, he is 9cm tall and weighs 110grams.
We are waiting excitedly to see him in Oct.

Green Garden and Melati

Almost each time we go Chinatown for grocery, we would have lunch at Green Garden. Green Garden serves chinese vegetarian food and we always enjoy the food there. We usually order the stir-fried aubergines with basilic.
The last time we were there, which was the first time for my mom, she bought some frozen mock chicken drumsticks.

A week later, she cooked them with the real ones. Are you able to tell which are for Seb and which are for us, the meat eaters? Seb enjoyed them alot though my mom and I found the mock chicken drumsticks tasting more like mutton than chicken.

Speaking of food, I was recently in London for work and was introduced to a Malaysian restuarant in Soho area. The place was called Melati and it served mock meat dishes as well. I had satay as starters followed by laksa. The satay were really good. If I do get to go there again, I would try the roti canai and nasi lemak.

Blog wise, I am on the slow side as work and baby A are keeping me busy. Tomorrow, we are heading to Chartres for Easter egg picking in the garden. Baby A is not walking yet nor does he eat chocolate, but well, I hope he will have fun being with his older cousins in the search for eggs.

Mamie Gateaux

A few Saturdays ago, we went for a walk around the quartier of Bon Marché in the 6th district. For tea, we chanced upon a tea saloon by the name of Mamie Gateaux. Mamie = Granny; Gateaux = Cakes. The interior was designed in an old school style.
It was very quaint. For beverages, my mom and I had tea while Seb had coffee. I ordered a chestnut cake and Seb had a pain perdu (lost bread). The drinks and food were great. The ambience was cozy and the waitresses were nice. We were served by a japanese lady and only after surfing to blog about this did I realise that she was the lady boss.
Here is a post I found in french with pictures.
So if you do happen to be around this area, do not give this place a miss. The address is 66 Rue du Cherche-Midi 75006 Paris.

And if you are into good food, after tea, spend the next few hours cruising the aisles of La Grand Epiciere (The big groceries) nearby. As the name says, there are food from all over the world. It is impossible to leave this place without buying something to try.

Keukenhof (18 March to 16 May)

I got excited this morning as I remembered that spring is coming soon. Each year, I realised that I missed Keukenhof only after seeing friends putting up photos of this event in their Facebook accounts. I wanted to go last year but was heavily pregnant at that time.

So, I started surfing for Keukenhof once I reached office and even contacted a friend who is living in NL now. This time round, I am not going to give it a miss. My mother is with us, and I am sure she will enjoy the flower garden as much as me.

The said friend gave me lots of useful info. It is feasible to do a day trip to Keukenhof from Paris. And that is what I plan to do. She suggested going around mid April as most flowers will be fully bloomed.

We decided to go around the last week of April. We shall take Thalys from Gare du Nord and get to Schiphol. That is a 3 hours train ride. And from Schiphol, there is a bus down to Keukenhof.

I am writing in advance in case anyone out there is interested to visit this spectacular place.

Now, I would really need to read up how to use our new Canon EOS 500D so as to take nice photos to show in my upcoming post about Keukenhof. Stay tune for more info on my visit.

Prague Day 2 & 3

On our second day at Prague, we decided to visit the Museum of Antonín Dvořák. I love his Symphony No.9, “From the New World” and am interested to know more about his life. Actually, Dvorak had never stayed in this house. This small building housed his works including manuscripts of sheet music and correspondence. It also guided us through the life of Dvorak.The house itself was also a masterpiece displaying beautiful drawings and paintings on the walls and ceilings. After our short visit, we headed down to Charles Bridge and crossed the Vtlava River. Part of the bridge was closed for works and there were many artists and painters selling their creations.

At the other side, we reached the Lesser Quarter side. We visited this charming and calm part of Prague and settled for lunch here. We saw this watermill that was turning and along the fence, there were many padlocks. There was no explanation around so we had no idea if there was any special meaning to that. Nevertheless, it was intriguing.

After lunch, we continued walking up towards the Prague Castle. The Prague Castle contained a cluster of buildings and the castle ground was huge. We visited the St. George Basilica , St. Vitus Cathedral (pic below), Old Royal Palace and the Golden Lane. I was least impressed with the golden lane as it was a short lane and I felt that it did not live up to the nice critics I heard.

By the time we made our way down to the Lesser Quarter, it was almost dinner time. We remembered seeing an Indian vegetarian eatery and decided to try that out. It was served by a very zen Czech and Seb enjoyed the dinner. During our dinner, we overheard a conversation between the owner and his english speaking friend. At one point, the owner said "Michael Jackson is very fine now." Er... MJ was dead. We were quite sure that this guy was high on drugs or something.

After a whole day of walking, we decided to take the tram back to the Old Town. However, lousy us took the wrong side and ended back at the Prague Castle top. We changed tram and returned back to the bottom of the Castle. From there, we decided to continue our walk slowly. As we turned a corner, we saw a sight-seeing boat anchored and walked over to check on the next departure time. It was perfect timing as the boat was about to leave. We spent the next freezing cold hour along the river and taking in the night scenes.By then, I was exhausted and we took the tram to reach the other side of the river. We alighted at a shopping mall and bought a bottle of wine. From there, we just walked back to our hotel. It was a really long walking day.

The next day, we packed our bags and checked out. We left our bags at the reception area and started our last day at a leisure pace. Seb would like to check out CD shops and I would like a massage for my tired body after so much walking. We checked out the busy street at Wenceslas Square. We found a Thai massage parlour and there was a slot available for me. Seb had an hour to check out the CD shops he eyed along the way. After an hour of good and cheap (compared to France) massage, I found Seb waiting for me at the entrance. He found his Jazz CDs. The two happy people continued the last discovery of Prague, the Jewish Quarter.

Above is a statue of the famous author Franz Kafka. At the last hour, we stopped by a supermarket and bought some local delights for friends and families. We then headed back to the hotel to get our bags and walked back to the train station to catch the bus back to the airport.

It was a lovely short getaway and we enjoyed ourselves a lot. We would have missed many interesting details had it not been for the guide book.

Very bad idea

When Singapore was building casinos at Sentosa, a lot of people thought it was a bad idea. Now, this had been confirmed. Only vices and no merits!
Less than a week since the casinos were opened, the news reported a theft commited by a gambler who lost all his money. Then, there were other casino-linked offences.
I wonder how many Singaporean families will be broken due to these casinos. Yes, I know what I am talking about. I know so many uncles and aunties, including family members who loved to gamble and sometimes beyond reasoning. They not only got themselves into troubles but dragged their families along. Very sad.

Prague Day 1

Seb and I went to Prague last Nov to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We booked a 3 days 2 nights trip with Lastminute.com. Upon arrival at the airport, Seb withdrew some local cash, the Czech crown from an ATM. After that, we took the public bus which cost 2.50€ per person to our hotel, Esplanade.

I booked a deluxe double room and it was actually the only room with balcony. The room was spacious and nicely decorated. We were not disappointed. After dropping our bags, we headed out to town.

Our hotel was located at Washingtonova road. At the end of the road, we turned right and reached the main street of the New Town district. There were shops and hotels and hot dog stands.

We took in sights of the busy street and continued our way until we reached the Old Town district. There were many beautiful buildings in Prague. Each façade has its own characteristics; be it drawings, paintings or statues.

I like the building below and after taking the photo, I realised that Hard Rock Cafe was the ground floor boutique.
Prague is known as the city of a thousand bells. That was true. We even found a bell stuck in the corner of a building. This was at the Old Town Square. The Tyn Church towers looked impressive. We tried to find the entrance to the church. After passing a row of restaurants and walking into the inner court of the building did we see the entrance of the church. It was weird to have the entrance of such a big church hidden by a building.

As we continued our walk, we came upon the Powder Tower. This was one of the 13 entrances to the Old Town. Now, the old walls were no longer around, this tower really stood out.

Just beside the Powder Tower stood the Municipal House. It was the most spectacular Art Nouveau building in Prague. In the evening, Seb and I attended a concert performing the works of Dvorak, my favourite composer. The principal concert hall, Smetana Hall, was famous for its grandiose glass dome and its elegance.
That summed up our first day at Prague. We walked a lot around the New Town and Old Town.

NICOLE

Nicole came and left. Last year, she promised to come see Baby A and she kept her promise. It was so sweet of her. We could tell that Baby A enjoyed her company. We spent a few relaxing and quiet days togather. Given the fact that I do not have much leave left, I took 2 off days to be with her.
We did our traditional stop at Coolins after visiting the photos exhibition along Jardin de Luxembourg. It was cold but unlike last year, the park was not covered with snow. There were always interesting photographic exhibition along the fence and this time round, the theme was on the Mekong river.

At Coolins, Baby A had his milk feed. His first drink in a pub!

In the evenings, we walked down memory lanes and looked at old photos. Gosh. I have known Nicole since my french class days and that was several years ago. Amazing how our friendship keeps going strong. I promise Nicole that we will visit her in Munich. I have no idea when that will be but I do want to fulfill this promise within the next two years. I do miss Munich and when Baby A can walk, it will be great to make him discover this nice city.

2010 Quality of Life Index

So, which country tops the quality of life index calculated by International Living.

Yes, it's the country I am living in now.

It seems to me that the scores were calculated fairly. Obviously, I am not so glad that Singapore did not score so well.

That is an extra good reason for my mom to come over here and stay with us. I am so looking forward to Baby A being taken care by his grandmother soon.

Child sick leave

A new year begins; which means I have 3 new days of child sick leave.
In my company, every parent is entitled to 3 days of child sick leave regardless of the number of children in the family. These 3 days are on top of the 6 weeks of paid leave.
But not every company is that good. For Seb, his child sick leave is considered as an urgent paid leave.
During the first winter, babies get sick so easily and in just Nov and Dec, I used up my 3 days allocated in year 2009.
And yesterday, just the beginning of the new year, I consumed a day of child sick leave. I truly hope that I do not have to consume the rest of the two days for a long time to come.

Baby A is fine. Just coughing and having runny nose like me.

Free pairs of glasses and free foot treatment

The title is a little misleading. There is no such thing as free lunches. I pay taxes (a lot indeed by Singaporean's standard) and my company pays my private health insurance. So it is natural that I do not have to pay certain health related services and goods.

Coming from a country where we have to pay out of our own pockets for a pair of glasses and also medical bills, I am still not used to this social system. Furthermore, my glasses cost me about 750€ and my medical treatment was in Singapore.

As mentioned about 3 years back when I made my first pair of glasses in France, I did not have to pay a single cent. OK. Maybe 3€ max. This was because I have good company health insurance. When I changed job, the coverage on glasses was even better. I could spend up to 1000€ on eyewear (frame + glasses). As usual, I think the optical shops here charge autrocious price for glasses. It is really to the limit of what I call "abusing". The optical shop I went to was kind enough to throw in a pair of glasses for free.

And back to my accident in Singapore, I incurred a total of about 200€ in medical bills. The travel insurance guy told me to claim back my bills from social security and my mutuelle first. Then would he cover the rest of the amount. Usually, social security only accepts medical claims
from the European Union countries. As I had an accident while visiting my home country, SS accepted my claims and gave me half the money back. A week later, my mutuelle gave me the other half. How cool.

No wonder my mutuelle is increasing its price and SS is having a big hole in its pocket. But well, c'est la France et vive la France!

Diapers bin

If you ask Seb what is the essential baby stuff that he could not live without, he will tell you this: the 'used diaper' bin. I do not know about you but when my neighbour told me that this is one thing we should have on top of the babycook, I was skeptical. Seb however insisted we get it, just like me insisting on the babycook.

I was convinced about the usefulness of the used diaper bin when we run out of recharge (the scented plastic bag). We had to find plastic bags to store the used diapers and they stinked in the rubbish bin. Unlike the old appartments in Singapore, there is no rubbish chute in our appartment. We had to put out our rubbish bags in a common rubbish collection area in the residence and I tend to throw my rubbish once every few days.

The used diaper bin is very easy to use and can store many diapers without leaking the smell. Just open the cover, push the used diaper into the bin, turn the grey ring to isolate the diaper in the plastic and close the bin. It makes diaper changing a step easier and faster.

Once the bin is fulled, throw away the string of sausage look alike diaper bags. There is no bad smell. To better understand the concept, check out the Sangenic website. For me, this bin is a bonus. However, Seb finds diaper changing a lot easier with it. So of course, I am more than happy to have it.

Strike and Snow

It is the usual period of strike.
RER A, the regional train most used by Parisiens with almost 1 million of passagers each day has been on strike since 8 days. During peak hours, there are only 1 train out of 2 and for off-peak hours, no train at all.
I am only slightly affected since I come to work by car and I leave home really early to start work at 8am.

Last week, there was a day where I took 1h45mins to reach office due to an accident. Horrible. Seb and I work not far from each other. When I left home in a hurry and kissed my son goodbye, Seb was preparing the milk bottle. While I was on the road, he fed the baby, dressed him up and brought him to the child care center; came back home to get his scooter and zoomed off. After an hour and half in the car stuck in traffic, Seb zoomed pass me on his scooter and even waved at me. That is the advantage of having a scooter in Paris!

This morning, I left earlier for work as other train lines are going on strike and snow is expected. I came to office at a record timing of 30mins. Cool. Usually, it takes me 45mins. Along the way, it snows. It is still snowing. Maybe we will have a white christmas this year. Yipee!

PS: a post done in a hurry for my own memory sake.

Babycook

Baby A is increasing his intake of solids nowadays. I try to make home cooked food for him as often as I can. During the weekends, I prepare his purée and fruit compte with Babycook. It is real easy. Just cut up the vegetables or fruits and put them in the steaming basket. Pour water into the appliant. Turn the knob to steaming mode. Once the food is cooked, just pour the contents in the steaming basket into the blender and turn on the knob to the mixer mode. Voila!

Babycook really ease our lives. It is highly recommended by my neighbour and colleagues. Well, I do admit that it is really handy though at first, I was deterred by its cost. When I cooked porridge, I put the porridge into the Babycook and mix it up.

So far, Baby A enjoys what I make for him and is not fussy. Today, I added in 2 teaspoons of fish in his porridge with carrots. He finished them up. Tomorrow, I will make him try chicken with sweet peas and carrots.

One crazy, scary week

Baby A was at his grandparents' 2 weekends ago while Seb and I went on a long weekend to Prague. I was looking so much to this vacation and indeed, it was great.

On tues, when I drove to Chartres to pick up baby A at noon, he was starting to have fever. Baby A's grandma and I decided that he should see a doctor in Chartres right away. The pediatrician advised us to go to the hospital as baby A was having a fever of 39.9°C. He was coughing, having diffculty breathing and was suspected to have H1N1. By the time we were attended to at the emergency room for children, it was already late afternoon. Blood test was taken and baby A was admitted to the baby ward. Seb rushed home after work, packed some clothes and took the train to Chartres. We had to bring down baby A's temperature and also to stablise his breathing.

Baby A stayed a total of 5 nights in the hospital and was discharged on sunday. Seb and I took turns to stay overnight as only one parent was allowed. During the day, we were both at our son's side. Each day, we held hope that he would be discharged.On Wed night, I was asked if I could share the room with another baby who was also suspected of having H1N1. The children ward was over crowded and the hospital could not afford to give each patient a room though in the ideal situation, this should be the case. I accepted as there was really no other choice though I heard other parents insisting on not sharing rooms.

The test result came only on thurs for baby A and he did not have H1N1. He had virus infection to his lungs and it triggered an asthma attack. However, the 4 month old baby who shared his room was tested positive with H1N1. When her fever subsided on Friday, she was discharged. This time round, I insisted that I won't allow my baby to share the room. The head doctor of the children ward was apologetic.

Since admission, all patients who were suspected to have H1N1 were given Tamiflu. This included babies though no lab test had been done for babies under a year old. A 5 weeks old baby in the ward was given Tamiflu too.

Baby A and I are staying at home this week since we had been exposed to a H1N1 carrier. Seb and I are on Tamiflu as well as a preventive measure. The thing is, no doctor can be certain that Tamiflu works or that it prevents us from getting H1N1. And all doctors have different views about the vacination.

The 4 month old girl was alright though she got H1N1. In another case, this was not so. On Saturday, the doctors were trying hard to rescue a kid. Seb and I saw the actions as the emergency room in the ward was in front of baby A's room. We read today in the newspaper that the kid, aged 6 died from H1N1 plus another virus. She came to the hospital on thurs and was told to go home after consultation. Her condition worsen on friday and was rushed to hospital.

This whole affair drained out all our engergy. It scared me too. I am confused. Baby A is determined as asthmatic. With this complication, we were strongly advised to vacine him. But did he already had H1N1 during his stay at the hospital?

For this week, I am bring baby A to a session of respiratory kinesiotherapy each day. I do hope that he will fully recover soon. Winter is just beginning and I pray hard that my son will be well.

I need another vacation but I have no more leave and I don't think I can leave baby A behind. Not that I think my in-laws did not do a good job. Baby A falling sick had nothing to do with them. They took great care of baby A and they love him.

Given a quiet moment, I will look at the photos of Prague and write a little post about it. That will maybe lift up my spirit.

Paris Markets

A friend from Singapore was asking me about the markets in Paris. Which days are they available and at which district.


I checked through internet and found the list. However, the list is in french. It states the district in Paris, the Metro station, the day and time. I guess it is not difficult to make out the information except for the days. So here is a table showing DAYS in english and french.


I hope this information will be useful to tourist. French markets are a pretty sight and is something not to be missed when visiting France. After all, this is a country of great gastronomy.

Label label

Got this cloth from a UK website while shopping for bandana bibs. Baby A likes to chew on labels. Once he is handed a toy, he would nibble on the label. Somehow, babies prefer that than the toy itself.

With this cloth, he has lots of labels to choose from. Still, I saw him putting the real label to his mouth once. Coincidence?

Beyond mouldy cheese and heart shaped clouds

I have problems getting shoes due to my small feet. As winter approaches, I wanted to equip my feet with a pair of heeled ankle boots. I found a few addresses on internet and on saturday, our mission was "Mom buying shoes".

We decided to go to the shoe shop at rue de Provence at Paris 9th district. As Galleries Lafayette Gourmet was along the way, we stopped by there to appreciate the delicious food. Seb and I adore this place. There are tasting bars, restaurants and deli counters. One could buy bread from Kayser bakery or pasteries from Dalloyau, have an Italian ham sandwich with a glass of white wine, drink (expensive) freshly squeezed fruit juice, buy some foie gras or cavier. And the list goes on. The food variety is international. My favourite deli counter is chinese. The food are fresh and tasty. Seb's favourite counter is cheese. We saw this really mouldy cheese.

Here's a closer look of it. This is beyond me. I doubt I will ever be able to put this in my mouth even with the surface scrapped off. Would you?

Paris is a city of surprise. One should always bring out the camera even if one lives in Paris.

Did you notice two heart shaped clouds in the photo above? For an obvious view, see the photo below. Heart shaped clouds were being blown out of a box planted in the middle of a street in Paris. Everyone was taking photos with their handphones. Really funny.

It was a fruitful day as I managed to get my boots and we had a lovely time walking from Saint Lazare to Les Halles. The next day, we went to Saint Michel area after church but as the weather report predicted, it was a rainy day. I guess saturday was the last day of warm autumn.

All in a day's work (maybe two)

I went London for a worktrip on wednesday. It was an overnight affair and it was the first time I was away from baby A. To make things difficult, baby A was sick. As winter approached, a lot of people were down with cold. We could not make a quick appointment with the doctors. They were either fully booked for the next two weeks or the timing was not right. There was a doctor near our place who started at 6am. Seb brought baby A there at 6.15am and there was already 7 people before him. While I reached London via Eurostar at 8.30am, baby A just finished his consultation with the doctor. He had a little fever and Seb had to stay at home with him for the day.

The next day, baby A was well enough to go to the infant care center. If he still had fever, baby A's grand-father would have to come from Chartres to pick him up for an overnight stay there. This was because Seb had a meeting in Belgium and could not cancel it.

We both returned to Gare du Nord at around the same time. 8pm. I rushed home to pick up baby A from the nanny. As the infant care center closed early at 6.15pm, we had a nanny to occasionally fetch baby A from the infant care center at 5pm. We would then pick him up from the nanny's place (just a floor down from my appartment) at 7pm.

It was a very tiring 2 days for us. As economy is picking up, Seb and I have to start travelling again. As I am writing this, Seb just arrives in Amsterdam. I will be alone with baby A for 2 days. Hats off to single moms. I will never be able to stay zen if I had to take care of baby A alone. I am really thankful to Seb for his 100% participation as a dad. Bisous papa!

Half Marathon

Last year, I witnessed the Saint Denis Half Marathon from my balcony. Today, I witnessed it again. It was pretty entertaining watching men and women; fat or thin, tall or short, young or old enjoying their passion. RUNNING. The slim and tall men were the ones heading the race.
On two occasions, I saw wheelchair bounded person being pushed by his running partner. The runners moved forward in a silent procession. Only once did I hear two ladies chatting while running.

We are not a family of runners. Seb and I have no interest in jogging or running at all. In fact, we detest jogging. I very much preferred watching people running pass my balcony on a good sunny day. I tried to get baby A to watch the runners but he only noticed the flowers on the balcony and tried to put them in his mouth. At the moment, nothing interest him except things that he could put in his mouth. Well, so be it.

My feet

I used to think that I had beautiful feet. I mean my toes looked decent and the overall shape of my feet was "correct".

This is the state of my feet 1.5 months after the accident. New skin has grown on my left foot but that area is still sensitive.

I thank God that the weather in France is warmer than it should be at this time of the year. I am able to wear open toes shoes even until now which was never possible in my 6 years stay in France.
Since we wear cover shoes 10 months in a year over here, it is easier to accept the fact that I only have a beautiful foot now.

BTW, aren't the footwear pretty? Thanks to Elena!

A new chapter

Baby A has been at the infant care since a week. Things are going well. Our lives have settled into a comfortable routine.
Baby A is at 4 feeds of milk per day. He usually starts his day at 7.30am with 210ml of milk. At the infant care, he drinks at around 11.30am of 180ml of milk. Tea time is between 4 to 5pm with a fruit compote and 180ml of milk. At home, he would drink 210ml around 9pm before sleeping through the night.
My first week of work was slow and steady except for a bad news that really disturbed my state of mind. My colleague passed away suddenly on tues morning. I returned to work on monday and we talked a little. He asked what was the "saucisse" (sausage) that I brought to office. I explained that it was the famous pineapple tarts from Singapore (Bengawang Solo). I was saddened by his demise. So was everyone else in office.
Back to our home affairs.....
A new chapter has started with Baby A going to the infant care. Me starting work. Seb continuing his work. Despite extra domestic workload, we are coping well. Of course, I have less time and inspiration to post new entry. I do love to write. But at the moment, I spend whatever free time I have to update on baby A's journal. It will be great to keep track when he starts to flip, his reaction to compote, etc....

Claiming 'GST' or 'VAT' from shopping in EU

A friend asked if it was possible to claim tax rebates in London on purchases done in Paris. I remembered Ian telling me that it was possible but troublesome. So I dropped him a message via Facebook and he sent me this long email. Very kind of him.

I thought this info might be useful for other travellers. So here's the copy and paste email with authorisation to publish from the owner. Thanks Ian!

Ok... There are 2 ways for declaring the goods that you want to claiming the 'GST' (VAT), and then after declaring them, there are 2 ways of claiming back the money. (This is based on what I saw and gone through at LV in France, and leaving Europe (EU) via London Heaththrow) as the last port. It must only be claimed from the last port, and yes UK is part of EU especially for this reason.

After buying the goods, you will need to get the vendor to provide the tax invoice, plus fill out all the details to the vendor(retail shop).The vendor should also provide a self addressed envelope (reputableones).

At this point, I suggest you first write down on a piece of paper, some details of what you are claiming, from where, the currency (Euro orPounds), the invoice numbers, and the values and what you believe are the claim back amounts. You may have more than 1 item to claim, and writing these and totalling them up before going to the airport, will save you a lot of hassle. Plus, when you go home and check credit card/bank statements.

At London Heaththrow, you can:
Method 1 for declaring goods) "If the item is too big, and need to check in to plane's cargo" Method.You need to arrive really early and queue in a damn long queue to declare the goods with Tax Refund Counter, with the invoice, which is located before check-in counters (i.e. located before going through customs). After Tax Refund Counter Officer checks goods and rubber stamps the invoice (you must make sure they do this!), you can then either mail the invoice back to the vendor, or go to "Travelex (orsimilar)".

Method 2 for declaring goods) "If the item is hand-carry-able, and no need to check in to plane's cargo" Method.You can checkin and clear customs first. There is ANOTHER Tax Refund Counter after checkin, which is normally shorter, because a lot of people either don't know about this counter, or their items are too large or dangerous to hand-carry, and had to checkin to the plane's cargo. BUT, to do this method, you MUST hand carry the item, and show the Tax Refund Officer your goods. Obviously, this is the same as method1 above as well, so as to prove to the officers what you are claiming.Again, please make sure they rubber stamp the invoice. Again, same as above, after Tax Refund Counter Officer checks goods and rubber stamps the invoice, you can then either mail the invoice back to the vendor, or go to "Travelex (or similar)".

Ok, you have declared the goods, now the money....

Alternative 1 for claiming back the money) If doing the mailing method,remember to buy a UK stamp with enough value to send it back to the country of the vendor. (For me that was sending it back to LV, so I had to buy a stamp with suitable value at a post office.) You should buy a stamp before going to the airport if you decide to do this, because you don't want to go to another queue to post office .. Etc.. Whilst rushing to checkin in one of the busiest airport in the world (Heathrow)! Then just drop it into the mailbox!

Alternative 2 for claiming back the money) If you want the cash back immediately, then you can take the rubber stamped invoice and the credit card (the same one you used to buy the product), to Travelex or one of these finance companies. I didn't go through this method, but I think they take a fee from your claim. You get the money back on your card,but the queue to this is quite long. You can do this alternative both before customs checkin, or after customs checkin. But both queues are very very long. Maybe they did not remember to buy the UK stamp?? But especially if your VAT claim back value is small, and you don't have to depend on the money to live for the next few days... I don't see the point of giving these finance companies the business.

My Thoughts....Heathrow is really really busy and packed full of people. Although they are trying to make things as quick as possible, it's the volume of travellers, communication barriers, and the lack of space that is making it so congested. It give opportunities for pickpockets, and other hassles like long queues. Hence, I personally prefer the least hassle method, because I don't want to risk running late for the plane.So, I pre-bought a stamp, did the hand-carry method of declaring tax,and put my claim in the mail. Even this quick method, took me half hour minimum. Clearly, depending on time of day of departure flights, these queues may get shorter, or longer!

Hope that helps.... I know its wordy.. But seriously its not that difficult.

Safe at home

We reached France on Friday morning. I extended a week of our stay in Singapore upon my doctor's recommendation. The travel insurance took care of our needs and booked us new tickets with Air France. I would love to travel with Singapore Airlines but all seats were taken up.

Baby A and I travelled on business class. Though the seats were smaller than the ones I saw in SQ's A380, I was grateful for the extra leg room and the reclinable seat. Baby A did not want to stay in his cot and would only sleep on me throughout the 12.5 hours journey.

As I had medical assistance, an airport staff with a wheelchair was waiting for me at the airport. However, I was not allowed to carry my boy while in the wheelchair. So we put my hand luggages on the wheelchair and I walked with my boy in the baby carrier. CDG's terminal 2E is huge and we had to walk really far to catch a skytrain to the baggage area and arrival hall. There was no trolley in sight. So if your hand carry bags did not come with wheels, you had to lug your bags for a long distance. At the immigration counter, the queue was super long. I was glad that we could cut all the queue as I was given priority. Looking at the queue, it could take me at least an hour to reach the counter.

I would not advise anyone to arrive in Paris at terminal 2E. Even the airport staff wondered how anyone could design such a messy terminal. I would be lost if not for the airport staff. Who would have thought of walking a distance to take a skytrain to reach the luggage bags and exit!

Further more, in CDG, strollers were not brought up to the door of the plane upon arrival. Parents would have to collect them at a different baggage belt. Unlike in Changi Airport, baby A's stroller was waiting for him once we got out of the plane. It was a breeze touching down in Singapore.

Baby A cried a lot on friday but he has returned to his cheerful self the next day. This week, we are starting his adaptation at the infant care center. We will start a new routine of normal working life with baby. For the moment, good bye vacation.

I'm surrounded by kind people

My first 2 weeks in Singapore saw me being confined to my mom's place but had opened my eyes to the many kindness surrounding me.

I thank God for my friends. Almost everyday, I had friends coming to visit me. The fridge was soon full of fruits and cakes that I had to tell my visitors not to bring anything. I am so touched by everyone's concern.

Rachel was my chauffeur on two occasions when we were invited to Diana's gathering and a brunch at PS Cafe. Due to my wounds, I was not able to fit into any shoes except my TEVA sandals. Knowing that, Elena went out of the way to look for suitable shoes for me and finally found a pair. It was not an easy task looking for a size 3 and with a specific design to avoid any contact with the wound. And the best thing was, she brought the shoes to me at 10.30pm yesterday. Hey, God must have told her I need presentable shoes to go with the black dress that I intended to wear for Diana's ROM ceremony today. The shoes given by Elena were perfect! What a sweet, unexpected surprise. The size fits; they were black and very comfortable.

During meet-ups with friends, all of them watched out for me and made sure I won't accidentally knock my foot on random things by clearing the path. I am so touched. Being away for so many years, we are never not out of touch. This is real friendship. Thank you my friends.

Toy rental

Before coming to Singapore, I checked out the toy rental services available. I am surprised with the number of websites offering toys at affordable rent. Here is the list:
http://rent-a-toy.com/shop/
http://www.toys4rent.sg/
http://www.toyrentalclub.com/getting_here.html
http://www.littlefairyland.com/
http://rent-that-toy.com

I got a bumbo baby sitter and a bouncer from one of the above sites. Delivery was free for an order of $35 and above. It definitely beats having to lug items from France to keep baby A entertained for a month.

My boy can turn

One thing good about staying at home all the time is being able to observe my boy's development. He is able to turn himself over today. Finally! He has been trying this since he arrives in Singapore. I guess my mom's bed is big enough for him to rotate and turn.
Baby A's grandma teached him how to hold the milk bottle and blow his nose. Of course, he can only hold on to his milk bottle when he is about to finish it as it is lighter.
Baby A also starts to babble some new sounds. They are slightly higher in pitch.

I managed to do short video clips on the above actions. Seb was able to see on direct his son turning via Skype. Technology is amazing. We are so far, yet so near. Speaking of which, I am so near, yet so far. I am in Singapore but has not visit anywhere in Singapore yet. I'm thinking about extending my stay here.....

Still home bound

It seems like I am doing my second confinement here in Singapore. I have been here since a week and has not visited anywhere.

My foot is getting better and the wounds are slowly drying up. Still, I cannot go out as my foot is swollen and I can't walk properly. I am glad that I brought books here to read. There is also WII for us to play at home.

Baby A is getting used to the weather. At 4 months old, he is trying to turn over on the bed. He manages to turn his body but he does not know how to place his arm underneath so it is stuck. We have to help him and my mom is watching him closely.

All my friends find baby A cute and I find all their babies cute too. Babies, they all grow so fast. I guess this is the time we find our children the cutest.

Freak accident happens

How heavy is a car? Very heavy indeed but not enough to crush my toes. Thank God!

This morning, my left foot got run over by a car. The car stayed on my foot for some seconds before moving forward to release my foot. The following events happened as it should; rushed to nearby clinic for consultation, took 2 panadols, sent to Changi Hospital by ambulance, consulted the doctor at A&E, took an X-ray to assert the situation. No bones broken. Dressed up the wounds, retreived the medication, paid the bill and left home. My brother was with me all the time and Elena came and fetched us home. I shall not dwell into the details of the accident. It was after all a freak accident and no one is to be blamed.

I was conscious through out the whole ordeal and at one time, even found it funny as I could not decide if the red on my toes were my nail polish or blood. I am sure I will be a little depress upon seeing the state of my toes when the bandages are removed.

I am not able to walk properly. I called up my credit card company as I paid my air tickets with them and travel insurance was included by default. They were really proactive, calling me from France to check on my situation and offering to help me in any ways possible. That includes getting assistance to get out of the country if necessary and paying up front for my hospitalisation bill. I needed none of that. We shall see if I am apt to travel alone back with baby A in 3 weeks time. Good thing that the accident happened in the beginning of my visit and not at the end. I will have forced rest at the comfort of my mom's home.

I was also impressed with the efficiency of the medical team here. The paramedics assured me and updated me on my situation throughout the ambulance journey and the hospital staff were professional. Many thanks go to Elena and Carmen who helped greatly and also to well wishes from friends and relatives who came visit. We held a mini-celebration for baby A's home-coming to Singapore this afternoon. Yes, the SHOW MUST GO ON!

Paris in August

Each July/August, part of the quay is closed to make way for Paris Plage (Paris beach). We went for a walk along the quay and was surprised that there was not many people on a weekend. It was pleasant walking along the banks of the Seine. The Paris Plage had lots of actitives and they were free of charge. The sun benches were all taken up. There were tai ji classes, massages, gym machines, water sprinklers etc....

After exiting from the quay, we walked along rue Saint Honoré and saw a Barbie foot in a boutique. It was so cool.

I'm sure any guy who is a baby foot fan will go crazy over it.

Compiegne

We went visiting Compiegne for the first time last saturday. Compiegne is about an hour's drive north of Paris. I know of this city only because Jessie's parents-in-law live there. Other than that, I know nothing else.

The highway roads were classified 'black' on saturday as it was the day of the "grand depart de vacances". Everyone was heading south for their summer vacation. Going up north, the highway road was smooth flowing and we mostly saw dutch and german cars heading home after their vacation in France.

Upon arriving in Compiegne, we easily found a public parking lot. The town was quiet. It was definitely not a vacation destination in August. Most shops were closed. There was an open market and we bought 2 artichokes. Seb and I loved to visit fresh food market. After lunch, we walked up to the castle and visited the castle's park. The castle looked well maintained but I only noticed a tour bus. As for the castle's park, it was calm. There was hardly anyone.
As in any outing, a little shopping for me obliged. As it was the post-sale season, Okaidi was having extra promotion. Buy an item and the second item was at 2€ and the third article at 1€. I got 3 sets of summer clothes for my boy. At Petit Bateaux, I bought lots of body suits. For the moment, I have enough clothes for my boy until the end of the year.
As usual, baby A slept throughout the trip except during his feed. I guess I will visit Compiegne again. We saw a museum of figurines and were sure that Angel would be interested to visit it. We will come with him when he visits us again.

Angel's visit

Angel had been in france several times this year due to work. We met up again in july as his schedule permitted. I invited him over to our place for lunch and cooked him a simple meal with tomatoes and mozarella as entrée and lor bak(braised meat) as main dish. After lunch, we visited the Cité Université and Parc Montsouris. I always wanted to visit this area of Paris. Cité Université was basically a big hostel for foreign students studying in Paris. There were many different buildings with an international theme. There were the Japan house, the Canada house, Brazil house, India house etc...
As for Parc Montsouris, it was crowded as with any park in Paris on a sunday. There were playgrounds and amusement rides for children. There was also little pony rides available. We had a pleasant time strolling in the park.

We met up Angel again a few days later for a falafel dinner at rue des Rosiers in the third district of Paris. It rained heavily during the evening. Still, we had a good time. Angel was kind enough to help me bring back 2 tins of milk powder. My boy and I will be in Singapore soon and I appreciate Angel's gesture to help lighten my luggage bag.

Singapore day goodies bag

Sam gave me a goodie bag from the recent Singapore day event held in London. Thanks a lot Sam. As I wrote earlier, I missed out on the event as it was near my delivery date.

Look, there's a lot of "I love Sg" stuff. There's a cloth bag, a t-shirt, a CD of swing, an eraser, a pin, a picnic mat, a black diary and a paper ball that I used to play. Most of all, I like the "Chope" wet-tissue pack. It is so Singaporean.