Some feedbacks about Algarve and our trip

This morning, the CE organized a meeting to have our feedback regarding the trip. Overall, everyone was happy and satisfied despite the chaos before our departure. They praised the hotel services, contented with the kids club activities, appreciated the foods and enjoyed the road trips around the areas.

As for us: Aelig seemed to enjoy it, me disappointed about how the CE handled the crisis but thrilled to spend a nice week with the family. As for hubby, not satisfied with the overall arrangements.

Here are some of my observations regarding Algarve:

1. Clean streets: don't have to raise alert about dog poos.

2. Historical and modern links with Malaysia
Malaysia was once occupied by Portugal. I could see some words that are similar to the Malay language: ijreja vs gereja (church), escola vs sekolah (school). Houses outside of the cities looked similar to bungalows, double storey and shop houses in Malaysia.


Bungalow: Those in Malaysia are without the chimney of course.


In Malaysia, I used to see some housing advertising selling Portuguese style / European style houses, they were not lying after all.


Shop houses: Just like in Malaysia, ground floor is used for business purposes and from first floor up to the top floor are for residency. Even the way their displayed the shop names resembled the one in Malaysia. At one point I thought I was seeing Public Bank (red) and RHB Bank (blue).


Double-storey linked houses.


This kind of gate is very common in shop houses in Malaysia.


And this for the window, you could see it anywhere in Malaysia.


Many old style bungalows have this kind of wall.


Never expect to see salted dried fishes here! Did the Portuguese introduced the Malaysians the ikan masin as well?

3. Crystal clear sea waters and stunning flowers


There were a lot of small beaches separated by rocks and cliffs. This gives a sense of privacy compared to large beaches.


The water is so clear it made me want to swim.


The flowers were blossoming everywhere.


Similar species to those in Brittany.


A sea of flowers.


Oranges everywhere too.

4. Friendly inhabitants


I rarely saw Asian here so I was glad that nobody was starring at me. The Portuguese were quite friendly. We passed through small alley and greeting the residents around with "Bom dia" (good morning). One grandma corrected us as it was in the afternoon and we should have said "boa tarde" (good afternoon).

5. Portuguese language

Since Portuguese is a Latin based language, we didn't have much problem wandering around. This is one of the advantages knowing French I guess. At one point hubby saw a sign indicating "barragem". "Barrage" in French means dam, so he thought there should be a dam nearby. And guess what we found the dam!

6. Kid's club activities
A feedback regarding the trip. I had never been to a hotel who proposed activities for kids so I found it interesting and useful.


See how the little angel was so happy.


Every evening from 8.30pm on the club organized a disco party. Beside dancing they also had bird show.


This peacock was having vacation too!


2 hours of painting classes = 2 hours of resting time for parents.

7. Lack of gastronomy experience
The biggest down point for this trip was the lack of gastronomy experience. I was happy to have all inclusive package but after this trip I don't think it was an good idea anymore. Basically, we ate 3 meals a day in the hotel, which prevented us from savoring the local cuisines. We had British breakfast every morning. There were some local dishes involving seafoods for lunch and dinner but most of the time it was European normal hotel style serving. When we went for a day trip, the packed lunch was a pity: 2 tiny sandwiches + an apple + a bottle of water.


British breakfast every morning. There were different kind of breads and fruits available so the French were happy.


An example of my lunch. Next time it would be preferable to book an hotel with breakfast and has a real food tripping in the local restaurants. We had a nice gastronomy experience in Barcelona, I don't know how many tapas I stomached and how many sangria I drunk.

Looking forward to our next trip to Prague. Leaving in 5 days!

Algarve: The citrus county

When we were riding the bus from the Faro Airport to Algarve (the region we were visiting), we were intrigued by its orange orchards. Later we found that some of them were actually lemons and mandarin oranges. When we had our road trips, I was hoping to visit an orchard, but we couldn't find any signs that would allow a visit. My thirst to pluck an orange fresh from the tree increased everyday. It seems that every house with a garden has a lemon/orange/mandarin orange tree. We saw this in downtown Monchique. We didn't dare to pluck them though.


And the flowers smelt so good! I didn't know orange tree is such fragrant plant. We finally found some orange trees in a small villages which we thought belong to nobody. Most of them were eatable and plenty dropped on the floor. Aelig collected 10 of them but she was unable to take all of them, she was so furious. We decided to pluck one from each tree, so we got 4 of them.


Just like in Malaysia, the Portuguese sell their oranges along the roadside. Some have a stall in front of their house. The cheapest I saw was 2€ for 5kg. I saw this sign in the market but I'm not sure if it means 39 cents per kilo.


Don't know what this is but I saw them in the French supermarket sometimes.

Holiday is about...

We survived the 12 hours trip and arrived safely in Algarve, South of Portugal. I need to learn from those French mothers who kept their kids occupied with lots of books, card games. The older kids were with video games though.


The hotel was new, started operating in 2011. We saw this magnificent pool, all to ourself as there was not much tourist yet. Unfortunately, at 19°, nobody dared to swim in it. They have an area for kids, Aelig would have enjoyed it. No choice, if we want to use the interior heated pool, we need to pay 5€ and kids are allowed to use the pool only between 6pm to 7pm.


We had a briefing from the travel agency on Sunday morning. Their excursion trips were expensive. We decided to rent a car and travel around. The first stop was the beach facing the Atlantic Oceans.


Father and daughter jumped inside the water despite the not so hot weather. I lack the courage, I admitted.


With hubby, we walked and walked and walked. We climbed the mountain, we walked along the beach. We visited the End of the World in Portugal. There must be a lot of places they called themselves the End of the World. We know one already in Brittany. It refers to the end of the Europe facing the Atlantic Oceans.


To make up of all the disappointments we had on this trip, the travel agency brought along 5 people to entertain the kids. Programs are held throughout the day and in the evening to please the kids. Aelig was so excited when the music was playing. She was dancing with a bunch of kids without wanting to stop.


And, she went on the stage to show those kids how to dance.

When Aelig is happy, we are happy.
We are enjoying the trip!

A traveling nightmare

In January, we were so excited that we got selected to join the CE (Committee Enterprise)'s spring traveling program to Portugal. It is a subsidized trip according to family's income level. We were proposed all inclusive packages: 3 meals a day, free open bar with unlimited alcohol, close to the beach, free bus services to close-by destinations, children's club, sauna... Hubby said we were going to something similar to Club Med, we will just stay lazy around, do nothing but eat, sleep, drink, swim... I have been telling Aelig that we are going to take plane, swim the whole week...until we received an email.

One week before the departure, my coworkers informed me that all flights from Nantes to Portugal have been canceled, and we need to depart from Paris. Several people sent email to the CE asking for more information, but no answer was given. People started speculating on all the possibilities, a lot think that we would take the train, some said we would arrive in the early morning in Paris and need to stay overnight...I approached my coworker who has an important position in the CE, who told me that they have done their best, and we will be traveling to Paris by bus. All information will be communicated early next week.

Later that day, we finally received this email from the CE:

Dear All,

We are sorry to inform you that two global events, the economic crisis and the events in North Africa, have influenced the conditions of the trip to Portugal. The Airlines we were taking has gone bankrupt and the travel agent just filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. All these translated into two big changes:
1. modification on the departure
2. we will be staying in hotel X instead of hotel Y
We will give you more information next week.

What a big disappointment! We were so frustrated that the CE informed us last minute and nobody was appointed to answer our questions. The information was given little by little over the week, and one day before departure, we do not know what is waiting for us in Portugal. Here's the chronology of the communication:
D-7: got informed that two global events have influenced our trip.
D-4: got a mail telling us the departure and return time from Paris. Transfer Nantes - Paris will be done with bus. Needed to prepare our own lunch. Bus schedule will be informed later.

Our frustration has gone to the roof and we were asking ourself if we should not just cancel the trip. The in-laws asked us everyday what time we depart as they will need to send Aelig back according to our planning.

I sent an email asking about the possibility to cancel, and I was informed that I could cancel but the CE does not guarantee any refund, and I have to confirm the cancellation within 3 hours. Talked to another coworker and she said she was told that not only will she not getting the refund, she would have to pay for a cancellation fee.

D-3: received a convocation with the air departure information + who's who going to be in the same bus.
D-2: finally received the bus departure information.

Until now we don't know if all the conditions are maintained with the hotel. Checked the hotel website, they have a huge outdoor swimming pool, we don't know if we could swim at 17%. We will need to pay extra charges if we want to use the indoor heated pool.

We are so not motivated to go. I don't know if Aelig could go through all these:
6.5 hours bus trip to Paris
2 hours waiting in the Airport
2.5 hours plane trip
1 hour airport - hotel transfer.
It is going to take almost the same time to go Paris - Kuala Lumpur by plane!!!

And this is not the worst. Our return trip will bring us back to Paris at 10pm, that means arrive around 4am in Nantes. How nice is that.

Luckily we have her to cheer us up. Her first visit to the hair dresser and everything went well. She didn't make any fuss.

Boy and girl

28th month

Highlights of the month:


Finally brought her to swimming pool and she totally loved it. I didn't know there exist disapoable swimming diaper for baby until someone told me. Since she is so excited to go swimming, I plan to buy her a swimming suit with diaper integrated.


It was so warm today so we decided to bring her to the beach. As usual, she has a blast.


Introduction to ski. We were watching young kids having ski classes and she was intrigued. She wanted to join them and didn't understand why I kept pulling her away. She will be able to join when she will be 3 or 4 years old.


Making snowman


Go racket walking in the mountain


Snow sliding with papa.

Another great month passed and hope she will be a happy girl forever.

A heavy heart

On the last day of our vacation, while packing, I received a phone call from Aelig's babysitter.

She spoke with a heavy tone. If Aelig was not with me, I would have thought that something had happened to her.

"Something serious happened in my family. I would not be able to take care of Aelig next week. I waited the last minute to tell you this so that it would not spoil your vacation." Said her.

"So you can resume the week after then." I inquired.

"I don't know." She hesitated. "My son died, I don't know what would happen in a week." Announced her.

When I heart this, my heart broke. I said sorry and I will find a solution for the childcare next week. I think no word can console a mother who just lost a child. She said the funeral would be next Tuesday and I didn't dare to press on on what happened to her son.

I consulted with my MIL and she said it would be best if we go attend the funeral. I didn't know her son, but hubby said he saw him once. We checked the obituary online, he was only 28 years old.

We finished the vacation with a heavy heart. Hubby's leg hurts badly, so he decided to stay home with Aelig tomorrow. We would look for temporarily solutions, but I fear that she would not be ready to resume her work in the near future. There is a Chinese saying:" The white hair sending off the black hair". This is one of the toughest and saddest things in life.

On ski break

This will be the first time I'm going on ski vacation. I do not like cold places, so I was not motivated to go. Now, I want to see how the little angel reacts when she walks on the snow and realizes that it could stay for a while.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in France, do like the French, go on ski vacation during winter. Hope I could stand the cold though.

International Women's Day: What did they talk about in Grand & Petit Journal

The Grand and Petit Journal are two news programs from Canal Plus that hubby would watch every evening. It caught my attention a while back as news are informed in a unique way: host and guest hosts making fun / insulting of people (usually politicians or celebrities).

Just to give you an idea, this was what they presented on International Women's day. Two women politicians were invited, one is the spoke person from President Sarkozy's camp and the other from Hollande's camp. Since the presidential election is about 1.5 months away, they thought they would discuss about women's right. But the guest host has her own agenda. She was curious if Sarkozy prefers Coca Light and if Hollande watches his weight. I think Sarkozy's spoke person was bright to tell the host that she has a brain so they could surely talk about the current ongoing campaign instead of Sarkozy's weight.


Canal Plus also has a special way to report about the weather forecast. They chose a blond who would make a joke before asking to display the weather chart. Since today is international women's day, she leashed a man and talked nastily to him.


Leashing a man, I'm not sure if this is the goal for 3.8 Women's day.


From these two TV news, I concluded that it is not easy to be the President of France. You will be insulted / humiliated / making fun of, almost everyday. It is International Women's Day, of course they will not let go of Sarkozy, who has been portraited as a President submissive to German's President Merkel. Today's insult is considered light if compared to...


being fed by Merkel as a baby, and...


being a dog to Merkel.

French news have a lot of freedom. I don't know if they use the freedom wisely, but insulting politicians daily have been a way of life here, whether you like it or not.

Internet shopping: What is my right if I did not receive the good?

Updated on 3rd March 2012

I have been very unlucky with the internet shopping lately. Three purchases I made online went wrong.

1. Book 3 A Storm of Swords, George Martin
Like I shared earlier the vendor from Amazon sent me a different book from what I ordered. When contested, they told me that Amazon has listed the book with a wrong ISBN number. Basically, it was not their fault, if I want the money back, I need to send the book back to UK at my own fee. I think to send a book to UK will already cost me half the price so it is really not worth it. I wrote to Amazon, no reply after a month.

03/03/12: After reading the message from Jeremie and Ker Leed, I decided to call Amazon. Indeed, as mentioned by them and by YongLing, they have a good customer service. I entered my house phone number on their website and they called me instantly. The staff was nice and helpful. They proposed me a 5€ rebate coupon, which I later used to place another order for this book. Hope it will arrive before our ski vacation.

2. Book 4 A Feast For Crows, George Martin
I ordered it at the same time with book 3 with a different vendor on Amazon. It never arrived. I contacted the vendor and they said they were going to send me another one. It has not arrived, yet.

03/03/12: I have received the book! I wanted to use the rebate coupon from Amazon to order Book 3 from this same vendor, but the coupon was only valid for order with Amazon.

3. Two pairs of stocking for Aelig on Vertbaudet.com
I bought the bed, mattress and stocking from the same site but they used a different delivery services. We received the bed and mattress, but not the stockings. I sent an email to Vertbaudet and they said they were going to investigate with La Poste. Today I received a letter from them with a mail from La Poste saying that they have delivered the package to me end of January. The problem: I never received it.

03/03/12: Vertbaudet called me and explained that I could send back the letter claiming that I never received the order and hope to ask for a refund. So we will see.

Now, what is my right as a customer? For case 1, should I take the time and the pain to call Amazon so that they will pay for the postal fee? I feel tired just by thinking of it. I think I will just go to a bookstore and pay again. As for case 3, I had sent an email to Vertbaudet saying that I will not buy from them again. I don't know who's fault is it but I'm an unhappy customer so I could do whatever I want.

Urgggggghhh.

26th month

Aelig has grown into a little girl.


About three weeks ago, she discovered the snow. We had a tour outside. Now it is easier to tell her anything related to snow.


We feel that she should learn to play by herself. She would do it from time to time. That day I saw her decorating the table with her toys. Yesterday she asked for an apple jam and a cup of water for her tiger and tried to feed him and hold him like a baby.


She has started going to a childcare center half day per week. A little background: In our area babysitters are allowed to work maximum 48 hours per week. Our contract with the sitter is 45 hours but we need 50 hours. In the past, we took turn to take half day off per week. I have used most of my vacation so we looked for another solution. In France the government does provide a special childcare where you could drop your kid for several hours while you run your errand. We signed her in with one closed by and since January she has been going there. At the beginning she refused to go, but now she is happy there. Apparently she doesn't play with other kids but she would observe with big curiosity. My goal is to find her a playmate / playgroup but I found it very difficult. Both me and hubby are not outgoing so it limits our chance to meet new parents / kids.

Another incoming challenges are to potty train her and choose a school for her. Normally she would enter kindergarten this September with condition that she is potty trained. We have been training on and off but she would cooperate one day and refuse the day after. As for school, we have to go visit both the public and the private one before deciding which one is best for her.

I found it scary to be a parent, as we have to make so many decision for our kid which could certainly influence her future development in life.

Side note: Last week we had guest at home so we let Aelig slept in our bed. Since then, she had decided to sneak into our bed. We would put her to sleep in her crib and discovered her in our bed, sleeping soundly. Another hard decision: should we let her continue sleeping in our bed or we should send her to her crib?

Reminiscing Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Aelig was with her grandparents so we were having our child-free week again. Hubby was outstation during the day and after picking him up at the train station in the evening, we went straight to our favorite Thai restaurant. When he sat down, he told me: "You know what I want to do now? Go Alama Dratthouse."

This was not the first time he mentioned about this. Back in Austin, we went a lot to cinema and one of our favorites was Alama Drafthouse. It is a cinema combining restaurant + cinema features. So, while waiting for the movie to start, he would order his burger or pizza and me chicken wings. We would enjoy the movie while sipping a beer or savoring a dessert. I remembered we had a movie marathon: Kill Bill 1 & 2. Yeah, eating while watching all those blood splashing...

Watching movie has long been hubby's hobby. In Austin, on average, he went to movie theater once a week. It helped that we had 3 cinemas nearly and one was within 5 minutes walking distance. If we didn't go on Saturday usually it would only costed $5. I watched the first French movie in my life there: Emélie Paulain. So, when we didn't know what to eat and what to do, we would go to Alamo Drafthouse.

Those were the days...

A Family Project: Bed Work in Progress

Several months ago I mentioned that Aelig was climbing out of her crib so we were going to buy her a bed. Jérémie shared some photos of her daughter's bed and I totally fell in love with it.


How do you not like this, it is so unique! I love everything related to Totoro. Thanks Jérémie for sharing this photo.


So, my mind was fixed. I was waiting for the sale period but the price stayed the same before and during the sale. No choice, we finally ordered it. Basically, it is a bed that comes in a certain form that parents could paint with whatever picture they want. The size is extend-able.


This is one of Aelig's favorite books. We have decided that one of the surface will be this cat.


I'm hopeless in terms of drawing and painting. So I assigned the task to hubby, who later shared the task with FIL and MIL. Look at the end result, isn't it cute!


Hubby painting the star. He was so concentrated.


She will fall asleep with the the stars, the moon and the cloud.

We have not decided what we would paint on the side against her head. Maybe a little prince with his sheep? We shall see. No matter what, I think she is a lucky girl to have such a cute bed. Don't you think?

Farewell party

The dragon has brought me luck. My application to transfer to my city has been accepted. The three hours road trip to R city every Monday and Tuesday was finally reaching the end. What a relief!


I certainly won't miss the traffic jam in the morning. It is becoming worst year after year.


Driving under a raining day is very stressful. The worst is to pass trucks on the highway as they tend to spread ton of water on the sides and make passing dangerous.


Guess what? Today was the first day I didn't have to drive to R city. And look at the road condition! The snow stayed overnight and made getting out of the parking lot a hassle due to the curve before joining the main road. This morning, two neighbors (women) were trying so hard to get out of the parking lot. Each time they went up to the curve, the car slided back. One stuck in the parking lot for at least 20 minutes. During the time, hubby was scratching off the snow on his car, drove away, then came back to drive my car out of the parking lot. Imagine if I had to drive to R city, alone...

Ok, back to the topic. When someone leaves the company (in my case an internal transfer), he or she will organise a farewell party (unlike in Malaysia and in the USA it is the other way around). Once the farewell party is announced, coworkers will collect a fund to offer the person a little farewell gift during the party. My announcement was made the same day I was having the "pot de départ". My transfer was accepted with the condition that I would join my new team as soon as possible. So, a last minute announcement and I told my coworkers I don't want any gift, their present would be already a valuable souvenir to me.


To my surprise, they offered me this lovely orchids. Many turned up to say goodbye. Some stayed late to chat about cultural differences.


I used this chance to introduce pineapple cookies to my coworkers. They loved it. I also talked about the ang pao (red envelop) tradition during the Chinese New Year. Photo shows the leftover dough I used to make a crab for Aelig.

Overall, I enjoyed the working environment in R city. Coworkers were distance at the beginning, but the more you get to know them, the more you appreciate working with them. I would certainly miss the Monday lunch gathering with friends who have enriched my life, and your friendship is deeply needed, and appreciated.

A new chapter begins...