from Nanjing

Sorry for the extended period of silence - no internet in the land of the Red. Which may be a good thing since I had been thinking that I wouldnt be able to say much anyway for fear of censorship or...

In any case, I am living in Nanjing, or more accurately in the suburbs of Nanjing, it's a nice newly constructed apartment and they thought to put heating in the bedrooms but the rest of the apartment is as cold as outdoors, about 40F. I even had to go out and buy long underwear, ewww.

I went visiting places with a tour group on Tuesday and yesterday went to this huge outdoor marketplace to buy little trinkets. I spent all day shopping and bought tons of stuff but still didnt spend more than $100, sigh, going to a department store today, will try to spend more :)

Happy new year to all!!

See you soon and I'll post pictures more write more when get back to the US - SAturday.

last entry from japan

i believe japan is called the land of the rising sun but i think it would also be fitting to call it the land of 1000 bridges. japan must have the best bridge tchnology. there are rivers everywhere! and of course they have the longest suspension bridge and who knows what else.

speaking of water, their bathroom tchnology is great! of course you know of their special toilets but some even play flushing sound and spray deoderizor. plus their seat covers fit better. and many bathrooms are outfitted with the water extracting hand dryers - the likes of which i have only seen in the time warner center at columbus circle. of course many bathrooms are lacking in paper or any form of hand drying. plus their soap dispensers dispense a watery version of soap. i guess they can't be perfect.

off to shanghai now

Last day in Tokyo and Japan

My feet are done with Japan, and being upright. I'm actually looking forward to my planeride and train ride from Japan to China. Way too much walking on the uneven gravelly roads around the touristy places.

Something I forgot to share yesterday:

Only the cutest dog ever - Hatchida - apparently, he belonged to some guy who took the train to work everyday from the Shibuya station everyday and everyday he would go wait for his master to come home at the train station. One day, the guy died at work but the dog continued going to the station to wait for him until his own eventual death 10 years later. How adorable!!

Oh, and a preview of me in a ceremonial kimono. I don't have the high quality pix because my dad has them on his camera so I had to take a picture of the LCD display on his camera.

Today we went to the fish market and saw a ridiculous number of fish. And huge ones!!

They use jigsaws to cut the fish into pieces. Crazy. Then we had sushi there, and yes it was super fresh, but apparently the meal made my dad feel ick so I guess he's sworn off sushi forever.

We spent a day looking at technology. We went to the Sony building to play with all their computers and cameras and stuff. Then we went to a robotics store and I got to play with a Pleo - I've always wanted to see what they were like. And they're every bit as wonderful as I imagined. I'm totally going to get one - they're on sale on Amazon for less than $200!!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9175994945643611212

(sorry, I can't read the Japanese to get the html script so this runs on the page)

Can't wait!!

Not sure what's for dinner yet but obviously not sushi though I wouldn't mind another run at the sushi boats.

Oh, in anime city - also where the electronic stores are - girls dressed like anime characters. Apparently, there's even cafes where you get served by anime girls too. Weirdos.

Christmas in Japan

Merry Christmas!! I don:t think the Japanese celebrate Christmas really but in any case they seem to celebrate American Christmas - as in the commercialization of Christmas. There are holiday displays everywhere - very festive:

- and Christmas themed displays and posters in all the stores. They were even selling a cake on Christmas eve - looked like a regular birthday cake to me.

Today we started the day off by looking for the Japanese sword museum. We did eventually find it but it took forever and I had to ask for directions 4 times - if you know me, you know that means I was mega-lost. We finally found it after a nice lady walked us all the way there, to find that...it was CLOSED. But there were still some explanations we got to look at before we went along on our merry way.

Then we went to the top of the Tokyo Met. Gov. building again to see the skyline during the day. Not nearly as cool I think.

We spent the afternoon visiting a shrine and walking around Harajuku and checking out the Harajuku girls. Apparently, legs is the currency in flesh here. Today was a bit warmer than usual and there are short shorts and short skirts everywhere. Sorry, no pix.

Fish market tomorrow.

Food Diary Updated

Kyoto-->Tokyo

So we spent the morning in Kyoto - our last moments in "old" Japan - and took the train to Tokyo - the place of new stuff. BTW, about the train - they call it the bullet train, I guess it's true. In addition to the bullet like pointiness of the ends of the train, it goes pretty fast, in fact, you won't be seeing any of my usual pictures from the train ride since the bullet train is much too fast for pictures along the way. I will probably post this crazy blurry picture I took of the longest suspension bridge in the world though. Oh, here it is:

If you look really hard, You can make out the outlines of the bridge, extra bonus points to the first person who does.

Today we visited the Imperial Palace in Kyoto - the home of the emperor for 1075 years until the late 1800s. We didnt get to go into any buildings though. So all the buildings are made of wood which is pretty crazy since Japanese history is plagued by the burning down of the palace and other places, so why rebuild in wood? In addition, they couldnt heat the place because they were so afraid of fires. They even had to outlaw fireworks after some fireworks burnt down the palace.

We had lunch at this cute little Japanese place, super authentic. Good thing the Lonely planet told me what to order because people definitely ddint speak English there. Of course my dad made tons of faux pas's there. Very ashamed indeed. WE had the niju bento and it was a 2 layered bento box, very cute. I like the cute little boxes everything goes in. Pictures of food will be posted soon.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm writing more today - free internet!! Whoohoo, welcome to the millenium!! Too bad I didnt't end up bringing my laptop or it'd be truly unlimited since I wouldnt have to sit in the guest lounge on the 2nd floor while people are sitting next to me wondering why I'm not done yet. Well, at least I'm typing, my dad's probably reading Chinese webpages about nothingness.

We got to Tokyo this afternoon and arrived at our hotel right next to Shijuku station. It's a beautiful hotel and we have an awesome view of the Shinjuku skyscrapers from our room:

Plus, as soon as we walk out of our hotel we're in the center of everything - stores, restaurants, building with awesome view of the city.

I tried to find a new memory stick for my camera so I dont't have to always worry about uploading to not run out of space. But it turns out my camera is so antique that they dont make this type of memory anymore :(

SmartMedia - if you have some you no longer need, let me know.

We went to the observation tower of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and I took some great night scenes of the city. Really beautiful and overwhelming - definitely bigger than NYC. And Tokyo must use more electricity powering all of their neon signs than NYC too. Every little street around this are is lit up all night like Times Sq.

We went to a sushi boat restaurant where the sushi pass by on a conveyor belt - totally awesome!! I ate soooooo much, and for so little money!! My dad had a tiny bit and then ate the rest of his dinner by buying meat buns at the convience store afterwards. Also, the sake I had there was also excellent. Squillo - the thing I've also see on the posters in sushi restaurants in the US but they never have - is awesome!!

Ah, sooo full!! Yum. I told my dad that tomorrow will be a sushi free day and he rejoiced. But the day after we're going to the fish market and I'm going to eat myself silly with fish there too. Harajuku girls tomorrow ;)

Oh and I can see why Japanese men are pedophiles - the schoolgirls wear ridiculously short skirts with knee-high tights - just like in the anime. Ok, maybe not, but some of the girls I've seen...

On the other hand, props to Japanese girls' footwear - awesome boots!! I'm totally jealous.

There's a surprising amount of decoration here for Christmas here. Very pretty - trees all lit up and stuff. But maybe it's because I've been spending so much time in touristy spots.

Ok, more tomorrow...Sayonara.

Himeji

Today we took the train to Himeji to see the Himeji castle - White Heron. I loved it, great diversion from endless temples, blah. Plus, the coolest thing of all, I got to wear a ceremonial Kimono that people in Court used to wear 1000 years ago. It had 12 layers and took them over 30 min to put on properly - don't worry, we took lots of pictures and I'll post them when I get the chance.

For dinner, I had sushi for the first time here in Japan. We went to this place with sushi sets and Kaisei (I think that's what you call them). I got this fancy thing that had this little armoir that had drawers of food. Interesting. The ambiance was super nice though, with a tatami room and a cute little garden outside. The sushi was good, but not excellent, I'm waiting for better - hopefully when I go to the fish market in Tokyo. But still, it was an awesome dinner experience. I think my dad didn't hate it.

A number of people here in Japan wear little face masks - white ones that go over your mouth and nose. I wonder if it's for the same reason as in China which is to protect themselves from germs. I think it's a great way of dealing with halitosis, however, getting the people who need them to actually wear them would be difficult.

I love drink vending machines. I have a newfound love for getting little bottles of hot milky tea at the train station. They keep me warm while I'm waiting for the train and make me happy because they're yummy.

Oh and onigri triangles - they sell them everywhere - convenience stores, newspaper stands... they are my new breakfast - two 100yen rice triangles wrapped in seaweed- one right away and one on the train and all is well. Even my dad had one and didn't it. To be fair, I don't think he's hated anything other than that dim sum-esque experience with the funny sweat potatoes.

Ok, off to a hot bath now - in the big bath in the ryokan that had floating fruit - some fragrant yellow fruit. They taste sour (I had it in a restaurant, not out of my bath) and smell a bit like pomelo but are shaped like oranges. They're very sweet and flowery smelling.

Morning in Kyoto tomorrow and then back to Tokyo. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue blogging from Tokyo.

Day 2 in Japan

Today I saw way too many temples. It:s just one blurry onslaught of Japanese temples. Supposedly, there:re different too, like Shinto vs Buddhist, but I dont know anymore. Plus, a ridulous amount of walking. But that:s probably my own fault since I kept insisting on walking up the steep steps to all the little temples in the hills.

I went to the Gion district in Kyoto today, but didn:t see any real Geishas, I think. But that would be hard of course since there are less than 100 of them or something like that. I did see some women dressed up in Kimonos and some made up too. I guess that:s good enough.

I went to dinner at this Japanese restaurant with hot pots. It turned out that our chef dude was Chinese which made ordering vastly easier.

It makes my dad really happy that he can read all the signs in Kanji and he likes to read them to me and insist on the Chinese pronounciation of everything which of course doesn:t help me since I:m reading the Japanese names in Latin letters...

Himeji tomorrow...

First 1.5 days in Japan

Wow, the plane trip was never ending. Not only was the plane ride itself really long but it was made additionally long by the extra 5 hours we had to wait for the plane crew to get to the airport (about 3 hours) and the de-icing of the plane (another 2 hours). Did you know that they spray funny green stuff on the plane to de-ice it?
So instead of spending half a day in Narita to get oriented and de-jetlagged, we headed straight from the airport to the hotel to wake up the next morning - or wake up 300 times until the next morning - to travel to Kyoto. I never knew that you can have butt pain from sitting for too long but apparently it really can be a pain in the ass.
Today we arrived in Kyoto. It was super beautiful in Tokyo but as we headed West, became cloudier and cloudier until we reached our destination in Kyoto. More to come later...
Brief preview - yummy awesome noodles for lunch, even though we ordered from a picture, saw a temple, bamboo groves, a fancy garden, and the lantern festival which conveniently lasted until today, had dinner at a little Japanese pub with yummy things like chicken heart but my dad hated everything there and refused to eat anything after his experience with a raw quail egg and some funny consistency potato.

Final pictures uploaded

Finally, I have uploaded pictures from my final days in Paris. Enjoy!

I wanted to explain this final picture:In preparation for the work I requested on my bedroom window, I moved my glass figurines to a shelf in the living room, to protect them from damage, obviously. However, it seems that they were far from safe. Apparently, this gentleman offended the revolutionary forces and was subjected the the guillotine, whilst holding the hand of his lady friend and listening to harp music.

Photos coming

I'm back in the US now but I still have a number of pictures to upload so stay tuned.

Montreal airport – WTF!!

After my USA-Montreal-Paris flight, I was raving about my awesome connection through Montreal. Instead of going through customs into Canada, I just connected as if still in the US. I guess the Canadians aren't ashamed to admit that.

However, my Paris-Montreal-USA flight, that's a whole other story. Apparently, when making a connection in Montreal from a foreign country into the US, you have you pass customs for entering Canada, and then quickly thereafter (but not so quickly) you have to enter the US and go through US customs, again, as if Montreal is already part of US soil. Oh but it's not that simple. First, you line up for Canadian customs. Then, you wait forever to get your bags. Then, you walk upstairs, find departure area C and stand in line again. The first line is where you show that you have filled out a US customs declaration. Next, you go through a baggage security line, where they look at your passport. Then you go through US customs. Then, you're able to recheck in your checked in luggage. And finally, a security line with the conveyor belt and metal detector. Oh, and then you must be superspy and find one of the few screens that displays connections to find out which gate you're at. (You hope really hard that that gate is in departure area C as some Canadian dude indicated.) In addition, Montreal doesn't have separate lines for native citizens and foreigners, all the same line!

Onto complaining about security lines... (Ok, I'm not male and black or otherwise dark so I know it's not as bad as it gets) In Paris, the security dude made me take off my little decorative sweater as if it's a jacket, I tried to explain, but only under my breath. What if I were naked underneath? As if I could hide stuff under my nearly skin tight sweater... Then, going through my second set of security in Montreal (the one entering the “US”, so I'm blaming the Americans) the dude manning the area before the conveyor belt was being a total ass. After he watched me put my stuff into the little trays they give you, he tells me how it's all wrong and how to reorganize everything. So I do. Then he makes a signal as if to tell me to go through the metal detector machine. As I am about to, he calls me back and tells me I have to push my stuff onto the conveyor belt. He explains to me that everything should happen slowly, no hurry. I say “so I can miss my plane”. Well, he kindly explains to me that wouldn't be his fault of course. No, of course not, it's the fault of the US government which tries to compensate for its inability or lack of desire to capture terrorists by pissing off its citizens and calling that national security. Then the next dude who's suppose to watch the metal detector as I walk through it, makes vague motions to me. I ask if I'm supposed to go through, another vague motion. After I'm through, he explains that if he were to tell everyone to step through, he'd lose his voice at the end of the day. Well, it's a lucky thing he doesn't sell peanuts at baseball stadiums, he's be dead. Then another security dude starts talking to me as I'm repacking all my stuff as if he's hitting on me. I'm all pissed and in a hurry and he asks me if I were searched yet. I'm not sure if that was in sympathy for my agitated state or a really perverse pick-up line. In any case, I ignored him and thought to myself that if they decided search me, I was going to refuse to go to US afterall (not that that would work because then they think somehow you're their property). Sigh!!!

To assuage my highly irritated mood, I bought a chocolate chiller, yum. I thought it was from Starbucks but I should have known it wasn't since the prices were so much better. Turns out it's a company call Second Cup that has organized its storefront to mimic that of Starbucks to a T.

Oh, and I'm writing this now even though I arrived at my gate 5 min before my departure time because of course now that I made it, the flight is delayed 1.5hrs.

A conspiracy!!

Oh P.S. I sat next to the nicest little kids on the plane. Who knew they even existed.

The cleanliness of Parisian streets

I have to say I was definitely impressed by how clean the city streets were. I expected, from experience and by reputation, that the sidewalks would be virtually coated with doggie-do. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the relatively sparseness of this Parisian specialty. I have to assume that either they are paying the street cleaners extra to ramasse la merde or dog owners have become responsible (unlikely the latter). It was a great change from my memories and from home neighborhood. Oh, and in case you were worried, this is not due to a lack of dogs. No, the dog population (which Stephen Clarke compared to the size of a small army) has not decreased. This was not a bad thing since I was able to see cute little dogs at every turn.

La tentation de St. Antoine

This has to be my new favorite dish. What's in it – oreille, groin, pied, et queue de chochon, grillee. Grilled pig ear, snout, feet, and tail. Amazing! So yummy! The pig's foot was thoroughly cooked so as to melt in your mouth but yet maintained a magnificent crunchy exterior. Where I ate it – Chez Paul in the Bastille on the corner of rue de Lappe and rue de Charrone. Definitely recommended. Someone in my lab had recommended this place to me and he was right on the mark.

Rant on store closings in France

I think I have already complained about the extremely early closing of stores in France but I was pretty impressed by store owner's lack of desire to earn as much money as possible when on Monday afternoon I tried to pick up a couple things before heading back to the US. Last Friday, I had walked down rue Moufftard and saw it abuzzing with open storefronts and displays of cheeses, fruits, and wines. however, on Monday afternoon around 3pm, the street was a ghost town. I wondered if maybe they were on lunch break of something. I saw a sign or two indicating that the store would be closed for 2 weeks for vacation, but I couldn't believe that all the stores on the street would be going on vacation at the exact same time, that just wouldn't be good business strategy. Well, it turned out that Monday was store closing day. Why I asked. Apparently, these stores were open on Saturday and after the duress of being open for 5 days, 1 day off was just not enough. So we say, thank Mr. store owner for being so kind as to allow us working folk to buy some cheese on a Saturday, we know it's very much out of your way.

Leaving Paris

How quickly 3 weeks flew by!! I almost didn't notice it passing except for the buildup of sleep deprivation. Instead of taking the paris shuttle as I had done on my arrival, I took a private car driven by a Chinese student. They call themselves Ma yi ban jia which mean Ants Moving. It was far cheaper than the Paris shuttle and a regular taxi of course, and got me there in 25min (that would be in comparison to the 2hrs I spent in the paris shuttle). Plus, they were perfectly on time and because I had requested a receipt, they had one prepared to hand me upon arriving at the airport. The model of efficiency!! However, it seems that they only cater to the Chinese student population. I was introduced to them by the Chinese student who was in my lab in Paris. Apparently, they advertise on the Chinese student bulletin board in Paris. Of course, that means I'd have never found them myself, seeing as I would never have found the site and then never have been able to read it. I wonder if it is possible to book such a service for a non-Asian friend. I'm not sure how good their French is but every contact I had with them was in Chinese. There was a bit of a language barrier when they tried to ask me if the street I lived on was a rue (small street) or boulevard (big street). But of course, instead of pronouncing rue (roo) and boulevard (bu-le-var) in the French way, they said rui for rue. I had to ask them to repeat themselves 5 times before I understood the question. How was I supposed to know that rui = roo? Actually, the Chinese accent in French also has a problem with the letter R and seems to pronounce a H instead.

At the airport, I had a pain au chocolat and a decaf creme, for 6 euros!! What a rip off. But I guess they know that that Frenchies can't do without their morning coffee and croissant and the tourists are looking for that last French flavor.

I had to buy candy for my lab of course. Which was probably the 3 thing or so that I bought in all of Paris. Everyone kept insisting that I should go shopping since it was sales season in Paris and every store had a 20%-70% off sign on their window. However, even with all that, everything's still ridiculously expensive or at least not cheap when the dollar is in the gutters. If the dollar was still 1:1 with the euro, I probably would have bought out the entire perfume section of the duty free since there were some amazing deals. (aside on perfume – Essence de femme by Hugo Boss!)

Leaving Paris

How quickly 3 weeks flew by!! I almost didn't notice it passing except for the buildup of sleep deprivation. Instead of taking the paris shuttle as I had done on my arrival, I took a private car driven by a Chinese student. They call themselves Ma yi ban jia which mean Ants Moving. It was far cheaper than the Paris shuttle and a regular taxi of course, and got me there in 25min (that would be in comparison to the 2hrs I spent in the paris shuttle). Plus, they were perfectly on time and because I had requested a receipt, they had one prepared to hand me upon arriving at the airport. The model of efficiency!! However, it seems that they only cater to the Chinese student population. I was introduced to them by the Chinese student who was in my lab in Paris. Apparently, they advertise on the Chinese student bulletin board in Paris. Of course, that means I'd have never found them myself, seeing as I would never have found the site and then never have been able to read it. I wonder if it is possible to book such a service for a non-Asian friend. I'm not sure how good their French is but every contact I had with them was in Chinese. There was a bit of a language barrier when they tried to ask me if the street I lived on was a rue (small street) or boulevard (big street). But of course, instead of pronouncing rue (roo) and boulevard (bu-le-var) in the French way, they said rui for rue. I had to ask them to repeat themselves 5 times before I understood the question. How was I supposed to know that rui = roo? Actually, the Chinese accent in French also has a problem with the letter R and seems to pronounce a H instead.

At the airport, I had a pain au chocolat and a decaf creme, for 6 euros!! What a rip off. But I guess they know that that Frenchies can't do without their morning coffee and croissant and the tourists are looking for that last French flavor.

I had to buy candy for my lab of course. Which was probably the 3 thing or so that I bought in all of Paris. Everyone kept insisting that I should go shopping since it was sales season in Paris and every store had a 20%-70% off sign on their window. However, even with all that, everything's still ridiculously expensive or at least not cheap when the dollar is in the gutters. If the dollar was still 1:1 with the euro, I probably would have bought out the entire perfume section of the duty free since there were some amazing deals. (aside on perfume – Essence de femme by Hugo Boss!)

Ouzbekistan in Paris

On Saturday, we walked and walked and walked in search of the perfect restaurant. We were very tired and hungry but nothing seemed right. we were searching for a French restaurant of course but at one point we passed a restaurant I thought was Indian. In the end, it turned out to be Ouzbekistan. Even I've never had that before!! It smelled great and the menu was filled with an assortment of lamb. Sounded good so we went in.

It turned out to be an excellent decision. It was a great restaurant and I highly recommend it!
http://www.resto-boukhara.com/accueil.php

Fontainebleau

Soon after my train arrived in Fontainbleau Avon, I went to the bus stop for line A to check out the bus for the town center and the chateau. As I stook looking at the bus map, AGAIN some French person comes up to me and asks if I'm from there and if I knew how to get to the Chateau. I must be wearing some subliminal sign saying: Please ask me for directions. Why would you ask someone who's looking at a map for directions? as if they lived there?

I began my tour with visiting the Grand Appartements, which were nice but not very exciting. Well, the highlight was perhaps seeing the bathroom of Napoleon I. Not that I fetishize Napoleon to that extent but more because it's really rare to see such things in a castle visit. It think it was my first time. Novel.

I also paid for a guided visit of Napoleon I's private rooms. The best part of the day was when we were led to these chambers not by the normal way - though the antechamber since it was inaccessible due to roof leakage - but instead though a little passageway behind those little doors in castles. I've always wanted to venture behind those doors - the little secret passages the kings took to see their mistresses or assassins took to lay in wait for their moment of death.

The gardens of Fontainebleau were very beautiful. There was a wedding in progress when I arrived. Seemed quite a great place for it, with all the manicured gardens.

All in all, it was a good trip. I think Versailles is still the better castle and the better garden, but Fontainebleau is less crowded and offers a special glimpses into the life of Napoleon and Josephine.

Fontainebleau was a cute little town. I didn't get a picture of this but interestingly they trim the trees that line their streets to be square on top, as in a little square of leaves and branches atop a normal trunk.

My little vacation

When I left the lab on Friday evening, I was super happy because finally, I was taking a vacation (the weekend that is). Since arriving in Paris, I've been pretending that I live here, so as not to feel like I'm not doing enough touristy stuff since why would I if I live here. However, after work on Friday, I knew that I wouldn't have to work this weekend and that I'd have the whole weekend for more touristy things and just to enjoy Paris. Plus, a friend was also visiting Paris and we could thus do little Parisy things together - like drink aperitifs and eat cheese.

The day I forgot my wallet

Yesterday, after a late dinner, I discovered that I did not have my wallet. Well, I had probably left it at lab and would just have to go back and get it. However, I left my badge to get in the building also. And in addition, I had left my metro card also. Thus, no money, no metro card, and no access to lab :( So, my friends had to pay for me and I had to sneak onto the buses illegally. Fortunately, there were no ticket checks during my ticket-less travels. The story ends well as I return to lab and recover my stuff. Oh, and I had to bring food today, since I was top of the oops again, but I protest.

Paris the master of salads

Who knew? Maybe it is because it is summer and all the heavy French traditional dishes are a bit to much. Maybe it is because they put all sorts of funny things in their salads...

Today I had a Salade Nordique. There were smoked salmon, langoustine, red and black fish eggs on a bed of lettuce with a super sauce. But the funniest part was the rice, there was a bed of rice below the fishies parts and above the lettuce. It turned out to be really good. Rice with lettuce? Apparently so.

The French who need directions

I'm not sure why but people seem to like to ask me for directions. The funny thing is that I usually know the answer. But still, they're all French people who stop me on the street and ask for directions. Maybe my angry look makes them think I'm not just a tourist.

Hoegaarden

Have you had white beer before? Also referred to as white ale.

I went out with the French folk in the lab and their friends for "Monday" evening drinking. It's usually a Monday thing but since there's no Monday this workweek, it was automatically moved to Tuesday.

Not to seem too weird and since someone else was paying for me since I had no cash, I got a beer. They had this funny white beer which sounded interesting to me. So I got that, what the hell, I don't like beer anyway. It was very interesting. It was Hoegaarden which has been heavily advertised on the French radiostation I listen to. It has a funny aftertaste that I can't quite place, though the web seems to indicate coriander. Not licorice though.

I thought it was ok. Not bad for a beer, very light.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/83/248/

I also learned:
Monaco = 1/2 beer, 1/2 limonade, a dash of grenadine

July 14th - Bastille Day

The plan to was get up super early to watch the military parade on Champs-Elysees. But that was quickly vetoed towards the end of the previous evening, by me. However, when I got up at 10, I decided that I'd make an attempt at see the parade anyway. By the time I got anywhere near the Champs, it was almost 11:30. However, I did get to see the military vehicles as they left the parade so it was like our own little parade.

I also saw the parachuters landing, a couple helicopters, and men dressed in various military attire.

Later, I went to Montmatre and visited the Dali museum - still as wonderful as I remembered it. I look a gabillion pictures there.

Then I went to the museum of eroticism. It was big but definitely not as inclusive as the one in Amsterdam. There was a crazy Japanese extremist expo on the top 3 floors - some very ick.

For the fireworks, I went to the top of the building where my lab is and had a great view of the Eiffel tower and the surrounding fireworks. Great choice of locale!! (there was a concert on the Champs de Mars, but surely that would have been too crowded for sanity)

July 13th - Bal des Pompiers

After another day of experiments not working, I headed over to see the exhibits in the Pompidou museum. They were ok. Some really nice pieces but others just weird and inexplicable.

The evening of the 13th is the Bal des Pompiers. The firefighters of Paris throw parties in their firehouses. Apparently, firefighters are seen as the sex symbol of Paris.

We tried 2 places but the line was completely ridiculous, wrapping around 2 blocks at least. So instead, we settled for a drink in a bar while listening to the music and watching the people stand in line. It wasn't so bad.

Laundry - A Success Story

I did it!! I did laundry, and all my clothes came out the same color they went in!! Finally, after over 2 years combined of living in Europe, I have finally conquered my fear of laundry.

As a recovering laundry-phobe, I will give some tips. If in doubt, always chose the lowest temperature setting possible! I know they try to entice you into choosing a higher temperature since the dial goes all the way up to 95 degrees C but you must resist. 30 = warm, 20 = cold.





It's very tempting to think, warm must half-way between hot and cold - thus halfway between 95 and 30. But really, 62C = 144F!! And 95C, who does that? Who would want to boil their clothes? Maybe it's a leftover fear from the bubonic plague, or perhaps they would like to make their own sterile dressings in case the pharmacies go on strike.

PS - guy with plastic bag: While I was putting in my laundry, a fellow inhabitant of the building came over to tell me it was his sac (plastic bag from the supermarket). This was the sac I put all the laundry that was still the dryer for the past 2 hours at least and I had found the sac on the ground next to the machine, thus it's not so far-fetched to think someone had used the bag to bring the clothing over and had left it to bring the clothes back later. So, instead of taking the clothes out and putting them on a random chair, I put them in the bag. Well, Mr. plastic bag spends the next 10 min speaking to about how the bag is his. I explained the situation and how it was only natural for me to assume the bag belonged to the proprietor of the clothing in the dryer. Well, ok, he was about to dump out the laundry onto the said chair, then he noticed a hole on the bottom. Sacre bleu!! Un trou!! Well, that's it, no more bag for him and he leaves in a bit of a puff. But really though, it's just a plastic bag!!

Stupid American tourists

American tourists are super dumb. But it's not just that. It's the way they act...

I felt surrounded by American tourists today. Well, obviously this was my fault since I was wandering around in touristy places. I even ate at a very touristy restaurant. I know I said I wouldn't do this anymore. However, I was ridiculously hungry and it was the closest place.

They seated 2 teenage girls from Texas next to me. And they were just obnoxious because they never made any attempt to speak in French and just chattered a bit about nothing in that "Clueless" sort of way. I tried to will one to fall over when she started calling "garcon" - note: don't do that!

Cool Paris transport? = REJECTED

Today is Saturday and I figured that since the buses would be running on a less frequent schedule, it might be the time to try out the neat Parisian bike borrowing program. http://www.velib.paris.fr/ There are many little stations around the city where these bikes are located and you can borrow one for 30 min at a time for free. If you exceed 30min, it's 1euro for the next 30 min and 2 euros for the next 30min after that. It costs 1euro to subscribe for a day, 5euro/week and 29euro/year. Seems very cool and ecological! However, when I tried to get one today, I was rejected :( Like most automated money taking devices in Europe, Velib only accepts cards with the little gold card (plus). And sadly, not a carrier of such a card, I was denied. I suppose I'll just have to wait for my opportunity to be crushed by cars while biking in paris.

Parisian sushi?!?

My verdict...Not bad, not bad at all!! It far exceeded expectations which were very low due too many warnings and the foreknowledge that most Japanese restaurants in Paris are run by Chinese, as this one was (owner = Ling). Of course, it wasn't out of this world like Tomoe but who would expect such a thing.

So, before trying Parisian sushi, I was warned that - it wouldn't be very good, the pieces would be very small, and they would be super-over-priced. However, this place - Sakura sushi - http://www.sakurasushi.fr/ - was pretty good (better than the most mundane in NY), the pieces were decently sized, and the price was not bad - 21 euros for an eel maki roll and a chirashi.

Complaints: I was told that when Chinese food got a pretty bad rep in Paris, a bunch of Chinese restaurants changed overnight to Japanese restaurants (smart huh? - no stigma and charge double!). So, you'd expect these sushi chefs to have learned about sushi making from a book or a video. Well, some of the cuts of sushi I got certainly looked that way. Their fish cutting skills were definitely below par, only for the snapper and whitefish though.

However, the taste wasn't bad. Again, the snapper and whitefish lacked flavor, though stayed tender. The octopus was quite good, not too tough or slimey. The salmon was spectacular!! (almost Tomoe-grade!! ok, maybe Yama-grade) It was cut well and melted in my mouth.

Oddities: When I arrived I was served a greenish liquid. I think it was some type of drink with lycee juice, in any case, it was pretty yummy. They served shrimp chips - their Chinese side leaking through. There were mushrooms in the miso soup - Is that normal? The salad was made with cabbage instead of lettuce - ick.

All in all, I'm very glad I tried and seeing as it's right next to where I'm staying, I can see myself going again.

Missing the green? incroyable!!

You've probably all heard about my funny chicken cravings when I've spent too much time with vegetarians, but missing the veggies? Didn't think it was possible. However, apparently my Parisian food is low on the green. Breakfast is mostly grain + dairy, lunch is mostly grain + meat, which leaves dinner which may or may not contain veggies. So yesterday I felt compelled to get a salad. But fear not, fellow meat lovers, it was filled with duck, foie gras, and gizzards. Totally yum.

My NYer / New Yorkais Face

I think I'm too angry for Paris. In my book, the Brit was commenting on how Parisians are like Londoners but they don't smile as much. Instead, the Parisians maintain a very neutral look on their face as they look around and go about their business. However, I've programmed myself to perpetually have a scowl on my face as it seems to work best in NYC. But I think the Parisians may find that a bit scary. :P

What happens between 8pm and 8:30pm

It's really amazing the difference 30 minutes makes!! Yesterday, I left work around 8:30pm, ok, maybe 8:37pm. And the streets were deserted!! It very pretty eerie. Almost all the shops were closed (with their metal shutters closed) and very few people were wandering the streets. There was a strange and scary ambiance, like the empty NYC scene towards the end of Devil's Advocate. After 8:30pm, the buses switch to evening service which means less buses, and far less frequent. I had to wait 15min for my bus.

Today, however, I tried very hard to make it out by 8pm and it was a whole other world. Half of the stores were still open so the streets didn't look deserted. I wasn't heading home with an ever growing fear that I might go hungry that night due to stores being closed. It only took 2 min for my bus to arrive and my commute home was probably 30min shorter today. Plus, there were plenty of people around so no horror movie-esque scary moment. Lesson learned - don't work too late!

Bordeaux wine

A 1998 Haut-Medoc Bordeaux for < $9 and it's pretty good! goes great with my saucisson!

A must-read!!

I am so in love with the book - A year in the Merde. As soon as I finish it, I will by the next two books and read those too. It's simply hilarious!!
http://www.stephenclarkewriter.com/index.php

Being a tourist is tiring!

I had forgotten how tiring it was to be a tourist.

Today is the first Sunday of the month, otherwise known as the free museum day in Paris. So, to take advantage, I went to several museums, to get my money's worth!

My first stop was the Picasso museum which I had never visited before. I'm glad I went on a free day. I didn't like it much, as I don't usually like Picasso much. There were a couple pieces I liked though.

Next, I went to the Middle Ages museum. I was looking forward to seeing the fridgidarium - a well-preserved Gallo-Roman bath - but unfortunately, it was closed. :( I don't usually like tapestries because they're so 2-dimensional and usually faded. However, the centerpiece of this museum was the Lady and the Unicorn collection. It was actually pretty nice.

Finally, I closed out the day with the Rodin Museum - my favorite museum in Paris (second would be the Dali museum). It was great as usual. I had a bit of a scare when I didn't find L'Idol Eternelle for quite a while. But finally, it was there and I was able to relax. The garden was more beautiful than I remember. I'll be returning to the Rodin musem on 7-20 when I have tickets to the Camille Claude exhibition, can't wait!

I had originally planned to go to the museum in the Pompidou center afterwards, but my feet said no. (need ice packs...)

Apparently, the golden dome I'm so font of photographing is L'Eglise de St-Louis-des-Invalides.

Here is my chef d'oeuvre:

More pictures can be found in the right-hand side menu.

PS. The Rodin Museum has the best raspberry sorbet, in the world!!!!

What did Lily eat? - Lunch 7/6/08

After my experience with over-hyped, over-priced, so-so tasting food at Allard last night, I was starting to wonder if I liked French (Parisian I suppose) food at all...

Disenchanted with the web recommendations, I set out to try my luck at some random place. After passing up the closest spots due to the look of the place or a funny name, I chose a place called Le Bistro, innocuous enough. I got the "crazy salad" - that's actually what it was called. It was indeed crazy big, huge!!! It had lettuce, tomatoes, smoked salmon, and grapefruit. Grapefuit? It was awesome!! Everytime I had a piece of grapefruit in my mouth, it was like "wow, grapefruit". Thus, the crazy salad has restored my faith in food in Paris.

PS, really great kirs for 3euros.

Saturday, July 5th

I went to the Paris Film Festival today and saw a montage of 5 short films. http://www.pariscinema.org/fr/film/fiche-film.html?film_id=2323

It was held in MK2, next to the national library of France

After the film, I walked around Ile de la Cite and to my dinner location at Allard. Apparently, if you get turned away at a restaurant and come back later, they might magically find a table for you! Dinner was ok, not spectacular. Who knew "rognons" were kidneys? Well, I guess I should have but I always though "reins" were kidneys. It turns out that "reins" is the medical term for kidneys, go figure.

You can find more pictures from today on the right-hand side panel.

My first day out with my camera

Still working hard so not too many pictures yet but soon...

Here are a couple of my home to lab pictures to whet your appetite.
My room:

The view outside my room - the dental surgery and engineering school is that ugly building on the right.

The transport system is pretty great here, except that they never travel in straight lines, especially when I want to get from point A to point B. Waiting for the tram:

The frog room is on the roof and here are some views from the roof:

The frog room. Can you tell what that little vertical object in the distance is?

Here's a closer look:Frogs, of course.

Top of the Oops

So today I am "top of the oops". What the hell is that? Apparently, since I accidentally turn off the faucet for like 1 second, I am granted this honor. Starting every Friday morning, a new oops list begins and whoever is left on the top of the list on Thursday evening must bring snacks for everyone on Friday morning. I suppose Thursdday is the best day to mess up then. But still, I filed a complaint with the department of complaints, but I was unfortunately denied. At least I do not have to observe no negativity day at the same time.

What did Lily eat?

I finally went to the supermarket and now have more than just water.

Last night, I had half a baguette with some saucisson sec and some St. Marcellin (only cost 1 euro!!). And this morning, being super French, I spread some Nutella on a bit of baguette from last night and yum!

Paris - entry #1 - July 3, 2008

Brought to you straight from the "city of lights", the "city of love", the city of food and wine and fashion and culture and history and architecture - Paris, France...

I arrived on Wednesday, a rainy day. My plane landed early, imagine that!! I tricked my body into thinking that my 3 hour nap corresponded to the 9 hours that had just passed and that I was ready for the new day. Parisshuttle - sucks!! If you can handle your luggage yourself, take the RER instead. I waited almost 2 hours for my shuttle to arrive, only to wait another almost another 2 hours in the shuttle as everyone other than me was dropped off. Plus, the driver had to hit on me the whole time, just how many times can you tell someone you don't want to grab coffee with them? I suppose he was just taking advantage of a captive audience.

Paris metro system -
Pros - fast, reasonably clean, extensively connected
Cons - no A/C in the trains!! incroyable!!

Since the euro is totally kicking the dollar's ass, I've been trying to be stingy with money. I started by letting my PI take me to a nice little restaurant. I was totally starving - missed lunch due to the time change. So I indulged in a squid appetizer, andouillette for the main course, and tiramisu a la fraise, accompanied by a nice cote de rhone.

I also bought a phone for 4 euros - cool huh? my number is 011 33 6 88 60 73 67, but it'll probably cost you a fortune to call me since the French like to charge the caller for the priveledge of being able to reach someone on a cell phone, always thought that was weird.

Yesterday, I was listening to the radio as I sat at my desk, but today, I'm reduced to listening to internet radio, since there's only 3 power outlets (inlets?) in my room, and only one near the window where I've got my computer plugged in now and my clock radio is now too far to get a good signal, lame!!

I think I live in the sushi quarter of Paris. Right across the street from me is a little sushi place and one street to the west, there's a sakura sushi japanese restaurant. I wonder how long it'll take before I crack and end up trying French sushi (I here's it's pretty subpar).

Was working at lab today until 8pm today, what's up with that?? I thought this was supposed to be a vacation... The people in the lab are really nice though. Especially my PI, who unfortunately wants me to give lab meeting next Monday, boo.

Ok, time for bed, happy 4th!!

I'll try to carry my camera around tomorrow and start adding some nice pics to this blog.

PS. I couldn't resist buying a book called "A year in the Merde" at the airport. It's a one-year account by a brit about his horrible experiences with the unpalatable world of Parisians. So far, quite entertaining. Hopefully, my blog will be more positive...but did I mention that I have a private shower and sink but no toilet? Weird frenchies.