Back to Paris... Back to Independence Day

We're back to Paris, after a great 2.5-week vacation in Bali, Jakarta and Bandung. Dita, Nadia and I sure had an incredible time reuniting with lovely families and dear friends (begajuls, edoeners, etc). As usual, it always seemed short, during which we had to juggle our time meeting people and sorting things out. You can see some of the photos here.

This is to update you all that we safely arrived in Paris on Wed, Aug 15, morning and were welcome by a gloomy and rainy summer weather (Summer this year has not been good at all). Nadia behaved really well throughout this long flight. She slept, woke up for the meals and slept again. Played a bit during the transit in Hong Kong. Upon arrival, she did not seem to suffer from a terrible jetlag. Her routine returned immediately. Meanwhile, Dita and I had to recover from it only after a couple of days.

The day we arrived in Paris, it was a public holiday, so we had a full day to cool of at home. Paris was so quite (well, at least in our non-touristic quartier). It was not a surprise for us. It has been a tradition that August is a vacation month for most of Parisiens (maybe Europeans too). Most shops are closed. Streets are quite. Buses, metros and church are empty. It feels good and weird at the same time. The next day I went to the office. It was also quite. The hustle & bustle of Paris are replaced by a ghost city. Yet, I love it! Less hassle. Less traffic (but of course, tourist attractions are always full, particularly this time of the year).

Having been surrounded by many people during her holidays, now Nadia found herself playing alone or with her Papa and Mama. Although she immediately felt home in her own place with her own toys, bed, etc, she seemed lost in the beginning as if asking where everybody has gone. The good thing is she did not lose her cheerful attitude. She is still as happy and smily as she always is.

In the morning of Aug 17, we celebrated the Independence Day at the Indonesian Ambassador's residence. Funny, it had been 16 years since I stood there in such a protocol and sang Indonesia Raya, our nation's anthem! It felt weird though, particularly, knowing that you do this in someone else's country. There were perhaps 200-300 people most of whom I had never seen before. Undoubtedly, almost everyone's goal that day was to taste Indonesian food too! What else do you think they came for, apart from singing Indonesia Raya? Ahahaha.... The food was incredible. Although, it was only two days ago that we returned from Indonesia wherein we spent time by eating, eating and eating, still the food they served tasted so good. Gado-gado, asinan, rendang, sate, lontong, es campur, etc. Yummy! We also made a new acquaintance with a young couple, Richard, whose father is from Madagascar, Anggi and their one-year-old daughter. By the way, I forgot to mention that I wore my batik for the first time in Paris! Some of the them would even think that I worked in the Embassy! Maybe I looked like a 'pejabat'. Ahahaha....

Paris has recently introduced their bicycle program, called Velib. It is such a great idea to promote bicycles amongst its residents and more importantly it was launched a month ago just when I thought I would buy a bike for myself. Now I do not have to worry about buying one or finding a space to store it. I tried it for the first time a few days ago to go the the tram station from my place. Pretty cool. Now I use it (or I will use it more) for short distance trips, e.g. going to the gym, shops, etc. Perhaps, I will try later to bike all the way to my office. Not such a bad idea, as it may only take 30-45 mins. Dita may be using it soon to go to Nadia's daycare, yet she still doesn't dare trying it. It is so understandable knowing that Paris is not Amsterdam. There are only a few special bike lanes on the streets, i.e. cyclists will have to share with the other road users. Hence, being super extra careful is highly recommended for the cyclists. Maybe, they will prepare special lanes in all streets in the long run.

Lastly, I would like to share the good news which I received upon my return to the office. One of my photos (on the left) I submitted to the Schlumberger's weekly photo competition this year has been selected as one of the finalists for the company's official calendar 2008. I named it "A Lone Violinist". A rare moment of a street musician standing amongst the old columns and behind the afternoon shadow at Place des Vosges, Paris. I am very excited! I don't know with how many other photos I have to compete. Bonne chance pour moi!