France and Italy
Recently a few of my colleagues and I had the pleasure of joining our boss, Dr. Tang, to France for a research collaboration visit. This was the furthest from home I have ever been (1+13hours flight) and for so long (3 weeks). It is a trip I would like to remember for as long as I can. So I’m blogging about it. This blog entry is also for those who are interested to know more about the trip.
Chronologically, we were at Paris-> Grenoble -> Vissile -> Grenoble -> Annecy -> Grenoble -> Montpellier -> Avignon -> Marseille -> Paris. Then Dr. Tang went back to Malaysia while the rest of us continued our journey from Paris -> Venice -> Milan -> Paris.
For work, we visited GETALP, INALCO, ENST and LLACAN where Dr. Tang presented his research. Here are some photos from our visit:
GETALP, Grenoble:
LIRMM, Montpellier:
The visit to LIRMM was cancelled due to the unavailability of train caused by a strike. However, we did stop by Montpellier (on a Saturday) and met up with Matthieu.
INALCO, Paris:
ENST, Paris:
LLACAN, Paris:
Besides work, there was play and here are some photos:
Grenoble, France:
Vissile, France:
Annecy, France (My favourite place):
Montpellier, France:
Avignon, France:
Marseille, France:
Paris, France:
Venice, Italy:
Milan, Italy:
From this trip I got to try some new foods which I’ve not seen in Malaysia, like:
Fondue: Dip small pieces of bread in a pot of melted cheese with wine.
Raclette: Melt a slice of cheese on a special little triangular pan and eat with boiled potatoes and smoked meat. Very nice too.
Escargot (Snail): We bought these frozen and microwave it. Not too bad.
Kakis: This fruit is practically 90% sweet gooey juice wrapped in bitter thin skin! Very easily broken. Carrying these babies are more challenging than carrying eggs. The flavour is a bit like persimmon. To eat it, make a small hole on the skin, then suck the juice out.
If you know where to get these in Malaysia, do let me know where 
Things I like:
1) Tap water can be drunk without having to boil it first. However, boiled water contains some white residue.
2) Sunny but cool weather.
Things I didn’t like:
1) Most metro stations in Paris are stinky of pee.
2) Ugly graffiti everywhere.
3) Having to constantly apply lip gloss and body cream.
All in all, France and Italy are both very nice countries to visit. It is full of amazing art and culture. Some French people are actually quite friendly and helpful. A lot of Italians speak English. Yet, nothing beats the comfort and people back home. So I am glad to be back in Malaysia
