travel log of chia & lu

get ready for a family trip again

2009-08-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

off to see france again in 2009 ... this time we have two children on a plane! can we survive the 15 hours plane ride plus the 2 hours ride from frankfurt to strasbourg on a bus?

trip starts on September 14th and we will be back on October 5th

we also plan to stay a week in paris and we are still looking for an apartment for 4. we did find a perfect one but the owner do not accept children ... oh well. we will just keep looking.

heating and cooling

2008-12-20T23:54:00.000-08:00

I do not know why the rooms are so HOT! I guess it is just me? but Theo is getting heat rash. Every rooms were set at 24 degree C and that is HOT to me. We couldn't lower the temp to even 20 ... I am dried up.

Pawpaw wasn't feeling well cause of the airflow in the room. We had to open the main door to have some cool air from the hallway to come into the rooms.

I do not know if anyone understood even if we can explained in mandarin. One of the duty manager actually come up to explain to us about how the room thermostat works ... but it just does not make sense to me. Why would you want to heat up the room if you actually want a lower the temp?!?! She noticed that we set it to 10 degree C ... and she asked why you want it that cold ... the temp actually went up after we set to 10 ... so what the hell is wrong here?

And the a/c is blasting out in the hallway, but not in the room nor anything that works to cool it down to 20 degree C. This logic just baffles me.

So you are wondering were we are staying? Radisson Hotel Shanghai New World on 88 Nanjing Road ... it may cost less but that is what ya get even for a 5 star hotel overlooking People's Square. You wonder why the others charged USD 200 more.

December 21st, 2008 - a rainy day

2008-12-20T23:45:00.000-08:00

Gloomy day outside but I still can find some amusement just outside the hotel room window over looking a busy intersection. JP and I were observing a police person giving out tickets yesterday to parked cars along the street. She will physically sit next to the car with her chair right on the street with cars driving pass her. She would wait till the person return to his car and write up the ticket and get paid. JP called it man power.

So today I noticed the parking attendant giving out permits and get paid. I am sure they can only parked for a certain amount of time and have to return to pay more or move or have the police write up a ticket.

And even with a yellow line on the street it means nothing to the drivers. I would see some cars driving right smack in the middle of the street.

December 20th, 2008 - going to Shanghai

2008-12-20T22:59:00.000-08:00

We had to be up at 630am to get ready for the airport. And I actually woke up around 3am thinking that it was already 7am since JP's parents were up drinking coffee. As I started to pack JP was awaken by the noise of the zippers opening and closing and asked me why I am still packing at 3am. LOL.

My Dad booked a van for us ... so yes we decided to take 4 lugs with us instead of 5. The driver was struggling to put everything in the van.

At the HK airport, Theo was in his tantrum mode again. Understandable cause he was tired from us waking him up at 630am and he refused to go on the plane ride and do the routine. And to make the event worst was that the check in procedure was the slowest. Dragonair is pretty much bad with check in ... and why even have an online check in if we had to go from ground zero again at the airport ... it was a waste of time to even have an online check in and even at the self check in you still have to have a lady help you and at the end we still ended up at the counter with two ladies ... with no idea whatsoever.

Theo was running around in the vast open space.

My Dad almost got into fight LOL ... well mainland chinese are the rudest people ... this man and his wife and child just stood in front of my dad and said probaby something like "let's just stand here" ... and my Dad got pissed off and told them to go to the back of the line. First of all there were two lines for check ins and the three of them were standing in the middle of the two very long line. I am sure there are more to come in this rudeness to us and it is the fact of life for them and not rude manners for mainland chinese. So the man was giving the evil eyes to my Dad and I was sure he was about to jump for a punch. But he headed with his family to the back of the line! Pretty much a close call.

Theo refused to go to the security. So we all waited for him to calm down and he gave JP a hug so we can at least go thru the security without any more episode. It is just a matter of time and we finally went thru security. And I can tell you it was a joke. Cause I had like bottled waters, juice boxes and all sort of liquid, the security did not open up the bags and start throwing things out in the trash.

Theo was fine on the plane ride, Clemmie had a tantrum cause she was sleepy.

We all get to eat something on the plane with the kiddos behaving for once.

Landing was okay.

One thing positive I have to say, the staffs on the plane were very friendly and helpful. One of the guys actually helped me with my bags. And another gave me two bags of baby food and helped me buckle up the seat belts.

Okay another episode of Theo ... during custom ... they were so slow and amused by the whole situation with Theo throwing a tantrum cause now he is super tired. I was pushing him in the stroller and I am sure he wanted to sleep, but we had to stop at the custom. And he threw a fit and all hell break loose.

So a good idea is to go in doubles instead of having go thru as a group during the custom.

Theo was crying and crying until we got on the bus ride to the hotel ... he finally calm down and fell asleep.

We experienced some scary driving ... yea ... so if you been thru Nigerian driving ... this is pretty much tame. Going on the freeway a car wanted to cut off a bus?! ... yea ... again the rudeness that is everyday normal manners.

We arrived after a very very long bus ride at 3PM.

Theo sleep a bit longer in the hotel room. And we ordered some food at around 5PM.

Our basic time schedule:

630AM wake up time
730AM all packed and ready
745AM we are off to the HK airport
830AM we arrived
10AM we checked in, went thru security
1015AM we sat and had a break of starbucks
11AM we boarded the plane
1PM we landed in Shanghai
130PM we took the bus
3PM we arrived at the hotel
330PM we check in at the hotel and go to our rooms ... big rooms for the price of USD 300 a night.
7PM we had to get ready for dinner
9PM we couldn't even have dinner and came back to the hotel cause the kids were tired and didn't want to hang out with a bunch of people they do not know

Pawpaw and Kungkung came by and they were staying above us in room 6025. They both looked the same to me ... looking great.

December 16th, 2008 - flight to HK

2008-12-17T18:11:00.000-08:00

Clemmie finally slept before we board at around 11:30PM (Monday, December 15th, 2008). We took Singapore Airline SQ 001. And she woke up when the plane took off at 0:05 (Tuesday, December 16th, 2008) and the ride lasted about 15 hours.

What happened on the plane?

Good that it was a red eye flight! ... the two children slept for most of the part let say for the 10 hours. JP and I actually ate! a very late dinner. I had the chicken and he had the beef ... my chicken dinner was okay, but JP had over cooked beef and under cooked rice. We even ate Theo's chicken nuggets since he was fast asleep. Over all I thought the kids meal was better than what we had for the adults meal. And the kids meal came with a bar of hershey. Not that I like hershey, but chocolate is good after any meal.

The 5 hours was dreading when they both were wide awake and refreshed. Awhile JP and I were not at all in the same mode. I held Clemmie for most part when she was asleep and JP held Theo after he was placed in his seat and after our less than one hour meal time. Theo need to be held thru the sleep time and JP had no breather in between to use the bathroom.

And for the rest of the hours before landing

December 15th, 2008 - LAX to SFO

2008-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

The super shuttle arrived on time and the driver took some weird short cuts, but nonetheless we arrived.

During the moment, the tough part of the process was getting 5 pieces of luggage to the check in area. So what do we have: 2 big ones, 2 mid ones, 1 suit bag and for carry on we have 2 backpacks, a diaper bag, a camera bag and a food / drink bag and we also got 2 ergo carriers (these were great investments for cross country trips when you have sleepy children. And I actually got one of them with a $30 off at the Right Start).

Second tough part was going thru security and we need to go thru it twice once at LAX and for international at SFO and it was code ORANGE at SFO so we had to take of our ergo carriers and that means running children) Theodore was running round even thou he was super tired.

On the ride to SFO, Theo was having a tantrum and started rolling under the seats crying. He refused to get up. And finally papa was able to grab him up and he slept on his shoulder for the rest of the plane ride.

Theo was awake when we finally landed and got off so another challenge was to get those two babies to the gate awhile going thru the security again. Good that we had a red eye flight and not many people were at the airports. Waiting and waiting and the babies want to run around instead of strapped in the ergos. Clemmie was running around. Theo was playing with his car by the walking lator which landing on the walk way. And ran to get the car back at the end of the walk way.

10 ... counting down ... our trip to hong kong and shanghai

2008-12-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

we are leaving on december 15th, 2008 on a red eye flight from lax to hong kong via sf. at least we had an extending period of 2 hours transit time in sf knowing united airline will always be delayed. we hope not to miss the flight.

this time we are traveling with two babies. almost 3 years old theo and 15 months old clemmie. traveling with theo was okay, but let see how we do with 2 babies. theo may listen to instructions, but not the discovery mode clemmie.

what to pack?

the lighter the better. for carry ons ... just a backpack with all the needs like diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream and also change of clothes. and snacks and milks.
toys? probably not ... cause the trip it self and going on the plane exciting enough and no toys will keep those two busy.

since it is a red eye ... we should be sleeping ... i do hope so.

luggages ... keeping down to 3 for the duration of 3 weeks. adults with a week of clothing change and kids probably 10 clothing change ... they get so dirty fast. yes, we are going to bring 100 diapers per baby (average of 4-5 a day per baby), a pack of wipe, meds from headache to earache to fever. we are going to bring their favorite snacks and milk packs and apple juice boxes.

already sounds heavy duty.

we finally got our passports back with visas to china ... yea! this time with two entries to china ... not like we needed two, but for the same price why not since we already spent $700.00 just for 4 visas!!!

Blues...

2007-01-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

day 16 cranky baby

2007-01-04T00:31:00.003-08:00

theodore was very cranky during the evening. we were all koed after a long day. the aunties took him for a ride on the freeway. the minutes he got in the car he slept.

day 16 l'orangerie

2007-01-04T00:29:00.000-08:00

11am bowling time. papa, simone, annie, jp and i went to bowl. we played 3 games. i did really poorly the first game. the last game was my best game of the year tied with jp with 124! annie didn't do bad either for a novice. she said she closed her eyes when she tossed her ball and hit a strike. what a lucky strike!

day 15 flunch and pizza hut

2007-01-03T00:38:00.001-08:00

okay we had to do this.

for lunch:
flunch is a chain cafeteria in france. i will never go back for sure, but i had to try it for the first time. jp said it used to be his family ritual to eat there once a month when they little.
i picked up a plate of cheese called 'chaource' cause i wanted to try as many kind of cheese as possible on this trip. the cheese has a white shell and the first layer is soft and gluey the inside is a bit flaky and chunky. it is salty on the cream side and a bit chalky in the inside. i also got a quiche made of goat cheese and tomatoes. i didn't like it much. my entree was 'hache de boeuf' it was a huge beef patty, but cooked really raw to my taste. i didn't like it much and i gave most of my lunch to jp. jp had a 'hache de beouf oignons' it was several meatballs. i didn't like the taste either because there was no taste to them compared to the swedish meatballs. papa ordered a 'filet poisson pane' it tasted like mc d filet o fish.
i like the perrier fluo cerise drink. i wished they have drinks like that back home.
(oasis - in different flavors like pommes poires)
for 3 people it was around 26 euro which was pretty expensive and without the discount it was almost 30 euro for the food and drink.

for dinner:
out of all places we ordered from pizza hut. they only had pan fried pizza so they were all greasy to the max. i only had 2 and 1/2 slices. it was an expensive dinner 50 euro for 2 large and 2 small pizzas plus a dessert.

day 14 day at home

2007-01-02T01:12:00.001-08:00

me tou came to have lunch with us. she was happy to see me. as i was happy to see her. mama cooked up a storm again: tofu, duck, fish and scallops, papaya salad and (jp's favorite) fried rice. me tou didn't eat that much cause of her teeth. baby was up to have lunch together. jp was still sleeping away and he had lunch at around 3pm.

simone showed up with the leftover cakes. they were good. i had the chocolate mousse log.

3 aunties tried to take care of baby, but he was more than a handful. they gave him a bath. annie seemed to be really good at it too.

for dinner mama made her pho. it is a typical soup noodle with chicken soup and beef slices. i was so full after eating a huge bowl. we also had those blinis and mini sausages. baby ate really well too. it was his first time eating pho.

day 13 fireworks

2007-01-02T01:10:00.000-08:00

it was a neighborly effort to put together a spectacular fireworks for the new year. here people can purchase fireworks and set them off in their backyard or on the street. fire crackers has been going off ever since during christmas till now in the neighborhood.
we bought several fire crackers and rocket launchers. 3 of the rocket launchers were duds, they exploded on the lawn and didn't fly. we were so scared when one exploded on the lawn. we ran for clearing after the first one.
the next door neighbor didn't seem to have any problems with their fireworks. we stood on the street area and watched them launch. we were able to see many more bigger ones in the backyard. it was getting too cold and some drizzles showed up so we went back to the house.

day 13 late dinner

2007-01-01T00:35:00.003-08:00

we quickly got ready. i had to wake baby up cause he was snoring away so peacefully i hate to wake him up. papa drove and he missed a turn in the roundabout the second time. jp was complaining. simone called us as we were almost half way to her place.
we got to her place probably around 930ish or 10pm.

simone was still preparing the food. yves and her drank a whole bottle of champagne awhile waiting for us. she served us appetizers: imitation crab and spicy cocktail shrimps. yves mixed us some drinks one if orange juice and one coconut alcohol mix with pineapple (it was really good).

steamed potatoes, a variety of cheese: natural, smoked and mustard, cold cuts and vegetables made up a special dish raclette. raclette is usually good during cold weather. it is filling and one can keep warm after eating it. we all had a little pan that we filled with sliced cheese and added ham or vegetables: onions, mushrooms, etc on top of the cheese. then we placed it under a grilling pan and wait for it to sizzle. as we wait for the cheese to cook, we peel the potatoes and cut them into thick slices ready for the melted cheese et al to be poured on. there is raclette!
i had 5 small potatoes and 8 rounds of cheese and i was already full. and i even skipped lunch.

day 13 sleepy day

2007-01-01T00:35:00.001-08:00

i slept first. then baby came and join me around 3ish or so and i woke up at 530pm, but fell back to sleep again. jp was sleeping too ... then it was 830pm in no time and we were suppose to be at simone's for the party!

day 13 new year's eve brunch

2007-01-01T00:34:00.000-08:00

it was one of those days for a sunday brunch. we had left overs from yesterday's dinner all the different kind of sausages. mama used the grill in the kitchen and opened all the windows and grilled all the sausages.
i asked papa if they have any champagne not necessary the good one for mimosa! they never had that before. mama squeezed some fresh orange juice and we mixed some for everyone. the smoke from grilling woke everyone up and they all came down to see what was cooking. we had this full brunch going. even caroline who wanted just coffee had breakfast with us before she head out.
i had two flute of mimosa and i was out of it by 1pm. i skipped lunch all together.

day 13 a walk around the hood

2007-01-01T00:33:00.002-08:00

papa and i took baby out for a walk around hautepierre. it has a lot stuff around the hood: a community church, police station, public housing with a pretty huge parking lot, daycare center and a small park or grassy area.
hautepierre is now a run down place, back when it started it was a community project and overtime it became similar to south central. papa and mama lived here for almost 25 years.

day 12 birthday party

2007-01-01T00:33:00.001-08:00

happy birthday danielle!

when we came back home. we saw a beautiful table setting that annie had prepared. everything was red. it was suitable for the birthday girl.

baby and i went for a nap. i was super tired after bowling it was just a good nap before the party.

we are going to be grilling indoor. i was wondering how that would work with all the smoke, but i didn't ask. i didn't even know we will be grilling. jp and i were surprised. we had filet fish, scallops, shrimps, and a bunch of sausages even the strasbourg sausages showed up it is a thick white ones.
we also had appetizer before starting like my favorite l'escargots awhile waiting for yves and simone. they were late for the party. we waiting for some time. they were dropping of lucas with his mom. we also had some blue labeled whiskey on the rocks. only mama knows how to drink. everyone was mixed a fine good whiskey with coke out of all things. i had some

the whole house was smoking like crazy. jp said his parents has no clue what they were doing. so they had to open all the windows and closed all the doors to the bedrooms. we had to take baby upstair from all the fumes.

day 12 bowling

2006-12-30T08:39:00.000-08:00

we went bowling later that day with papa and danielle. we drove passed by the 'beverly hills' of strasbourg and ended up at the orangerie bowling. the bowling place had a special today only from 10am - 3pm for 1 euro 60 a game. we thought we were going to be waiting forever for a lane. as we walked out again, wanting to skip bowling and go take a stroll in the park. almost at the entrance we heard our name being called!
we played for 2 games each. danielle decided to sit out. i started with a strike and ended with a strike. my highest game was 99! jp didn't do well and he blamed on the lane cause it was not oiled. papa won big time.

day 12 tram ride

2006-12-30T05:59:00.007-08:00

we took the tram out to get couscous for lunch. it was a 10 minutes ride to the restaurant. the ride is pretty expensive 1 euro 30 for one way. on the way there, baby was hungry so we stopped by a bakery and annie bought baby a chocolate petite pain. and he was hungry.
we walked by a baby store with so many cute stuff on display and also a shoe store for kids. i wanted to go in, but we need to get lunch!
we passed by the bar that jp used to wait for his bus ride from work and watch the people exercising in the gym across the street. we also walked by a kebab place and i learned that doner kebab is just a generic names for all the kebab place. so we just took a random picture at some doner kebab place since we were not going to see one in the near future.
the lady at the couscous restaurant asked us in to have some tea instead of waiting outside in the cold. we had some sweet tea with pine nuts. it was really good. the baby stroller was so huge in that hole in the wall place we had to fold it up. we sat next to a family of three enjoying their meal as baby was destroying our table setting as i tried to keep his hands to himself.

day 12 playdate

2006-12-30T05:59:00.005-08:00

papa was baby's playdate. then mama was baby's playdate. it just rotates everyday so jp and i can have some rest.

day 11 back to strasbourg

2006-12-30T05:59:00.001-08:00

the taxi driver was another talkative bunch and apparently pretty funny guy. it took us no time to get to the airport.

it was packed with people in one section. when we went to check in, the lady at the desk said we were too earlier and told us to come back in an hour. with so much time to kill again, i went looking for something to eat and bought a yogurt for baby and a bottle of water. on the way back to where we were sitting. i had to go through the crowd again and heard a loud 'bang' and i can see some police scrambling. i quick pushed through the other side.

we checked in at around 6pm, but then we still have to go through the security. it was a mess up at the check point. i am sure they know what they are doing, but one security person would direct awhile some would be blocking the path. a mom with two kids was being searched awhile her little boy was crying standing on the table.

they do not really care for water. i had some water in baby's food bag, but that wasn't even search awhile in mama's carryon they saw something unusual and it was toothpaste.

i needed to go to the bathroom and i have to pay to get in. there was a lady sitting in front of the bathrooms collecting money with her collection dish out in front of her. jp didn't pay so she looked upset. it is her tip to clean the bathroom. it is just a pain to find coins when i was in urgent mode.

we were waiting to board and baby was asleep by then.

the plane was practically empty. we saw the same air stewartress on the way to paris and on the way back. i had to use their seat belt for baby. since he was sleeping it was much easier.

it was faster going back to strasbourg. in no time we were landing. i could see the hypermarket auchan out the window.

deplaning, jp took the air stewartress' carryon. LOL!!! she was in a panick that someone had took her stuff. on the way out i was wondering too why jp was carrying two carryons, but then i was so tired i didn't say anything. so she chased us and finally got her stuff back. papa was so embarrassed. it was just one of those situation that was so funny at the moment.

day 11 at franck's

2006-12-30T05:58:00.001-08:00

we got locked out from our room even though we requested late check out and that doesn't make it any faster for us to get out of our rooms. we have 10 minutes to get ready after we got into the room!

we crashed franck's place for an hour or two before we headed to the airport. baby was super hyper by then in a new place trying to grab everything in sight. mama and papa went out shopping for pork! i guess strasbourg doesn't have the pork they were looking for. we watched cyril takayama's videos and i was still amazed by some of the tricks he did. some we saw on utube. he was born and raised in hollywood california and speak a mixed american and japanese.

it was raining and it stopped by the time we went down for the taxi ride to the airport.

day 11 out on the champ

2006-12-30T02:19:00.000-08:00

we decided to go to have lunch at the 'planet hollywood paris' out of all places we can eat at. we have to catch the early bird and went out at 1030am hoping that they will be open at 11pm, but they open at 11:45pm so we have more time to kill. we ended up in a mini shopping mall next to the planet.

we shopped for souvenirs. jp bought like tons of shot glass for his co-worker back home. i bought some cute stuff for his sibs. it took awhile for the shop owner to wrap everything all up and baby got upset cause he was hungry and hot. we had to take him out to cool off and papa bought baby pastry at 'paul'. it is a famous bakery. we wanted the ginger bread man 'petite homme' outside on their window display cause it was so cute, but of course those where not for sale. papa bought us croissant, chocolate petite pain and an eclair. the croissant was probably the best one i have tasted. it has just the right amount of butter and it isn't too flaky nor dry like some other ones we have tasted.

all the restaurant in france still have smoking and non smoking section but it doesn't really make a difference i can still catch the odor. hopefully the government will pass a law to get rid of smokers indoors in restaurant and public spaces.

so far most of the food places served cold food. either the server waits till they are cold to serve or the cold weather makes the food cool off faster. yet the plates the food are served in are hot. services in restaurant are just plain out of question. first the server handed the food to the wrong table, then he handed me a hot plate. if it was super hot i would have just dropped it. and it doesn't even take any more effort just to walk over to my side of the table and place the food on the table. it was a table for four?!

that planet is very run down. everything just look dusty and old, but still people goes there cause it is labeled 'hollywood.'

we have 10 minutes to walk back to the hotel to get our things ready!

day 11 packing again

2006-12-30T02:16:00.000-08:00

everyone woke up at around 5am. another great sleep. and it was time to get packing back to strasbourg. we are going back home for danielle's birthday!

day 10 call it a day

2006-12-30T02:07:00.000-08:00

jp went to visit arc de triumph cause he never went up there in his life so this was an opportunity for him to be a full blown tourist!
baby and i stayed in and played in our hotel room. i was about to passed out when jp came back with his face freezin cold. the wind makes the cold worst, but yet our bottle of evian never froze. we kept it outside on the balcony for several days now.
mama and papa came back with food from chinatown. baby was super hungry and he ate a lot of bao. we had vietnamise sandwiches. they were way better than the sandwiches we brought at 'pommes du pain' in a long shot.
we slept early since baby koed at 7:30pm. jp and i slept at around 9pm.

day 10 chinatown

2006-12-28T11:10:00.001-08:00

we met up with jp's uncle vincent and auntie at chinatown for lunch. the taxi ride there was hot. i again almost fainted cause the driver was blasting the heater and we were all wearing heavy coats.
uncle vincent's health gotten worst and he is not longer working and walking with a cane. auntie still looks the same and a very funny lady.
barely anyone wanted to eat. i was hungry, but i didn't know what they want to eat. we ordered only several dim sum at the yum cha place. and then jp ordered a huge fish (5 pounds) cooked in two styles ... a part was made into a sour soup with pineapples (the first time i had soup with pineapple) and the second part made into steam fish which was really good.
franck came late because he thought we were meeting for dinner. he was drawing his comic all night and we woke him up to come out for lunch.
the chinese restaurant was probably the worst one in service. there was only one guy the captain working and the rest were asleep. we requested hot water for tea but no one came by to even look to see if we needed anything. the guys in their red vests were suppose to be the one clearing up the table and serving. at least the captain apologized cause he was working like a dog.
uncle vincent insisted and bought us some cakes from a little pastry shop on the way to catch a taxi. he bought us christmas logs and millefolies. the millefolies were so good. i can say that it is probably the best pastry i ever had on this trip by far in its kind.
getting a taxi ride in chinatown was terrible. we were standing in the cold at the taxi station with probably 10 taxis parked there and no drivers in their taxis. apparently that taxi station is a rest stop for drivers to get their lunch and errands done. one driver even declined our business, but then offered someone else a ride and he didn't even ask us where we were headed. franck then called up his super fast taxi number and one came in no time in just 5 minutes. the taxi number was given to him from a colleague while working at IBM.
the taxi driver was so nice and his taxi was clean and organized. jp chatted with him throughout our ride. and he is a traveller himself. he is independent and he gets to choose his time off and he usually takes 2 months at a time off a year to travel.
i was pooped getting back to the hotel, but baby was not cause he slept during the taxi ride.

day 10 a goodnite sleep

2006-12-27T23:51:00.001-08:00

wow, we sleep for at least 7 hours straight! so baby jetlag took about 10 days to sync with current time here.

we went to 'flora danica butik' for cheesecake and fruit tart with tangerine. jp said the tart itself was harder than a cookie. the coffee and cheesecake were great!
it was freezin cold sitting outside, but well worth it.

day 9 food shop

2006-12-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

9pm and all the restaurants were packed. so we settled for cold sandwiches instead at the 'pommes du pain' (with the outside temperature at 1 degree c anything will turn cold).
and of course baby fell asleep in the stroller.
we also stopped by 'la brioche dorée' to pick up some tarts. the cashier/server was really weird. he assumes that we know what certain pastries were supposed to look like?! i was looking at something labeled apple tart or pie and he said it was labeled wrong and replied "a la francais" to a frangipane.

day 9 centre pompidou

2006-12-27T12:00:00.001-08:00

after lunch we took a taxi to the pompidou center. it was a short ride from the hotel and it costed 20 euro for the 5 of us.
papa and mama took baby and lined up at the entrance to the public library which we thought was the wrong line. jp was upset because they went without us, but then it ended up to be a best mistake. it was a much shorter line from the library entrance than from the main front entrance to the centre.
we only looked at a part of the Hergé exhibition since the line were so long for the rest of the main show:
'Bringing together several hundreds of original drawings and prints, as well as other documents by the famous illustrator, this exhibition is an homage to the work of Hergé, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2007. In its presentation of the works of Hergé, the Centre Pompidou illustrates the significant place that comic strips hold in 20th century art history. The exhibition will be free for visitors of all ages to mark the Centre Pompidou's own 30th anniversary, providing a unique occasion to rediscover series such as Tintin et Milou, Quick et Flupke, Jo, Zette et Jocko.'
we also checked out the printemps design boutique. there were some interesting handmade items for sale at the shop. too bad no camera allowed. i got baby milou (snowy).

day 9 meeting franck

2006-12-27T11:59:00.006-08:00

we met franck today at the hotel and we strolled all the way to lunch at the pizza pino. the exterior of the pizza parlor is like some las vegas hotel. we avoided the lunch rush and got there around 11am.
it was a really good lunch. we had pizzas and ravioli. the pizzas crust were hand tossed and wood fired. the ravioli dish was filling and the sauce was creamy and tangy. baby ate a lot of ravioli.
franck also drew us ... caricature of jp, baby and me!
franck is having his comic series 'holy wars' published at the end of january and he is in a major deadline for a huge comic con type of convention with his series. currently his stories are in shogun mag (and yes it is all in french). drawing comics is only his side job, his real job is a consultant for sap. and he actually took a week off to work on his drawings.

day 9 2am walk

2006-12-27T11:59:00.003-08:00

since baby was not sleeping after we got back so then we decided to take a stroll down champs-elysées. this time the street lighting on the trees were shut off. and we just walked after about 10 mintues baby fell asleep again in hibernation mode, his body is warm and the outer temperature was so cold it just makes for a great sleep.
we strolled to the beginning of the park and went back to the arc de triumph side.

day 9 mc d rush

2006-12-27T11:59:00.001-08:00

mama came by to babysitting baby since he was asleep (he woke up the minute we left, crying for me).

we went to mc donalds out of all places because it was the only food place that was still open at 1am (it closes at 2am).
the line was not that long and it took a long time to get the order. we stood in line for at least 15 minutes or more with 5 people in front of us. we ordered and we waited for the order and in the meantime the person taking the order will not take the next person in line. the food were cold cause it was just sitting there all made in their boxes.
we sat on the second floor with the view of champs-elysées enjoying our cold big mac and royal cheese (the quarter pounder with cheese), some fries, cheese burgers and cold drinks. some taste better than in the states, but others i prefer the ones in the states.

afterward, we took some posing pictures at the arc de triumph and the lights.

day 8 rude parisian old fart

2006-12-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

i met one today! i would say rude parisians are equally rude compared to new yorkers. we were at this crowded and narrow department store called monopoly. we needed to get some water and toothpaste.
i was pushing the stroller on the way out and a lady in front of me has her butt stuck out bending over to look at women stockings. i wasn't in a hurry so i just waited to sneak into the other side then this old fart out of nowhere came rushing into me and yelled at me in french which i yelled back to him in english "okay whatever!" jp then went up to him and said in french "what if she doesn't speak french?" so basically the old fart asked why i didn't ask the lady to move her ass out of the way.

day 8 mussels from brussels

2006-12-26T13:19:00.001-08:00

we went for lunch at this place that specialized in mussels called 'léon de bruxelles.'
it is a chain restaurant. the food price are good around 20 euro anyone can have a great meal with drinks included. the place is crowded during lunch rush. when we walked in a crowd of people literally swamp in after us.

papa had a huge pot of mussels! mama had steak and fries, jp stew and fries, and i had salmon with rice and vegetables (so baby can eat some too).

moules et frites : mussels and fries (all you can eat fries).

our waiter was really friendly. we tipped him anyways!

day 8 freakin freezin

2006-12-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

yeah ... we walked down champs-elysees and it was freezing cold. the wind made it even worst.

day 8 paris!

2006-12-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

we arrive at orly ouest in about 45 minutes. baby was so tired during landing he fell asleep. the captain of the plane said it was a very nice day in paris on the contrary it was so foggy when we looked outside the window.

we took a taxi to the hotel. we are staying at the radisson sas which used to be the headquarter of louis vuitton until 2002 it became a chic hotel. they were doing some remodeling and the lobby was so dusty! i wondered if we can complain and get some discounts? how do people eat at the restaurant or bar if dust are flying around? the worst part is the fume from some sort of lacquer paint. definitely not good.

we have a porter who looks like he could be a supermodel for versace. young, tall and great looking kid. maybe this is only his side job.

hotel rooms in france are generally small. everything is so small, but our room is spacious. the bed is big ... it fits all three of us without anyone rolling off to the ground. the bathroom for once is bigger than average.

i can tell you that it isn't a baby friendly hotel, but we managed to change some configuration and have the desk be our baby changing table. and moved all the desk stuff to the mini bar.

we have wifi and free internet connection which is a plus in amenity.

our room has no view whatsoever, but at least the other room mama and papa are staying at has a view of the arc de triumph (oh very nice indeed).

we are just minutes away from the champs-elysees aka shopping heaven (at least for the ladies haa haa).

day 8 board

2006-12-26T09:33:00.000-08:00

we arrived at the strastbourg airport in no time. it took us 20 minutes or so to get there. the airport is smaller than the burbank airport back home.

we lost mama and papa on the way to the parking lot. and baby fell asleep in the car.

air france is not every efficient. first they forgot baby's ticket because his name was not in their roster. jp called them up before the trip to confirm and they said he was on the list. then they had to find us another seating because of oxygen mask. and we cannot check in the stroller at the gate, we had to have it wrapped in a plastic bag and check in as a baggage. their security screening wasn't that great cause i was able to bring water on board for baby.

baby was sleepy and hyper at the same time. he was so hyper on the plane i can't even keep him still. on the plane he needs to wear a seat belt attached to me and i can't even wear my baby hugger to actually keep him in place. the next time around i am going to use both that way baby doesn't move around period. all the other airlines i was able to use the hugger and only air france said no!

day 8 packing for paris

2006-12-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

packing for paris was pretty simple. most of our stuff fit in one suitcase. our flight with air france leaves at 9am so we have a lot of time to kill at home. i even gave baby a bath at 6am in the morning. since paris is colder and we are staying in a hotel i have to pack warmer than in strasbourg.

for breakfast, mama heated up her 'kalak bao' that she made from scratch. the bao's heart was made of pork, hard-boiled eggs and chinese sauages. it was so good i had three of them and baby at one too.

day 7 waking up again

2006-12-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

yeah i wanted to wake up anyways ... baby was still sleeping and i called mom up to wish her a merry christmas and left a message for tommy. and called others. baby finally woke up at 4am and never when back to sleep.

day 7 christmas dinner

2006-12-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

sleep took over jp and baby ... they just slept and slept and slept. i had dinner with the rest of the family who wanted to join in for dinner.
mama made baked scallops and shrimp and it was really good i had two of those. she also made rice noodles and vegetable dish and a side of papaya salad not too spicy for me. harry potter was on tv, it was fun to see it dubbed in french, but i didn't watch the whole movie cause sleep was taking over me so i had to go catch some zzz so i can get up later and pack for paris!

day 7 lunch was just us

2006-12-25T18:33:00.001-08:00

mama and papa were invited to a lunch party. we all stayed in today. mama made chicken soup with vegetables, mushroom and tofu, chicken, beef with ginger, and fried rice. it was simple and good christmas lunch. and after that not so long ... nappy time again.

day 7 tree is down

2006-12-25T02:58:00.002-08:00

baby with his fast hands pulled the whole christmas tree down. it was going down anyways. thank goodness it didn't land on him.

day 7 at 4am

2006-12-25T02:58:00.001-08:00

after baby and i woke up ... people were still downstairs! they were laughing and playing black jack from when we slept till when we woke up.
simone and yves said their goodbyes around 4:15am. i was surprised to see yves stayed up since he was sleepy to began with.
i joined in for several games of black jacks and mea tou was the banker. i wanted to put 50 euros down for my first hand of play, but mama said the highest i can put is 20 euros. so i started with that and continued to play 20 euros per hand. at the end i won 20. papa and jp was behind me helping me count up my cards. jp won 160 euros and clean out papa's bank and he started with two euros.
i ate some salmon blinis for my snack and feed baby some yogurt. we were off to bed at around 6am.

day 6 'im lie, kob chie'

2006-12-25T01:43:00.000-08:00

after waking up from a short nap of 3 hours, it was time to eat again. this time it is the christmas eve's dinner. everyone was waiting for us to get up?! we were so tired as usual. it took us an hour just to get downstairs.

everyone was enjoying hors d'oeuvres: escargots, mini tarte flambée, pigs on a blanket, and varieties of blinis such as caviar, salmon, and pâté. i didn't eat too much of the appetizers to save room for the meal.

the evening was a long one. we had cold lobster and they were huge. for taste we dipped them in ginger sauce or mayo. by the time i was done with the lobster i was stuffed. we had other food coming. next up was the duck stuffed foie gras with chestnuts, alsatian pasta (they are fluffy pasta), and bambi (soaked in red wine). The foie gras was really filling and tasty ... it has a tartness to it and bitter after taste contrasting with the sweet chestnut. the bambi has a tangy taste because it was soaked in red wine and it was oven baked and sliced. it has no strong odor or taste to it like i would imagine it similar to lamb, but it was soft and succulent.

annie did the wonderful table setting. we had lit some candles and gold sprinkled holly flower on our table on runners with golden stars printed on them. the napkins were deep purple.

i sat next to an almost 90 years old lady. people call her 'mea tou' as in grandma in laotian. she is full of charisma for her age. she lives by herself five minutes from home. she only know a little bit of french, yet she gets around town without any problem. after the lobster, she was stuffed like i was and didn't want to try any other food, so i cut a little piece of my duck and foie gras to have her at least try it. she was laughing at my gesture.
during dinner she was telling her story about when she was in laotian. papa did the translation. she was married to a frenchman who was a soldier stationed in laos back in the 1940s or so. after so many years stationed in laos he was asked to return home to france, but she didn't want to go to france with him. so she stayed in laos. they had a child together and after awhile the son when off to france and basically they lost touch. the son neighbor happened to be someone who search for long lost love ones and just so happened she was also looking for her son. they finally reunited in france and she stayed ever since. she loves to travel and recently just went on a trip on her own to asia. she traveled to laos, vietnam, and even to japan.
after dinner she performed a ceremony of blessing to the family. it is a laotian tradition to be blessed by an elder. we were blessed by her. we held a mandarin in our right hand and our left hand lifted to the left side of the head. we took turns as she held us by the right hand and placed bracelets on our wrists and chanted her wishes of good health, luck, fortune and love.

baby woke up after dinner was over at around 11pm and to keep him up we open up christmas presents earlier before the midnite struck. papa and annie helped dressed him up as papa noel. it lasted for an hour. we then had christmas logs. there were three different ones to taste: ice cream log made of vanilla and lemon ice cream, chocolate log with the most detailed decoration, and the cream log made with raspberry and vanilla mousse. they were all pretty to look at and tasted very good.

after that baby and i were koed! so we took our usual nap.

* im lie, kob chie means i am full, thank you in loatian

day 6 fast food

2006-12-25T01:08:00.000-08:00

we catered in today from quick. i had the quick n toast it is similar to the jack in the box sour dough jack but smaller and not as greasy, but the taste is bland. jp had the supreme cheese and the bun tasted weird. it is an egg bun almost like a brioche. he didn't like it.

i was saving my tummy for the christmas eve's dinner. i took a peek at what mama was making since last night.

day 6 keeping the same time

2006-12-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

yes so baby is keeping the same time of sleeping and waking up and we now have breakfast at 2am in the morning and he went back to sleep at around 4am - 7:30am.
we had waffles, yogurt, sausages, cheese, milk and juice! yeah no apple pie this time i want to learn how to make one.

day 5 big bowl

2006-12-23T23:08:00.000-08:00

we had noodles and wontons this evening, it was yummy. and we had more sausages! papa made me try banana and cheese combo it wasn't bad. the banana was kept outside in the big fridge and it turned brown. they kept drinks outside in the cold.

day 5 village

2006-12-23T22:57:00.000-08:00

we went to visit the village of a 1000 where simone and yves lives. yves' dad is the mayor and we met him too, he lives just next door. and also their factory is just across the street ... now cool is that just walk across the street to work.
they have a really nice spacious place and unlike all the houses in the block they have a green house. they even have a pond somewhere in their yard where they go fishing.

simone is a great cook. she made us lasagna and cheesecake from really cheese. i only know how to make it from cream cheese. she was in a rush when we got there cause she didn't get a chance to go to the market until morning. the supermarket closes really early here at 9pm! i usually go to the supermarket after 10pm in the states. and of course it is the holiday season places like the supermarket is pack from last minute shoppers who wants to get the freshes food for their christmas party.

we had yummy appetizers to begin. i was telling dad about the baked escargots with the edible crispy shell, those boiled sausages are very tasty (even baby ate alot of them), there was also pâté with nuts wrapped in a pastry shell and spicy olives.

simone, yves and lucas also entertained us with their voices ... singing us christmas carols and baby enjoyed it every much clapping along and screaming along with the rest of us.

baby didn't sleep after 6am and took a nap in the car when we left the house and stayed hyper till we left simone's place and took his really nap after we got home.

day 5 apple pie at 3am

2006-12-23T00:54:00.000-08:00

yes once again ... baby only took his nap from 10am - 1am and 4am - 6am!

day 4 afternoon

2006-12-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

baby is still sleeping and jp took his meds that papa got him for his throat and got knocked out since he didn't sleep at all last night. i am not doing much. i had a great lunch. mama cooked her traditional lao dishes: papaya salad, sticky rice, shredded duck etc.
in laotian tradition if you eat the duck dish you have to give the family who prepared the dish money. i tried to get an explanation from mama or papa, but i still do not understand.

day 4 early morning

2006-12-22T05:58:00.000-08:00

of course baby didn't sleep and wants to play with jp. jp was trying to sleep and baby slapped him on the face to wake him up to play. poor papa. at 5am we had breakfast. baby did not sleep until 7am in the morning. and all of a sudden he woke up crying cause it was dark in the room. finally figured out that he was afraid of darkness. when i switched on the lamp he stopped. at least he got his sinus cleared of snots and he can breath better.

day 3 flambée

2006-12-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

we went to eat tarte flambée this evening with everyone at au boeuf 'the cow'.

i had half a dozen of escargots and some of papa's steak and fries. those were fabulous.

tarte flambée sorta like a pizza but much thinner and baked to a crisp topped with cheese and ham for most. we had some with mushroom topping. i like the muster cheese one it has an acquired taste and really filling.

they also make them into dessert topped with fruits. for the apple tarte flambée they really flame it.

day 3 city center daytime

2006-12-21T03:30:00.000-08:00

it doesn't look the same. i love the night scene with less people and closed shops. we went to the christmas market. they sell food and christmas ornaments and those huge cookies made out of ginger (i think) i could keep those forever if i keep them in wraps. at the market, papa bought baby a size 22 booties, but it still kept falling off?!
the market wasn't too big and there wasn't that many people there cause i guess it was too cold.
we stopped by 'christian' for hot chocolate and cakes. the hot chocolate was definitely good to warm. i find the cakes too sweet and not friendly to my taste buds.

chocolate cake

hazelnut noodle cake

day 3 early birds again

2006-12-21T03:29:00.000-08:00

yes, baby woke us up at 5am again so we had breakfast with him.

day 2 kebab

2006-12-21T03:27:00.000-08:00

the last time we had the kebab it was huge and this time it was similar in size! i couldn't finish it for dinner. the last time i had them it tasted much better i guess it was the fries. this time i had the chicken one and it was pretty okay.

enjoying my kebab

day 2 night out

2006-12-21T03:13:00.000-08:00

out of the spur of the moment we took a ride out to the city center before baby falls asleep again. he did sleep in the car. we took him anyways. it was freezing cold for sure. 4 degree c!

david drove us and we parked on the sidewalk haa haa! cause the streets are so narrow. we bundled baby like a chinese "tchong" 3 layers of clothes and his winter hat then we wrapped him in a fleece blanket. he couldn't move at all when he woke up in his stroller.

at the city center there is a famous christmas tree ... it is the tallest in france.

simone took us to a well known restaurant 'chez yvonne' i posed in front of it.

we took a stroll around the block and since all the shops closes at 7pm there were really nothing much to see. we window shopped and took some pictures.

i saw the cutest candles ... too yummy that i wouldn't mind eating them.

we passed by the 'christkindelsmarik'christmas market in alsatian. the christmas lightings are quite fabulous. we drove around some more and took photos of the lightings.

we also drove by annie's work place 'palace du rhin' it is a chateau (said annie). oh and she works in the prince's bedroom! (now how cool is that).

day 2 early birds

2006-12-20T04:14:00.000-08:00

since baby woke up at 4am, we decided to have an early breakfast. he had oatmeal with apple sauce and milk and we had a can of chips, some cheese and pineapple juice. he was up for a long time...

since he was not sleeping at all, we took the opportunity to go to the supermarket (hypermarches)auchan. jp woke up papa and it became a family affair. it took us 2 hours to get ready because mama wants us to have her hearty breakfast of sunny side-up eggs (oeuf au plat) and pasteries. and then i found out that the supermarket was 2 minutes away by car and probably 10-15 minutes walk in the cold.

the cereals here are all mixed with honey, i couldn't find anything that is plain with no sugar in them.

after 30 minutes in the market, baby finally gave up and slept on my shoulder.

day 1 dinner

2006-12-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

we met most everyone for dinner. simone's boyfriend yves and his son lucas came for dinner and also jp's cousin twice remove jean aka patrick.

mama cooked up a storm like usual (we had a hearty lunch). we had noodles, roasted pork, bbq pork, vegi with shrimps, tofu, rice etc. and apple pie and assorted fruits and candies for dessert.

simone, yves and lucas lives in a village 45 minutes from home. the village is population 1000 or so people. and yves' dad is the major of the little village. they also own a choucroute (sour croute) factory. and they live in a farm.

lucas is 7 years old and a math wiz and he also likes to tell jokes. he didn't like to try new food much and for the first time he had shrimps and he didn't like that either.

jean aka patrick goes to school in strasbourg and come by often to the house to visit and have dinner.

only person who didn't join us for dinner was david.

dinner with family

day 1 at home

2006-12-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

we didn't do much because of baby's sleeping time.

7:00am - 1:00pm
lunch
2:30pm - 4:30pm
milk
5:00pm - and still sleeping

he is going to be up all night ... we are going to be a bunch of night owls eating apple pies ...

best apple pie at 3am

2006-12-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

simone made the yummiest apple pie. i passed out at dinner time so we had it at 3am in the morning. jp, théodore and i ate it all and it was pretty big too.

i need to have simone show me how to make her apple pie and other yummies!

time change

2006-12-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

i must say it is hard with a baby to time change. he is neither in strasbourg nor in los angeles time. he just sleeps when he is tired at this time.

tsa

2006-12-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

i must say the tsa people are stricter than ever and i was quite impressed. i couldn't get even a single drop of water through the checkpoint. not even in a baby bottle. so i just stood there and drank the water cause i was thirsty and baby was too.

at frankfurt

2006-12-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

we arrived at around 1130 am local time. the baby sleeping. and we were probably one of the last passengers off the plane. getting off was easy but not you have to haul up a flight of stairs afterward to get to the gate and there were no elevator in sight. it was a fairly long walk to the baggage claim area. maybe it feels longer because of baby, but by the time we got everything in order he woke up.

germans seemed to be straight arrow people, but we met some jokers at the immigration station. they were joking about that baby didn't have a signature in his passport and they had to detain him and feed him if they were not busy.

our luggages are waiting for us which was good. and finally we met up with the family on the other side. it was a relieve.

i was tired for sure, but baby was awake and alert at all times until we get to the car. jp's family drove two cars to pick us up.

danielle and david

papa
the blasting heater in the car made me queasy after half an hour or so i could feel myself hurling anytime in the car if we do not make a stop somewhere. i had jp's papa make a rest stop somewhere on the autobahn and we ended up in a coffee shop.

after the shop baby was sleepy and refused to be in his car seat so i nursed him until he sleeps again and held him to sleep all the way home. apparently we didn't get home after 4 hours later and jp and his siblings were worried because they made it back home in 2 hours. i thought his parents had a cellphone, but they did not.

delayed flight and keeping baby busy

2006-12-19T07:39:00.000-08:00

when we checked in at the front desk our we were told that our flight was delayed by 1 hour. we had couple hours to spare. we had lunch at the usual daily grill at lax. dad had this huge chicken pot pie and he said it was the most awful pie he ever had (no mushrooms, but left over mushroom stumps)

we boarded at around 330pm. théodore was super hyper after his nap and refused to sit still. everything he touches are fresh toys to him. these items kept him busy: plastic wrappers, the cover of the outlets for computers, the t.v. / game console controllers, the christmas wreath, postcards, in flight magazine and even his bassinet. we had to walk him back and forth in the dark and the galley kept him occupied for 20 minutes at a time with me and jp switching back and forth for an hour. the flight attendants were really nice about that. one even made him a balloon out of latex glove which he didn't like at all. and finally he was tired.

eating cheerios keep baby happy

finally, we were waiting for sleepy time even 30 minutes was worth the moment

boarding in the usa

2006-12-12T23:49:00.000-08:00

a count down ... 5 days till strasbourg, france

on the TSA website:

Starting Sept. 26, 2006 - Air travelers may now carry liquids, gels and aerosols in their carry-on bag when going through security checkpoints.

With certain exceptions for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, baby formula and breast milk, and other essential liquids, gels, and aerosols, the following rules apply to all liquids, gels, and aerosols you want to carry through a security checkpoint.

1.All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller.

2.All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag.

3.Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items.

Liquids in containers of 3 ounces or less may be carried in your carry-on bag so long as they are placed in a clear, one-quart plastic bag.Please keep in mind that these rules were developed after extensive research and understanding of current threats. They are intended to help air travelers bring essential toiletries and other liquids, gels and aerosols for short trips. If you need larger amounts of liquids, gels and aerosols such as toothpaste or shampoo, please place them in your luggage and check them with your airline.

To ensure the health and welfare of certain air travelers there are no limits on the amounts of the following liquids, gels and aerosols you may carry through a security checkpoint:

* Baby formula and breast milk if a baby or small child is traveling;

* All prescription and over-the-counter medications (liquids, gels, and aerosols) including KY jelly, eye drops, and saline solution for medical purposes;

* Liquids including water, juice, or liquid nutrition or gels for passengers with a disability or medical condition;

* Life-support and life-sustaining liquids such as bone marrow, blood products, and transplant organs;

* Items used to augment the body for medical or cosmetic reasons such as mastectomy products, prosthetic breasts, bras or shells containing gels, saline solution, or other liquids; and,

* Gels or frozen liquids needed to cool disability or medically related items used by persons with disabilities or medical conditions.

You are not limited in the amount or volume of these above items you may bring in your carry-on baggage. However, if these items are in containers larger than three ounces, please perform the following:

1. Separate these items from the liquids, gels, and aerosols in your quart-size and zip-top bag.

2. Declare you have the items to one of our Security Officers at the security checkpoint.

3. Present these items for additional inspection once reaching the X-ray. These items are subject to additional screening.

We have also taken steps to ensure the security boarding areas after you pass through our security checkpoints. Therefore, you any liquid, gel, or aerosol purchased such as coffee or soda in the secure area after you process through a security checkpoint is allowed aboard your plane.

Before you fly, understand everything you can and cannot bring when you travel by air by reading our list of permitted and prohibited items.

Permitted and Prohibited Items

To effectively communicate important security information, we translated these changes into a variety of languages.

Security Information in Other Languages

To learn more about rules covering air travel select one of the following links.

* Understanding the Screening Experience
* Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions
* Transporting Special Items
* Traveling with Children
* Traveler Identity Verification Program

Travel Tips To Make Your Screening Experience Hassle-free

*The secret to getting through security smoothly is to de-clutter your carry-on bag. This lets our Transportation Security Officers get a clear, uncomplicated X-ray image of your carry-on.

*When possible, keep packing liquids in checked baggage. You will get through
security faster.

*Limit quantities to what is needed for the duration of the flight.

The ban on liquids, aerosols and gels was implemented on August 10 after a terrorist plot was foiled. Since then, experts from around the government, including the FBI and our national labs have analyzed the information we now have and have conducted extensive explosives testing to get a better understanding of this specific threat. These changes are intended to enhance security and balance human needs because we have a better understanding of the threat and security risks associated with liquids, aerosols and gels.

In addition, TSA will be enhancing security measures throughout the airport environment – more random screening of employees, additional canine patrols, stronger air cargo security measures, more rigorous identity verification, deploying more trained security officers in bomb appraisal, and screening by observation techniques.

packing for the trip

2006-12-11T23:58:00.000-08:00

a count down ... 6 days till strasbourg, france

okay i am getting a head start this time around. i bought those cool packing cubes last time to montreal and they worked fabulous. got those at ebags and they are not too expensive and it helps to organize my life and save a lot of time just looking for stuff when i needed them most.

travel tips with a baby

2006-11-30T23:47:00.000-08:00

a count down ... 18 days till strasbourg, france

drink lot of water to keep hydrate at all time
bring a lot of diapers (bring more than you need just incase of emergency)
extra set of clothing for everyone
forget about baby toys (find toys on the plane eg: a cup of ice will keep a 11 months old occupy for awhile)
dress in layers
medicine for cold, fever and headache
pack some baby foods and snacks
keep everything out of pocket
wear shoes that can be remove and put on easily
.
.
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and what else?

resolving jetlag

2006-11-29T00:05:00.000-08:00

a count down ... 19 days till strasbourg, france

jetlag is always a problem. what can we do with a 11 months old baby's jetlag? some people say having sunshine will reset the body's internal clock, but don't you still get sleepy? i would think it is harder during winter time.

okay so we are going east and covering 9 time zones (hours difference) our wake up time with theodore is usually 8am.

the solution to light issues is best used to destination time:

TRAVELLING WEST
SEEK BRIGHT LIGHT between 17:30 (5:30pm) and 20:30 (8:30pm) then
SWITCH to AVOID LIGHT until 00:30 or later
on DAY 2 SEEK BRIGHT LIGHT between 20:30 (8:30pm) and 23:30 (11:30pm) then
SWITCH to AVOID LIGHT until 03:30 or later

TRAVELLING EAST
SEEK BRIGHT LIGHT between 11:30 and 14:30 (2:30pm) then
SWITCH to AVOID LIGHT until 18:30 (6:30pm)
on DAY 2 SEEK BRIGHT LIGHT between 14:30 (2:30pm) and 17:30 (5:30pm) then
SWITCH to AVOID LIGHT until 21:30 (9:30pm)