GIF-ing our time away - Our home for the last 1 year

Gif-sur-Yvette is the nearest town to Supélec on foot. I love the walks down to the centre-ville of Gif in fine weather. The downhill walk is beautiful since we have a great view of the valley and the plateau opposite us, of course, the uphill walk later is going to be tedious on a 30% gradient. In any season, the flora along the path is amazing! I find pink, blue and yellow flowers lining the walkway in Spring, wild raspberries and cherries in Summer, chestnuts in autumn and the snow in winter. Coming from sunny Singapore, 1 year could just breeze pass with all these varied landscape every 3 months. I appreciate mother nature now, from within to save Gaia and not from pure media.

It is a crime to be seen without a baguette or a croquise here. The bakery in Gif makes them so good, that I could have them everyday if I can survive the slope on a daily basis. Indeed, I see cyclists holding baguettes in 1 hand and controlling the bike in another. Somebody else will see the Student running with a baguette in each hand like a baton (he likes jogging with them). There are only 2 bakeries here, the one opposite the mairie is the better one that makes delicious pastries as well (I think the shop name is Pineau).

The town has 1 or 2 shops of basic stuffs that people need, no luxury goods. The shops are generally closed for 1 day in the week, and from 1pm to 3pm on weekdays. I haven't really registered this in my mind, since our necessities are available round the clock in Singapore. Dream on about 24/7 convenience shops!

The shortest way to Gif is to take the road - Chemin Du Moulon down to Rue Gustave Vatonne. Time taken for a 1.55m on foot is 20 min one way.

This path is a mysterious one. I've always imagined 3 headed dragons at the end of the path. To Gif, pass by this entrance and take the steep path after the barricade.

We are at mid-hill now, this is a view of the plateau on the opposite side. So when I say we are staying on the "mountain", I really wasn't joking folks.

Our poor neighbours need to walk 200m to access their mail everyday. So what is a 20 mins walk to centre-ville right?

Turn right at the sight of this sign. Continue straight ahead, and  pictures along the way coming soon.....

This is a typical driveway into houses on the mid-hill in Gif. They do have lots more privacy, but it also means that the owners have to walk a long way to dispose off their garbage and get the mail everyday.

The traditional type of housing in this region. Such stones are in the terrain here, so it makes sense for people to build houses using materials that are readily available. Stone houses have thick walls that works well as insulation against heat and cold, plus the look is really fairy-tale like.

There are a couple of stone houses along the road that looks exactly like the ginger-bread house in hansel and gretel. In summer and spring, parties in the garden are common scenes here. What else with such nice weather and atmosphere.

Walk along this road instead of following the sign to centre-ville which brings you to the bassin and a longer way to the shops in Gif.

This is the final landmark, a stone house with a mistletoe tree, with pillars in carved wood. Centre-ville in 2.8 mins time.

We Love GIF!!!!

Bialetti Moka Pot

After weeks of temptation from the wide selection of coffee here, we finally decided to get a Bialetti Moka Pot (stainless steel). With all these variety, we just can't settle with Nescafe Gold - Instant coffee anymore.

Reasons why we got a Moka pot over other choices:

1) Many people told us that this is the traditional way to make Italian coffee, and we love Italian coffee!

2) We do not want the taste of our coffee to be manipulated by capsules.

3) This is very value for money. E30 for an equipment for good coffee vs E100++ for a capsule machine.

4) This is so portable and versatile, there is no need to worry about power supply/adaptors, just as long as there is heat/fire! 

Right after we purchased the pot, we made our selection for our 1st pack of ground coffee. How to decide which to pick? For a typical Singaporean, any food stall with the longest queue = BEST. Any brand on the shelf with the least stock = BEST too. As we were making this "logical" Singaporean decision to reach for Malongo, an Italian spoke..."This is the best (illy's), and I am an Italian...and oh, Bialetti makes the best moka pot!" You can imagine how the student beamed from ear to ear...a decision well recognized by an Italian!

Anyhow, we still went ahead with our decision to get Malongo, and will get illy's on our next round for a blind test.

Some tips on using the moka pot after a month of daily cuppa with it.


- Water from the tap (in France) has a relatively high amount of calcium deposits, this may stain the pot for prolonged use, hence, it is better to use bottled water for taste and maintenance for the pot.

- Do not use soap and cleaning scrubs to clean the pot, instead, just wash with water and rub with your hands. After all, the accumulated coffee oil in the pot actually makes the coffee taste better through time. Just like those braised duck pots in Chinese cooking, years of accumulated flavour!

- Slow fire works best. We are using an electric stove (0 - 6), have been experimenting with several variations in the heat, feels that this works best, time and taste compromised: 4 at the beginning until the water starts to boil, then tune down to 2 until the coffee comes out. Total time taken: 5 - 10mins.

Choosing the Right Coffee. With or without the moka pot sign.
After a few months of trial and errors, it is now official that packets without the moka pot sign CAN be used for the moka pot!!! This have widen our choices for ground coffee indeed...yippees! But I do realise that these packets tend to have smaller grain sizes, resulting in some residue in the base. I just hope that the grains don't get stuck in the valve when the pressure forces the water into the flask.

Our experiences with the various brands:
As Singaporeans, we are very used to the over roasted Yat Kun coffee with milk. No surprises that we have not been unable to find a cup of café au lait to our liking in Paris. After experimenting with the various coffee brands, and what the local French think is good coffee, we now think that the coffee is not that bad in France. It is just that the coffee here is a little sour to start with, hence, it is not too good with milk. On the contrary, the coffee we have in Singapore tends to be over roasted and on the bitter side, so adding milk gives it a good balance. Such coffee will be catastrophic without milk, or we would have to add tons of sugar in it to be drinkable. Having said that, I am still clueless to why the Italiens can make both coffee black and café au lait so well...


Malongo:
Our 1st experience. Relatively acidic. Better black than with milk.

Gourmet beans from Versaille: 
The aroma of the beans is more fragrant than Malongo, less acidic than Malongo. Also better black than with milk.

Régal:
The most economical among those we tried, most intense and most similar to the over roasted coffee in Singapore. Best with milk, infact, it has a little chocolaty taste after adding milk. A little bitter if it is black.

Lavazza:
Not as good as Régal with milk, and less acidic than Malongo. Pretty moderate choice for both black and with milk.

- Will update this post with our trials with the various brands.

Une Voiture Finalement! (A car finally!)

Bonjour Little 107 (小蓝), and au revoir Old Sunny (老红).

After 3 weeks' struggle with the public transport here, we've finally gotten our passport to drive!

Prior to our arrival in France, we have already purchased a car from a very reliable source, and is all ready to get behind the wheel on the day we touched down. But problem is, we thought we were not able to drive, as the car insurances here do not cover foreign driver licences (non-EU). The problem is amplified when the exchange of foreign licence for a France licence requires a Carte De Séjour (CDS), and this is usually given about 3 months after receipt of the récipéssé.

It turns out that, when you do not know what you do not know, you'll have to press the right buttons. 

Any insurer will say a big fat "NO", if they hear that you are holding a foreign licence. The trick is, what about countries that allows for an exchange, which Singapore is? Voila! The answer is "YES", but we have to exchange for a French one as soon as we receive our CDS.

Oh well, 3 weeks of grocery shopping on public transport have strengthened up the Student very well...

Little 107 feels like a reckless young chap, dressed in a bright swanky blue. Honing its engine with every little step of the accelerator and zipping heads in into teeny parking lots all so easily. 

Jogging on the Plateau - Reloaded!

After a failed attempt to run at -1 degree C, I tried to run without the snow at 10 degree C... Success! Thanks to the hooded wind breaker I literally robbed from Genevieve.

Fuelling ourselves for the run later:

Tweaked my recipes to coat the fish with a layer of flour seasoned with Spice de La Provence, pepper, salt and a tinge of lemon zest...nicely cooked this time round. 

The housewife is a little frustrated with only 3 pots, 4 plates and a tiny kitchen to whip up meals. But I finally understood why the French do not have that many seasoning as Asians do. Simply because, flavour comes naturally from their fresh produces, and all I need is just salt and some herbs!

Pan Fried White Fish with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

30 mins run on 45 degree slopes = 60 min run along Clementi Ave 6 canal:

We ran down a road that we have avoided for the past weekend, cos it is really scary to look at. At the start of the road, it looks like a chain saw massacre entrance. After the turn, it is THIS! But, it was a fabulous work-out, and we discovered this shortcut to Gare Le Guichet!  

Rue de Colline

Celebrations in a Foreign Land

This is a week of celebrations annually, for the Student and the Wife. But this year, we do it rather differently. No lavish dinners, no musicals or surprises...just us on the plateau, the smell of half-melted snow, 2 simple but delicious cakes from the pâtisserie and a very satisfying cup of hot chocolate. 

12 Feb: Sweetness in Simplicity!

14 Feb: Chicken stew with Baguette to dip. 

Jogging at the Plateau

We went a little adventurous to try running at -1 degree Celsius today. After 400metres at half the Student's normal speed, I felt an extreme earache that felt like an ear infection. So extreme that I felt nauseous and breathless. Fortunately, it was only temporary after I warmed my ears indoors. Seems like I've got to be better equipped to run in such weather conditions.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_causes_ear_pain_when_I_exercise_in_cold_air

Us getting ready for the run - Sneak preview of our toilet...