Living in Cloud Castle

Accomodations Recommendation

2008-07-18T16:22:00.012+01:00

Jen says:

Hostelworld, Hostelbookers or Venere are websites you could go to in search of accomodations.

These are my personal recommendations. All of the following are less than $65 per person/night.

EastSeven Berlin Hostel

aBold colours/IKEA furnishings
aClean shared bathrooms
aKitchen + Garden
aFree wireless internet at lounge area only
a5mins walk to train / Walking distance to heart of Berlin, Alexanderplatz

rCharge ONCE 3€ per guest for the bed sheets
r1€ per 100€ for payment by credit cards
rBring your towel

I am sure you guys remember a post on Munich's accomodation with a doggy name Easy Palace Station Hotel. Yes after travelling Europe, I have decided to recommend it.

aIKEA furnishings
aClean shared bathrooms
aHousekeeping
aBreakfast included
a100m to main railway station
aWalking distance to heart of Munich, Marienplatz

rWireless internet in most rooms. If not, access it in the bar when you have breakfast in the morning and open to public for football matches & drinking in the evening
rCould be noisy if you are a light sleeper. Located on a street of shops.

In Paris, rule of thumb check that the postal code starts with 750. It means that it is located within Paris accessible via Metro. If not, you may need to travel via RER and it costs alot more. The rooms in Paris are relatively tiny.

Best Western Saphir Lyon

aValue for money
aComfy bed with Ensuite
aAir-conditioned
aCoffee/Tea facilities
a5mins walk to train

rInternet is chargable. McDonald is walking distance ask reception for direction. Free access communal computer is available at lobby.

Apt. RamCat in Barcelona

aBoutique style with an exclusive red-white & black details
aClean shared bathrooms
aKitchen
aFree wireless internet & 1 communal computer
aBedsheet & towels changed every 2-3 days
aIn the middle of Barcelona, located on a pedestrian street next to Las Ramblas and Placa Catalunya

rCash payment only
rNo reception area. Arrange check in time, arrive at Catalunya, meet at Hard Rock Cafe and walk to apartment together with host.
rLate check in charges: 25€ /each room (21:01 pm to 23:00 pm) 50€ /each room (23:01 pm to 1:00 am) 75€ /each room (1:01 am to 10:59 am)

Gay Hostel Puerta del Sol Madrid (If you are open)

aHomely Feel
aClean shared bathrooms
aAir-conditioned
aCoffee/Tea facilities
aBreakfast included
aWalking distance to main attractions
a5mins walk to train

rWireless internet connection weak to none

Roman and Italian B&B Rome

aClean shared bathrooms
aAir-conditioned
aFridge
aBreakfast coupon of coffee and croissant
aTrain station at door step

rWireless internet connection weak to none

Il Giglio GuestHouse Florence

aHomely Feel / Big comfortable room
aAir-conditioned
aCoffee/Tea facilities
aFridge & Microwave
aFree wireless internet
aGood reccomendations on ice cream, lunch & dinner
aWalking distance to main attractions
a300m to main railway station

Pophouse Milano

aGorgeous house with roof terrance
a3 rooms/max 5 persons
aKitchen & Nespresso machine
aFree wireless internet

rCash payment only
rCleaning schedule not worked out yet
rWork-in-progress. Not 100% up and running

100 Days

2008-07-15T19:53:00.006+01:00

Jen says:

Today marks the 100 days away from home, away from things we are familiar with, away from our friends, away from the life we lead, away for an adventure of a lifetime.

A little post to share my experience leading a backpacker’s life in disguise and it is possible to go on a Europe trip for 3 months with $15K. If I can, so can you right?

The itinerary as follows: - London (2 weeks) -- Berlin (8 days) --Munich (9 days) -- Paris (12 days) -- Lyon (6 days) -- Barcelona (9 days -- Seville (7 days) -- Madrid (8 days) -- Paris (4 days) -- Marseille (4 days) -- Rome (10 days) -- Florence (6 days) -- Venice (4 days) -- Milan (12 days)
The number of days spent is not a good guide as we only do minimal sightseeing everyday with sufficient sleep to last the journey. So the days spent at each city may seem more than required. Hehe..

The Must Haves
1. Sona Electric Pot
Can be found at departmental stores for less than $50. It comes with a container and spoon cum fork. You will be amazed what the pot is capable of - omelette, rice, fish fingers, mushrooms, pasta, porridge, chicken cutlet and many more. Cooking saves us a lot of money with an average of less than 3EURO for 2. Eating out is ridiculous. In Rome, we bought pizza; by the way it comes in grammage, not slice. So don’t choose one with too much ingredients, it will weigh more. 2 rectangle size cost us SGD$12 each.

2. Maggi Mee
We finish 20 packets of Maggi Mee in less than a month. An easy option to settle your meal. I understand the agony Rose goes through everyday to decide what to cook for dinner.

3. Swiss Army Knife
A useful tool to have: - Cutting meat, opening bottles of beer, unscrew the cork of wine, scissors for cutting.

4. Sun block Lotion & Mosquito Repellent
Please bring these if you are travelling in Europe during June to August. If not, you will end up like me buying here at an exorbitant price.

5. Throw over (IKEA) or Old Bed Sheet
Good to have when the blankets or bed sheet at some accommodations are dirty. You can throw it away to make place for shopping if any.

The Good to Have
1. SLR
Yes there is too much beautiful scenery, sights or things in Europe and the rest of the world. Some are too detailed or you need a faster shutter speed to capture the vibrancy of the colours. It just looks different on the eyes to using a normal digital camera. But sometimes these SLR “professionals” are a pain in the ass hogging the spot longer than usual.

2. Redoxon
An easy to bring to keep your immune system up with Vitamin C and Zinc. I didn’t bring it; Alvin did for the both of us.

3. Envelopes / Writing Materials
Stationeries to keep in touch with friends. For me, it is by sharing the beautiful photos of each city with a long message at the back of each photo. I bought my envelopes at London for more than SGD$4. A last minute inspiration to use this idea as souvenirs. Sorry guys, hope you like them.

4. Citibank ATM Card
No withdrawal fee imposed by Citibank for international cash withdrawal. DBS is at $5 each withdrawal.

5. Student Card
Yes my dear SIM classmates, I took my SIM student card and it has proved to be very useful. Reduced rates for most of the admissions except Italy. For Italy, it is only applicable for EU Citizens. Both of us saved a lot as the full rates are so much more. You do have to look like below 26 years old. Only one asked your student card is in 2003. Yes I am doing my Masters now haha opps.

Travelling around is very convenient using Euro Rail Pass. A pass which you could purchase at http://www.eurail.com/. Each day of train travel is at about SGD$90 for 1st class which is a Saver pass for 2 passengers. More comfortable seats with wider leg space and even electric point for charging laptops. I was whining why choose to take a train rather than a budget flight at less the price and shorter travel time. I understand later that budget plane terminals are normally out of the way so you need to take a shuttle service plus the 2 hours check in. You may want to do a price comparison and decide which is more worth it, including the shuttle service for the budget flight and the seat reservation for the train. Yes for Germany no seat reservation required, to Paris is $20EURO each, France is at less than $10EURO each, Spain is $23.50EURO each with a delicious onbroad meal and Italy is best to buy a one country pass or buy it individually. Some journeys are with transits so you may pay more than 1 reservation fee. Do keep aside some money for reservation fees.

Accomodation recommendations right up...

Ciao Roma

2008-07-13T16:42:00.011+01:00

Jen says:

First stop in Italy flying over from Barcelona from Marseille. A city found during the B.C. period. From Ancient Rome, The Republic, The Empire, The Middle Ages, Renaissance to today The Modern and Contemporary Age. It is amazing how the Colosseum stood through the fighting and wars. For me, checked in to our guesthouse, took a nap, went to the police station and tried to gather my feelings to finish the last leg of the trip. Sight-seeing with no possession is a breeze yet insecure. For a start, Alvin gave me a card holder with 20EURO which I thought of buying in Paris. He bought it meant to be a souvenir and in the end a gift to me to cheer me up.

My highlights of Roma in the midst of my sorrow
1. Colosseum & Archaeological sites
The Colosseum was another amazing building built in the A.D. by Jewish prisoners. It is a true symbol of Rome. It was a giant stadium and the origin of professional gladiators. There used to be statues of Gods surrounding the exterior archs of the 2nd & 3rd floor and it can accommodate 80,000 spectators. Absolutely no idea how people in the past construct such beautiful architecture. The Colosseum looks very much different from what it used to be in the Imperial Era covered with marble; the rows of seating area and the structure was greatly damage by 2 earthquakes.

Every part of Rome once stood a fountain, statue or monument and over time due to natural disasters & men all these were damaged or now under the ground they once stood.

2. Trevi Fountain
This is my favourite fountain and definitely the most outstanding looking one. Trying to get a spot for photo taking was tough. The human traffic there was crazy. It is the façade of a large palace decorated with statues and heaps of rocks with water gashes from every part. There is a legend again that whoever drinks the water or throws a coin in the fountain will assure his return back to Rome. I didn’t as I don’t believe in legend and I was in a foul mood that day haha.

3. St Peter’s Basilica & Sistine Chapel
The Vatican City is the headquarters of the pope (Yes Pope Benedict XVI is like an idol with poster, calendar and mug with picture of him everywhere) and it houses both St Peter’s & Sistine Chapel. The compound is magnificently huge and it is no doubt one of the biggest churches in the world. It is a Must See sight so queuing 1 hour plus in the hot sun is nothing compared to the norm 2 – 3 hours (we heard), I seriously need to buy a hat soon to protect my hair from burning. Entering the church is Wow! (I always laugh at Alvin for putting so many pictures in his post and I am becoming like him so please refer to Flickr for the photos of the interior.) We gave the dome a miss, the number of steps to climb with a cheaper price compared to elevator and still as many steps turned my legs off. We went to visit the Sacred Grottoes instead and paid tribute to John Paul II.

Sistine Chapel is where Michelangelo’s master piece is. It is at the very end of the Vatican Museum and we or should I said most of the people rushed through the statues, sarcophagus, stopped a while longer at Raphael Rooms and followed the arrows to Sistine Chapel. Up down left right in no particular order, we finally enter the chapel. The ceiling and the walls looked amazingly astonishing! Even an amateur like me was blown away, sitting at a corner admiring the great piece of Art. No Photos echoed in the chapel from the security personnel yet we can’t help not taking any with a few flashes from those indiscreet ones. At the end of the day, we have stiff neck from looking at the ceilings. Start your day early for the Vatican!

4. Ice-cream @ Italian Oldest Ice-cream Factory
MMmmm waited all these while to try the ice cream in Italy. Found this oldest ice-cream factory near our guesthouse. 3 huge scoops of different flavours for 1.50EUR. The pistachio and fresh cream is good. Locals were buying tubs of them home.

5. The hot hot weather 34 degree!
Remember people please don’t do Italy or Europe in June. Hotter than back home and staying out for the whole day is a torture therefore the experience and quality of time will be compromise. Lots of drinking fountain around Rome to refill your water bottle and to cool yourself.

6. A bottle of ice cold Beer everyday!
Tried almost all the Italian brands of beers. It is so refreshing cold and taste absolute like sparkling water. Opps!

7. My leather gladiator sandals. Total footwear = 6 (2 Crocs, 1 Adidas, 1 black boots, 1 flip flop & 1 sandals). So many leather goods in Rome and so tempted to buy a leather jacket to keep myself warm in my future travels but SGD$400. Sob.. Very soft leather.. Some other time.

Yes I have a black-nail toe since the trip. I think I hurt it before leaving and it bled internally therefore it is black. I have to wait for it to grow and slowly cut it off. A plaster on the other toe from the new sandals and to date I have 8 footwear haha.

8. Spanish Steps.. not really
No beautiful photos at the Piazza di Spagna. The obelisk at the foreground in front of the church is still under restoration. (I used the word still as I took a look at Duckie’s blog when she was there late last year, obelisk is under restoration too.) Sitting on the steps and people watch is a good past time but only at the shaded area. Just for a while though as you will be “disturbed” by mobile vendors selling fake bags & sunglass, accessories and even single stalk rose with no sleeve or water tube. There is Mr Gladiator for a photo taking at a small price. Follow the small path right ahead, Via Condotti, home to many designer shops. By the way, it is not true that it is cheaper to buy Prada in Milan. They have a standard pricing throughout Europe.
Taken from a website, you can see the obelisk back there.

Sitting at the roof top penning this post and spending the 5th lonely day to myself is a nice feeling. Even though we only do minimum 6 hours a day of sight seeing with at least 8 hours of sleep each day to last this long. Staying in and not do anything is rejuvenating with a glass of Latte from the Nespresso Machine. We haven’t done any sight seeing in Milan except window shopping. Yeah!

[Jen is coming home soon in a week or 2]

Marseille... 14/06/08 - 16/06/08

2008-07-11T13:38:00.008+01:00

Alvin says…. Marseille… the long awaited place… big round and back and finally here….

It took us much pain to get to this point of our trip… the first time we didn’t get to come here cause there was no lodging to be found within our budget… then we left for spain… then a month later after spain we found our way back to this lovely little place.. worth it? To this point… I think its still worth it… the beauty and the pace of the place was jus stunning at first sight…
We stayed jus minutes away from the lovely old port of Marseille (Vieux Port)… found ourselves putting down our backpacks then heading down the small road.. so walking towards the open sea…. Coming into full view of the setting sun… coming to rest by the port… sitting down… listening to the boats go by… seagulls cry… and soaking our feet in the icy cold sea water of the Mediterranean sea… All the feeling of aching backs… distant sounds of cars jus floats away… peace… I already like this place…

The next day… we headed up to one of the fort that once protected this wonderful port and up high in the port we come into full view of this magnificent place… a once occupied place… now quiet and serene… sitting on a bench… we had our packed lunch… among the greens and small flowers… cooling sea breeze brushing through ur hair… recharged…

carrying on walking down by the coast of the place.. we pass by beaches… cliffs… houses and ppl living by the sea… restaurants with ppl jus chilling and like completely lost in time… whats time.. does it matter anymore lol… wonderful…

Then headed up the hill to one of the highest points in the city… and panoramic view of as far as the eye can see… that made my day… today alone was worth all the trouble of coming back.. that 12 hours train ride to paris… all worthwhile

3rd day was the one that I have been waiting for… going out into the sea… how could u say u have came to Europe without sailing off to the magnificent Mediterranean sea… though its only a short ride to the neighbouring island… what more can I ask for with my so small budget lol….cool breeze… seawater… sea gulls. Amazing.. stopping by a small island… an old castle.. an old protector of the place…had a nice time sitting and chilling at this place… seat down at an old store… had a coffee under the sun… time jus stops….

But then our time in marseille comes to an end too… lovely lovely place… if I ever own a boat… it will be parked here… lol

Oh yeah nearly forgot to talk bout the stores set up by the port... take a look... it was great..

On the road for 3 months

2008-07-07T12:12:00.009+01:00

Jen says:

Today marks 3 months on the road in Europe. From London -- Germany -- France -- Spain -- Italy = 13 cities carrying a 16kg backpack. A grand total of 20 times of packing and unpacking staying at 1 or 2 roofs in each city. 3.45GB of almost 4000 photos.

Good quality time with Alvin. Spent his birthday in Berlin, 52th monthliversay in Paris, 53th in Madrid and 4 & a half anniversary in Milan. Even at 4 & a half years, there are still interesting discoveries. I guess that's what keep the relationship and love growing. Lots of understanding and compromise of course living together, just like he prefer coco crunch and me coco pops. My fussy eating habits or theory, salads cannot be only greens but maybe some cheese and ham. Rice has to be eaten with 2 dish, e.g. mushrooms & minced meat or egg & sardines. He is going to stay away from eggs for a while, my favourite. For me, I will say museums again?! Haha

Things I have missed
1. Speggy, Ayam, Liloo & Monkey's birthdays
2. Dajie's wedding
3. Shufen's last day
4. Being there for Ying
5. Rose's cooking & local cuisine (Alvin loves to talk about the food he missed before we go to bed)
6. Not having to look behind your back

When I am back, I will missed the life I am having here! More than 8 hours of sleep, sight seeing, strolling on the streets, sitting & people watch, not in track with the days and time, supermarketing, be on the move, soak in the culture of each city and doing absolute nothing.

Is it time to head home?

P.S. I will post Rome, Florence & Venice soon and not wait for Alvin's post on Marseille as he is "working". I have four alone days to myself. Heading out after lunch to Buenos Aires to walk around. Armed with the 3rd book if I get bored. Cooking dinner tonight haha.

Back to Paris... 11/06/08 - 13/06/08

2008-07-05T17:39:00.004+01:00

Alvin says… Back to paris again..

Comfort of somewhere familiar is a luxury that I didn’t find all this few months travelling… through there is always the excitement of how somewhere new will be like… but somehow u grow to know why homes are always so comfortable… the familiarity of it… there is where comfort comes from… knowing every inch of it eyes close… that’s how it feel a little when I am back to paris… discomfort of the 13 hours overnight train ride in exchange for a 3 days of comfort of familiarity… but actually that overnight was quite an experience too… spending the night in a cabin with a group of unknowns lol… more comfortable then planes at least… cos of the size of the seats… and interesting ppl that ends up on debate bout how many continents are there in the world… surprising something so simple have so many versions from the ppl around the world… US votes 5… Canadian votes 7…. Europeans got 2 votes for 6.. Korean votes 6… Singaporean me vote 7… an old Spanish uncle votes 6 including even the moon in it.. lol… madness… but soon everyone settle down into their slumber too tired to carry on the debate…. Time to rest..
Then PARIS.. when I open my eyes to the sunlight passing through the screens… home lol… nah fat hope…
Spend 3 amazingly relax day in paris… going round smaller more local places then the previous time we were here… its been a month since we last step foot in Paris.. time really pass isn’t it.. 2nd here.. the feeling of liking it grows stronger… a little RNR before the last leg of the trip… whether it had been a long trip or short trip… going too fast.. going too slow.. cant really tell already.. can’t tell if I want it to jus go on or want it to end sooner… missing home??? Not really.. after coming to Paris realise that its jus missing a more familiar place… Recharge… and Marseille here I come…
P.s. plus point of coming back…found this great pastry shop in town… Pauls… u know how good French pastry can be… didn’t get to try any the other time that I am here… great to know that I have a second chance… this time never give face… bought 3… lol.. greedy… but yum.. nice lol

Detour to Marseille - France

2008-06-30T23:32:00.007+01:00

Jen says:

We were finally at Marseille (pronounced as Mar-say) located on the Mediterranean Sea, the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest metropolitan area after France and Lyon. We made a detour from Spain to France just for Marseille. We missed it when we were in France due to accomodation unavailability. We took a night train to Paris stayed for 3 nights and head to Marseille. You can smell the saltness from the sea and the calls from the seagulls. It sounded like babies crying in the sky. Really! It is a city for the rich to come for the weekend to go out to sea with their yachts docked at the port. It was relaxing to sit at the Vieux Port in the evening and soaked your feet in the cooling smelly water with seagulls circling above your head.

There was a gorgeous shop for gift buying for friends back home. The packaging is beautiful. Cookies, caramels, sweets, olive chocolates packaged in tin boxes. It costs $1+ for a cookie. The normal bite-sized cookie not the soft baked one in Subway. Sorry guys the price tag is too much for backpackers. I have pictures to share though.

We had lunch at one of the two forts protecting the port in the past. It had a superb view of the port with wild flowers surrounding you.

We did lots of walking along the sea coast; saw locals fishing, swimming & sunbathing, restaurants with deck chairs, beautiful houses and fishing boats. We even went up to a church on top of a hill. Look at the last photo the one with the gold statue is where the church is. Yes, climbed many many steps and uphill to reach the church. The view was a 360 panaromic view of Marseille.

You must definitely take a cruise out to the many islands around Marseille. We went to Chateau d’If, built as a fortress to protect against any attack. It was used after as a prison which made escape seem impossible being in the middle of the sea. You can see me caught in the act fiddling with one of the many locks on the prison door. Many of the prisoners died in the cells, entering the dark confined area makes one feel spooky.

The fresh seafood stall near our hotel looked so yummy. You can take your pick and eat it in the restaurant fresh or cooked. The fresh oyster and seafood platter look so delicious. I am going to Fish & Co. when I am back and Lau Pa Sat for the stingray or hotel dinner buffet! Anyone going with me?

We were there at least 2 weeks ago and I have been spending more time on Skype than anything else calling DBS trying to settle the claim dispute and finding another of the exact bag.

I shall start a “I am coming home!” count down soon. Daddy asking haven’t play enough? Not coming home yet?

Is it worth the detour? For the time and money, Yes. For what happened, No. Unlucky, Maybe. Please leave your branded/sentimental bags or purse at home. Asians are one group they definitely target. From my observation, Asians (Japanese, PRCs, Hong Kongers) are majority the ones with their branded/expensive looking bags whereas the Ang Mohs are carrying their hideous looking bags.

[In one physical piece, half a soul for 86 days]

03/06/08 - 10/06/08 .... MADRID REAL MADRID...

2008-06-26T23:00:00.013+01:00

Alvin says… Capital City of REAL MADRID… (ROYAL MADRID) HOLA

Last time taking the very expensive train with meals provided rides... gonna miss all the nice looking salads with nice main courses and deserts with drinks of choice... but anyway its expensive... so bye bye…
And here we are in the capital of Madrid… first thing first... a rather interesting choice of accomodations i must say… through for me in my industry I am already kinda use to it… we check into a very nice gay hostel… amazing location… with nice rooms and atmosphere… i think gays got great taste... so very nicely done place... widely recommended... they wouldnt eat u up... cos remember... they got great taste lol....
It’s a very nice city… but again as some of the metropolitan cities that we been to… I kinda dun like it as much as the not so metropolitan cities… maybe it the pace of the place… of jus becos its metropolitan the feel of the city… but still definitely worth a visit… how can anyone not come to Madrid and say that u visited spain right… but i am a small town boy... sorry madrid...

Places to note include Museo del Prado… with amazing works from GOYA and other great works from the Spanish art world… one of the many great museums we have been to... but this round gotta pay... no longer in france.... where as a fine art student entry is free for all museum... yes yes... havent paid abit... but still worth that bit of money to go in and enrich yourself...

Next up... the Royal Palace is also one of the must goes… it with its amazing amazing rooms and interior that makes u die to be a royality… and its amazing court yards and gardens… breath takingly good… but no photos taking inside.. what a pity... cannot show u ppl... but some how most royality places in europe smells of horse poo.... sad... perfumes needed in the front yards pls...

and its actually starting to get quite hot in europe as the main part of summer is drawing in... so looking for greens to shade then its Retiro Park ...a well known park… that a lot of tourist and also local goes… where u will actually find a lot of locals suntanning there are u get much beaches here in Madrid… I think it works a lot like that in Europe.. u will see lots of ppl tanning in parks and gardens or by lakes… its also a nice by to walk and stroll to hot day away… with amazing architecture hidden within as well…

Small things to note when u are here that I find amazing…the street signs that bears the streets names are beautifully decorated… little things that they draw on the signs that signify the essence of the streets… truly amazing…

Actually it’s the little things that makes this place a wonderful place… for me I think its nice to have little touching to things… not the big things that count only… the little things will make u feel truly at home…
And with Madrid it wraps up our 4th country… so sad that its already the 4th… means that we have only 1 left… but after going to the 3 corners of spain… then u can really feel what spain is all about… the HEAT of spain… it comes not from the weather… but more from the ppl… that makes spain such a warmth and wonderful place…
I AM GOING TO MISS U SPAIN… CIAO BELLA
oh yeah... and thats the icon of Madrid... bear and the strawberry tree...

Real Madrid

2008-06-23T17:43:00.011+01:00

Jen says:

Sorry guys, still at Madrid with Marseille coming up soon. WIFI in Rome hasn’t been reliable even though we have very much time on hand. With a 30 degree sun, the weather here has been very much unbearable. We stayed out for 6 hours at most and rushed back to the air-conditioned room downing ice cold beer. The beer is so cooling and good. The fountains around Rome have an ample supply of drinkable cooling spring water. Good for freshening up and to prevent heat stroke.

We stayed at a controversial accommodation at Madrid; a gay hostel at the heart of the city. Had my doubts but not much of a choice due to availability. Exceeded my expectations; nice lounge with a dining area for breakfast, free coffee and tea anytime of the day! It is more like a place which welcomes gays and make them feel at home.

My feeling on Madrid feels like Munich. I can’t explain why though.. The only exciting events were my 2 favourite buys from these 2 cities. The brown leather sling bag which I am trying very hard to find it once again and a good buy - black boots from Topshop! Original price: $120+EUR Sale: $37EUR at my size.

Had a first hand sizzling day at Madrid in my boots to the park. Not that I am a vain pot but it was only 20 degree the day before. Such a drastic change and I have to head back to change into flip flops.

I can’t deny that the architectures in Madrid are stunning. The statues and carvings of the buildings are beautiful.

Even the street signs are different with pictorial image for the significant streets.

The rest I will leave it to Alvin hehe..

P.S. Sorry guys won’t be sending any photo postcards for now as we do not have any storage device for the selected photos.

[In half a piece for 78 days]

Seville 28/05/08 - 02/06/08 & 08/06/08 (Trying to get back to normal after that bad experience…Moving on...)

2008-06-20T23:09:00.011+01:00

Alvin says… place of undying tradition and passions A place so full of passion of its past… so rich of culture… so much so that its so nice jus to be here and absorb what there is here and it will make u feel like u are part of what many years of history boils down to now… (Amazing View will traveling on the train over to Seville... Good Start)

Jus to start… it’s a place without metro.. its not up yet… so bus only to get around the one lane alley.. anyway I dun really think the place needs metro… its nice to keep it the way it is… even nicer to have a walk around here and there (when its not summer though… its suppose to be the hottest summer u can get here in Europe)… though we are here late spring early summer we are feeling the diff that it is from the rest of the nearby places we been to… it can be 10+ in Madrid but near 30 in Seville that much hot…
Anyway it’s a nice old town feel.. that I always seem to like to the big city places… maybe I am a small town boy lol… jus like the way I like lyon kinda of thing… but still dun get me wrong.. the big cities are nice places too.. I think so far all Europe is nice..
Day 1 – Do nothing lol… jus enjoy the feel of the small town and walk around aimlessly shopping… sitting around jus lazing and slacking away… what a relaxing time there… took off taking photos today too… pure resting…

Day 2 – Plaza di Espana… one of the great places I saw.. beauty to the purest… cant take ur eyes off it… it was used for the shooting of star wars 2 film… it got the feel of a great palace of that scale… can u imagine that… walking down like skywalker lol…
Opposite it is a nice garden… where we went for a round of cycling in something like a car like bicycle… crash a few time… which was quite fun… but surely the highlight of the day belong to the great pastries from the best pastry shop in Seville… Makes your mouth turn into like a watering can… dead tasty…

The PLAZA....

The Garden...

The Pastries... Yum...

Day 3 – went to this great cathedral of Seville… gorgeous interior… breath taking view from the top of the tower… that’s if it dun take your breathe away first when you are climbing it lol…. Suppose to be the biggest in the world in volume… but 2nd biggest cathedral in the world.. behind that of st peter in rome…. And also visit a palace of the past.. that draws flavour from both its Turkish and Spanish background…

The Palace...

The Cathedral...

The Tomb of Christopher Columbus...

The Tower and its view...

Day 4 – TORO… ALE… lol… went to visit the bullfighting ring.. but no bull fights today.. how… wanna watch.. but dun get to watch… but the ring looks great.. ppl said that the essence of bullfighting has to be felt from this very ring… as it at its purest and most origin style… I will be back…

Day 5 – Day of indulgence… spend the most today.. going for a tradition bath in a restored bath from 1000 of years ago… going thru the stairs to in basement depths… going to the warm bath… then the hot bath.. then freezing cold bath…bring relieve to the body that we have torture for the past 2 months… lol… then Jacuzzi… massaged… stream room and salt water bath… truly amazing…. A first for me…. Then ending off the night with one of the best known flamenco shows in spain… flamenco at its purest form… amazing moves and music with lots of ale… ale… ale… whatever it means… what a night

Had a truly wonderful time there… but guess what… we came back… came back for the great bull fighting show… an experience u can get only if u are in spain… anywhere else and I am sure u will get ppl protesting that u are being cruel to animals.. lol… but thrilling day….

Vagrants for a day

2008-06-18T20:25:00.000+01:00

Jen says:

A little adventure we called it. A little adventure where we stayed out at the bus station and airport for the whole night without a roof over our heads and a lock to keep us safe. The little adventure started at 9am and shock no. 1 the train was cancelled and we have 4mins to rush and catch another one to take us to Barcelona eventually with 2 transits instead of 1. Technically the route to Barcelona is 6 hours journey with 1 transit. Shock no. 2 caught the train brought us to Transit no. 1 and again the connecting train was cancelled. Now with 3 transits with total waiting time for connecting trains added up to 4 and a half hour… It ended up to be a 12 hours journey. The train employees are on strike resulting to the cancellation of trains. But hello I need to be in Barcelona by today to catch my flight to Rome tomorrow morning for goodness sake.

Composing this in the waiting room at Transit no. 2 to kill time and while my frustration is still in me. What’s more? I am waiting to find out. If this entry didn’t end up posted, simply means I am no longer in one piece on the little adventure.

This little adventure of ours had a bad ending. Yes I am still in one piece in Rome now but 1 piece of possession short. There is this syndicate of blacks at Barcelona Nord Bus Station where we waited for the shuttle to the airport. They worked in a group with one doing the recee, 2 on the job and the rest on the look out. They distracted your attention by dropping something in the opposite direction of your bags and the other asshole took it from your back! Alvin gave chase to no avail and we found them loitering around. Apparently, they have already passed the bag to their accomplice. Confronted them with the security guard but to what use. We even saw them doing the act again right in front of us. They are in a group and who knows how many of them are around? Totally helpless. When I was cancelling my credit cards, impressed there were already transactions. Who is kind enough to fly over with cash? Just joking. We are fine. Feel like going home now, though we are looking forward to Italy all this while. Hai.. Dampen our spirit but we will learn and move on from this unfortunate event.

Trying to cheer up..

Sevilla

2008-06-13T01:25:00.015+01:00

Jen says:

Seville seems like a place where the rich old folks go to for their retirement years. We have seen the grandpas in suits & ties and grannies in skirt suits with scarf over the necks. People are pretty well-dressed there as we observed. No open-toe sandals or flip flops! It was that easy to differentiate the locals and tourists. It is a weekend getaway for the Spanish and the streets are packed as compared to weekdays.

Few good and bad surprises for Seville
Let’s get started with the bad so that I can share the good surprises. The accommodation in Seville was a disappointment to my standard (Alvin actually liked it, saying it was very Spain). Pictures can be taken in a certain manner to deceive. Amazed they got 80% for the rating at HostelBookers. So tempted to give my lousy rating and 2 cents worth comment. The place looks old and the bathroom is shared among 10 rooms. I had a bad experience on the first night and thereafter I bathed once I came back to be the first to use the cleaned bathroom.

The ugly side of the room not shown on the HostelBookers.

Bitten by mozzies first time in Europe. Thinking they don’t exist in Europe left out mosquito repellent in my shopping list. Heard buzzing sound, can’t sleep well the whole night and ended up covering my head with the blanket. Alvin killed 7-8 by the 2nd night and we ended up like obsessed murderers on high alert of any flying object. On the 3rd day, mass killing: Sprayed insecticide to the whole room and slept in peace for the rest of the stay.

Nice architectures in Seville too and lots of horse poo. Horse carriages are a mode of transport to ferry tourists around the places of interest.

Plaza de España is one of the scenes of episode II of George Lucas' STAR WARS saga Attack of the clones.

Breath-taking place I must say.

We went cycling in Park Maria Luisa, beside Plaza de España. For my dear friends who know I can’t cycle, yes this is a special bicycle for two which makes sight-seeing around the park done much leisurely.

We pondered onto the best pastry shop in Seville just at our doorstep. Alvin was delighted and he can’t help buying a pastry everyday. We even try to be a local and stand by the counter to eat the pastry and drink coffee. Alvin will elaborate on the taste and feel on his post.

A luxury day of Arab bath followed by flamenco in the evening. Yes I was surprised to find an Arab bath in Seville. Abit of history, in the 5th and 6th centuries, the city was taken by the Moors in 712. Moors were of Arab descent. An hr and half hot bath plus 15 mins massage to loosen the aching muscles was so heavenly. There is jacuzzi and steam room available too. The bath goes in a sequence of a warm water bath at 36 degrees Celsius, a hot water bath at 40 degrees Celsius and finally a cold water bath at 16 degrees Celsius. These changes of temperature bring a relaxing sensation. Wearing a pink bathing suit after all these years of bikini was quite a sensation too. Photos are courtesy of the website as my camera is in the locker.

Our first Flamenco show was a total experience. The dancer accompanied by a Spanish guitarist and a singer during each routine. The rhythm of the hands and feet with the movement of the body and facial expression to the music was so profound.

I realised what a bimbo I may sound when I looked so excited over bullfighting in front of a Canadian man over Tapas in Barcelona. I only realised that bullfighting involved killing the bull when we were doing research on Seville. The objective of bullfighting is the sacrificial ritual of a brave animal for the greater glory of man. What bull shit! I was grossed over this “art form”. The three acts: When the bull enters and during the first part, the matador in his traditional costume raises the red and gold flag. He makes sweeping motions with the cape and helpers both on foot and on horseback drive their lances into the bull, gauging the liveliness and characteristics of their opponent. During the second part of the fight three pairs of darts are driven into the bull’s neck. In the final and the most distressing part of the fight the bullfighter becomes a killer. This is the most dangerous part where he attracts the injured animal towards him. At the last moment he must kill the beast with a single thrust of his sword.

Yes, we even made the trip back to Seville to catch the bullfighting when we were in Madrid. The bullring, La Real Maestranza of Seville, is one of the most beautiful, oldest, as well as one of the most significant in the history of bullfighting.

What to do we are tourist, afterall.

[In one piece for 68 days]

HOLA! HOLA HOLA HOLA! Barcelona.... 21/05/08 - 29/05/08

2008-05-31T01:03:00.018+01:00

Alvin sayss.... Welcome to the warmth of blazing heat Spain….

Not really as hot as I thought it would be here… maybe because of the good timing that we are here in spring.. early summer ba….

Moving on from a place to another… I already lost count of how many cities I have went to.. how many days I have been away… seem like yesterday that I jus left Singapore lol…. I think its more like close to 2 months…. Never been away for so long before I guess… not counting army of cos… lets not talk about that… so lets do a re-cap

London (2 weeks) => Berlin (1 week plus)=> Munich (1 week) => Paris (2 Weeks) => Lyon (1 week) => Barcelona (1 week plus)….

Half way mark lol… happy that we went so far already… but sad that it also means that slowly the bigger part of the journey is over…

Anyway… Barcelona… Spain… Spanish food… Tapas.. Yum… loving it… The food… the ppl… the weather… the way how the place look… the small alley… the old old building… the Mediterranean sea and beach…

Food Food Food... so far we have been great fans of their local markets... though we dun really get alot of chance to buy things from them.. but its really fun to go have a look at it... seeing what they sell is like seeing how the ppl there lives... what they eat... seafood here is really fresh... vege and fruits looks great... and they are really proud of their cured meat... i loved Spanish food

Day 1 – las ramblas.. very interesting buskers(very smart outfits but didnt manage to take enough pics of them, make those singapore ones look boring)… drinking the local taps (from craze of Meteor Garden)… pet stores selling interesting pets (Chickens, lizards, wessels, ducks, all sorts of mice)... oh yeah got a lot of pigeons… pigeon paradise cos you dun see a single hk restaurant in sight lol…

Day 2 – Gaudi Gaudi Gaudi - Crazy Genius of the achitecture world..

Day 3 – Gaudi Cathedral (Not finish but still worth a look), Mediterranean sea (this time we only get to look at it, when will i get to chance to go sailing through it, "more plans of future trips bubbling up lol), Eating Paelle by the beach (with fresh cut and squid and salad, one of the most ex meal we had so far since the trip)… and sea breeze

Day 4 – A black and white day… today feel like having a day without colours... hoping to see the place in a view that seem like the past... weird huh... anyway i am weird to begin with anyway lol...but dun u think it looks great... bringing out the feel of the streets…

Day 5 – Rainy day but great tapas tapas tapas… yum… its kinda like sakae in sg... (joint venture)

Day 6 – Barcelona 92... we are here.... jus 16 years late... but better late then never isnt it...

Day 7 – Day of slacking and chores… finally staying in a place with a kitchen again... miss having kitchens... the small wok can only do that much... but see... the wonders of having a kitchen... great looking food without paying a great deal of money... kindly make advance appointment... booking starts now... menu will be on whats fresh on that day lol

Day 8 – Bye Barcelona…. Mwah

coming over from a smaller place... the feeling of coming to a Bigger city is diff... its some what easier to stay in i guess... but barcelona dun lack the beauty and chillout layback feeling that small town have... together with the convenients of big cities... a great choice start of the wonderful spain...

How... more of more places and choices that pulls you to stay longer and not wanna go back... how... how .... how.... Loving Europe more and more

Ciao Bella

HOLA! Barcelona...

2008-05-30T21:42:00.022+01:00

Jen says:

Germany.. France and now Spain..!! Barcelona is the city I was looking forward to after the craze of Meteor Garden II many years back. I was sharing a few episodes from youtube with Alvin before writing this blog. If anyone watched it before, you must remember the scene where she drank the water from a tap and said that if you drink the water from it you will come back to Barcelona. Yes we found it and was telling Alvin to drink and both of us went eekkss. It looked dirty and the locals were washing their hands. Only the tourists were drinking from it.

Scene 2: Where he bought a balloon and said "I pass my happiness to you" and the balloon flew away. It is at Park Guell. A park with curvy mosaic sitting area, columns supporting this area with mosaic ceiling and interesting looking houses designed by a great architect, Gaudi.

We have seen alot of his work in Barcelona. A reknown architect who has designed many great buildings which were declared by UNESCO as World Heritage sites. Many of his works were inspired by geometry of nature, shapes and colours, a complete art form. His creativity was extended to each and every element of his work, from door knobs to chimmeys.

Temple de la Sagrada Familia is his last project. The construction began in 1882 and he was working on this over 40 years until his death in 1926. To this date when we visited, the architects are still working on it so areas on the site are sectioned off and that explained the cranes in the photos.

Las Rambla is THE place in Barcelona and our apartment is just on one of the many streets. Carrefour is just at the corner and once you walked out this is what greeted your eyes:- Tourists, souvenier shops, buskers in costumes & acts, pet shops, flower shops & cafes selling paella, tapas and sangria (wine punch = red wine, fresh, seasonal fruit and a bit of bubbly water or citrus flavored soda).

Our apartment is superb, the kind of accomodation we are looking for the trip. We always wanted a kitchen for the convenient to cook and store fresh food in the fridge. However, it is either hostel or apartments for 4 or too expensive. We manage to find one here at our budget. Surprisingly!

Barcelona was more of a food galore with the stove and oven. No more canned food of corned beef, mackerel and french beans for a while. Happy to make corn flakes for breakfast and these for lunches and dinners. Haven't had fresh beef since London. The prices of meats differ for different countries. In Paris, it is super expensive more than €10.

We are open for booking. You can book us to be your companion for any overseas trip. Alvin: Humorous, great navigation & culinary skills! Jen: Your friend. Booking fee: 2 way air tickets and accomodation for 2. Reservations are subject to availability. Email to tinky_pebble@hotmail.com.

Welcome to the olympic port by the beach. Ordered a seafood paella for 2, squid in batter, salad and fresh cuts. Delicious and greedy in the end brought home half of the paella. It is not suppose to be in the foil, this was the take away portion. We started eating and again forgot to snap before.

Tapas at less than €2 each. We ordered 11 for lunch. Serving the size of sushi only but Yummy! Tough to select from the 50 over variety.

Finally had a chance to be at the laundromat. Usually hand wash but there wasn't a place to hang to drip-dry. Half an hr wash and half an hr for spin dry. 7 days worth of dirty clothes! No softener though hmpf.

[In one piece for 56 days]

Lyon.... 15/05/08 - 20/05/08

2008-05-29T23:43:00.007+01:00

Alvin says.... A great relaxing escape after so many heavy loaded cities...

Wonderful wonderful layback city of lyon... compare to its counterpart Paris... its not so much of a happening place... but more of a beautiful smaller town still preserving its charm but lacking the harshness that big cities tend to have...

its as if ppl here got nothing to rush to.... and things here also jus turn smaller.. Their train is only 2 cabin for example... not too crowded always... you dun really see ppl walking around everywhere u go... kinda like how it feel like in berlin... as in not really crowded... not really packed.. kinda like how it feels in berlin... loving it.... lovely lovely alley and street too... not run down kind of old.. but old with flavor...

after so long on the road... its kind of nice to jus layback abit and not have to think of where to go... or have a very packed and long day... somewhere u can jus relax and chill and kinda like waste time lol...

but do take note that shop looks like they close for 2 hours lunch kinda thing... not in a rush to open the store... customer can come back if they wanna get something later...

went to some interesting places there.... going thru and seeing how life is like how it would be like there from the earlier part of their past (silk workers)... to how they live now.... and how they eat.... and also how they die.... and their memories remain.... (basically... walked thru the path that silk workers went many years ago... walk thru the streets that ppl still stay now... eat the manifi food of the lyonaise cusine.. yum... went to a hospital museum which is also still in use as a hospital now... and lastly a cemetrey...)

must say that i feel more of a complete trip that way isnt it...

and i say it again... a lovely lovely town... retirement choice for sure lol....

Where is Lyon?

2008-05-24T21:21:00.024+01:00

Jen says:

First question I got when my msn stated Jen@Lyon. According to Wikipedia, Lyon is a city in east central France. It is the third largest French city, the first being Paris and the second Marseille (Suppose to be in Marseille now instead of Barcelona. Full house and we are trying to fit it in somehow).

Even though Lyon is part of France, it is surprisely clean. Music is playing while one waits on the platform for the metro. Metro has more frequency due to only 2 cabins with scenery of the underground from the front and back. Reminded me of the skytrain at Changi Airport.

Accomodation was so hotel style. Big fluffy beds and pillows; bathtub with thick towels; complimentary toiletries and coffee & tea facilities. Alvin started to ask how much we paid per night? I did not remember the exact amount but it was slightly more than usual. I assured him that we came to an agreement, didn't we? No wifi is the only disappointment. Charges: €8 for an hour or €17 for 24 consecutive hours. Popped into an internet cafe after the first night and yes it was definitely value for money. Yippie total comfort! So far, the ratings of the accomodations reviews are a good guide.

[I do not have the program to rotate it so please turn your head 90degree anti-clockwise]

Big surprise! My jackets are no longer white elephants after Paris "Singapore" weather. Lyon is cooling at 12 to 18 celsius. Can say goodbye to my white panda eyes soon!

Love this mystic historic courtyard and stairways, we were walking through the same passage ways once taken by the silk workers.

Two unusual visits on the itinerary for Lyon: 1. Loyasse Cemetary (Definitely worth the visit as recommended by the official website) and so we went! 2. Hôtel Dieu hospital - Yes, there are doctors and patients in this depleted looking compound. Maybe the experts are still in practice.

Took the funicular uphill to visit the Notre Dame, Roman Theaters which are still used for festivals and the view.

The reason why I fall in Love with Lyon. The charming streets and buildings minus the uphills and downhills.

We were having lunch by the river after a Sunday stroll along the Saone river where highly talented painters and craftsmen exhibiting their work for all to see and fresh food stalls of poultry, cheese, fruits and vegetables. At that moment, I was so inspired to learn cooking! There are so many fresh ingredients and only if I know how to use them or know what they are for. But as I said it is only for that moment as back home I do not enjoy going to the markets. If only I stay in Europe haha. Oh yeah back to the part on having lunch, we mentioned about always wanting to travel alone but just didn't went down to it. Out of fun, I suggested ok let's do it tomorrow! Haha Alvin agreed as Lyon is a safe town. Both went on our separate ways after lunch and I was armed with a map from the reception. I enjoyed it for a while and after that I became worried about being lost as we were meeting at a meeting point elsewhere. I started walking towards that direction and was constantly referring to the map to be sure. I found the place, was strolling around and got bored with no one to talk to. So yes! I can only travel alone for work or I am down and don't feel like socialising.

Tasting local cuisines = Delicacies indulgences on Europe exchange rate. In London, we had the sausage & mash and fish & chips; Berlin's Alvin Birthday lunch; Munich we had the Bavarian buffet of pretzel, salads, sausages, escalope, roast pork knuckle & pork and homemade apple strudel with custard sauce (reference from Alvin's souvenier menu) as for Lyon a 3 course lunch at the cafe. Photos only for the main course as we always forgot to photograph, not a habit. I had the salmon and Alvin has baked pike fish puree in currycomb sauce. Interesting. Appreciated the free iced water in most Singaporean restaurants, the 50cl Evain costs €4. Yes, the lunch came up to almost SGD$80.

We saved quite abit on the daily home-cooked meals so this is only limiting to per state or countries. Haha Barcelona dinner of seafood paella, squid in batter, fresh cuts and salads at...!!! Pictures coming up in next post!

Discovery right at the city centre... Nostalgic I like!

[In one piece for 49 days]

Paris.. City of Dreams...04/05/08 - 14/05/08

2008-05-22T22:10:00.013+01:00

Alvin says... Paris... A place for u to dream... and set ur wings free lol... Bohemian style... lol

Coming to Paris is like a dream to anyone isnt it... Like going somewhere in ur dreams... at least for the not so fortunate us that never been to europe before.. its like a small part of the dream coming true coming here... sitting on the train from munich impatiently waiting to reach paris... lol "actually it basically happens for all the cities when we travel"... then here i am in Paris...

First thing to catch my eyes is the architecture... almost on high rise in the zone 1 part of the city at all (we are staying at the zone 2 area)... every building have the dream house look with little balcony with metal reiling kind lol... "thats the outside la.. inside how no one know"... but still it looks fantastic outside... a unique pink tree in a street of road side tree... so subtle.. so dreamy...

But then we kinda ignored all those beautiful things first and went to be kids for a day.. lol... so like us... went disney on the second day in paris.. wanting to go have a little fun first before going into the bohemian life lol... a thrilling and expensive day.... 100 over bucks for a day at disney... can u believe it lol... but still went.. and had hell of a good time...

Back to reality... back to being bohemian.. lol.. LOURVE....oh MONA... MONA... seeing it live... under the thick glass wall.... thru the barriers... over the heads of the thousands standing in front of u... isnt quite the same as look at the blown up pic in front of u lol.... but non the less... oh MONA lol... basically u can get to see all 4 ninja turtles work here... Leonardo... Donatello... Raphael... and Michelangelo... so much to see... cant finish in a day... too overwhelming... countless masterpieces.... countless artists... camp here for days...

There are still more.. more... Picasso Museum... Orangie Museum to see Monet and Matisse... Rodin Museum... and Orsay Museum to see Van gogh and Monet... Breathtaking... Cant possibliy peel ur eyes off the works of genius... (for art lovers at least...) but i believe even non art lovers will understand the reason why... a set of painting can take 30 years to be done and yet every stroke is a well thought process... incredible...

ART ART ART ART.... Artist everywhere... somewhere that ppl wouldnt find u amusing to be a designer or artist.. or maybe in their mind is like thinking "how can he/she survived"... of cos maybe another part is of admiration.. but i guess its jus so normal here that ppl dun bother... and i guess thats why europe is full of oppurtnity if u wanna try to grab one.. how fortunate of them...

Other Then art there is Versailles.. Beautiful Beautiful Place for the Kings.. Place that only read about before in front of my eyes...

funny thing is ppl here are actually not as bad as thought... but it can jus be a pain if u dun know the language... cos ppl here are not really good with english... but still we do suvived...

Having the Time of my life there... Thats what u feel when u are in paris isnt it... Love.. Passion... Peace... Come here and Join in the Dream....

P.s.. Even Manage to bum into a friend that i dun even bum into in singapore... on the Effiel town.. i think some of u might recognise her...

Paris

2008-05-22T09:21:00.000+01:00

Paris photos are up ppls.... sorry for the delay
enjoy

Bonjour..

2008-05-17T16:41:00.020+01:00

Jen says:

Bonjour! Bienvenue to Paris! A romantic city perceived by many including myself from the movies and books. Paris houses one of the wonders in the world – Eiffel Tower, the Louvre (the glass pyramid seen in the Da Vinci Code) and Notre-Dame (where Hunchback of Notre Dame is staged). The architectures are beautiful with the metal railings balcony overlooking the roads embracing a similar style. It doesn’t feel like a metropolitan city like London, not many high rise buildings. Romance in the air? Nope, stench of pee at the underground and pavement most of the time. P.S. Karen, you are the right that Paris is over-rated.

We came to Paris at the one of the peak period. With 1st May (Labour Day) long weekend, 8th May (VE Day) Victory in Europe Day when Germany surrendered another long weekend till Monday, 12th May (Whit Monday) Day of the Holy Spirit. The weather in Paris was scotching hot even though it was at a high of 25 and 13 low at night. I definitely look tanner with a white panda patch the size of my sunglass. I need to buy SPF face cream soon. Refer to the photo under Versailles.

Survival skills at Paris. Coca Cola is less than €1 in supermarkets, €2 via the machine, €3 at the stalls at the tourist’s attractions. This goes the same to mineral water so go for the illegal guys selling at only €1 around the attractions. Oh they have Orangina in France and this is my favourite drink since young coz my uncle used to bring home lots as he worked in F&N haha.

Paris is an Art-galore city. Even an Art idiot like me was overwhelmed by the art I have seen and the number of hours spent in the museums. Before the trip, when we were doing our research Alvin was so excited over names like Rodin, Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse, just to name a few. He got the blank look from me and I went “Huh”? You know the famous “The Thinker”? No. He did the pose and I was like “Oh! That’s Rodin”.

I have a good companion armed with culinary skills, history knowledge, art knowledge, navigation skills and a high level of TLC. Thank you, baby!

I was amazed by the artists in the past. They are talented genius who pursued their passion. Their work of masterpieces turned landscapes, history & portraits on canvases into something real right before your eyes. The various tones of colours create a certain shade that brings out the mood the artist wanted to portray. The techniques used and the texture it gives tells so much more.

I know Picasso.

I even bought a replicated copy of Van Gogh to be hanged in my bedroom.

Disneyland Paris came with a price tag of SGD$135 per person with return train ticket. Who can resist Disneyland, not even the old! I must say that the rides are very much the same though. We wanted to ride on 2 of the Big Thrills – Indiana Jones 360 mine car and Space Mountain 360 high-speed roller-coaster. After much anticipation, at the front of the line both rides are non-operational due to technical interruptions. Killed the fun and make me worried so we decided to skip the rides. It was a child-like day for a change after the grown up museums, churches and palaces. Enjoyed the Tarzen show and Disney 15th Anniversary carnival. No fireworks as the sun only set after 9pm in Paris. Too many things to buy but have to consider on the space constraints.

The day trip to Versailles was Wow! The queue was Wow! The fountains were Wow! The scale of the estate which was a weekend palace for King Louis XIV was Wow! The Hall of Mirrors after undergoing a thorough, three year restoration was Wow! The state apartments for the king and queen were Wow! The heat was Wow too!

The Eiffel Tower climb was breathless. I didn’t count the number of steps but I was proud to be up at the 2nd stage of the tower. The top is only accessible by elevators. The view was breathtaking. We stayed out to enjoy the night view and were surprised to see the tower in glitters and sparkles.

The friendship band story was true after all. Please look out for these people with strings in their hands. Spotted at Montmartre and Jardin des Tuileries near Louvre so far. They approached claiming to want to tie it on your wrist and a dead knot it will be. What choice are you left with but to pay for the 2 strings at a ridiculously price!

We did spend a romantic evening under a canopy of trees when it poured on the last day in Paris.

Posting this in McDonalds Lyon. No Wifi for the moment.

[In one piece for 43 days]

Munich.. Munchen

2008-05-08T23:09:00.002+01:00

Photos for Munich is up... go check it out... but sadly some of the older photos have to be taken away... as there is only a capacity of 200 pics...
Enjoy... Cheers

27/04/2008 - 04/05/2008.... Munich Munich Munich.." She Dun wanna talk bout it"

2008-05-04T22:33:00.015+01:00

Alvin says.... Same Country.... different city... feels like going to a diff world...

Its quite interesting isnt it.... things that we in little singapore wouldnt feel... whats the diff from tampines and woodlands... not much... lol... but in countries like germany... jus traveling a few hours and u come to a diff place... ppl speaking the same language... calling theirselves germans... but feels like a totally diff place...

SomeWhat feel not as spacious as we felt in berlin... more of the cosmopolitan city that u expect western cities to be... and like most european country.. they are soccer crazy... we happen to reach after a game... we went to burger king for dinner... and basically it was pack with fans after a game.. and they sang and cheered like they were in the stadium... "most go catch a match"

Back to the city... while its still rather a packed cosmopolitan city... there are gems hidden in the mids of the mess... lol... the Town hall... Viktualienmarkt(Market)... the shopping there is actually quite good... more of a compact shopping area then berlin..

But the highlights of the place will have to be the country side... amazing jus to sit and chill... amazing jus not to do anythinng and relax... Neuschwanstein Castle is the Real Version of the castle of Disney... what amazing is that the inside is even nicer then the outside.. "too bad cannot take photo"... Its in a mountain side and its location is near a lake and the Alps... Breath taking

The other Castle... Nymphenburg Palace and Park....

The other highlight will be an experience at the local most reknown beer house... Hofbrauhaus(HB).. beer making since the 1500s... Beer drinkers not to be miss... but i still like my paulanders... lol... Expensive experience though.. lol.. but ok... did enjoyed... u can ask me for the menu if u are interested to go.. lol.. "left the place with the menu" opss....

Great City with great ppl... Great culture and great beer.. lol...

Cheers... On with Paris

Jen in Munich

2008-05-02T20:04:00.007+01:00

Jen says:
We are staying in a HOTEL in Munich, first time in our backpacking budget trip. One with an excellent location, 5 mins walking distance from the train station from Berlin & to Paris & getting around Munich; 10 mins walking distance away from Marienplaz (Central) with Starbucks just at the doorstep and supermarket at the corner.

People, welcome to Easy Palace Hotel! We can’t manage to get a hostel and this falls under our price range with a 80% rating from those who stayed here before. Dodgy the name may sound, first impression is OMG! but it is clean with breakfast, make up room service and fresh towels provided. The breakfast stays the same everyday though: 2 kinds of bread and cheese, 3 kinds of ham, cereals & spreads, coffee, tea & orange.

Surprise no.1 – Jenefer Wong has booked the wrong arrival day. Haha rare but it happened and luckily they do have rooms available.

Surprise no.2 – The lift is century old. Open the door, close and press the floor. A metal shutter closes and the lift goes up. Push the door to step out. I tried out of curiosity; the door won’t open if the lift is not here. Safety precaution, in case someone opens and fall.

Surprise no.3 – The door to our room has no keyhole! Haha open this door and you will find another. Reason? I have no idea. Double protection maybe. They have 2 windows too by the way. Haha weird.

Surprise no.4 – Vintage looking room with glass hanging lighting, red curtains & a sink in the room. A sink?! I was wrong about the sink. The sink is very useful! We used it to wash up, wash veg and food, wash clothes, wash dishes and the water from the tap is icy cold that we used it to keep our coke cold.

Surprise no.5 – There is a room with the name “BAD” on the door. I was wondering what kind of room is this? Not until when I can’t find the bathroom (we paid for a shared facilities), I started to wonder could that be a German word for BATH and I am right!

Surprise no.6 – No hostel means no kitchen and we have to eat out. The cheapest we found on our first night in Munich, Burger King Burger with drink = €2.99 each. Next day, lunch costs €4 each. We bought a cooker in Singapore before we came. Small, for camping purpose with an electric heating plate. We had only tried cooking maggi mee and it is not capable for a sunny side up according to Alvin as it is not non-stick. There isn’t a fridge in the room therefore only non-refrigerated food items possible. Tada! We managed to cook rice, have steamboat of veg and pork plus egg, veg rice with fish fingers, ravioli, franks with baked beans and pasta with mushrooms & franks in cream sauce. Each costs around SGD$3 each. Alvin is so proud of his little wok and he will go into the details in his entry. Of course, this saving could bring you a long way so get this cooker with you for aspiring backpackers and packed along someone who can cook well like mine.

Surprise no.7 – Munich has nothing much interesting. Very city-like and lots of shopping. No cheap Birkenstock either. I am kind of disappointed and I prefer Berlin. So I have decided to blog about the accommodation instead and leaving Munich to Alvin haha.

Surprise no.8 – Met an English elder man and he has been to Singapore. We ask him whether he likes it. His answer No I hate it! Why? There is no country side in Singapore and only lots of buildings. I understand what he meant as I see it with my own eyes when we went out to the outskirt of Munich to visit the real Disney castle.

[In one piece for 25 days]

Update of photos...

2008-04-29T10:08:00.001+01:00

Alvin Says...

I am currently uploading the berlin photos into flickr... as they cannot contain too much of our photos.... some of the older ones will be deleted off to make space for newer ones....
cheerrssss

21/04/2008 - 26/04/2008 Beautiful week in Berlin...

2008-04-26T21:46:00.015+01:00

Alvin sayss.... deepest apologies to a week long blog of berlin done together... as its too nice and comprehend... and only jus woke up from dreamland as we are leaving berlin tomoro morning to Munich....

when first landed in berlin... first impression was... nice big... spacey... from the airport we headed off to take the train over to our hostel... scenes change from empty lands to ruin city... to buildings under constructions... to grafitti on walls... very industrial... so what disappointed by first impression actually.... on leaving our stuff and resting for a day( as it was my birthday )... we came to enjoy the beauty of berlin.... berlin gives a feel that she had seen alot... been through alot... and her charms and beauty comes from that of experiences... After going thru alot... she begining to enjoy your fruits...

First.. enjoy the aged beauty of berlin... alThough alot of it is under recontruction... and restoration...

Then we enjoy the modern and the new comtemperary side of berlin.... full of self expression... full of life.. yet still a touch of the gloom that shadows over from the past....

Lastly... we enjoy the new... fresh.. untouched by what had happened before... enjoying the fruits of those that paid before....

Actually frankly... i enjoyed my stay in berlin... its somewhat peaceful... its like no one is rushing no where... though a big city... there isnt really alot of ppl crowding the streets... a very easy place to come to settle and relax... compared with london... its like a totally diff place... not the young and exciting kind... but calm and charming in her own right....

WHY WHY!!!!! a week only......... lol... anyway sorry for the short write up of the place... as more time is spent enjoying the place then writing bout it lol.... and also more things are better showed and felt then told and listened...

p.s.... Do wish to come again......

20/04/2008 26th Birthday In Berlin....

2008-04-25T23:41:00.004+01:00

Alvin says... Berlin Birthdayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me...
Happy Birthday to me... sing sing...

first time having my birthday in europe.... lol... lots of drama... as we got loss in the heart of london.... following by missing our bus to go to the airport... but guess what... we are in berlin... enjoying birthday alvin....
no major celebration but have a great lunch... but not after the waitress brought us a non-german menu for us to order... lol

basically a slack slack first day... doing supermarketing and settling in into beautiful berlin...
cheersss....
p.s. Wish to have many more greats birthdays ahead... and many belated birthday present when i come back... or kindly mail to Munich... lol

Goodbye Winter London and Hello to Spring in Berlin

2008-04-25T19:54:00.017+01:00

Jen says:
Danke = Thank You
Ausgang = Exit
Berlin is a city covered with graffiti that's my first thought when I caught the train to the hostel. Back home, we will see it as vandalism but here it is her style, her character. Charming old lady is the term I will used to describe Berlin. Simple, nostalgic yet charming in her own way.

The way of life of Berliner
1. Berliners cycle to work and everywhere. Not like Londoners on stylish bikes and tight bike gears, theirs are the simple one with a basket at the front in their work clothes in leather shoes or boots. There are even bicycle tracks on the road or pavement. We are not used to it and was "honked" at a couple of times and cyclists cursing in German. Haha..

2. Berliners are big in recycling too but mainly on bottles. Reason being, when you buy mineral water or beer in the supermarkets they charged you extra for the bottles at €0.15 each. We too become "rag & bone" collecting our bottles and going to this machine at the supermarket. Once you put the bottles in, a receipt will be issued stating the amount, thereafter it will be credited off your bill. Locals are dragging or pulling the bottles on a bandwagon to the supermarket. If we have this system back in Singapore, our mothers/grandmas will be collecting bags of bottles to save on the supermarketing expenses. Costs of Mineral water or Beer or Coke = Less than €1. Wine = Less than €3. P.S. Sarah, fly here and meet me!!

3. There are no ticket barriers in Berlin's underground network. You simply go down the stairs and you are right there at the platform. There is a machine for you to buy your ticket by zone (AB, BC or ABC). AB zone costs €1.30 regardless you take 1 or 10 stops. You must validate your ticket to stamp the time and departure station. Only the honest and righteous beings will! The doors to the trains are not automated and you need to lift your finger, stretch out your finger and press!

Honestly, you can finish Berlin in 4-5 days as the attractions are concentrated in a few areas. Why we are taking 7 days? We are taking it slow and soaking in Berlin bit by bit. =) This is a long entry as we have been in Berlin for 5 days with no blog entry.

Berliner Dom is a Magnificent cathedral with a large, impressive Sauer organ. You have to hear the hymn played on the organ at evening service recorded on video.

The other must-do is to exit the cathedral and re-enter by the side door. Climbed 276 steps and be greeted with a closer look of the dome, finally a view outside the dome at this circled level.

They called it the museum island as it consists of a few museums closely situated. On every Thursday after 6pm, it is Free. We went to Museumasinsel to visit Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection. The exhibition gives an idea of the continuity and transformation that took place in ancient Egyptian culture over four millennia.

An interesting place to visit is Tacheles, an eye-opener, an arthouse in the ruins of a former department store. Tacheles provides exhibition space for contemporary artists, a forum for the experimental theatre scene, and a cinema that specialises in seldom-shown films with sofa seats. The whole area was in graffiti and I hesitated to step in when we were there. It looks like an abandoned site. Look at the pictures and you will understand what I meant. However, I was too fast to make judgement. I actually enjoyed sitting there drinking beer and taking in the art. The studios house many aspiring artists in their own arena.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is the central place for remembrance. And what Alvin and I did was incorrigible!! We played hide and seek! It is a memorial of 2,711 concrete blocks of different heights, structured in a grid pattern. We are sorry!

The Berlin Wall was the symbol of the Cold War- a symbol of a divided city, a divided nation, a divided Europe and a divided world. The wall separated Germany into the East & West and started a chapter in German history. Not much of the wall is left and on the tourist map it is named “East Side Gallery”. It is indeed an art gallery with pictures and messages depicting the artists’ thoughts and feelings of the past, present and future.

Berlin is my favourite city so far. Like a Vespa so appealing with a charming air to it.

Drank lots of beer and ate lots of sausages! It is time to say goodbye to Berlin and we are heading to Munich tomorrow.

[In one piece for 20 days]

19/04/2008.... 20/04/2008.... Leaving London

2008-04-23T10:22:00.005+01:00

Alvin sayss..... "First London.. then the World..."

Coming to an end for our first leg of our journey... rather sad to leave london only when its getting comfortable... but i guess thats that... some what relief to leave as well (dun ask)... lol...

it had been a great 2 weeekss... Big Ben... London Eye... Musical... Canterbury... STONEHENGE... Cathedral... Cathedral... Cathedral... lol.. joking... Markets.. Marketss.. Marketsss..
Food list:... Fish and Chips... Sausage and mash... pasty... bread... bread.. bread... Mac... Mac.. KFC...

but actually what most interesting bout london that i enjoy is the ppl.... i guess no where else in the world u can find such a gathering of ppl... ppl from all nationality... i guess u could say that i see more foreigns then londeners... i bet there is like half the world's nationalities are here... u can easily meet the whole UN here... interestingly i guess its reflected on the things that comes from there... art.. fashion... i guess after going there.. the sights aint that impt... to truely experience london u have to meet and talk to the ppl... i guess whats all those bars are for... lol....

Loving it... but "im leaving on a jet plane.. dun know when i'll be back again....." sob....
Alvin signing out from london.. on to Berlin

TO BE CONTINUED... NEXT CHAPTER... BERLIN...

18/04/2008… Highlight of the week… Gone with the wind….

2008-04-23T10:00:00.004+01:00

Alvin saysss…. What a night…

Finally… after seeing posters… theatres.. LES MIS… SOUND OF MUSIC… JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT… CHICAGO… ETC ETC.ETC… so many more… finally I get to go for one…. theatre at west end… not the best of seat… but what u want for 17.50 pound… actually still cost quite abit considering sg dollars… but its an experience not to be miss…

GONE WITH THE WIND… classic story being brought into theatre… it was a preview that we are watching.. so no one else have watched it yet I guess… and It was great… and also very long.. 3 and a half hour I think… never watched a 3 hour musical before… but the songs were great… the black singers was amazing… it was by the same guy that brought to u CATS for ur info… What a night…
cheerssss
P.s... reviews havent been too good to the production...lol... maybe i am jus obsess bout going.. lol

Musical and Pub experience in London

2008-04-22T22:32:00.008+01:00

Jen says:

I have always love going to Musical back home. Phantom of the Opera, Forbidden City, Chang & Eng, Grease, Saturday Night Fever...

I almost fainted when they have Les Miserables, Chicago, Wicked in London and many more.. Oh they even brought Lord of the Rings to stage. I want to watch them all but I can't afford the tickets for this nature of travel. I will go back London one day. It is safe, non-racism, everything in English but I just don't really like the chilly weather and multipying everything by 3.

We caught "Gone with the Wind" preview under peer pressure haha. It is like we wanted to catch a musical in London and our friend is interested in this and hey £17.50 for experience why not? Even though I have no idea what "Gone with the Wind" is about. Did some research online before the musical and so it is one of the greatest love stories of all time and it is set during the Civil War. Ok we are going with an open mind.

A 3 and 1/2 hour musical for £17.50 very worthwhile, some might say. Our friends fell asleep and missed bits and pieces of the story. We stayed up but it wasn't those fantastic one with outstanding leads and songs stuck to your head for days. It is an experience nevertheless.

We went to a pub for dinner before the musical. We wanted to try some English food and beer. We shared a sauage & mash. Yummy! When i wanted to snap a picture of it, it has been devoured beyond recognition so sorry. The beer I had was good Apple Cider. Refreshing. Damage: £13 for a good night out.

15/04/2008.... 17/04/2008.. On the Road.. Out of London.. into Canterbury... Bath... And the Amazing StoneHenge...

2008-04-21T23:55:00.012+01:00

Alvin sayss....

Seen enough of london to last awhile.... now see some not so city stuff.... Well we are in england… there is more to England then jus london… jus if not… soccer and david beckham for u guys… and girls too.. lol
Now is for a little of the more calm beauty… serenity…
Lets start off with Canterbury… much unlike london… saw a lot of English there rather then the great mix of ppl in London… where now we “the foreigners” are few to count with… but none the less a very nice place with nice ppl that dun look at us weirdly….
Took like a 2 hours ride from London.. then came to this nice little town… small town with a small town centre but very nicely and compactly equipe with all the necessary store and even major brands… but the highlight of this place is actually a 8th century old cathedral.. Named as u can guess.. Canterbury cathedral… let the pics show u what words cannot describe… jus some and I know u will wanna come lol…

Next will be on the 17th… when we headed to stonehenge early in the morning… braving the cold “which is very cold for ur info” as the wind was like blowing at us at like 40 knots an hour lol.. kidding… but damn fast none the less…huuuuuuu….. we reach the 5000 year old place…. Where the legendary stones were form… breathe taking sights for me at least… as some jus found it not as charming as in books… but its amazing how its put together and how the stone we like moved here that long ago from like miles away… they must be nuts lol… 1 wonder of the world down… yeah.. finally my first wonder of the world… If u consider it one that is….

and lastly not the leastly… bath… where there are shower heads at every corner of the streets… alley… macdonalds… lol…
architecture is the main thing that will catch ur eye the moment ur bus nears it… how the place looks the same… buildings style… material used… amazing most part of the place is build during the same time… in a very nice and old fashion Georgian style… with local bath stones… which is the reason why all the colors of the buildings are the same… and when the sun comes out… the city glows with a nice tone of gold…BREATH TAKING LOL…

and of cos not forgetting the amazing looking showersss…..

until next time folks… will have more of the last of London coming up shortly…
stay tune….
Cheerrssss…..

Day Trips

2008-04-21T22:42:00.009+01:00

Out of London for day trips on 2 respective days – Canterbury and Stonehenge & Bath.

Canterbury is a city in eastern Kent in the South East region of England. The city is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England, head of the Church of England and of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Canterbury Cathedral is the main part of this tour. It is both a holy place where worship has been carried on daily for over fourteen hundred years, and part of a World Heritage Site containing many historic treasures. With a guide book, we walk through the church understanding the history and learning around the past.

There are a few things that WOW me.
1. The windows are mostly covered in stained glass reciting a story and the works are so intricate. You can even bring one home at the souvenir shop but the quality is incomparable.

2. There are many tombs of the kings and archbishops in the church. It wasn’t a taboo to be so close to the tombs and observing the details of the tombs. Many even have human figures moulded such as King Henry IV and Queen Joan of Navarre or even Prince of Wales, Edward. It makes me wonder whether they are the real tombs or just empty one for display. Goosebumps!

3. The exterior of the church is totally gorgeous. Look like ruins site, the lawn and the garden with vines crawling on the walls. Beautiful.

4. We actually appreciate, enjoy and miss the sun. The weather in London is chilly almost like Winter. Not even near to Spring and our friend was saying that last year the weather has been like this for the whole year! We were happy to sit in the sun for lunch and walk in the sun to feel warm.

We found out that you can enter the cathedral through the shop without paying the entrance fee, if you can make peace with God as He may be looking from up there.

Stonehenge is the most outstanding prehistoric monument in the British Isles and is a World Heritage. Imagine you are walking among the ancient people who mapped the course of the sun and moon to build this monument. It was constructed as early as 5,050 years ago. As of how, I have no idea but I guess it will be similar to building the Pyramids in Egypt and Great Wall in China. The art of moving these massive stones and keeping them upright in the ground is worth freezing my ass off and my hands were near to numbness then.

My favourite one is Bath. The Georgian houses are undeniably beautiful and it glow under the sun like honey. This city catches your heart and makes you want to stay there for a couple of days. However, we only spent 2hours 45mins (on a day tour).

The Roman Baths is one of the Must See in Bath. This establishment with its magnificent Temple and Baths flourished in Aquae Sulis between the first and fifth centuries AD. The remains are remarkably complete and among the finest in Europe. With the audio guide shaped like a telephone, the story telling paints a vivid picture of how in the past this natural phenomenon of hot water at a temperature of 460C rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 litres (240,000 gallons) every daywas beyond human understanding and it was believed to be the work of the gods. In Roman times a great Temple was built next to the Spring dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva, a deity with healing powers. The mineral rich water from the Spring supplied a magnificent bath-house which attracted visitors from across the Roman Empire.

[In one piece for 14 days]

Goodbye Jamie!

2008-04-20T17:48:00.009+01:00

Jen says:
As there is a Chinese saying (Direct translation), “in the world there isn’t free lunch” only of course unless it is a treat. Are we friendly? Yes! Did we tried our best to not to inconvenient others? Yes! Did we manage to step on others tails? Yes! Apparently you can’t please all. We are booted out of the house and now homeless!

Boohoo nah. If money can make the world go round, fine we pay! But it is the last night in London we can argue. However, this is a favor from a kind friend and we do not want to put her in a difficult spot. After the £120 rental, we had to drop the plan at Fifteen.

Fast rewind (still missing out on the day tours and musical blogs), I manage to cross continent with a 16kg backpack to Berlin. So proud of myself *beam*. Carried and walked for 45mins at 3am in London as we are lost, trying to find our way around the drunkards and party goers on their way home. Missed our coach transfer at 3.55am and luckily the driver was kind enough to let us join the 4.40am instead. No it is not like the amazing race in Brisbane close but not with the flying out of the taxi and up the stairs haha. We managed to catch the flight at 7.05am.

A short preview of Berlin out of the railway window.

Lunch at a nice coffee café. I am lucky as today is Alvin’s birthday in Berlin. Happy birthday baby. Mwah.

The hostel we are staying in Berlin.

13/04/2008... 14/04/2008.... 16/04/2008... Marketiing...

2008-04-19T12:54:00.015+01:00

Alvin says....

Lets go marketing... Petticoat Lane, Spitalfields, Brick Lane, Camden Market, Convent Garden....

Checking out some of the well known markets of London... Treasure Hunting.... Gold Digging.... Loving it...

Locations and Buys...

Going to Funky Market 90p... Funky Red Nerdy Spec 7 pound.. ME LOOKING GREAT IN IT.... PRICELESS........

So Call Best Chocolate in London... Bought this amazing looking little things... DARK CHOCO... and tried this weird Chilli dark Choco... Out of this world.. lol

Pictures by the way is suppose to speaks a thousand word.... show u what i saw in the marketss.... not a man of too much words... today...

Nice Viewss... Nice Sights...

Interesting Looking Shops Along the way... far out...

The Rest of the interesting things will be uploaded into the flickr... go check it out...

Interesting facts

2008-04-18T12:34:00.007+01:00

Jen says:
Hoover = Vacuum
Kitty = Sundry Fund

To share, so that you won't end up like me and thought that is a guy living under the roof whom you haven't met and a kitty roaming around.

Heaters are a good source to dry your wet clothes. Just 1 night and your clothes will be dried and warm.

People here are BIG into recycling. We have a bin in the kitchen which you are suppose to dispose your egg shells, carrot peeling and whats not all food items go in there. At the door, we have a bin for recycled items like food packaging, milk bottles, plastic packaging and so on.

Back home, we are so far away. Good start for IKEA, reducing the plastic bags.

London Markets

2008-04-16T20:34:00.024+01:00

Jen says:
Weekend markets and flea markets are the highlights of every countries. Victoria Market in Melbourne, Chatuchak in Bangkok, Wu Fen Pu in Taipei just to name a few. They are my favourites in my travel. A MUST GO! Every markets feature the country's culture, handmade items which are interesting and unique.

In London, they have Petticoat Lane, Spitalfields, Brick Lane, Camden, Convent Garden, Portobello Road & Borough markets. Borough market was featured in my first entry.

Petticoat Lane is the oldest and probably the most famous of all London's street markets. It has a long history as a centre of the clothing trade and today sells cut-price clothing, fabrics and leather ware. A whole area is devoted to leather coats and jackets.
Feedback: Disappointed. It looked like the markets we have at the neighbourhood. Authenticity unknown and the clothes and bags are drenched in the rain. We were surprised to see illegal DVD vendors around this area and guess who is the culprit? The chinese! Tsskk..!

Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market are both near Liverpool Street. Brick Lane is home to bric-a-bracs, with countless stallholders and individuals selling anything and everything while Spitalfields holds over 250 stalls offering mainly quality clothes.
Feedback: Brick Lane is interesting and most of vendors are Asians. Clothes to my liking at an extravagant price. We had one of the only few comfort food at the market. Mixed of teriyaki chicken, sweet & sour chicken and curry chicken with steaming hot rice. Yummy! Warm feeling in the stomach to continue braving the cold weather.

Spitalfields Market is my favourite. There are contemporary and vintage fashion, music, bespoke children's toys, jewellery and accessories and interiors for the home. The market is surrounded by a host of independent boutiques, food shops and restaurants. Lots of things to see and be amused by. So many things to buy but so little money.

Camden has six busy open-air and indoor markets, each with its own distinctive flavour. Camden Stables Market is popular for its alternative fashion scene of vintage and retro clothing. Camden Lock has a wider assortment of goods on sale from arts and crafts, jewellery, and secondhand clothing. Camden Canal and Camden Buck Street Market offer clothing, footwear, jewelry and accessories while Inverness Street Market houses souvenir and gift stalls, bars and restaurants. Camden’s Main Streets offer clothing, footwear, specialty shops, pubs, restaurants and music venues swinging until late at night.

Feedback: Disappointed again. Too hippy and retro for my liking. Retro stuff is reminiscing but I can't wear it without knowing who wore it. An interesting place to explore and discovered the number of people in dreadlocks. Cool as they carry it off well but dirty.

For all friends who are worried I was ill-treated, the following image will dismiss the myth. This is definitely not the only food I have eaten so far but just one of them photographed. This is traditional fish & chips and it is so good! Alvin may soon to be blogging that he is the victim. Haha. So Wee family hold your weapons.

Updates: Day trip to Canterbury and Bath coming up. Gone with the Wind Musical on Friday. Jamie Oliver's restaurant for lunch and moving to Berlin this Sunday.

[In one piece for 9 days]

11/04/2008 - Day of discovery...

2008-04-15T22:51:00.011+01:00

Alvin says....

set out today for the standard tourist attractionss.... heading towards london bridge.. yes yes.. the one that falls or falling down... thats why the simple design as u can see... easier to rebuild lol

and as u can guess the one that dun falls (Tower Bridge) look way nicer...

After the bridges then came the fun part... found our way to this nice looking alley... very nice small streets and stuff... reallly cozy and beautifull... nice... what i really came for haha... Then after walking around for awhile more, by chance we came upon by far my fav fav place.... BOROUGH MARKET... amazing fresh food collection... bought a nice apple strudel and old fashion rye bread from an award winning bakery stand for breakfast... FINGER LICKING GOOD lol... a way to a man's heart lol

Happy happy happy... lol

10/04/2008

2008-04-15T22:46:00.004+01:00

Alvin says....

Lazy day... didnt do much... lol

09/04/2008 - Second day in London (Tourist Day)

2008-04-15T22:09:00.011+01:00

Alvin says...

After sort of settling in after our first long day in london... today we went ahead to be tourist... going to see sights that we at least have to see once and get WOW by it, before we see it over and over and over again and again and again.... lol so lets WOW first...
London Eye from our eyes...

Ah Ben...

Quite a wow sight in deed.... in all a good tourist day... completing sights that we are suppose to see which includes... westminster abbey... and some memorials....

Quote for the day: How many makes the hour full complete. How many hours brings about the day. How many days will finish up the year. How many year a mortal man may live.
cheerss

London 8th April 2008 (written on 14th April... lol...)

2008-04-14T22:41:00.018+01:00

Alvin says....

kinda like been delayed for too long already lol... but i guess better late then never... a tiny step for me... a big step for mankind (or is it the other way round) lol... this step is taken literally when i step out of the plane... and i am loving it hahaha... kinda werid to be on the road.. after so long... surreal...

see see .. loving it right... like paradise(when u are not working that is)... and with a little help from a dear friend.. manage to get fantastic lodging... me staying with 5 polish girls, 1 japanese, 1 greek and of cos 2 sg girls... lucky?!? lol...

there is more.... left the bags.. went of to fantastic hype park for a relaxing morning and picnic... then me favorite... harrodss.... food sectionnnnsss... lol... AMAZING.... mmmouthwatering.... 2 tubs of drool....

And whats a nice day without beauty right...stunning beauty isnt it lol.....

All in all it was a great first day for this long journey... hopefully with plenty more ahead.. hope i dun get overwhelm too fast too soon... more to come.... soon

and yeah something that i saw that i thought was interesting.... lol.... enjoy....

Arrival London

2008-04-13T00:43:00.004+01:00

Alvin Says.....

London (8th - 12th April)

2008-04-12T15:18:00.003+01:00

Jen says:
Red double decker buses, red phone booth, red mailbox, the Underground, London cabs.. these are things you see in London which tell you hey you are in London! A city with diversity of colors - the Whites, the Blacks & Asians. This is the easiest leg of the trip I must say with everything in English and Londeners are a friendly bunch. Familiar brands like Marks & Spencer, TopShop, Zara just to name a few and NO the only thing I bought was groceries. I must say it is a struggle. Marks & Spencer is a favourite of ours. Not only a place to warm ourselves but an eye opener. They have everything ranging from ready-to-eat, fruits & vegetables, meats & fish, cakes & pastries, juices and even Cola under their branding. I did bought an indulgence of Yogurt & Museli to add a tinge of excitement to my lunch.

The first day was a 22 hours marathon (7 hours behind Singapore). We are staying with a friend in Northern London in a 3 storey house with other 8 housemates (5 Polish, 1 Greek, 1 Japanese & herself). A nice neighbourhood with supermarkets accessible within walking distance. Journey to central takes about 1 hour. Bus is a cheaper alternative £0.90 per trip regardless the distance. The weather is chilly at about 4 - 7°c.

First stop in London - Hyde Park. I love the trees in London as they are bare after winter and the buds are flowering. Sitting on the grass looking at the lake with ducks lazing around is mm Life and of course it comes with a price. (We were questioned by the immigration officer for 5 mins regarding our employment status. Haha) There is a Diana Memorial Fountain in the park in a modern design. The design aims to reflect Diana's life, water flows from the highest point in two directions as it cascades, swirls and bubbles before meeting in a calm pool at the bottom.

Harrods is a playground with 5 storey of different departments and sections. Luxury brands of clothing, shoes, handbags & cosmetics all under 1 roof. The food hall is WOW! Chocolates, cakes, tea, fresh cuts, cheese, you name it you have it. We had a hard time resisting the temptation but the price tag is enough to say No thank you. Can you imagine how festive it is going to be during Christmas? Oh yeah, I ate Krispy Kreme donuts, 2 of them to be exact DELICIOUS! It melts in your mouth (Karen, it is so good!)

Starbucks is everywhere like Singapore and most importantly it costs relatively the same. We resorted to buying coffee and taking a nap on the couch as I was so tired staying awake. Our friend went on a day trip and will only be back at 10pm. McDonald's was another indulgence. It cost SGD$10 for a meal.

Breakfast is mainly bread. I have managed to talk my way into buying EGGS & HAM from only tomatoes & lettuce! I am not the one holding onto the purse string. It is a suggest - discuss - negotiate situation. We had pasta with chicken last night and today's menu is Rivioli with Salmon & Dill. It was so cold yesterday that a cone of French Fries look so tempting. It cost £1.70 which is SGD$4.70. Negotiation didn't work out so we left. In the end, Alvin wants to SURPRISE me with the french fries but the shop was close. Can you imagine someone surprising you with a packet of french fries? It works here.

London Eye and the Big Ben is a MUST SEE! Totally gorgeous and breath-taking. Check out the pictures in Flickr. While we were around the area, we were invited to sign a petition for Equal Rights & benefits for the other coloured Londoners. That's the cause of walking towards a big crowd out of curiousity and we got a green ribbon.

Yesterday, it rained the first time in London and the wind was so strong that I was almost blown away. In the rain, we saw London Bridge and it was disappointing. The tower bridge right ahead stole the show and all of us assumed it is the famous London Bridge. The interesting thing about walking around is you discover beautiful finds like small alleys. One of the finds: Amazing shops like Habitat selling furniture & Paperchase selling beautiful stationeries, papers and art supplies around Tottenham Court Road.

Shufenie, this is so YOU! I wanted to buy but £25. So I can only secretly take a picture of her and share it with you virtually.

Borough Market is London’s oldest food market. Totally fascinated with the fresh cheese, olives, breads, meat, fish, vegetables and fruit & HARES. The interesting thing is the traders. If you’re not familiar with the products on the stalls, or you’re not sure how to cook it, just ask: the traders will be delighted to tell you about their specialities, where they come from and how to make the most of them. Some of them grow or rear what they are selling and they are all FRESH.

I am suffering from frost bite and my delicate skin is red and patchy. Staying in on a Saturday to stay out of the cold and rest my skin with lots of moisturiser. This entry is long due and I have to keep you guys updated. The blog skin wasn't the initial idea but this was cute and it went hand in hand with our title. Why this title? I will leave it to my baby to explain if he intends to. I am going to eat my mee goreng lunch, supermarketing and maybe laundry later.

[In one piece for 5 days]