harking back to austria

Chatting with pfalcon last nite about austria brought back lots of fond memories at salzburg. I browsed thru my post list hoping to get a summary of Austria which i can briefly share some of mine, only to realise that it wasnt there. Having nothing much to share about my monotonous hectic schdule, do allow me to escort you to a short trip in austria =)

One of the most exciting part of travelling abroad is nonetheless food! 

Mushroom gouloash with dumpling.. Dumpling is similar to our rice. It's actually a Hungarian dish if im not mistaken..

   

Snitzels..

The all-time favourite dessert - pancakes!

Not forgetting the setting for the Sound of Music, a musical which almost each and every child watched - Salzburg! I actually watched it hundreds of times until i can recall almost everything and replay it. Anywa, the most remarkable one is the scene whereby the children sang "Do Re Mi" surrounding the fountain. Unfortunately, chiewyi n juanjuan refused to imitate the musical, leaving me alone posing lol..

Anyway it's called the Mirabell Gardens :)

 The front view of it..

Im not sure.. But everything looks so familiar here, with shadows of the Von Trapp family..

And of course the close knits and company of awesome friends =)

Can someone tell me why are our bridges and rivers so different from others?

Songs like "The sound of music", "My fav things" and "So long, farewell" keep humming in my mind throughout the trip. Omg i felt like flying to europe now, so much! Ironically, despite all the whinning about homesickness, inability to drive around, freezing cold winter, quiet nights, i miss those days badly. To queall any raising eyebrows, we agree that this applies to everyone no matter how much you hated uni days before. It's a valuable experience of lifetime.



the windsor romance

So i was reading about the relationship between Wallis and Prince Edward, inquisitive to know more about the man who had given up the throne of England just to be with the woman he loved. On 12 Dec 1936, his younger brother, also the great grandfather of current Prince William, the Duke of York, was proclaimed King George VI.

Arguments can be made, of course, that they are shallow and self- involved. But it's also been said that the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor was the "Romance of the Century", and that their love was "deep and true." "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love." he famously said that in a broadcast to the nation. I dont know another person who can do that. Or maybe i do. People are virtually self-centred nowadays. In fact, im slowly learning that no one will love myself as much as i do.

Stories replay. People tend to fall back into the same shoe as the past. At some point i bitterly resented myself for placing myself in such a position.  Yet the consolation is that nothing is perfect. "Perfect world" is just a base to uphold theories in finance. Whilst the Windsor is a picturesque, the story of the Duke and Duchness of Windsor remains.

ps: Pms pls pls make ur magic work in these two days so that i can visit my doctor.

hola barca!

Hola = hello! Bringing to u some memories from one of the most romantic cities in europe = barcelona =)

~ ATTRACTIONS ~

1) Park Guell - This fairy-tale park is located high up in the city. Right at the entrance we were welcomed by the Hansel & Gretel cottages, devoted to Gaudi's creation. Gaudi's one of the greatest architect in Spain. U ll see his name again later. At the center of the park, there're steps and multi-coloured esplanade curving to the peak, offering scenic views of the entire city =)

2) La Rambla & Buqueira Market - La Rambla's a mile-long avenue, with singers, human statues, jugglers, radiant flower stalls, cafes and souvenir shops along. It's very happening and busy. And at its core there's a buquiera market. U will be thrilled to witness the stuffs being arranged so nicely and cute by the seller, including poultry, fruits n bread thus it's so colourful n vibrant =) 

3) Port Vell - The two ends of La Rambla are the Plaza Catalunya n the Port Vell respectively. The entire street's about 20 mins, we tried it ourselves =) Originally for maritim purposes, it's transformed into a smart harbour. There's modern jetties, cinema, shopping mall  and night spots around it which i think would be a common hang-out place for the spanish :D

4) Barri Gothic - It's more of the old town of the Catalunya. Catalunya is located within Barcelona but usually Catalunya people do not regard themselves as spanish. A picture of the Roman wall ^^

5) Cathedral - A story comes tgt with tis cathedral. Tis is where Santa Eulalia, who was cruelly martyred for protesting Christianity is buried. She was pulled to the streets and undressed. But then some sorts of lights appeared and closed her nudity - which was said to be miracle of God. As she was 13 by then, there are 13 swans in the cathedral to reflect every stage of her life.  

6) Sagrada Familia - This is an unfinished cathedral by Gaudi. Restoration and construction are stil being carried out and it is predicted that another decade is required for completion. The building's very unique and u could take a ride to the top of one of the towers.

In the inner, it's simply superb and amazing. Unlike older cathedrals, it is contrasted with very modern but stil classical design of a church. It's very clean, white, peaceful. The design of the structure was so fine that sunlight that shines in was just so soothing and cosy. Coupled with the music played in the church, it felt so warm and great to be in the church. Personally i really love this place a lot a lot. Shhh honestly, i had a crying feel when i was inside.. =P

7) Olympic stadium - In case u do not know (just like me), Spain held olympic in 1992.

8) Barcelona football team stadium 

9) La Predera - Another weird-looking but eye-opening building by Gaudi. The most striking feature is the top of the building, people refer to as 'rock quarry'. The twisted verandas and chimneys are all made of biazarrely sculptured limestone =D

~ FOOD ~
Because when i said we cant read spanish menu it's bit hard to believe/imagine, i took a snapshot of it for u to test ur spanish xxD

1) Pastas - Though pastas belongs to the italians, the spanish eat them as well =)

2) Paellas - That's the most most MOST delicious western food ever! It originates from the words 'payaya' = specially for her. The story begins like tis: A guy asked a girl to her place for dinner, then realised he has no groceries. So he stuffed everything he had in his fridge (mushrooms, rice, meat etc) and cooked it into paella. Once u try paella, u shud b able to guess that he shud ve had an awesome dinner with her lorrr.. Hehehe..

But there're still varieties in paella.. In a short 3 days, we had black paella:

Yellow paella (this is the best!)

... green (vegetarian i suppose) paella..

3) Tapas - Tapa = put on the top. In the past, it stems from a cover on top of the beer. Upon trend changes, it's like side dishes. Spanish tapas spanish tapas ^^

Nevertheless, in spain they have customised tourist menus. U can hv 3-course meals for about 10 euros. But food portions are generally bigger here. So for two little stomachs like pui yee n me, it's just nice for us to share a meal. But whenever we indicated to the waitress that we wanted to share a meal, her eyes were like jutting out of unbelievable expressions. We were thinking that either she thought that we are too poor, or she thought that we are too stingy.. =((

~ CULTURE ~

Language's a bit problem here. But fortunately all the road signs are very tourist friendly and it's not likely to be loss here. But walking is inevitable. Hohoho.. Anyway if im allowed to comment, food n attraction wise, spanish's better, especially with the sagrada familia and paella. On the other hand, portugese ppl r more friendly and portugese guys are generally better-looking than spanish. ^^  

wonders from madrid

Last year, i was in the mood of jolin's '布拉格的广场', this year im indulged in '马德里不思议'. The song kept humming in my mind throughout i was in madrid, n that really gv me lots of 'feel' in madrid: elegant, merry, peaceful, pretty, cheerful etc. If u realised, even photos taken by us was so much more livelier than the normal V-kinda poses..

~ Hotspots ~
1) Real Palacio - If u picked up some spanish in the previous post, u shud rmb that real = royal. So tat's the royal palace, used to be biggest palace in europe, now biggest in western europe with 2800 rooms. It was sooo amazing that every room has its own designs and themes!

In each room, the wallpapers, curtains, cushions were all of the same design. There are separate rooms for dressing, dining, guest-serving, games, bed, drawing respectively. And smaller decorating rooms to connect each of the main functional rooms.. Omg it was so grand, beautiful and enchanting! How i wish im born royal! No wonder there's a saying that one needs 3 lives of fortune to be born royal.. Awww...

2) Retiro park - This is a very soothing and inspiring park located at the south-east of madrid. There's a huge lake where boating activities take place, n lots of sites and paveways where u can sit down to relax or spend luxurious time with ur loved ones. 

3) Egypt temple - YES! I was shocked when i arrived this place. Expecting a gigantic temple as we usually do in msia, this is a temple? Lol. Anyway, from the postcards, i believed it's prettier at night with the aid of lights. But anyway =) 

4) Park of attractions - This is the amusement park in madrid. Similar to the ocean park in HK, u need to take cable car to go there. That's just a roller-coaster lane we saw from the egypt temple. I just dont play roller coasters, and even if i do, we dont really hv time for that unfortunately pui yee.. Hehehe..

5) Cibeles fountain - Sorry if the fountain doesnt seem like the main object in the photo. I know there's still lots of rooms for improvement in my photography skills. But back to it, tis might be familiar to u, or maybe not. It's the place where the ppl celebrate/parade when the real madrid football club wins in their matches..

6) The Reina Sofia museum - There're LOTS OF  art museums in Madrid. We went to only 2 of the most popular one (of course, rite).. The Prado Museum is more of European arts, and the Reina Sofia concentrates on Spanish art. One of the most renowned exhibits is the Pablo Picasso's Guernica.. which i cant show u bcuz photography isnt allowed. Wouldnt say im a very artistic/museum person, but still worth going for a short walk esp in the evening as admissions' free. Anyway, if u r an EU student, u can enter the museums for free afterall. 

On another note, we got special discounts being an EU student bcuz they believed that some of the Spanish wealth does stem from, thus belongs to Britain. So yupe, just FYI.

7) The Santiaga Bernabeu stadium - This is the football stadium of Real Madrid =)

8) Torros Plaza/Bullring - This is where bullfightings take place. Initially i thought bullfighting=making the bull chasing after u with a red cloth. Then py told me that it's making 2 bulls fighting against each other, and the one who survives is the winner. In other words, one of the bulls must die! From the tour guide, we were told tat bullfighting's quite a controversial issue in Madrid. On one hand, it's a culture. On the other hand, it is cruel. On this basis, it is becoming a political tool and the outcome? Bullfighting will be banned nx year, which personally i think is good bcuz it is really evil despite being a culture. 

~ FOOD ~

1) Let's start with breakfast! We got to know a very very kind and friendly couple who owes a cafe. The husband is sort of happy-go-lucky man and the wife's naggy type. But they got really well tgt, it's so 'grandpa and grandma' feel. And they always talk at the same time! In the end, u wont know who shud u look at.. Hehe.. Ultimately, that's the typical breakfast spanish have. How to do it? Spread the tomato on the bread and top it with olive oil =)

2) This is the BIGGEST SURPRISE EVER in spain! This is called 'paros'. Guess how does it taste like. It's exactly msia's 'yau char kuey'!! Exactly! We loved it so much. Kept on ordering until grandpa indicated 'no more' in hand language.. =P  I would say it's even tastier than 'yau char kuey' cuz it wont get soft even exposed to air for a long time.

3) Pork combo - Haha.. there's an interesting footnote complementary to this meal. There was another table of 'foot tai' (rich ladies in cantonese). And when the witch-looking waitress served us this dish, they kept staring at us, until i basically didn know how to eat it anymore. We were wondering if they were curious of wat it was, they wanted to try it as well, or if they were astonished that we were eating such a meaty, unhealthy dish. LOL.. But anyway, except that the pork's bit too fattening, the rest were ok! More than enough for the two of us to share.. =)

4) Turkey skewers..

~ CULTURE ~

Not sure if i ve mentioned before, i think i ve not. Begging/Art-selling (i srsly dont know what shud i describe it as) is very very common in spain and portugal both. Ppl dress up as all sorts of figures/characters, play all sorts of musical instruments (harp, harmonica, violin, er-hu, guitar), singing or simply sitting down begging for money. By the streets, in every metro station, in metros, in buses. I dont know if it's good or bad. It's like it's better if they do that, rather than being robbers. But when it's way too much, it's very distracting and disturbing for road passerbys and tourists. Eg. when we were on of the the metro, one young fellow actually knelt down and kept asking for money, murmuring in spanish tat i dont know of. Both of us were obviously terrified hence flee to the other cubicle. It's really worst when he refused to leave even know we signalled 'no', and he's not even handicapped.

On a happier note, tis is considered the most interesting stunt in our trip so far. I managaed to figure out how he did that (yy's smartness lol). But perhaps u would like to take the challenge n make a guess as well? =P

Is madrid nice to see? Being capital of spain, it wasnt really a metropolitan as KL, but food's definitely more exp here compared to barcelona. Anyway, I ll leave it for ur own interpretations. Or maybe til u see about barcelona that will be a fairer comparison (see u in the nx post).. =)

ps: sigh, another long post, i wish i've written less.

Who conquered Malacca in 1511??

PORTUGAL =))

So i know i owed update on my trip, im doing them now :) I decided to make it in listed formats, hopefully i wont be rambling wayyyyy too much. But it's just so much to share and say about, anyway, we'll see how it goes.

~ LISBON ~
1) Monument of the Discoveries
This monument is in remembrance of those 'warriors' that contributed to the discovery to the east. Remember Alfonso d Albuquerque? 1511 malacca? He's the 3rd from the left =)

There's a world map which they called 'wind rose'. Malacca u saw? I think they're really really proud for owning Malacca in the history, anyway we are the pusat perdagangan and pusat penyebaran agama islam at the century. But the question is: why is it written 1509 rather than 1511? Who made the mistake now? =S

2) The Belem tower
This is built supposedly for defence purposes, but later lost the function due to its strategic functions. I think it's mainly bcuz there's only a single-lane of staircase in the tower, and it's very very squeezy. I cant imagine how the soldiers were to run up and down carrying their weapons during emergencies. They ll probably knock each other or alternating up and down to gv way to each other. Sighhh..

That's the seaview from the top of Belem tower. We should hv opted to go for the peak of the Monument of Discoveries instead, which is higher and also cheaper. And the security guard was so kind to us and explained the origin of the monument to us =P

3) The lisbon bridge together with the tagus river is often referred as twin sister of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Pls do not criticise my camera.. lol.. It was difficult to get a picture of the bridge due to the heavy mist and the distance away from it..

4) Santa Jusco Justa Elevator - Is it the highest elevator in the world? Haha, nope. It's special in a way that it is the only vertical lift in Lisbon. And also, it's pretty and impressive enough!

5) The Jeronimos Monastery - The Church of Santa Maria is in it. Renowned for its Late Portugese architecture style.

6) Aqueduct - Flip back to ur f4 history textbook, tamadun yunani i think. The aqueduct is used to transport water. It's immensely huge and tall, and beautiful as well. Dont think u can walk on that bridge/link, only to be viewed from far. We actually went til the last stop to take a snap of it, then the helpful bus driver directed to an intermediate stop which gives the best view of it. N because we r speaking english and he's speaking portugese, we are basically communicating thru sign language. Btw, thankiu driver!! =)

~ SINTRA ~
This place wasnt in our original plan initially. But given the strong recommendation by our hostle manager, we decided to squeeze everything in lisbon in one day and head off to sintra for a one-day trip. Located somewhere (west i think) in Portugal, the town is becoming more n more popular after being awarded UNESCO Heritage status. It's a very small and simple town, with 5-6 major attractions, in which u can hop on n off from the tourist bus from stations to stations: National Palace of Sintra, Pena Palace, Regaleira Gardens.

Amongst all, the two adventurous ladies decided to go on foot up the Moorish castle, built by the Arabs. It's really really tremendously high and scary to hike up from the foot of hill. I actually thought i wont be able to make it, i thought i ll faint half way. Haha.. But when we saw some senior citizens walking up, we thought that it would be shameful if we took the bus instead. Actually i wonder why these elderlys in european countries are so much fitter than asians.. Throughout the trip we saw lots of old couples travelling tgt, walking step by step to every destinations.

It does resemble the Great Wall of China in a way. Step by step, when we reached the peak after 40 mins, the sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction is awesome!! Really. But honestly it was so funny to see pui yee so terrified because of the height. She's the one who urges me to take roller coaster all the time, but then she was even more afraid than me tat day. I still think roller coaster is scarier..

 

~ FOOD ~
I forgot who told us we can hv spicy baby nyonya food in portugal (hmmm.. u better stand out urself). TAT IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG OKAYYYY =(( We were so excited and then disappointed to find no curry or even minimal spicyness in portugal. It's just mainly fish or meat, with salad and potatoes (which i dont eat at all). Nevertheless, tis' grilled sardines.. Quite okish, provided tat u know how to get rid of the bones.. Some are eatable, some are not..

Grilled fish.. :D

Lisbon has great appreciation towards coffee, in which they call it bica. Unfortunately u r reading this from a person who's not good in tasting. I would say it's not much difference to regular coffee except tat it is more bitter and it's very small cup, really.

~ LIFESTYLE ~
Modes of transportation available here: metro, bus, trams, train, and of course car and plane. The interesting one to point out is demonstrated in the following picture: the new, modern electronic and mini, conventional tram. Take tram 28 if you come here, it chauffeurs u around the city of lisbon and u can sit inside comfortably whilst enjoying the picturesque =)

The streets are clean and pretty as u can expect from an european country (compare it to msia, hahahaha). But many of the walls are covered with tiles in fact, just like this one:

~ PEOPLE ~
Being a malaysian or understanding the baba nyonya culture doesnt really help much really =)) But u do can find words similar to BM, eg. gereja, sabun, meja, jendela, boneka etc. Most portugese can speak english, but not very i would say. And in fact, when we mentioned that we are malaysians, they said tat ' WOWWW, ur english is incredible'!! LOL =P Anyway, portugese ppl are generally more friendly compared to (you know where), and very helpful when u ask them for directions or eating out suggestions. Still, i would say malaysians are best! No wonder malaysians are always quoted as being friendly, helpful, nice, lovely, awesome by tourists around the world!