The two main trips i had before i came to paris were to barcelona and amsterdam.. i must say that both trips had their own special moments and were thoroughly enjoyable!
In barcelona, i loved spending the time with my sister and walking about barcelona, walking down the las ramblas, sitting by the water (its not really the sea.. its more like a port where lots of boats and yachts dock), wandering into shops, eating tapas and being frustrated at not being understood by the spanish salesgirls..
more about tapas- its absolutely divine! its small dishes of meat, potatoes, fish, and other foods.. and you just gobble up the yummilicious food! i loved it so much, i bought a 100 recipes of tapas book so i can cook them! what i didnt realise is that the book had a printing error.. YES, a big printing error! it duplicated about 20 recipes, so i missed out on 20 MEAT tapas.. how sad!!
well.. on gaudi and the art work.. loved loved LOVED the artwork and amazing AMAZING architecture of gaudi! its really amazing.. the amount of crazy details and abstract forms is truly dr. suess in reality! Gaudi’s style is being inspired by nature and its forms.. so what we have is pillars inspired by tree branches and windows with lots of floral-like details.. he is so particular about the way his work is to be completed that he actually wrote a manual of sorts detailing how his design can be made real.. if you watched P.S I love you, gaudi tops the singing man from dublin.. he truly prepared well for life after death
park guell has this great vast of space (and hence, the great throng of tourists) and lots of unique pieces.. if you watched America’s Next Top Model, there was this episode in this certain season (sorry for being so vague!!) where the models had to catwalk down in wedding gowns in a “frightened, horror-style” manner.. yes.. well, i went to that “catwalk” and took some pics!
and a story about mango.. we went into the shop and started looking around. each time we wanted to try something in a size that was not displayed on the shelf/rack, we had to tell the salesgirl and she would walkie-talkie the request over to whoever the mysterious person/department is, in order to bring over the shoe/right size.. it was close to closing time and we were waiting for this top to be brought over to us in the right size.. thing is.. we waited and waited.. and the darn top had not come yet.. finally, we asked again, and after a flurry of questioning amongst the salesgirls (in spanish, of course), they said, sorry, last piece.. seriously.. do you REALLY believe that?? they could have told that to us 20 minutes ago! i really think its cuz they dont want to go hunt for the top.. but oh well.. maybe its just me being all picky.. heh
on to amsterdam! it was a first for me.. travelling with someone NOT a relative.. it proved to be just fine! of course, there were moments when i wished i had my sister with me.. but friends are good too! Esmond and i checked into this great, safe, clean hostel! very very happy with the area and we walked around the place all the time..
the canals were beautiful, so nice and calming to just stare as the water slowly ripples across.. all they need is benches to sit.. that’s the one thing.. hardly any benches in amsterdam..
Van gogh museum was beautiful! really enjoyed the works on exhibition! only qualm i have is that you cant take photos inside. in most museums, this is a norm.. but not here! what a disappointment! i really understand why people appreciate van gogh. i never thought he was anything really amazing but because dad and mom said its a definite must, i went and now i see why he is so brilliant.. the way he combines colours and uses the paint with its different consistencies shows how daring he is, in a way..
also, we met this malaysian guy, ryyon who is quite a refreshing character. and he takes such beautiful, good, quality photos! i likee!! he’s very young and very accomplished! so i think that really says something about him and his attitude towards life and career goals.. inspiring and refreshing!
ooo.. funny thing.. we went for this city walk (which is free) and the guide of the walk told us that there was a free boat ride.. and i found out which one it was.. and when me and esmond went on the ride.. it was kind of pointless and not picturesque too! so it was funny.. we went on the ride, got off and looked at each other and said “what was that!?!”
anyway.. its been a great pre-school travelling.. and now.. a new category gets written- school life…
