Easter break: Mainly London

In London, Bingkai and I stayed with Hanyan, my lovely RJ hockey teammate while Mac & Jr stayed in a hostel just right down the street at YHA hostel...its so nice to have friends around..not so that we can save on accomm but its just really nice to meet up with friends overseas! I also met up with Wingyee- she cooked a nice lunch for me...but i couldnt make it to meet up with Whui Whui!

London was simply. Amazing. We were really lucky...we had very good weather!

We went for a free tour...you just have to give decent tips! And the tour guides are usually very good! The main guy in the third picture of the collage above is Alex, our guide for the Old city of London free tour. He looks like the agent in the matrix, dont you think?

www.neweuropetours.eu for info on their tours!

Jinrui, Bingkai and myself...with the Tower Bridge in the background

See the teabag in the collage above..i find it so cute..i couldnt bear to throw it away! Its just like a little apron..haha. It is the Tetley brand of tea..which is really good.


We also went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see Shakespeare's birthplace...I thought it was really nice. I mean, it was a very small and quiet town but there was so much to read and see inside the houses and museums! Went to the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre as well, which was unfortunately...under quite some renovation. I bought this DVD, which im very excited to start watching when i have the time:


Shakespeare- the animated tales. (12 x 30min plays on 3 discs)

Featuring the voice talents of Zoe Wanamaker, Timothy West, Felicity Kendal, Brian Cox, Hugh Grant & Martin Jarvis.

It has: Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Othello, Twelfth night, As you like it, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The taming of the Shrew, The Winter's tale, Richard III, Julius Caesar, The Tempest...!

In the collage above, the middle picture actually shows a penny-mangling machine. Basically you can choose what design you want and put in a penny (to be mangled) and a pound (for the service) and turn the wheel......hola! you get an oblong-shaped penny with some motif...i was very intrigued by it...cheap thrill (literally!)

Another reason why i love London so is because they have so many quaint little book stores selling new/old books...i bought 4 books for 80pence each! The books are really good..not the trashy ones you see in modern stores and there are always so MANY people in these stores browsing. Fantastic.

So anyway these are some of the titles ive acquired from 2nd hand bookshops or some hostel in some country along the way..

1. Village People - Paula Yates

Review: Jilly Cooper said it was 'marvellously funny', John Mortimer said it was 'enormously entertaining', Fong Lu Yi thinks its 'marvellously entertaining & enormously funny'...

...Bathed in summer sunshine and stamped with Paula Yate's original brand of humour, Village people presents a refreshingly witty view of the eccentrics and eccentricities of English country life.

I absolutely enjoyed this book...it was so funny...it made many of my bus journeys much more enjoyable!

2. Atonement - Ian McEwan

Still reading...

3. The Whitbread Stories- the first collection of stories chosen from the entries for the Whitbread prize for the best short story by a writer aged between 16 and 25 displays a remarkable range of talent and theme...

Yet to start...

4. Our mutual friend- Charles Dickens

This is book is about money money money and what money can make out of life...

***

I also went to watch Les Miserables! Oh man, the last time i watched it was with my mother when i was 6 or 7 i think! It was so so good! It was a saturday so when i went in the evening to buy tickets, they were all sold out except for standing places at 10 pounds each..SO yes maccann and i stood for 3 hours but it felt less than that cos we were so absorbed in the show! In the beginning, there was a whole line of people standing to watch the show...at the end we looked around and saw only 2 other people other than ourselves..haha!

You can get your tickets at http://www.londontheatrebookings.com/ but apparently if you go directly to the box office right before the show on a weekday, you may just get a huge student discount or even get a ticket for free!!

If i lived in london, i would never go the cinema! Watch 'wicked' too if you can!

On the first night, we met up with Hanyan and she brought to this really cool place near Leicester square for dinner...they served very funny ice creams! Like the one you see above is actually some Spaghetti ice cream...its entirely made of ice cream just that its shaped into spaghetti and all! Then we went to All Bar One, this really nice chill out bar with many different types of beer...which were huge and relatively cheaper than in Singapore...nice.

UK in general defines food in a whole new way i tell you...the serving size, how and what is prepared...SCARY >>> BIG + $$$$$$$$ + DRIPPING WITH OIL + WORRYINGLY TASTY. The trick is just to forget about converting the GBP to SGD, promise yourself that you will cut down on the next meal, aim to finish 75%, just enjoy it and not think about what goes into it...

Benjys' restaurant serves the English Big breakfast all day and it was near where we stayed..so one morning we were outside the shop checking out the prices...we must have contemplated for the longest time because when this lady came out, she said "you should just try it, its really good". So after that affirmation, we went in and ordered the standard big breakfast. As you can see, its basically unfinishable. Although i was with the 3 warriors, they couldnt conquer it too cos they just weren't prepared...haha. Actually, no...i think Mac finished it..but he didnt eat lunch & dinner after that?

And how can we forget about the buttery yummy scones and the best english breakfast tea ever? There are so many tea houses like the 'tea room' that serve afternoon high tea- you HAVE to try it in London!

Marks & Spencer's 'Simply Food' is also all over UK- Weixuan, Meiyi, WINIFRED, evita...you can set up your tents inside one of them! HAHA

Not really the soccer buff BUT since we went to Manchester (where i met Mag too!), we had to go to Old Trafford!

Barcelona

Hi everyone...I´m in Spain now! Will update soon...!
Hasta luego!

Boyling point

Its one of those days when i feel like tearing all my hair out...or sticking my tongue out at some random nice old granny on the streets...or pounding my chest with my fist like a gorilla...

ARRRGGHHH

Mum, please help me pray that God will grant me more grace, wisdom, love, patience and charity...

Also i have been brainstorming on what i would like to eat when i come back...Mum pls take note and write on the fridge-magnet-notepad so you wont forget ok...there are 2 options...

Menu 1:
Brown melon soup
Hot steaming rice
Steamed egg
Any leafy vegetables like xiao bai cai/ cai xin (NO BROCCOLLI, CAULIFLOWER, CARROTS, POTATOES)
Steamed fish with ginger slices and spring onions

Menu 2:
Porridge
Century egg/ salted egg
Ikan bilis
Cai bo omelette
Preserved pickles...

*Sausages and bread are strictly banned


Thanks mum..i love ya!

Shakespeare's Insults

London is a place that has something for everyone...I love this place man. As of now, Paris and London are tied for the spot of my #1 favourite city...Still on the road so i can't upload pictures but when Im back home...be prepared for a bao4 zha4 post i tell you! (reminds me of wing yee's bao4 zha4 posts haha)

For now i just want to share some of Shakespeare's insults...they are SO funny...i kept laughing to myself on the bus while reading them!

"Shakespeare's lively pen gives us a substantial collection of robust options for every insulting need...May it prove a useful tool for education and the improvement of the quality of family row or partner irritation."

The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes - Coriolanus

Thou crusty batch of nature - Troilus and Cressida

Could I come near your beauty with my nails - Henry VI, Part II

...I'd set my ten commandments in your face - Henry VI, Part II

Thou smell of mountain goat - Henry V

She is spherical, like a globe. I could find out countries in her - The Comedy of errors

Scratching could not make it worse....such a face as yours - Much ado about nothing

I was searching for a fool when i found you - As you like it

***

Anyway today the guys went to Borough market (where they ate a lot) while i went over to visit Wingyee at her apartment near Russell Square. So Mac very kindly bought me a chocolate fondant since i missed the feasting with them. I just ate it though, like about 8h after the time of purchase. It still tasted heavenly! However, Im staying at Hanyan's apartment now and i was too lazy to search for a spoon, so i used my fingers to eat it.

While eating...

Me: Shit...i'm so going to get a sore throat tomorrow (fingers continuing to dig the fondant)

BK: (Looks at me and half sniggers...) Sigh...

After finishing the fondant...

Me: (To myself aloud) Hmmm...i wonder if i should wash my hands

BK: YAAAA?!

Me: Was thinking of just licking my fingers clean...

BK: (Remains silent- MAYBE he was thinking 'oh my goodness....')

So anyway i thanked Mac for the fondant and he said, "for you there's nothing chocolate can't fix, for the rest, mac can!" haha...which IS true.

BK is snoring really loudly now. He told me to throw a pillow at him when he snores loudly so that he will change his sleeping position and the snoring will cease..but i dont really dare to do that...plus after throwing the pillow at him i will have to go and retrieve it..chezzzz....forget it.

Man this is such a crappy post...save for the bit on Shakespeare's insults. Ok fine...that was kinda crappy as well.

Evil

Carol, David and Jianfeng were here the past few days and Switzerland was very bad to them. I hope she redeems herself in the form of a good ski trip for Jianfeng today. Sigh. I will miss having our hallway crowded with people talking rubbish...(oops haha) and i will miss them for them too of course...heh. Carol and david left this morning...and Jianfeng is leaving tomorrow morning...

Carol looking like a hooligan and Jianfeng admiring his cannabis tea which he got from a vending machine here!

***

BERN

It had a cool fountain...

Heavy heavy snow and some bears that only eat certain fruits (apples, oranges). They don't eat bananas you know. I fed it some banana and the bears were totally above it- they didnt even give it a sniff. Maybe its because the first time i misaimed and the banana hit the bear's head...but usually the bears look up and catch the food in its mouth midair. When i threw the banana however, the bear just looked at it drop like 5 stones.

Bern is one capital that doesn't look like a capital...honestly have nothing much to say about it except that people associate Bern with bears. Not very sure why and im not really motivated to find out why either...

***

So just why am i so sian??? Its because our apartment nearly got broken into yesterday. It was a blessing in disguise that Bingkai stayed at home yesterday, if not our losses would be terrible.

Our landlord has been really irritating...wanting to change the toilet window and paint the rooms (??!?!?!). So yesterday BK had to stay at home to wait for this uncle A to fix the window while the rest of us went out. So he's relaxing after clearing up the royal mess that uncle A created in our toilet when the doorbell starts ringing like as though someone at the door needs to use the toilet really urgently. But Bk ignores it thinking its some pesky salesman....and then shortly he hears someone trying to break our door down...break meaning using brute force like destroying the lock etc. At that point of time BK doesnt know what exactly is happening except that its really noisy so he opens the peephole...the three guys get a shock and scoot. The peephole is pretty big and people can look in from outside. It was so scary- BK said they looked like Swiss guys and they were wearing black trench coats. Goodness...fortunately they didnt persevere and endanger our one and only Bingkai. So Bingkai quickly called 2 SMU guys who live down the street from us to come over..in case there was a reprisal of some sort.

So after many phonecalls to the school's housing admin person, a police report and several nonchalant replies later...its settled that someone is going to repair the lock today. We suspect strongly that it has something to do with Uncle A ...(i hope so...and not like some trio who has been observing us for some time already..that would be very freaky).

I feel so uneasy about this and I really dont like this feeling of evil entering our house.

So the plan is ...that this is not going to happen again and thus...i have to get ready to go to school soon with BK. Got to get ready for some verbal sparring with the housing lady who says that break-ins are quite common in Switzerland and that we dont need to be at home when some strangers come to paint our house...armed with my german-english dictionary and some pen and paper for some drawing. Her english is pretty bad sersiously...like when we asked her last time what the floor area of the apartment was, she replied "2nd floor" and when we asked if there was internet connection, she said "clear". so yea...wont be leaving her office until we get what we want..hopefully everything gets settled amiably...sighhhhhhhhhh.

And days of staying at home alone or coming home alone are pretty much history...for now at least...sighhhhhhhhh

Other than that...Mac gave me a crash course on self defense:
1. Use your thumb to jab their eyes. In serious cases, aim to gorge the eyes out. (Don't be wishy washy about this since they are out to harm you anyway)
2. Use your knuckle to hit their throat.
3. Kick their groin.
4. Stamp on their feet.

Monaco

Monaco is the world's most densely populated country and second-smallest independent nation; with a population of just 32,410 and an area of 1.96 square kilometres (485 acres), Monaco is the world's smallest French-speaking country.

Actually the little i know about Monaco comes from channel 16 on cabletv..where Monaco is described as the playground for the rich and famous. This place is really dripping with opulence i tell you! I'm so pathetic Im just going to give keywords here haha:

- Princess Grace Kelly & Princess Charlotte

- Monaco Grand Prix

- Monte Carlo Casino

Paris & Nice, France

PARIS

Oui...I love Paris like crazy! Definitely going back there one day! Victor Hugo, Napoleon, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, King Henry IV, King Louis XIV...the place is just brimming with so much interesting history, BEAUTIFUL people, wonderful attractions, super buttery croissants, crispy-outside-but-soft-inside baguettes & crepes-with-banana & nutella! Oh how i miss Paris so...

On a more serious note, I would really like to come back to Europe with more money in the future! I know Maccann and BK feel the same too, given that we are always talking about staying in one of our imaginery hotels...and taking one of our imaginery private jets....eating at one of our imaginery restaurants- haha. The cost of oblivious daydreaming is always the moment of return to reality, the realignment with what had been ..back in the world that made us...not the world we made...haha...SIGH. Our plans once rich in plausible details become a passing silliness....not! It will happen one day!!!

This is Luke, our guide for the free walking tour around Paris. He's really really good...as you can see from his animated expressions- he delivered nuggets of interesting history one after another, I learnt so much! Sometimes his stories seemed a bit ludicrous though...and i couldnt help but wonder if he was bullshitting us about some stuff...but even if he did, he did it damn well...so yea he still deserved our generous tips at the end! Go for a free tour in Paris!

Notre Dame de Paris ("Our Lady of Paris" in French): One of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture

This monument is actually St Michael the archangel banishing Lucifer to hell...somehow i really like these sort of statues/paintings...the violent ones with angels quashing demons are even better..heh

Palais Royal, Musee du Louvre- the most visited museum in the world

Inside...photography is not allowed but there are so many visitors who do so anyway...the curators/guards can't be bothered anymore! haha

Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Just look at the sheer number of people edging forward to see her! I couldn't believe i was in front of the real thing...

I regret not buying some of the replicas...argghh...Following are some of my personal favourites:

If Maccann, Bingkai and I were characters in this picture...guess which figure each of us would be? ;)

I know this ia bit off...but this sculpture reminded me of my 2 sisters and myself..haha! So i really like it...

Clockwise from top left:

2 & 4: The Champs-Élysées -- is the most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris. Its full name is "Avenue des Champs-Élysées". With its cinemas, cafés, and luxury specialty shops, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as $1.25 million a year for 1,000 square feet (100 m²) of space, it remains the 2nd most expensive strip of real estate in the world (the first in Europe) after New York City's Fifth Avenue.The name refers to the Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed in Greek mythology. -wikipedia.org

3: The Arc de Triomph -- is a historical treasure in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile (Star Square). It is at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and today also includes the tomb of the unknown soldier.- wikipedia.org

The Eiffel Tower...after sunset, it glitters for 10 minutes after each full hour!

In the picture grid above, the top right photo shows 2 baguettes and a plastic bag right? Those were the stuff we brought for the trip back to Switzerland on the train...The shorter baguette is Sam and the longer one is Lucy. We finished Sam first, half of Lucy is still in our kitchen. They are really nice! I didnt intend to buy a baguette at first but after i stepped into the bakery, this very pretty lady said 'Bonjour' so chirpily that i felt obliged to get something..and the cheapo in me zoomed in on the 0.80 euro- baguette (Sam)...it turned out to be the best investment! hha. I was really happy also because i felt quite french-y...holding a baguette on the streets proudly! I didn't have an eclair during my time there though! Inside the plastic bag was 2 kebabs for the guys...

Kebabs! Jieming...stop drooling...! haha
***

NICE [nis]

This place would be purrr-fect during Spring and Summer! More peek-tures...!