I cant believe this! 3 more days from flying back to Singapore, I injured my back/hip area!! It was such a karma!! Been there when the Pope injured his hip, now it is my turn!! T.T
Cant believe I fell onto the edge of a sofa bed...omg! That was so painful! I kneel on the ground for a few min and couldnot make a sound...LOL..and now I walk with a pain in my back..o man... How am I going to carry all my heavy luggage all the way to Amsterdam?? God, I need a healing miracle!!!!!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
There goes my christmas plan ...
The initial plan for the 2 weeks before going home was to spend 4 and half day in Rome, Christmas in Venice and 4 days in Paris. However the moment I landed in Rome, all plans fell apart..
First comes the news of flood in Venice, which makes it hard to tour. Then comes the news of my Italian friend who was going to host us to an Italian family Christmas was having some emergency issues so the plan has to be cancelled. Then we realized that all trains to Paris was full and it would be way to ex to fly. Just when I think nothing could get worse, comes the news that only first class train tickets were left from Italy to Rotterdam, which cost 200+ Euro!!!
...
Thank God that I found a cheap air tix to Rotterdam last min, otherwise i have no idea how i am going to catch my plane back to SIngapore!
Because of all the delays and cancellations, I spent 7 days in Rome! I really liked it there, but the weather was not too good. It was really warm but raining all the time! The colosseum didnot impress me as much, probably because it was raining that day. What I really loved was the Vatican City! It some how has a mystical feel for me! the colour of the st. Peter's Basilica was much lighter than the rest of the buildings around; so if see from afar, the Vatican is like a painting or been surrounded by mist.. the Vatican museum was great too! I spent 45 min just staring at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel..it was o amazing! I cant imagine how Michelangelo finished a ceiling painting with such a majestic scale and excellent details! It was so breath taking! What made me love the Vatican even more was to see the Pope in person! He looks so peaceful and full of wisdom. If he would lay his hand and bless me on the head, I think I might faint on happiness.haha...I cannot believe he was attacked during the Christmas mass! I was there! and I didnot see it!!!! I didnot even realized that there were an attack!! because the Pope was back on his feet so fast, and remained so calm and gave the mass like nothing happened.. that kind of self-togetherness and strength is something I really respect and admire of him!
Anyway, I m back in Holland now, will be in Singapore in a few days time! see u all!!
First comes the news of flood in Venice, which makes it hard to tour. Then comes the news of my Italian friend who was going to host us to an Italian family Christmas was having some emergency issues so the plan has to be cancelled. Then we realized that all trains to Paris was full and it would be way to ex to fly. Just when I think nothing could get worse, comes the news that only first class train tickets were left from Italy to Rotterdam, which cost 200+ Euro!!!
...
Thank God that I found a cheap air tix to Rotterdam last min, otherwise i have no idea how i am going to catch my plane back to SIngapore!
Because of all the delays and cancellations, I spent 7 days in Rome! I really liked it there, but the weather was not too good. It was really warm but raining all the time! The colosseum didnot impress me as much, probably because it was raining that day. What I really loved was the Vatican City! It some how has a mystical feel for me! the colour of the st. Peter's Basilica was much lighter than the rest of the buildings around; so if see from afar, the Vatican is like a painting or been surrounded by mist.. the Vatican museum was great too! I spent 45 min just staring at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel..it was o amazing! I cant imagine how Michelangelo finished a ceiling painting with such a majestic scale and excellent details! It was so breath taking! What made me love the Vatican even more was to see the Pope in person! He looks so peaceful and full of wisdom. If he would lay his hand and bless me on the head, I think I might faint on happiness.haha...I cannot believe he was attacked during the Christmas mass! I was there! and I didnot see it!!!! I didnot even realized that there were an attack!! because the Pope was back on his feet so fast, and remained so calm and gave the mass like nothing happened.. that kind of self-togetherness and strength is something I really respect and admire of him!
Anyway, I m back in Holland now, will be in Singapore in a few days time! see u all!!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
going to leave soon... :(
It is already Wednesday! It hit me only this morning..I am leaving Rotterdam for good in 2 days..This is really happening..
Lying on my bed and thinking this thoughts..not the best way to start a revision day..
These past few months have been amazing for me. Europe is everything that I imagined and more. The culture, the people, the scenery, the food..and everything and everything.. Can't believe it is coming to an end now.
It reminds me much of my US days..How much surreal I felt when I was going to leave there. Everything happened so fast and when you look back, it is like a dream; I can't say if it is real or has it really happened. I guess that is the reason for souvenirs - a proof of existence of the dream-liked days.
I think besides the amazing travel experience and friendship, I am also taking home a somehow changed mindset. The people here are out-spoken and very comfortable to speak out their opinion. I know this is a commonly-known fact about western culture, however what I am trying to emphasis now is not the 'speaking-out' part, but the fact that they always, always have an opinion on everything! That is something that really impressed me. It is hard to explain, but after talking to so many westerners, I always get a feeling that I donot think critically enough. A common question that was always posted to me is 'what do you think?' or 'what is your view on XXX'. If it is in singapore, my answer to the first question would often be 'anything' or 'up to you'. But in here, I realised the importance of having a stand and having a say in things. saying 'anything's fine' is just the cheapest way to shedding off responsibility. As for the second question, I always give a rather surfaced answer or analysis, but the other party could go on and on. even in the most trivial things, if you ask for an opinion, they will give you at least some within a blink of an eye. I am of course exaggerating a little bit, but you get my point. This is really how I feel after living here, and I think I should really start to think more on things. Not to just receive information without even processing and analysing them..
Well, anywayz..I should be studying for my 2 exams now..have a finance exam tomorrow and consumer behavior on friday.. Man, am I slacking!! okok..should stop here now! gotta go do revision now and save the 'post-departure-depression' for Friday night.LOL..Ciao!
Lying on my bed and thinking this thoughts..not the best way to start a revision day..
These past few months have been amazing for me. Europe is everything that I imagined and more. The culture, the people, the scenery, the food..and everything and everything.. Can't believe it is coming to an end now.
It reminds me much of my US days..How much surreal I felt when I was going to leave there. Everything happened so fast and when you look back, it is like a dream; I can't say if it is real or has it really happened. I guess that is the reason for souvenirs - a proof of existence of the dream-liked days.
I think besides the amazing travel experience and friendship, I am also taking home a somehow changed mindset. The people here are out-spoken and very comfortable to speak out their opinion. I know this is a commonly-known fact about western culture, however what I am trying to emphasis now is not the 'speaking-out' part, but the fact that they always, always have an opinion on everything! That is something that really impressed me. It is hard to explain, but after talking to so many westerners, I always get a feeling that I donot think critically enough. A common question that was always posted to me is 'what do you think?' or 'what is your view on XXX'. If it is in singapore, my answer to the first question would often be 'anything' or 'up to you'. But in here, I realised the importance of having a stand and having a say in things. saying 'anything's fine' is just the cheapest way to shedding off responsibility. As for the second question, I always give a rather surfaced answer or analysis, but the other party could go on and on. even in the most trivial things, if you ask for an opinion, they will give you at least some within a blink of an eye. I am of course exaggerating a little bit, but you get my point. This is really how I feel after living here, and I think I should really start to think more on things. Not to just receive information without even processing and analysing them..
Well, anywayz..I should be studying for my 2 exams now..have a finance exam tomorrow and consumer behavior on friday.. Man, am I slacking!! okok..should stop here now! gotta go do revision now and save the 'post-departure-depression' for Friday night.LOL..Ciao!
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Italy!!!!Pisa-Florence-Siena
Italy is my last trip before the final exam, and it was so great that it deserves an entry on its own!~
This second 'Lonely-Planet' trip started on 20Oct, I flew to Pisa airport early in the morning and arrived about 8 or 9am. It felt so surreal that I was actually there, in a place that I have read on books since young.. Starring at the Leaning tower, I can't stop smiling~~It was not a dream come true, it was like I was still in the dream!~~
The tower is really leaning. It really really is..that was all I can think about at that time.. the degree of inclination was really dramatic, I am pretty impressed that the scientists managed to keep it standing till today. They were not many tourists there that day, guess it was not the tourists season, which worked well for me because I do not have to fight my way through the crowds for a picture~ :D
The Duomo and Battistero together with the leaning tower stood on the beautiful Piazza de Miracoli. Along the Piazza, there are rows of stalls selling souvenirs. Not far from the Pizza runs the sparkling Fiume Arno, or Arno River. The whole city was compact but beautiful~~ Love Italy!~Woohoo!
My hostel was in Florence, so I have to take a train from Pisa to Florence or Firenze as the local would call it. Florence is one my favourite cities in this few months in Europe. There are so much things to see in the city, and everything was just so pretty! My favourite 2 museums (so far) are situated not far from each other in the centre of Florence - Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery.
The Uffizi gallery is the house of the famous 'Birth of Venus' and "Primavera'by Sandro Botticelli. I stared at those two paintings for so long...they were simply beautiful. There are many other famous paintings in the gallery too. There are works of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio and many many more~~it was like an art heaven to me!!! Absolutely loved it!!!
Accademia is where the world famous statue of David stood. It was so gigantic - 5.17m! I can't imagine how Michelangelo did it! Every little details on the sculpture was powerful! The post, the position of the hands, every twist of muscles, the slight frown on the face..everything brings David to life! It was truly impressive!!
The other sights such as the Duomo, the Orsammiechele, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio etc etc are all amazing! I just LOVE the city!!!! O and one thing that should not be missed out is ICE CREAM!!! Italy is famous for its delicious, low fat Ice cream, or Gelato as the local would call it :)I had at least one everyday!! they costs from 1.5 per scoop to up to 9 Euros~~ Regardless of where you buy them from, they all taste amazing! And of course, Pizza and Pasta are needless to say - GREAT!
Another thing that really made my trip was the wonderful Hostel I stayed in. It is called Danny's house, it is located 15min walk from the city centre. It is a really small hostel with only 2 rooms - one private suite and one 12-people dorm. There is a kitchen, a bathroom and a common room and that is all. It is truly a 'house'! Because it is so cosy, everyone will gather in the common room at night and chat. The hostel provides free wine and cakes as supper, so we would all sit together and eat while figuring out something to do together. For the first night, the whole hostel (all 10 of us, from Netherlands, Argentina, US, Canada, Australia, Poland..) went to an Italian bar together and had great fun! The second night, we went to the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge) to take pic of night scene. Along the way, we past by Piazza della Signoria where a lot of sculptures were situated at, and took a lot of funny 'sculture-picures'..LOL..The third night, we stayed in and had a movie marathon (free DVDs played on Free X-box, both provided by the hostel~)! It was so fun hanging out with those guys! Loved my hostel! Highly recommended!!
Siena was a town near Florence. I went there on my second day in Italy. I loved the old stony roads there. They were narrow and uneven, but very nice to walk on. And the most fun part of the Siena trip was to join a Parade!! It was not a fun-fair parade, but a Protest Parade!! The people there were protesting against the government's decision to build a new airport in Siena which would destroy part of its beautiful scenery. People were holding banners, flags, and marching with drums, loud speakers and whatever that can make noises. There were even people juggling fired sticks among the marching crowd (I have no idea why..LOL)
The whole trip was really pleasant! Until a strange guy showed up and totally destroyed my day :( I am not going to write it in my blog, cuz the story is tooooo long. But if u wanna know, u can ask me, I might be willing to tell..haha
Anyway..no more flying or train for the next 2 weeks until my exams are over!!!Jiayou!!!
This second 'Lonely-Planet' trip started on 20Oct, I flew to Pisa airport early in the morning and arrived about 8 or 9am. It felt so surreal that I was actually there, in a place that I have read on books since young.. Starring at the Leaning tower, I can't stop smiling~~It was not a dream come true, it was like I was still in the dream!~~
The tower is really leaning. It really really is..that was all I can think about at that time.. the degree of inclination was really dramatic, I am pretty impressed that the scientists managed to keep it standing till today. They were not many tourists there that day, guess it was not the tourists season, which worked well for me because I do not have to fight my way through the crowds for a picture~ :D
The Duomo and Battistero together with the leaning tower stood on the beautiful Piazza de Miracoli. Along the Piazza, there are rows of stalls selling souvenirs. Not far from the Pizza runs the sparkling Fiume Arno, or Arno River. The whole city was compact but beautiful~~ Love Italy!~Woohoo!
My hostel was in Florence, so I have to take a train from Pisa to Florence or Firenze as the local would call it. Florence is one my favourite cities in this few months in Europe. There are so much things to see in the city, and everything was just so pretty! My favourite 2 museums (so far) are situated not far from each other in the centre of Florence - Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery.
The Uffizi gallery is the house of the famous 'Birth of Venus' and "Primavera'by Sandro Botticelli. I stared at those two paintings for so long...they were simply beautiful. There are many other famous paintings in the gallery too. There are works of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio and many many more~~it was like an art heaven to me!!! Absolutely loved it!!!
Accademia is where the world famous statue of David stood. It was so gigantic - 5.17m! I can't imagine how Michelangelo did it! Every little details on the sculpture was powerful! The post, the position of the hands, every twist of muscles, the slight frown on the face..everything brings David to life! It was truly impressive!!
The other sights such as the Duomo, the Orsammiechele, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio etc etc are all amazing! I just LOVE the city!!!! O and one thing that should not be missed out is ICE CREAM!!! Italy is famous for its delicious, low fat Ice cream, or Gelato as the local would call it :)I had at least one everyday!! they costs from 1.5 per scoop to up to 9 Euros~~ Regardless of where you buy them from, they all taste amazing! And of course, Pizza and Pasta are needless to say - GREAT!
Another thing that really made my trip was the wonderful Hostel I stayed in. It is called Danny's house, it is located 15min walk from the city centre. It is a really small hostel with only 2 rooms - one private suite and one 12-people dorm. There is a kitchen, a bathroom and a common room and that is all. It is truly a 'house'! Because it is so cosy, everyone will gather in the common room at night and chat. The hostel provides free wine and cakes as supper, so we would all sit together and eat while figuring out something to do together. For the first night, the whole hostel (all 10 of us, from Netherlands, Argentina, US, Canada, Australia, Poland..) went to an Italian bar together and had great fun! The second night, we went to the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio (the Old Bridge) to take pic of night scene. Along the way, we past by Piazza della Signoria where a lot of sculptures were situated at, and took a lot of funny 'sculture-picures'..LOL..The third night, we stayed in and had a movie marathon (free DVDs played on Free X-box, both provided by the hostel~)! It was so fun hanging out with those guys! Loved my hostel! Highly recommended!!
Siena was a town near Florence. I went there on my second day in Italy. I loved the old stony roads there. They were narrow and uneven, but very nice to walk on. And the most fun part of the Siena trip was to join a Parade!! It was not a fun-fair parade, but a Protest Parade!! The people there were protesting against the government's decision to build a new airport in Siena which would destroy part of its beautiful scenery. People were holding banners, flags, and marching with drums, loud speakers and whatever that can make noises. There were even people juggling fired sticks among the marching crowd (I have no idea why..LOL)
The whole trip was really pleasant! Until a strange guy showed up and totally destroyed my day :( I am not going to write it in my blog, cuz the story is tooooo long. But if u wanna know, u can ask me, I might be willing to tell..haha
Anyway..no more flying or train for the next 2 weeks until my exams are over!!!Jiayou!!!
UPDATES!!!! a long summary~
Okie~Had been too lazy the past MONTH!LOL..but FINALLY, here are some updates..
First of all, travelling! After the super exciting 'Lonely-Planet' trip to Berlin, Praha, Wien and Munchen, I took a rest in Rotterdam for 1 and half day and headed straight to Spain!
Our first stop was Barcelona. We reached the city at night and went straight to a Flamenco Dance show we booked online. It was really interesting! The dancers wore a kind of special shoes and make heavy beats to the background music. It is much like a tap dance but with heavier beats and only Spanish guitar and singing as the background music. When the dancers tap with their shoes, all their muscles were vibrating or shaking because of their vigorous movements; you can totally feel the passionate nature of a Spaniard from watching them dance! The Spanish guitar was simply amazing! Nothing like the contemporary ones, it was with much more feeling and played somehow in free-style. The singers..I cant' even find words to describe their singing..It was so different..I am not sure if they even have a fixed tune for the song~ To me, everything was created on the spot according to their current emotions..It was really really different!
The next day, we joined a tour bus! I didnot feel cool when I was on the bus actually..LOL..Felt like a tourist instead of a backpacker XD Nevertheless, the tour bus was good; it took us to all the famous spots and we can hop on and off as we like. In many ways, it s like a transportation that saves you the hassle to figure out the way yourself. We visited several buildings designed by the famous Gaudi, including Cata Batllo and Park Guell.
Casa Batllo
Park Guell
Gaudi likes to use curves and nearly perfect waves in his design. Casa Batllo and Park Guell are something that are so different from all the architectures I've seen before! The striking colour combinations, the never ending waves, the unique building structures, come together perfectly to a make his works master pieces.
My favourite Gaudi work has to be the amazing church - Sagarada Familia.
Sagarada Familia is an enormous church with a design that is like no other! The whole church is in the shape of a cross, and the tallest tower has yet to be built. The church started its construction since 1882 and has YET to be completed. According to our guide, it takes another 20 years before it can be finished!! How ambitious is Gaudi!! The church is in his style - curves, waves and a perfect blend of nature. The exterior of the church was filled with carvings and scriptures related to the Holy Bible; the interior is like in a forest. The pillars are tree trunks and the ceiling is in the shape of countless sunflowers! It is simply breathtaking!! Gaudi drew the curvy shape of the church by hanging small weigh-packs on strings and let them hang there; then took a picture of the strings and inverted the photo! He claimed that he was making use of the natural force - Gravity to create the natural curves! How genius!! :D
Next, we went to the Stadium of F.C Barcelona, where I got souvenirs for my dad who is a Messi-fan! :D After that, we went to the Picasso museum and the Magic Fountain for a night show.
Our next stop was Segovia - a small town near Madrid. It has an amazing church, a huge Roman wall and, more importantly, the SNOW WHITE CASTLE!!! Yes! The Snow White's castle in the Disney motion picture was modelled after the Alcazar castle in Segovia!! This is so surreal..haha..we spent a nice half a day there and head down to Madrid.
Similar to Barcelona, Madrid is a vibrant city with exciting night life. You know how people filled Orchard Road on Weekends' afternoons? That is what happens in Madrid's shopping district EVERY NIGHT after 9pm! People here have dinner at around 10pm!! so the later at night, the more crowded the streets get. Of course, in the day, the streets are very peaceful.. The night in Madrid was simply breathtaking! The lights, the crowds, the SHOPS..everything comes just comes to life!~ For me, it is not so much about the buildings and architectures we were going to see, it is more about breathing and taking in the vibrant and lively atmosphere which filled the whole city!! (well, and of course, the countless Mango and Zara shops and outlets too..lol)
The whole trip to Spain was peaceful, until the 2 friends that I went with almost got their wallets and camera stolen!!!! One of them got her wallet stolen while she was taking a picture and felt a sudden loss of weight from her bag (thank God she has a heavy wallet!), and looked to see a hand taking her wallet away. Thank goodness that she found out on time and stopped the thief. The other friend was cornered by two men when we stepped out of the metro, and was forced to dance with them. We thought they were just drunk guys been friendly to tourists, but as it turned out, the two guys took his camera from his pockets while dancing. He realized that and went to claimed the camera back and almost got into a fight with the thieves. That was truly scary! Warning to guys who like to keep stuff in their POCKETS : It is not a wise action in a city full of pickPOCKETS (think about the literal meaning of their name!)
Ok! after coming back from Spain, I took a week of rest and went to Germany, again, with a Portuguese friend. We stayed with her 2 Portuguese friends in a city called Koblenz. Her two friends are doing exchange in Germany, and according to them, their school is the real life version of 'OC' or 'Gossip Girls'! The school takes in only 180 students per batch, and all students must have straight As to get in there. Most importantly, all students there (except for exchange students) have rich parents! Their parents rent them apartments (not rooms, like me)and they all drive super nice cars too~
Anyway, We stayed there for 4 days, and went to Bonn, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Klon.
Bonn was Beethoven's hometown, a lovely city. we went to Beethoven's house and some museums.
Düsseldorf was our destination for the following day. Nothing interesting there actually..O except the Museum of Gothe! I did not know he was from Düsseldorf!!
My favorite of this trip is definitely Klon! The Cathedral was simply awsome!!!!! It was sssssooooooo huge!!! We climbed all the up to the highest point to see the city and I did not think I could make it! LOL~ the view from the top is just amazing! well, climbing the cathedral took us half a day :P and by the time we get back on the ground it was already afternoon. So we went two 2 museums and the night had already come. So we caught a train and head back to Rotterdam~
It was really fun travelling and staying with Portuguese! They are really outgoing, talkative and welcoming~ They will naturally switch to Portuguese when they were realy into talking about a certain topic, and then realize I was all confused and THEN realize that they were not talking in English! that was really funny~~I had the best time with them and learnt some really really interesting hand gestures, which I think are REALLY cool!!! Shall come back to Singapore and spread that around! You guys are gonna love it!! haha~~
After the Germany trip which ended on Sunday night, came 4 days of school and on Thursday night I went to join Emily and Cheryl in Belgium! It was really great seeing old friends overseas~~ on our first night, we went to a Hip Hop class!! hahaha..I was so nervous cuz it very much reminded me of my failed dance audition in Year 1~~~hahaha..that was so embarrassing! Until now, I still could not believe I actually went to a DANCE audition!! That memory will be part of my afternoon tea story to share and laugh at when I grow old..LOL
Anyway, the instructor was really good, although I did not understand a single word he said (cuz it s all in French!). We learnt some really cool steps (but again, all dance steps to me are cool)~ and I can REMEMBER (note: not DANCE) all of them !!
Cheryl and Emily live in an University town, so everyone was close by and everything was close by, cycling is not needed. Their room has an attic structure, which I think is really nice and spacious~ They got me an air-bed from their friends which is really comfortable :D
The next day, we went to Brussels together and ate A LOT of sweet stuff!! chocolate, waffles, ice cream...omg...and had Mussels with fries for dinner~ It was GOOD!!! Did not do much sightseeing though, given that we woke up in noon and reach Brussles in the late afternoon..LOL~
The second day, Emily and I stayed in the university town to do some study, because I have a test on Monday~ However, we ended up going shopping in the nearby mall...LOL..That was a really productive day! XD
on the third day, we went to Ghent with Cheryl's Singaporean friends studying overseas. Ghent was a beautiful place, with medieval buildings and cute rivers running through the city. Really really liked it~!
First of all, travelling! After the super exciting 'Lonely-Planet' trip to Berlin, Praha, Wien and Munchen, I took a rest in Rotterdam for 1 and half day and headed straight to Spain!
Our first stop was Barcelona. We reached the city at night and went straight to a Flamenco Dance show we booked online. It was really interesting! The dancers wore a kind of special shoes and make heavy beats to the background music. It is much like a tap dance but with heavier beats and only Spanish guitar and singing as the background music. When the dancers tap with their shoes, all their muscles were vibrating or shaking because of their vigorous movements; you can totally feel the passionate nature of a Spaniard from watching them dance! The Spanish guitar was simply amazing! Nothing like the contemporary ones, it was with much more feeling and played somehow in free-style. The singers..I cant' even find words to describe their singing..It was so different..I am not sure if they even have a fixed tune for the song~ To me, everything was created on the spot according to their current emotions..It was really really different!
The next day, we joined a tour bus! I didnot feel cool when I was on the bus actually..LOL..Felt like a tourist instead of a backpacker XD Nevertheless, the tour bus was good; it took us to all the famous spots and we can hop on and off as we like. In many ways, it s like a transportation that saves you the hassle to figure out the way yourself. We visited several buildings designed by the famous Gaudi, including Cata Batllo and Park Guell.
Casa Batllo
Park Guell
Gaudi likes to use curves and nearly perfect waves in his design. Casa Batllo and Park Guell are something that are so different from all the architectures I've seen before! The striking colour combinations, the never ending waves, the unique building structures, come together perfectly to a make his works master pieces.
My favourite Gaudi work has to be the amazing church - Sagarada Familia.
Sagarada Familia is an enormous church with a design that is like no other! The whole church is in the shape of a cross, and the tallest tower has yet to be built. The church started its construction since 1882 and has YET to be completed. According to our guide, it takes another 20 years before it can be finished!! How ambitious is Gaudi!! The church is in his style - curves, waves and a perfect blend of nature. The exterior of the church was filled with carvings and scriptures related to the Holy Bible; the interior is like in a forest. The pillars are tree trunks and the ceiling is in the shape of countless sunflowers! It is simply breathtaking!! Gaudi drew the curvy shape of the church by hanging small weigh-packs on strings and let them hang there; then took a picture of the strings and inverted the photo! He claimed that he was making use of the natural force - Gravity to create the natural curves! How genius!! :D
Next, we went to the Stadium of F.C Barcelona, where I got souvenirs for my dad who is a Messi-fan! :D After that, we went to the Picasso museum and the Magic Fountain for a night show.
Our next stop was Segovia - a small town near Madrid. It has an amazing church, a huge Roman wall and, more importantly, the SNOW WHITE CASTLE!!! Yes! The Snow White's castle in the Disney motion picture was modelled after the Alcazar castle in Segovia!! This is so surreal..haha..we spent a nice half a day there and head down to Madrid.
Similar to Barcelona, Madrid is a vibrant city with exciting night life. You know how people filled Orchard Road on Weekends' afternoons? That is what happens in Madrid's shopping district EVERY NIGHT after 9pm! People here have dinner at around 10pm!! so the later at night, the more crowded the streets get. Of course, in the day, the streets are very peaceful.. The night in Madrid was simply breathtaking! The lights, the crowds, the SHOPS..everything comes just comes to life!~ For me, it is not so much about the buildings and architectures we were going to see, it is more about breathing and taking in the vibrant and lively atmosphere which filled the whole city!! (well, and of course, the countless Mango and Zara shops and outlets too..lol)
The whole trip to Spain was peaceful, until the 2 friends that I went with almost got their wallets and camera stolen!!!! One of them got her wallet stolen while she was taking a picture and felt a sudden loss of weight from her bag (thank God she has a heavy wallet!), and looked to see a hand taking her wallet away. Thank goodness that she found out on time and stopped the thief. The other friend was cornered by two men when we stepped out of the metro, and was forced to dance with them. We thought they were just drunk guys been friendly to tourists, but as it turned out, the two guys took his camera from his pockets while dancing. He realized that and went to claimed the camera back and almost got into a fight with the thieves. That was truly scary! Warning to guys who like to keep stuff in their POCKETS : It is not a wise action in a city full of pickPOCKETS (think about the literal meaning of their name!)
Ok! after coming back from Spain, I took a week of rest and went to Germany, again, with a Portuguese friend. We stayed with her 2 Portuguese friends in a city called Koblenz. Her two friends are doing exchange in Germany, and according to them, their school is the real life version of 'OC' or 'Gossip Girls'! The school takes in only 180 students per batch, and all students must have straight As to get in there. Most importantly, all students there (except for exchange students) have rich parents! Their parents rent them apartments (not rooms, like me)and they all drive super nice cars too~
Anyway, We stayed there for 4 days, and went to Bonn, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Klon.
Bonn was Beethoven's hometown, a lovely city. we went to Beethoven's house and some museums.
Düsseldorf was our destination for the following day. Nothing interesting there actually..O except the Museum of Gothe! I did not know he was from Düsseldorf!!
My favorite of this trip is definitely Klon! The Cathedral was simply awsome!!!!! It was sssssooooooo huge!!! We climbed all the up to the highest point to see the city and I did not think I could make it! LOL~ the view from the top is just amazing! well, climbing the cathedral took us half a day :P and by the time we get back on the ground it was already afternoon. So we went two 2 museums and the night had already come. So we caught a train and head back to Rotterdam~
It was really fun travelling and staying with Portuguese! They are really outgoing, talkative and welcoming~ They will naturally switch to Portuguese when they were realy into talking about a certain topic, and then realize I was all confused and THEN realize that they were not talking in English! that was really funny~~I had the best time with them and learnt some really really interesting hand gestures, which I think are REALLY cool!!! Shall come back to Singapore and spread that around! You guys are gonna love it!! haha~~
After the Germany trip which ended on Sunday night, came 4 days of school and on Thursday night I went to join Emily and Cheryl in Belgium! It was really great seeing old friends overseas~~ on our first night, we went to a Hip Hop class!! hahaha..I was so nervous cuz it very much reminded me of my failed dance audition in Year 1~~~hahaha..that was so embarrassing! Until now, I still could not believe I actually went to a DANCE audition!! That memory will be part of my afternoon tea story to share and laugh at when I grow old..LOL
Anyway, the instructor was really good, although I did not understand a single word he said (cuz it s all in French!). We learnt some really cool steps (but again, all dance steps to me are cool)~ and I can REMEMBER (note: not DANCE) all of them !!
Cheryl and Emily live in an University town, so everyone was close by and everything was close by, cycling is not needed. Their room has an attic structure, which I think is really nice and spacious~ They got me an air-bed from their friends which is really comfortable :D
The next day, we went to Brussels together and ate A LOT of sweet stuff!! chocolate, waffles, ice cream...omg...and had Mussels with fries for dinner~ It was GOOD!!! Did not do much sightseeing though, given that we woke up in noon and reach Brussles in the late afternoon..LOL~
The second day, Emily and I stayed in the university town to do some study, because I have a test on Monday~ However, we ended up going shopping in the nearby mall...LOL..That was a really productive day! XD
on the third day, we went to Ghent with Cheryl's Singaporean friends studying overseas. Ghent was a beautiful place, with medieval buildings and cute rivers running through the city. Really really liked it~!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
STAR Party2009
Ok~ I know I need to update my travelling stuff here, but before I do that, I really need to record down what happened last night, because it was sssssooooooooo much fun!!!
We had a school event organized by the student union STAR yesterday night. It was a dance party with all the famous DJs and the event was from 11pm-5am.
I am not a party person (of course!), but while you are in another country with another culture, the best thing you can do is to enjoy it! So i decided to go and hoping to have some new and fun experience. And I did!
It was so much fun last night! There were so many people there! I literally thought the school was there! The building was huge with so many levels. The security was really tight (guess you have to when you are expecting such a big crowd), everyone have to pass through the detector and bag checks in order to get in. On our way to get a locker for our bags and coats, we were literally stuck in the sea of people and cannot move an inch for countless times. The worse thing was, they were all so tall! The Dutch is the tallest race on Earth, and being an average height Asian, that means a total block of vision + occasional hit on the head by their ELBOWS + lack of fresh air + a serious sense of helplessness because you know that there s no way you have the strength to actually push them to move forward.
Thank God we did not suffocate in that sea of giants, and made our way through to the dance floor.
There were 3 rooms in the club, each plays a different kinda music. THe first room was, as I assumed, African music with live African drum players playing really hard beats, the second room was the R & B room where people dance slow and move their body, the 3rd room was the Techno room with live DJs and Rappers. I like the 3rd room the best, and we stayed there the whole night!
Almost all the exchange students were there! We ran into each other and just dance together. The surprise came when I ran into to friends from Oktoberfest who do not even study in my school!! That was so amazing!
In Western Parties besides dancing with friends, there were bound to be guys that want to dance with girls whom they barely know. There was an Indian guy stood beside me for a long time. He barely moved his body to the music and just stood there which I think was really weird when u are on the dance floor. And his friend was trying dance with another of my friend. Later my friend suddenly dragged me away and told me that the guy said to him 'my friend likes you friend'! I was shocked..LOL..I like Indian people but not that guy who stood still on a dance floor!! So we ended up staying in the toilet for 10min hoping that those guys would leave our dancing spot. Among the people who danced with me, there were some cute guys. But again, club is not the place for you to meet people; and I am certainly not the type that will go for any momentary fling. However, many of the others (who appear to be really drunk) are. I guess that is the cultural difference!
But I have to say, it was so fun to dance with friends!!
O, one thing I have to mention! Earlier today when I was on my way to a friend's place with a group of girls, we went by a room with a curtain open, so we can see inside the window. There was this guy seating next to a table in front of the window reading. We only passby the window for like 1sec and all the girls went 'Oh My God!' That guy was really gorgeous looking! He has blond hair and a super nice smile!!! According to my friend, he is Spanish! His room is just a few doors away from my friend, maybe I should go passby his window more often..LOL..
Alright! have to go back to my readings now! 5 more days to exam and I havent finish even half of my readings. Hope it is an easy module to pass!
We had a school event organized by the student union STAR yesterday night. It was a dance party with all the famous DJs and the event was from 11pm-5am.
I am not a party person (of course!), but while you are in another country with another culture, the best thing you can do is to enjoy it! So i decided to go and hoping to have some new and fun experience. And I did!
It was so much fun last night! There were so many people there! I literally thought the school was there! The building was huge with so many levels. The security was really tight (guess you have to when you are expecting such a big crowd), everyone have to pass through the detector and bag checks in order to get in. On our way to get a locker for our bags and coats, we were literally stuck in the sea of people and cannot move an inch for countless times. The worse thing was, they were all so tall! The Dutch is the tallest race on Earth, and being an average height Asian, that means a total block of vision + occasional hit on the head by their ELBOWS + lack of fresh air + a serious sense of helplessness because you know that there s no way you have the strength to actually push them to move forward.
Thank God we did not suffocate in that sea of giants, and made our way through to the dance floor.
There were 3 rooms in the club, each plays a different kinda music. THe first room was, as I assumed, African music with live African drum players playing really hard beats, the second room was the R & B room where people dance slow and move their body, the 3rd room was the Techno room with live DJs and Rappers. I like the 3rd room the best, and we stayed there the whole night!
Almost all the exchange students were there! We ran into each other and just dance together. The surprise came when I ran into to friends from Oktoberfest who do not even study in my school!! That was so amazing!
In Western Parties besides dancing with friends, there were bound to be guys that want to dance with girls whom they barely know. There was an Indian guy stood beside me for a long time. He barely moved his body to the music and just stood there which I think was really weird when u are on the dance floor. And his friend was trying dance with another of my friend. Later my friend suddenly dragged me away and told me that the guy said to him 'my friend likes you friend'! I was shocked..LOL..I like Indian people but not that guy who stood still on a dance floor!! So we ended up staying in the toilet for 10min hoping that those guys would leave our dancing spot. Among the people who danced with me, there were some cute guys. But again, club is not the place for you to meet people; and I am certainly not the type that will go for any momentary fling. However, many of the others (who appear to be really drunk) are. I guess that is the cultural difference!
But I have to say, it was so fun to dance with friends!!
O, one thing I have to mention! Earlier today when I was on my way to a friend's place with a group of girls, we went by a room with a curtain open, so we can see inside the window. There was this guy seating next to a table in front of the window reading. We only passby the window for like 1sec and all the girls went 'Oh My God!' That guy was really gorgeous looking! He has blond hair and a super nice smile!!! According to my friend, he is Spanish! His room is just a few doors away from my friend, maybe I should go passby his window more often..LOL..
Alright! have to go back to my readings now! 5 more days to exam and I havent finish even half of my readings. Hope it is an easy module to pass!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
New Updates finally!!
Alright!!!As i have told many people that I will not be able to update my English blog because I have to write my CHinese blog for my parents..But it turns out that I donot update THAT blog often too..so maybe I shd just write some thing here as well..
ok..School is gonna get really busy starting next monday, and it was so hard to try to match everybody's schedule, so on the 10th of Oct, I decided to take a trip by myself. And the trip started on the 12th..
rushed to book hostels, concert tickets for vienna, tour for munich castles and everything needed on Sunday, and printed them out on Monday during lesson break and sneak out of the class halfway to catch my first train of this trip! LOL~
I started on the 12Oct and reached back home on the evening of 20th.. During this 8days trip I spent 1 night in Berlin, 2 days in Prague, 2 days in Vienna and 2and half day in Munich and half a day in the train..
Berlin
Prague/Praha
Vienna/Wien
Munich/Munchen
It is really nice to travel by yourself! When I first told the guys that I am going alone, everyone was like 'o that is so brave' and some 'are you crazy?' :D However, I realized on the trip that there are sssoooo many girls travelling alone in Europe, and most them spent a year on their trip. I guess if you are cautious enough, and have the basic sense of direction, travelling alone is not such a horrible idea!
Here are a few things i thought about regarding this super cool trip:
1) you are alone, so you always have the tendency to talk to other people..and that is how you make new friends! I have met a lot of really cool people in hostels, tours and even those who sat beside me on the train, concerts and even dinner! People who bravely quit their really superior and stable jobs to travel, people who took a year off school as a break to travel and so on~ Almost all of them are really nice and we clicked really well, so for Berlin and Munich, I actually toured with some of them~~ and get a lot of first hand tips for travelling to other cities! I think this is really cool~~~~~~ :)
2) When u are travelling alone, you do everything on your own pace. There will not be toilet-waiting, or lost-of-group-members-delay, and etc. You get to choose where u wanna go, how u wanna go there and when u wanna go. Everything is free and easy~ You could get a lot accomplished in a day. This is an obvious benefit of travelling alone, but I just wanna emphasis how true this is! :)
3) When you are on the train/bus alone, you tend to do a lot of productive things. I actually finished reading my whole textbook on the train!!!LOL...I could nvr do that at home (with the presence of my computer).. So i guess it is a good way to catch up with your readings! LOL~
4)When you are by yourself, you have time for some serious thinking.. I thought a lot..about my next trip..Haha..and I already have a rough plan for my next 'adventure gloria - mission lonely planet part II' !! It is going to be great!
I have to admit, first started this trip, before getting used to 'starting-a-conversation-with-other-random-people', you will feel lonely and a lack of energy. However, a little while later, you will get used to it and totally enjoy it! And then, loneliness is no longer an issue cuz you will starting to know people...As I am writing these, I get really excited for my next mission which is coming up in Nov..there r going to be a number of trips that I plan to go by myself, gonna start the detail planning asap! can't wait!!!!
I will update the blog as often as I can..Going to spain tomorrow, going to sleep early today!..ZARA!!MANGO!!YEAH!!
ok..School is gonna get really busy starting next monday, and it was so hard to try to match everybody's schedule, so on the 10th of Oct, I decided to take a trip by myself. And the trip started on the 12th..
rushed to book hostels, concert tickets for vienna, tour for munich castles and everything needed on Sunday, and printed them out on Monday during lesson break and sneak out of the class halfway to catch my first train of this trip! LOL~
I started on the 12Oct and reached back home on the evening of 20th.. During this 8days trip I spent 1 night in Berlin, 2 days in Prague, 2 days in Vienna and 2and half day in Munich and half a day in the train..
Berlin
Prague/Praha
Vienna/Wien
Munich/Munchen
It is really nice to travel by yourself! When I first told the guys that I am going alone, everyone was like 'o that is so brave' and some 'are you crazy?' :D However, I realized on the trip that there are sssoooo many girls travelling alone in Europe, and most them spent a year on their trip. I guess if you are cautious enough, and have the basic sense of direction, travelling alone is not such a horrible idea!
Here are a few things i thought about regarding this super cool trip:
1) you are alone, so you always have the tendency to talk to other people..and that is how you make new friends! I have met a lot of really cool people in hostels, tours and even those who sat beside me on the train, concerts and even dinner! People who bravely quit their really superior and stable jobs to travel, people who took a year off school as a break to travel and so on~ Almost all of them are really nice and we clicked really well, so for Berlin and Munich, I actually toured with some of them~~ and get a lot of first hand tips for travelling to other cities! I think this is really cool~~~~~~ :)
2) When u are travelling alone, you do everything on your own pace. There will not be toilet-waiting, or lost-of-group-members-delay, and etc. You get to choose where u wanna go, how u wanna go there and when u wanna go. Everything is free and easy~ You could get a lot accomplished in a day. This is an obvious benefit of travelling alone, but I just wanna emphasis how true this is! :)
3) When you are on the train/bus alone, you tend to do a lot of productive things. I actually finished reading my whole textbook on the train!!!LOL...I could nvr do that at home (with the presence of my computer).. So i guess it is a good way to catch up with your readings! LOL~
4)When you are by yourself, you have time for some serious thinking.. I thought a lot..about my next trip..Haha..and I already have a rough plan for my next 'adventure gloria - mission lonely planet part II' !! It is going to be great!
I have to admit, first started this trip, before getting used to 'starting-a-conversation-with-other-random-people', you will feel lonely and a lack of energy. However, a little while later, you will get used to it and totally enjoy it! And then, loneliness is no longer an issue cuz you will starting to know people...As I am writing these, I get really excited for my next mission which is coming up in Nov..there r going to be a number of trips that I plan to go by myself, gonna start the detail planning asap! can't wait!!!!
I will update the blog as often as I can..Going to spain tomorrow, going to sleep early today!..ZARA!!MANGO!!YEAH!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Rotterdam Diary -Belgium trip
Ok..So I realized that China banned blogspot so there s no way my parents are gonna see this blog, so i decided to write it in English :)
Now continue from before:
5 Sept (Antwerp)
We took the 10am train and had a 1 hour ride to Antwerp, Belgium.
I was totally captured by the astonishing structure of the Antwerp train station! It has a really classy European feel~ High ceiling, Sculptures on the wall with complicated but amazing patterns..It just looked so great!
We walked along the shopping district there slowly, and was totally absorbed by the contrast between the old building structure and the modern layout of the shop in it~ Street Performances were plenty, including some really weird ones..
We found a shop next to a cathedral , which sells chocolate ice cream for 1 Euro. That was such a temptation! Nearly all of us bought one and it tasted GREAT!!I also bought a post card that says'chocolate is the best therapy, and you don't need an appointment'..LOL
After lunch, we went inside the biggest cathedral there to have a look. It was simply beautiful!! It was a museum with collection of religious paintings. But not only the paintings are beautiful, the interior structure of the church is really amazing! I Can's believe How much I love cathedrals~ They are the best (in my opinion) of the collection of people's appreciation and talent for arts and designs!
The rest of Antwerp is so different from Rotterdam..Everything has an ancient feel..
And there was a surprise for us at a chocolate candy shop..LOL
The day past by fast, because we took our time to be IN the city. We took a night train after dinner and head down to Brussel to stay for the night. In the hostel, we drank and talked some crap which annoyed the neightbours next door..LOL and officially gave nicknames to others~~
6th Sept
We started the day late because we could not wake up earlier. We skipped breakfast and went straight into lunch. We had fast food at a restaurant called 'quick' whose service is really 'slow'~
Unlike Antwerp, the streets are oddly quite. It was a bright Sunday morning, and the streets were, quote from the others, like the ones in 'I am Legend'..
However, that did not change the beauty of this old city~
When we reached the central square, the crowds showed up. There was a beer festival going on there, and mad crowds buying chocolate and waffles around the Manneken Pis. The chocolate shops are filled with people and the waffle shop next it couldnot have more business. I had a chocolate mike shake from Godiva shop!!It was SSSSSOOOOOOOO chocolaty!!!! I also shared with a friend a Strawberry chocolate waffle!!That was simply the best~~
the Manneken Pis was nothing like I have imagined, except for the crowds that were around it..not only was it small and decorated with flowers, the boy was wearing a Zorro outfit!!!!
We were （again) really slack on this trip, so took many breaks and rests and just enjoyed the feeling of being there~I think that is nice! I don't really like rushing to places on a trip, so this kind of indulgence in the culture is exactly what I was looking for :) Happy!!~~
Belgium will not complete without chocolates! Of course I bought some myself~ According to the sales person, chocolates are best kept under 15~20 degrees and it will not melt until the expiry date! So cross my figures and hope I can bring back solid ones home!!~~
Now continue from before:
5 Sept (Antwerp)
We took the 10am train and had a 1 hour ride to Antwerp, Belgium.
I was totally captured by the astonishing structure of the Antwerp train station! It has a really classy European feel~ High ceiling, Sculptures on the wall with complicated but amazing patterns..It just looked so great!
We walked along the shopping district there slowly, and was totally absorbed by the contrast between the old building structure and the modern layout of the shop in it~ Street Performances were plenty, including some really weird ones..
We found a shop next to a cathedral , which sells chocolate ice cream for 1 Euro. That was such a temptation! Nearly all of us bought one and it tasted GREAT!!I also bought a post card that says'chocolate is the best therapy, and you don't need an appointment'..LOL
After lunch, we went inside the biggest cathedral there to have a look. It was simply beautiful!! It was a museum with collection of religious paintings. But not only the paintings are beautiful, the interior structure of the church is really amazing! I Can's believe How much I love cathedrals~ They are the best (in my opinion) of the collection of people's appreciation and talent for arts and designs!
The rest of Antwerp is so different from Rotterdam..Everything has an ancient feel..
And there was a surprise for us at a chocolate candy shop..LOL
The day past by fast, because we took our time to be IN the city. We took a night train after dinner and head down to Brussel to stay for the night. In the hostel, we drank and talked some crap which annoyed the neightbours next door..LOL and officially gave nicknames to others~~
6th Sept
We started the day late because we could not wake up earlier. We skipped breakfast and went straight into lunch. We had fast food at a restaurant called 'quick' whose service is really 'slow'~
Unlike Antwerp, the streets are oddly quite. It was a bright Sunday morning, and the streets were, quote from the others, like the ones in 'I am Legend'..
However, that did not change the beauty of this old city~
When we reached the central square, the crowds showed up. There was a beer festival going on there, and mad crowds buying chocolate and waffles around the Manneken Pis. The chocolate shops are filled with people and the waffle shop next it couldnot have more business. I had a chocolate mike shake from Godiva shop!!It was SSSSSOOOOOOOO chocolaty!!!! I also shared with a friend a Strawberry chocolate waffle!!That was simply the best~~
the Manneken Pis was nothing like I have imagined, except for the crowds that were around it..not only was it small and decorated with flowers, the boy was wearing a Zorro outfit!!!!
We were （again) really slack on this trip, so took many breaks and rests and just enjoyed the feeling of being there~I think that is nice! I don't really like rushing to places on a trip, so this kind of indulgence in the culture is exactly what I was looking for :) Happy!!~~
Belgium will not complete without chocolates! Of course I bought some myself~ According to the sales person, chocolates are best kept under 15~20 degrees and it will not melt until the expiry date! So cross my figures and hope I can bring back solid ones home!!~~
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