5 nights to countdown

it's been a week since you're gone... and my headache wouldn't help.
the news says michele bachmann won the mock primary election in illinois (or iowa? i cant remember..) - what a coincidence with me watching the west wing. i don't want sam seaborne to go... and how much i wish i had the wit of CJ Creg and humor of president bartlett. ok im brainwashed i know...

the whole day i've been thinking of our sunday routine having brunch together esp when i's in hampstead... i's thinking nxt time i could try cure gavaldax myself and make u egg benedicts hehehe!






and no so good burning my hand it's even darker than my already super tanned skin... from the look of it it doesnt seem to have blister so thank god as i wont be able to refrain from poking it..



and i got pushed to sit on the grass.. im not a very nature person im sure there're poo poo on the green.....!!!!! but all in all it's a nice day i got treated to 2 scoops of ice cream yay! really wish you're here esp tonight i've been missing you. perhaps i shd have had a glass...

first summer trip 2011 (3)

Day 7- Vigo

the little driving trip soon came to an end we had to drop off the car. it's been a really good boy who didnt need much feeding. i didnt have a very good experience of NH hotel in Frankfurt (i mean they're ok but not too a 5 star standard...) but this one in Vigo's not bad at all, despite the funny layout. i concluded Vigo's a town for dogs and pigeons and c9 too...

we had some fun at the shopping mall and the chief advisor gave some good tips in scarf =) i'll wear it in Sept in berlin! i love it too!


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Day 8 - Porto

we took the train down to porto and didnt realise there's time difference! hey we're back in GMT! the train ride wasn't so bad but baby aint the biggest fan of portugal. indeed he kinda hates - 'why is it so rundown and tacky? why do portugese look so funny? it seems we're in chile or peru' said him. it's way too hot the tram ride certainly helped. bunni got burnt having stayed in the sun for merely an hour and we needed to go back for a fiesta. but it's a nice little town for a day and a day is more than enough....



last time i's in porto i passed by this Majestic cafe a few times and finally i got a chance to get a taste! it's very french and quite grand. obviously one of the (few) best options you could find. they do very fluffy toasts kinda like brioche. i'd have liked it if it's not so thick and smeared with jam both sides... i gave up after a thin slice. it's also v bizzaire that waitors are all equipped with a 70s walkie talkie to take your orders - they've this proud look that they must've believed it's the most high tech gadget on earth which could beat the hell out of apple...!



we settled in a very nice restaurant by the river with a neutral ambience. the waitor was very diligent and attentive. he kept his head down the whole time. i wonder how many mouths he has to feed and we gave him a better tip. it was a really nice dinner even without wine - we decided portugese white wasn't to our liking and would rather leave this out (and after all we've drunk too much it's time to detox!).


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Day 9 & 10 - Lisbon

unwillingly it's come to our final stop of the adventure... the high speed train to lisbon was fantastic!!! you almost felt like you're in business class. haha. i love playing chess with you! im working on it everyday so soon i'll be able to beat you.

can you believe lisbon is even hotter than porto? you're literally roasted in this big open oven... it's full of americans and germans with no sight of english. and the locals have funny dressing style and they're so so so so so THICK! the first night's dinner was such a rip off i cant believe baby's playing Mr. Nice. sigh... man.....



look at these statues. their faces are all twisted because of the burning sun! 'where is the air con?' they shouted in union!



it's our last dinner before going home. bunni picked this restaurant it's not bad at all with a fish counter at the centre. baby ordered oysters & groupper. so a grouper eating a grouper. hmmm! not a promising sign - you are what you eat. we finished off having a coffee at the natinoal theatre's cafe. i'd never trade this lime sorbet with anything else. it even had lime candies!!



so lisbon marked the end of our trip and however much i hated to jump on the plane we had to, except BA will always be BA... and with a full troop of portugese wouldnt help. sigh.

just want to thank you for everything and all these little memeories. i hope you wouldnt refund me for a new tomtom / co pilot nxt time we explore. i miss u loads and it's been such a fun journey with you, esp when you get so wound up with menu...!

first summer trip 2011 (2)

Day 5 & 6 - Santiago de Compestela

hola santiago! no one could ever fall out with this little city of heritage and stories! it's so beautiful and you could tell how much $$$ the local gov makes! you cant mistake their university campus and the number of hotels on offer! weird enough every hoteliers would take you for a free tour of their rooms and 'give you a special rate'. bunni has simply inherited the gene for bargaining... we got an OK deal for a boutique hotel and it's rated no.1 on tripadvisor! the decor and ambience were immaculate. we even had our own private patio, free wifi, CNN news and breakfast was excellent!

we got a *free ride* on the tour tram to see the cathedral and uni etc. and indulged ourselves with a glass of white at another hotel's terrace bar which overlooked the downtown. pretty amazing except the whole thing was ruined by this busker. if only i could stuff all the little olive stones into his stupid pipe!!!!

there's this street full of restaurants like HK - with a big fish tank to display/ show off fresh fish and lobsters and of course goose barnacles. we checked into this tapas bar and after 2 glasses of wine bunni's getting a bit.. hyper.... we continued our search in this wine bar O Beiro. the sommelier (is he one... hmmm...) recommended this local produce from Ribeiro - something similar to Sancere. gosh that was heaven!!!! and soon... bunni was too hysterical she was forced to down a strong coffee to calm herself down before making herself an extra fool/ disgrace...

the next day we took a short trip to a nearby fishing village. every backyard houses a small wooden hut and only later did bunni find out this's for storage not for smoking jamon =}

oh and it's santiago where baby fell in love with clams and cockles - without the smallest grain of sand.

first summer trip 2011 (1)

it's been a week since our first summer trip. it's truly a relaxing break with mini adventures. the tan on my arms is, surprisingly, intensifed or perhaps only my illusion. if only i could get Ipsa or H2O+ or full range of shu uemura... SU's only launched the green tea cleanser in selfridges last month =(

all aside it's one truly memorable and loving trip. thanks for being my best travel buddy/ chauffeur! and i've proved to be the best menu decryptor or spanish translator.

Day1 & 2 - Santander
so the trip began with a long/ no-priority-check-in queue at ryanair. indeed i's quite amazed by the stanstead express train it's quite efficient and modern. and apart from the bad serivce and very smelly cabin (the 2 spanish boys in front wore vests and they're sweating... with 2 'sea urchins' armpits it was some sight). what else can you say though ryanair's the only direct flight operator to santander. thank god it's only an 1.5hr flight and as soon as we touched down we felt the slightly heated breeze! the hotel was.... terrible - with the price we paid it was nothing but terrible. nonetheless the city made up to it! it's a very nice promenade along the quay/bund (may my architect/ urban planning friends correct me the differences between the two) and you can sniff the saltiness from the sea! everyone was craving for Regma helados! we found a very cool tapas bar/ restaurant called Bodegas Mazon. the vino blanco was disgustly cheap yet superbly refreshing which complimented with our octopus/ tuna fishball/ mushrooms (bathing in warm garlicy olive oil...).




we woke up to some.. funny breakfast at the hotel. the spanish sun was all the comfort we needed and we decided to hop on a ferry to a nearby island surrounded with sandy beaches for a nice tan (which unfortunately we ovedid it...). it's a beautiful beach just 30mins on the boat and quiet in the morning - before the spanish invaded. kinda like those in HK but cleaner! it wasn't warm enough to swim though, or i wasn't as brave as the little boy.



it's our last night in santander and the little alleys never fail to surprise you! there're always somethings round the corners! and so we found another local specialty. it's a museum of wine/ tapas bar with barrels as tables =) i simply couldn't resist the smile from the cod...

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Day 3 & 4 - Oviedo & Gijon

the car we received was very nice except they dont have any v nice radio channels. baby was so pleased with the navigation he couldn't stop praising/ giving a tap on its head. we headed east towards Oviedo. the spanish gov was granted so much funds from the Commission to build all these super highways! oh and i'd mastered the spanish of sparkling water aqua con gas! the drive was fairly easy (well as a passenger it's always the case =P) and scenic - mountains on our left and seafront on our left! along the way we saw quite a few wind farms on those complex terrains and i did think about mast and wake turbulence...

so with some pee-stops we soon found ourselves in oveido a very commercial town. with luck we got a v good deal out of a 4star hotel and their orange juice was a winner that baby secretly shipped a whole jar to our table 2 mornings in a row. apple must be the best produce in this region as it seems all waitors could do the magic trick of pouring cider for thirsty diners.

gijon's just a stone throw away we savoured ourselves in the sun and seasoned ourselves w very fine sand and the atlantic sea! it's the very first time we swam together hahaha. the downside is too many c9 around they could drive you nuts! or they got this from the history - romans did conquered this little town and the remains are still well-preserved along the coast.

over and over again.
when will this end!?
just when you think here comes a rebounce you are slapped right at ur face!

for f sake

loony

free falling.

i love bruises.

im a duran duran


so better leave me alone for the monday blues


before u get bruised.


the end.