3 of my friends have left Lyon today. And I have one more month left here.
SOBS!!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Lisboa
Lisbon! By the time we got to Lisbon (after 2 weeks of non stop travelling), we were getting very tired.
We stayed in a party hostel which celebrated it's 2 year old birthday on the first night we were there. However, we were just so tired we missed it. I was also very very tired of socializing by then. It's fun to meet fellow backpackers initially, but after awhile, the conversations are all the same. Where have you been?, what's there to see here?, where you come from? etc.
Another funny thing was that everyone in our room, coincidently, could speak french. We had Americans, a Venezuelan and a Canadian.
Baixa.
Lisbon was really sunny and hot, but it isn't such a touristy place so we took things easy.
We travelled around by boats, which was really cheap and offered great views of the city.
Another mode of transport is the famous pok-eye yellow trams. It's crazy to WALK because there are 7 hills in Lisboa, so by the time you walk from one point to the other you might be dead from heat stroke or exhaustion. We didn't hop on the yellow trams because they were a small and filled with pick pockets.
On the boat. Things in Portugal are cheap. Way cheaper than in France.
Bridge. Lisboa is also beside la mer! La mer, qu'on voit danser le long des golfes clairs, a des reflets d'argent. =) (yes i'm listening to that song as I'm writing this).
Ok I took the boat partly to see Jesus too. And I didn't know what the monument name was so I kept telling people I wanted to see Jesus when asking for directions.
HAHAHHAAHA. HELLOOOOOOOOOO JESUS! I went into a camera clicking frenzy every time the boat passed by Jesus.
A hugeeee church in Belem. The police in Lisbon are really slack; they actually stopped the car to smile at us.
We tried the Portugese Egg tart at the Pasteis de Belem, a pastry shop that is more than a hundred years old and serves the REAL THING. The darn shop was SOOOOOO CROWDED, and the portugese egg tart was two times more expensive than the normal ones in sg. Tastes more or less the same too, just a little more burnt.
All our dinners in Portugal were kinda the same: the fries-salade-meat meal that comes with a drink. They sell this meal set everywhere. Oh and the tube top I am wearing was bought in Zara and was made in Portugal. I also bought a dress from Mango that was made in Italy for 20 euros (42 sgd).
Lisbon has really funky train stations with nice tiles and graffiti.
On our second day in Lisbon, we went to the Orient Train station.
Oceanario de Lisboa.
Soft toys.
Torre Vasco Da Gama.
Pavilhao Atlantico
Cool picture taken in the station.
We stayed in a party hostel which celebrated it's 2 year old birthday on the first night we were there. However, we were just so tired we missed it. I was also very very tired of socializing by then. It's fun to meet fellow backpackers initially, but after awhile, the conversations are all the same. Where have you been?, what's there to see here?, where you come from? etc.
Another funny thing was that everyone in our room, coincidently, could speak french. We had Americans, a Venezuelan and a Canadian.
Baixa.
Lisbon was really sunny and hot, but it isn't such a touristy place so we took things easy.
We travelled around by boats, which was really cheap and offered great views of the city.
Another mode of transport is the famous pok-eye yellow trams. It's crazy to WALK because there are 7 hills in Lisboa, so by the time you walk from one point to the other you might be dead from heat stroke or exhaustion. We didn't hop on the yellow trams because they were a small and filled with pick pockets.
On the boat. Things in Portugal are cheap. Way cheaper than in France.
Bridge. Lisboa is also beside la mer! La mer, qu'on voit danser le long des golfes clairs, a des reflets d'argent. =) (yes i'm listening to that song as I'm writing this).
Ok I took the boat partly to see Jesus too. And I didn't know what the monument name was so I kept telling people I wanted to see Jesus when asking for directions.
HAHAHHAAHA. HELLOOOOOOOOOO JESUS! I went into a camera clicking frenzy every time the boat passed by Jesus.
A hugeeee church in Belem. The police in Lisbon are really slack; they actually stopped the car to smile at us.
We tried the Portugese Egg tart at the Pasteis de Belem, a pastry shop that is more than a hundred years old and serves the REAL THING. The darn shop was SOOOOOO CROWDED, and the portugese egg tart was two times more expensive than the normal ones in sg. Tastes more or less the same too, just a little more burnt.
All our dinners in Portugal were kinda the same: the fries-salade-meat meal that comes with a drink. They sell this meal set everywhere. Oh and the tube top I am wearing was bought in Zara and was made in Portugal. I also bought a dress from Mango that was made in Italy for 20 euros (42 sgd).
Lisbon has really funky train stations with nice tiles and graffiti.
On our second day in Lisbon, we went to the Orient Train station.
Oceanario de Lisboa.
Soft toys.
Torre Vasco Da Gama.
Pavilhao Atlantico
Cool picture taken in the station.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
mind your language
During lecture yesterday, I was sitting with my Irish friends when my American friend came over and asked me if I wanted to go over to her place later to collect a pail.
After that conversation, my Irish friends gave me a puzzled look and said
"Pills?"
"Yeah, Pails", I said
"Pills?"
This went on until I realized Pail was american english, while Bucket was British English.
"Yeah Pails, I mean, BUCKET".
They later told me that for awhile they thought I was a drug addict taking pills.
***
I'm awake at 645am to do a tutorial. I must be mad.
***
Exams coming in 19 days. I remember reading Andi's blog entry he wrote during exam time and he was saying something along the lines of only people who are actually studying here will understand the difficulties of taking exams in french.
=(
=(
=(
After that conversation, my Irish friends gave me a puzzled look and said
"Pills?"
"Yeah, Pails", I said
"Pills?"
This went on until I realized Pail was american english, while Bucket was British English.
"Yeah Pails, I mean, BUCKET".
They later told me that for awhile they thought I was a drug addict taking pills.
***
I'm awake at 645am to do a tutorial. I must be mad.
***
Exams coming in 19 days. I remember reading Andi's blog entry he wrote during exam time and he was saying something along the lines of only people who are actually studying here will understand the difficulties of taking exams in french.
=(
=(
=(
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Madrid
Madrid has nothing much to see, honestly, unless you dig museums. We did not have to spend money in Madrid on transport because a couple gave us train tickets they could not finish using. :)
I forgot which palace is this (coz I can't find my madrid map).
Madrid's emblem, right smack in the middle of the shopping district. People in Madrid speak Spanish.
We visited one of the three museums in Madrid, the Museo Nacional del Prado. It was a really huge museum with fantastic works from Raphael, Rembrandt and Goya(there was even a Goya exhibition then!!!), and we only paid 3 euros (student price) to get in.
I saw Goya's the third of May 1808 there (depicting the horrors of the French Revolution in Spain), and it was larger than I expected. The Goya exhibition also had his works from his disasters of war collection with very negative taglines.
We stayed very close to all the main attractions. This is the view from our hostel. We shared our room with a freaky old man and a wierd girl who looks like she's a red-indian descendant.
Some famous fountain. (I lost my map, LAH!)
We visited Parque del Buen Retiro
The park.
The Puerta de Alcala at Independence Square.
Hehe, what is going to Madrid without seeing the Real Madrid stadium! :D:D "Real" means Royal. I didn't go in though, because between the Barcelona Camp Nou and Real Madrid, I heard the former was more worth the money. (yeayea I know Real Madrid was the last La Liga champions, still...)
Strangely, although Spain has quite a good League, the world cup has always eluded them.
On our last night, we met up with a French dude who lives in Madrid who brought us to eat typical Cheap Spanish food. We got to know this French dude in our Rome hostel.
First stop: Ham museum. Very famous, must-eat place.
We had ham with cheese for dinner, which was yummy.
After dinner, we went to a bar to try Patatas Bravas, a typical Tapas dish. Speaking of Tapas, I think Tapas is a waste of money. Each Plate costs 3 euros and you need to buy at least 2-3 plates of Tapas to be decently full. Tapas = finger food, typical Spanish stuff.
Patatas Bravas is potatoes soaked in Hot sauce. Quite easy to make, will try to do it someday.
We ended the night enjoying Sangria under the stars in an open air bar. Sangria = wine with a mixture of fruits, sugar, ginger ale, gin and chilled 24 hours before serving.
Nice hotel in front of us.
=)
Throughout my stay in Spain, I did not try Paella because it was soooooooo expensive. I managed to get my first taste of Paella in Corsica for a cheaper price.
I forgot which palace is this (coz I can't find my madrid map).
Madrid's emblem, right smack in the middle of the shopping district. People in Madrid speak Spanish.
We visited one of the three museums in Madrid, the Museo Nacional del Prado. It was a really huge museum with fantastic works from Raphael, Rembrandt and Goya(there was even a Goya exhibition then!!!), and we only paid 3 euros (student price) to get in.
I saw Goya's the third of May 1808 there (depicting the horrors of the French Revolution in Spain), and it was larger than I expected. The Goya exhibition also had his works from his disasters of war collection with very negative taglines.
We stayed very close to all the main attractions. This is the view from our hostel. We shared our room with a freaky old man and a wierd girl who looks like she's a red-indian descendant.
Some famous fountain. (I lost my map, LAH!)
We visited Parque del Buen Retiro
The park.
The Puerta de Alcala at Independence Square.
Hehe, what is going to Madrid without seeing the Real Madrid stadium! :D:D "Real" means Royal. I didn't go in though, because between the Barcelona Camp Nou and Real Madrid, I heard the former was more worth the money. (yeayea I know Real Madrid was the last La Liga champions, still...)
Strangely, although Spain has quite a good League, the world cup has always eluded them.
On our last night, we met up with a French dude who lives in Madrid who brought us to eat typical Cheap Spanish food. We got to know this French dude in our Rome hostel.
First stop: Ham museum. Very famous, must-eat place.
We had ham with cheese for dinner, which was yummy.
After dinner, we went to a bar to try Patatas Bravas, a typical Tapas dish. Speaking of Tapas, I think Tapas is a waste of money. Each Plate costs 3 euros and you need to buy at least 2-3 plates of Tapas to be decently full. Tapas = finger food, typical Spanish stuff.
Patatas Bravas is potatoes soaked in Hot sauce. Quite easy to make, will try to do it someday.
We ended the night enjoying Sangria under the stars in an open air bar. Sangria = wine with a mixture of fruits, sugar, ginger ale, gin and chilled 24 hours before serving.
Nice hotel in front of us.
=)
Throughout my stay in Spain, I did not try Paella because it was soooooooo expensive. I managed to get my first taste of Paella in Corsica for a cheaper price.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Barcelona
Barcelona has fantastic architecture, thanks to one great man- Gaudi. Barcalona is located in Catalonia, and people there speak Catalan, which I totally did not understand and did not learn (because I thought the whole spain speaks spanish, which was not true).
Catalan is very different from Spanish. Labels are written in 3 languages- catalan, spanish and English.
As you all already know, my bag was almost stolen in Barcelona. We arrived in Girona airport (budget airport outside of barca, stupid budget airlines) and had to take a one hour bus to Barcelona. We only reached Barcelona at 11pm.
When we reached Barcelona, it was dark, we were tired, and we were a little lost because we could not find the metro station.
To cut the long dramatic story short, this stupid guy threw stuff on our backs (I carried my bag in front of me) and told us it was bird shit. I put my bag down to clean it, got distracted by that guy, and his accomplice took my bag. When I turned back to check on my bag, it was gone. But I was fast enough to see his friend carrying away my bag, so I shouted and ran towards him.
He dropped my bag and they left.
I was really lucky because had I reacted a few seconds later, he would have walked out of the bus station. And I was lucky he didn't run (though if he did I would probably be able to catch him). But I was badly shaken that night because I was so close to losing all my money and my passport. And from then on, we were very very careful with our bags.
Anyway, barcelona is a really dangerous city. I've heard of many cases of people being pick-pocketed, it's amazing how swift these thieves are. Conards.
Parc de la ciutadela:
Nice green river.
Nice bottoms.
From the park, we walked over to the sea side:
There were many beautiful buildings lining the sea-side.
We wanted to have seafood there, thinking the seafood would be fresh, but all the restaurants were sooooooooo expensive.
We ended up eating kebab in an Indian restaurant, where we met a Singaporean Sailor who was stopping over in Barcelona because his boss (who owns an F1 team) was there for the F1 that week. Again, he managed to identify our nationality through our accent and the way we mix english and chinese words with glee in a single sentence.
The Barcelona beach wasn't that impressive to me. Pretty small and crowded.
Work of Gaudi.
The Mercat de la Boqueria, a huge market with lots of yummy edibles.
Some old building.
Nice building.
The Catalan style (reflected in the architecture) is very colourful and funky.
The second day we were in Barcelona was the Valentines day (called Sant Jordi there)
There were flower booths... (that yellow and red drape is the catalonia flag)
.. and book stands. Apparently guys will give girls flowers, and girls give guys a book in return.
We went to Barcelona FC camp nou that morning because the place was closed in the noon. (The Man U vs Barcelona match was played that evening there)
Champions League cup, in the Barcelona FC museum. Barcelona FC was founded by a swiss, who lated committed suicide because he was chased out of the club. Sad.
Mes que un club - club motto. (more than a club)
A match was played later that day in this very turf!!! Too bad we didn't see any players training when we were there, but we saw the TV crew laying cables. I watched that match later in my hostel with Barcelona fans.
Parc Guell.
One of the must-sees in Barcelona, with Gaudi's architecture.
:)
Was damn crowded though.
We also visited the Picasso museum. I loved it very very very much, though all his more famous pictures weren't there. But the collection was still none the less impressive, with paintings from different periods of his life (blue and rose and of course, cubism period). We also saw his variations of Las Meninas by Velázquez! (We later saw the real Las Meninas at Prado museo in Madrid).
Sagrada Família church, another of Gaudi's masterpieces. It has been under construction for more than 100 years (since 1882) and is slated to be completed in 2026. Insane, huh.
Status were modeled reflecting the cubism style. Check out the magic square; each column adds up to 33- Jesus' age when he was crucified.
We paid a sum of money to get inside. The interior is still under construction, and you can see the workers working on the scaffold. The pillars here are supposed to resemble tree trunks.
We also visited the museum that explains the inspirations for the designs and the mathematical/graphical details behind it's execution.
I was particularly impressed by how Gaudi used sandbags hanging on strings to simulate the stress distribution among the pillars. The
Gaudi's work, again.
Last but not least, Torre Agbar, which I did not go to but passed by it on the bus back to the airport.
Barcelona is a huge, vibrant city, ideal for young people going with a bunch of friends. Pretty dangerous, though.
Catalan is very different from Spanish. Labels are written in 3 languages- catalan, spanish and English.
As you all already know, my bag was almost stolen in Barcelona. We arrived in Girona airport (budget airport outside of barca, stupid budget airlines) and had to take a one hour bus to Barcelona. We only reached Barcelona at 11pm.
When we reached Barcelona, it was dark, we were tired, and we were a little lost because we could not find the metro station.
To cut the long dramatic story short, this stupid guy threw stuff on our backs (I carried my bag in front of me) and told us it was bird shit. I put my bag down to clean it, got distracted by that guy, and his accomplice took my bag. When I turned back to check on my bag, it was gone. But I was fast enough to see his friend carrying away my bag, so I shouted and ran towards him.
He dropped my bag and they left.
I was really lucky because had I reacted a few seconds later, he would have walked out of the bus station. And I was lucky he didn't run (though if he did I would probably be able to catch him). But I was badly shaken that night because I was so close to losing all my money and my passport. And from then on, we were very very careful with our bags.
Anyway, barcelona is a really dangerous city. I've heard of many cases of people being pick-pocketed, it's amazing how swift these thieves are. Conards.
Parc de la ciutadela:
Nice green river.
Nice bottoms.
From the park, we walked over to the sea side:
There were many beautiful buildings lining the sea-side.
We wanted to have seafood there, thinking the seafood would be fresh, but all the restaurants were sooooooooo expensive.
We ended up eating kebab in an Indian restaurant, where we met a Singaporean Sailor who was stopping over in Barcelona because his boss (who owns an F1 team) was there for the F1 that week. Again, he managed to identify our nationality through our accent and the way we mix english and chinese words with glee in a single sentence.
The Barcelona beach wasn't that impressive to me. Pretty small and crowded.
Work of Gaudi.
The Mercat de la Boqueria, a huge market with lots of yummy edibles.
Some old building.
Nice building.
The Catalan style (reflected in the architecture) is very colourful and funky.
The second day we were in Barcelona was the Valentines day (called Sant Jordi there)
There were flower booths... (that yellow and red drape is the catalonia flag)
.. and book stands. Apparently guys will give girls flowers, and girls give guys a book in return.
We went to Barcelona FC camp nou that morning because the place was closed in the noon. (The Man U vs Barcelona match was played that evening there)
Champions League cup, in the Barcelona FC museum. Barcelona FC was founded by a swiss, who lated committed suicide because he was chased out of the club. Sad.
Mes que un club - club motto. (more than a club)
A match was played later that day in this very turf!!! Too bad we didn't see any players training when we were there, but we saw the TV crew laying cables. I watched that match later in my hostel with Barcelona fans.
Parc Guell.
One of the must-sees in Barcelona, with Gaudi's architecture.
:)
Was damn crowded though.
We also visited the Picasso museum. I loved it very very very much, though all his more famous pictures weren't there. But the collection was still none the less impressive, with paintings from different periods of his life (blue and rose and of course, cubism period). We also saw his variations of Las Meninas by Velázquez! (We later saw the real Las Meninas at Prado museo in Madrid).
Sagrada Família church, another of Gaudi's masterpieces. It has been under construction for more than 100 years (since 1882) and is slated to be completed in 2026. Insane, huh.
Status were modeled reflecting the cubism style. Check out the magic square; each column adds up to 33- Jesus' age when he was crucified.
We paid a sum of money to get inside. The interior is still under construction, and you can see the workers working on the scaffold. The pillars here are supposed to resemble tree trunks.
We also visited the museum that explains the inspirations for the designs and the mathematical/graphical details behind it's execution.
I was particularly impressed by how Gaudi used sandbags hanging on strings to simulate the stress distribution among the pillars. The
Gaudi's work, again.
Last but not least, Torre Agbar, which I did not go to but passed by it on the bus back to the airport.
Barcelona is a huge, vibrant city, ideal for young people going with a bunch of friends. Pretty dangerous, though.
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