the Adventures of Kelly in Europe

The end of this journey to the... (Europe = West?)

2008-05-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Met a friend in school. he was also leaving home soon~ and when i asked him why he's going back so soon, he said...

"No reason. it's just time to go."

Hahaha... for me too! though i go back early becos there are so many things and so many people i miss, part of the reason is also tha i feel that i've done enough traveling and it's "time to stop".

it's been a teary 24 hours. Went to dinner with my Spanish classmates, Chris, Vivian, and Nina at a rather posh restaurant... where poshness is defined as how few pictures you take when i'm there... muhaha! i realised how much i miss talking to them... like just sitting down at dinner and TALK instead of walking by, stopping and just blabbering a few words then walk on by....

When we left the restaurant and realised that it's the last few minutes with them, it all came... the tears. though it didn't flow down... until i reached the metro... then i looked like an idiot trying to hold back what was forcing its way through the tear ducts.

DAMN.

But luckily my eye redness was gone by the time i reached him, (if not my housemate will be like "what happen" then i will explain = I WILL CRY AGAIN)... when i reached my room, i got the shock of my life!!! this big piece of orange colour paper lying on my bed, with a photo smack in the middle.

with me, Maria and Georgina.

it all started again. this time it's like Nigeria Falls... non stop watering my face. although it most prob costs less than 50cents eur, it meant the world to me.

Small gifts DOES matter. and it matters A LOT.

Packing = Hell when you're trying to squeeze whatever was remaining into ur backpack (since your luggage is alrdy filled to the brim). Couldn't sleep much too... and perhaps that's the reason why i WOKE UP ONE HOUR LATE. never felt so hot early in the morning.

Was frantically rushing to the airport (though i jolly well know i wont be late at all) cos i was too kan chiong to do the GST refund~ which shall i say is like damn irritating process? shan't mention it...

the 15 hours on the plane was kinda teary too.. not becos i was missing Barcelona but cos of the movie "PS I love you". whoever NEEDS to cry, please feel free to watch that movie. cry from beginning till end. -_-

And that marks the end of this blog!!! who reads anyways? -_-

-THE END-

I´m feeling it.

2008-04-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

I can feel it now. The feeling of last minute wanting to see everyone and realising that i might not see what i am seeing for a few years or even for the rest of my life.

I received a call from this friend who i haven´t talked to for at least 1.5 months. He heard that i´m leaving tmr so he´s calling me to say bye and all... was kinda touched. like... i mattered to him enough for him to call me.. it´s just a simple call but.. it´s so warm.

I have just a few friends in this exchange program. I am not really ashamed that i´m not like the rest of the exchange people who knews everyone and anyone.. all i need is a few nice people who i can really talk to...

and i´m glad i found all these people.

Although i might complain about them and say how irritating they are, they made the difference for these 3 months. It´s them who made me go out when i´m lazy at home, it´s them who traveled with me, it´s them who coloured my exchange program. =)

Last dinner with them tonight!! LOOKING FORWARD!!! =D

Lunch with housemates @ La Fonda

2008-04-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

After 3 months of being here, i have only went out with my housemates ONCE. and that's for like clubbing, which wasn't exactly THAT exciting considering i was there smelling smoke being bored seeing too many ppl kissing most of the time~

But since i'm leaving, they went with me to LUNCH!! there's this nice restaurante in Barcelona called LA FONDA which whips really good PAELLA (a.k.a fried rice? with a bit of "JUP/Sauce"?? this is like a Barcelona dish but i've nv tried it.

Until NOW.

PAELLA MIXTA. (fried rice with seafood and meat)

For me, i really liked it. mayb it's the JUP tt makes it so yums~ First time in Barce that i felt so full yet still wan to keep eating cos it's so good. then after that DAMN FULL still wan to eat dessert.

dessert was CREMA CATALAN. (so tempted to dig into the dessert until i forgot to take pics~)

this creamy pudding like cream that has melted and toasted sugar on top~ with a strawberry in the middle~ was SO SWEET. kinda too sweet for after-a-super-full-meal dessert u noe~ but i still finished it anyway. MUAHAH!!!

did i mention we had...

SANGRIA?

the Sangria wasn't that fantastic but this restaurant puts apples too! instead of only orange and lemon in red wine~ hohoho! shall try making Sangria in SG (but then again, wine is so freaking ex. -_-)

NO DINNER TONIGHT KELLY. eat too much liao.

Bang BANG!

2008-04-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

是我想太多你总这样说
但你却没有真的心疼我
是我想太多我也这样说
这是唯一能安慰我的理由

我想我没有错怪了什么
虽然你不说都是错在我
太晚我才懂爱了你太多

Pain. Really pain...

Cooking and Last Visit to H&M!!!

2008-04-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Jingyi and her friend OJ came over to my place to whip up some fattening lunch! it was really horribly fattie with those ready made pizza and fried potatoes... shan't elaborate futher~ kinda weird that i'm meeting up with not-so-close Sgreans and new friends when i'm leaving... i should be meeting up with those that i always talk with right?

but everyone's got their plans and sigh... guess i'll be back without a nice farewell dinner~ on that topic, i'm supposed to have one!! but in the end, another girl is going back to her "hometown" on the very same day la!!! then she org a farewell dinner before i do and reserved all my friends.

and i am so amazed i got invited as well when i haven't even seen her in person and never spoken to her before~ (you know those mass emails...) wanted to go along BUT a farewell dinner is like a farewell dinner.. like a mini bday celebration kinda feel.

how the hell do u share a birthday celebration? with someone u've nv spoken to?!?!

they keep saying "just come! she's really nice..". YA. NICE. like who cares if she is nice or not when all i know is that she chopped all my friends for the last dinner!?!?

but well as long as i'm gg back SG, i don't care! 29th April is only like 4 days away... that's like...

sleep, wakeup -> 3 days left
sleep, wakeup -> 2 days left
sleep, wakeup -> 1 day left!!!
sleep wakeup -> Departing for airport~

so fast right!!

Went to H&M to do the tax refund... realised i spent like 224.35eur on shopping in H&M alone... beginning to love that place more and more! wonder why it didn't appear so gd when i was in Shanghai... but i managed to accumulate enough for 20 eur tax refund!! that's like 40++ SGD... can buy me ard 2 good meals in SG!!! yay!!!

Looking forward!!!

i really love Barcelona.

2008-04-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when i'm really irritated with people or sch work, i ask myself why i even come all the way to torture myself, rather than just slacking with the rest of the world in Singapore... but recently, i realised i really love this place.

although Spaniards love to party and it's not really my cup of tea, and although their so called coffe which is espresso + milk is often too strong and it makes me feel ill after drinking, although the food is not as appealing as the yummies in Singapore, although everything here is so expensive i can't really enjoy,...

i still love this place. and i just realised i love this place so much, as i walk down to get fruits from the fruiteria i always go too... and on the way down, people living in the same block would smile at you and say "hola" though i've nv spoken to them before, the staff at the fruiteria would be like "hola"ing as if they are welcoming you back~ as if they remember me~

well of cos they do, since i go there at least once a wk... was talking to one of the staff the last time i went there~ thot he would forget my name like the moment i left the shop... but when i walked it, i heard a "hola Kelly!"

it might seem silly for people reading this, but it really feels nice to be remembered. Barcelona feels so warm.. sometimes, one hello from an almost-stranger feels so much more intimate than talking to a friend.. it's just... incomparable.

i really love this place. just can't say this enough. and if my dera is here, i'm sure he'll feel the same and i'll definitely stay longer if i don't miss sg that much~ =) Hope next time if i have an overseas assignment, they'll post me to Barcelona. Let me meet this beautiful city once again.

i love Barcelona.

and i'm beginning to feel sad that i'm leaving... Oowww~

Sant Jordi day!!!

2008-04-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

Today's Sant Jordi!!! a.k.a Valentines' Day with Latin twist, when guys give girls flowers and girl to guy, books! i got a bookmark from my housemate!! haha~ + i read this on the net...

"Love is definitely in the air, but even if you don't have a novio (boyfriend in Spanish) to smooch on a park bench there are still plenty of things to see and do."

--> YA. like doing essays and studying for exam -_-

does Sant Jordi means drowisness day too? wonder why i keep wanting to sleep~ sigh.

the ability to predict.

2008-04-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

was having a nice chat with my housemates and their friends,.. and i learnt that one of them have the ability to use the TARO cards and predict the future... and she can sometimes have premonitions about others too~

she said it's hereditary and she had it in her since she was a little girl... and her grandmother is also kind of a "witch" and can cure people...

i have heard of such people in existance but not someone close!! it was really nice to understand this from the person itself instead of through the tv show or hearsay. but she said she didn't really like to do it... becos she has to tell the person (whos future she's reading) everything and it doesn't necessary mean good things.

there was once she was reading the future of a friend.. but she didn't see anything. no future to predict. and after some time, the friend passed away.

it's freaky how true things are, no?

they also told me that there are those people from different parts of the world, predicting seperately that there's going to be a catastrophe. in year 2012. i'm not sure if they're using the same method to predict but predicting the same thing and narrowing it down to the same particular year is really... spine chilling.

but i was thinking... even if i have the chance to predict my future, i'd rather not do it. what if it's something bad?? it'll just everything so gloomy from now till then since i'll always be thinking about the prediction! haha~

i shall just live my life. the way i like it. not knowing what's next. =)

I miss you... Nong Shim~

2008-04-22T09:28:00.001-07:00

When i was in Singapore or Shanghai, I didn't appreciate the fact that i had you... now that i'm in Europe and you are no where to be seen, i feel so lost, so empty, so devastated. i still remember how i used to eat you with crabmeat, egg and veggies... the time i enjoyed slurping u up before i lie on my bed to have a good night's sleep...

I miss you~ please come back to my arms now...

i need you, NONG SHIM!!!

YUM YUM.

21.04.08 - Day 6 (Madrid)

2008-04-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

This trip seemed to be way too long. Madrid is really nothing much in terms of infrastructure... perhaps more of culture i guess... people are like relaxed, shopping is cheaper, tens of nice parks around (provided the weather is nice)... but if you wan to go sightseeing and beach, Barcelona is way better.

After the constant irritation from that certain someone last night, i totally sian diao today. and i try my ultimately best to stand away from her cos i was so sick of hearing her talking non stop about the things that she knows. and complaining about everything but her country. which is like where the bank accounts are the best?? and where being environmentally friendly is like more important than EQ education maybe???

feels like i'm a social recluse but as long as it keeps my blood from bubbling, I DON'T CARE.

so glad that this trip is ending. having more people is fun. but a group of singaporeans will be like 1000 times better~ and going to school directly from the airport with the not-exactly-light backpack is not really exciting and it's kinda... 催眠? haha~

20.04.08 - Day 5 (Madrid)

2008-04-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday at Madrid = Flea market day. where all the antique and sell-anything sellers set up stores around La Latina Metro station for the morning... expected like lotsa old cute items on sale but was greeted by a kinda expensive basah malam. all the t-shirts and cheap jeans, plus earrings and blah blah~

Walked around and ended up buying pearly chain (1 eur each) X 3 and pashmina scarf (2 eur each) X 2. Scarves are like those things you buy and store in the wardrobe for years without using (since in SG it's so darn hot) but it's still worth buying anyway... --> WOMEN.

Left for yet another of Madrid's museum - the Reina Sofia museum? which is like where Dali paintings are and blah blah~ realised Dali's painting is actually kinda intriguing. contemporary art. thin line between nice and rubbish.

Had SUPERBLY NICE PIZZA after that... duno if it's really the pizza being freshly baked or the cheese is like stretchable or the champinon (mushrooms) are like so yummylicious or simply that i'm too freaking hungry but it really taste SO GD. the pizza was like big and i finished every single bit. i'm really turning into a fat pig. -_-

Next was like the highlight of my day. I went to a BULLFIGHT. it's like the tradition and culture of Madrid and since i'm there i decided to see it no matter what.

well it was then when i realised it's so fucking hard to explain to others how you think about this when all they give you once you start explaining is twisted retarded facial expressions saying "are you crazy??"

Seriously, it's a culture. Respect is the word. and respect others who have more interest in other things that you are not interested in. i was like so close to losing my cool and screaming "SHUT UP" in her face.

and please girl, if you don't want to participate, DON'T. stop complaining and complaining and complaining about how cruel or how inhumane this is, and swearing "I WILL NEVER SUPPORT A BULLFIGHT" and then next thing u're queuing up for the tickets.

and when you go in, if you don't like what you see, please LEAVE and stop complaining non-stop about this and that. like STOP.

and frankly speaking, if you are so darn rich and you so do-not-mind paying 100eur more for a normal airline than a "not trustworthy" and "really bad" budget airline, i have no idea why you are taking this plane with us.

i feel SO MUCH BETTER ranting here to myself... cos the other people seems to be totally okay with whatever she said. i REALLY totally cannot take it. and i totally lost my respect for a 26 years old.

but well, at least i learnt, when i am 26 myself, i will not be as materialistic as you, will not complain as much as you, will not brag as much as you.

Seriously, if rich people love bragging, i'd rather be a poor but humble my entire life.

Back to Bullfighting. i watched 3 bulls being sacrificed and i wouldn't say i totally support this but since it's a culture, i would want it to stay. remember i read on this guy's blog previously and he tried this drink with snake blood and snake heart in some country.. and he got bombarded in the end cos people are saying that it's cruel and all~

i think i understand how he feels now. and i think he would have understood me too~ glad that there's at least one person in the whole world who would not view me differently cos of what i do. =)

A humble lady is what i want to be.

19.04.08 - Day 4 (Madrid)

2008-04-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Rainy weather again. seems like other than weirdos in the hostel, i'm also fated to travel with rain rain and more rain. went to this nice cafe in the morning to have a good b'fast!!! had a cup of hot chocolate with some 油条-looking fried stuff called CHURROES (which ppl dip into the hot choco to eat~)

SO NICE. like yum. but it was damn oily and i felt like crap after that.

Spend the entire afternn at the PRADO museum... which is like one of the best museums in the world... which famous painting by which famous artist under which famous era i don't freaking care. i like art for art. not cos of the wadever painter.

and that's one big difference i find between me and my friends.

realised i should have stayed much longer in Le Louvre... didn't really appreciate the full collection they had..~ next time i go Paris i will!!!

Stupid weather = more indoor activity = more shopping so... that's like a must-add item in any itinerary~ didn't buy anything (cos SG is so much cheaper) and went to this chinese supermarket near the hostel and got a CUP NOODLEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

finally after 3 months of deprivation from maggie mee i can have a taste of MSG. totally unhealthy but too delicious to miss.

Last day of Madrid trip tmr! before i fly back to Barce on Mon morning~ YAY!!! one more wk to go darling!!!! Weeeeeeeeeeeee~~~

18.04.08 - Day 3 (Madrid)

2008-04-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Isabel and Veronika will be joining us today!!! Have no idea how it'll be like with traveling with Europeans girls and in a group in general... the habits and styles of us is so different...

Anyway we went to Palacio Real today~ where the Royal family used to stay in and every now and then they hold functions there still... was so grand inside.. every room had like a different theme and they have totally redundent rooms like "smoking room"... too much money dunno what else to spend on siaz -_-

traveling with more people is more fun but also more... MAFAN. two people having different ideas is already a pain in the ass... 4 diff views makes it pain-in-the-ass X 4 = PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN IN IN IN IN THE THE THE THE ASS ASS ASS ASS. but it wasn't that bad after all~ it's my last trip anyway! who cares?!

the cloud were moving so quickly today!! the wind and sun was so strong... and there were dark clouds too~ totally weird weather.. in the end it was raining and there was "hurrican" kinda wind... with the sun coming out for 5 minutes sometimes... it was CRAZY.

so crazy that my face was burning the entire night (cos of the strong wind i guess~) and one thing i realised about Europeans... they change in the room with other people inside~ i mean when the same sex is around la of course~ like they can jus suddenly take off their jeans or top to change to another one~ it's so not-asian~

or maybe it's just not-me... too embarassed about my fats to reveal them to others~ muhaha!!!

17.04.08 - Day 2 (Toledo)

2008-04-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

Day 2 is for Toledo! it's like this small city where there's supposed to be a castel and it looks like lord-of-the-rings kinda feel~ the sun was out today so i guess everything was gd! haha~

this little town is filled with jewelery shops selling those handcrafted 24 caret gold pendants and small sweet containers... like on one streets there are like 5?! and there are ALOT of streets btw~ wanted to get as souvenirs but it's too darn expensive... argh~

was traveling with Echo at first but in the end we had like different interest so we went on our own~ and i didn't have my LP guide with me on that day so i nearly got lost! (okay not nearly) Toledo - the city area is like surrounded my those high walls you know.. i was wandering and wandering and wandering and in the end, i was out of the wall and out of the map.

BUT the view was like different comparing to the ones i see in the city centre... it's... more relaxed, more isolated, more REAL. i guess getting lost is really gd for traveling~ =)

16.04.08 - Day 1 (Madrid)

2008-04-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

My last trip of the entire Europe adventure!!! feels like i want it to end faster than ever but i kinda remember how much i wanted to go Europe in the first place... mixed feelings again~ this time there are more people! other than me and Echo, there 2 other girls, Isabel (from Switzerland) and Veronika (from Praque) joining too~ seems like this time it'll be more fun!!

reached madrid at like a totally weird timing.. 4+pm.. too early to rest, too late to do anyting else meaningful~ the madrid airport is really humongous! and it's kinda similar to the SG Changi airport.. with the metro near the airport and even the escalator layout~ haha!!!

hostel this time is like perfect location. near the centre, right beside metro station, beside a Starbucks (not like i go there anyways -_-)... and most imptly, there's free WIFI. mi favourito!!!

Went to the "Botanical Garden" in Madrid and had a nice sunny long stroll at the park... it's like big and there were kids playing around... with a sandy playground somemore~ (u noe in SG there are like no more sandy playgrounds cos they are always filled with animal shit??)

it's a spring summer day...

2008-04-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

the weather has been SO GOOD lately... been traveling around Europe quite a bit and didn't really have the energy while i'm back in Barcelona to enjoy the fantastic sun. the sun has been shining as if it's summer but the weather is cool like spring. how great is that? it's terrific to say the least.
went out to the balcony and witnessed such a lovely sight that i must write it down somewhere... haha! it's really nice to see kids playing, laughing, running and being so active!!

it's so hot today that i can wear my demin skirt out! like the one which i wear in SINGAPORE?!?! i love the weather now siaz....

By the way... i ate finish ONE ENTIRE PACKET of cashew nuts today. i think i'm crazy... keep eating and eating and eating... still think i MIGHT return to SG thinner than when i came~ seems like tt's a fantasy or something~ sigh...

Restless.

2008-04-13T11:10:00.001-07:00

I feel so lazy.. as if everything doesn't interest me.. opened one of the readings book and managed to keep it open and my eyes on the words for 4 pages... before i lie on my pillow again... wanted to do the public policy final essay but couldn't even think of one word to put down~

wanted to watch CJ7 (the zhou xing ci movie) but the stupid site didn't load... so i'm just staring into the comp screen and just stoning... i feel retarded.

nothing to do here except sleep, eat, use comp, go study, do work.

no KTV, no chatting on the phone, no non-partying close friends, no boyfriend,... no NOTHING. argh... i can't wait to board the plane to SG!!!

FASTER FASTER FASTER LAAAAAAAA!!!!

Summary of few days stuck in Italy

2008-04-11T09:46:00.003-07:00

1. I hate Italians. Not good to generalize but okay, then I hate 95% of Italians. Arrogant, selfish, irritating, ugly (both inside and outside), not tourist friendly, not efficient,… in general, they all SUCK BIG TIME

2. Rome is nothing without the old building and ruins. The people aren’t nice, the streets are dirty, trains are full of graffiti, it’s smelly everywhere,… dun believe me come Rome and experience the “ambience” yourself~

3. Watch out for “permanent residents” in hostel/ campsite. They’re weird and freaky and if they have a decent home, they wouldn’t be staying here for long periods of time in the first place. So beware.

4. These are the reasons why I don’t even bother to throw in any coins into the Trevi Fountain, cos I dun even want to come back again. Ruins are nice, buildings are nice, but the human factor just destroys all the good mood i have over here…

Glad it's ending in like less than a day's time. -_-

11.04.08 - Day 4 (Vatican City)

2008-04-11T09:46:00.001-07:00

Woke up early in the rainy (a.k.a nice to nua in bed) morning just to queue up for the ever so popular Vatican Museum. Q-ed like 1.5 hours before we got to the security clearance point!!! -_-

This place is really like a maze. And just happened that I didn’t have a map to bring me through this huge space with hundreds and tiny hidden rooms (which apparently housed all the major works). So I got lost. Normally getting lost while traveling opens you up for a lot of hidden and nice attractions which are not usually pointed out. But this time, getting lost means “getting lost” which also means not seeing a lot of things I’m supposed to see and being led out of the museum TOO SOON.

When I was walking through the museum, it was so bluddy crowded that I’m like PUSHED ALONG with endless tour groups. I didn’t have the patience to wait for each of the tour groups to walk past me before I appreciate the paintings so I just followed the crowd.

And I followed…

And followed…

Until I suddenly realized that I’m actually reaching the exit of the museum, close to this other attraction, the Basilica St Pietro. So I was like thinking “why don’t I go see the basilica first and go back to the museum later when there are less people??” since the 2 places seems to be joined together. So I walked down a flight of stairs and walked across to the basilica.

WHO KNOWS that by walking down that bluddy flight of stairs I had actually EXITED the museum and NOT ALLOWED to go in again. Cos it’s “one-entry” and “no back tracking” which OBVIOUSLY wasn’t really mentioned anywhere, anytime, anyhow.

So in the end, I left the museum too soon. And missed a lot of paintings. -_- not that I’m so into paintings but sigh. The thought of me missing them totally is like OFF.

Though I managed to see the Egyptian art and mummies and their EXTREMELY FINE jewelries at the start…

But the sky clearing up in the afternoon was quite nice… and I’m tired so I went back to campsite (and saw that freak in the room… SIAN DIAO -_-)

10.04.08 - Day 3 (Rome)

2008-04-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Visited the main site of Rome yesterday so today was a slow relaxing walk up the river and seeing the other attractions near the river… weather today was even better than yesterday… think I might have gotten a tan from walking under the sun… spring is definitely here!! And summer’s following right behind!!!

Got to say, Mcdonalds and H&M are my FOES. Been eating Mcdonalds EVERY SINGLE DAY as if it’s like the only food around. It’s fattening Kelly, stop it.

09.04.08 - Day 2 (Rome)

2008-04-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

Seems like I’m really fated to meet weirdos on all my trips. She’s yet another freak who doesn’t open her mouth to talk, doesn’t bother to move her cheek muscles to smile, doesn’t bother to wake up and prepare softer considering there are 2 other people sleeping.

But other than that.. it’s a sunny day today.

Did so much sightseeing that I shall just write down places which pop out of my mind NOW.

1. Colosseo.

It’s massive, old, ruined and nice. It came into my sight, out of nowhere and I wasn’t quite prepared for this big surprise… (had to like prepare myself before I set eyes on this attraction you know~ haha!!) it’s expensive to go in…11 eur and the staff are rude and unhelpful (in terms of Italians, I shall elaborate later) but inside is kinda nice! It’s like back to ancient times and all~ cool.

2. Palentine

This place is full of ruins. Nice weather, enough sunshine, good stroll, good mood.

3. Fontana di Trevi

the ever so popular fountain which attracts so many tourist. It’s really big.. but feels kinda congested with too many tourists… Echo threw 2 coins in! first coin to ensure a return in Rome and the second for a wish. I din even bother to throw in any coin. Reasons which I shall elaborate. LATER.

4. Cheisa del Gesu

This is either a church or a cathedral (difference of which I still duno…) but the inside is SO NICE. Actually the main thing is the mirror which reflects the ceiling paintings so that you can see without looking like an idiot staring 90 degrees against horizontal, and the ceiling painting itself, which looks 3 dimensional when it’s actually 2D painting on top of one another… doesn’t sound amazing now that you are reading this but when u see it… u’ll definitely go “WOW”~

08.04.08 - Day 1 (Rome)

2008-04-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

Rainy a.k.a everything-not-as-nice day. But it’s like 10 degrees higher than the rainy days in Venice so this is sub-sub-water LA… Checked in our camp site first.. and it was like freaking far. Around 10 metro stops and a bus ride away from the city centre… and the room is TINY. 3 person room somemore… mayb that explains the 15eur cheap price… the 3rd person in our room is definitely a “permanent resident” in this campsite… she even had a KETTLE and many other things which you would otherwise definitely not bring to vacation.

Hope she’s not a freaking weirdo again.

Came back at night to the campsite with soaking wet shoes and socks… Eww!!

i feel the SG sun.

2008-04-06T10:16:00.001-07:00

Slept the entire morning away. But when i woke up, the sun was SO GOOD. can totally imagine how the sun feels like back home~ but weather here is still better... sunny yet not hot. so easy to get sunburnt.

Realised that i'm totally not used to the European or USA style of working. Maybe it's just the exchange students. Maybe it's just becos they are traveling as much as i do and have no time to spare.

How they do projects:
(1) Split the work
(2) Compile different parts
(3) Send to the prof
(4) Present in class

Wait. See something missing? How about "DISCUSSION"??

I am so amazed how that important step can be totally (and i mean 100% totally) missed out for PROJECTS. I think i need to check Wikipedia again for the definition of that...

seriously i feel like just flunking this subject and taking it back in NTU. not like i learn A LOT from this class. Or maybe i just hate studying. hate it REAL BAD. =(

05.04.08 - Day 5 (Ams)

2008-04-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Woke up early to go to Keukenhof. the main point of this Netherlands trip is to see TULIPS BLOOMING. grand finale i planned. and grand finale it was.

Started out raining and all.. abit sian diao since parks are nice when the sun is there... but the flowers still cheered me up! the place is like EXPENSIVE la. but worth every single cent. (not one cent more though~) the flowers were SO BEAUTIFUL.

BLOOMS. COLOURS. BEAUTIFUL.

if there's one place i can bring my dad to, this will be the one and only choice. he likes planting and likes taking pictures of them.. so where else?!?!

The sun came up after a while and i had such a nice peaceful stroll in the humongous park... together with swans and duckies in the lakes... PERFECT.

In the afternoon, i went to see the WINDMILLS!! Netherlands is supposedly the place for windmills and cheese and clogs but i din see anyone in Amsterdam... took a train to somewhere outside Ams... a place called Windmill Village...

Weather was glommy but windmills are still as nice. got the country side, back a few centuries kinda feeling... out of the cosmopolitan, back to nature. having this kinda refreshments once in a while is really quite inspirational. =)

While i was at the Windmill Village, i checked out one of the cheese shops.. and had such a yummy time trying out all the different cheese!! cow, goat, herbs, garlic, onion, chilli, coriender, blah blah blah... i try EVERYTHING!!! then in the end left the shop being 16.80eur short.

-_-

Perfect day. YAY!!!!!!!!!!

A Simple Act

2008-04-04T11:27:00.001-07:00

Sometimes i wonder.. how much does a message mean to another person? If the message from you to me is free, and you have the time to do it, and you purposely chose not to message me, what do you think I will think??

Why do i keep feeling what i think is correct?

Why can't you just show some concern?

I was so excited to go back early. Cos i did it for you.

Why do i now feel like an idiot being happy about it alone?

04.04.08 - Day 4 (Rotterdam + Den Haag + Ams)

2008-04-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

With schedules packed like this, i got no chance to really enjoy the hostel bed and have enough sleep. ARGH!! and b'fast was nice!! (i realised the Europeans really LOVE nutella and other similar hazelnut spreads.. they seem to have it everywhere.. even in hostel b'fast)

followed a route on a free map in the hostel and ended up spending around 2-3 hours on the streets of Rotterdam.. it's a relaxing and peaceful place with canals and trees...

and have u seen a small duckling waddling in the water? i saw 4 of them waddling together and it jus brightened up my day. SO CUTE!!! Went up to the Euromast which is like 150+ metres high.. legs were trembling from the height once i got the view from the top~ it's SCARY!!! (although it's one of the not to tall structures around~ -_-) foggy view though~ =(

then i went Den Haag.. and started with Madurodam, this place with 1:25 scale models of major sights of Nederlands.. miniatures are like my softspot so this place is a MUST-SEE although it's freaking ex. sigh. got so tired after admiring all the miniatures that i decided not to walk around Den Haag central to see the government building and blah blahs so Den Haag = Madurodam only for me.. haha!!

Sidept: the people in Netherlands are, i would say majority like 51%, NOT TOURIST FRIENDLY. like this tamade tram driver who damn attitude me when i ask him question. GTH la!

Trained back to Ams straight away and started looking for hostel... Shagged and broke and glad i'm going back Barcelona tmr!! and to SG soon!!!

** As i was typing this, the piano is playing in the library... so nice~ feels like i'm in some posh restaurant filled with books and computers and the piano playing... haha~ maybe sg's library should have piano too... but then again, the kids would jam the piano as if it's a drum. -_-

03.04.08 - Day 3 (Antwerp + Rotterdam)

2008-04-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a nice b'fast the the hostel. settled for a double room cos there's no more vacancies for others but it's a damn nice place. nice bed nice toilet nice b'fast. yum!!!!

took a train to Antwerp early in the morning.. was told one day wasn't enough to see Antwerp.. when i have only half a day there... so i got there ASAP. in the end i realised that there's nothing there.. main shopping street is like called the MEIR and there are 3 H&M on that street alone!!!

Temptation Island!!!!!

Had too much time after seeing the major sights and was tired enough to not wan to walk to other places so in the end i ended up on the MEIR.

and i have a new definition for "Hell" --> Walking into H&M's 50% off section. Bound to come out with a bag or two and with a considerable amount of euro off my wallet. (although not all the purchases are for myself!!!) i didn't even dare to walk into Bershka after that...

Took the bus to Rotterdam in the afternn... was a 3 hour ride with 45 minutes break. like does the break have to be THAT long??? -_- when i reached it's already getting dark and cold~ Nua-ed in the hostel for the rest of the night~

i'm drained.

02.04.08 - Day 2 (Brussels)

2008-04-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Once again it's raining in Ams... -_-lll but luckily i'm leaving that city... took the bus to Brussels which lasted like around 5 hours. so freaking tired and was sleeping like a pig on the bus... but still not enough sleep. i need like 24 hours straight for one month to get rid of the eye rings. (and bags)

it's the first time i went traveling without settling where to sleep at night~ and with my heavy bag (cos of the laptop) and tiredness + scared of the dark alone, i was frantically looking for a hostel once i reached Brussels.

At the first hostel i went, i met this girl, Korean again, named Kim. the first line she spoke to me was:"Are you Korean??" kinda flattered you know... haha!! Korean thinking that i'm Korean looking... hiek hiek~

(Back to the topic) She is traveling alone too!! after talking for a while, we decided to travel in Brussels for the day together!! So cool to have a new found traveling partner, though i duno her well, it'll be fun~ =)

Brussels was a cute place. and it was even cuter with her!! Mayb it's a Korean and Japanese thing but they get excited and animated over the slightest thing... Walked around and took pictures with all the comic drawings we came across... Glad i had a partner for the day~

Went into this particular shop and in the end came out with a free gift. totally FREE. ahaha!! thanks to the nice vendor who doesn't seem to want to make profit... hiek! oh ya and i nearly got robbed! was happily walking with camera strapped around my hand and me holding the camera pouch kinda loose.. i deserved being robbed but the stupid robbing was like grabbing it so softly so he didn't get the camera.

Lucky me.

Then at night.. we went to this popular tourist area for dinner.. according to my respectful Lonely Planet, it said "dine elsewhere", but that place seems innocent and decent and yummy enough for me to abandon my LP for a while to try...

and i regretted. BIG TIME.

Mussels and fries are like the specialties in Brussels.. and lobsters too.. but obviously the latter is too expensive for me to even think about... so in the end we chose this restaurant that has 10eur for 3 course meal~ sounds like a deal right....

the food was not bad.. not fantastic but decent and worth the price.. with a glass of (diluted) champagne and nice appetiser... and we met this 2 people from HongKong studying in the UK... and the second line they spoke to me was:"Are you from Singapore?"

i was like... "HOW YOU KNOW?!?!?!" he told me it's my accent... the Singlish accent. sigh. how to perfect my England like that?!?!

so far it's all good... except the end. the freaking bad services all along was damn irritating but we heck care them.. BUT when it came to the bill, mine and Kim's were 20 eur together... so she used her 100eur bill and got back 75 eur... with the waiter saying "service charge.. thank you very much ah thank you~" when he took the remaining 5 eur.

like WAD THE F**K is that?!? is that even legal?! it's so freaking wrong la! self declared service charge?!? and he took away the receipt even... scared we go police isit? that guy is a total FREAK.

he totally pissed me off!! and before that he was mumbling some wadever shit language he was talking and was being damn sick old man. go to hell GRANDPA.

Walked to the Grand Place and was told the lights of the building would change once an hour.. all 4 of us stood there like idiots until 11.10pm and nothing happened. kena cheated only~ -_-

Summary of the day: Perfecto except for the freak at the dinner. and seriously, he should GTH.

sidetracking

2008-04-01T08:50:00.001-07:00

it's APRIL!!! 28 days more and counting down~ YAY!!!!

01.04.08 - Day 1 (Amsterdam)

2008-04-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Slept at the airport today~ cold, noisy, unsafe, uncomfortable. but cheap alternative. BO BIAN.

Arrived at Amsterdam airport at like 9am~ heard from the pilot announcing that the weather forecasts are like 6 degrees. then i mentally counted the number of jackets i brought~ totally not enough. =/

but it wasn't that bad.. it's only cold when the wind blows and so far, the wind jus blows once every few minutes~not that bad at all... (self consoling time... -_-|||)

Went to check in at hostel and realised that it's smack right in the middle of the red light district. like GREAT. front row seat to live action at night... wahahha~!!! wonder why i booked that hostel in the first place... dotz.

took like 30 minutes walking back and forth the red light district and still couldn't find that pathetic hostel which was on one of the tiny side streets~ was looking into one of the windows of the buildings and thot i was looking at some moving mannequin used to attract men horny so early in the morning (like 10+am?!)... was looking at the mannequin shake her leg when she SUDDENLY WAVE TO ME!!!!

SHE ISN'T A MANNEQUIN!!!! she's a freaking real life prost waving at me. i was like....... shocked and found it damn farnie and then was damn embarrassed~ why was i looking at her in the first place!! hope no one saw tt look on my face~

then i also saw this SUPER FAT prost with SUPER BIG BOOBS (just like 2 macdonalds-sized-balloon waterbag supported by that too-small-for-her spag strap.) like WHO wants to have sex or get BJs from these kinda prost????

Have some standard can anot!!!

Amsterdam is nothing much really... no windmill, no tulips, no "clock clock"shoes... cos it's all outside Amsterdam. Joined the free walking tour in the rain once again!!! just like in Paris. But this time i was more used to the cold~ but i left the tour halfway~ too shagged from last night staying over at airport...

and i learnt that Netherland is like closing down on the prost... reasons which i can't remember but... prostitution is like so Amsterdam. no prost = no horny guys looking in Ams for prost = less $ for Netherland. so... WHY?!?!

Leaving for Brussels and maybe Antwerp early in the morning tomorrow!!! hopefully it'll be nicer~ =D

(As i was typing this, there's yet another guy mumbling to himself... --> WHY AM I ALWAYS FATED TO MEET WEIRD GUYS?!?!)

A European thing...

2008-03-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

Fact of the day:

Last night when i came back to Barcelona, my housemate asked me to change the time from 6.00pm to 7.00pm... i like like "what??" change the time? for what?

原来。。。

Cos in Europe there is like four seasons with different hours of daylight~ and absence of light of course~ and they will like change the time to one hr faster in Spring and change it back in autumn...

Kinda cute~ -_-

30.03.08 - Day 5 (Pisa)

2008-03-30T10:45:00.001-07:00

I met this girl at the campsite last night~ she's from Korea and she's only 18... and traveling alone too~ she was like eating spicy maggie mee when i saw her~ got me drooling with the chilli smell~ yum~!!!

My room (2 bedded) was half filled and her's is too~ so she came over to sleep with me!!

Main thing is her bag got stolen on the very first day of her traveling alone~ although she lost her money and her ipod and her snacks (what a greedy thief), the thief left her passport, which the police picked up~

she's a lucky girl!! (cos she got her passport back.. wonder why the thief didn't take that and sell in the black market) but i can sense that she's totally traumatised and damn scared of being alone...

Poor girl. reminded me of Amy~

it's the day for going back once again!! time passes fast~ i think i had too much biscuits and chocolates lately~ so much till i have sorethroat now... damn!

Not a bad start for a trip alone!! SUCCESS!!!

29.03.08 - Day 4 (Florence + Pisa)

2008-03-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

I think I’m so lucky. The museums in Florence are like free entry cos of semana santa! So I managed to save a few bucks just to see “David” the model and those angels in Galleria dell Accedemia.. Went to the Galleria dell Accedemia early in the morning to avoid waiting 1 hours plus plus just to get it~

Saw the muscular and artistic and handsome DAVID, which is like the only thing in the museum which was super fascinating to me~ Then I walked to the sculpture section and realized that the word “Narcissist” actually came from a guy named Narcissis (I think I got that correct) who once looked at himself in the reflection of water and thinks that he is freaking handsome.. and then he committed suicide cos he couldn’t get hold of himself (like can’t grab the reflection). Wonder if this story is real.. if it is, he is really damn retarded and really damn NARCISSIST.

Took the train to Pisa and realized that my CAMPING SITE (this time not hostel~) for Pisa, instead of it being in the forest, it’s like in the suburb, or like the industrial area which is outside the centre of Pisa. A.k.a ULU place. Had to cross this dark tunnel to get to that freaking campsite. But it’s still kinda near to the attractions~

Headed to the 3 main attractions (which happened to be all together). Didn’t bother to pay the expensive entrance just to walk through some art or paintings which I can’t exactly appreciate fully…

Btw the walk up to the top of Leaning Tower is like 15 euros. I think if they’re not insane, they are totally money-eyed. Like $_$. WTH!!! With the same amount of money, you can get people to piggy back you on emperor’s chair for at least half an hours up the Great Wall of China man!!!

And still not having internet for such a long time is really damn irritating. Totally. ARGH.

28.03.08 - Day 3 (Venice + Florence)

2008-03-30T10:30:00.002-07:00

The sun was out. When I’m leaving. Like THANKS la. Managed to get a glimpse of Venice under the sun before I departed for Florence in the morning.. and I realized Venice transport system (i.e. by water) though unique and not forgetting extremely expensive, it’s painfully inefficient too. If u need that transport to get to a certain place by a certain time, to all the potential travelers out there, give it more time. Like 15 minutes more should be rather sufficient.

The “parking” and “getting-it-to-move” or “steering-in-the-right-direction” takes up quite a bit of time and it’s really a pain-in-the-ass especially when u’re rushing for time.

Travelers advice. Shall include in my INSTEP report~

When I reached Florence, i got lost. Like for around 10 minutes, details of which I shall not note it here~ but when I reached Florence, I got an ultimate ultimate shock. My hostel was like IN THE WOODS.

Literally.

“Are you serious!?” -> yes I am. Unfortunately. It was so “in-the-woods” that I din dare to walk up the slope, into the “path-to-hostel”, even under the bright sunlight today. It took me like 10 minutes just to walk to somewhere, where the hostel is in sight.

Alleluia. Congrats to Kelly. Test for traveling alone.

But anyhow, I dropped my bag in the hostel, and left for the centre. Walked so much today that I think I will have muscle ache tomorrow!!! The guy selling me the transport ticket told me “in Florence, everything is walkable.” Yups Singapore is also walkable from the East to the West. It jus depends on how long! CHEH.

To me, Florence is seriously,… SUPERB. Nicer than Venice in my opinion. (perhaps it’s the weather~) the buildings in Florence is so cute. They kinda liked big bricks~ and it made the buildings look like chocolate houses~

The Duomo is like the main attraction, other than the museums of cos~ and it’s really GIGANTIC. It’s like, Notre Dame (the one in PARIS) thickness X 3 times?? The exterior is also elaborate~ with blue and gold and white. All around the building. And I went inside… but it’s quite spacious. A.k.a empty.

(And I walked and see a lot of things and if I write all of them down I it’ll be like 10 pages long~)

As if the adventure starting from day 1 at Venice is not exciting enough, I had to walk up that slope AGAIN, AT NIGHT, to get back to hostel. I was never so worried about going back hostel. NEVER. Not even at the hostel I stayed at Paris where there are people selling all sorts of things on the streets.

This is like ULU-ATED. To the maximum. It’s like fright night in reality. Survival of the least-scared-of-the-dark. For a person who hates darkness and is kinda afraid to be alone (IN THE DARK) and having to walk through a forest at the same time,…

I gotta say, I’m glad I’m alive and be able to write this is the hostel. Well done Kelly. You feel accomplished~

Next up, lean together~ with PISA.

27.03.08 - Day 2 (Venice)

2008-03-30T10:30:00.001-07:00

Woke up to a raining Venice. Totally sian diao~ went down to have the hostel breakfast to find that it’s jus a hot drink and a bun. (oh and they’re kind enough to provide butter and jam~ -_- )but at least they had hot chocolate as a choice.

Went out in the rain to S. Marco again, this time to see the day view~ and voila. I see SHIT. There was supposed to be A LOT of pigeons waiting to be fed and A LOT of people feeding them and holding the pigeon on their arm. So far I saw ONE. Haha wad a joke. With the stupid rain, I think the pigeon would hide in their nest and sleep la!!!

Went into almost all the shops surrounding S.Marco and realized the glass crafts are really damn nice, although the price makes it a little more ugly. I so wanted to get one of those champagne glasses or crafts home but I find nothing decent under 30eur. Total madness.

And basically tt’s what I did after a few hours of bearing with the strong wind and rain. It’s really freaking cold. Cold until both my hands and feet are totally numb and pain and… (no other way to describe).

Leaving tmr for Florence!! Hopefully the weather there is a few degrees higher, if not I’m going to hate myself for traveling at this time~ bleah.

26.03.08 - Day 1 (Venice)

2008-03-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

I reached Girona airport so early. Had to find myself things to do at the airport and ended up buying a book to read… “the Shakespear Secret”… quite an addictive read!

The weather today was beautiful… managed to catch a little big of sunset when I landed, jus before the sun went down. All I can complain for the day is not having an earlier and reasonably cheap flight~

Venice transport is really really expensive. One waterbus ride is like 6.50 eur… so I bo bian must buy the 48 hours tourist pass which costs 26eur… cheaper no matter what… Went to St Marco Square to see the nightview after I checked into the hostel (which is on ANOTHER island in Venice)…

It was so empty. Minimal pigeons, minimal people. And all St Marco Square was, was merely an empty square surrounding by 3 walls of light.

Not quite satisfied with what I saw, I went to another attraction: the Rialto Bridge. It’s supposed to be a 5 minute walk AT MOST but I ended up taking like 20 minutes to find tt bridge. Becos Venice’s roads are small and it’s like a maze. No doubt about that…

People find amazing surprises when they get losts in towns but I find a “Crazy Pizza” which smelt too nice to miss!!! The slice of pizza was humongous… but traditional Italian crust. Especially yum yum in the freaking cold weather!!!

Rialto bridge was kinda nice~ smack right across the Grand Canal… nice nightview… of both the river and the lovers… which made me miss my bf even more. NICE.

we're 2 years old~

2008-03-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

"Happie burfday to BUBUKEL,

Happie burfday to BUBUJAR,

Happie burfday to BUBUKEL & BUBUJAR,

Happie burfday to US!!!!!!"

It's this kinda meaningful compositions and thousands of act cute faces and expressions that kept the flame burning strong.

I'm so glad I made my choice exactly this day 2 years ago.

Happie 2 years old to us, dera. i heart you.

Sagrada Familia

2008-03-24T10:43:00.001-07:00

Spring is definitely here! or near at least~ the trees are getting green and flowers are blooming!!! yay!!!

After almost 2.5 months of being in Barcelona, i finally dragged my lazy ass to THE sight which represents Barcelona the most: the SAGRADA FAMILIA.

Been there previously but didn't go inside... this time i went into the structure! Once again the construction wasn't exactly my favourite... and this time i realised that even INSIDE is under reconstruction/construction... so there's a lot of debris and all~ but the sun was so good so everything is great~ and there are 2 lifts in Sagrada Familia which allows people to get a good view from high above... one lift's waiting time was like 1hr+??? and another one is like 40 minutes~ wonder why the other one is more popular~ of cos i queued the shorter one...
The view from on top is nice~ not as high as from the Barcelona Cathedral but with the perfect sunshine and (not-so-)clear skies... it's PERFECTO.

the wind was so strong on top that i was so worried i would get blown off. the wind was THAT strong. haha... ended up spending quite a bit on souvenirs for family and dera~ but money well spent!!! =D

Back to Barcelona~

2008-03-23T04:05:00.000-07:00

The bus ride ended up 4 hours shorter then expected and i was home at like 6 + in the morning~ so many things to do~ so much work undone. but naps are more important~

zzzz~

21.03.08 - Day 9 at Marseille

2008-03-23T03:56:00.000-07:00

Due to some hiccups for the bus tickets, we nearly didn't get a bus ride to Barcelona~ we had to like take a bus to Marseille before taking another night bus from there to Barcelona!!! Phew~ Marseille was at the beginning part of the itinerary for this trip but luckily is wasn't in the end.

it's a really DARK place in my opinion.. not literally.. but the people, the atmosphere... really weird and dangerous-feeling.... haha not exactly the place girls wan to visit alone... mayb we didnt' visit the coast (where it's supposed to be nice) cos of the extremely sick and thunderstorm-like weather today~

there's this tourist attraction... the LONGCHAMP PALACE. i think i'd advise whoever is going to Marseille NOT to go there... they should seriously change the name to "Long-time-never-clean-place" instead... there's this fountain when you enter and when u see the moss and algae in the fountain, i think u'll most lose ur appetite for lunch and dinner...

it's GROSS.

and while we were waiting for the bus to come at the train station, there was this 3 freaking french idiot teenages who was buying a packet of BONBON (a.k.a sweets in english) from the vending machine but the packet of sweets didn't drop. then they started KICKING THE MACHINE and HITTING with their BUTTS until one packet of Lays chips + one bottle of drink + one packet of sweet dropped out... but since their packet of sweets didn't drop, they continue hitting it. and kept laughing away thinking it's darn farnie.

i think they are the ones who are funny. they are the joke man.

20.03.08 - Day 8 at Cannes + Grasse

2008-03-23T03:46:00.000-07:00

Cannes is nice!! with normal sandy beaches and it's where the film festival is? and there are like so many designer boutiques la!! like D&G, Dior, Hermes... blah blah... kinda like Monaco.. spent the entire morning there enjoying the sun... (think that is where Echo got darker).

Then in the evening we went to Grasse, which is like a small town near and on the mountains... the bus ride up was like scenery enjoying time~ so relaxing~

Grasse, btw, is famous for the perfumeries... supposedly the capital of perfumes~ got Molinard, Fragonard, and Galimard... which is where i sinned once again. outflow from already emptying wallet.

But this time i bought souvenirs as well~ that's like a major consolation for me. haha!! and i also managed to pick out a pair of nice heels for only 10eur!!! (French heels are nice btw~) Wooo!!

19.03.08 - Day 7 at Monaco

2008-03-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

weather today wasn't so good as yesterday's. the weather kind od decides the mood for the day so it's not as great as before...

after one whole day spent at monaco, i gotta say it's overrated. mayb it's the weather that made everything slightly dull but there's really nothing much to see there!!

it's like known as a rich-man's-gettaway kinda place..

(1) rich men -> yes there are, those driving ferrari, mecedez, porche (tt seem to be a favourite), bentley and much more la...

(2) casino -> i went into 2 and i wonder why people like to play jackpot so much...

(3) Beach -> yet another pebble beach~ just that the pebbles are smaller this time~

that's all there is! and the place is like super packed with buildings and hotels and apartments?? it made the entire place look like a squatter.

overrated. simply overrated.

18.03.08 - Day 6 at Nice

2008-03-23T03:31:00.000-07:00

We departed for Nice today~ the weather was so so good when we left (wonder why the weather can't be so nice while we're in Paris....~) Took the IDTGV train, reached nice then checked into our hostel.

this hostel ("HOTEL PASTORAL") is really damn zai. they have like fridge and microwave in each room la!!! as well as a shower~ it's really like a hotel... just shared hotel rooms... haha! then we went to check out the beach and the old town which is like 15 minutes walk away...

Nice is really small... can walk from one end to another in like 20 min? hohoho!! when we reached the beach, we kinda got a SHOCK.

Unlike the COARSE sandy beaches in Singapore, here they have a PEBBLE BEACH!!! it's like all pebbles instead of sand... kinda weird for a first timer who had always assumed "beach" = "places with sand"...

And finally i get to use the internet! there's like wireless internet in the hostel... they even rent laptops~ cool.

17.03.08 - Day 5 at Paris

2008-03-17T12:18:00.002-07:00

My last day in Paris. I’ll be taking a train from Paris to Nice early morning tomorrow so I guess this shall be my finale…

But a relaxed one it shall be… woke up at like 9+ am and starting nua-ing until 10 plus before I finally got ready~ then I went down to use my laptop in the room with table~ was updating posts when I realized I needed internet REAL BAD. And so I asked the reception if nearby MacDonald had internet!! And he said YES!!! Oh man I totally regretted not asking him earlier~ although I wont have much time to use the internet but still…

Almost ran toward the MacDonald with my laptop… (both scared of it being robbed away and excited about internet) haha!! Was using the internet for only a while before my laptop signals that it’s dying on me!!! Sianz……………………

Managed to talk to my dera and emailed my parents before my comp died. Then I left for a cemetery!! Yes a cemetery!!! It’s the most visited cemetery in Europe bcos there’s a lot of famous people buried over there… such as blah and blah… I din bother to know.

Went there alone and fortunately the sun was out!! But these 2 days the weather is cold like shit manz…. Like seriously I duno what’s wrong with Paris’ weather!!! So freaking COLD!!!!

After the visit I walked to Place de la Republique, which is like around 2 metro stations away… I expected it to be like WOW but it’s just a wow. Nothing much. Just a statue in the middle of a busy junction. Haha!!!

These 5 days of busy schedule was tiring me out completely and my feet is feeling the pain man. So I decided to rest for the rest of the day in the hostel. BUT then I saw this shop and the “20%”, “30%”, “50%” keep staring back at me so I guess the shop is trying to tell me “come in! we’ve a sale!!!”

Then I went in and in the end came out 13.98eur poorer. DAMN.

Headed back to the hostel STRAIGHT AWAY. And then the real finale began. There was this guy from duno where staying in the same room who worked until he’s like 37 before he travel all around the world. He went to like London, Amsterdam, Greece, blah blah before he came Paris…

So I thot he’s kinda a cool person. Cool old person.

But there’s something weird about him… he comes back like drunk and then starts talking to himself whenever he’s going to sleep.

I came back to hostel finding that he’s asleep. So I tried to minimize the noises I made and then was typing this post WHEN I heard some noises from below (I’m like diagonally on top of him so I can see half his bed).

So I was like was I too noisy? Then I looked down to see if I woke him up. Then freaking hell I saw him wanking himself. And fyi to those reading, I can see his freaking dick.

FUCK man.

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is like the worst thing that happened to me on any of my journeys to anywhere!! Can’t he just do it on the toilet??? Or do it when no one’s at the room?!?!

Oh man. Wad a great end to Paris. -_-

(Continued in Macs a few hours later)

I was really scared. I AM really scared. i thot wadever happened is like the worst i can get but i guess i was wrong. after i wrote the above part of this post, i went to take a nap cos i was really tired... and i woke up after a while and heard him mumbling AGAIN.

previously, he was like mumbling "you're so beautiful, remember me, that's all i can ask for..." wadever poetic shit. i thot it's freaking weird but ok he's trying to be a freaking poet for the woman he like.

then THIS TIME, i heard him mumble,... "oops are you asleep? i sure hope u're asleep if not u'll hear wadever i just said..." then he laughed to himself. then it came.. "u're so beautiful~ i want to squeeze you.. i'm going to squeeze u tonight.." and MORE SICK wadever-you-call-that which i can't really remember cos i was so fucking scared.

i duno who he was talking about.. if he was talking about me or any other freaking unfortunate woman he was thinking about but it is DISGUSTING.

i was on the top of the triple deck bunk bed while he's like one the bottom of the another bunk. and i dun even know if i should go down or jump down or just pretend to be sleeping. i was FUCKING SCARED!!!!

In the end i was really too scared to stay in the same room with him alone and so i nearly jumped down the bed and ran to the reception where i asked them to change the room. i left my laptop, wallet, handphone EVERYTHING in the room. but i dun care. i can lose all those but i dun wan to die in that room manz.

i got to say the receptionist are so nice... all of them... i was telling them what happened and they let me change room (but i had to make the bed at the room i was from, but it's worth it.) while i was talking to them, that freaking bastard in the room came down. and he pretended nothing happened.

the recep asked him "were u sleeping just now??" and he said "ya... i was sleeping from 1pm to 6pm". i was like FUCK OFF. u can wank urself and mumble such sick shit when u're asleep?!?! get a freaking life man shit head.

if not becos of this guy i would have a perfect stay in Paris... but now actually i still enjoy my stay in Paris.. just that i have one colourful story to tell. Lucky i'm leaving early tmr morning.

Goodbye sick shit.

** by the way i wan to say i was staying in a neighbourhood with lots and lots of Blacks BUT i like them. they're so freaking cool looking. jus like those i see in MTV. nice!

16.03.08 - Day 4 at Paris

2008-03-17T12:18:00.001-07:00

We wanted to go to Chateau de Versaille on Monday… but fortunately I checked out the opening hours before hand and realized that it’s not open on Monday. WOOW!!! Lucky I checked in time.

Smart Kelly. HAHA!!!

Anyway so we went today!! It’s like one of the best side trips from Paris so we decided to spend one entire day touring the humongous place. It’s expensive too. The train ticket is like separate from the normal ticket and the entrance is like 13.50eur… with a audio guide though~ hehe!!

But the weather is REALLY BAD. I have never seen such crazy weather in like a few years. The wind was so strong you can see the clouds shifting so fast… it’s like sunny and cloudy and sunny and cloudy~!!! Repeating non-stop!!! It’s like a total mood damper again seriously.

So I just forced myself to walk abit more before I left for Paris. Then when I reach the station, they said there was like a MAJOR accident in Paris on the streets and there are no more trains from this station. I have no idea why an accident on the streets would affect the rails which are UNDERGROUND. So stupid.

So I had to walk walk walk another 15 minutes to another train station where everyone waited so long again. The trains are either cancelled or outrageously delayed and I was there standing in the COLD.

Did I mention that it was extremely cold today??? -_-

But in the end the long-awaited train finally came and cos of this, I was nearly LOST. I ended up on the station LA DEFENSE instead. But since there’s a tourist attraction at that place, it brightened up a little bit~ =)

La Defense is this place where the structure is… MAGNIFICANTLY BIG. It’s really REALLY BIG.

Then I took a normal train to Trocadero, where I took millions of pictures of LA TOUR EIFFEL. Finally after a few days in Paris, I came close to this must-see-before-you-die thing. It’s really something… and the sky was like red (cos it’s gg to rain I think) and it kinda made the background nice. Wooo~~~

15.03.08 - Day 3 at Paris

2008-03-17T12:16:00.002-07:00

Last night Echo went to sleep at her friend’s house which is like freaking far away from Paris… so I met her outside Notre Dame in the morning and we went up that grand structure together!!!

The inside was not exactly THAT nice in my opinion… it’s like overrated. But climbing up allows you to have like a 360 degrees view of paris. AND we were SO LUCKY that day. We had such a perfect weather in the morning and afternoon, just when we needed the sun to have a great view.

Once again, I think I’m blessed. =)

After the Notre Dame, to very much dismay of Echo, I decided to walk to Pantheon and Jardin du Luxembourg. I shall just mention here that she really really REALLY hates walking perhaps becos of her heeled boots (I have no freaking idea why people would wear boots to tour when she jolly well knows there will be a lot of walking involved. -_- )

But anyway she went with me in the end.

The Pantheon is like HUGE. Just like 70% of other structures in Paris. Haha and the Jardin du Luxembourg (Garden of the Luxembourg) is so big and so nice. And the weather was also perfect for a walk and a bit of sun tanning in the park~

Just Perfect.

After that we walked to Musee D’Orsay… On the way we passes by Saint Sulpice (This church with a huge beautiful fountain on the outside) and Saint Germain des Prix (This I duno what building with a lot of creepers on the walls of the building.)

Btw, Musee D’Orsay is another of the world’s top visited museums in the entire world~!!! It’s not as big as Le Louvre of course… but it’s just as nice~ and fyi there’s a big cute Polar Bear as one of the sculptures. So cute. Hahaha!!!

After spending a few leg breaking hours appreciating some really great art, I went to catch a BALLET PEFORMANCE at the OPERA HOUSE. For those reading this who don’t know how big a deal this is, this is BIG DEAL. The place is like for outstanding performances (and for rich people) and the tickets go up to 130 EUROS per show. Extremely pricey.

I passes by Place Vendome on the way to the L’Opera anyway… it’s TALL. And surrounded by expensive shops like Cartier and all… not the place for me…

So,… I went to queue for last minute tickets (which are way cheaper) and I got a rather good place in the theatre for only 6 euros!!! Oh man. My heart was pumping really really really bad when I was queuing.. cos I was worried that there wouldn’t be anymore tickets for that performances. (it’s a premiere) Then in the end I got to change place with this other lady (who happen to come from Malaga – a place in Spain) and then I filled in a better empty seat!! And tada. I can see almost the entire stage~ =)

And when the performance started,… it’s just indescribable. Live great music and live extremely nice ballet makes me wonder which one I should actually look at. So ZAI.

By the end of the performance, it was raining like meow meow and wooh wooh. But I still had a lovely day.

I feel so fortunate.

14.03.08 - Day 2 at Paris

2008-03-17T12:16:00.001-07:00

This morning I decided not to waste any time in paris on the comfy bed of Friend’s Hostel (the beds are better than those at my house in Barcelona… so me and echo went to Sacre Coeur, which we had already passed by last night!!! So it’s the day-view of that highest point in Paris…

The view from the top is really quite amazing... u can see major landmarks + a mini Eiffel tower~ and the Sacre Coeur is actually a church, where they have a HUGE mosaic of Jesus Christ but sadly no pictures are allowed in there… so I din have a chance to capture this…

Then we walked around a bit and happen to walk past the Fruit Stall which Amelie was filmed at!!! The previous night we went, there were to many people + it’s raining so it really sucked big time… but this time, it’s bright and there is NOBODY in the shop!! So the owner was like taking pictures with us, giving us sweets and they were SO NICE.

After that we went to join ANOTHER FREE WALKING TOUR… but this time it’s in the day and this time it’s 3.5 hours. Walk until my legs wan to BREAK. But it’s worth it definitely… got too see so many great places, take many nice pictures… but one shit thing is the weather sucked the whole time… it’s gloomy and dark… kinda gave paris a “dead” feel.

Anyway I bought this piece of souvenir for my mom!! Weird person to have bought souvenir for first but ah well… it’s so nice.

After that it RAINED. Wanted to go Arc de Triomfe where we could have a good view of the city but weather said “no” so FINE. We went to LE LOUVRE instead!!! That place is freaking freaking (x100) BIG. Humongous. Magnificant. Giant. It’s like those time when u see the place in movies and everywhere in travel guides and now u’re here to experience it. It’s totally COOL~ (well for like half an hour before u get over the awe)

The collection inside is indescribable. U jus have to go inside to feel yourself. Countless massive paintings and all… but one thing to note: MONA LISA is not THAT happening. It’s jus a small painting in the middle of a humongous room… but it’s definitely the most protected of all paintings.

Things I saw in Le Louvre:
- Mona Lisa
- Winged Victory
- Le Jeune Martyre (this is a MUST SEE in my opinion)
- Venus de Milo
- Psyche and Cupid (my favourite sculpture)

As if meeting NTU people in ntu the previous night wasn’t enough, we met them in Le Louvre again. In case some people think that this is not such a big hoohaa, Le Louvre with 3 ultra large building, is humongous with lots of “mazes” all around. So meeting them AGAIN at LE LOUVRE is really SOMETHING.

13.03.08 - Day 1 at Paris

2008-03-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

I finally arrived at Paris. I love that place… but I’m not totally happy.

Sequence of events:

(1) From Barcelona to Paris Beauvais

This was nothing much~ paid 12 eur for a one hr ride to a far far away airport and arrived there… then check-in was nothing… well the wait at the departure gate is the exciting one!! The screen of the airport showed that the boarding gate was no. 5… so me and echo happily waited at gate no. 5 and thot “how come so few people are going paris??”

Then all of a sudden EVERYONE moved to gate no.2 and started queuing there!! I was like “I’m damn sure it was gate no. 5”… then fine. We were like LAST at the queue but we lan lan have to wait right.

Then suddenly the woman screamed “PARIS no. 5!!!” then woohoooo i ran over (ok la I was jus brisk-walking and became first there!! Then within a few minutes, the SAME FREAKING WOMAN scream “no.2!!!” like it’s damn fun and before I knew it I was queuing at lucky no. 2 again.

Like WTH???

(2) Checking in at hostel

We arrived in France and took another long bus ride to Paris city centre and we headed for the hotel STRAIGHT. Being robbed is NOT the thing I want for the start of my Paris trip, nor the end, or anyday anytime anywhere anyhow for that matter…

Was experiencing the Parisian metro and was jaw dropping when I heard the ever-so-charming french~ I jus think French sounds superbly sophisticated.

The hostel we booked is called Friend’s Hostel… it’s in a sleazy and sketchy area of Paris, where there happen to be A LOT of black man around… selling who-knows-what all the time… Echo was like freaking traumatized by those people but I think she should just seriously grow up and recognize there are people like that ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

While I was frantically trying to locate the address of the hostel on the stupid map I got from the metro, there came this nice nice nice (X 10000 times) old man who came up, smiled, and said “Do you need some help??” when I wasn’t even trying to hint I need help!!

SO NICE.

Though people say French are stuck up, French sucks or wadever, I think there are nice people around. ALL THE TIME.

(3) Free Walking Tour @ Montmartre

This is quite a good deal. Meet up at the afternn or evening, and there are people bringing u around to places of attraction where you can take some pictures… for FREE. Well u can pay on a tips basis but if you’re really broke u can jus dun pay.

Sadly, it was raining. Such a mood damper.

Did I mention we randomly ran into 2 NTU NBS girls during the tour?! Of all time they have to be at Paris and of all days they have to go this day. Woow!!! “It’s a small world after all”… so true. =)

But we went to quite a number of place… like

Moulin Rouge (“Red windmill” in English)
Sacre Coeur (“Sacred heart” – highest pointt in Paris)
Got a nice but tiny view of La Tour Eiffel from Sacre Coeur
Piscasso Museum
Place where Vincent Van Gogh lived
Paris Red Light District (where the sex and prostitution shops are more than cafes and restaurants)
Last surviving windmill in Paris,
Café de Deux Moulins where “Amelie” the movie was filmed,
And the fruitstall in the “Amelie” film

So many things covered in 2 hours. Was walking in the cold brrr wind and rain trying to juggle my camera and my umbrella at the same time~ haha!!

I guess it’s a good first day for me!! But I’m not so sure about my partner in Paris. Muahaha!!!

It's time... for FRANCE.

2008-03-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

Been planning for this trip since duno when and finally it's here. it's tomorrow 13th March 2008 and i'll be leaving for Paris, the city of romance. there are like so many famous place... like Tour de Eiffel, Arc de Triomfe, Le Louvre.... blah blah blah~~

i'll be going to ALL.

+ i'm going to Nice, Cannes, Monaco (the rich mans' land~) and perhaps Avignon too~ Wooo!!! I'm so EXCITED!!! Wahahaha!!! i'm so excited!!! Excited excited excited!!! Hopefully i can load some pictures of beautiful Paris here soon~

Btw, i had a new hairdo!! back to the cuter tut tut version of Kelly... A brand new feel for a brand new Kelly~ WAH!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope i can sleep at all tonight!! hiek~

Schedules 出炉啦!!!

2008-03-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

I got my trips planned AND booked for March to April... for May not sure yet... i feel like i'm CRAZY. fly in fly out like taking train. so frequent!! guess i jus wan to pack everything as packedly as possible so tt i can enjoy the BAK CHOR MEE "JIA LA" and LAKSA "JIA HUM JIA LA" real soon... =D

i heart myself.

2008-03-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

realised something really important. it's only me myself who love me the most. no one else does. so even if i dun get the love from u, i get it from myself. it's hard. it's really hard. but i'll try... i'll try.

for all the promises that we made, that u love me the most above all things and everyone. it's this fairy tale promise that hurts me the most.

and it's hurting bad... real bad.

The traffic light game

2008-03-08T04:03:00.000-08:00

Green Yellow Red.
Traffic Lights.

Green sucks,

Yellow burns,

Red hurts thrice.

i was wrong.

2008-03-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

the times we laugh,
the times we cry,
the time we let the time tick by.

again i thought,
the gods weren't blind,
i found the man to spend my life.

then i was wrong,
and i was blind,
to think u'd give all but ur life.

but now i see,
the truth inside,
that i am nothing but in line.

Should i or should i not?

2008-03-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Time is flying past and this is definitely a GOOD thing cos i wan to be back ASAP. to that sunny island for good. i dun care how humid it is, how much i sweat under the sun, how dark i will get. i jus wan to go back. now.

but... being in Europe is not a frequent thing to me (well i dun think i'll be coming back anytime soon~) and i think i should take this chance to travel more while i'm young and while i have the time to.

There are so many places i want to go...

Paris,
Nice,
Marseille,
Toulouse,
Rome,
Venice,
Vienna,
Budapest,
Praque,
Amsterdam,
Sevilla,
Madrid,
... and the lists just goes on and on.

I have planned to travel some of these before end of april. it seems like i will cover quite a bit but the remaining few that i haven't planned just seems really attractive and i'm thinking if i should just bear with the homesickness and GO.

But should i really go? and travel when i jolly well know that i could be in SG with everyone i know? yes i will enjoy the sights, the people, the food... i will think everything is NICE buti duno if i'll really ENJOY it 100%. when the person u wan to enjoy it with is not here with u, it feels different... at least i think it will feel different...

but i want to see more. you see the dilemma?

Should i go back once my lesson ends? or should i stay and travel to more places? i went back the earliest during the China trip and i din regret it at all... i guess to me, seeing the world is not as important as listening to what my hearts says~

i think i made up my choice. and i will stick with it.

no regrets.

"listen to my heart, can you hear it sing,
telling me to give you everything,
seasons may change, winter to spring,
but i love u, until the end of time~"

Come what may, Moulin Rouge.

FLAMENCO.

2008-03-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

I have this Spanish friend who takes Flamenco classes, so i suggested "Can i go see you dance??".. that's when i earned my first close up experience watching tt mesmerising Spanish dance!!!

I haven't seen the real Flamenco, so i duno how good the students or the dance instructors are... but it's DAMN NICE.

the dance is strong, with the UMPH in ever move, the eye contact, the posture, the tempo, the dress (oh man the skirt is the bling to the dance) and the Castañuelas (the kiap kiap thing which makes the loud sound and tempo)...

Flamenco is SEXY.

Ohh i feel so lucky that i get to see this... and i got so inspired to dance again. so old alrdy but i really wan to learn... maybe i should... i only live once right? haha!!!

I'm blessed.

2008-03-05T13:57:00.000-08:00

Before I came to Spain, my father brought me like 5/6 packets of this:

山楂饼!!! oh man this is like my favourite ever since i was born maybe??? and until now it's still my favourite.... u can give me 1000000 packets and i'll jus eat every packet as if it's the first~

This snack is like dirt cheap. sgd 1 for 4 packets (each packet has 10 small tubes..) it's kinda miraclous tt something SO CHEAP can mean SO MUCH to me. it's jus the small things that counts~

And i find it so sweet that my dad bought this.... cos he knew that i wont be able to get this anywhere~ hoho!! i love my daddy.

Self-Assessment (2)

2008-03-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Oh ya. Did i include how much i think that i am 孤陋寡闻???

While the other exchange students are talking about the US elections and how it affects currencies, and the violence and places of improvement of their countries, all i talk about it where is the next REBAJA or how tired i am.

And while alot of them have no problem reading Financial Times or Wall Street Journal every single day, i have serious problem finishing any single article in the same paper. and i'm 100% serious.

Totally useless leh Kelly... feel so unsmart all the time. sian. bet alot of people think i'm like a BOBO now.. (BOBO = BIMBO without the looks --> According to "Terms used in present era" published by Kelly Ko edition 1)

Sigh.

Self-Assessment

2008-03-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

It's been almost 2 months since i'm here and i think i should start reflecting. This is the first time i'm doing this and ... it's not very encouraging i must say.

(1) What i have learnt

Int'l Business Strategy Class:
Considering that this course is like only 1 week long and it went by damn fast during the weeks i'm settling down in ESADE, i can't say i learnt much.

Motivation, Values & Commitment Class:
All i could take away from this class was how to complain about boring teachers and old drooly professors (yes drooly!!)... So ironical. I'm so not motivated, nor committed to this class... dots.

Marketing Business to Business Class:
Well i haven't handed in any of the 4 essays due for this class. But well the class consist of 5 students (out of a class of 10 over students registered) but i think this class will be rewarding... at least for now.

Biz Environment & Public Policy:
This is the most interesting so far!! There's a lot of interaction in class and i'm not sure if this is the only subject that is impt to me (can replace my core in NTU) or isit that the class suits my style more, but the only class i really WANT to go is this class.

(2) Traveling

While everyone and anyone has been to SOMEWHERE outside Spain, i haven't. and this feeling sucks. Everytime they blabber a whole lot about their exciting wkend and they ask "How's your weekend???", all i can answer is "i stayed home" or "i went sightseeing"
BORING.

(3) Friends made

i wouldn't say i'm like those extremely extrovert people who remember whoever's name from whichever university in wherever in the world. but i've got a nice group of friends!! some feels like a mommy... cos they're like 26 and they know much more than me... i mean out of academics-wise (and of cos academics-wise too. -_-)

But i got to say, seeing different people with different skin colour, styles, accent, slang, different everything,... i like it. the diversity, the jumbo mix of the world in ESADE. i really like it.

(4) Money

This is the most hard to reflect. I wouldn't say i spent THAT much but i did overspend. on shopping mainly. but shopping in NECESSARY... so... haha!

(5) Myself

Other than surviving the first day at Barcelona which is a total miracle to start off with, i feel that i'm beginning to NUA again. like those days i dun wan to go school when i'm like sleeping in HALL a.k.a less than half an hr to sch... i feel so unmotivated. wad happened to the kelly who loves to study and loves getting gd grades? now getting gd results are like... SO?

And i've been slacking and eating and sleeping at home --> note the absence of "doing work". sigh. wad's got into me!!! is it becos of my room which does not have sunlight so i feel sleepy the entire day?? or isit the scents in Barcelona which makes me hungry all day long?!?

i think i should just STOP GIVING MYSELF EXCUSES and just get the shit work done before i enjoy!! ARGH.

WAKE UP YOUR IDEA KELLY!!!!!!

"Crazy" Redefined

2008-03-01T04:04:00.000-08:00

When people say Spanish are crazy, trust them. Cos it's 101% true and in my point of view, "crazy" is just an understatment.

Went to celebrate Jianhong's (the new guy from SMU) birthday last night!!! it's his 24 and we had a simple dinner.. that's when realised his birthday is on 29th FEB!!! like... birthday once every 4 years?!?! although b.days are not exactly "WOW" for me but that's something special!! and it's my first friend with 28feb birthday~ haha...

Then we went to their house to sit down for a bit, and JH imparted me some knowledge on photography!!! he had this second hand SLR and it costs him sgd1200+?? feel like getting m dad one but... no $$$ = ISSUE. while jingyi was preping to go party with her friends from UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)... all 3 of us was supposed to go but in the end Jianhong started nua-ing on the bed and i decided not to join~ so in the end only jingyi went. hohohooh~

But this is not yet the crazy part!!!

the mad part was i joined my Spanish housemates to party~ (since they ask me quite a few times and it's friday right...) i shall cut the details and jus stick to the mainpoint. not sure if it's the strong alcohol or everyone's vision is blurred by the cigarette fog, everyone seemed to be kissing everyone!!!

there were a total of 4 girls (2 housemate + 2 friends of theirs) + me who went. out of the 4 girls, i see 3 of them with 3 different guys, attempting to eat each other up. like WTH!!! i mean i see this in Singapore BUT STILL... to see this all around you.. left, right, front, back.. everywhere!!!!!

Then there will also be guys who try to dance with other girls... non-stop getting close to them when they walk past and try to bwah their wadever unto the girls' wadever. oh and did i mention they wear stupid glasses with dirty lenses and it slid all the way to the mid of the nose??? a.k.a. gross looking??? they simply try too hard. seriously deappetising.

EWWW~~

Not that i say it wasn't fun at all... it was when they played some nice english songs, but that's like RARE... every one out of 20 songs is in english??? plus the drinks that are 101% worth your money, so worth ur money that the amount of alcohol is so ewwww..... and in the end i was sitting on the couch 80% of the time until wee wee hours (6+ am) before we SLOWLY HEADED HOME.

I was wondering how can people do that every single week. wont they get old damn fast?? all the smoke, late nights, kissing with random chicos... for me, who cares about missing out nightlife in Barcelona?!?!

i still love me bed more. =)

A Simple Gift.

2008-02-28T14:22:00.000-08:00

A friend wrote this for me...

The rain will come and go,

Same as your sadness and cold.

Do not treat it as a must to have,

Someone else to hear and told.

Becos all truth be told,

happiness is your and your alone.

i gotta say i'm impressed, and enlightened. there are just some things that u knew long ago, but it jus got lost somewhere inside you and you just need that someone to point it out.

i'm glad =)

i want to cry...

2008-02-28T05:11:00.001-08:00

For the past few days, my housemates keep asking me if i'm okay... and they said i seem sad cos i keep hiding in my room~ i was thinking ya i'm ok! y do they think that i'm sad or wadever...

but i've been feeling like crap these few days.. it's not that i dun have the chance to talk to him, but just that everytime i talk to him it ends in a quarrel and obviously quarrels are easier to forget for guy than for girls and one quarrel after another is taking it's toll on me...

perhaps it's my body's nature way of saying "kelly u're not happy"... feeling lazy and sleepy the entire day without doing anything, not going to school, not motivated to do anything at all~ mayb that's why my housemate can sense that something is wrong..

i'm happy... but i'm not totally happy... and i can't pin point exactly why... i think i jus need to talk to someone and hopefully the person can find a reason for this... or maybe i just need to cry my unhappiness out instead of just trying to suppress it.. maybe it's time for me to be a social recluse and hide away from the rest of the world again~

sigh.

How do i put this...?

2008-02-27T07:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever got together with a guy, and love him so much that you think you 2 have a future together? Then u realised that there are so many important things that you 2 don't agree upon and it seems to make you reconsider your future with him?

Well perhaps it's my own vainity behind this but when being asked about the other half, i like to say "he's working in a Goldman Sachs" or "he's interning in Big 4"... then the conversation can continue with me bragging about how fantastic and ambitious he is, even when he is not all that great...

I'm not saying good jobs and money is ALL important but come on, it plays a part right?? unless u've got a guy whose PROFESSION is like "Mr. World" then ok... it's a stupid but good job. or perhaps it's jus the image of having a job in the professional world that just stands out, at least for me.

Someone should just do a worldwide research on "how to choose Mr. Right" and publish the finding somewhere on the net so that people can learn from it. it might sound stupid but i think i will find it useful.. Cos for people like me, who's unfortunately getting older, is tired of thinking if the guy is right for me. But i think the results will be like..."Spend the rest of your life with someone who can make u laugh" --> that's what so many people tell others but hey, unless that smile can bring some real bling bling , i dun think tt "laughter" can laugh off the pain when u don't have money to enjoy life...

If u found that you 2 might not have a future together, what would u do..? Guess i'm thinking too much again~ haha!! y do i even think so far ahead?! but I'm so envious of people who have everything planned.. like having a rich bf who has a good job.. and all she need to do is to get a job for 2-3 years then give birth and be a tai tai after~ oh man. wad a shiok life would tt be~

i realised i dun have any plans for my future yet... well if being rich is a plan then ok i do have one. soon i'll be back in SG and soon later it's the start of my career. and my future... Proactive is the key. Get a good job and be rich and be a self-earned taitai next time~ What a good plan~!!

JIAYOU KELLY!!!

Get well soon darling~

2008-02-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Ohh my dera has been sick again~ it's like exactly the same illness as the time i'm in Singapore~ =( but this sounds stupid but i feel lucky that i'm not there to see him in pain,.. although i want to be there for him...

it's pain for him to be ill, even more pain for the person who loves him so but yet can't do anything about his illness... =(

Get well soon baby~ i want to hear u laugh loud loud soon!!

Great start to Barce... -_-|||

2008-02-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

This morning i went to pass the house keys to this other SMU guy who is doing exchange in ESADE too~ i have no idea why he came so late when we're here like for one month plus plus alrdy!! but... the Barcelona people have an interesting way of saying "WELCOME~!!!"

They robbed him.

On the FIRST day he lost his wallet. Credit cards, cash = LOST. oh my goodness. seriously... this is the third time, and unfortunately i dun think it'll be the last case i'll hear. Hope people take more care of their belongings...

and i shall appreciate Singapore for the security. =)

Cooking @ my house!!! =D

2008-02-22T05:49:00.000-08:00

it's been such a long time since i saw the girls from SMU!!! well this time the party's at my house!!

Echo, Zing, Fang

Veronika, Maria, Georgina
ME with my housemates~
The spread~ 1 salad, 4 dishes, 2 bottles of wine, orange juice and....

DESSERT. how can that be ever left out! This time they decided to bake!!! previously at another party, 2 russian exchange students baked APPLE PIE and Zing and Fang took the recipe!! and we were all guinea pigs of their trial!!!

But if it would be so nice everytime, i will definitely not hestitate to sign up to be a guinea pig~!!! =D it was so nice~ jus a simple dinner with great people.

I LIKE. =)

Sightseeing: Placa del Rei + Roman Walls + Esglesia de Santa Maria del Pi

2008-02-21T07:49:00.000-08:00

Placa del Rei: this is a place where there are Roman ruins and there's also a museum to see~ But the museum didn't look so appealing to me so in the end i jus took a few pictures! of which the "fan-shaped" stairs is quite popular and it's characteristic of Placa del Rei...

Then on my way to see the church, i came across some remains of Roman Wall, which are super old... dated back to 3rd and 4th century... but what i saw was only a little bit of the entire wall which stretches to duno where... and i saw the statue of Senora X?X? and his horsie.. looks kinda familiar though~

Esglesia de Santa Maria del Pi: This is the place where the rose window at the entrance is claimed to be the world's biggest!! (how would i miss the chance to see record breaking things right...) well it looked not as fantastic outside but inside is definitely nicer~

At one side of the church....

At the other side... this is the ROSE WINDOW~!!!!

Close up:

Sightseeing: Barcelona Catedral

2008-02-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

Been slacking too much at home lately with minimal constructive work done... so i decided to do some sightseeing today!!!

Woke up at like 8 plus am to go to Barcelona Cathedral... which charges for the entrance from like 1-5pm, while the other time slots are like free entry.. so i jus had to go earlier!! i have walked past that building so many times during shopping but i din have the time or chance to just go inside and relax...

The outside of the cathedral is under restoration, so i can't get a better picture than THIS:

Which sucks to the max. and it totally reminded me of the time in Beijing when we visited the Forbidden Palace and all we could see is stupid construction and those green mesh which totally spoils any picture. =/

The interior of the cathedral: With lot of nice works and carvings on the pillars... i felt so paiseh to take out my camera to take picture cos i thot it would be so offensive to take pictures in places of worship but then again, there are stupid people taking photos with flash, so in the end, i started taking pictures!!! (without flash!) and the interior of the cathedral is not SO bright.. it's just that i use the "candle" mode of the camera and there's long exposure so... =)

And the cathedral is really high.. with many painted glass... it was so nice... have to be there to experience it~

At the Rooftop: Then after that i took the elevator up to the roof of the cathedral, where you supposely can have a bird's eye view of Barcelona~ According to the Lonely Planet "Spain" Guidebook, the entrance is like 2 eur but it was actually 2.50 eur... inflation everywhere huh~

This was at the tip of the structure above!! it's a bell and the direction thing~

And the view from the top is really amazing... seriously... and in summer i think you can wear a bikini up and get a suntan as well~ haha!! it's worth every cent of that 2.5o eur~

"Garden" part of cathedral: Other than the interior and the rooftop, there was also like a small garden or open area kinda thing... where there's a fountain, sunshine, trees...

And geese!!! yes!! they were like so cute and they seem to know i'm taking picture and started walking or waddling towards me!! and their feathers are so white~ and i caught one of them resting (2nd geese pic), with the head embedded in the feathers and standing on one feet~ it's balance must be damn zai~

Hilarious lingos all around~

2008-02-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes i jus feel that i've got weird and totally hilarious friends all around me. On my first day at ESADE, this American said "that's kinder bueno" --> "bueno" = good in Spanish~

And then there are those Canadiense always with the word "Brutal" for example, "that's so brutal..." or "maddd brutal" (courtesy of my classmate). --> which mean it SUCKS, or other meanings that i duno...

There are like so many many lingos around and they're different in diff. countries... ok well writing it down doesn't sound farnie at all... mayb next time i should jus record it or something~ muahaha~!!!

Anyway everyone's got a past... and sometimes we should just let and past be the past and jus let it past. but it's quite impossible to say that the past dun influence the present and the future right?? I happened to flip by a person's past romance novels and Wooo~

it's MADDDDDDDD BRUTAL.

Ouch. I'll totally not do it again.

Mercat de Boqueria + Museu de Piscasso + El Mussols

2008-02-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

After the clubbing previously and not sleeping till wee hours in the morning, i managed to drag myself out of bed in the morning to go to MUSEU DE PISCASSO!!! well i'm not exactly the arty farty kind but it's nice to immerse myself in some art once in a while... hehe!!!

On the way there we passed by Mercat de Boqueria!! Well it's an ultra famous wet market that is ultra big and it has everything you need to cook. All the ingredients, including skinned whole rabbit (which got me glued and freaked out at the same time,...) and 1001 types of cheese, meat, seafood, veggies, blah blah~ and i think this place was recommended on Discovery Travel and Living Channel!! Yay~!!!

At the Museu de Picasso, Echo + Amy and I took about 2 hours to actually walk and look at all Picasso's works and other artists' works.. walk until my back want to break!! but it was definitely worth it!! one of picasso's work, "The First Communion" was like AMAZING. i can just forgo 90% of the other works and stare at the painting for the entire day.
It's really hard to understand what i mean unless you have been there, seen that. Even the best pictures and best postcard can't capture the painting itself. It's the kinda painting that grabs your attention just like that and make you wish you knew about art so that you can appreciate it more...

Just... AMAZING.

Then after the visit to the museum, we went to have a cup of coffee and chocolate and some 油条-like thing that is supposed to be dipped in the chocolate...

Amy (left) and Echo (right)

(and shopping was after that.)

At night, we had a farewell dinner for AMY... sadly she's leaving.. but well i guess she think's the other alternatives are not worth trying alrdy~ =( We went to this restaurant called El Mussols (which i went on the last day of the Spanish Language course~)... yum yum~~

The 招牌 of El Mussols~

EchoMartin and Victoria

Isabel

And this time we ordered Sangria con CAVA (a.k.a Catalan "Champagne"), instead of the Sangria con VINO (a.k.a. wine)... and it tastes just as nice~ both are nice! Sangria = my favourite!!!

Veal with Mussols Potatoes and Mushrooms... OoooHH~~

Sangria con CAVA (Cava + Fanta + orange + lemon + liquer..)

My V.day disaster.

2008-02-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

V. Day without your loved ones is really quite hard to pass. But luckily Barcelona doesn't celebrate 14/02... they do it on march 23rd or something.. can't remember...

Well at night went out with my group of friends to this tiny club called 7 sins... actually i have no idea what the 7 sins are... and i'm so not alone (at least i dun feel like an idiot not knowing~ haha!!) it's...

1. Pride
2. Wrath
3. Greed
4. Envy
5. Lust
6. Sloth
7. Gluttony

Ah well, coincidentally, there was 7 of us in 7 Sins club so we were each one of the 7 sins!! and i happened to be "pride" btw,... wonder what that stands for..? ok other than the rather nice ambience and the nice music with lasted for like 30 minutes, AND THE FREEFLOW OF CANDIES AND LOLLIPOPS, and the good company, nothing was special...

ok maybe this girl wearing DEVIL horns was so attracted to this guy friend.. she was like hooking up with him ALL NIGHT (a.k.a. 2+ hours)~ well i guess asians guys are popular here.... muahah!!!

anyhow,... the SWEETS were good. and i was stuck at the bar half the time cos of that... it's my favourite peach heart sweet~~ Weeee~~ but we din stay till v late.. until 2 plus before i took the nightbus home~

btw if i knew that things were going to be so nasty for me and bubu after that outing, i totally wont have gone. 100%. Lesson learnt. =)

No money = Lotsa cooking!!

2008-02-13T03:48:00.000-08:00

Outside food is like costing me too many bombs and too many holes in my already holy pockets so here comes the food experimenting!!! Well other than the frequent maggie mee cooking sessions, there is basically nothing else i noe... but things are definitely getting better!! Yum Yum~~ =D

Onion Omletter with veggies!!!

Onion omelette with rice...
Fried potato with cheese and ketchup!

By the way.. one side point i would like to mention... ESSAY WRITING SUCKS!!! totally hate it. finally cleared my 15 pages essay which took me like almost one month of nua-ing to produce. PHEW... please dun give any more long essays profs... not everyone is zai like u... ewwwww........

A Hard Decision...

2008-02-11T04:10:00.000-08:00

the friend of mine in Barcelona, Amy, said that she wants to just heck this program and return to the States, when she's only been here for 3 weeks. I was so shocked to hear that from her cos well to me, she looks like she's having hell lotsa fun with the other exchange people here...

According to her, she didn't really have a lot of friends here and her housemates are weird, plus she just got robbed... and she didn't think that life in Spain suited her at all... like everything is foreign, and she feels like she's "in a different planet, not a diferent country"...

Can sense that she's not happy from inside... (you know what i mean?)

i guess i understand how she's feeling now... totally... i felt exactly the same as her,.. perhaps not as bad cos at least i din have the robbery, but i was ill and alone and i feel like an alien jus being and looking like an Asian... but for me, it got much better.. (though i get bored all the time...)

She's still deciding (we i hope she still is..) if she should stay or go back... Hopefully she stays behind!!! she's turning out to be one of the nicer ppl around.. and she makes all of us laugh. =)

STAY!!!

Deprived of Love.

2008-02-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

i totally understand but i totally dun want to understand. y can't he have more rest and talk to me when he's NOT TIRED? or rather why don't he jus quit tt freaking job and sleep more so that he'll be more alive whenever i talk to him?? y can't he jus talk without him needing to sleep or to eat or to work?? y does he have to say "sms me when you need me ok?" when if that's the case, his phone will be beeping all the time?? y do i always feel that we're not talking enough???

ARGH i'm irritated.

you know there are times... when you dun get the things you want, and you jus decide to do just the opposite jus to spite the person who doesn't give what you wan? that's exactly how i feel right now. EXACTLY.

I wan to jus shut off my computer, change my hp number and cut myself off from him. but then again, that doesn't hurt him in anyway. or by the time he realise, it's already 2010. I hate being the one who needs him more than he needs me. I wonder how much I really mean to him.

We'll see.

Isabel's B'day Celebration!!!

2008-02-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

It's Isabel's birthday today!! She's from Switzerland and she's turning into one of my best friends in Barcelona.. becos she's simply nice and she's not a totally clubber unlike the rest of the crazy exchange students here...

Well we meet up to go to Victoria's place to have a cooking and DVD watching party! I was supposed to bring desserts and i thot i could get something on my way to her house BUT apparently the forgetful Kelly forgot about all shops closing on Sunday. and i mean almost all. like those shopping centres (e.g. Zara, Mango, El Corte Ingles a.k.a. similar to Takashimaya chainstore...) and almost everywhere except from some tiny bars in neighbourhoods. so shopping on Sundays = NON-EXISTENT.

(Back to the party..) In the end i picked up some Chocolate cake from some bar near my place and headed to Vic's house!!! and we started cooking!! there were like carrots, cauliflower, lotsa chicken breast meat, rice, salad with vinegar dressing...

the chickens were supposed to be cooked with teriyaki sauce but since Vic couldn't find it, we ended up having chicken in soy sauce and pepper. Then i cooked ONION OMLETTE!!! all thanks to the practice i had cooking it at home... (well since that's about the only thing i know how to cook =/) and main point is: they liked it...

YAY!!! One point for Kelly!!! =D

and we also had this italian wine "Prosecco" i think... it's red and it's sparkling and kinda has a sweet taste to it... hehe.. nice~

it was also then that i found out this other girl at the party, Amy who's from the States, was ROBBED. like literally robbed. But it was more than a grab-and-go kinda situation but more of a Amy-got-chased-a-few-blocks-for-her-bag kinda situation. there was like 3 guys, one chasing her, one blocking her path when she ran and one other to corner her or something...

it was definitely planned. but not specifically for her. if anyone else has been walking past at that point in time, i'm sure he/she would have been hit too. but the chances of it being a "she" is like 1000% higher than being a "he"...

This is like my 2nd incident of close friends getting robbed/pickpocketed and it really freaks me out even though i'm not involved at all... i shall try to be safe in all possible ways. Brrr....

This is all there is...

2008-02-10T02:10:00.000-08:00

Jar-ed sent 2/10/2008 2:31 PM:
sorry dear, i was only home at 730am

Jar-ed sent 2/10/2008 2:31 PM:
im gg to ur place now

Jar-ed sent 2/10/2008 2:31 PM:
i'll tok to u when i have the chance to

Jar-ed sent 2/10/2008 2:31 PM:
i love u

oh.... seriously, whatever.

Is it worth.....?

2008-02-09T04:40:00.000-08:00

Ever since i have been in Barcelona, the chances of me talking to you is so little. Times when you are free and I am able to go online are getting so scarce that i'm feeling so irritated. i know you work so much cos you wan to save enough money for a europe trip. but is it worth it dera? How about the times i wait for you to appear online on my msn so that i can type jus a few words to you?

why slog for so hard for something you can so easily have a few years down the road? is money getting so important you're forgetting something else?

if you would let me choose, i would wish that you stop working and spare some time to talk to me and forget about the trip. i need someone to support me throughout this 4 months, not someone who only travels with me after 4 months of loneliness...

i need you. do you understand?

More shopping + Dinner with Housemates!!!

2008-02-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

The temptation of REBAJA is simply too strong to ignore. all the hard earned cash from my wallet are all escaping from my white wallet to join the stacks of cash at ZARA and BERSHKA...

This is bad. Really bad.

But I LIKE. muahaha... Went for shopping yet again cos Echo wanted to get a new bag!! Most of the shops are introducing their new season of clothes now and it's really GORGEOUS. but well since the prices are not cheap at all, we weren't tempted by the new season.

BUT for the old season a.k.a the sale items,... we were totally lost in them. or maybe just me. and i realised that the red tube top i bought from zara at 9.90 eur was reduced to 5.90 eur. DAMN!!! In the end, the harvest for today was.....

A zara lip gloss and bronzer

This shop is turning out to be one of my favourites other than Zara...

2 shorts which will come in handy in summer or singapore

pants that i can wear for work!

2 nice tops for 2.95 eur each~ muhaha!!!

4 hairbands for like 1.98 eur...
Wish that the sale would end soon and pray that the sale will last!!! WHAT AM I THINKING!!! Being a woman is HEAVEN. OooOooooo~

Then at night, i went with my spanish housemates and their friends to go eat Japanese food!! well japanese food in Barcelona is prepared by china people... totally not japanese at all and it's quite.... EW. and EX.

I miss kushinbo~ yum yum....

Housemate in Barcelona~

2008-02-07T09:52:00.001-08:00

Realised that i haven't actually introduced the people who will be living with me for the next few months... haha!!!

Maria the music teacher who speaks english!

Georgina who is so thin i feel like a mammoth beside her

Their friend PAU/PAO/however u spell his name who happened to be there the night i took this...

Well i wasn't ignorant of the fact that people take dru*gs and smoke like crazy in almost everywhere except Singapore... during the skiing trip at pyrenees, we stopped by a spanish friend's friend's house for a rest and it was then they show me the mariju*na plant...

didn't realise there is a small container of it in my house too!!! and of cos my housemates smoke it... which spanish doesn't? (ok this is too much of a generalisation)..

In sg where drug trafficking of a small amounts may result in a death sentence, this is not something i want in my pocket on my flight back. definitely not.

but since i'm in spain, i decided to see how they smoke it!!! SEE ONLY!!!!! seriously, i have no doubts ppl in sg smoke it too but not openly right? well it's my first time seeing how they mix the cigarette contents with the mariju*nana plant and then roll it in some thin-like-duno-wad paper before wetting the side with their saliva to glue it together...

and TADA!!! here you go: Dru*gs. But even if they smoke wadever, they are still extremely nice people... =D

but i'm going nowhere near those though. NO WHERE NEAR.

It's the HAMSTER year!!!

2008-02-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

This picture is from Kennysia.com and i jus found it freaking cute!!! and my dera will definitely be like "AHHHHHH so cute!!!!" when he sees this...

(btw, did the person bother to buy the TINY HAT jus for the hamster??)

SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shopping Everywhere!!!

2008-02-07T05:23:00.000-08:00

oh my god. i have no idea how i can forget to mention AT ALL about the crazy shopping in Barceona!!! Currently there is like REBAJA (a.k.a. SALES in english) and i went shopping again!!!
Zara seems to be my favourite hang out spot and where my money flows non stop. But it's totally worth it!!! Spent a total of ard 80 EUROS so far on shopping alone... shall save money once the sales are over. Weee~~~

A white shimmery scarve from duno where

Mango Jacket
Zara top
Berskha Spag Strap (so Sweet~)

Zara hot red top!!! (front)
Zara hot red top!!! (behind)
and MOST IMPORTANT of all, ZARA JACKET!!! (which there was a mistake in the price tag ang i paid like 12 euro for 39.90 eur!!!!) hiek hiek hiek... it's a good shopping day!!!

And there was also this pair of heels and black pants that i bought from ZARA!!! Woohooo~ REBAJA please dun end so soon~~~ =D

Chinese New Year Celebration @ Echo's House!!!

2008-02-06T15:59:00.002-08:00

It's my first year away from my family during such an important time like the Chinese New Year. Esp when i'm in a european country where CNY 气氛 is like unheard of. totally NON EXISTENT.

But luckily i have chinese and ABC (American Born Chinese) friends in ESADE!!! and we had this cooking party @ Echo's house~!!

We had like 糖醋排骨, Cauliflower, Chicken with Black Pepper sauce, dumplings, noodles, pasta, lemon mousse dessert, fried rice... courtesy of everyone who came and esp ECHO!! got to say her signature dish of 糖醋排骨 is really quite nice. especially to a person who miss chinese food SO MUCH!!!

and i also prepared this fruit salad!!! yum yum!!!

It was so cute to see everyone from different country at the dinner table... from Switzerland, States, Barcelona, China, Singapore, Canada... all enjoying Chinese food. Woohoooo~ so multinational!!! muuahahah...

But no matter how much celebration or chinese food there is here, it's nothing compared to celebrating it with everyone else in Singapore.. i miss the CNY goodies, the BAK GUA, Pineapple tarts, Prawn rolls, Reunion dinner.... blah blah --> Just EVERYTHING.

and of course, ANG BAO.

Sigh. imagine the money of Ang Bao tt i'll miss cos of this trip. sigh. hope they save my ang baos for me till i go back Singapore~ =(

新年快乐 + 恭喜发财 EVERYONE!!!

Start of School....

2008-02-06T15:59:00.001-08:00

Well school has finally started and now i have 3 more subjects to take... all thanks to the short one week crash course of int'l business strategy and one subject dropped courtesy of Ms. Jenny Goh from NBS.

But i got to say... school is boring. What's new?

Though some classes are really interactive and kinda interesting, i just seem to be in the wrong environment... where i appear to be lost in some kind of SMU atmosphere~ of meaningless class participation for the sake of participating. while some subjects are really kindergarden (and i'm taking about "motivation, values and commitment"...

i thot since i had the backgrd of this subject from Organisational Behaviour from year 1 in nbs and i could probably relax for the rest of the course... but i was WRONG. the course is like in a freaking new direction and i seriously have no clue if i'm even going to learn anything from this course.

Well, but studies is the last thing i care when i'm in such a nice place like Barcelona. =D

Arc de Triomf + SITGES!!!

2008-02-06T05:12:00.000-08:00

In the morning, Isabel, Victoria, Echo and I decided to go to the Museo de Picasso, since there is free entry on the first sunday of each month (which is a.k.a this sunday!!!) but when we got there, the last thing we expected was an entire street of people being as kiasu as us!! totally reminded me of the queuing at the tokyo disneyland for some kiddy ride which lasted 20 minutes.

so in the end we headed to do some sightseeing near the place... and we passed by the ARC de TRIOMF!! which is this like ultra big.... er.... gate-like construction that was rather majestic in a sense...

Then it started RAINING AGAIN. (well it´s only after all the raining on sunday that i found out from my housemates that raining during Sitges is like a bad omen and it happened almost every year... sian.....)

So we all hide in this cafe to grab a coffee to rid the cold... before me and Echo headed to STIGES AGAIN!!! Luckily, the rain and dark clouds kinda cleared by the time we arrived there and Mr. Sun started to come out!!! we went to the beach to take some photos before we saw what we came for --- THE PARADE.

at 4pm is the KIDS PARADE... well this, to me and Echo, was the main attraction... the kids are like all dressed up as all sorts of animals and characters and they´re totally ADORABLE. completely... and they are all ANG MO BABIES so can u imagine how excited we were to see them?? wooo!!!

And i have to mention Echo seems like she wants to dump her boyfriend for an ANG MOH so that she can have cute babies. hahah!!!

The parade lasted for almost 1.5 hours with all the different floats and dancers and lots of confetti that the kids throw at us!!! so CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The adults parade was like at 9pm but in the end we thot that seeing the kids was way more worth the time and so we went to DUNKIN COFFEE to have YET ANOTHER COFFEE!!! and donut of course~

At night, I realised that having 2 cups of coffee a day will make u miss your appointment with Uncle Zhou so... ¨Hello Ms. Kelly the Panda¨

All the PICTURES!!! --->
http://cid-ff9d43e8d64283ff.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!FF9D43E8D64283FF!2856/

Sitges Carnival (Prelude)!!!

2008-02-03T17:44:00.001-08:00

There's like 10001 famous events in Spain happening every year and i'm so glad this year this asian named kelly is able to join!!!!

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!

Sitges is like a town/village that is 30 minutes ride on the train from Barcelona and every year in end Jan or early Feb there's the famous Sitges carnival!!! and wad's so nice and popular is that everyone DRESS UP in something nice or funny and then we can watch a PARADE!!!

Went to Plaza Catalunya to shop for costumes the morning of the carnival. the shop was like not exactly big and things were rather pricey.. (well the entire europe is pricey)! hohoho but in the end i bought this bunny ears hairband and a devils fork (or wadever u call that~)!!! wahaha!!!!

btw, that place is supposedly flooded with gays (p.s.: i have nothing agst gays or wadsoever)... --> but i did not notice alot of gay couples though~

ah well we arrived there at 5+pm on Saturday (which was supposedly the day that the carnival is more happening...). Then not long after we heard DRUMS!!! so cool la... nv so excited in my entire life when i heard drums.. it's like my FIRST EVER FESTIVAL. in SG i dun even go to the Chingay Parade~

We were like following the drummers throughout the entire town and was dancing along to the music and i think it´s at this time that Echo got ROBBED!!!! ok she was more of PICKPOCKETTED or rather BAG SLIT by this total idiot who was like pushing her when it´s like freaking crowded... but luckily she din lose anything... (Lucky i wasn´t the one who´s bag got slit... cos mine is a nice fake leather bag. haha!!!)

And not long after it´s like RAINING. wad a blopper~ in the end it´s like freaking cold cos Sitges is beside the sea and at night with the sea breeze AND the rain it´s really BRRRRR~~

but the bulk of the action is not on Saturday!! the PARADE of both kids and aduts happen on Sunday and the main party is on Tuesday! so in the end after a nice cozy dinner at this restaurant that ¨Let´s go!¨ book recommended, we headed home and rested for Sunday! =D

Visit to the ever-so-famous SAGRADA FAMILIA

2008-02-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

Well this post is going to be short and sweet cos there's basically nothing much to talk about. the SAGRADA FAMILIA is like the most important tourist attraction in Barcelona and I can partially understand why...

PARTIALLY.

I have to say that the exterior of the building is magnificant... it's tall and grand and... ancient looking. i didn't have the time to go in and have a good tour but i'll definitely do that one day... but one thing about the sagrada familia is that it is not yet completed. after 100+ years, it is still under construction and yes, you can see the stupid looking cranes and those green mesh covering the building... blah blah blah

some people said that the construction kinda goes with the building... in some sort of way... well considering that the cranes has been accompanying the ancient creation for 100+ years, it's defintely part of the attraction.

But when did people start admiring things that are not yet done??? can u imagine the KL twin tower with big cranes and a construction area? or the Eiffel Tower that is only half it's height?? Well to me the construction was a freaking big boo boo and it totally spoils my awe when i see the sagrada familia.

Hopefully the INTERIOR of the building is done.

Visit to Park Quell

2008-02-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

Went to Park Guell today! With an entire gang of exchange students (Amy, Isabel, Victoria, Rebecca, Katie, Laura) from all over the world. That place is AMAZING. It’s so sunny, so peaceful but a little too tourist-y.

At first i thot that the park will be like all green and people sitting on the grass picnic-ing but that is not the case... well i´m not sure if it´s that i didn´t tour the entire park but i din come across any grounds that are less barren. but nevertheless, the place is still extremely beautiful and i can totally spend a entire day jus enjoying the sun and the view.. =)

Shall head to Parl Guell once again on a WEEKDAY and alone to appreciate some european peace and tranquility. muhaha!!!

Updates!!!

2008-02-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

Haven’t been blogging for the longest of time.. These 2 weeks in Spain is like so packed with activities and studies I totally dunno how to describe it. First week in spain is like self-orientation week… not exactly smooth sailing but I managed to go SKIING @ the PYRENEES on Saturday!!!

Oh and I also went over the the SMU exchange people (Jingyi, Fangting, Zing and Wei Kiat)’s house to sit sit for a while and watch them cook… it’s kinda cute the way the look like first-time housewives cooking for their new hubbies… so happy looking… haha!!

Skiing in the Pyrenees was absolute fun!! Well minus the 4 hours ride that we had to endure to get us to that ULU place… it’s near a town named SORT (which means “luck” in Catalan)… we got Zing’s friend to teach us skiing! Since we were all first time skiers, I think we took almost one hours just to put on the ski gears and our 1001 layers of clothings before we actually started skiing. Dotz…

Anyway it’s my first time skiing and everyone’s been telling me “oh u’d better wear gloves in case u fall down!! It’ll be cold~” but the falling down part never happened for me!!! Thot skiing would be super hard but it really wasn’t… maybe all thanks to the balance I gained in sn gym! Woohoo~

Second week was like hell week. From Monday till Friday I had 9am-2pm “International Business Strategy” lesson and 3.30pm – 6.30pm was Intensive Spanish Language class. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not to mention I have an exam on Friday. Totally loco-ness (loco = crazy in espanol)

I duno if it’s the tap water I have been drinking or the pasta and jamon (ham) I’m not used to but I feel like shit for the second week. And I mean like SHIT. But I think it’s the weather in Barcelona that is making me really ill!!! It’s like weirdo temperature. It’s so hot in the afternoon you can actually jus wear a shirt out and feel good, while at night when there’s no sun it’s freaking COLD. Especially when the wind blows… wooooo~~~~~

Departure for Spain

2008-01-16T03:09:00.000-08:00

Time always fly past when you don´t want it to and crawl by when you are waiting for something. I have been in Sg for barely a few weeks and now i´m leaving yet again.

Feel so bad for those who miss me for such a long time and have to bear with kelly being missing for 4 plus more months.

Well, only one person fits the bill: my dera. and perhaps my family.

But one good thing is this time i´m taking SIA... means i can avoid the bad attitude and bad food, a forte of airlines in China.

I got to say that being in the air for such a long long long time is REALLY A TORURE. by "long long long" i mean really long. like 16 hours. can you imagine sitting at the same place for more than half a day? with limited leg and backside space and all you can do is watch shows through the less-than-A4-size-screen, or look out into the pitch dark, or eating nice food once in a while??

Oh did i mention taking the flight alone = not talking to anyone but the air stewardess whenever they come to serve food??

oh my tian. i know that this Spain trip is bound to be challenging but even the plane ride too?! u gotta be kidding me man...

when the 16 hours torture is finally over, another one follows - lugging the 27kg luggage PLUS 7+kg backpack to/up&down the metro and trains and finally to my accomodation for my time in barcelona (which i have no idea WHERE is it.)

For a not-exactly-fit-or-strong girlie like me, you have got to applaud that i actually survive through THAT.

*CLAPS x1000*

One point to note: Barcelona transport system is generally quite OKAY. but the train lines often diverges SOMEWHERE. and it´s excellent if you can make out where the train is heading before you hop on so you can save on energy lugging everything up and down several trains. (which unfortunately, is what happened to me. =/)

After like 20-25 minutes of finding my way thru streets of barcelona and FINALLY finding my accomodation, i thot my "adventure" for my FIRST DAY in Barcelona is over and i can finally rest my sore arms and legs.

Then when i rang the bell of the house, HOLA!! comes a KOREAN couple. when my accomodation is supposedly shared with SPANISH people.

kelly: is this C/Camil Fabra nº13 2º 3ª??
man: yes. this is my house
kelly: is Manuel or Maria (the espanoles supposedly in the house) staying here??
man: who? no. this is my house.

Then i called manuel like almost 10 times and he DIDN¨T pick up.

SURPRISE!!! what the hell was happening??

To cut the story short, the couple told me that they´re the ones living in this house and they duno anyone by the name of Manuel nor Maria. Woohooo!!

JACKPOT!!! who can be more suay than me?!?! (ans: no one.)

But the Korean couple were so nice they invited me into their house once i appeared at their door looking like an idiot and even offered me drinks. well i will be glad even if they had listened to be at their door.

First really nice people i meet. =)

After explaining myself in english (to someone who speaks little english) a thousand times, they kinda understood what happened... but have no idea what to do.

Then i thot,... if this is a SCAM, i´m so DEAD. i have no idea what to do, where to sleep, if i should call police, ..blah blah. i was so scared i almost cried.

Luckily i had a picture of Maria and the house!! i showed them but they say they have nv seen her before... but they recognise the backgrd of the picture. the korean guy + me even went down to the laundry shop near the house, with my laptop, to ask if anyone has seen this person.

and everyone said NO.

Then suddenly,... MARIA CALLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so exciting i tell u... she doesn´t speak english well so i passed my phone to the lady in the laundry shop... then after 2 minutes of hearing them rattle off in some lingo that i couldn´t catch, the laundry person say: MARIA´s COMING NOW. DON´T WORRY.

WAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i so feel like hugging all of them now then start dancing together. like they are totally my saviour. and it dawned upon me that espanoles are super super super nice and wad more can i say? they are SO NICE!!! =D

In the end Maria arrived in like 2 minutes and TADA!!! i see the woman in the picture... Kelly is a blessed girl. Then when i was like hugging the laundry woman to show my appreciation, SHE¨S MUACK MUACK ME!!!!!!!

This is my first MUACK MUACK greeting in Spain!!! totally got the wad-u-trying-to-do face but... i feel so european. hahhaa!!!

Never thot my first blog entry for Spain will be so eventful!! but i still hope that there will never be another day as exciting as this. (at least not in a bad way) =)