Valencia - Day 3

At about 7am we woke up to gunfire and explosions which rattled the hotel windows. Ok, ok I found out later it was actually firecrackers and that this was part of the Falles Festival. Anyone who knows me, knows that I like my sleep. This 'gunfire' went on for a good 20-30 minutes or so but I refused to get out of bed, choosing to cover my head with the blanket as a feeble attempt to drown out the noise. I figured if this was the Apocalypse/a terrorist attack/building implosion/machine gun massacre then I would rather die in bed then outdoors in my pyjamas.

J and Leesh got up and bothered to investigate and being the tourist bunnies went down to enjoy the festivities. Nup, sorry no thanks, no firecracker festival for me. If this was in my itinerary - then ok, yes I will go, but no, you damned surprise firecrackers, you ruined my sleep!!! I must have my revenge and sleep in as much as I can!!!

The street after the many, many firecrackers. J having a go at contributing to the noise. Obviously, I stole these photos from Leesh because I definitely wasn't there.

When we finally decided to get out of bed we did some touristy stuff but missed out on seeing the interior of La Lonja cos we missed the opening hours :( We weren't blessed with the sunshine of yesterday but instead had a grey, drizzly day. Lunch was at Cerveceria 100 Montaditos, a tapas bar with a slight twist as all the tapas were served in mini baguette rolls. The menu was a bit difficult - it was all in Spanish, but we managed to find the baguettes we wanted.

(L-R, T-B) All the yummo baguettes, although the blue cheese one was a bit overpowering. Kt nursing the baby baguettes. Spanish olives - so yummy, taste like chicken powder!! All the olives I had in Valencia tasted like chicken powder. If only I can find source these somewhere in London. Variation of pickled vegies. Not usually a fan, but these tasted like chicken powder too!

We wandered the streets a bit more, took a few obligatory photos (one below and I have no idea what it is).

Our hotel.

The flight home was nothing eventful. Overall, Valencia was a sweet lil city which I wouldn't mind visiting again! I might be a little bored the next time, but I'm sure the Spanish sun will compensate for that.

Valencia - Day 2

Three of us got up to explore a bit of the Valencian sights while waiting for the arrival of latecomers Baoey and Lil Miss J. Kt, the sleeping champion chose the bed, opting for a lie-in.

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day which made me kinda realise that I had packed the wrong clothes. Worse yet, the sky was so, so blue and I had forgotten my sunglasses. Boo hoo!

Leesh, J and I stopped by for a pitshop in the shopping centre opposite the City of Arts and Sciences and had breakfast. We utilised our non-existent Spanish, by pointing at food we wanted and tried the Valencian drink, Horchata. It tasted very nice, kinda like soy milk and was quite refreshing. Although, I think I'm slightly allergic as I had an itchy tongue for the rest of the day - ew.

Horchata and me!

Something that you wouldn't expect in relatively small Spanish city is impressive modern architecture. I am far from an architecture buff but this is reason enough to visit Valencia. Maybe it was the impeccable, crisp blue sky and warm weather (24+ degrees! yay!) in the middle of a northern hemisphere winter that enhanced the beauty of the structures and made it even more stunning. I can't remember the purpose of each building but there was an aquarium - L'Oceanographic (cool name eh?) and an opera house in the shape of a white Darth Vader helmet.

Pretty, pretty white buildings with a blue backdrop. No London smog to make those buildings dirty!

J and Leesh taking their photos.

Finally, Lil Miss J, Bao and Kt joined us, squinting like albinos. Like women on a biological clock mission, our sunglasses dilemma was solved when we detoured back into the shopping centre. Lets just say, a group of six Asian, English speaking women isn't exactly a common sight in Valencia and we were a bit of a walking freakshow.

Little did Baoey know, this weekend was her surprise Hen's night - good thing she was Lil' Ms. Oblivion. Knowing that Baoey had packed only inappropriate clothes, we tried unsuccessfully to buy her more 'suitable' attire for a glamour night out. J had a much more fruitful result and bought a dress for Bao and Mona's wedding. Lil Miss J and I bought the same dress! We got a bit sidetracked with shopping Zara (and shopping in general hehe) but eventually clawed our way out.

Walking among the buildings.

Now you see us, now you don't. Aren't we a bunch of cheesy tourists?

We decided not to cab it back to the hotel and enjoy the sun instead, taking a leisurely stroll back to the hotel.

The tree lined avenue towards the hotel.

Okay, so we got a little side-tracked with the shopping and stopped by Mango where J and I both bought dresses to wear tonight. Neither of us packed appropriately! Then there was a quick trip to a local supermarket to sample the Spanish goodies. Look! The basket converts to a trolley. Errr, little did I know that they have these at Sainbury's already.

A nanna nap to help us overcome the exhaustive shopping.

Baoey still had no idea that we had planned a surprise hens and our plans look like they were going to be unstuck when some of us were scrambling around, pretty-ing ourselves not realising that we needed to have congregated in one of the other hotel rooms. It ended up being unecessary fussing as Bao being Bao arrived at the hotel room about 20 minutes later than the scheduled time. Baoey, not managing to buy anything suitable to wear except for 2 pairs of shoes borrowed the Zara dress I bought today. She liked it so much, she kept it. True story!

(L-R, T-B) Picture with no Bao. Bao's hen accessories. Bao and her halo. Picture with Bao! Needless to say, Bao was not please to see we had arranged the night for her. Hehehehe

We managed to fit in a hair braiding session. I think anyone with a Y chromosome would have scratched their eyes out if they were here with us. Too much squealing.

Eating as the Spanish do, we turned up at Navarro for our restaurant reservation at 10pm.

One side of the table. The other side of the table.

(L-R, T-B) Mmmmmm Sangria. Grilled vegies - our first vegie intake! The giant paella. With Bao in the background, yes it is a huge paella. Seriously, I am so sick of paella.

After dinner, we decided to roam through the bar district with the option of having a tipple somewhere. Hmmm, we decided it was a bit too seedy and opted for ice cream instead. Exhausted from the full day and late night, we managed to sleep about about 3am.

Valencia

Despite being in London for over a year, a girls' trip had never been planned. This has now all changed with trip to Valencia, Spain. The Spainish shores were a certainly appealing idea. It's still cold in London (when is it not?) and the mild Spanish winters are uber uber tempting.

The weekend began by leaving work early on a Friday (yay!) and a ride to Stansted airport (boring).

The rhythmic train movement sent Kt into a hypnotic sleep. Despite being an insomniac, this is the only way she is guaranteed to doze off.

We managed to bump into Leesh who happened to be on the same train and checked in together. Aaaah, landing in Valencia we were greeted with a warm, mild night *sigh* and a friendly taxi driver who didn't understand English. After checking into our hotel, we had to attend our munchies. Lucky for us, the Spaniards eat dinner at a ridiculously late hour and crowds in restaurant at 10pm is nothing out of the ordinary.

The hotel staff managed to book us into a nearby restaurant, La Ruiga. The maitre d', expecting a group of non-Spanish exclaimed "Kaarrt-ee Haaaw???" as we walked in. Twas a cute, cosy place with plates hung up all around the walls. Valencia is known as the birthplace of paella, hence there are no prizes for guessing what we had for dinner.

(L-R, T-B) The plates adorning the walls. Jade with her telephone bread. Paella with seafood - it's huge! Our desserts - Spanish creme caramel (can't remember its real name), a nutty mousse thing (very nice!) and lemon sorbet - in a hollowed-out lemon, of course.

Kt started looking pale from a suspected allergic reaction and off we trotted back to the safety of the hotel and her stash of over the counter drugs.

I *heart* the Tower of London

As part of my daily commute, I get to pass over Tower Bridge. Sometimes I walk but most of the time it's a bus ride - too lazy and how can you resist the bus stop that is right on the doorstep? Tower Bridge is a lovely suspension bridge in itself but more importantly, it lends to one of the best views of the Tower of London.

I was never a fan of London from day one, but I'll admit it's growing on me and I do think it's pretty damn cool that there is a CASTLE right next to the financial district, sitting amongst the (short) skyscrapers. Wow!! A real castle! We'd never get one of those back home!

The view from Tower Bridge. Mmmm... trees obscuring the White Tower. I didn't have a better photo.

Kt and I will argue on the way to work about the merits of each landmark. She *hearts* Tower Bridge whereas as I stand my case with the Tower of London. Yeah, yeah, yeah the bridge is a pretty pastel blue and it's two little turrets are fairytale-esque but c'mon......can a 114 year old bridge compare to the mystique of a 900+ year old castle?

Sure the castle is old and somewhat run down but.. but... it's a CASTLE!!! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY!!!

Madrid

Aaaah Spain. One of the places to tick off my to-do list. Nothing beats a London winter more than a Spanish one. It wasn't t-shirt weather but 18 degrees is nothing to complain about.

Smee and I stayed at the Hotel Puerta America, a groovy hotel where each floor is designed by a different famous architect. The hotel wasn't walking distance to the city although easily accessible by metro-ride, it was still somewhat of an odd location given that a block of (presumably) government housing flats were situated next door. It was as though someone said "I'm going to build a funky hotel *here*" and pointed to map while blindfolded. By all means, I'm not saying don't stay in the hotel or it's in a ghetto, but I couldn't see any other reason why the hotel was placed there. Oh well.

Getting off to a good start on the food stakes, we stopped at a tapas bar for erm.. tapas. It is a little disgusting that smoking is still allowed indoors in Spain.. bleah.

The victims of our appetite and the pork legs hanging from the walls.

It wasn't that warm, but warm enough for gelati, I say!

We stopped by the Royal Palace but it had already shut for the day :( So here's a view from gates.

I can't remember what this building was, but it was opposite the Royal Palace.

Dinner was at Restaurante Sobrino de Botin, and at close to 300 years old, supposedly the oldest restaurant in the world. Ernest Hemingway supposedly loved this restaurant and Goya allegedly worked here as a waiter - such claim to fame! Spainards eat late and this restaurant was no different, opening at 8pm! A small line already formed at about 7.30pm but the staff inside were quick to usher anyone out who stepped in before the doors officially opened.

We weren't terribly hungry as we'd only eaten lunch at about 3-4 pm so Smee and I held back a little. I begged for some salad as we'd only eat bread and meat all day. Along with that we had some calamari rings and the signature dish, the suckling pig. I never realised the Spanish were such pork munchers.

(L-R, T-B) Our half pitcher of Sangria. The nicest Sangria I've ever had! Either that or I've just had shit Sangria all my life. Probably the latter, I'd say.

Calamari rings, not too oily. Yay!

My piece of the sucking Oink and Smee's piece of the suckling Oink with the hoof only just cut off eek!

Posing with the Porkies.

We actually only ordered a one-person serving of the suckling pig, but cut in half. I don't know how anyone can eat the entire serving - it was just too ..... pork-y. I mean it was nice, but I don't think I'll ever crave it or eat it again.

The next day we headed into the city centre again to check out the El Rastro flea market. This just seemed like any other flea market in the world selling knick knacks and t-shirts that are Made in China. Hmm, I should have considered buying a 'Madrid' t-shirt but seriously, when and where would I wear it?!

Standing in the Plaza Mayor.


Chippie time in the Plaza Mayor.

Hunger struck us again and after trundling the streets we found a tapas bar with the following menu:

Don't worry, I didn't understand the English either. Ear to the plate?!?!


Taking turns with the tapas.

Our final task before departing was to purchase some Jamon Iberico, a Spanish cured ham which is similar to in texture to prosciutto. This ham has such a deep flavour and is one of the nicest hams I've tasted.

The Spanish eat SO much meat and this jamon (ham) while looking mighty tasty does look might fatty too, but the Spanish aren't a blubber bunch. Such a mystery. Wikipedia answered all my questions and it all comes down to the Iberian piggies being fed acorns! Which means, we're essentially eating acorns! Healthy, fatty ham, how's that for awesome?

Can't get enough of the jamon legs hanging from the rafters.

Leaving Madrid was a breeze. The metro rocks and the airport is brand new!

Happy New Year!

It's that time of the year again when we all wish each other a Happy Chinese New Year. Bring on the rats, London! There aren't enough already crawling on the tube train tracks. I want to see MORE when I'm waiting on the platform.

We all gathered for steamboat at a Viet restaurant. Viets don't really do steamboat, at least, I didn't think so. I mean, I would think that I am entitled to such an opinion given my background, but then again, I am fairly ocker too. Chinese-Viets do steamboat but that's Chinese style. We had ordered two 'seafood' steamboats and one meat. Not what I was expecting, the seafood Viet steamboat was a pimped-up version of my Canh Chua.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it tasted bad in fact it was rather good. A little sweeter than what I'm used to but by all means, that's not a criticism. Tasted just like Mummy's otherwise! I think it was just more surprising to see a rather humble family dish which I've been eating since exiting the uterus and only ever consumed in a house served up on a fancy steamboat platter. Do I live in the only South East Asian household which only ever served it a communal bowl?

The female gang. I have no photos of the males present.


Pimped up Canh Chua only because I'm povo and only ever added fish and sometimes prawns. This version included scallops and mussels.

Once again, happy new year!

The Sound of Music

Leesh, Kt and I watched The Sound of Music stage musical tonight. I'm not a huge fan of the movie, unlike Kt who declared it her 'favourite movie of all time' (big call) but it was definitely one of the musicals I wanted to see. I'm not sure why I really wanted to watch it, probably because the movie is enjoyable enough and the songs are easy on the ears. Don't worry, I do realise that the movie IS based on the original stage musical and not vice versa, but clearly the movie has influenced the current version of the musical.

There were a few differences between the stage and movie versions, but I'm not going to delve as anyone can find them on wikipedia.

I've always thought that the movie fell flat after Maria and the captain realise they're in love and I didn't even know that they got married until I watched it for the third or fourth time! I think I was 9 or 10 when I finally found out.

A few things I will comment on:

• Maria had really big feet
• Captain Von Trapp was too short and stocky (he was played by Simon Burke of Playschool fame!).
  
• The kiss between Maria and the Captain was far too long
• The Baroness was too skinny
• An extra song about the Nazi enforcement, glossed over the severity of the regime and the 'happy tune' was really quite inappropriate. I can understand why it was excluded in the film.
• I really liked Uncle Max. Looked like Clive James.
• The stage sets were cool
• The singing goat souvenir was very tempting
  

Next, I really want to see Jersey Boys!

Happy Birthday J

Tonight was J's birthday celebration which started with a dinner at Haz, which to my disappointment had terrible service. Hmmph. I'll still eat there only because I do quite like the Turkish food they serve up.

After dinner, which wasn't very late at all, we headed towards Reflex for some good ol' fashioned 80s music. To our horror, a queue had already formed. It was only 8.15pm. It wasn't too surprising - this is the land of static queues. We managed to barge in line only because Leesh was already in the queue. It was of little help as we didn't budge for a good 20 minutes. The bouncer said that there were a few private parties that night and they couldn't let anyone in without a person leaving, so we gave up and headed to the bar down the street. No one really liked it there, so we left!

Without knowing any other bars in the area, we walked across the Thames and had some drinkies at a bar near Borough Market. Despite all of J's stressing, all was well. Happy birthday J!