Bai Mooey

Yesterday was Mooey's last full day in London so amongst all other things to do, we had lunchies at Borough Market. How can she not go here after seeing what Spuey ate when he was here! Read her blog, she enjoyed herself.

Our nibblies: Mooey's Three Posh Bangers in a Roll. My pork, applesauce and stuffing roll. Smee's fish and chips. A portuguese tart.

Mooey and the Tart.

Something I've been meaning to do for AGES is visit Platform 9 3/4. AGES! But I kept forgetting. It's kinda nice the the City of London council put this thing up. Or maybe it was the rail company who were sick of people always asking for the (previously) non-existent sign. I was even more impressed to see half a trolley making it's way into the wall to greet the Hogwarts Express.

The Harry Potter Shrine.

Mooey and I making our way in. Look how we accessorised the trolley basket with real life shopping.

After dinner at our cousin's, Mooey had to pack her stuff.

She thoughtfully left me her shoes in our bin.

Today, I took Mooey to Heathrow, where we had to scoff down sandwiches (I really wanted a Whopper though) for her to board in time.

Me shoving Mooey into the Departure gate. Mooey taking my coat ('orange isn't me!' she says) with her.

Bai bai Moo!

I *heart* Dishwashing

I'm going to blow my own trumpet here. I (unabashedly) pride myself on being an excellent dishwasher. I won't claim to be the fastest. I am of the school of believers who do not always believe that a positive correlation exists between quality and speed.

I had heard about this infamous pot at the Old Kent Road Party House. I had heard that it impaired their ability to cook a meal as they no longer possessed a pot of decent size. I had heard that it made the Empress and Jadey-babes very stressed. I had heard that the pot had been soaked to it's death. I heard that there were some attempts to clean it.

This is where I came to the rescue. I elected to take up the challenge to clean the charcoal-crusted pot.

Mally brought the pot home to me after visiting the Party House. Not knowing what was inside the bag, I gave a little chuckle as soon as I opened it.

THIS POT WAS UNBELIEVEABLE!

Someone had tried to clean it. The black burnt bits varied in thickness, some areas close to 1cm thick. I was not deterred.

I had forgotten to take a photo but luckily Mooey took one on her phone.

Last night we went out for drinks as this was Mooey's final Friday before returning home. We got home fairly late and I only felt the desire to start washing the pot at about 1am. I wasn't drunk - just wasn't sleepy yet.

Patience was the key to this game and I have to say, I outwitted the pot!! Is half an hour too long to spend cleaning a pot? It didn't feel long. Regardless, here is the fruit of my labour.

Ta-daaaah!!! Mission accomplished.

I do need a new scourer though.

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Hmmm what can I say? This is not so much a book review rather than a collection of thoughts related to my reading of HP #7. What on earth am I going to read now that Harry Potter is finished?!?!

I can't really talk about prose, plot (maybe), character idiosyncrasies or flaws with my current Yes/No book rating. So, I'll start with the Yes/No should-YOU-read-it critique ..... and it's a......

.............*drum roll*............

'Yes' rating from me. Duh, of course I'm going to read it and I would want others to as well.

Usually I would give a brief synopsis but I decided that there shall be no spoilers here. You can go to Wikipedia for that.

Now, unlike the masses, I did not line up at midnight to purchase the book. This was for two reasons. The first was that I knew Moo was buying a copy and although she is on the other side of the planet, I have this 'what's-hers-is-mine' attitude and I refuse - REFUSE - to buy the same book she has. I am not one for a superfluous supply of books. Or superfluous anything for that matter - exceptions to the rule include clothes, shoes and handbags.

The second reason is that I was still ploughing my way through 1421 and I hate not finishing a book before starting a new (unless the book is THAT bad).

Oh, I have a third reason. We went out the night of the book release and I was a little tipsy and had to catch the last tube home. This was the night of singing to hamburgers in GBK.

By the time I began reading HP it was already September and I had managed to avoid all the spoilers. It was VERY upsetting when people took great pleasure in trying to spoil it for me. VERY UPSETTING. Credits go to crazy laffing Mooey and Kt in her emails. All I can say is that I enjoyed this book and hats off to JK Rowling for laying it to rest in a most satisfying manner.

My main criticism is that I felt it dragged on a bit in the middle which made the conclusion feel somewhat rushed. But then I think about it again, it wasn't rushed, she had to write seven other books to get this far. All I could think about was the translation to the big screen. A sudden adrenalin rush in the final 15-20 minutes of the movie.

I've decided to change my rating scale from the basic Yes/No system to include quality of content, readability and who I would recommend this book to, if at all.

Admittedly, it will be difficult to obtain a 5 in either category. I will note that in Readability, Value 1 that 'bare' was used instead of 'bear'. This is the fault of me taking the scale from someone else who can't spell!

So for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

Quality of content is 4.
Readability is a 4 - 5.
Would I recommend this book: A big fat YES!
Who to: EVERYONE! I don't care that you don't like Potter, I want you to read it!

Rome

Rome is another box to be ticked off the list, so here I was tagging onto Moo. After checking in to my so-not-worth-mentioning hotel, Mooey and I did a quick squiz of some of the sights.

Shuffling through St. Peter's square. It's kinda round.

The Spanish steps are more or less Rome's version of the stairs at Flinders St Station, except a little better. There was a sinking boat fountain nearby. I forget what it's called.

Outside the Pantheon, they were kinda closing for a service but that didn't deter the tourists from pushing in.

The oculus at the top of the dome.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do and EAT GELATI! It's one of the five food groups. Trust me. There weren't any seats available so we had to use our smarts and become Gutter Women.

Gelati tastes so much better sitting in the gutter.

Our babies. Actually, Mooey had a Tartufo.

Mooey at the Trevi Fountain and then Mooey not at the Trevi fountain.

Mooey and I then went back and slept in a single bed. Worse sleep EVER! I had to kick her out.

Day Two in Rome was 'see the Basilica properly' and 'visit ruins' day. We didn't get to The Vatican too late but the tourists had already made their attack. The queue to get inside the basilica stretched all the way around the square.

Mooey and I figured we'd play dirty and errrmm pushed in near the front. I felt bad, but not that bad. Another couple pushed in front of us, so that cleared my conscience.

We, being the ultra-fit gym bunnies that we are (that's sarcasm from my end) decided that we would walk up the 551 stairs to the cupola rather than take an elevator and climb only 320. We beat the elevator at the expense of my quadriceps.

Mooey and I making our way up the cupola - 'hey! These walls are curved!'

The steps weren't big - Mooey's feet are size 6.5.

Mooey figured there was an easier way down.

To go all the way to the Vatican and not climb the cupola is a shame. Look at the view!


Michelangelo's Pieta (Wow! That is, like, soooo famous!) and underneath the dome. We had a look at the crypts too but no photos.

Next was the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. Plenty of ruins for me to bask in.

Did I mention I was walking within Roman ruins? Must... ram... tourist photos.... down.... people's.... throats....

Mooey felt sick, so I ignored her and treated myself to a gelati.

Day Three in Rome was my last day and devoted to the Vatican Museum or more specifically, the Sistine Chapel. The queue are notorious long and we began queuing at 8.15am despite it not opening until 10am. And we still were no way near the front!!!! We had little choice but to chat to the lovely old English couple behind us who loved to bag London. Admittedly, the husband could talk to a brick wall.

The queue at forming behind us.

Oh yes! We're at the entrance!!

That's right. No camel-toes allowed in the museum.

Omg, I'm seeing it! I'm really seeing it! That famous snake sculpture! It's so famous, I don't even know it's name. (It's 'Laocoon' for buffoons like me). Mally doing a good job of ruining it.

Mooey not learning her lesson about patting dogs the wrong way.

Let's cut to the chase. I was here to see Michelangelo's celing at the Sistine Chapel. There were signs indicating no photography. But that didn't stop me. Or any other tourist for that matter. But the sign could have been interpreted to mean 'no flash photography' as it was those who used flash who got a bit of Italian lovin'.

Oops the angle wasn't quite right.

Aaaah super-satisfaction. Especially after numerous attempts which were dark and blurry.

This is how you look while viewing the ceiling.

Spot the Mooey

I dunno, for some reason, I don't feel the urge to go back to Rome. There was enough stuff to see but *shrug*. Don't quote me on that, I might go back one day. Well at least to Italy. The one thing I did learn in Rome - Mooey and I like to ruin photos.

Paris

Aaaaah Paris.....*sigh* To anyone who dislikes Paris (hai Smee), they must re-visit during summer. I was hyping up Paris because I was super excited, but I had to calm myself down so I wouldn't be disappointed.

Disappointed? Not me! Paris is absolutely gorgeous!!!

Why do people say the French are rude? I didn't get that at all, but maybe I had a 'stupid little tourist' charm about me. There was always a "pardon" or "merci" floating in the air.

I will admit, it helps to know a bit of French as most of the people you need to talk to, namely Metro ticket sellers, know very little English. Shopkeepers on the other hand seem to have a good grasp. It's kinda nice when they break out in English after your crappy attempts at French. I left all the speaking up to Mooey.

Mally on the Eurostar.

We stayed near St. Paul and Bastille stations, quite a convenient area close to bars and the main tourist traps. First we ate a crepe (erm in a kebab shop), shuffled down to the Champs Elysees to take some night shots of the Arc de Triomphe. We were also lucky to have a super duper view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up. Oh and then because we didn't manage to meet up with our (distant) cousin, we shuffled back to Bastille for some drinkies.

Day Two:

I re-ignited my adoration for pate and cheese. Mmmmm mmmm mmmmmmmmmmm The baguettes are so fresh and smell yummo. I also managed to channel the 'Child Catcher' (scariest villian EVER!) vibe by tempting a little French toddler some fruit.

The greedy guts took the berry in the end.

Mmmmm Cheesieeeee..... mmmmmmm pate. I have to remember the name - Mousse de Canard. I think it means plain duck pate. Nothing special to the French.

Next, we trotted down to Notre Dame and while we did stand in the queue to climb the tower, Mooey and I decided that the line was moving too slowly for our tastes.

Outside and inside the cathedral.

While taking photographs out the front, I was lucky enough to run into some asian superstars. I nearly peed my pants.

Musee D'Orsay was next. The long queue moved surprisingly quickly.

A few of the artworks I've only ever seen in textbooks otherwise. Except for the rude-looking one I sneaked in.

One of the most (unsurprisingly) disappointing things about London is the quality of Viet food. I was dying for a bowl of good pho. Lyddie, Moo and myself lined up outside Pho 14 in great anticipation. Ok, so it was much better than London's (anything is) but the pho at home is still better! What is WRONG with this world!?!?! I must be asking for too much.

- Oh hello Mr. Raw Beef.
- Muhahaha, who's raw now?

Meet your master, the Pho Monster.

Day Three:

The Lourve Museum had to be ticked off the list. While it is recommended that you spend an entire day there, we allocated three hours because we were meeting our cousin Alix. This involved getting to the Lourve at 9am to beat the crowds (oops we overslept and got there at 9.30) and then a lot of shuffling to see the major highlights:

• Madonna on the Rocks
• Sculpture of Nike
• Venus de Milo
• The Crowning of Napoleon
• and that other painting, you know, that woman with the smiling face - Moaning Lisa?
  

Here's Mooey's sneaky video of me photographing the Mona Lisa.

Day Four:

Today was climb-the-Eiffel-Tower Day. Except that we took the elevator.

We got there around 10am, dodged the dodgy souvenir sellers and tacked ourselves onto the end of the queue. The view inside the lift wasn't flash but the view outside compensated.

Somewhere behind us is the Champs Elysees

A view from underneath.


Umm some donuts to snack on after our descent.

What's that horn growing out of my head? (Queen of the Lame, I know)

Next we went back to the Champs Elysees so I could actually stand underneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Spot the Pooey.

One last crepe for the road.

I insisted on buying pate and cheese to cart back onto the Eurostar with me. It was asking for bowel troubles but the food survived! And tasty mighty good too. Anyone wanna go to Paris with me?