Blog

Munich has it all

Mon, 5 May 2008 23:09:20 +0100

München, has to be the best geographically located and most charming city in Germany. Bordering with Austria, the Bavarian Alps and lakes are just an hour away.

Culturally rich and diverse, the city has some of the most amazing museums and fine arts in Europe. It rivals Berlin in areas such as classical music and opera. The Residence Museum and the Treasury was amazingly extravagant. Kept us in awe the entire time we were there.

Having a Mass (Large 1 liter size light beer) at one of the city’s beer gardens in spring or summer is a favorite pass time for both locals and visitors. We certainly enjoyed our late afternoon at the beer garden by the lake in the English Garden. The light beer they serve is so easy to drink and great for a hot summer day.

Being the top beer capital in the world, Munich attracts countless number of people during it’s okoberfest, when the city hosts the wild annual beer party.

We took a day trip on Sunday to visit the dreamy castle Neuschwanstein. This was an unplanned trip as we did not know the castle was so close to Munich until we saw an information booklet at our hotel. I have always wanted to visit this castle having seen the pictures of it in magazines or postcards; standing on a hill top with it’s perfect fairy-tale design, backed by the breathtaking surroundings, to me it is the most adoring castle in Europe.

French Riviera

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 23:02:59 +0000

The capital of French Riviera is fairly laid back as winter approaches. The beach, dotted with sun seekers has the same shades of gray pebbles neatly laid over its length. A few ‘dare devils’ were dipping in the salt water under the morning sun, they had this part of the ocean all to themselves.

Old town was surprisingly buzzing on Sunday morning, as if the whole town of people were concentrated here. While shopping centers elsewhere were closed, the boutique and food stores here welcomed the Sunday shoppers. The Cours Saleya (flower and food market) adjacent to it was crowded with locals and visitors selecting fresh produce of the season. We bought some oranges and mangos to bring back to London because they looked irresistible.

Food here has a strong Italian influence and everything tasted freshly delicious. The French pastries and sweets are always extra tempting, we could never have enough.

We took a bus ride to Monaco on Saturday after lunch. This small state has a reputation of being home to the rich and famous, and is known to be picturesque, we were all very excited to be there.

The famous casino at Monte Carlo was grand and extravagant with beautiful garden and fountains surrounding it. Behind it is its hotel overlooking the ocean. This was the first casino I have seen that charges admission for entrance, 10 euros. Due to lack of time we decided not to go inside. I would definitely check it out properly next time.

Christmas market was on by the port, with all kinds of delights. There was a cheerful band, kids entertainment, snow makers and even an outdoor ice rink set up. Again we found our favorite snack, curos, with nutella dip this time. One big serving shared between three was not too greedy, we could easily walk it off. As we strolled up the Rock in time for sunset, we were rewarded with a splendid view of the harbor.

Orange Valencia

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:39:22 +0000

‘Oranges!’ people all say when we mention Valencia to them, and yes, those juicy Valencia oranges are indeed exports from this Spanish city. Though we discovered Valencia to be much more to that over the weekend.

We stayed near the new icon, Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciencies designed by architect Santiago Calatrava. This large new development features high-tech museums, aquarium and glittering opera houses. Standing within this complex at sunset made me feel like I was in a fantasy city portrayed in the Star Wars. Spain surely has some of the most fascinating architectures in the world. I was kicking myself for not brining my tripod. But in the end my favorite lens did not let me down with some of the handheld shots.

Staying in the new part of the city also gave us the benefit of convenient access to large new shopping centers. We all found something to take back from the mall just below our hotel. Linda (Jason’s sister) was the biggest winner on that.

The old city was intriguing and has all the representative styles of Spain. We spent a beautiful warm saturday afternoon strolling around the area; had some light tapas for lunch. Dinner by the beach would be more suited for summer, but we enjoyed some delicious seafood in one of the beach side restaurants.

On sunday we took a half-day trip to a small town just outside Valencia for lunch. The Paella there was the best we ever had, oh of course, Valencia is where this popular dish was originated. Andrew was having a major headache because of the noisy kids in the restaurant before our lunch was served. Coke did not even cheer him up like it usually would, but look at him after we got our Paella.

Lisbon - Bank holiday weekend

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 23:39:01 +0100

Lisbon is an interesting city which offers variety, it has a different vibe to all other European cities we have been to.

The buildings have their unique style, usually painted in light yellow or some pleasant bright color, with white arches above the windows. Many of the older buildings have colorful tiled outer walls like massive toilets turned inside-out. Interesting, though I did not find them so elegant.

The hilly landscape works its magic at presenting the city’s historical architecture, icons and modern cafes. Tram tracks mark the streets from bottom to top of the hills. The narrow yellow trams which run on these tracks provide convenient transportation around the city.

Food was great, our favorite pick of local food were grilled sea bream and chicken; simple dishes that benefited from the freshness of ingredients. I am sure they have always done it the same way.

The Portuguese tarts are also very delightful. Belem (east side of the town) has the oldest and most famous pastry store that sells them by the dozen. We were well informed about this place by the word of mouth.

Being one of the cheapest EU cities around, you can shop-till-you-drop in Lisbon without the guilt. Local designers are quite impressive, although you also have the choice to go for the mainstream labels with much more reasonable price tags than London.

At the end of the trip my heart goes to the seaside towns such as Sintra and Cascais just outside of Lisbon for the relaxing air.

Fresh grilled fish, a glass of chilled white, olives, soft ocean breeze under the sun shade, it is the taste of summer.

- Linda

Day trip to Zhou Zhuang

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:46:52 +0100

Water country Zhou Zuang is a poetic place; what use to be a secluded small town built by the narrow streams is now a popular sight open to visitors. The ride to Zhou Zuang from Shanghai took less than a couple of hours thanks to my uncle who offered to drive me there from the busy City.

The town is over 900 years old, however it remained its style and charisma though time. Official web-sites and tourism offices proclaimed that even the way of live here was preserved.

The green water is calm, with small stone bridges spanning above the waterways occasionally. Aged village houses with dark grey tile roofs line up unevenly along the stone foot paths, mostly one or two stories high. Taking a boat ride along the still water must be a mind soothing experience. It reminded me of Venice, instead of an impressionism oil painting, this represent the oriental ink shan-shui.

I began to worry for this place as we stroll pass countless number of small souvenir stores along the water (most of them were converted from residential houses), the recent tourism crowds have commercialized Zhou Zhuang. Many of us love to travel and visit historic sites, it has occurred to me how this could impact places we have visited or plan to visit, but I am too curious to leave these wonders alone. We always manage to contradict ourselves between public well-fare and personal desire, sadly the latter commonly prevail.

The recently lifted entrance price has kept local visitors away and bought this little town some temporary peace. I placed aside any remaining pessimistic thoughts because my Canon SLR and I cannot resist the beautiful scene in-front.

Milan

Sat, 26 May 2007 15:35:46 +0100

A friend who is about to visit Milan asked me for tips about the city, and mine would have been to skip the place if he has not already booked. I was only there because it is the closest Airport to Lake Como.

Having said that, Milan is actually a great place for brand name shopping for those who are into LV, Dior, Gucci and much more. The stylish shop windows dazzled me and I was very impressed with their interior designs.

The Gelato there was also a heavenly bliss, we tried so many flavors and pistachio took the crown. Coffee is always great in any where of Italy, even McCafe was better than any mid range coffee place in London. You will not find a singe Star Bucks in Italy, wonder why!

We also enjoyed the view of the city and the vast number of statues on the roof top of Duomo cathedral. To see ‘The Last Supper’ at the Santa Maria della Grazie you will need to book a session three to four weeks ahead.