The last goodbye

I farewelled Heeyul at Malaga airport. I was feeling a bit emotional since the night before, and when he hugged me goodbye, I broke down in tears. I just couldn't stop, even when he had boarded his plane and it had flown off, I was still breaking down sporadically. Funny story: I started crying again at customs, then the cute customs officer signalled to me to not to cry (in a consoling sort of way I suppose). LOLS! Then on the plane I got so dehydrated from all that crying I had to buy a really overpriced tiny bottle of water to replenish myself. When I got to my hostel in London, I slept pretty much immediately at...6 or 7pm.

I didn't plan on doing anything in London other than shop. So I shall upload some photos which I have now gotten from Yang from the beginning of my trip. Ahh the format of this blog is cyclical...

Buckingham Palace

 

London Eye

The obligatory photo by the iconic London telephone box

indulging in a macaroon Yang brought for me from Paris

St Paul's Cathedral

Posing by Tower Bridge with Yang

Trafalgar Square. GAWD I was so thin back then, oh how I wish to return to that weight T_T

Italian food

Since I made a special entry for Spainish food, I suppose it's only fair that I do one for Italy also since it was equally, if not more responsible for my food baby.

Our first cappucino in Rome was unforgettable. The coffee in Italy really isn't a myth

Mushroom fettacine - the first of many pasta dishes. My birthday noodles

Really random but cool pizza toppings at this takeaway pizza boutique near the Vatican

The best pizza in Rome. The signature dish had an egg in the middle.

The best pizza in Naples

Another good pizzeria, this place had more options for toppings

Florentine food was divine~ bruscetta

crostini misti...that's chicken liver pate

Florentine steak was as good as any Aussie steak I've had

Herbs for all kinds of pasta. I sorely regret forgetting to buy them

Spanish Food

Looking at jamon at La Boqueria market. I bought some for my parents to try. But I don't know why it was all hard like beef jerky when I opened the vacuum pack in Australia - it was soft when I bought it. Maybe because I put it in the fridge?

This is...the Spanish version of Italian bruscetta

Octopus ink paella - an interesting concept, but it tastes no different to your regular paella

Our hostel in Granada organised dinner. That's one big paella! It was the cheapest and best paella I had in Spain

We dined at a Moorish restaurant for a change while in Granada

Leave tappas for Granada - they come FREE with alcohol. Pinchos is more unique to northern Spain. It's like tapas on toothpicks and the system is like yumcha or sushi train where you pay for each toothpick in your plate at the end of the meal. The pinchos at Taverna Basca Irati was delicious and there was so much variety!

Churros - it's like 油条 dipped in a chocolate sauce

yummy sangria

Granada & Alhambra

As I said in the last post, Granada was one of the places that put Spain on the map for me. My mum was watching an SBS doco on the Alhambra and I was mesmorized by its colourful and detailed enchanting beauty that I just had to visit it even if it was quite out of the way.

Stylistically Granada was quite different from Barcelona and other parts of Europe. It was ruled by the Moors for over 700 years and therefore has a strong Islamic influencewhich is apparent in its buildings, food and side streets. Of course Alhambra is the best preserved Islamic building in all of Europe! I was quite disappointed by Alhambra - perhaps it's my mistakened memory, but I thought it was a very colourful place! But actually all the colour emblazened on the walls and ceilings have since faded into nothingness through the passage of time, making the palace not as visually interesting as I thought it was. Also the fact that you walk into a bare room with no furnishings whatsoever stirs little imagination as to what it would have looked like in its heyday. And the Lion Fountain (supposedly the most famous icon of Alhambra - now restored) has been displaced from its original location to an indoor location. We thought it would have been better if they made replicas so tourists get an idea of what they look like. It was not as extravagent, like Versailles, as I expected, so in that regarded I was disappointed. 

Ceiling of a dome - looks like a bat's cave, no?

Granada is also the traditional home for the famous Spanish dance, the flamenco. Traditionally, it was danced in the caves that line the hills behind the city of Granada, and accompanied by a wailing, screaming style of singing. We went to see a show that was recommended by our hostel (it was so cheap! the entrance fee was like 3 or 6 euros!!), but the focus was on that wailing and screaming singing, which Heeyul enjoyed because it was alike traditional Korean singing. He wasn't impressed by the dancing at all! He said the dancer he saw in Barcelona was better with stronger and more crisp movements. In Barcelona, there was also partner dancing and the girl adhered to the traditional imagery of a flamenco dancer (ours was a blondie). However I really liked the dance we saw (afterall I had nothing else to compare to) - so 震撼！

Barcelona's Fantasy Gaudi Architecture

Spain was the one place I really wanted to visit in all of Europe. Before the tiny seed about exchange had even been planted in my mind I had been impressed by Spanish food (through watching A Cook's Journey Through Spain) and a documentary on Granada's Alhambra. My trusty travel book, A Dummy's Guide Through Europe, also named the whole of Spain as an underated (read: underappreciated) place in Europe. So of course it was not going to be left off my itinerary.

Barcelona reminded me of a lot of places. Its beach reminded me of those iconic images of California, especially when it also has a super smooth skating path by the sand. The WTO building which stands by the beach took me to Dubai with its futuristic sail shape. Its eerie gothic quarter,was reminiscent of so many places across Europe. Only the buildings designed by Gaudi stands on its own as quintessentially Barcelonian.

Still, the representative building of Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia, also reminded me of many non-Spainsh things. The front facade (the part built when Gaudi was still alive) reminded me of the Flying Dutchman in Pirates of the Carribean - the nobbly bits sticking out of and dribbling down the wall reminded me of the barnacles on Will Turner's dad, or maybe just oldern day ships generally. The luminous modern interior reminded me of the rainforest in Avartar because of the branching columns and the colours added by the stained glass windows. It was such an amazingly beautiful place, I could have stayed there forever taking in all the details.

It was very bright inside, Gaudi made use of light well

Another of Gaudi's masterpieces was Casa Batlló. Some people say those balconies are like skulls, and the window panes on the first floor resemble bones. I didn't get that ominous vibe - it was way too colourful for that - so to me it looked like an underwater masquerade, very The Little Mermaid. Inside I was impressed by how Gaudi used art to perform structural functions - just as he used the branching columns at La Sagrada Familia to negate the need for horizontal beams so that nothing gets in the way of your vision as you admire (just another one of) his architectural masterpieces.

Street view of Casa Batlló

This lightwell at Casa Batlló: the tiles gradually get darker as it nears the sky light. The darker tiles will absorb the stronger light, whereas not so much light would reach the lighter tiles at the bottom. As a result the lightwell will look as if it has the same colour

I believe the shape of this...ceiling serves a structural purpose, in addition to resembling the interior of a dragon/monster

These are chimneys! Possibly the world's most beautiful chimneys

Park Guell was intended as a housing site, but it was commercially unsuccessful. It really is an amazing park, not in the Versaille way, but in the one of a kind, Gaudi way. Now don't go assuming, as I did, that just because this is related to Gaudi and was intended as a housing estate that there will be more Casa Batllós, because no there is only one Casa Batlló. There are only three buildings at Park Guell. The two at the entrance, although very Gaudi on the exterior, are rather uninspiring on the inside. The third is the Gaudi Museum, and may I recommend you spend the €5  entrance fee elsewhere? Yes it is only €5, but it really was not worth the money for such a short tour and for the artistic quality of what was on display. Ironic, isn't it? - buildings not being the highlight of a Gaudi place. But as the name suggests, the park itself was quite awesome.

The candy houses at the front of the Park

Hide and seek

The iconic dragon

A sexy flamenco dancer busking on the main terrace

At the back of the park, a panorama of Barcelona. You can just make out La Sagrada Familia in the distance

We liked the tiles here

Tale of Pick Pockets in Milano

My best friend had her wallet stolen in Milan. She called it the city of gangsters. This had come after her cousin had her bag stolen in Rome. After that she went back to Copenhagen instead of moving on to Spain, for a break from all the southern European heat. After her experience, I was so paranoid about travelling in Italy and I took her advice about wearing a "Chinese underwear of death". Basically it's a pair of undies worn over your normal ones which has a pouch at the front to store your most sacred documents. I also found a new use for those pouches in bras used for stuffing padding - great place to store extra cash.

I came to Italy prepared. But Heeyul did not, he already had his credit card "stolen", which should be a lesson to everyone to never leave your wallet unattended! By the time we arrived in Florence, his financial lifeline finally arrived so that he was no longer dependent on me. He was revelling in his financial freedom the last few days, but all that was about to become undone.

We had only just arrived in Milan and decided to take the metro to our hostel instead of walking the 2-3km because my ankle was about to give out. At the station I was struck by how fashionable people were, tall and slim, they looked like they were from the fashion industry. We got on the crowded metro, the last in and hence standing by the door. Before the doors closed, the woman who had gotten on after us jumped off and beckoned frustratingly to someone down the platform. It seemed she did not attract her target's attention before the doors closed. I thought it was pretty strange what she was doing, it didn't seem to make sense that she would get on the metro and tell her friend to also get on the metro - shouldn't they have both been on the metro? While I was still trying to figure out what had just transpired before my eyes, Heeyul next to me started madly patting his jacket and pants at places where there were pockets. He had been rather forgetful lately, misplacing things constantly, so it was with an unkind tone when I asked, "What did you lose this time." With equal nochalance, he retorted, "My wallet", as if taking his anger out at me. Hence, not only had he lost his credit card, he now also had his debit card officially stolen.

When we arrived in Barcelona, our tour guide told us pick pockets usually troll the ends of metros, near stairs because when people rush onto trains, they will crowd onto the train there. They pick your pocket and will be off the train as you speed away to your destination, blissfully unaware you've just been robbed. This was lesson learnt too late, but it was something we could personally relate to. Another interesting thing to note was the pick-pocket was not the gypsie looking character who had featured in every horror pick-pocket tale I had heard. She was very normally dressed, not straight off the runway, but not so tackily it would act as an instant reminder to mind your personal belongings.

Not much else to report in Milano. There is an elegant gothic Duomo and some pretty good shopping.

Venezia

Venice came with a lot of foreboding. I've been told so many times that it's a touristy place that doesn't live up to the hype: in summer it smells and in winter it floods. None of that was true for me: it was winter so naturally it didn't smell and lucky for us it didn't flood. I was really struck by the haunting beauty of the Grand Canal and the back alley canals. Getting lost in the labrinth of the Venetian streets wasstressful when we were looking for our hostel at 10:30pm (the locals are quite nice though), but during the daylight it can be pretty fun.

It was freezing with all that water

I like this dilapidated, ghostly town

One bad thing about Venice was the food. If there was a black hole of Italian food, it would be in Venice. Restaurants here are clearly targeted at tourists, serves bad tasting food which is overpriced. I also had this interesting conversation with a waiter:

Me: Do you have any fresh pastas?

Waiter: They are all fresh. They make it fresh at the factory, put it in a packet and I put it into the water.

Me: 囧

情深深雨蒙蒙 ~ Firenze

Well it was not 情深深 but twas definitely 雨蒙蒙 in Florence.

In Naples, Heeyul had me watch this Japanese movie called Between Calm and Passion. The plot: Boy meets Girl, and they fall in love *ahh* the bliss of first love. One night after some passionate love making, which may or may not have involved Boy drawing a portrait of Girl or Girl drawing a childish picture of a pot plant, they promise to meet again on her 30th birthday atop the Duomo in Florence, because according to Girl it is a sacred site for lovers. After an unfortunate incident, they break up. Years later, Boy works in Florence as an art restorer and Girl works in a jewelry store in Milan. Both are in new relationships but do not emotionally commit to their new partners because they cannot forget each other. Obviously, they also do not forget about that promise. So on her 30th birthday, Boy (now Man) waits all day for Girl (now Woman) at the top of the Duomo. Finally, she appears and they reconcile.

I'm not saying it was a terrific film. But for me, because of this film, Florence had a very romantic foundation built for it waay before it had begun.

We dropped by the small town of Pisa before going to Florence

This is a river in Pisa en route from the train station to the Tower, isn't it ROMANTIC?

My romantic expectations of Florence were fulfilled: it was the perfect little Renaissance town, aesthetically beautiful from the Duomo and its adjoining Bell tower and neighbouring Bapistry, to Ponte Vecchio which sells dazzling jewelry, Piazzale Michelangelo for its bronze replica of David and also for the perfect place to view the city against the golden setting sun, and the world renowned artworks housed inside the Uffizi and Acadamia Galleries... Against this background of elegant beauty, one can comprehend why the authors of Between Calm and Passion chose this city as the epicentre of their tale, and understand the cult created by this film with the hoards of Japanese and Korean lovers who converge on the Duomo everyday (the graffitied walls at the top of the Duomo can attest to this).

The exterior of the Duomo is lavishly decorated with statues and follows cream, green and pink colour scheme.

The bare interior of the Duomo contrasts starkly with the decadence of its exteror walls...until you walk to the end and gaze up at this magnificent dome.

*Dancing in the rain next to the Bell Tower*

Admiring an amazing door

The Baptistry refuses to be outshone by its neighbour (yes that is ITS dome, and yes that is gold)

Head up to Piazzale Michelangelo for a glorious sunset

If you have cash to burn, you can splurge here at Ponte Vecchio

But even more than pleasing my eyes, I like to please my taste buds. Tuscan cuisine, famed for its rustic but tasty dishes, certainly did not disappoint. It was in Florence at a small family-run ristorante where I had the most succulent steak in my life (now coming from Australia, that's a big award). I also had some a delicious rice tart thingy here~~~

Traditionally Florentine steak is very thick and very rare inside. It's coated with some herbs

Don't even consider having a Florentine steak in any way other than rare. Those scared of blood need not apply

Chianti wine is another speciality of the region. Heeyul said it was a well balanced wine. I'm not a big fan of wine, so I make do with with playing around with it (^o^)v