Madrid

After so many days of travelling around Spain, we finally stepped down at Madrid! The capital city of Spain!

We were so tired!!! It's the 10th day! Alan even brought some ginseng medicine along, hoping they'd boost up his energy to last the whole trip.

The bear and strawberry tree at Puerta del Sol, Madrid. I've heard that it's a symbol of Madrid and one of the most popular meeting places. This is also the ZERO km spot.

We saw lots of people queing at lottery shops. Anywhere, anytime!!! I was wondering are they so addicted to gambling. Not only selling at the dedicated shops, there were even roadside stalls selling them too! I wonder is that legal? Only after that that I realised there was a special jackpot prize on new year eve.

Plaza Mayor

We wanted to visit Palacio Real, the Madrid castle but it was closed on new year eve. Damn it! We only managed to peep from the entrance gate from afar.

New year eve is not a pulic holiday in Spain...why did they not open?

Let us in!!!

Then we decided to stroll around the city and do some shopping. Zara and MNG are so cheap over there. Both of the brands are originally from Spain and they are categorised as high street fashion.

However they are quite expensive in M'sia lor.



One of the most fascinating things we encountered here has to be the way they celebrate and count down on new year eve. Most of them would get themself a wig! A very bright colour wig! They wore it and walked around the city. I wanted to get one too but none of them was interested to join me.

Nelson, Alan and Kher Sin...you old folks, come on!

During the countdown party before midnight, Madrilenos would usually have 12 grapes ready in their hands. When the clock hits 12am at midnight, they would eat one grape at one time synchronising with the striking tempo of the bell.


Dong...down one grape

Dong..another...

Dong...(X12)


So, 12grapes!!! Get me? Then make a wish. Your wish would come true!


Our lovely hotel prepared the grapes for us too.


Wait a minute, how to eat 12grapes within the 12 seconds???

I read the travel guide again, it said "SWALLOW"!!!!

Oh my god, eventhough the size of a grape isn't that big, I didn't think we are able to achieve the feat.


Anyway, we tried! All of us failed! No one of us was able to swallow 12 grapes as planned!

Nel even tried to swallow but fail to finish as well. Ha-ha. Crazy fellow!

Countdown party at downtown Madrid, Puerta del Sol

Madrid was our second last destination at Spain before we journeyed to Guadarrama for tobogganing.

I would say it was a great trip and a great experience for me EXCEPT....

I really want to watch BULL FIGHTING!!!!! There was no performance during Winter :(

Segovia

Segovia is probably the city that I love most in Spain! The festive atmosphere within the old city walls was just magnificent. It was almost become dusk when we arrived by train.



Aqueduct of Segovia - the most recognized symbol in Segovia which was left by Romans two thousands years ago.

There was a small group of brass band singing Christmas carols from door to door marching towards the central square in the old city. The locals and passer-bys would join them and sing along. With the medieval backdrops, I felt as if I have travelled five hundred years back into an old European village.

Segovia Cathedral

By all mean the largest building structure in Segovia sitting handsomely atop the hill. Sometimes I am really curious why would the ancient people spend so much resources and energy to build such a prominent structure in such a small city.

Alcazar of Segovia

Fairy tale-like castle built by the cliff. Gorgeous!

We should have overnight at Segovia.

Valencia, Spain

Another post on Spain trip again ;p


After spending 5days in Barcelona, we went to another city in Spain - Valencia.

We strolled around the city centre on the first day.

Make no mistake, there is no gold to be collected on the grass. Oh, maybe yes.

Answer : They were trying to clean the shits stained on their shoes!

Hahaha, so funny. Three of them kena dog shits! They thought they were so smart to walk on the grass. Lucky me, I did not follow their trail. I walked on the road shoulder instead :)

We went to visit the cathedral and castle but I have only vague memory on these places. They are not so special after all comparing to those in Barca. However the city centre itself and the ambience are very cosy and neat dotted with many classical buildings.

Merry Christmas! Ok, that was last year. Tee-hee -_-"

The next day, we went to the popular City of Arts and Sciences! The buildings itself at this area are eye-catching enough.

My first time seeing Beluga Whale!

The centre is HUGE! There are a Science Museum, Oceangraphic Park, Imax Cinema, Arts Centre etc etc. See, the area is so photogenic.

We went to Oceangraphic Park. The park is huge, we couldn't finish visiting it and treasured our stay there until the last minute before closure. They closed at 5.30pm because it was Christmas session.

Sigh, that will never happen in M'sia! Public holidays and weekends are the best day for business, ok!

I was so sad because I have not finished visiting the centre! The entrance ticket is not cheap though - 25euro ler.

The world is BIG with so many more places to visit and I don't think we would go back to the same place again!

Anyway, the City of Arts and Sciences is really a good place for family outing!

Spanish Food

Since day one we arrived at Spain, we wanted to try some authentic Spanish food. Somehow, Alan and Kher Xin were not very keen on it!

Day One, they suggested to have KFC for our dinner!

Day Two, we had lunch at a chinese restaurant nearby our hotel and we had chinese food too for dinner -_-"

Day Three, we had lunch at the same chinese restaurant that is nearby our hotel again -__-"

That night, hubby couldn't stand anymore and suggested we should try some Spanish food.

What I do not understand is why don't they try other cuisines other than Chinese's. Wherever they go, they would surely look for chinese restaurants.

Anyway, we eventually managed to persuade them to try some Spanish food that night.

~Paella~

It's a flavoured rice dish cooked with an assortment of seafood and meat served in a huge frying pan.

I wouldn't say it's awesome nevertheless it tastes pretty good. The rice is a bit sticky. Once the paella was served on our table, it looked so yummy-li-cious and we couldn't help but started eating it until I forgot to snap a proper photo. 70% of it was already in our stomach. Tee-hee.

~Sangria~

We tried the popular Sangria too - it's Spanish wine punch. And it mean "bleeding" in Spanish. I wonder why whoever invented it named the drink as bleeding? Could it be the colour? But all red wine are red too.

~Tapas~

The chic Spanish food which we love most!!! By saying "we", I mean Nel and I ok.

It's an appetizer or could be served as side dishes. They may be cold or warm.

Originally, tapas were just slices of bread used to cover the wine glass between sips. The purpose was to prevent flies hovering around the wine.



However, it has evolved to be an appetizer to Spanish over the years. We went into a bar and the tapas were presented and arranged neatly on the bar counter. It's as if they were luring me to bring them home (my stomach, ha-ha). It's like food heaven to me :D I forgot to snap a proper picture again. Hehe... Eat first, think later ;)

They are served like "buffet style" and you just have to get a plate and select whichever you like. Yummy!!!

Beware of how many you take, it costs around 2-4 euro each and the amount of bill could be ended up sky-high. It's like having "lok-lok" in M'sia.

~Norway Lobster~

Alright, this is not really Spanish food but to avoid Alan from suggesting Chinese food again, we quickly suggested we should try seafood on one of the days while we were in Spain. We were all craving for seafood!!!!!

There's a lot of seafood restaurants along a stretch of street by the seafront boulevard and we went into this one. All in BLUE theme!

We wanted to order 2 sets of seafood plater (as it's written in the menu that each plate serves 2) but the friendly waiter seemed shock. Although we did not understand what he try to say most of the time, we guessed he was trying to indicate that the 2 portions are too much for us.

He even tried to chat with us. Bla bla bla bla Sa-grrra-da Familia bla bla bla....

The only word we understood was Sagrada Familia. Others? Not a single one! Again, sign language is the best communication tool. Basically, we guessed he was saying when the metro (underground train) passes by Sagrada Familia, the church would be shaking and he even moved his body left-right to show us. Hahaha. Not funny! But good try!

He was right. The portion was H.U.G.E!!! Luckily we only ordered 1set! The portion was so heavy man...I think it weighted 4-5kg easily. Don't play play :p

Let me think...there were 4 Norway lobsters, 4 big fish fillets, 4 huge portion of giant squids, lots of lots of mussel and countless prawn!!!!!!!

Four of us spent 2hours just to finish that seafood plater.

This was probably the only mutually-consent dinner we have had so far for the trip ..ha-ha

The rest of the days, no matter where we were, be it in Madrid or Valencia. They always try to suggest Chinese Food.

Remember I mentioned that it's quite hard to communicate in Spain because most of them only speak Spanish?

Perhaps the only word Alan learnt and remembered is "Where is CHINO RESTAURANTE"???

Hahaha!!!!!

It's All About Gaudi

It's gonna be all about Antoni Gaudi when traveling to Barcelona. His landmarks scatter all around Barcelona and beyond.

1. Sagrade Familia

It is originally designed by Antoni Gaudi. Make sure you do some reading before you go to this Europe's most unconventional church. Or, you could go for a guided tour - like me (the lazy style), to know more about the history of it. It is absolutely worth it.




We went for the guided tour and the meaning behind all of the facades and sculptures in this church are just marvellous. There are reasons and meanings for every single detail decorating the interior and exterior of the church!



From what I remember the church has three facades! Emmm....google it...

"The Passion Facade, the Nativity Facade and the Glory Facade. Each facade has three portals representing the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love"



And there is a story of each facade.

Like this one, the square number which look like sodoku is actually represents the age of the death of Christ - 33yrs old. No matter how you add it up (i.e. horizontally, diagonally & vertically), it would add up to 33.






This is the Nativity Facade on the east side which narrates the birth of Christ.

The Passion Facade on the west side tells the story of the suffering and death of Christ.

The construction of the church started at 1882!!! With the technology of that time, how could they build such a wonderful church?

This is Gaudi's hanging model used to design Sagrade Familia. It is a system of threads represents columns and walls. Sachets with lead shot resemble the weight of small building parts. The purpose is to find the most efficient weight distribution for the building structure. The actual building constructed is actually in the form the hanging model, turned upside down.



Isn't it brilliant?


As you can see from the photos, there are tower cranes hovering over the church. The church is still not completed yet. The church is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Oh my, by that time I am already an old woman!

By the way, we purposely returned there at night just to snap the night scenes. Nice hor?

2. Casa Mila "La Pededra"

I'm just so curious how Gaudi got the inspiration to build this cliffs-like building. Its wall just like an ocean wave.

On the roof of Casa Mila, there are chunks of weird projection which I could not fathom their existence. Apparently, these are the chimneys, ventilation shafts and the roof of stair wells for Casa Mila. At the early years, Casa Mila was the apartment home of a wealthy businessman.

More weird stuffs. To me, these just looks like a couple of masked knights guarding the roof of Casa Mila.

Bizarre!

3. Parc Guell

Another Gaudi's works. I could not remember much about the history of this. As far as I know, Parc Guell is a public park now.

Nice mosaic decoration at one of the benches in Parc Guell.

The park is quite huge though. I guess we only managed to tour about 50% of the area.

That is a pedestrian bridge constructed by stones! Rather ingenious though.

We snapped tonnes of photos like no tomorrow in Barcelona and I am glad most of them turn out to be quite picturesque.

La Rambla

The first day we arrived Barcelona, we went to this boulevard called La Rambla.

La Rambla - meaning the dried-up bed of a seasonal river. It used to be a river if I'm not mistaken. It is a busy street in central Barcelona, popular with tourists.

When walking down La Rambla, we visited its many small shops and enjoy watching the various performances by street artists/entertainers.

Personally, I think they are far more professional from those in Dublin; and they are really REALISTIC!

If they caught you trying to snap a picture on them without tipping them, they would cover their face and use their leg to kick on his/her "money bowl"

And we passed by the popular fresh market. Fruits are so fresh. I could not believe when I saw the fruits at the stalls; they look so unreal to my eyes.

I've never tried FRESH cherry before until my visit to Barcelona. Shame on me. I have only tried the canned one -_-''

It was selling at 12euro a kg. Kher Xin had a hard time when she was trying to tell the seller she only wants 500g.

Witnessing Kher Xin's difficulty, hubby tried to challenge me to buy the cherry from the fruit seller. He doubted that I could get what I want.

Ta - da !!! I got the cherries.

The power of money! I told the fruit seller I want SIX EURO of cherries. He got it immediately.

Money breaks all communication barrier!

Travelling to a non-english speaking country could be challenging. Most of them speaks, of course Spanish, what else? We had a little hard time when trying to ask for direction.

One of the good examples was when we were trying to buy train tickets to a place (could not remember what's the name of the place now).

Us : Which is the station nearest to XXX?

Ticket Seller : . . . . . *silence*

Then we were trying to point at the place on the map. She finally understood where we wanna go. However, we could not understand a single word when she was showing us the way!!!

She did not even know how to tell left or right. In the end, we had to figure the direction by ourselves.

After that,

We asked : How much is the fare?

Ticket Seller : . . . . . *silence*

We have to use sign language. Showing our fingers to let her knows, 1, 2 or 3???

Ticket Seller : Uno (One in Spanish)

Us : Ok. Give us FOUR tickets, please.

Ticket Seller : ??? Uno? Dos? Tres? (1,2, 3 in Spanish)

We then showing her four by sign language again.

We spent a good 20mins just to get the tickets. *Phew*

However, it was a great experience to us. We had so much fun in Barcelona.

After the trip, there is an urge in me that prompts me to learn Spanish. After all, Spanish is the 4th most spoken language in the world.

Tobogganing

I know I'm not gonna have time to blog about the freaking 11 days trip to Spain. How would I have time to blog about the nitty-gritty of the whole trip? What about other cities which I've travelled to? Therefore, I decided just to blog what I think is fun during those trips.

Toboggan!!!

To be honest, I never knew what is this called until I've got the chance to try it last winter.

A toboggan is a simple sled used on snow, to carry one or more people down a hill/slope. It's simple to play. You don't have to have any skill!

I have not tried skiing yet but I would think that tobogganing is definitely easier to learn than skiing. Err... you don't have to learn actually. Just put your butt on it and slide.

Here are some very decent-looking photos of us ready to toboggan.

Nelson and I

Steady Alan with his "SURE WIN" sign

Kher Xin with a sly smile

Now, the real fun began!

Kher Xin with a BIG smile!

Alan held tightly to steer for direction

Fast and Furious, man!

Hubby nearly banged onto the palm tree, funny >_<

Toboggan is really really fun!!!!! Everybody, it's a MUST try!!!!!

Oh, I miss holiday! I'm really looking forward for this coming winter trip!

Here are the videos!! We look silly >_<