iwant2bike2school2pool2manymanyplaces

And so juste comme ça, we've reached the end of November. Somehow here time seems to fly by extremely quickly, except for when I am at class, then its another story. Haha.. =D

This week, like the many other weeks preceding it, has been pretty normal: metro, boulot, dodo, which is French slang for a dull and routine life. In the Singapore context, I guess it can roughly be translated to MRT, work, and sleep. So you can see how interesting my life is for the moment. *sigh* To illustrate, I just had 8 hours of classes today; 4 hours of design project, and another 4 hours of practical laboratory work. Its madness, I tell you! o_O

Well, at least I think I've got metro struck down from the list. Rented Letch's bike long-term since Monday and its the closest I've gotten to personal transport here in Grenoble. With a bike, everything seems so much accessible now. Case in point: I no longer procrastinate going to the pool because of the long walk since now it is only a 5 minute bike ride away. And there is also the well planned and dense network of bike paths, which makes cycling a very viable alternative to other petrol-guzzling and CO2-emitting forms of transport.

The bike in question? Just a humble blue Decathlon Diabolo MTB two sizes too small for me. It weighs at least 15kg and I think the coating of rust covering it is worth another 2kg. Tyres are deep grooved and 5cm wide , which are good for off road action, but real bad for city commute. Brakes are squeaky and the largest crank (originally there were 3x6=18 speeds) is MIA. But its perfect nonetheless: The €20 price tag was a great mitigating factor, it comes with a kickass kickstand, and its current pathetic physical condition means that even the most hard-pressed bike thief will probably not cast a second glance at it. Brilliant.

vélo.boulot.dodo

Time to zhng my bike!!! Zipps sponsorship anyone? =P

j'en ai marre!

Ok, enough of this école ingénieur thingy already.. Can we just go back to doing more humanly possible things? =/

mini reprise

Didn't expect to get on my bike again until next February, but the skies were so clear today that I could not resist heading out for a short 45km ride. Sure it was still cold, but the temperature gradient had been rising slowly but steadily since last week's gloomy and rainy conditions, so I literally just threw caution to the wind, layered myself up, and went out.

Ride was superb and I actually felt strong for the entire 45km! And to think that I was still expecting myself to suffer because of my 2.5 weeks hiatus from my Decathlon. Not to say that I am a strong cyclist, but I am just glad that I survived the ride. =) Also, I met quite alot of cyclists along my usual highway D1090 out-and-back route. Perhaps they were also trying to make the best out of the current weather too. Its difficult to plan your training sessions when the weather is so capricious and so I just have to take whatever the weather serves me! =D

Anyway yesterday I went for a 1.5km swim time trial. Arms were super nua at the beginning but I managed to get my strokes about 300m into the swim. Just when I was getting into some rhythm, some French swimmer came into my lane and knocked my goggles off. Great.. I had to spend like a minute hanging onto the lane ropes to fix my goggles on, then I had to re-find my rhythm.. Final result? A snail-ly paced swim time of 36mins, a far cry from my PB of 28mins just like 4 months ago!

Oh man do I have some need for speed right now!!! o_O

facts and faith

Once again, another cartoon to illustrate the irrationality of religion. It never fails to amaze me that many educated people remain at their mothers' knees concerning religious matters. Mention religion, and some people turn weak at the knees; Others may even feel offended or turn defensive. Often, the word "faith" is offered as an explanation. But I ask: If we seek scientific truth, why should we not also not apply the same to religion? Indeed, why do we turn a blind eye and give religion the respect which it does not deserve?

sad thing is, religious types operate exactly like this

the curse of the internet

i wonder how i even manage to swim, bike, run, play tennis, cook, shop, etc.!!!

getting the hang of it

Went for a swim in between classes just now. Didn't expect to enjoy today's session given my form on Monday, but I still dragged myself to the pool anyway. In the end I surprised myself because I felt strong throughout the entire 1.5km distance, and I even managed to push myself a little at the end which is surprising given my "fondness" for swimming! Weird.. Did somebody sneak in some EPO in my food today? =P

Anyway, ever since I stopped cycling due to the cold I have been focusing on my swim and run, and oh yeah tennis also. Sometimes it gets a little difficult to head out considering the gloomy weather and my massive inertia, but when I get out on the open road or when I get my strokes right in the water, I just get a kind of indescribable feeling. Kinda like a groovy kind of love, but not quite that.. Haha. Of course I get all contemplative and stuff (all long distance athletes do), but there's another kind of feeling which I get, something which empowers me so much that I feel that I can just go on and on forever.

Psychologists call it athlete's high, for me its just a way of life. Just like how some people are addicted to smoking, to mugging, or even TV series, sports is my drug. I love the feeling of moving my limbs, of the wind in my hair, of the pain and suffering, and of the endorphin rush. In a way I battle my own demons each time I workout; my body says no, my brain says no but I say yes. And what satisfaction I get when I find that I can actually go past my own imagined thresholds!

Invariably in life, everybody sets some limits for him/her-selves in some area be it education, career or maybe just personal goals. However, these are not rules set in cement and they can be broken! Sadly, many people do not realise that they do have the power to do it, and thus many chances are lost and many dreams just remain as, well, dreams. Yes of course sometimes life gets in the way of our plans, but with enough passion and perseverance, I believe that anything is possible.

So go on and find that switch in you and turn it on today: Carpe Diem! =)

pray harder

oops.. did i just prove something?

three strikes and you're out!

Apparently this traditional baseball rule does not apply in France. As I write this post, many more public sector workers will be preparing to hang up their uniforms, put down their equipment, and join their SNCF railwaymen counterparts in a one-day (hopefully) general strike tomorrow. The academia of France has also not been left out of the fun - 87 schools across France (14 in Grenoble) have been blockaded since last Tuesday, with the teachers slated to join in tomorrow. Sounds serious? Seems like pandemonium? Even Incroyable?

Yet this is just one of the latest in a long-running series of strikes, something which has become quite of a love-hate affair with the French and foreigners alike.

The labour strikes this time are much higher level than the one which I wrote about the other time - much more to be gained, and of course much more to be lost in this first big test of President Sarkozy's mettle. However, or rather ironically, it seems that the once-popular anti-government stance has softened, due to a greater consensus on the government's proposed reforms, and thus the strikes do not seem sustainable. But as long as the militant (yes they can be very) unions stick to their guns, it sure looks like Monsieur Sarkozy has a lot of work to do!

On the other hand, the school blockade is slowly gathering steam. Like many other countries, France's Ministry of Education wants to privatize the education system. Arguably, this would be seen as a brilliant move by the government to jumpstart the French education system, whose standard is languishing far behind its international peers. However, this would also mean that in the future, school fees might be higher, and French students might be forced to stop school due to the increased fees. Even worse, French schools may start giving preferences to foreign students because of their increased cash value! And thus, the French students are viewing this Americanization of the education system as removing their right to guaranteed education, a long lasting legacy of the Charlemagne era.

And so they block the schools. Here in Grenoble, it seems as though the Toussaint holidays are here again: The usual morning buzz is somewhat more subdued and the queues at the school restaurants are shorter. That is until you see the empty supermarket carts placed neatly at the main entrances of schools, and the massive amount of graffiti proclaiming the injustices of the world on the walls of buildings.

Then you realise that the fact that you can see all this is because you are walking on your way to school at 745am in the morning, because your school is a Grande École with all the elite-sure-can-find-job-after-graduation students, and because the students from the Grandes Écoles are too muggerish to strike. o_O

DAMN!!! SOMEBODY PLEASE COME AND BLOCKADE MY SCHOOL NOW!!!

first snow

Apparently it snowed while I was at tennis class, and so I missed the first snow of the year. (I play in an indoor court). Damn! I came out only to catch the few remaining falling flakes.. =(

So it looks like this year will not be a repeat of last year's warm winter: Time to hang up those cycling shoes and to start renting some skis! Also, I should be entering into my base training period which will include gym sessions, long slow distance runs and long swims. Now.. To get that university gym membership!

Anyway today is le jour de la beaujolais nouveau, or the day of the new beaujolais. Restaurant Banarve, without doubt the best restaurant on the campus compound, prepared a special menu for the occasion today, and even served sample-portions of beaujolais during lunch! Coolness.

lovely spread

Bah.. Gotta head back to my books now; I'll have my first exam in France/French tomorrow, a paper on materials science. Wish me bonne merde!!! =P

look what came in the mail today..

=P

random

Damn.. Missed class in the morning today because there was some re-shuffle in the timetable and of course, there was no dissemination of this to the students! No emails, no notices, and nothing to suggest that classes would be shuffled!

This reminds me that I really have to check the timetable before leaving home everyday!

Anyway even if I had knew about class this morning, I doubt that I would have gone. =P Last night Eugene, Shaowei and me went to Christopher's (the ambassador of Singapore to Grenoble) place for dinner, and boy, was it superb! Have not had such good food for a long time already: chicken rice, mala fish and soya sauce brinjal. Simply amazing considering the ingredients that one can get here in Grenoble! And of course all these would not have been possible without Chris' wife, who is such a fantastic cook! =)

super delectable spread.. photo by Eugene does not do it justice!!! =P

Company was excellent as well. Chris had a Nintendo Wii set and so I had my first go at it before dinner. For those who do not know, the Wii differs from traditional console games in that the controls are mostly motion activated. So when you play tennis, you have to swing the console, instead of just pressing the buttons. The three of us looked real retarded with all our limbs flailing all over. Haha.. But it was real fun. I'll leave you with this video of Shaowei vs me now while I head off to mug for an exam which I have this Friday.

Let's hope they do not change the exam time slot without notice as well!!! o_O

de temps en temps

- par Grégory Lemarchal

De temps en temps
Je craque sous le poids de l'espérance
Je vais parfois à contre sens
De temps en temps
J'ai des flèches plantées au coeur
De la peine, de la rancoeur
De temps en temps
Je ris de rien
Je fais le con parce que j'aime bien
De temps en temps
J'avance en ayant peur
Je suis le fil de mes erreurs
Et très souvent..

[Refrain]
Je me relève sous ton regard
Je fais des rêves où tout va bien
Je me bouscule, te prends la main
Au crépuscule, je te rejoins
Je me relève sous ton regard
Je fais le rêve d'aller plus loin
Je me bouscule, te prends la main
Du crépuscule jusqu'au matin

De temps en temps
Je plie sous le poids du sort,
Et des souffrances collées au corps,
De temps en temps
Je prends des coups dans le dos
Des conneries, des jeux de mots,
De temps en temps
Je regrette l’innocence
Qu’on peut avoir dans notre enfance
De temps en temps
Je veux la paix
Pour moi, je n’ai plus de respect
Et très souvent…

[Refrain]

De temps en temps
Je pense à tort
Que pas de larmes, c'est être fort
Au fond ce que j'attends
C'est voir le bout de nos efforts
Que l'amour soit là encore

Je me relève sous ton regard
Je fais des rêves où tout va bien
Je me bouscule, te prends la main
Au crépuscule, je te rejoins

[Refrain]

toussaint trilogy part trois - The Return of the Students

1 November (Thursday)
We resumed our epic journey today after all the trick o' treating the night before. Similar to Halloween; Today was All Saints' Day but no saints came marching in. Rather unfortunate, as I would have loved to ask Saint Peter if I was going to Heaven or Hell. But I guess we all know the answer.. =P

Since it looked like saintly magic was not going to be the order of the day, we decided to see some other grandeur of the more-human kind. First off, we headed to the Spanish Royal Palace. Same ol' assortment of opulence and extravagance like the ones in many other countries with a monarchy, but with a Spanish flavor. Went in, took the obligatory photos (photos not allowed), and headed out. The sun was out in full blast, and it was much more pleasant (for me) to be out in the open.

spandau palace

magnificent views from the inside

even better views

After the morning's royal visit we cut to the chase and after picnicking at the royal garden (where else? =P), we headed to Casa de Campo, situated on the outskirts of Madrid. It was quite far away from central Madrid and we so took a cable car there. I love cable car rides.. The feeling of floating in the skies is just amazing! Anyway the ride took about 11 minutes and it we could see for miles up in our tiny cabin. Simply lovely.

When we got to the park we saw many people just basking around in the sun and I had to resist the urge to just plant my ass down on the grass right there and then; Andi had other plans for us to get to the lake. So we all hiked down to Lagos, which means lake in Spanish, and which is also the name of the lake. How creative.. Almost reminds me of the budget terminal in Singapore! Haha. Anyway we chanced upon some Hispanic community, and as if God wanted to show us that He exists, they were having some sort of pasar malam there and they were selling the best suckling pork in the world. There were other makeshift stalls there with people giving haircuts and selling pirated DVDs (in Spanish unfortunately) but we were happy just to partake in their food. I am sure that the other three, especially Sinhui, would agree with me as well since someone actually made another trip down just to get another portion! What a gourmand(e)! =D As for me, I was just quite content to just lie down and watch life go by, until the sun set, and everything faded into darkness.

lunchtime.. what were you thinking of?

cable cars similar to the old ones at sentosa

blue skies partout

aforementioned dish

fade to black

2 November (Friday)

Last day in Spain; The journey had been long but it was not over yet; We had yet to confront Sauron!!! Haha. Anyway we visited the Reina Sofia Museum. Far from having any connections with Claudio Reina or Sofia Coppola, it is used to house the famous artworks of Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, both of whom need no further introduction, amongst others. The art pieces were very intriguing, in particular (for me) The Great Masturbator. =P I also liked l'Âge d'Or, a film which was screened as part of the museum's surrealistic collection. Its themes of sexual love and death both fascinated and disturbed me at the same time. Watching the film really felt like probing the mind of a mad man!

reina sofia

P3C beds anyone?

The morning had been weird and morbid enough, thus I was happy to head out into the bright sunny Spanish arvo. We went to another park: the Parque del Buen Retiro, and for the first time the plan was just to chill out in the sun for the entire afternoon! Yaay!!! Like I said, the weather was really good in Spain and I was determined to exploit it to the maximum before returning back to cold and gloomy Grenoble. And so I drowned in the sunshine at Retiro..

Until my growling stomach woke me up. So Letch and me headed for tapas while Andi and Sinhui went to the Prado museum. Heh.. I am not such an arts buff lah. Neither was Letch! In fact she didn't go into the Reina Sofia as well! But that was for other reasons (ask her yourself) lah.. Haha. Thus, we spent the rest of the night just eating, shopping and eating some more again.

Ah.. C'est vraiment les vacances! =)

la sieste d'Espagne

trying my hand at rowing

letch.. photowhoring as usual

andi + sinhui

row, row, row your boat gently down the stream

iberan ham

churros + hot chocolate!

range of tapas at a tapas bar

3 November (Saturday)

Woke up early in the morning to catch the flight back to Geneva. Had some time to spare in Geneva so once again I tried to go for the guided tour at the UN Headquarters, since that I had just seen for myself the opening hours a week ago (1000-1200, 1400-1600, Monday to Sunday). But when I got to the gate, it was closed once again! And the signboard proudly displayed:

open my ass!!!

UN YOU OWE ME 3 HOURS OF MY LIFE FOR THE 3 WASTED TRIPS WHICH I MADE SINCE DOWN TO YOUR HQ!!! Damn.. Why don't you stick to your operating hours? What must I go before I can go for your guided tour?!

Bah. Maybe next time I should make a reservation first before going down.. And the guided tour better be good! o_O|||

In any case I headed back to the train station to catch my train (which came on time as usual) back to Grenoble. UN CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE SOME LESSONS FROM SNCF. AT LEAST THEY HAVE ADVANCE NOTICES WHEN THEY GO ON STRIKE!!! Haha.. I just can't stop!!!

Looks like I have a score still to be settled with the UN. =P

Anyway back to the Toussaint Trilogy: It was supposed to be one trip to relax us all but it became one trip which bound us all! As in friendship, not bondage.. Haha. =D Anyway thanks to you three for letting me tag along and putting up with me; I know that I can be a difficult travel companion at times, but if we do this ever again can we have more eating and less walking? Please? =D

how to gain back 2 hours of yor life

Hope that the tool machine breaks down during Travaux Pratique (workshop class). Then you can go home! Yaay! =D

*update at 2322 hrs*
Turns out that this 2 hours of my life cost me €40.70.. o_O

toussaint trilogy part deux - The Tower of Sagrada Familia

29 October (Monday)
Our Spanish adventure continued with the four of us heading to Montserrat (kinda like Mount Doom) to check out its peculiar rock formations. It took us about an hour to get to its base by train, then it was another 15mins cable car ride up. The rock formations were indeed very strange, as they had weird sedimentary lines and their edges were bulbous and rounded, unlike the jagged ones which we are more used to seeing. On the other hand, Andi seemed to be more interested in watching the choir boys (there was a monastery up on the mountain with singing choir boys). I wonder why. Hehe.. There was nothing in particular which we had in mind to do, but we all had fun just picnicking and admiring the scenery. Maybe the choir boys too; But that's more for Andi.. Haha.

les choiristes

We tried our hand at a little hike around the mountains too. The path we took was littered with Christian artifacts all the way, most of them portraying Mary and the (very doubtful) Virgin Birth. No doubt these displays of religiosity were inspired by the above-mentioned monastery. Anyway, somehow we took the wrong path along the way and we had to abandon our hike. However not wanting to waste our time, we actually filmed a couple of scenes for our upcoming Hollywood blockbuster "Perdidos" (lost in Spanish). Rather amusing.

unusual rocks

more of them

stairway to heaven

30 October (Tuesday)

Today might as well be called Gaudi day, for we visited all of his famous buildings/structures for the entire day! If you do not know, Antoni Gaudi is one of Spain's most celebrated architects, and is famous for incorporating many aspects of nature into his incredibly orginal architectural designs and works. First up was Casa Batillo, a building originally designed for business and commerce purposes. The differences between it and the adjacent blocks were striking: Casa Batillo seemed to have a life of its own but the other drappy buildings looked, well just plain ol' drappy. We moved on pretty fast as Andi and Sinhui had already been here, and we walked a couple of blocks down to Casa Milà. Similar to Casa Batillo, Casa Milà looked simply magnificent and overwhelming next to the ordinary buildings! However the most interesting design of Casa Milà was not its exterior facade, but its rooftop! I didn't go in as I wanted to save some money, but Andi and Sinhui did so at least I could marvel at their photos.. =P

casa milà

rounded stairway

surrealistic rooftop

The highlight of the day was the Sagrada Familia. Gaudi was an ardent Catholic and hence he designed this Roman basilica and intended it to be the last great sanctuary of Christendom. As with all of his works, the Sagrada Familia is biomorphic (objects taking animate forms) to the last bit. Add in its immense size, and you have a building with a hauntingly hallucinatory effect. Truly amazing what the power of architecture can do! And of course due to its difficult and intricate designs, construction is taking an extremely long time - construction began in 1887, and it is still not completed! The latest forecast is 2027, but even that is extremely wishful! Haha.. But not bad lah, I think part of its charm is in being uncompleted and in a state of unending assembly!

la sagrada familia

inside it

The last of Gaudi's works which we went to was Parc Güell. Rather than a nature park, I felt that it was more of a theme park sans the amusement rides given the kooky and almost otherworldly Gaudi installations. Needless to say, the park was filled with tourists and it was almost impossible to take much photos of the park itself. Haha. We wandered in the park for about 2 hours before calling it a day. After all, we still had Madrid to go to! =D

first views of the park (note how crowded it is)

view from a little higher up

horsing about

this is Barcelona

31 October (Wednesday)
'Twas the day (or night, rather) that the Western ghosts and ghouls were supposed to roam the earth. And what did we do? Head for Madrid lah! Haha.. Took the noon flight on Spain's national carrier, Iberia - by far the most bone shaking and mind numbing flight that I have taken; Almost could have joined the rest of the gwei (ghost in mandarin) for the celebrations that night! Anyway this time we were staying at RC Miguel Angel, just right smack in the middle of town! Swell. Did the same as Barcelona; Threw our bags down and almost immediately headed out. We went first to Plaza Mayor, one of the most famous public squares in Madrid. Took in the sights, took the compulsory photos, soaked in the sun a little, then we headed over to Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the home of Real Madrid! Unlike at Camp Nou, we were not able to get into the stadium as there was no match on that day, and the stadium tour was far too expensive. What I did do was to go to the souvenir shop and got myself a souvenir pin. Heh.

One thing that struck me about Madrid was how clean and new their metro trains are as compared to Barcelona's. As Andi pointed out, it could be due to the 2004 Madrid bombings, but it was certainly nice to be able to ride in nice train carriages! The streets in Madrid were also nicer to walk on as well, and touristic sights were situated much closer this time around so we saved quite a bit on metro fares. Heh.. A penny saved is a penny earned!

After the stadium visit we went for dinner. Nothing special, but it suddenly became very cold at night. Not sure if it was due to Halloween or what, but after a tour to Cinema Capitol, the rest went back to the hostel while I continued roaming the streets like a hungry ghost. The aforementioned Cinema Capitol had a special screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it was fully booked so I had to contend with just hanging outside the cinema and watching a snippet of it on the giant outdoor screen. There were lots of children out trick o' treating and I felt like having another go at the squid ink paella just to join in the fun. Heh.. =P

futuristic looking Madrid airport

King Phillip III on horseback at Plaza Mayor

Beckham was still on this poster of last year's La Liga winning team

me at the Bernabéu

dynamic Madrid

cinema capitol

bloody nurses and dancing transvestites: which is scarier? =P

toussaint trilogy part un - The Fellowship of the Paella

And so the Toussaint (all saints') vacation came and went by. 1 week just at the blink of an eye! But I guess time passes faster when you are having fun in Spain.. =D

So how does one start blogging about one week's worth of leisure, frivolity, and amusement? Chronologically, I guess. So let's start:

27 Oct (Saturday)
We (Andi, Sinhui, Letch and me) left Grenoble on the 930am train. Plan was to head to Geneva to catch our flight to Barcelona. Since there was some time between our train ride and flight, I decided to head to the UN headquarters, where I did not manage to go in for the guided tour last year as it was closed. Alas, it was again 2nd time unlucky as it was once again closed! Damn.. At least it was not too far away from the train station, and I did not pay for the tram ticket (heh.. =P), and there was a new giant three-legged chair exhibit at the square in front of the UN. So at least I saw something new in that sense.

wonder what does this signify?

The flight to Barcelona was pretty uneventful save for some drama at the Geneva customs (concerning some toiletries and very ironically, a swiss pocket knife). But we reached our hostel, Mambo Tango, without much fuss in the end.

Barcelona's urban planning (and I found out later that this applies to most of Spain as well) is pretty unique: Most of the buildings are grouped into squares, and this later forms larger squares, and so on. This also means that the roads are either parallel, perpendicular, or diagonal to each other. And that is exactly how the Spanish name their roads!!! Mambo Tango was located along Paral.lel (the "."is to break up the double l as in Spanish the double l is pronounced as "y").

map of Barcelona

After putting down our backpacks (already 7pm by then), we almost immediately headed out to Montjuïc for the free magical water fountain show. Montjuïc is translated as "Hill of the Jews" in medieval Catalan language. Why, I do not know. What I do know is that we were not disappointed by the views.

magical multi-colours

fiery display of lights

guess who?

And so that was how my first day of vacation went - a lot of transitioning, but a lot of colours as well.

28 Oct (Sunday)

We headed out pretty early for our first full day of touring. Unlike France, the weather in Spain was superb: Lots of sun and warmer temperatures made it possible for us to walk about without our jackets. First we went to the Christopher Columbus monument. Erected in 1888 by Spain for the Universal Exhibition, it stands today as one of the many monuments around the world honoring the ancient explorer and colonizer. The rest of the morning was spent just walking around the bay area and the beaches of Sant Sebestià and Barceloneta.

spot the similarity?

if only i could own one of these..

weird structure at Barceloneta beach

The sea salt must have made us hungry, because we were ravenous after our short morning jaunt. Popped into a restaurant where we decided to have paella (one of the Spanish specialities) for lunch. There are quite a few varieties of this dish (chicken, vegetarian, mixed, etc), and I am sure that the other three will not let me forget that I suggested that we try the squid ink version. For those who have tried squid ink pasta, well the effect of squid ink paella is the same: It stains your mouth. However, since our paella was literally smeared all over with squid ink, it was incredibly salty!!! So salty that I could not finish my portion! Those of you who suffer from muscle cramps during your long bike rides or runs should try this dish; The salt overload will most certainly cure you of any cramps you may have!

Eating aside, we forgot that daylight savings was going to be turned off and realised that fact only when I glanced at the clock and remarked that the time was an hour slow. It was cool having an extra hour to spend during vacation: Lunch took up almost no time at all! Of course, Andi had to declare that he was Hiro Nakamura and that he brought us back by an hour.. o_O Haha..

the dish that started it all..

halloween come early

After lunch, we did some shopping at Las Ramblas, the main shopping strip. Did not manage to buy anything much as it was Sunday and most of the shops were closed. However, I did manage to find.. Dunkin' Donuts!!! Only that its called Dunkin' Coffee here. Who cares. I immediately made a beeline for the oh-so-melt-in-your-mouth donuts and bought a box of 6. Oh man.. They have it so much better than in France! And of course, also Singapore. Anybody reading this from either Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme, can you please open outlets at either Grenoble or Singapore? I will be your most loyal customer! =P

After filling up on donuts, we headed to.. You guessed it, FC Barcelona's Camp Nou! Its the 2nd largest stadium in the world and it has a seating capacity of 120,000. The match was FC Barcelona against an unknown UD Almeria in the local La Liga. We were initially expecting just a honest crowd given the pretty ordinary fixture, but to our surprise the stadium was like 90% full! Needless to say, the atmosphere was just electrifying: Cheers, jeers, taunts all from a very participative crowd! Best of all, the superstars (Ronaldinho, Henry, Messi, Abidal) were playing as well, instead of the B team that I was expecting to be assembled for this match. Heh.. Now I can't wait to go to Old Trafford next year for the New Year's day match! =D

donut delight

collage of camp nou

Alright, will end off here today with the first two days of Spain. Watch out for two more posts which will finish up my Spanish toussaint trilogy! =D