Going to hunt for Nessie tomorrow. Meanwhile we are just chilling about and I am waiting for Eugene to finish up all his combat rations he brought over from France before heading out to wander about Edinburgh for another day.
"Dépêche-toi lah Eugene!!!"
samedi, décembre 29, 2007
jeudi, décembre 27, 2007
sweden: a taste of scandivania 2
My third day in Stockholm was alot more productive. We headed out early and we went to the City Hall first thing in the morning. Unlike Singapore's City Hall which is more or less of (yet another) shopping area, Stockholm's version is the place where the government congregates for parliament meetings. Unfortunately the hall was closed due to (once again) the proximity to Christmas, so we had to make do with the external sights.
city hall
from the inside
frolicking with the city hall babe by the river.. =P
on the way to Skansten
first views of the park
overview of Skansten
typical Swedish house circa 1890
same house circa 1950
winter wasteland
For dinner we decided to give ourselves a treat and so we headed to Tennstoppet, one of the restaurants recommended by the hostel for dinner. After all, it was our Christmas dinner! We had a starter to share and I had veal liver with bacon strips for my main. Apparently this was a Swedish specialty (I had enough of meatballs by this time), and so I gave it a go.
The starter was a herring sampler set, and so we had a go at 6 varieties of herring. The serving plate was so huge that the waiter had to join another table to our existing one to accommodate the it! There was herring in tomato sauce, herring in olive oil, herring with onions and spicy cheese, etc. There were so many different types of herring that I cannot remember all their names! And the servings were so huge that by the time I was done with it I found it quite impossible to start on my main.
herring herring and more herring
my main course (pictures in the screen may look smaller than their actual size.. =P)
Swedish lager
random night shot of the city centre
the three of us
me at the foot of the tower
The past 4 days had been a great start to my Noël trip; What would the next 10 days bring? =)
city hall
from the inside
frolicking with the city hall babe by the river.. =PSeizing the morning's initiative, we pressed on to some Viking museum in the city centre since it was kinda cold to be lingering out in the open. I can't remember the name of the museum now because it was not very memorable: It was just a small exhibition situated at the basement of a building; The actual museum was undergoing renovation works and so what we saw was just a token display of what they had to offer, i.e., forgettable stuff. Oh well, c'est la vie, n'est pas?
picture depicting the barbarism of the Vikings
And so we made our way to the Royal Palace again. This time, it was not to go into the palace, but rather to stay out at the foyer to watch the changing of the guards. Since it was a Sunday, the guard changing ceremony would be the whole works instead of the simplified weekday version, and I planned my visit exactly to coincide with this. Apparently I was not the only onw, as although the weather was pretty cold, a large crowd had already gathered by the time I arrived, and I had to jostle for space amongst the limited "alongside" gallery.
Military band music was the sure sign that the ceremony was about to take place, and sure enough as soon as the band marched in, the Royal guards took up their places in the parade square as well. I shall not go into the details of the changing of the guard, but let's just say that I was treated to a 1-hour extravaganza of band music, precision drills and a marchpast at the end to top it off.
picture depicting the barbarism of the VikingsAnd so we made our way to the Royal Palace again. This time, it was not to go into the palace, but rather to stay out at the foyer to watch the changing of the guards. Since it was a Sunday, the guard changing ceremony would be the whole works instead of the simplified weekday version, and I planned my visit exactly to coincide with this. Apparently I was not the only onw, as although the weather was pretty cold, a large crowd had already gathered by the time I arrived, and I had to jostle for space amongst the limited "alongside" gallery.
Military band music was the sure sign that the ceremony was about to take place, and sure enough as soon as the band marched in, the Royal guards took up their places in the parade square as well. I shall not go into the details of the changing of the guard, but let's just say that I was treated to a 1-hour extravaganza of band music, precision drills and a marchpast at the end to top it off.
After our little sojourn at the palace, we took a cruise to Skansten, an open-air museum (notice my penchant for staying outdoors when the weather is really cold) depicting life in Sweden in the 1800s. It was pretty unique, but most of the exhibits were closed due to the cold, plus once it got dark around 1530hrs the park was not so tour-able anymore. And so we headed off for an early dinner. =)
on the way to Skansten
first views of the park
overview of Skansten
typical Swedish house circa 1890
same house circa 1950
winter wastelandFor dinner we decided to give ourselves a treat and so we headed to Tennstoppet, one of the restaurants recommended by the hostel for dinner. After all, it was our Christmas dinner! We had a starter to share and I had veal liver with bacon strips for my main. Apparently this was a Swedish specialty (I had enough of meatballs by this time), and so I gave it a go.
The starter was a herring sampler set, and so we had a go at 6 varieties of herring. The serving plate was so huge that the waiter had to join another table to our existing one to accommodate the it! There was herring in tomato sauce, herring in olive oil, herring with onions and spicy cheese, etc. There were so many different types of herring that I cannot remember all their names! And the servings were so huge that by the time I was done with it I found it quite impossible to start on my main.
But I had already ordered my food. And I am not one for wasting food, so I ate up my entire main course and totally stuffed myself silly. And so when I saw the bill I thought I was seeing things - 520SEK which translates to about €55! Crazily expensive dinner! But what was spent cannot be unspent and the dinner was good which sort of makes the bill that bit easier to digest (no pun intended). =)
herring herring and more herring
my main course (pictures in the screen may look smaller than their actual size.. =P)
Swedish lager
random night shot of the city centreMy last day in Stockholm was just spent walking. Yep, you read that right: Walking. Eugene joined in the mini-hike with us as he had just arrived in Stockholm the night before. Our goal was the Swedish radio tower which I read would have great panoramic views of Stockholm city and its environs. The walk was not really that far, but somehow the trip to the tower took us 1.5hours. And (as expected) the tower closed due to Christmas! Damn, this Christmas thing was really getting irritating! =D So we all trudged back and as for me and Letch, we had to catch our bus to the airport for our flight to London, and so we said our goodbyes and headed off to the bus station.
the three of us
me at the foot of the towerThe past 4 days had been a great start to my Noël trip; What would the next 10 days bring? =)
mardi, décembre 25, 2007
sweden: a taste of scandivania 1
Yep.. And so I went to Sweden. Always wanted to visit the Nordic countries and what better time than during Christmas? I originally wanted to go to Lapland, the home of Father Christmas (whoever he is), but the temperature there is -40°C now, so I decided on somewhere more tropical - Stockholm.
The Christmas holidays actually started on 22 Dec, but I decided to take 2 days off school and fly to Stockholm on the 20th. Turned out to be quite a good decision, as an increasing amount of the shops/attractions were closed earlier and earlier closer to Christmas day.
Had to catch my flight to Stockholm from Paris Orly only at 2105hrs at night, so we (Letch and me) took the opportunity to tour about Montmartre, the "hometown" of Amélie Poulain. Train to Paris got delayed by 2 hours due to some technical difficulties, so in the end I only had about 4 hours to kill. Started out by visiting Sacré-Coeur, the most well-known bascilica in Paris. The hike up was rather short and the view up was pretty thanks to the clear skies. The bascilica, like many of the other churches in Europe, was in typical roman arhitecture and I found it nothing much interesting, save for a rather huge crucified sculpture of Jesus inside. What I found interesting, was Montmartre and all of its sleazy offerings. So many sex shops on one street that I thought that I was in Amsterdam! And of course, if we are talking about old-town sleaze, Moulin Rouge comes to mind, and that is where the world class cabaret is located - Right in the heart of Montmartre! Lovely. Topped my lovely afternoon there with a meal at le café des deux moulins, the café where Amélie worked at in the movie.
le Sacré-Coeur
nice views from up there
quaint metro stations at Montmartre
XXX
voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir? =P
Flight to Stockholm was fortunately undelayed (unlike the TGV this morning) and I got to Stockholm on time. First impressions were very good with the excellent first class airport (Arlanda) and the high tech trains. "Wow", I thought, "So this is Scandivania!" Very impressive. My feelings were further confirmed when I got to my hostel, the City Backpackers, which is one of the most modern, secure and centrally located hostels which I have ever stayed in.
grand welcome at the airport
the arlanda express connecting train to the city
inside
entrance to City Backpackers
Day one was spent wandering about the city. But first up, we stopped by the System Bolarget. For those who do not know what it is, it is Sweden's alcoholic monopoly. To put it bluntly, no other shop other than the System Bolarget is allowed to sell beverages with more than 3.5% alcohol volume. It was first set up in 1955 to curb excessive drinking but now, it is just another alcoholic supermarket check-out. Whereas there only used to be one System Bolarget serving the whole of Sweden, now there are numerous shops dotted all across the country. Kinda like NTUC huh? =P Anyway, I got myself a bottle of Absolut Citron. Not surprisingly, as Absolut is a Swedish brand and of course I had to get myself something Swedish!
That day we had quite a spot of sun (as can be seen from the preceding photo), so we took the opportunity to walk about outdoors. Went to Gamla Stan (Old Town) and the Stockholms slott (Royal Palace) to soak in the sights. Stockholm's really pretty!!! The architecture's so Swedish-utilitarian chic! Everything looks so new, clean and proper, unlike most of Europe. =P Then there is the sea view. As Stockholm is made out of many interconnected small islands, I got superb views of the Nordic "sea". Looking at the ships docked by the ports, I could only fantasize about going on a Scandivanian cruise on one of them!!! =) Needless to say, the scenery was fantastic for photowhoring, which I did pretty most of the time. =D
alcohol overload!
a little bit of Stockholm
the royal palace
cavorting with the royal consort.. =P
Gamla Stan deserted at night
ominous looking Ikea (it was foggy)
much nicer inside
comfort food
icy cold display
the Absolut Ice Bar Stockholm
one drink too many..
The Christmas holidays actually started on 22 Dec, but I decided to take 2 days off school and fly to Stockholm on the 20th. Turned out to be quite a good decision, as an increasing amount of the shops/attractions were closed earlier and earlier closer to Christmas day.Had to catch my flight to Stockholm from Paris Orly only at 2105hrs at night, so we (Letch and me) took the opportunity to tour about Montmartre, the "hometown" of Amélie Poulain. Train to Paris got delayed by 2 hours due to some technical difficulties, so in the end I only had about 4 hours to kill. Started out by visiting Sacré-Coeur, the most well-known bascilica in Paris. The hike up was rather short and the view up was pretty thanks to the clear skies. The bascilica, like many of the other churches in Europe, was in typical roman arhitecture and I found it nothing much interesting, save for a rather huge crucified sculpture of Jesus inside. What I found interesting, was Montmartre and all of its sleazy offerings. So many sex shops on one street that I thought that I was in Amsterdam! And of course, if we are talking about old-town sleaze, Moulin Rouge comes to mind, and that is where the world class cabaret is located - Right in the heart of Montmartre! Lovely. Topped my lovely afternoon there with a meal at le café des deux moulins, the café where Amélie worked at in the movie.
le Sacré-Coeur
nice views from up there
quaint metro stations at Montmartre
XXX
voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir? =PFlight to Stockholm was fortunately undelayed (unlike the TGV this morning) and I got to Stockholm on time. First impressions were very good with the excellent first class airport (Arlanda) and the high tech trains. "Wow", I thought, "So this is Scandivania!" Very impressive. My feelings were further confirmed when I got to my hostel, the City Backpackers, which is one of the most modern, secure and centrally located hostels which I have ever stayed in.
grand welcome at the airport
the arlanda express connecting train to the city
inside
entrance to City BackpackersThat day we had quite a spot of sun (as can be seen from the preceding photo), so we took the opportunity to walk about outdoors. Went to Gamla Stan (Old Town) and the Stockholms slott (Royal Palace) to soak in the sights. Stockholm's really pretty!!! The architecture's so Swedish-utilitarian chic! Everything looks so new, clean and proper, unlike most of Europe. =P Then there is the sea view. As Stockholm is made out of many interconnected small islands, I got superb views of the Nordic "sea". Looking at the ships docked by the ports, I could only fantasize about going on a Scandivanian cruise on one of them!!! =) Needless to say, the scenery was fantastic for photowhoring, which I did pretty most of the time. =D
Rounded off the day with a visit to the Nobel museum, then we headed to Mast, a Swedish pub for some dinner. My food was really good! Yummylicious. We had something to drink after dinner, and somehow or another I managed to break my wine glass! I mean, it just came apart in the middle!!! Just tell me what's that all about! Luckily the staff did not add that to my bill. =P
alcohol overload!
a little bit of Stockholm
the royal palace
cavorting with the royal consort.. =P
Gamla Stan deserted at nightAs we got back only at about 2am the previous night, we sort of slept in on the second day. Which was not really a problem actually, as I had only planned Ikea on the second day. =D Left the hostel at about 1100 (Andi will kill me for this) thinking of going to to the bay to see the ships, but I got distracted by the shopping along Drottninggatan and so we sort of skipped scenery viewing (Andi will kill me again =P). The shopping in Stockholm is great!!! So many labels and brands. I managed to find an Ording and Reda shop (used to have one in Citylink, but it closed down), and I bought a bag there for 550SEK as a Xmas present for myself. =)
A half hour train ride and a short bus ride later, we found ourselves at Ikea. Pretty surreal to me indeed, as if you have been following this blog you would have known that I'm a Ikea fan, and being at the largest Ikea store in the whole planet is pretty overwhelming. =P The store was just soooo huge! Went in first to the restaurant to get food, and was pleased to find out that food was a lot cheaper than other Ikea stores elsewhere. Who says that everything has to be more expensive in Sweden? =P After filling up we walked about the store. The aisle goes around in circles, and I cannot remember how many times we went round and round! o_O
A half hour train ride and a short bus ride later, we found ourselves at Ikea. Pretty surreal to me indeed, as if you have been following this blog you would have known that I'm a Ikea fan, and being at the largest Ikea store in the whole planet is pretty overwhelming. =P The store was just soooo huge! Went in first to the restaurant to get food, and was pleased to find out that food was a lot cheaper than other Ikea stores elsewhere. Who says that everything has to be more expensive in Sweden? =P After filling up we walked about the store. The aisle goes around in circles, and I cannot remember how many times we went round and round! o_O
Last stop for the day was the Absolut Ice Bar. Other than the bartenders, everything inside it is ice: From the tables, to the chairs and of course, the glasses! The original one was built in the Ice Hotel in Lapland, but nowadays there are Ice Bars all around the world like London and Tokyo. Oh well, it was still a treat to be in one. =) The temperature inside is set at a constant -5°C, which necessiated the wearing of special eskimo-like robes. And of course with limits on refridgeration, there was a maximum capacity of 30 people in the bar at any one time. Luckily for us, we had made a reservation earlier on in the day so there was no need to wait. It was pretty cool (pun intended) inside with the glow of the ice blocks and we basically just chilled out with our drinks, speaking of which I got the house special which cost me a not-so-cool 160SEK.
ominous looking Ikea (it was foggy)
much nicer inside
comfort food
icy cold display
the Absolut Ice Bar Stockholm
one drink too many..lundi, décembre 24, 2007
samedi, décembre 22, 2007
god dag
Greeting from Sweden! So far its been amazing here.. Everything's very pretty, the city's alot more vibrant than Grenoble and I daresay Paris even, and the best thing of all is that surprisingly it is warmer than in Grenoble! o_O
Updates with photos later on.. =)
Updates with photos later on.. =)
mercredi, décembre 19, 2007
lundi, décembre 17, 2007
discipline
"The essence of sports is that while you're doing it, nothing else matters, but after you stop, there is a place, generally not very important, where you would put it."
- Roger Bannister, the man to first run a mile under 4 minutes
How I wish that I could do likewise for my studies as well.. =\
samedi, décembre 15, 2007
skiing @ les 2 alpes
And so I went skiing today.
Ok so I lied. Actually I went to move heavy pieces of metal through vast distances of snow wearing heavy and clunky boots. Or so it seemed like what I was doing most of the time! =P Just read on to learn more about it..
Awoke today morning at 6am to meet the rest and to take the bus organised by the École de Glisse (EGUG), with whom a couple of us Singaporeans had signed up for a day ski class. Destination? Les 2 Alpes, a ski resort situated in the Oiseans area. The rendezvous point was already swarming with people when I got there and was made worse by the fact that there was little, if not at all, crowd control. I mean, people just haphazardly loading up and boarding buses! There was no indication of bus detail, number of buses, or even the destination. Little did I know at that point of time that this would be just the tip of the iceberg.
After the initial hysteria, the journey there was pretty uneventful and I managed to catch some much needed shuteye. However all that changed when we reached the resort..
first views of the resort
Luckily Andi took the initiative and the good thing was that after about like half an hour of wandering about, he found the caisse centrale. Bad thing was, the caisse centrale was like a kilometre away. If you have not worn ski boots before, let me tell you that they are about the most bitchiest things to walk in. Firstly they constrain your lower calf, so walking becomes a waddle (which later on becomes a shuffle). Secondly, they are the clunkiest and about the heaviest footwear you can get in the market; In fact, I think that it can be used as a torture device!!! Damn. Add these to the fact that we were all carrying our ski equipment and personal effects and you will see why I being a kilometre away from the rendezvous point was a bad thing.
Anyhow, we got to the rendezvous point but to our dismay our EGUG "Starting Glisse" group had already left! To be frank, I was rather disappointed with the handling of the entire affair. There was minimal communication over the conduct of ski lessons, an almost non-existent EGUG group to act as people herders, as well as insufficient dissemination of information. Not to say that I need somebody to mother over me, but having paid €21 for ski lessons, I expected at least a minimal level of control and organisation. The entire morning's proceedings really left a sour taste in my mouth.
Faced with this separation from the group, we had no choice but to head out to the ski slopes on our own, which was not really a good idea as none of us had any extensive experience with skiing. Haha. However after lugging around our freaking heavy ski stuff already for the better part of the day, we were all determined to have some ski action. So with absolutely no instruction and just a sense of foolish bravery and humour, we took to the pistes.
Heh but before we could ski, we had to clip in to our skis. The binding system is familiar to me as it is essentially the same system as SPDs, but with skis it is like 1000 times more difficult due to the slippery surface: Before you can clip in, you are already sliding down the slope!!! Haha. This caused alot of frustration in me as time and time again I had to balance whilst trying my best to become one with my skis. I still cannot figure out how to do it without looking like an utter idiot. =P
finally all geared up to ski
andi..
michelle as well
me skiing
In my earlier blog post I wrote that I would probably fall alot, and through this process I would learn how to ski. Well, I was wrong. Not that I didn't fall alot, but rather I was wrong about learning to ski even after falling numerous times! Even at negligible gradient type runs, I had trouble controlling my speed and direction. At times it was plain scary to say the least! Sometimes my skis would seem to take on lives of their own and decide to go in separate directions, ending in the inevitable ending of me crashing. Or they would just become speed demons and I would be hurtling through the snow, feeling both exhilarated from the surge of adrenalin and being terrified of not knowing how to stop/change direction (just ask June about this.. =P). In any case skiing was generally not very successful for me, and I was extremely lucky not to have broken anything or caused any serious casualties. Would have been awful otherwise.
going up..
with Pieter, a pro snowboarder whom we met on the way up
me and June
the rest
at the top
simply white
the real ski runs
chairlifts
After about an hour of sightseeing, we headed back to our debutant slopes and I skied for about another 2 hours. It was literally a slippery slope for me as no matter how much I wanted to ski properly, I just could not do it without the proper knowledge in skiing. And that made me a very dangerous person to contend with on the slopes: I was a disaster waiting to happen on skis! Haha. But luckily there were zero KIA, MIA and WIA at the end of the day.
at the end of the day..
dead tired
Ok so I lied. Actually I went to move heavy pieces of metal through vast distances of snow wearing heavy and clunky boots. Or so it seemed like what I was doing most of the time! =P Just read on to learn more about it..
Awoke today morning at 6am to meet the rest and to take the bus organised by the École de Glisse (EGUG), with whom a couple of us Singaporeans had signed up for a day ski class. Destination? Les 2 Alpes, a ski resort situated in the Oiseans area. The rendezvous point was already swarming with people when I got there and was made worse by the fact that there was little, if not at all, crowd control. I mean, people just haphazardly loading up and boarding buses! There was no indication of bus detail, number of buses, or even the destination. Little did I know at that point of time that this would be just the tip of the iceberg.
After the initial hysteria, the journey there was pretty uneventful and I managed to catch some much needed shuteye. However all that changed when we reached the resort..
As soon as the buses docked by the roadside, it was another unloading and changing into ski gear frenzy. Everybody seemed to be possessed at the speed they were changing at! Or was it due to the cold? Hmm.. Anyway, people left as soon as they got changed, and soon we were about the only people left. I remember the EGUG girl on our bus telling us to meet at the caisse centrale (central cashier) for those taking the ski lessons, but how the hell does she expect us first-timers to the resort to know where it was? So there we were, like stranded ducklings without mother duck feeling cold and lost and just about as pathetic as anyone can get at a ski resort.
first views of the resortLuckily Andi took the initiative and the good thing was that after about like half an hour of wandering about, he found the caisse centrale. Bad thing was, the caisse centrale was like a kilometre away. If you have not worn ski boots before, let me tell you that they are about the most bitchiest things to walk in. Firstly they constrain your lower calf, so walking becomes a waddle (which later on becomes a shuffle). Secondly, they are the clunkiest and about the heaviest footwear you can get in the market; In fact, I think that it can be used as a torture device!!! Damn. Add these to the fact that we were all carrying our ski equipment and personal effects and you will see why I being a kilometre away from the rendezvous point was a bad thing.
Anyhow, we got to the rendezvous point but to our dismay our EGUG "Starting Glisse" group had already left! To be frank, I was rather disappointed with the handling of the entire affair. There was minimal communication over the conduct of ski lessons, an almost non-existent EGUG group to act as people herders, as well as insufficient dissemination of information. Not to say that I need somebody to mother over me, but having paid €21 for ski lessons, I expected at least a minimal level of control and organisation. The entire morning's proceedings really left a sour taste in my mouth.
Faced with this separation from the group, we had no choice but to head out to the ski slopes on our own, which was not really a good idea as none of us had any extensive experience with skiing. Haha. However after lugging around our freaking heavy ski stuff already for the better part of the day, we were all determined to have some ski action. So with absolutely no instruction and just a sense of foolish bravery and humour, we took to the pistes.
Heh but before we could ski, we had to clip in to our skis. The binding system is familiar to me as it is essentially the same system as SPDs, but with skis it is like 1000 times more difficult due to the slippery surface: Before you can clip in, you are already sliding down the slope!!! Haha. This caused alot of frustration in me as time and time again I had to balance whilst trying my best to become one with my skis. I still cannot figure out how to do it without looking like an utter idiot. =P
finally all geared up to ski
andi..
michelle as wellme skiing
Since I could not really ski, I decided to do something else starting with "s" after lunch. No its not snowboarding, but rather sightseeing! There were cable cars to bring skiers up to the top of the mountains (3650m) and so we used that to get up. Wow the views were simply out of this world! White white and more white.. Everything seemed so surreal up there. And then there were the skiers who were just moving gracefully through the snow: In our cable car they looked like little insects gliding through a white ocean! The pictures which I took really does injustice to the magnificent view up there.. =)
going up..
with Pieter, a pro snowboarder whom we met on the way up
me and June
the rest
at the top
simply white
the real ski runs
chairliftsAfter about an hour of sightseeing, we headed back to our debutant slopes and I skied for about another 2 hours. It was literally a slippery slope for me as no matter how much I wanted to ski properly, I just could not do it without the proper knowledge in skiing. And that made me a very dangerous person to contend with on the slopes: I was a disaster waiting to happen on skis! Haha. But luckily there were zero KIA, MIA and WIA at the end of the day.
So that just about ended my first experience of skiing in France. Good or bad, I just can't say, since I pretty much have close to zero prior experience to compare it with. But one thing's for sure: I certainly won't be in a hurry to head back to the ski slopes!!! =D
at the end of the day..
dead tiredvendredi, décembre 14, 2007
fais du ski
Pre-skiing jitters.
I think its like the first time you learn how to ride a bike: You get on your bike, you fumble, then finally a tumble. You get up, dust yourself, then remount the bike. Then more fumbling and tumbling until you amass enough muscle memory to instinctively know what to do when you go off-balance. Then voilà: You're already a cyclist! Doesn't that sound simple enough? =P
I've gotten my skis, borrowed a pair of ski pants, packed my bags and read up on Les 2 Alpes (where I will be skiing tomorrow). The only thing left is to experience it firsthand tomorrow! Hope that everything will be great, and of course, I do not ski into a tree!!! =D
I think its like the first time you learn how to ride a bike: You get on your bike, you fumble, then finally a tumble. You get up, dust yourself, then remount the bike. Then more fumbling and tumbling until you amass enough muscle memory to instinctively know what to do when you go off-balance. Then voilà: You're already a cyclist! Doesn't that sound simple enough? =P
I've gotten my skis, borrowed a pair of ski pants, packed my bags and read up on Les 2 Alpes (where I will be skiing tomorrow). The only thing left is to experience it firsthand tomorrow! Hope that everything will be great, and of course, I do not ski into a tree!!! =D
jeudi, décembre 13, 2007
lundi, décembre 10, 2007
fête des lumières
Went back to Lyon last weekend for the annual Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights). Other than being a religious festival to thank Mother Mary for protecting Lyon from the plague, it also marks the first day of winter.
Not in the most ideal mood for blogging now, and there is nothing much to describe anyway. My stay was short and rather uneventful. In fact, I'd rather not remember it, except for the wonderful night spent walking around Lyon's incandescent streets and viewing the illuminated installations.
Louis XIV in a giant ball
the lyon eye
Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière
the streets were overflowing with people on saturday
more lights
view of fourvière from the bottom
from the top
bulbous pendulums
floating balls
traboules
random but i thought that the train-church pairing was quite nice
façade of the aforementioned train station with animated window displays
psychedelic
Not in the most ideal mood for blogging now, and there is nothing much to describe anyway. My stay was short and rather uneventful. In fact, I'd rather not remember it, except for the wonderful night spent walking around Lyon's incandescent streets and viewing the illuminated installations.
To read more about the Fête des Lumières, go here; Leaving you with some photos on Saturday night. Enjoy! =)
Louis XIV in a giant ball
the lyon eye
Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière
the streets were overflowing with people on saturday
more lights
view of fourvière from the bottom
from the top
bulbous pendulums
floating balls
traboules
random but i thought that the train-church pairing was quite nice
façade of the aforementioned train station with animated window displays
psychedelicdimanche, décembre 09, 2007
gold for Singapore
Well done and congrats to Mok for flying our flag high today!!! You are really da man for going out there all alone and battling the other competitors, the wind, the sun and everything else to get the Gold!!! Respect!!! B)
Jeanette, Elaine and Sunny, dun be too demoralised (although I know that you guys are not). You guys put in lots of effort, sweat, tears and sacrifices to get where you guys are now, and I'm sure you gave everything that you had. For that, I salute you guys. =)
Now its time to shelve away the goggles, hang up the cycling shoes, and put away those trainers for a while, and enjoy the off-season! You guys certainly deserve it!!!
mok races for the gold at the 27th SEA games
SGD 10k richer
Jeanette, Elaine and Sunny, dun be too demoralised (although I know that you guys are not). You guys put in lots of effort, sweat, tears and sacrifices to get where you guys are now, and I'm sure you gave everything that you had. For that, I salute you guys. =)
Now its time to shelve away the goggles, hang up the cycling shoes, and put away those trainers for a while, and enjoy the off-season! You guys certainly deserve it!!!
mok races for the gold at the 27th SEA games
SGD 10k richerjeudi, décembre 06, 2007
run like shit: inter-INPG cross country
Today I took part in the Inter-INPG Cross Country. Only knew about the event on Monday, so only managed to scramble in a short speedwork session on Tuesday before the race today.
Race conditions were perfect: It had rained earlier in the morning but the sun was in its blazing glory come race time. In fact, I was a little overdressed with my long sleeves and all for 8°
Anyway the race started punctually at 3pm. The competitors were a good mix of serious runners and leisure strollers. Other than the attire, I think I could differentiate the runners from the walkers from their body shapes. Lean, slim and shades meant runner. Baggy shorts, iPod and rotund figure probably meant that I was not going to see this person again after the start. I started with Nichol, a Belgian cyclist (who had been racing in the 2nd division in the Belgian cycling league) whom I met at the Singaporean food fest the other time. You could see the racer genes in him as he took off immediately at quite a furious pace. Being the slow snail that I am, I decided to let him go, but I also aimed to keep within his draft. Besides, I am never good at the shorter "too fast too furious" races.
The race was a 2 lapper, and the total distance was 6km. My strategy was just to follow for the first and to push (if I still could) for the second. After the initial hysteria, I was in the chase group with Nichol in front (and still pushing the pace), at what I thought was quite a comfortable pace. It was difficult to follow the front person closely as this being a cross country, the terrain was uneven and muddy no thanks to the rain on Monday and Tuesday. Anyway the first lap was pretty uneventful, with me passing quite alot of people along the way, and I finished it within 12 mins.
I knew what to expect for the second lap so I decided to negative split my run. Unfortunately many others also thought of the same thing and runners started to fly by me. Merde. I wanted desperately to go faster but somehow my legs seemed to be stuck at second gear, unable to push any much more beyond the pace I was going at. Grande merde. So much for pushing. I finished my second lap in exactly the same as my first: 12 mins.
So my time for 6km was 24 mins, which was damn far off the last cross country I ran in: Mindef x-country in 2005 where I got 3rd placing. Kudos to Nichol who really pushed it and finished with a time of 22mins. The winner came in at a fantastic timing of 19 mins, which just illustrates what a snail I am.
The cool thing was that I was wearing a shirt with the Singapore flag (Team TriZen) on it and people came up to ask about Singapore. Felt like some Singaporean mascot. Cool beans. And probably because I was all decked out in quite pro-looking gear, other pro-looking runners also came by to check me out before and after the race. Guess I disappointed them big time by telling them my timing! =D
Hung around for a while at the end waiting for the results and had some vin chaud and gateau before I did a warm down run into the sunset back to my place. C'était vachement un bon après-midi!
Race conditions were perfect: It had rained earlier in the morning but the sun was in its blazing glory come race time. In fact, I was a little overdressed with my long sleeves and all for 8°
Anyway the race started punctually at 3pm. The competitors were a good mix of serious runners and leisure strollers. Other than the attire, I think I could differentiate the runners from the walkers from their body shapes. Lean, slim and shades meant runner. Baggy shorts, iPod and rotund figure probably meant that I was not going to see this person again after the start. I started with Nichol, a Belgian cyclist (who had been racing in the 2nd division in the Belgian cycling league) whom I met at the Singaporean food fest the other time. You could see the racer genes in him as he took off immediately at quite a furious pace. Being the slow snail that I am, I decided to let him go, but I also aimed to keep within his draft. Besides, I am never good at the shorter "too fast too furious" races.
The race was a 2 lapper, and the total distance was 6km. My strategy was just to follow for the first and to push (if I still could) for the second. After the initial hysteria, I was in the chase group with Nichol in front (and still pushing the pace), at what I thought was quite a comfortable pace. It was difficult to follow the front person closely as this being a cross country, the terrain was uneven and muddy no thanks to the rain on Monday and Tuesday. Anyway the first lap was pretty uneventful, with me passing quite alot of people along the way, and I finished it within 12 mins.
I knew what to expect for the second lap so I decided to negative split my run. Unfortunately many others also thought of the same thing and runners started to fly by me. Merde. I wanted desperately to go faster but somehow my legs seemed to be stuck at second gear, unable to push any much more beyond the pace I was going at. Grande merde. So much for pushing. I finished my second lap in exactly the same as my first: 12 mins.
So my time for 6km was 24 mins, which was damn far off the last cross country I ran in: Mindef x-country in 2005 where I got 3rd placing. Kudos to Nichol who really pushed it and finished with a time of 22mins. The winner came in at a fantastic timing of 19 mins, which just illustrates what a snail I am.
The cool thing was that I was wearing a shirt with the Singapore flag (Team TriZen) on it and people came up to ask about Singapore. Felt like some Singaporean mascot. Cool beans. And probably because I was all decked out in quite pro-looking gear, other pro-looking runners also came by to check me out before and after the race. Guess I disappointed them big time by telling them my timing! =D
Hung around for a while at the end waiting for the results and had some vin chaud and gateau before I did a warm down run into the sunset back to my place. C'était vachement un bon après-midi!
mercredi, décembre 05, 2007
of sushi and chicken curry
Last week I hosted one dinner party and co-hosted another. Somehow my Zouk and MOS nights in Singapore has become dinner gatherings now that there is a serious lack of clubbing places in Grenoble. I seriously hope that this is not a sign of premature aging.. =P
sushi
On Sunday, I hosted Chris and wife, Shaowei and Eugene. Chris and his wife had stayed in Berlioz before in 2003 so it was sort of a homecoming to them. Theme of the night was Singaporean flavours since we all eat French food everyday so I thought that it would be rather exotic to eat some curry. I had already decided on the menu during the week and had already bought all the ingredients on Saturday, so it was actually quite fuss-free when it came to cooking. In fact, I thought that cooking was easier than the grocery shopping! Must be the talent.. Haha.
Anyway, menu for the day was:
- Curry chicken
- Honey sweet-and-sour beef
- Teriyaki salmon
- Oyster sauce vegetables
And Chris' wife baked a cake for dessert so at the end of dinner we were really stuffed! Hmm.. Been a long time since I felt so full! Luckily I went for a 15km run up to Rabot and back before dinner! Anyway the food was simply so tantalizing at the start of dinner that Shaowei only managed to snap one single shot of the food before it was all gobbled up.. So I have only one photo for you to drool over! =)
bon appetit!
Anyway, on to the food. First up was Eugene's United Nations soirée at his place. He was the main chef while Takanari, his Japanese neighbour, and I alternated as co-chefs. Eugene already has a good article on the night's proceedings on his blog, so I will not elaborate further.
sushiOn Sunday, I hosted Chris and wife, Shaowei and Eugene. Chris and his wife had stayed in Berlioz before in 2003 so it was sort of a homecoming to them. Theme of the night was Singaporean flavours since we all eat French food everyday so I thought that it would be rather exotic to eat some curry. I had already decided on the menu during the week and had already bought all the ingredients on Saturday, so it was actually quite fuss-free when it came to cooking. In fact, I thought that cooking was easier than the grocery shopping! Must be the talent.. Haha.
Anyway, menu for the day was:
- Curry chicken
- Honey sweet-and-sour beef
- Teriyaki salmon
- Oyster sauce vegetables
And Chris' wife baked a cake for dessert so at the end of dinner we were really stuffed! Hmm.. Been a long time since I felt so full! Luckily I went for a 15km run up to Rabot and back before dinner! Anyway the food was simply so tantalizing at the start of dinner that Shaowei only managed to snap one single shot of the food before it was all gobbled up.. So I have only one photo for you to drool over! =)
bon appetit!ma coiffure
They say necessity is the mother of all inventions. And so, my need for a neater crop of hair gave birth to the Berlioz Barbaric Barbershop (B3
Specially catering to poor students like me, B3
And so, you may ask: Why run the risk of such undercover operations? Is it really that expensive to go for a haircut in France? Is Qing Han really that good? Actually, it is quite affordable to go for a haircut here in France; It costs about SGD32, but is offset by the fact that you probably would not want to cut your hair that often given the cold weather.
However, as some of the other Singaporeans here can testify, the hairdressers/barbers here are terribly bad. Your haircut will probably depend on the mood of the person cutting your hair at that moment, the hairstyle will not be your choice but will be what the barber is capable of, and the price is certainly not indicative of the quality of the haircut you will receive (right Eugene? =D).
anxiety beneath that smile
mangy locks
literally letting my hair down
shorter hair now
still as mangy, but neater
the barberess
tools of the trade
Specially catering to poor students like me, B3
And so, you may ask: Why run the risk of such undercover operations? Is it really that expensive to go for a haircut in France? Is Qing Han really that good? Actually, it is quite affordable to go for a haircut here in France; It costs about SGD32, but is offset by the fact that you probably would not want to cut your hair that often given the cold weather.
However, as some of the other Singaporeans here can testify, the hairdressers/barbers here are terribly bad. Your haircut will probably depend on the mood of the person cutting your hair at that moment, the hairstyle will not be your choice but will be what the barber is capable of, and the price is certainly not indicative of the quality of the haircut you will receive (right Eugene? =D).
With such uncertainties, I decided to bribe Qing Han over with a tantalizing dinner of sweetcorn and dinner soup. At least I would have a say in what I would look like after my locks were shorn. =P
anxiety beneath that smile
mangy locks
literally letting my hair down
shorter hair now
still as mangy, but neater
the barberess
tools of the tradeThe future of B3
So what are you waiting for? Make a booking with either Qing Han or me now to get the latest hairstyles for this festive season! Give yourself the best gift this Christmas by looking at least presentable! No more bad hair days with B3
In other news, Berlioz Private Limited is also looking into branching into the public toilet business as well. =P
So what are you waiting for? Make a booking with either Qing Han or me now to get the latest hairstyles for this festive season! Give yourself the best gift this Christmas by looking at least presentable! No more bad hair days with B3
In other news, Berlioz Private Limited is also looking into branching into the public toilet business as well. =P
lundi, décembre 03, 2007
the leaf and the tree
Once upon a time, there was a leaf that stuck to a tree for a long time. The leaf did not leave as it felt secure being with the tree, with other leaves around. The leaf did not know if the tree wanted the leaf around. But the tree did not shake the leaf off and both were always together.
Then a gentle breeze came by, the leaf moved, but still hung on to the tree. The breeze soon turned into a strong wind and the leaf was torn in between flying off, or sticking with the tree. The tree never did anything, it just stayed there as always.
The leaf finally decided to fly away together with the wind. The wind is strong and together they are flying high. The leaf will not look back, while the tree is still where it was, a silent testimony of the times they shared together
its time to move on,
regrettable as may be;
its been far too long.
Then a gentle breeze came by, the leaf moved, but still hung on to the tree. The breeze soon turned into a strong wind and the leaf was torn in between flying off, or sticking with the tree. The tree never did anything, it just stayed there as always.
The leaf finally decided to fly away together with the wind. The wind is strong and together they are flying high. The leaf will not look back, while the tree is still where it was, a silent testimony of the times they shared together
its time to move on,
regrettable as may be;
its been far too long.
dimanche, décembre 02, 2007
all fogged up
looks like i won't be getting in any bike mileage today..Anyway congrats to all my friends who competed/completed in the SCSM and Ironman Western Australia. You guys are simply amazing!!! =D Now its time to take a break and enjoy the year-end festive season! =)
samedi, décembre 01, 2007
la violence à Grenoble
I know that I may a little slow in posting this up, but do check out the violence that has erupted in Grenoble over the past few days. Looks like things have taken a turn for the worse, especially in the past few days. Time has shown that desperate people are aggressive people, and sometimes things spiral out of control before we know it. Although I may or may not agree with the reasons behind the blockade of the universities, I must say that I respect the students for daring to stand up and make their voices heard, to stand up and be counted, and to fight for their own rights. Trust me, it takes alot of determination to be out there in the freezing cold at 630am in the morning (the time of the attack). =P
And to everybody back home, dun worry - Life continues as per normal in Jeremyland, and as much as I would like to demonstrate my solidarity, the cold and my classes are preventing me from doing so.. Ha.
And to everybody back home, dun worry - Life continues as per normal in Jeremyland, and as much as I would like to demonstrate my solidarity, the cold and my classes are preventing me from doing so.. Ha.
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