July 20, 2009
We’ve just returned to Sydney from a trip through Europe and the US and haven’t had the time to write the trip up yet, but this picture is important.
It’s the chair along the Via dell’Amore (“Lovers Walk”) in Cinque Terre, Italy where we got engaged in June. Padlocks adorn the rails behind the chair. The idea is for couples to lock theirs and throw the key away. Our lock is directly behind the chair.
April 13, 2009
Today Ian and I ventured out of London to check out Stonehenge and Bath on a tour bus.
Once we arrived at Stonehenge our tour guide merrily shooed us away onto the path around the stones. As many have said, the stones were not nearly as large as photographs make them out to be. It was still remarkable how and whoever constructed this formation actually moved the stones using only manpower from the Preseli Mountains in Pembrokeshire in southwest Wales. Despite each stone weighing approximately 4 tonnes, they managed to put the stones upright (which were around 7m high) then one stone atop another. Quite impressive, considering the fact that this was built during the Bronze Age where technology was limited.
After Stonehenge, the tour bus took us to Bath. Bath is a historic Roman city constructed around old Roman baths. The city is beautifully nestled away in a valley surrounded by lots of lush green landscapes. Most of the Neo-classical buildings are constructed from limestone, making the city even more charming. In the center of the city there was a square where Bath Abbey and the Roman baths were located. We visited the Roman baths first. Apparently the water in the main bath is constantly heated at approximately 41 degrees. After the museum tour, we went for a quick bite to eat and bought some fresh fudge. Our tour guide finished off the day by taking us on a quick spin around Bath before returning us to London.
April 9, 2009
Yesterday we rented a car with a couple of friends through Zipcar and headed north to Cambridge, the historic city of Cambridge University and home of many famous scientists, philosophers and mathematicians including Sir Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking. We went on a punting tour and then spent the afternoon meandering around the university town.
March 29, 2009
Last Monday we rented a car and headed south-west with Lawrence and Minjoo. We left well after morning peak hour traffic but the traffic in London was still insane. Thanks to the entertaining conversations and Minjoo feeding us with her homemade cookies, our five-and-a-half-hour journey went by very quickly and we eventually made it to Padstow in the afternoon. Padstow is a small fishing town, made famous by the celebrity chef Rick Stein. This became even more apparent as we drove around the town. There’s a Rick Stein’s Cafe, Stein’s Deli, Stein’s Patisserie, Stein’s Gift Shop, Stein’s Fish & Chips, you name it…oh and there’s also The Seafood Restaurant, St Petroc’s Bistro and a pub called The Cornish Arms. He owns the town!
We stumbled upon Stein’s Fish & Chips shop just as it was about to open for dinner service. Feeling peckish but not wanting to spoil our appetite for dinner, we went in and ordered 2 servings of their winter specials – cod & chips, bread & butter and a cup of tea. Yes, tea. The cosy restaurant was quickly filled with hungry guests and the smell of fried oil. For £6.50 a serving, the food was amazing – the cod was so fresh with its crispy batter. Mmm… Even the English breakfast tea went well with the fried fish which was surprising, guess tea helped cut through the grease.
Dinner at Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant was fantastic. Ian and Lawrence both had the Seafood Bouillabaisse. Minjoo and I had the Singapore chilli crab which was gloriously messy but very satisfying! The boys had finished their dishes when we were barely halfway through ours and by the time we finished, it was already 10pm!
We got back onto the A30 on Tuesday morning and drove further south towards Mullion, stopping by Helston for a 2-hour session of horse-riding in the country-side. We then spent the rest of the afternoon at Lizard Point, the most southern point of mainland UK.
Next morning, we headed west across to Penzance. The view was just stunning as we drove into Marazion. We parked the car at the beach car park. We were so wind-blown but managed to walk along the white-sanded beach towards St Michael’s Mount, an island with a 12th century castle which is accessible at low tide by a cobble-stoned causeway.
We made a stopover at St Just where we had cream tea and tried clotted cream ice cream. By late afternoon we drove through some seriously circuitous small lanes before we made it to Land’s End, the most westerly point of mainland UK.
On Thurday morning we went for another horse-riding session in Helston, this time we did a beach hack which was fun. We bought some piping-hot Cornish pasties from a local shop and drove to the Kynance Cove nearby to have the pasties for lunch. Cornish pasties used to be the lunchtime staple food for Cornish tin miners and the idea was that they could have meat and vegetables in one end and some say something sweet in the other. The pastry case was supposed to be tough enough to survive being dropped down a mine shaft or at least to withstand being carried to work and to last until break time. The thick edge where the pastry edges joined could be held with dirty hands and thrown away afterwards. Cornish pasties nowadays have a more edible and buttery short-crust pastry on the outside. After lunch, we drove to Cape Cornwall for a short walk.
We left Cornwall on Friday and turned inland to the Eden Project. It is an environmental theme park with 2 massive greenhouse domes, one emulates a tropical environment and the other a temperate Mediterranean environment. After a quick lunch, we drove through Dorset along the Jurassic Coast to Bournemouth and stayed there for a night. We checked out the Cerne Abbas giant near Dorchester which was just disturbing, Bournemouth Beach with the multi-colour beach huts and the Durdle Door near Weymouth which was beautiful.
March 20, 2009
We’ve had no shortage of problems with our Internet service provider Orange here in London. I’ve complained about it in the past here and here. There have been many times where they’ve given us grief and I didn’t bother to write anything because they’re not worth the effort. In short, they are just crap and don’t seem to care. It also doesn’t help that for the past 6 months, our Internet has been dropping out for a few minutes every hour or so. We know that it’s about to happen when our router “clicks”.
I had a chuckle today when I went to their website because I needed to call them and this is what I got when I clicked on “contact us” link.
It sums up their customer service nicely.
March 14, 2009
Yes literally. Yesterday we visited Billingsgate Fish Market, the UK’s largest and most famous inland fish market in London’s Docklands which opens 5am-8am every Monday to Saturday.
Not being an early riser, this was tough but the smell of fish woke me up as we walked pass the car park. Believe or not, the market was starting to wind down when we arrived. There were still heaps of buyers, with many of them being retail buyers like us. The fishmongers, chefs and restaurateurs had been and gone by the time we got there. So even though everything available to us was fresh, the “really” fresh produce had already been bought. Anyhow the main thing was that we couldn’t get produce this fresh from the supermarkets.
We had around half an hour before the market closed and the traders were already starting to pack up. Our catch included some razor clams, squid, a box of tiger prawns and 2 mud crabs.
All in all, the experience was worth every minute of sleep I sacrificed 
March 8, 2009
Just came back from a lovely meal with some dear friends at the Dining Room in the Fifteen Restaurant.
The story behind Fifteen… Fifteen Foundation is a non-profit organization which was started up by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver where he takes in and inspires disadvantaged kids to believe that they could create for themselves careers in the restaurant industry. At the Fifteen restaurant, 15 new apprentices are brought in every year to learn the trade, while the profits from the restaurant help fund the program. Once the apprentices finish the program, they are let out into the real world where they begin their exciting new careers as chefs.
March 2, 2009
Usually when wintery temperatures hit, I dive into a bundle of woollen layers and my hibernating tendencies kick in. This winter, I was adamant to make the most of the cold weather and decided to hit the slopes with Ian, Lawrence, Minjoo and Madhu.
We had an early 3am start for the 7:40am flight on Sunday morning. After a short flight, there was an unexpected 2 hour wait for the shuttle transfer at the airport. Another 90 minute drive later, we finally arrived at our destination (Les Gets) around 2pm. Snow was abundant, parked cars and chalet rooftops were blanketed with snow and there was forecast for more snow the following Saturday. We had arranged a chalet for the six of us. Our rooms were wonderfully rustic; each was equipped with a quaint ensemble of functional furniture, traditional wooden walls decorated with vintage skis and shuttered windows which overlooked the village and its overshadowing mountains.
Les Gets (pronounced “Lay Shay”) is part of France’s famous Portes du Soleil, high in the mountains of Haute Savoie. The ski village is a charming, meandering affair of traditional wooden lodges with a very French feel. There is also an open-air ice rink in the village centre. The main streets are lined with shops; a rustic mix of butchers, bakers, craft shops, ski hire vendors, as well as an array of bars, restaurants and hotels.
After a quick change into ski-pants and fleece, we were off to get fitted with our ski equipment at the ski-hire shop. While Lawrence and Madhu were happy with their skis, Ian, Minjoo and I were keen to give snowboarding a go. Given that we’d never snowboarded before, we all agreed that it’d be a good idea to learn proper techniques so we signed up for 5 half-day group lessons with Ecole du Ski Francais (ESF).
Our instructor Jean-Marc was wearing a bright red ESF ski jacket and matching trousers. It was impossible to miss him in the snow but difficult to spot him when there were so many ESF instructors around! During the first lesson we learned to stay on our snowboards while sliding near-effortlessly down a very long gentle slope. Unfortunately after that, we had to unbuckle our snowboards and carry it back all the way up the slope. We had to do this a few times. It wasn’t long before my fitness, or lack of fitness rather, started to show with every step feeling like my feet were velcro-ed to the snow.
Much to my relief, we eventually left the baby slope to go on the Chevanne Express chairlift and I got a taste of sliding down a real slope. And taste I did. Luckily the snow was powdery near the top of the mountain so my falls were somewhat cushioned. Jean-Marc finished the lesson by teaching us to slide down the slope forward and backward by controlling the tilt in our snowboards.
We returned our equipment at the hire shop and strolled back to the chalet and were welcomed by our lovely hosts, delicious smell of coffee and log fire warmth. We eased ourselves into the snug sofas opposite the fireplace and enjoyed some afternoon tea while we waited for dinner.
Next morning, I awoke to brilliant sunshine which is always a good start to put me in the mood for adventure. Following a hearty traditional breakfast of sausages, eggs, tomatoes, freshly-made pancakes, cereals and yoghurt, washed down with plenty of pressed apple juice and a cup of coffee, it was time to get out on the piste. While the skiers Lawrence and Madhu ventured out to some red runs, Ian, Minjoo and I went on the Chevanne Express again for some practice. I was much better on the second run and made it down without falling once. Ian made even more progress and Jean-Marc upgraded him to another class.
It took me another 3 lessons before I got the hang of linking my turns…yes, slowly. Jean-Marc corrected my habit of crouching to balance rather than standing up straight, leaning down the slope on my turns to turn quicker and have much more control. I did fall over a few times but each time was followed by a laugh. Eventually I managed to make it about a kilometre without sprawling in the snow.
Next day we took the gondola bubble ride ourselves to Mont Chery. When we were reached the top, I was transfixed by the amazing view – Morzine alpine valley with the Les Ges village outstretched below, surrounded by snow-laden trees. Skiers and snowboarders were carving effortlessly through the powdery snow, throwing up a fine spray of icy mist in the blazing sunshine. Off in the distance was famous Mont Blanc. Its huge white dome dominated the jagged skyline.
Later that afternoon, Jean-Marc took us on another blue run which had a much steeper gradient than the Chevanne Express. All was well until I caught a mogul while turning from heal to toe on my snowboard. After falling down with some force, I continued sliding down the mountain on my front with snow flying everywhere. I eventually slid round with my feet pointing downhill and put on the brakes with my snowboard. It was both spectacular and painful. There were many more subsequent moguls with some as high as a hill so I had to slide down the run instead. Towards the end of the run, there was a long icy flat which Jean-Marc warned us about. I tried to keep the momentum but caught a toe edge and landed with a big thump on my knees.
We had to go back up the mountain for a second run on a button lift. Getting onto the lift on a snowboard was certainly not as easy as it seemed. Each person in our group tried it but without much success. It was all about getting the right tilt of the snowboard, leaning back so the weight was on the back foot without sitting on the seat and holding onto the pole to maintain balance. I was so happy when I finally got it on my 3rd try. The second time on that slope was better. By the end of the lesson, I was so exhausted and a little bruised as the slopes were getting icy but nothing a little rest and apres-ski couldn’t fix.
Our final lesson was on Friday. Jean-Marc took us to the blue run on Mont Chery. The snow up there was so powdery. He showed us some new techniques to turn on steeper slopes and make tighter turns by twisting the snowboard, as well as traversing through really powdery snow. All things considered, I was really glad we took the lessons. Jean-Marc was a great teacher. It was definitely worth learning the basics especially since it was the first time.
We took it easy on our last day. The weather was beautiful so we went up on Mont Chery again. After lunch, we all got together to do a red/blue run and made our way down to the Chevanne Express. While Lawrence and Madhu went off for another couple of red runs, the rest of us opted for a couple of drinks and enjoyed the company instead. We finished the day with a lovely dinner on the last night together at a restaurant in the village centre.
I had a fabulous week and really enjoyed snowboarding. Although it may be a while before I get out onto the slopes again. Til then, I really look forward to next time.
