Monday blues

It's 12 noon on a sunny Monday. I'm sitting at home counting the minutes. I need to get to work asap but the contractors can't seem to fix the faulty intercom. Feeling disgruntled that I was "forced" to take leave for this stupid issue, when work is piling up at the office. But if I don't take time off to deal with this, it will never be resolved. The worst outcome is if this intercom doesn't get fixed by today...which seems to be very likely....grrrrrr!

Spent the entire morning looking at my holiday pics, especially those taken in Europe. What lovely memories they bring. Can't wait to plan my next Europe holiday...will it be Germany then? Or Spain? I don't really care which, I just want to pack my bags and go!

Work has been a roller-coaster of ups and downs since it started. Of course, everything seems like a bed of roses in the first 3 months, but once that "honeymoon" period is over, expectations of you mount insurmountably. You realise that you can't expect things in the new company to be just like your previous company, and plenty of adjustments are necessary so that you can "fit in". Afterall, cliche as it may sound - it's not about you changing the environment, but changing yourself to suit the environment.

As I grow older, I'm finding joy in little, mundane things in life. Like watching Korean drama serials at home. Nothing can be more relaxing than being in the company of your favourite Korean male lead (in my case, Lee Min Ho), acting the perfect gentleman/lover/fighter in another soppy heart-wrenching serial. Of course, they usually fall in love with the commonest and most ordinary looking girl in the show...which is hardly reality but reassuring nonetheless.

Sometimes, you get the feeling that life is really no fun. The monotonous drag of work and the transient nature of weekends repeat themselves endlessly, week after week. If you will the work week to move faster, you enter yet another similar week too quickly. Too slow and you start to feel bored and suffocated. It's hard to strike a balance, but life goes on.

Stockings vs leggings

Recently, I heard a rumour that someone up there wasn't too happy that I was wearing leggings on casual Friday. When I heard that rumour, I was taken aback. I was cognizant of the dress code that disallows leggings, but tolerates stockings (including black ones). I consciously avoided my black/denim leggings, and settled for what I identified as "stockings" instead. Granted, one could also argue that they were not really stockings as they were more opaque than the traditional sheer pantyhose.

Then I started thinking...what really is the difference between stockings and leggings anyway, or tights for that matter? These terms are used so loosely and interchangeably. Could the misunderstanding have arisen due to a differing opinion of what a legging/stocking is? Before I embarked on my research, this was my analysis:

Point 1 : Material
Stockings are made of nylon and are prone to getting runs and hooks in them, whereas leggings are made of thicker cloth.

Note: My "stockings" were overstretching to the point of translucence when I last wore them.

Point 2 : Crotch construction
Stockings cannot be worn on their own, i.e. without a skirt over it, whereas leggings are fine on their own if so desired (though unless one is really skinny, that is to be discouraged).

Note: I classified mine as "stockings" as the crotch construction was flimsy, just like those of a pantyhouse...and this definitely cannot be worn on its own.

Point 3 (a point of uncertainty) : Finishing
Stockings usually cover the feet, whereas leggings usually end off at the knee or ankle. But what about footless tights then - are they a form of stockings or leggings???

Note: Mine has a covered finishing.

I bitched about this incident to a friend. But not only was she unempathetic, she pronounced the wearing of leggings/tights madness in a hot, tropical country like Singapore. She added that the use of one is likely to promote wetness and bad odour in the nether regions. I wasn't certain if frustration or amusement was the right sentiment to feel, so I chose to ignore her instead.

When I got home, I scoured the web in search of a reasonable explanation. Found this from a yahoo Q&A website:

Leggings are generally opaque, footless, spandex pants. They can be cut like capris, too. They are thicker and can sometimes be used a substitute for pants with longer tops and shorter dresses. Usually made of a cotton/spandex or lycra blend.

Tights are sometimes opaque, but sometimes a little translucent. They usually have feet, unless denoted as "footless tights". These usually cannot be worn as a substitute for pants, due to translucent nature when stretched. Great for wearing under dresses/skirts in the winter. They make a lot of colors and patterns (like brights, argyle, lace, etc.) in tights.

Stockings are the most translucent, and usually have feet. These are commonly called "hose" or "nylons." The color variety is limited, usually to black, flesh tones, and white or ecru. Some have slight patterns, like fishnet and backseams. These are never a substitute for pants, and usually worn by professionals under suits. (Well, Hooter's girls wear them, too...) Also, some stockings don't have the panty attached, like thigh highs or stockings that are worn with garter belts.


So, I reckon tights come closest? If jeans and stockings are allowed, what's wrong with full-length covered tights?

These people need to take a chill pill, seriously.

Jul & Aug highlights

I've been neglecting this space! Working life, once again, has robbed me of time and ability to daydream and blog. Not that I can't find time to write, it's just that I don't have time to do anything interesting that's blog-worthy! Perhaps I'm exaggerating a little here...haha! But I do think back on those bumming days in self-envy.

Anyway, a couple of interesting things happened over the past 2 months. The first was dear Ms To's wedding. Really happy for her and tyre. They have dated for as long as I have, and finally they have made the bold move to tie the knot. Us jie meis treated the lovely bride to a champagne sparty (spa+party) at Lush @ The Singapore Polo Club. It was a truly pampering experience and I would love to go back again someday.

Beautifully presented canapes and champagne to complete the sparty experience!

Love this dessert - hot espresso drenched over vanilla ice-cream and tongue biscuit. Shall endeavour to make this someday.

We rounded off the evening with drinking and partying at Overeasy and Zouk. The bride got herself pissed drunk, but one really can't blame as jiemeis as she was the cause of her own downfall! K even had to ask the waiters to disregard her orders as she was out of control, that girl!

Love the fireworks we sighted at Fullerton.

Some pictures of the actual day highlights. Suan-tian-ku-la challenge for the brothers!

Love the jiemeis' colourful dresses. Très chic!

Congrats Mr and Mrs Lim :)

The morning after the Lim's wedding banquet, the Vongs and us flew to HK, land of shopping and eating. Our trip coincided with the Great HK sale...needless to say, all of us bought and ate excessively. My friends also bought me a celebratory birthday dinner at Tai Woo cantonese restaurant at TST but it ended disastrously with 3 out of 4 of us having food poisoning. Bummer! Still, am thankful for friends who still put in the effort to celebrate my bday with me year after year :)

The Vongs waiting patiently while I made my selection at YSL, Harbour City.

My indulgent purchase. I vow to keep off bags for the rest of this year!

Shortly after HK, and just as I was settling in at work again, my annual BKK trip came up! We had the usual suspects, Mr J, G, Stef, Lu and me but this trip was even more special than the last as AHL, Dean, and SER who flew in from HK, joined us! 8 of us had an awesome time shopping and pigging out together. My favourites are Tawandang, T&K Seafood and Taling Pling. All yummy Thai food @ great prices. This time, we finally succeeded in going clubbing on one of the nights, at none other than the infamous DJ Station!

J and I have been talking about Hua Hin for the longest time, and so, after the rest had flown home, we hopped onto our hired taxi bound for Hua Hin. The trip was 2.5 hours away and we had to endure the B.O. of our driver throughout the entire journey! We did all we could think of - wet tissues and medicated oil to mask the odour!

The journey was worth it. Look at our pretty boutique hotel (Let's Sea Resort)! Every room has an attached patio that leads into this inviting pool. Very private and cool!

J & I couldn't resist getting these floats at the night market, after we saw our neighbour on one. Only S$10 but the enjoyment was worth 10 times more!

The breakfasts at Let's Sea were fab. There was a wide selection to choose from and everything was prepared with such care and precision. To me, this beats the buffets you can expect from chain hotels, even the luxury ones.

Hua Hin is still relatively undeveloped so there was hardly anything to do at the city centre. There's a huge Swensens ice-cream parlour there though, and this is us getting fat on ice-cream that costs double the price back home.

Would definitely love to return to Hua Hin again!

Write offs

Some people just do not deserve the goodwill you extend to them. I have done nothing except to treat you as a good friend - supported your career when I could, include you in gatherings so that we could continue to keep in touch. But at crunch time, all I asked for is the truth and you chose to deny me of it. If you are as innocent as you claim to be, why hide? No one is going to thank you for it and I absolutely deserve to know. And don't even for a second of your sodden life think you are helping me by keeping silent - I AM NOT GOING TO THANK YOU FOR IT.

Surely, one has to be guilt-stricken to have some qualms about coming out in the open? Aren't you one of the perpetrators of the gossips and rumours? Indeed, I am disappointed that you were not more upfront at the beginning. But by withholding the truth now, especially after I've asked you to come clean, has convinced me that you are just plain bloody selfish. By taking this path, you have essentially forfeited whatever chance you had to redeem yourself. You most certainly do not deserve a friend in me.

So to hell with you. May your little "secret" haunt you at night while I sleep comfortably in my bed. And may you feel guilty for betraying me for the rest of your life. From now on, you are OUT OUT OUT of my life you fucking bitch.

* * * * *

To real friends whom I may have alarmed, do not worry. The unpleasant episode is behind me now but I just needed this space to vent my frustrations.

Shepherd's Pie

Came across this vid a while back whilst researching for shepherd's pie recipes. I really enjoyed watching Gordon Ramsay whip up his dish. I love his energy, passion and pride. Best of all, he made it look so easy! Watch it and you'll know what I mean.


Of course, I tried his recipe, substituting lamb for beef. Also, I did without the red wine and herbs. The recipe worked for me, though the Worchester sauce made the mince a tad sourish. Here's the end product:

Today, I experimented with another recipe.

Ingredients
1 kg Holland potatoes (I used Granola potatoes and they worked fine)
2 tbs butter
2 tbs Carnation evaporated milk (I used fresh milk)
2 large onions
200 gm minced pork
1 pack fresh brown mushrooms, sliced (I used shitake)
1 small can tomato paste
1 can Campbell tomato soup
Cheddar cheese, grated

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree Celcius.
2. Boil potatoes in their skins until soft (the recipe recommends peeling the potatoes before boiling them but I prefer to follow Mom's way of doing it).
3. Peel the skin and mash the potatoes with butter, salt, pepper and evaporated milk.
4. Fry the onions (I also added garlic) until soft and fragrant, then add the minced pork and stir-fry until well-cooked.
5. Add the mushrooms, tomato paste and tomato soup and continue to cook.
6. Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square baking tray and cover with the mashed potatoes. Smoothen the surface, make cross-hatch designs with a fork or knife and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
7. Bake for about 30 min until browned.

I was pretty apprehensive as I have never seen a recipe which uses Campbell soup (the exact ingredient intrigued me to try this recipe out) and I was using pork mince instead of the usual beef.

I was happy with the outcome! The pie was savoury, moist and very tasty! It's as easy as the Gordon Ramsay one and I like cheddar cheese better than parmesan. Perhaps next time, I'll throw in shredded carrot and try beef mince instead?

Loving Laos (Part 3 - Vientiane)

Last instalment of our Lao trip. We flew from LP back to Vientiane via Lao Airlines. The service was decent and the plane new. Mind you, Lao Airlines is not a budget airline - we were served water and a packet of fruit chips for a 40 min flight! To us, the flight was worth every penny. The same journey done by bus would have taken 10 hours!!

We arrived back at AV hotel in the afternoon and strolled along Lang Xang Avenue to see the Patuxai monument, the most prominent landmark in Vientiane. Patuxai is also known as the Victory Gate, and it resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. We had fun doing jumping shots right in front of the Patuxai.

The next day, we took a local bus to visit Buddha park, with its eclectic collection of Hindu and Buddhist sculptures. The local bus was old and rickety and packed to the brim with locals and goods. We squeezed on board quickly and managed to secure seats at the back of the bus. The ride took 1 hour and traversed a dirt road with sporadic potholes!

A striking sculpture in Buddha Park is that of a giant pumpkin with a tree at the top (bottom right picture). It has three stories representing three levels - hell, earth and heaven. Visitors can enter through the mouth of a demon head and climb steep staircases from hell to heaven.

Our tragic faces as we made our way down from heaven to hell.

These village kids are so adorable. We asked them to pose and they readily obliged.

There are many wats (temples) scattered about Vientiane but one of the oldest (and nicest) is Ho Phra Kaew. As we were inappropriately clad in shorts, we were made to wear the Lao skirt before entering! The temple used to house an emerald buddha statue which is now sitting somewhere in Thailand.

As Laos used to be a French colony, it is no wonder that some French influences are still present till today. Road names start with "rue" and "avenue" and French restaurants serving delicious French fare are plentiful. We managed to visit 3 French and 1 Italian restaurants while we were there - L'Adresse de Tinay, La Scala, Le Silapa and Le Central. In order of preference, I loved Le Silapa best, followed by L'Adresse and Central. The chef at Le Silapa was very creative - we had scallops with fried riverweed drizzled over with creamy tom yum sauce and grilled fish with butter sauce and some fried veg crispies at the top. La Scala was somewhat disappointing and not worth the 1 hour walk to get to it! Prices are in the range of US$10 to US$20 for a 3-course meal, which is very decent.

As there wasn't much to do in Vientiane, we repeatedly visited a beauty salon called "Holiday", which was recommended in wikitravel, for various treatments. The prices are ridiculously cheap - an oil massage costs US$5, hair treatment US$7.50 and foot spa (which includes pedicure) US$9. While prices are cheap, I encountered the worst masseur ever here! The other services were OK though. Check out our grimy feet (Vientiane is a dusty town) before and our clean and healthy feet after.

At the end of our trip, we were sad to leave AV Hotel. I highly recommend this hotel...it is run by a Singapore guy who chats to you every morning over breakfast. He is assisted by a Lao manager, who is one of the most sincere and attentive hotel staff that I've ever met! He never failed to pick us up at the airport and greet us with his shy smile. Other perks include free wifi and the best fried beehoon for breakfast!

Some of my favourite (and parting) shots of Vientiane.

Loving Laos (Part 2 - Luang Prabang)

After our short stay in VV, we took a minivan to Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site. The ride was long (7+ hours), butt numbing and back breaking. We were glad we took the van as the journey involved long, winding and mountainous roads. Thank goodness we made it to LP safely, for we had an aggressive driver who was overtaking trucks and buses at high speed despite the narrow winding road and dark driving conditions.

We stayed at the Apsara hotel along the bank of the Nam Khan river. It's a lovely hotel, the best we stayed in during our entire Laos trip. And it wasn't expensive at all - only US$95 per night for 3 pax including breakfast!

Some pics of the hotel with us girls posing.

The hotel never failed to surprise us at breakfast with their delightful variety of homemade preserves. We got 2 different flavors every day for 3 consecutive days - pineapple, tomato, tamarind, mango, papaya and banana! My personal favourite was mango while SY & Gan loved the tamarind!

We spent 4 nights in LP and I felt that we could have stayed another day or 2, easily! In terms of sightseeing and activities, LP had a lot to offer. The town has retained its old colonial charm despite the hordes of tourists visiting. There is a night market every night from 6pm to 10pm selling traditional handmade ware and knick-knacks. We shopped there for 3 consecutive nights and bought stuff every time! And if you fancy a hike, climb atop Phou Si hill for a breathtaking view at sunset! Of course, one cannot leave LP without witnessing the procession of monks in the alms-giving ceremony taking place every morning at dawn.

LP at dusk

Monk-parazzi fever hits LP!

On one of the days, we hired a tuk-tuk to take us to Kuang Si waterfalls, about an 1 hour from town. Swimming in the icy cold waters of the waterfall provided a reprieve from the afternoon heat and we also enjoyed watching the ang moh boys taking swings and plunges into the pool. On our way back, we stopped by a traditional Laotian village. When they saw us, the young village lasses screamed and scuttled back to stand by their stalls as we walked through. Each pleaded with us to buy a little handmade something from them. Interestingly, we paid 5,000 kips (US$0.65) for a friendship band at the start, 2,000 kips (US$0.25) in the middle and a measly 1,500 kips (US$0.20) at the last stall!!

Kuang Si waterfall

Beautiful people at the Hmong village

On another occasion, we joined a half-day tour to Pak Ou caves and Lao whiskey village. The boat ride took almost 2 hours one-way! The Pak Ou caves are noted for their miniature Buddha sculptures. I recall reading in a guidebook that there are about 4,000 sculptures in total within the caves?! There wasn't much to do at the village but we did try the locally brewed lao-lao (whiskey), which tasted kinda grosse. If you're into exotic drinks, you can also buy a bottle of preserved wine made out of snakes, scorpions, bear paws, etc!

Please do not leave LP without tasting Laotian food! Somehow, the local food at LP seems to have been tweaked to suit foreigners' palates. We had traditional food at Kualao in Vientiane and the food was too herby for our liking. At LP, we enjoyed every dining experience. Go to the back alley near the night market for incredibly cheap buffets (only 10,000 kips (US$1.25) for all-you-can-heap-on-a-plate!), street snacks and grilled food. Tamarind and Tamnak Lao serve the best Laotian food, and Saffron cafe has the best coffee in LP.

Last but not least, a collage of my favourite photos. From top left, clockwise: Girls from a neighboring school engaged in a game of zero point, old shoes and peeled bananas sun-tanning on the pavement, scooter gal and her sister, old-fashioned bicycles with pretty baskets for rent, a comical looking dog and a little girl getting distracted while her mother was setting up stall at the night market.

Loving Laos (Part 1)

SY, Gan and I are back in SG after an awesome 10 day long vacation in Laos. Initially, we had doubts about spending so much time there. Questions in the line of "why so long" and "what's there to do" have been thrown at each of us separately, and we've had our fair share of dealing with quizzical expressions and remarks from others regarding our location choice!

In a nutshell, the trip was fabulous! It went beyond our expectations and save for the afternoon heat, the 10 days we spent there did not feel long at all. Perhaps all that quizzing and doubtful looks from friends succeeded in bringing our expectations down a few notches lower? Anyway, I'm really glad I made the trip with the gals...the thought of not going did cross my mind as I've to start my new job immediately after the trip if I went. Scarily enough, I almost let that miserable thought win me over...but I'm glad my love for travelling subdued that self-pity monster in me.

We flew from Singapore to KL via Airasia on 24 Feb 2011 and transited at LCCT (I think it stands for Low Cost Carrier Terminal) in KL. After killing 3 hours in Oldtown coffee (great food, btw!), we boarded our next flight to Vientiane, which took 2.5 hours.

We're not supposed to take photos on the tarmac but I snapped this photo before I gained possession of this knowledge...hehe

By the time we got to Vientiane, it was late afternoon and the friendly manager from AV hotel was there to meet us and escort us to the hotel. We didn't do much for the rest of the day except chill out at a cafe that eventually became our hot favourite - JoMA! Excellent drinks, sandwiches, cheesecake and free wifi! Despite being a relatively backward city, we were more connected in Laos than anywhere else in the world! There's free wifi in almost every hotel, guesthouse, cafe and pub in Vientiane & Luang Prabang!

Our preliminary exploration of Vientiane.

The next day, we took a bus to Vang Vieng (VV), supposedly a backpackers' heaven with "Friends" and "Family Guy" re-runs showing in every cafe. The ride took 4 hours and it wasn't particularly pleasant as some foreigners behind me had their feet up the back of my chair...eeewwww....When we arrived in VV, it struck me as a rather dead town. 2pm and hardly anyone in sight (we later read that people party and booze into the wee hours of the night and hence wake up very late the next day). Our guesthouse in VV was called Popular View but unfortunately, it didn't give us a good view of the Mekong river.

Despite the bad reviews about VV, we had lots of fun there! We went tubing, which basically means you sit on a huge rubber tyre and float down the Mekong river with a can of beer in your hands. Lots of bars along the way so no fear of staying sober! At your signal, the bar owners will happily throw you a rope which you cling onto and they will drag you in. No pics of tubing as we made a (wrong) decision not to bring our cams with us, lest they got wet.

We also went hot air ballooning the next day and though we didn't get the best pics as it was raining, the experience was worth it!

The picturesque view in VV.

How to blow up a hot air balloon.

So pretty!!

Dreaming of a new bathroom

Something like that would be lovely!

http://bathroomdesignsinpictures.blogspot.com/2010/10/pictures-of-retro-bathrooms.html

Love To Wander will be at the F1 Pit Building Flea Market this Saturday!

My Sweet Valentine

P and I were having fish beehoon at Ka-Soh last night and P suddenly asked, "What are we doing for V-day tomorrow?" I paused for a while, as I hadn't thought, much less planned anything.

This is what become of couples who have been dating for more than a while. In our 1st 2 years together, we celebrated our anniversary on a monthly basis and never forgot to get each other pressies for Christmas, birthdays and V-days. In our 3rd, 4th and 5th year, our monthly celebrations became yearly ones, and sometimes we even "forgot" to get each other pressies for Christmas/V-days. And when we wanted to, we were at a loss as to what to get. Wallet, shirt, t-shirt, belt, perfume, card, meal, holiday - I've gotten them all for him!

Since V-day is a hyped up affair which only gives restaurants a good excuse to hike up their prices (and florists to make $$, lol), I suggested a simple, toned down celebration instead. Why pay hefty prices outside when I can get down and dirty in my lovely kitchen?

Even in its simplicity, P & I had a very enjoyable V-day celebration. He got me a lovely bouquet of roses, which really surprised me as I wasn't expecting anything. Once I got over the surprise though, it was difficult to hide my delight!

And so, with a happy heart, I made him a rib-eye steak dinner. The steak is topped with caramelized onion and accompanied by mashed potato and rocket salad sides. We finished every single morsel on our plates, which is a great compliment to my culinary skills!

Painting with colours

My introductory acrylic painting class ended a couple of weeks back. In our 2nd class, we got to paint with colours!

Here's the end product.

The apple looks misshapen!? I would like to bestow this masterpiece to my good friends the Vongs but they looked disgusted at this suggestion...lol

Arty farty me

Cher and I attended an art class @ Artspace 2 days ago. Coincidentally, I was interested in this introductory art workshop once upon a time many years ago, so when Cher asked, I agreed without much hesitation! Those who know me would know that I'm hopeless at drawing. I still draw stick men and my favourite picture comprises a house sitting on grass with daisies that are too tall, fluffy clouds, some V-shaped birds and a big beaming sun! I know right, so kiddy? And my drawing hasn't improved one bit over the years!

Perhaps inspired by the beautiful art paintings at the Louvre, we signed up for a 2-class course @ $70 per person, all materials inclusive. We had a choice of oil or acrylic painting, and we both picked acrylic. There were 12 people in the class, and surprisingly, the split of oil vs acrylic was quite equal. For our first lesson, we had to paint 3 simple objects in different shapes - a cube, a ball and a banana. We learnt about proportion, how to blend paint to make it opaque, how to use different shades to contrast lighting and some other useful techniques.

It was a 3-hour session but the instructor tried to make it as informative and interactive as possible. I certainly had fun, and am looking forward to the next class. Here's a pic of me with my "masterpiece".

Alas! I think the neighbour did a better job at shading than me!

My Big Break

And here it is! The long awaited post on my 1-month long holiday to Europe. For the sake of posterity, I'm recapping my itinerary here.

Day 1 - Windsor & Eton (Windsor Castle, Eton riverside)
Day 2-5 - Stockholm (Nobel Peace Museum, Skansen, Vasa museum, Gamla Stan, Sodermalm)
Day 6-9 - Reykjavik (Golden Circle tour, Northern lights tour, South Coast tour)
Day 10-26 - London (I did so much here that I don't know where to start/end!)
Day 27-33 - Paris (Chateau de Versailles, La Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Musee du Louvre, Musee de l'Orangerie, Musee d'Orsay, Printemps)

This trip was special to me for 2 main reasons. Firstly, it was my first wintry holiday and secondly, I had a whole week to myself to explore London. I have mixed feelings about travelling in winter, to be honest. I love the absent crowd and how the snow makes everything so white and special. On the flipside, I really detest how slushy and slippery the snow becomes and how I was restricted to wearing that same pink puffy jacket everyday (yes, you'll naturally realise that as you view my pics).

Here are my random thoughts and feelings about each place I visited.

Windsor - So, so quaint. I love Windsor castle and regretted not being able to visit St George's chapel within the castle grounds, as I had a long lunch and returned a tad too late (they close early in winter). I do have a 1-year pass to return FOC to the castle anytime, though I doubt it's going to happen anytime soon.

Stockholm - A cold, gloomy and expensive city. I think we were at the wrong place at the wrong time...had the weather been better, Stockholm would definitely have been more appealing. Having said that, I did enjoy Skansen (an outdoor museum) - we experienced heavy snowfall (very memorable) and saw a real moose here! We stayed at a quirky rented apartment in Sodermalm, which has an antique elevator that I absolutely adore! Oh, and real Swedish meatballs taste exactly like the ones at our local iKea store.

Reykjavik - My favourite leg of the trip. Before the recent volcanic eruption, hardly anyone paid any attention to Iceland, and many friends were surprised to hear that I was going there for a holiday!! But seriously, go there and you will instantly fall in love with Iceland. I always thought Scotland is possibly one of the most scenic places in the world, but now, Iceland takes top spot. The sunrise and sunsets are spectacular, the nature is unspoilt and magical, Icelandic horses are so endearing, and the seafood is extremely FRESH & TASTY. We were there for 4 days and I wished we had more. Would love to go back again in summer to see the cute little puffins, ride the petite horses and visit the magnificent Jokulsarlon lagoon!

London - Ahhh, always a favourite of mine. If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I was in London in mid 2009. This time round, I caught up with everything that I wanted to do but didn't have a chance to before. I went to the Sir John Soane (interesting), Tate Modern ("interesting") and British (boring) museums, I watched Wicked (good), Jersey Boys (too good), Blood Brothers (average), Warhorse and Deathtrap (the former 3 being musicals and the latter 2 plays), I checked out Camden market (didn't like it) and Petticoat Lane market, I visited the Tower of London (which paled in comparison to Windsor castle), I went for a quintessential British afternoon tea at St James Sofitel hotel, I emptied my pockets at Bicester village, I took side trips to Bath and had excellent warm scones at the Cotswold, I revisited my favourite sights - London Eye, Tower Bridge and Big Ben and my favourite markets - Portobello, Upmarket in the east & Borough.

Paris - Je t'aime Paris! I love the language, I love how romance permeates through every being in Paris, I love the many ponts (bridges) across the River Seine, I love Eiffel Tower, I love seeing my favourite Impressionist artists everywhere in museums, I love quaint Montmartre despite how "dangerous" the travel forums make it out to be (it's not lah!), I love the Palace of Versailles (but cannot bring myself to like Kristen Dunst as Marie Antoinette), I love bag-shopping in Champs Elysee and Printemps, and I love going back to our cosy hotel every night at Montparnasse (the location is great, by the way...and did I mention FREE wifi?).

I know I just got back 2 weeks plus ago but I'm already itching for another holiday! Where will my next trip to Europe take me???