Summer Trips 2010

With the close of August, and the windy reminder that summer is fast giving way to fall, I thought I'd do a little recap of the many trips I filled my summer with, lest I forget.

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April 2-5: The Drive up to Lake District and its tranquil vicinity-

Kendal, Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Coniston Grasmere, Keswick, Ullswater, Penrith. And then the drive across to Leeds, and back down to Peterborough and Cambridge.

Love travelling with Si - always pleasant, easy-going, relaxing. She drove more than half the time, and even climbed up Cat Bells fell (pictured above), with a broken knee. It wasn't exactly summer yet, nay, not even Spring actually. There was still snow on the hills and it was actually cold. This was also a trip with she-who-must-not-be-named, not pictured.

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April 30 - May 4 & 5: Amsterdam, Keukenhof, Antwerp, Brussels

Amsterdam on Queen's Day, 30 April 2010, when the entire city turns ORANGE and orange people fill the streets and the canals. This was the trip I was tricked into doing all the planning when there were already bigger plans in place... We even flew in in style, via LCY instead of a budget airline - what was I thinking!

Keukenhof Bulb Fields, Lisse, Holland. Revealed: the location.

Brussels: The big fight after, the luxury chocolate stock up, and missing the eurostar back to London. And then having to walk all over brussels to find 2 beds for the night. Rushed straight to work from St Pancras the next morning. I will always check train timings properly from now.

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May 27-30: Paris & Versailles, île de France

Finally, I kept my promise from back in 2002, and brought him to Paris. One of the best trips we've been on, in a different way because we didn't rush at all but still managed to see a lot. Also checked out Versailes and the Roland Garros. Too bad Federer was on centre-court then, and the walls were slightly too thick.

It was also amazing finally being back here to one of the places I remember the most from 2002 with the same great friend I had first come here with :) Si was again a fantastic host, and I especially loved chatting away every night till 2am and not being able to wake up the next day till 11am. <3

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June 12-13: Stonehenge, Bath, Bristol, Wales

(Cardiff, Breacon Breacons National Park, Three Cliff Bay.)

Reunited with the 2 sisters, and the whole family. I nearly didn't make it for this trip because it was the 1st weekend ever I had to work - thanks to B.P. and their oil spill. Nonetheless I went anyway and it was a mad trip going to so many places in just 1 weekend! Finally visited the stones but once was probably enough...!

Stopped over in Bath for lunch and for a quick look-see around the pretty town. Most memorable thing was probably lunch at Sally Lunns, the oldest house in Bath. Also went to Bristol after and had another quick walkaround for an hour or 2.

One of the most iconic pictures of Wales, and the little massive trek we did to get to the Welsh sea, and the three cliff bay. Also had dinner in Cardiff and a drive around the Breacon Breacons National Park and stopped by a few places amongst the sheep. Not forgetting the one night super cheap stay at Hilton Newport which was an experience in itself!

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June 18 - 22: Ireland- North and South

Northern Ireland was especially green and blue, and all the colours and sounds of nature. Rope Bridge (Carrick-a-rede) above. Beautiful is an understatement. We rented a car and drove around Derry, along the northen coast to check out the amazing rock formations at the giant's causeway (pictured below), to Belfast, and down to Fermanagh to check out some marble arch caves. Oh, not forgetting a titanic boat tour - loved their caption "She was alright when she left here!" Ohoh, and we checked out Carrick Fergus castle too. Also we went to chruch where everyone was dressed so nicely, hats and all :)

And then we took a bus down south to Dublin, the capital of Eire. Leprechaun alert! We were not too enticed by the city, to be honest, but we did spent the nights watching the world cup in the wonderful hostel! In a country that ITV has honoured by calling France, Ireland in all their games, until they got knocked out anyway...

And again, just to reinforce the point about the bluest blue and the greenest green, and some people very intoxicated with the beauty of nature at its finest :)

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July 18- 25: Spain - Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla

Strolling down La Rambla, the main tourist street in Barcelona, where we had our all-you-can-eat Tapas and nearly died eating. Barcelona is also where the quirky buildings were, which we did check out but couldn't be bothered to queue to get in. Not forgetting the day trip to Montserrat which was quite nice but the ticket we bought was nowhere near value-for-money.

Arriving in Barcelona via a horrible overnight train experience, this is Puerta del Sol, the centre of Madrid and of Spain, an amazingly varied country. Temperatures were rising, and it was about 38 degrees. Sleeping in a non-airconed hostel was quite an unpleasant but it wasn't a bad place overall. We walked around the entire city in the sweltering heat, taking a few siestas too many in between. It's the only way to survive the heat. I never felt so glad to step into a supermarket.

This is Sevilla, capital of Andalucia, southern Spain. This time we arrived in style, via speedtrain, in the 1st class carriage (on 2nd class fare, heh). This is the bullfighting arena. Temperatures shot up to 45 degrees, and there was no respite even in the shade. Thank God for the overly cold aircon in the hostel. Alv also fell in love here, with Sangria. Travelling with them is quite fun - kinda reminds me of how I was like just a couple of years back, so eager to chiong everywhere. loved the Moorish architecture and the orange trees everywhere, and cheap tapas. oh yes, we saw a record number of weddings in a day too, and most of them started past 9pm at night. I think I almost qualify to become a Spaniard with my night owl sleeping habits. Eating and sleeping at all the wrong times. If only I could actually speak the language, and that would have taken more than a semester of Spanish at university. I'm definitely going back to Spain one day, but not in summer!

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Aug 14: Legoland, Windsor

Suddenly we became giants from a foreign land, even the pigeons looked bigger. It wasn't the best day weatherwise because it just kept raining all day, but that didn't stop me from being amazed in miniland, where landmarks from many european cities were built out of lego and put on display, complete with mechanisms in the pieces to make the buses and people move. The level of detail was mind-boggling, but more about that in my post on legoland, sometime soon. Also, meet my friend, Naomi, pictured here at half the height of the Canary Wharf tower. Unfortunately, my other little friend, Lucy, was in a terrible mood that day, but maybe we can go again in about 5 years. I should also add that the started with a little dinner party the night before and a stayover at P&N's. We had the most hilarious time playing UNO, and Smartass (a trivial board game), as well as comparing accents. I also had to sleep with a giant spider stuffed toy hanging over my head... who on earth buys SPIDER soft-toys!?! But I was too tired to notice Itsy Bitsy anyway.

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So there, a selection of little adventures throughout the summer of 2010. Not to say that the rest of the weekends were not fun. They were all pretty packed. We also went to Bicester, Oxford, did a London walking tour, played paintball, and a host of other things.

Ironically, also never worked so hard all year till summer, when everyone goes away on holiday and all my names starting with B refused to leave me alone.

Now that summer is over, what will Autumn bring? I know! It's not a question of what, but who... and the answer is, someone special! :)

Yummy Delights

Got some goodies from Singapore! I didn't even know it was mid-Autumn already. And can't be that it's duan wu jie also right? But I got both Ba zhang/ nonya zhang and mooncakes!!! yay

Quite sweet of Auntie C to bring these for me, Goodwood Park somemore, so atas - I never eat before! And I can't believe D knew that I didn't like any yolk in my mooncake... how on earth did he find that out? I'm suitably impressed...

Double yay to not having to cook for the next few days... plus we had dim sum this afternoon because it was Ava's 1 month celebration (though there's ANOTHER 1 month celebration in 3 weeks, haha) and there was so much leftover I also have glutinous rice in the fridge to feast on.

In case you're wondering, I did manage to complete the Salmon challenge! Cooked the claypot rice another time, and thought those were the last of them. Lo and behold, after the freezer was defrosted, 2 more fillets appeared... grrrr!!! So bo pian, had to eat Salmon for 2 more meals. This time, I pan-fried using the sambal chilli - stingray style (sauce also lost in the freezer for many months).

Health and Safety

Looks like that run wasn't such a good idea afterall. At least, it wasn't such a good idea to go running in t-shirt and shorts. The days of summer are fast fading, and we've been getting a streak of bizzare wintry weather. The winds are strong, cold and heartless, cutting the skin and sending chills not just to the spine but to every nerve in the body. It has been raining.

That night, after the run, I suddenly came down with serious runny nose that a few pieces of tissue paper couldn't solve. Took panadol flu and went to sleep, hoping that I will not be too sick the next morning. Miraculously, I was perfectly fine the next morning. My body was physically tired, not to mention the poor underused thigh muscles, but I was fine. Went to work and continued till the afternoon till I started sneezing irrationally, in a moderated temperature environment that was actually a tad too warm. Strangely enough, the runny nose disappeared when it was time to leave the office. I'm allergic to work, already.

I'm probably playing with fire a bit. 1 year on, and I still haven't signed up with the nearest clinic to me, so if I fall sick, I actually have no where to go. There is that private doctor that employees are entitled to go to, not far from work (and hence from home), but even for that you need to make an appointment 1 or 2 days in advance. It's ridiculous, by then one would probably not even be sick anymore. I will get my act together and register with the clinic opposite my house, but thank God for health - He's the great Physician. Back in Singapore, I would fall sick about 3 times a year, serious enough to see a doctor (at least by Singaporean standards of seriousness), but I have been preserved for 1 year, 4 seasons now. I'm not taking it for granted.

Finally am going to check out the BBC Proms tomorrow, can't wait, and I hope work passes quickly so I can shoot off to the Royal Albert Hall :) :) Maybe we'll stay for the late night prom too - it's Jamie Cullum!

Prom 54: BBC Symphony Orchestra

In the second of his two Proms this season David Robertson conducts two enduring works by composers who fashioned a new aesthetic out of Romantic roots.

The expansive melodies and edgy pace of centenary composer Samuel Barber are at their most powerful in the Violin Concerto, played here by Israeli-American virtuoso Gil Shaham. Sibelius's Second Symphony traces a path from terse drama to great affirmation.

For his new commission in his 50th-birthday year, jazz-inspired Mark-Anthony Turnage has resolved not to write 'an old man's piece'.

• Mark-Anthony Turnage Hammered Out
  (BBC co-commission with LA Philharmonic: world premiere) (c15 mins)
• Barber Violin Concerto (25 mins)

• interval

• Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major (40 mins)

• Gil Shaham violin

• BBC Symphony Orchestra
• David Robertson conductor

Gone crazy; went running.

This deserves a blog entry because it was a historic deed, probably never to be repeated again.... I ran today. As in, I went for a run. Not a jog, a run. Voluntarily. The last time I did this was actually back in year 1 in uni, the 1st fateful frisbee training I went for, and promptly passed out after thanks to my lousy 7-11 mashed potato dinner.

It has been gloomy and rainy all weekend, but as I was strolling home, the sky was especially clear and blue, so I thought I'd explore the Thames path (that runs along the river Thames, duh) in my t-shirt and shorts. The concierge was especially nice and actually opened the gate for me to get out, so it was a good start. The thing is, I had no idea how fast or slow I should go, because it has been way too long. There was a small sense of familiarity, but then, I felt a lot stiffer and heavier than I used to in eons past. I felt like I couldn't really move, but I just forced myself anyway, and I think I ran too fast. Don't get me wrong, I was tired after like 5 mins, but I just kept going. The stupid Thames path actually got cut off halfway so I ended up along the road. I thought I'd run for a long long time, but when i got back, it had only been 20 mins, SIGH! but I did cover about 2 miles (3.2km), so that's pretty decent I think?

Ai yah, not that it really matters, I never have to do the much dreaded 2.4km run again. I will forever remember the time we resumed hockey training after the long december holidays and had a surprise NAPFA test sprung on us. The 5 stations are easy-enough (ok except sit and reach), but I really really hate the 2.4km run. It was the worst run I had ever done, clocking something like 16mins, yikes! There's something about running round and round that I have no affinity for; don't know how I survived all those years in track!

Anyway, I thought I'd continue the feat by going to the gym after that and trying out some of the weights machine that I had last properly touched back in RGS track days.... but when I got home, i promptly changed into swimwear and decided to go to the spa instead, HAH.

So there, a record, and a first in London. Probably last too, but who's to say another stroke of insanity will not strike again?

The Salmon Challenge

Background: When David visited in June, he went to Billingsgate market one morning and bought 7kg worth of salmon, all in fillets and vacuum-packed. While the gesture was kinda sweet because I love fish, it turned out to be TOO MUCH fish. We gave quite a lot to J&S but the entire freezer was till stuffed with fish. That is not really a problem, except that I have a frozen freezer, which makes it impossible to take things out once you put them in... and it's been a problem awaiting a fix for a long time now. The landlord and I finally managed to get our act together and finally the engineers are coming to replace the freezer door on Thursday, and in order to do that they need the entire fridge and freezer to be defrosted and switched off for a day...

#1: Fish Pie

Inspired by Luyi's attempt something like 6 months ago, here are the things that went into the pie:

• 800g salmon (supposed to mix with Haddock but i didnt have any Haddock and A LOT of salmon), sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 lemon
• c.900g mashed potato
• c.200ml single cream
• parsley (leaves only), chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot
• 4 eggs, hardboiled and sliced
• butter, for the oven tray
• single cream, 300ml, to ensure that the pie stays moist underneath the crispy potato top.

#2 Salmon Clay-Pot Rice

The other thing that I did as a quick fix for lunch today, was to make salmon clay-pot rice without the claypot. Pan fried a fillet and cooked rice in the rice cooker in the meantime. When the rice was cooked, I added sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper, chilli oil, a little bit of sambal chilli paste, small cut-up pieces of ba kwa (because they have expired and I was clearing out the kitchen cupboards today...), added in the deboned salmon in slices, and set the rice cooker to cook again.

At the end I added some chives and pork floss (also from the cupboard clear-out, this packet had no expiry date...)

This was the result, it was yummy-delicious!

There is yet more Salmon in the freezer, and I only have about 3 days left. Considering that the Fish Pie is gonna last me a good 3 days, I'm not sure what else to do!!! Help!