Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Chronicles of Mod : Invading Edinburgh



I loved Edinburgh! Even more than London, I can say. It was in no way as vibrant as glamourous London but it was so enchanting that I promised myself that someday I would go back. A scottish friend of Now's told us that we were partly right; all the year round Edinburgh was normally covered with sheet of rain, fog, and even snow. We were too lucky to experience sunny Edinburgh amidst the hightlights of "Fringe" Music and Shows Festival, celebrated annually in summer.

Tourists from all over the world gathered there to witness the scottish summer liveliness. Shows, theatres, street cultural presentaions were available all day long. We didn't have a chance to get to see any except those in the streets though.

One thing I liked here was that, according to the laws, nobody was allowed to smoke inside the building, be it pubs or clubs. Well, that might sound a bit pathetic for someone, especially for the spaniards, but I loved that!

I "point-and-shoot" the above scene while strolling along The Royal Mile, the long main street in the Old Town which led from the Castle Hill to the Holyrood Palace down below. Most of the activities were taken place here.



This photo was taken at the new town of Edinburgh. The old one was situated on the hill, from which we could see all the new town and the sea beyond. From here, the new neighbourhood, we wormed our way to a bar&restaurant on the top floor of a building from which we were able to admire the majestic beauty of the Castle bathed in the topaz light of sunset while sipping coffee. :) One of the best moment of the trip.



A view from the terrace where we had coffee with Lucy, Now's friend.



To end the trip, we walked down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Park. Unfortunately, we didn't reach the Holyrood Palace in time, it was closed then when we arrived. We walked up (and around) a giant rock mountain till sunset.



Edinburgh from afar.

Despite all the fuss about security threat in airports, 3-hour delayed flight, hair-raising takeoffs and landings from EasyJet, lost baggage (Now's baggage, with my nutcracker inside), immigration problem (In Barajas, Madrid: The officer told me that I didn't look like the photo in MY passport and didn't want to let me pass, SOB!) and etc., this trip had taken its top position on my list already. One of the most impressive and unforgettable trip ever!

All of this would never have happened without the great travel companion like Now :)

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Chronicles of Mod : Invading London II



After satisfying our curiosity over the legendary Tower of London and admiring the Coronation Crown and the Sceptre, embedded with the grand diamonds Cullinan I and II, and the rest of the priceless Royal Jewelry, we wormed our way passing the turrets and towers out to the bank of the Thames.



Changing of the guards. It was, for me, the same as other changing of guards in any cities (e.g. Coppenhagen or Athens). The only differece was that lovely (yet wierd) red outfits with furry black hat (or something alike, I don't know what it's called). The Changing here was a lil' more fancifully and musically performed than any other places. It would have been more impressive if less crowded and we didn't have to wait an hour before "the show" begun.



Hyde Park. Surprisingly one of the place I like most. I parted from Now after visiting Buckingham Palace to take a walk in this enormous public park. The day was gloomy, but I felt at ease and relaxed while walking along the serene lake Serpentine, habitat and sanctuary of dozen of species of birds and fish.



Portobello Market is a crowded open-air market in which you can lose yourself through thousand pieces of antiques and trinkets or even street gastronomy. Be there early on Saturday's morning to make the most out of it. A place for tourists and local people alike. By the way, Now found the same skirt she bought in Bangkok at a shop here, priced at 30 pounds. The one sold in Bkk cost her like 3 pounds though. Heheh.



Sincerely another destination that I felt obliged to visit. I like museums in general, despite of their size. But I have a real phobia for overcrowded museums ablaze with camera flash, in which all you have to do is make your way through tourist-turned-photographers to get a glimpse of relics. As chaotic as Le Louvre, British Museum is really a great place to explore the history of mankind, if you have lots of time, of course. The Asian Collection is the mutt's nut! Don't miss it. :)

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Chronicles of Mod : Invading London I

From August 9th till 16th, Now and I had a fascinating and exciting trip to London and Edinburgh.

The weather was moderately cool and partly sunny. Thanks to the BBC's weather forecast that helped me in preparing a suitable collection of clothes :)

For someone who has grown up in an urban environment like me, I fell in love immediately with the Metropolitan as we walked through streets from St.Paul to Covent Garden (Whoops, that was quite a long long way!). Trees and flowers were everywhere and this was what we couldn't find in Madrid. At first I couldn't imagine why so many people wanted to live in London, but then and there the same desire and impression were developing inside me.

Too bad, I couldn't see a picture of me living there. Everything looked (and was) expensive, but the quality was equally high as well (At this, I give a standing ovation to the packaged food in supermarkets like Marks & Spencer or cafes like E.A.T. and Vita. I have never found any food so fancifully decorated and packaged like here! Once there, I felt the urge to buy and eat them all. Yummy).

Here are some of the places we visited during our first four days of the trip before heading to Edinburgh, Scotland.



Standing on Millennium Bridge, overlooking Thames and series of bridges along the grand river. Our hostel is only five minutes away from this spot.


St.Paul Cathedral has the second largest dome in the world, after St.Peter in Vatican City. We stayed in a hostel near by, feeling closer to the Celestial Being than ever! Imagine the chimes eminating from the belfry every morning and evening, isn't that cool?!? :)



Westminster Abbey, crowded as always. Impressive in its majestic grandiosity and numerous tombs of the fallen British personages, including Elizabeth I, her sister Mary, Shakespear and Churchill.



Chinatown...I LOVE this place! A Mecca for food lovers (mostly with low budget). We went there almost every day to fill our starving belly with all the fanciful ranges of oriental and international selection. Yummy.

We felt at ease here in London. Being able to witness the multicultural intergrity of the Metropolitan was quite comforting. Racism was notably less practised and observed there. It is something that Madrid is still lack of.


Walking from the Abbey to the Parliament, we stopped for a serie of photos of Big Ben and then continued along the street to the Westminster Bridge which led us to the other side of the bank. From there the view was spectacular. Before riding the Millenium Wheel, I felt obliged to take a typical photo with this beautiful gothic parliament :)

More photos and stories are still coming. So, stay tuned!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

To Stay or Not to Stay


There's only 1 month left and my happy-time scholarship will automatically cease its life cycle, which means...

No more 600E per month.
No more super shopping experience in H&M, SPF, Zara, Principe Pio, etc.
No more european trips every now and then.
No more Colegio de Nuestra Senora de Africa (And with this, no more badly-cooked and hardly edible food in the Comedor as well! Yeah! Finally!!!)
No more first quality health insurance from DKV
Etc.

Soon my student/resident card will expire and I'm bound to head home to start my life anew there.

I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!!!

Well, not yet, at the moment.

Come on, I don't plan to stick here forever with the bulls and the flamenco dancers (spanish dudes are an exception, of course!)

Despite lots of things to take into consideration, I've finally come to a well-thought conclusion (Which means...even my family can't change my mind, heheh)

For the moment, I'm gonna stay in Madrid till April, guyssssssssssss!!! Hurraaaahh, good news for those who reside in Madrid, or even in Barcelona (I don't forget u Evans y Bong!) and supposedly bad news for my buddies in Bangkok (Don't cry! I'll be there in the end, my whole life is on that track, not here).

Let's see if I can make it through until April (or even further). Becuz I don't really know when my company will kick me out, in case their well-planned million-euro project fail (Ojala no!).

And here come the time and opportunity to...

Live in a shared apartment with my lovely austrian lost love Trixi :P and the gang.
Work, work & work (I don't complain about this though. Actually I appreciate that I've GOT one).
Cook what I really wanna eat (and learn how to!!!) :D
Do the cleaning.
Do the laundry.
Hang out with friends freely whenever I WANT without having to go back to the Colegio in time for a meal.
And much more....

It's about time to live a real life here. Despite the two years that I have been here, I feel like I'm as inexperienced as those who have just arrive yesterday in term of living on one's own. It's like I have not really been living in Madrid (like all others) at all because things in Africa is too systematically prepared and organized. Everything is too easy. I can get (almost) everything without efforts here.

As for those who are in Bangkok, they can surely wait for me. Hey! I'm not taking u guys for granted, but I'm just trying to say it's just 6 months or a year more! And we'll have quite plenty of time to hang out together! (Including u, Patto!)

Until next time, plan your life well and tell me about it!