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Germany It has been 2 months since I last blogged about the Europe trip in December last year, I realized. My bad. The winter tour covered Paris ✈ Switzerland ✈ Germany ✈ Netherland ✈ Belgium ✈ Paris. So far I've shared about the amazing experiences I've had in Paris and Switzerland. What's the best way to enjoy winter other than to freeze your butt off eating ice-cream? Tara and I had ice-cream FOUR times during the 8-day tour.  On our last night in Switzerland, we had ice-cream sorbet for supper. Yummm~~  Very colorful breakfast the following day before departing to Germany. I almost attacked the egg like how I would an apple.  Before actually leaving Switzerland, one of the women in the tour group desperately needed to visit the Rolex Bucherer complex one more time. She was haunted in her sleep for not buying a Rolex watch when we were shopping in Lucerne the day before. And my expression was "(=.=)"" *jaw dropped*  While waiting for her outside the building, it snowed again that morning!! Freaking happy!!! And cold! And happy!  On our way to the Rhine Falls, Schaffhausen, Switzerland.  The Rhine Falls!  I managed to capture a photo of a snowwwwwwwflake! Isn't it purteeee?  Several more attempts. I always imagined it to be only visible under a magnifying glass. Never in my wildest dreams did I know that a piece of snowflake is this huge. And perfect.  More ice-cream?   Like a picture from a postcard.  Miniature snowman, light enough to be tossed into the waters down below. Next, we headed to Titisee, a scenic town in Germany.  Titisee town is well-known for its hand-crafted cuckoo clocks.  There's endless designs to choose from.  This is an ancient one with a rock to keep the clock running.  And there's the husband beater. Hahaha.  This is a gigantic one, carved from ONE piece of solid wood. Must be heavy. #youdontsay For lunch, we had German sausages.. yummeh!  Tara liked hers grilled.  I preferred mine long. Now now, don't be a perv.   Couldn't. Resist. Not. Playing. In. The. Snow.  ~Wheeee~~~  After spending the day in Titisee, it was a long coach transfer to Ludwigshafen.  With sweet Shin Ee at one of the rest stops :)  I felt like a gypsy, staying at different hotels every night and having to pack up and leave the next morning.  After the check-in, Tara and I took a walk to a nearby Christmas market. Everything was surreal.  The Rhein Gallery next to the Christmas market.  Light-effect fountain in front of our hotel.  And the amazing blue lights that lit up the park.
Lion of Lucerne It was an honor to pay tribute to the courageous Swiss guards who lost their lives defending the royal family to ensure their safe escape during the French Revolution by visiting the Lion Monument which was erected to commemorate that fateful event.  The sculpture was carved from a huge solid sandstone rock wall.  Standing at 10m in length and 6m in height, the sight of this monument was truly humbling.  Upon closer inspection, one could observe the wounded body of the lion with a spear on its side.  The inscription below the lion are engraved names of Swiss guards who perished and who survived. This is a spectacular excerpt about the mighty lion:
In the evening, we were given ample time to SHOPPP!!!  Believe you me, shopping in Switzerland is heavenly! The shopping environment is blissful, not having to worry about snatch thefts and whatnot, and the weather was perfect! Plus, Swiss franc currency is a little bit lower than Euros.   Less guilt for shopping hahah. I bought chocolates and a new pair of boots (not the ones I have on).  One thing that saddens me about winter is how quickly the sun sets. The time was 5pm.  The up side of it was that the Christmas decorations and lighting could be enjoyed.  Gorgeous, isn't it?      I want everything in that window!  ......And everything in that building! (Sad to say, the only thing I can afford is the welcome mat  ) That night was one of the best nights we had in Europe.
Mt. Titlis So after a day tour in Dijon, our coach arrived in Lucerne, Switzerland late in the evening.  There were blankets of snow everywhere. Somehow the heater in our room wasn't working. Me, being my lazy self, wasn't bothered by the mild chilliness but Tara insisted, so we ended up moving into another room with a functioning heater. I'm glad I listened to her because............  It was friggin' snowing in the morning! I woke up at 7.30am (yes, it was still really dark outside), rubbed my eyes, ran towards the window, and started screaming!! My sis thought I witnessed something horrifying... gosh.  SSSSSSSNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!  Isn't it breathtakingly beautiful?!!  We were poorly dressed that day. Insulated track pants and granny boots LOL.  One of many significant scenery. †  At the foothill of Mt. Titlis, many coaches were instructed to have their tires chained, even if they were snow tires. A little redundant, but our lives are more important than the amount of time spent placing the chains. Thank you Jojo the bus driver!  While Jojo was busy with the tires, Tara and I were busy doodling on somebody's car hahah.   And doing star jumps on someone's porch. At the entrance of Mt. Titlis, many were on their way up for skiing, the favourite winter sport.  Riding the cable car up uP UP!  The second cable car is a huge one!  And it rotates!  So much whiteness down below.  Group pic with Alice, a new found friend who was on the same tour. It was terribly chilly that whenever I took my gloves off to take photos, I could feel a frostbite coming. With them on, I was being so klutzy and almost got myself a heart attack when the camera threatened to plunge to its death on several occasions.  I believe the temperature at Mt. Titlis was -20℃ that day. And yet, despite the cold weather, who can say no to Swiss-made chocolate ice-cream?? Nom nom nom...  I want to return to Mt. Titlis in the summer some day because they have this... Snow tubing!!. . . . . . . . . . . .  Until then, I have to make do with water floats and old car tires down by the river.
Dijon mustard. So after a day and night in Paris, we checked out of Holiday Inn and headed to Switzerland, stopping by Dijon on the way.  Dijon is very famous for its mustard sauce- comes in various jars and flavours. Wished I had bought one. At that time, I went all "don't need it, won't buy it" mode. *kicks self* Anywho, I didn't realize that we would be walking for hours. I had on a pair of heeled boots. My other pair was neatly packed in my suitcase.  Must. Endure. The. Pain.  Like many other cities in the continent of Europe, Dijon also has cobblestone roads and Gothic architecture, which I love!  Random buildings.  La Fayette mall!!  The Dijon fountain.  The town plastered with bright and lively colours- I felt like a kid again. Oh look, a merry-go-round!  Now we know why the chicken crossed the road.   Notre Dame de Dijon cathedral.   In preparation for Christmas.  The Christmas market with stalls set up. They sell food, beer, jewelry, etc. Tara and I had sugar-coated churros for lunch while secretly staring at the weirdo singing and dancing by himself across the street. He did all that standing on a bench.   Our last rest stop before reaching Lucerne, Switzerland. Yeap, it's a touch-n-go trip. 1 country in a day. Will blog about Switzerland next!
.,-*"`'~.,,~ Paris ~.,,~"*-,,. Back in December 2011, Tara and I made our way to the City of Light. It was our first time traveling together. Just the two of us. =D  The anticipation of being in Paris outweighed the dreary 14-hour flight experience. Difficult as it may be, we slept throughout the journey.  We landed at Orly Airport with our large heavy suitcases. Somehow we couldn't locate our local Paris tour guide so the gorgeous French lady who was seated beside me on the plane kindly lent us her mobile to contact him. So sweet of her! *heart melted*  Our first destination!!  The Eiffel Tower. Such a beauty!  I swear my dress sense improved throughout the trip. Bear with me for the first few days while I unintentionally dressed like a burglar (searches for ski mask).  The tour company bought the entrance tickets for us up to the 2nd level. Anyway that day was awfully windy so no one was allowed to climb higher than that.  Breath-taking views.  Spot the golden dome.  The coach drove around the city and we oohed and aahed at everything. How is it possible that such a beautiful city still exists?! Sadly, it was raining and our snapshots turned out bleahhh. Stupid rain.  The Arch of Triumph.  The Obelisk.  Seafood tapas for lunch at the Louvre.  And.... and.... After hearing a lot of ravings about macaroons, we bought a box from McCafe. So yummy and chewy and sweet nom nom nom.  The Seine Cruise.  Tara and I were armed with one camera each. Whenever we spotted nice scenery, we yelled directions to one another and scrambled as quickly as we could to snap happy moments for each other. (^.^) Teamwork, baybeh!  Scenery from the cruise.  Merry-go-round-ception.  More bus rides around the city. No more rain droplets on the windows hah!    Into the city.  "Queue? What queue??"  In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the jam, there she was, a hot biker chick. *whistles* Unless, underneath that helmet is a man with a hot female bod. *shudders*  When breaking for meals, the tour guide of ours boomed, "Okay, it's breakfast/lunch/dinner time. Go have a sandwich and be back by ........am/pm." So I thought maybe their sandwich is THAT good or is their staple food, etc. Imho, I feel sad for them for having to eat cold hard sandwich. Heck, I felt sad for myself when I bit into that thing I called my dinner.  Nevertheless, I still love the fact that I had a great time in Paris. <3 <3 <3
Twilight. We were like little girls, my friend and I, giggling away as we flipped the pages of famous novels being translated to Malay language at a popular bookstore (get the pun?). "Look look," I gasped, showing her a book. "Guess what's Twilight in Malay??" *brain fart*  "Senjakala. Ooohhhhhh........" *enlightenment* "Then what about Eclipse?" I chirped in glee.  "Gerhana... Simple!" "Okay, one more. New Moon?" I asked. "Easy peasy. Anak bulan!!" I thought so too.  But noooo... New Moon just became New Love. 
Greetings from behind a messy desk! Hi all! Once again I had managed to abandon blogsphere for a while now. Who would have guessed that even in the working world, one would be assigned to researches and whatnot. In just a few more weeks, the new year will roll by. And yet I still have yet to fulfill my resolution for this year- to finish any given task given this year by the end of this year. I WILL SURVIVE!! *in workaholic mode* *DO NOT DISTURB*
Neglected.  This is how my blog looks like now.Totally neglected. On the upside, I'm exempted from going to work for the next few days or so. Woohoo! The downside, however, is that I have to be at Kelantan. Work-related. *cries a bit inside* I haven't even pack for the trip yet. It's going to be a long night.
Scrubs. Ever since Crocs came up with their range of rubber shoes, I made a vow to myself never to follow the crowd and get a pair because it's popular, just because they're hideous imho. Against all odds (the universe was against me somehow), I had to get a pair of rubber shoes/sandals... for work. *cringes at the thought of it* I went ahead and bought a cheap 'made in China' pair for 15 bucks *still cringing as I handed my money to the cashier*  Albeit all the cringing I made, when I put them on, hey, it doesn't look too bad.  But still, I'll never be caught dead in these on the streets.   The only outfit I'll pair the shoes with are my scrubs.
Strange purchases. Just last week I visited a kids carnival organized by my church. It was free entrance, plus they gave away free coupons!! So I exchanged my coupons for this.  Free toys!  It says "Wisdom Game Cube Puzzle" on the package. Oooh, it must take high IQ to solve it.  The first cube puzzle looks easy. I'm guessing the aim of it is to lead the metal ball into the hole.  Easy peasy!!   It baffled me, so much so that I gave it away to a kid. And when the little girl asked me what to do with it, I said: Go figure.   This has been the cutest Even though it's 6 bucks more costly than the conventional ones, I was so tempted to get it because it's really small, light and most importantly, portable. Also, the floral prints are really cute!  These are my best purchases ever! Penang night market rules! One. Buck. For. Each. Item. So my friend and I grabbed everything we needed. I got four items. She, 10. It's like dirt cheap sales haha, except that it's on every Friday night at Jalan Perak, Penang at this one particular stall. Okay, that's all for today. Gonna go "window shopping" now. Tataa~ Have a great weekend! p/s: My weekends start on Friday. Jealous much?
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