Genn – Page 4 – Wayfaring: Still

The Pink Palace Alhambra

May 2, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

We spent the night away in a very large room. There were a total of 4 doubler-decker bunk beds for the both of us, and the huge space really unsettled me. I most likely didn’t sleep the whole night because it just felt… strange. The mister felt the same way but we both unilaterally but unanimously decided to keep it to ourselves until we left the hotel the next morning. Suffice it to say that we were both mighty glad when we got to leave the room for good.

After breakfast, we were hanging around outside waiting to board the coach and that was when we were rather surprised to learn that hotel in the outskirts of Granada is located just across from where Granada National Airport is! Not very certain here, but I’m guessing that this airport serves only domestic flights and probably doesn’t operate at night since we were not bothered by landing or departing aircraft the night before.

And the day has finally arrived! We are finally visiting La Alhambra, the location I consider to be my personal highlight of this trip. While this palace and fortress complex is perhaps not as well-known as Sagrada Familia the iconic landmark of Spain, it can most certainly hold its own with its colourful history, evident from being the second most visited tourist attraction of the country.

A cursory check on Alhambra’s official ticketing website gives one an idea of how massive the palace grounds are. Apart from the palace itself, there are massive gardens and museums for both day and evening admissions. And since queues for both ticket-buying and entering are equally long, an intended visit must be planned in advance. This is really something I want to put out there for everyone including ourselves (we do want to explore Andalusia on our own again, one day) to consider since it’s easy to think that this seemingly lesser known attraction will be less crowded.

Yup. Crowded. I think it wasn’t that difficult to conclude. And this was just at the entrance. We were hoping that the crowd dispersed in the sparse palace grounds. We were fortunate that it really did.

We walked quickly through the gardens to keep in pace with our guide through the grounds, to get to Charles V Palace. Came by beautiful buildings along the way but we were running on a schedule trying to beat the crowd so…

Charles V Palace (Spanish: Palacio de Carlos V), possibly one of the most unique structures within the compound of La Alhambra, was ordered to be constructed by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor from 1500-1558. While some of the rooms within the palace had been converted by Catholic Monarchs after the conquest of Granada in 1492, Charles V wished to have a permanent residence befitting his status to be built near the Alhambra palaces.

*Taking a picture within Charles V Palace.*

This building is of relative importance in Spain due to the Renaissance style although it met with multiple difficulties and construction was only completed in 1952, more than four centuries after works commenced in 1527. Standing within the unique circular two-storey patio almost made me feel like I was in a bullring. Totally unrelated to the structure itself but considering that I was in Spain after all, I didn’t feel too bad about this gross misunderstanding.

From Charles V Palace, we proceeded to the fortress of Alcazaba, one of the oldest part of Alhambra. Built in the 13th century, the Alcazaba had had a colourful history: when the palaces were completed, the Moors used this fortress for military purposes. Later on when the Christians took over, they transformed it into the state prison. Like many other parts of Alhambra, it was neglected, fell into disrepair and was forgotten until the late 19th century when restorative works commenced.

*Patio of the Gilded Room, between the Mexuar and the Gilded Room,*
*became a meeting place for everyone.*

Throughout history, Court of the Myrtles (Spanish: Patio de los Arrayanes) was given various names but the current name came about because of the myrtle bushes surrounding the central pool. At 31 metres long and slightly over 7 metres wide, this pond has somewhat become an iconic spot whereby every visitor to Alhambra tries to photograph (the queue to get into the vantage spot was long). It’s easy to see why – the green pool acted as a mirror, reflecting the surrounding buildings and structures.

*A precious group photo of the group of people we travelled with.*

*Generalife, the most beautiful part of the grounds, in my opinion.*

You could say that our guide saved the best for last. The Generalife (Spanish: Palacio de Generalife) we see today is nothing like what it looked like before, since it was altered and rebuilt multiples times throughout history since the 13th century. Composed of several beautiful, large gardens, the quarters became a retreat for Kings of Granada who wanted to get away from the mundane-ness of their duties. In contrast to the more opulent architecture of other buildings in the area, buildings of Generalife are plain and simple. Here, the floral and water take centrestage.

While walking in Generalife, I get it why this place was chosen as the place to get away from it all. With the greenery and sounds of water trickling, I felt calm and at peace despite the heat. Kinda makes me wonder how this place looks like at night. From pictures online, La Alhambra is breathtaking at night.

To Granada, the Moorish Jewel of Spain

May 1, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

It was a long drive westward to Granada and that necessitated an early morning departure from Valencia, with an intermediate stop at the cathedral town of Guadix along the way.

Legs of Spanish Iberian ham. Apparently very expensive but from memory, these weren’t.

Such run-of-the-mill pit stops are now a common occurrence each time we journey on to our next destination along the southern coast. What makes this one particularly interesting were these legs of ham we spotted hanging from a pole, the first of its kind we came across. I would go as far to admit that I did not particularly appreciate the smell (not really a fan of cured meat and pork) but hey it was a rather strange sight to us, and we all gravitated closer to have a look. Someone in our group actually contemplated bringing a leg home!

Before we arrived at Guadix, we made a lunch stop and had the most awesome and satisfying meal of the trip. I was totally blown away by the seafood paella. Indeed, no one else does seafood paella as well as the Spanish do. Not even Spanish restaurants in Singapore, unfortunately.

Now, Guadix is one curious town, being one of the oldest human settlements in Spain dating all the way back to the Stone Age. While it lies at an elevation of over 900 metres, most of its inhabitants live underground in cave houses. This is because in general, Andalusians are rather fond of living underground as a means to escape the summer heat, given the semi-arid climate of the region. They are also very proud of their unique dwellings, as we found out while walking round the town: we came across several signs inviting us to view their cave houses if we so wished to. We eventually did take up an offer, curious to experience how cooling these cave houses actually are.

In spite of the scorching heat outside, I was taken by surprise at how the ambient temperature dropped so significantly the moment we stepped into the cave house. There was no air-conditioning or fan whatsoever but wow, it felt like the temperature dropped by 10 degree Celsius instantly. The wisdom of our ancestors simply never fails to amaze me.

*Cathedral of the Incarnation in the background.*

We climbed to the top of the hill for a panoramic of the town ancient town and its surroundings. Beautiful day it was, and we were somehow shaded by some clouds overhead, making the short respite atop the hill more bearable as we enjoyed the view that went as far as the mountain ranges of Andalusia. And from where we stood, the Guadix Cathedral (also know as Cathedral of the Incarnation) was a striking presence and I would have loved for the opportunity to visit. Suffice it to say that we didn’t manage to on this particular trip.

*Rare pic of me in full concentration trying to take a panoramic shot.*
*Didn’t quite work out…*

Guadix started out with producing quality cutlery but over the years the focus had shifted to mostly handcrafted earthenware, which was evident everywhere at every corner we turned.

It’s quite clear earthenware wasn’t actually our cup of tea; we were really more of the fridge-magnet-and-postcards kind of tourists and were happy to stop by the store at the corner of the street where our coach was parked nearby. Seemed like we were definitely travelling with like-minded group mates, judging from the picture above. 🙂

And finally, we were on our way to Granada, which was definitely one of the highlights of our itinerary. After all, Granada isn’t known as the Moorish jewel of Spain for nothing, primarily for its strong Moorish influence in its buildings and streets culminating in the impressive Alhambra Palace. Our first place though, wasn’t the palace but the viewpoint Mirador de San Nicolas, located next to the Church of San Nicolas. Even since Bill Clinton the ex-US president visited this viewpoint in 1997, it has become the must-visit viewpoint for every visitor to Granada although that is not to say that the other viewpoints offer less superior views. For the record, Mirador de San Miguel also offers a splendid view of this beautiful city.

Spain’s 3rd Largest City, Valencia

April 30, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

We bade farewell to Barcelona early in the day and boarded the coach that was to be our main mode of transport for the whole duration of the trip. And since our group size wasn’t very large, everyone had ample space to take two seats each. Very helpful for stretching out when needed since we were spending a lot of time on the roads tracing the lower coast of Spain.

*Toll booths as we were leaving region of Barcelona.*

*One of the many typical pit stops we made along the way.*

After a pit stop to relieve our bladders, we headed for Peníscola, an ancient fortified seaport that is now part of the Valencian Community. Often called ‘Gibraltar of Valencia’, it is located along the Mediterranean Coast and a very popular tourist destination. If Peníscola sounds familiar to you as it did to me, it is likely because you’ve heard of the annual comedy film festival that the town hosts. Either that, or you might have mixed it up with yet another place with beautiful beaches – Pensacola in Florida, United States of America. I know this because well… I did. 😆

The old town of Peníscola comprises a confusing maze of narrow winding cobbled stone streets with the castle located at the highest point of the town, at 64 square metres above mean sea level. It was built by the Knights of the Templar in the late 13th century, and since then it had undergone several minor alterations.

*Beyond this gate and we would have officially entered the medieval town of Peníscola.*

It was a gorgeous, beautiful day with cloudless blue skies as we came into close contact with the Mediterranean Sea and finally understood its enigmatic draw. Long romaticised as the destination for lovers, the many islands and coastal cities with dramatic coastlines surrounding the Mediterranean Sea are often overrun by tourists during the popular summer months. It really doesn’t help that many of these coastal cities and bigger islands are also ports of call for cruise ships (I’ll admit I am not a fan of cruise ships – they destroy the environment at least three times more severely than aircraft). In this respect, we have chosen well, to visit Peníscola during the shoulder month of April. I felt immense relief at not having to jostle with crowds of cruise ship tourists while we explored the walled fortress.

The Mediterranean Sea is indeed blue in colour. Its lacking in certain nutrients promoting growth of sea algae resulted in the signature blue and clear waters. The lack of sea algae meant that the water remains close to pure water, hence reflecting the true colour of the sky. That doesn’t really explain all of the factors why seas and oceans appear blue, but for the most part, this does explain why the Mediterranean Sea appears bluer than the rest of them.

Sadly, it won’t stay this way for long given the pollution from increased sea activity supporting tourism. Sustainable tourism is a term coined only in recent years, but one that resonates with me as we travel more widely over the years. It’s a huge topic to cover on its own so for now, I shall just leave it here as food for thought.

The castle is now a popular tourist attraction and the beaches and surrounding area a popular family holiday resort. The surrounding shops, I have to say, are mostly tourist traps selling run-of-the-mill souvenirs. This is unfortunately the way it has become for most, if not all popular tourist spots. Nevertheless, that did not take away the charm of the ancient town one bit. And I’m all for it if these retail activities help support the livelihood of the locals.

Around noon when the sun was getting a little too hot for comfort, we returned to our coach to seek refuge and headed for Valencia, the third largest city of Spain after Madrid and Barcelona.

And one of the first things we did was to sight-see Valencia while in the coach. I was thoroughly impressed with the various architecture found all around the city, especially in the centre where Romanesque architecture dominated. We were driven across town to make a stop at the world famous City of Arts and Sciences.

*L’Umbracle at City of Arts and Sciences.*

Being the most important modern tourist attraction of Valencia, the cultural and architectural jewel that is City of Arts and Sciences feature several futuristic-looking structures including one that resembles the skeleton of a whale and an open-air structure made of numerous arches encompassing plant species indigenous to the region serving as the entrance to the ‘city’. In the ‘city’ there are several museums and other interesting spaces which we unfortunately did not have enough time to explore in further detail..

Valencia Cathedral, also known as Saint Mary’s Cathedral, was our next destination. As with most European cities, this church sits in the heart of the old town. It was consecrated in the 13th century as a Catholic Church that was built over the site of a Visigothic church, which was turned into a mosque when the Moors occupied Valencia. This church has a vastly interesting history this way, but hardly unique since we later learnt that the church in Córdoba has a similar history.

Because the construction of the church was built over two centuries from the 13th to the 15th century, the structure consisted of several different artistic styles, but predominantly Gothic. While the interior does look a little like a mishmash of several architectural styles, the vast majority of visitors to the church miss this as they pay the most attention to the chapel located at the back of the church, for a very important artefact housed within.

From the standpoint of Roman Catholicism, the Valencia Cathedral is exceptionally important because of the rather nondescript Chapel of the Holy Chalice within the church. Or rather, what the chapel keeps behind the protective glass – the Holy Chalice, also known as the Holy Grail, believed to the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper with his apostles. Religious historians cannot agree on how it travelled all the way to Valencia, and while no one can really prove that this is the authentic Holy Grail, it is probably the most famous of the several Holy Grails there are.

After the immensely interesting guided tour of the Valencia Cathedral, we explored the streets of the city and came across a mobile kiosk selling Orxata. Orxata, a drink made from nuts and apparently unique only to Valencia, originating as far back at the 13th century. Our group crowded around the mobile kiosk and inundated the poor Spanish lady with our orders, curious about the taste. The drink was very refreshing and to be honest, tasted just a tad like the soybean milk that I liked. A welcomed beverage given how scorching hot it was getting.

As we continued with our walking tour, we came by an impressive large building that was closed. We were told that this was the market. The Mercat Central of Valencia (Spanish: Mercat Central de València) is claimed to be one of the biggest and oldest markets in Europe. It started out as an open-air marketplace in the 19th century and did not have a roof until 1928 when construction was completed.

*Standing across from Valencia Cathedral.*

We finally rounded up our walking tour with a view of El Miguelete Bell tower attached to the Valencia Cathedral. Like the church itself, the bell tower looked like it was designed by an architect who couldn’t decide on the style he wanted the tower to be built in. This functioning bell tower is a curious sight, for it seems to be incomplete, exposing the large bells. Indeed, the bell tower never finished construction after it was halted for some reason in the 18th century. The final phase of construction never resumed since the locals decided that they liked how the bell tower looked. And this is how this unique-looking tower comes to existence.

*A newly-wed couple we met during our city tour around Valencia.*

If Plaza de Toros de Valencia (officially Plaça de bous de València) somewhat reminds you of the Colosseum in Rome, that’s because this bullring arena built in neoclassical style in the 1850’s did take inspiration from Rome architecture including the Colosseum and the likes. Situated almost right smack in the city centre, this arena sits over 10,000, making it one of the largest arena in Spain, making it really hard to miss.

Anyhow we passed by (several times) but a pity we didn’t get the opportunity to enter for a visit since we were on a tight schedule. In fact, that was the last landmark we saw of Valencia in daylight. We had to travel onwards to our accommodation for the night before travelling some 500km to our next destination – Granada.

Of Camp Nou & Port Vell

April 29, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

Having had a total of two days in Barcelona, we decided to break away from the group to explore Camp Nou and the city by our own on the second day. Though not avid fans of Futbol Club Barcelona, the soccer-loving mister felt a compelling need to pay a visit to legendary Camp Nou since we were in the very city. It meant that we had to forgo some of the sightseeing included in the package tour but between those places and the largest stadium in Europe, our choice was quite clear.

As the hotel we put up at (Hotel NH Sant Boi) is located in the outskirts, we had to brave the public bus to get ourselves to the city centre (Plaça d’Espanya) where we switched to the metro. It turned out to be less of a nightmare than we thought it would be. Moreover, we had a taste of how it was like to live like a typical Spaniard, even if it were just for one short day.

Plaça d’Espanya is one of the biggest and most important squares in Barcelona as the junction of several major thoroughfares. It also leads to the National Art Museum of Catalonia (in Spanish, ‘Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya‘), the national museum of Catalan visual art.

*The imposting Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya*

From afar, the museum building looked an imposing work inspired in the Spanish Renaissance. The lovely classicist facade especially the main dome crowned in roman style called out to us earnestly, especially to the photographer wannabe in me. Alas, with limited time to spare we simply couldn’t visit. Instead we made our way to the metro station, unable to contain our excitement at the prospect of visiting Camp Nou.

*After arriving at the metro station closest to Camp Nou.*

We don’t speak a word of Spanish but had little difficulty navigating our way at the metro station – from purchasing the tickets to boarding the correct train. The real challenge we faced came from asking for directions to Camp Nou after alighting at the correct metro station. As with most other major stadiums in Europe, Camp Nou was quite a walk from the metro station. When we initially asked the hotel staff for directions, they gave us precise instructions right up till the point of alighting at the correct metro station. Beyond that, they told us to ask for directions from passersby, who would be able to point us in the direction of Camp Nou.

They couldn’t be more wrong. To our (immense) surprise, the Spaniards we came by spoke little if no English at all. Many got frustrated at not understanding our repeated attempts asking for directions, and we ourselves got disheartened at not being understood. Eventually we approached a young lady manning a booth outside a mall, hoping that the younger generation spoke more of English than the officer workers. She did, but we were made to feel extremely patronised when she replied accompanied with a surly face.

As the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers. In spite of the treatment we received, we listened attentively and managed to understand her instructions and gesturing. After politely thanking her, we were more than glad to be on our way.

It was not a short walk. Though not physically unfit (the walk was manageable), I was getting irritable by the scorching heat. We first came upon Camp Nou from its side, and I had to agree that it looked humongous just from the side profile (has to be, since it seats almost 100,000). We explored the stadium and were most impressed with the merchandise store. Perhaps it being our first visit to a world-class soccer stadium had something to do with our awe; our eyeballs almost popped out looking at the deluge of merchandise they sold. You name it, they probably sell it.

We had to wait several hours for the tour of the stadium because the home team was having their practice. Unfortunately we couldn’t identify any of them as they drove their flashy cars into the basement car park. Not the other visitors to the stadium though, because some of them were leaning half their bodies out of the ledge trying to catch the attention of the soccer players (I worried for their safety) and screaming at the same time. Fans they must be.

After traipsing parts of the stadium grounds opened to the public, we decided to make a move. The tour was available at too late a timing; we didn’t want to sit around and do nothing in the few hours prior to it. Naturally we headed towards Central Barcelona where the shopping district and La Rambla are situated.

As we were pottering around, we came upon another of Gaudí’s masterpiece – Casa Batlló. Locally it is known as House of Bones due to its visceral, skeletal organic quality. Once again we see the undulating facade that Gaudí seemed to favour very much. Remarkable design, and a total nightmare for the builders I presume.

By and by, we found ourselves strolling along La Rambla once again. This time, we spent lesser time on the street itself because our aim was to walk to the end of the street towards Port Vell. It was a weekday afternoon, but one most definitely couldn’t tell from the crowd along La Rambla.

We passed by the Maritime Museum (‘Museu Marítim‘ in Spanish), which I heard is one of the most interesting museums about. We gave it a miss, as with most museums we came by because I would probably take half a day just browsing one museum. I’ve said it more than once that time is not a luxury while on a package tour. it didn’t help that the decision to break away from the group for a day was quite an impromptu one, hence we didn’t do any of the requisite homework we should have. If we had, we might have better managed that one day in Barcelona.

The Columbus Monument (‘Monumento a Colón‘ in Spanish), a 60 m tall monument stands at the site where Christopher Columbus landed in Spain after his first voyage to the Americas. It doesn’t look very apparent from the photograph, but the statue of Columbus had his right hand outstretched pointing towards The New World (as believed). Many, many tourists were crowing around the monument so it was quite an arduous task trying to get near the monument at all. We gave up eventually and simply took a picture of it across the street.

Port Vell, a waterfront harbour and part of Port of Barcelona, was a short walk away. Once a run-down area of empty warehouses, railroad yards, and factories, it underwent an urban renewal program prior to the 1992 Summer Olympics. And this is the result. We totally loved the vibrancy of the harbour. The way the warm sea breeze gently caressed our faces and the sailboats easily cascaded to the waves… reminded us a lot of home. Could be the reason why we took to the harbour immediately. Fancy us being homesick on the 2nd day of our tour. 😆

Barcelona, The City of Counts

April 28, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

Mention this city located on the North-Eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula facing the Mediterranean Sea, and several images come to mind: the Port of Barcelona, La Rambla and Camp Nou. After a short and uneventful transit at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, we landed at Barcelona El Prat Airport on a cloudy, balmy day. Almost immediately, we were whisked off to commence our tour of the City of Counts once we cleared the customs.

*The mister still looking fresh after a long red-eye flight from home.*

Our first stop – Barcelona Olympic Stadium (or Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, as renamed in 2001). The stadium was originally built in 1927, and renovated in 1989 in preparation to be the main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Today, the stadium continues to play host to some of the most important sporting events Barcelona sees. It also hosted numerous concerts held by several famous artists including Bon Jovi, Madonna, Rolling Stones and Shakira, just to name a few.

By a stroke of luck, we found the stadium to be relatively deserted. Perhaps it being mid-day had something to do with this seemingly odd phenomenon at otherwise a rather important landmark of the city. Shortly after, we were ferried to another place for more sightseeing.

One important cultural aspect of Catalonian Barcelona is the Sardana Dance symbolising unity and pride. Circles of people join their raised hands and slowly dance round and round with small, precise steps. The circles become bigger as more people join in the dance, and eventually when the circle becomes too big, it may break into several smaller circles. Usually, all are welcomed to join but it is good to observe how to do the dance properly prior to jumping in because a wrong move could really upset the rhythm of the whole circle.

Given the significance of the Sardana Dance, little wonder that we came across a delightful monument depicting the unity dance on Montjuïc, a broad shallow hill with a relatively flat top overlooking the harbour, to the southwest of the city centre. The monument, known as La Sardana de Montjuïc, was completed by Josep Cañas and officially commissioned at Montjuïc Park in 1966.

*Panoramic view of the port of Barcelona.*

*Inexpensive souvenirs for family and friends.*

The monument was not the only reason why we found ourselves on Montjuïc. There, we were also greeted with a scenic panoramic view of Barcelona. Montjuïc Park seems like a must-visit for all tourists to the city because while we were there, tour buses were constantly offloading more and more tourists at the park. Apart from the view (which must look better on a clear day), the park came complete with a small cafe and mobile vendors selling keychain souvenirs. It only took us mere minutes to fulfill our responsibilities (with the requisite souvenirs) to our family and friends.

After a late lunch, we were brought around on a city tour where we saw numerous notable landmarks, in particular houses designed by Antoni Gaudí. Right from the start, Gaudí the architect thought very differently from his contemporaries. He loved nature and his designs were greatly influenced by different forms of nature. La Pedrera (or Casa Milà) with its bold forms of the undulating stone facade is a fine example.

*Interior ceiling depicting sunflowers.*

La Sagrada Familia is probably the singular most famous landmark ever to be associated with Gaudí and maybe even Barcelona. This large Roman Catholic Church commenced construction in 1882, and till today, is still incomplete. The construction progressed so slowly largely due to the fact that funds were coming in solely via private donations, not to mention the interruption of the Spanish Civil War. It is largely anticipated that the church will finally be completed by 2026, on the centennial of Gaudí’s death. Whether it can be completed on time remains much to be seen. If it does, we really should revisit Barcelona that same year, some 20 years after our first visit.

*Construction of the Passion facade was still very much underway.*

There are 3 grand facades to the church building – the Nativity facade to the east, the Passion facade to the west, and the Glory facade to the south. The Nativity facade was the first to be completed and directly bore most of Gaudí’s influence. At the time of our visit, only the Nativity facade was truly complete; both the Passion and Glory facades were still undergoing construction, especially the latter. Without a wide-angle lens, there was just no way one could take in the whole facade of the cathedral, which stood at an astounding height including the spires.

Our last stop for the day prior to dinner was a visit to La Rambla (‘Las Ramblas‘ in Spanish), a street in Central Barcelona lined with kiosks, stalls selling flowers and animals, buskers, street performers, cafes and restaurants. The promenade is therefore, a place to see and to be seen, for locals and tourists alike. However in recent years, more tourists than locals like to linger along the streets, and that has somewhat changed the character of the streets and the nature of businesses plying along the promenade considerably. Tourist crowd during the high season has also attracted many pickpockets to easy prey in the form of inattentive tourists.

Walking down La Rambla was quite an experience in itself. The street performers lining along two sides of the street were most impressive, and totally devoted to their trade. We’ve seen street performers prior to this visit, but never with such amount of vivacity and dedication. From the sheer ingenious to the downright absurd, we’ve seen it all. In fact we think we’ve seen the best here in La Rambla, Barcelona.

As we walked on, we came by this enthralling bazaar of sorts and decided to explore further. It turned out to be a wet market selling groceries and sweets. The surfeit of colours were so vibrant we felt like purchasing some of them, especially the fruits! Unfortunately time was not on our side. We left the bazaar after briskly walking through it and made our way back to the coach.

That evening, we were brought to a restaurant called Marina Moncho’s by the marina to have probably the most delicious seafood paella we’d ever eaten in our whole lives. It was our first time with paella and what a fine example it was. Never got to taste seafood paella that comes anywhere close since.

TRIVIA:
Barcelona, nicknamed the City of Counts (‘Ciutat Comtal‘ in Spanish), is the capital of Catalonia (an autonomous community of Spain) and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid the capital. This moniker came about as sort of a commemoration to the Counts of Barcelona who took control of the city at the beginning of the 9th century. The counts became increasingly independent and expanded their territory eventually to control the whole of Catalonia. Barcelona is often erroneously abbreviated as Barça, which is used exclusively to refer to FC Barcelona. The locals commonly used the abbreviation ‘Barna’ instead.

10 Things about Washington State

December 15, 2005July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

State of Washington was named after President George Washington in 1853 and is the only state to be named after a president.
It is nicknamed the ‘Evergreen State’ because of its many forests, amounting to more than half of its land mass.
It is the northwestern-most state of contiguous United States (non-contiguous states notably including Hawaii and Alaska), bordered by Canada to the north.
Olympia is its state capital; Seattle its largest city.
Washington is one of the seven states in the United States that does not levy a personal income tax.
Due to its rugged terrain, Washington is a leading lumber and plywood producer.
It also produces more apples than any other state.
Washington is home to Boeing, and its final assembly plant in Everett is apparently attributed to be the world’s largest building.
Microsoft Corporation is located in Redmond.
Starbucks was founded in Seattle, and the first store near Pike Place Market still stands today, bearing the original design of the coffee chain’s logo, which is different from the one we are used to seeing.

Leavenworth, the Bavarian Village

December 5, 2005July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

The penultimate Saturday of my work trip in the US saw us driving to Leavenworth, a town located in central Washington with the entire town centre completely modelled after a Bavarian village in the 1960s. Naturally this town became a major tourist attraction with festivals and activities organised year round to keep up the hype. P really wanted to visit for the beer and the sausages while I was sold when I heard about the Christmas lightings. Since it wasn’t too far a drive from Everett, we left it as one of our final day trips before we flew home.

It was very scenic along the way since Leavenworth is located within the Cascade Mountains and was an apt precursor to how the town would look like. As usual, I didn’t embark on any research, leaving all the decision-making to P our exceedingly competent trips organiser. We made a quick stop at the entrance to the town to take pictures of and with this welcoming board.

*A signature Bavarian building decked in Christmas decor*
*along the main street of the town.*

We walked into the town and saw the signature Bavarian architecture along the beautiful main street. It felt like we were instantly transported to the European continent. The multitude of visitors ambling about was evident of the popularity of this town as a weekend getaway. Apparently everyone shared the same braincell: most of us wanted to arrive at the town early enough to enjoy the atmosphere while there was light but were all eagerly awaiting the Christmas light-up.

*Taking a picture with Father Christmas.*

It looked like the children were having loads of fun sledding down the gentle slopes and I envied them. To be honest, I wished I were a child again, living in the moment with no cares in the world except for going down the slope as quickly as possible and making a splendid landing. Also, I was secretly envious of the way they were all warmly bundled up because I was starting to feel the chills, having been out in the open for a while. My two companions were feeling the same way, so we started exploring the retails shops instead, admittedly it was mostly for their heated spaces.

By and by, the small town got more and more crowded as visitors drove their way here before dark and getting harder to move around with hindrance.The sun was setting, so was the temperature dipping rapidly. Most revellers began drinking German beer or mulled wine to keep warm, but since I enjoyed neither, I continued suffering the cold in silence. It was an unfortunate circumstance that the sausage bun I ate did little to elevate my little problem that was frozen fingers.

And night fell. Everyone gathered and huddled closely together in the central square and in the darkness, waited with frozen, bated breath for the instance when we would be greeted with the awesome Christmas lights. We were not disappointed; the atmosphere was magical and brought back fond memories of what I felt as an eleven-year old in California Disneyland near Christmas. This was even better, with real snow!

I took a gazillion number of pictures after the light-up but only these few made the cut. The difficulty of taking pictures at night is very real for an amateurish photographers, and it showed in how many of them I had to painfully reject. Few there might be, they were enough to bring back the memories of that evening in the magical town nestled within the Cascade Mountains. Although I’m not fond of driving in winter, I would love to bring the mister back to visit one day.

Visiting Microsoft HQ

November 22, 2005July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

Washington is world-famous for three things originating from this state – Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft. It’s probably no big deal to some people, but since we found ourselves in this state, we decided to visit the Microsoft HQ in Redmond. In particular One Microsoft Way, which we learnt from the Microsoft website is where it is situated.

For some reason or another, it was extremely cold there in Redmond, to the extent that I was opting to wear my gloves all the way. Both Peter and Desmond were lamenting over how they had forgotten their gloves again. Unfortunately there was absolutely no way I was giving up my gloves to share with them. Not that I’m selfish, but I’d probably end up even colder than they were, without my gloves. Furthermore I really didn’t think they could fit into my kids’ sized gloves.

*The numerous buildings within the compound.*

The whole place is just huge! It was so vast that we got quite hopelessly lost. We simply didn’t know where to go and where to start. So we decided we should just start with Building 1 and then proceed to Building 44 for some photo-taking. We thought there were 44 buildings in total, but apparently we were wrong since on our drive out of the massive campus, we noticed a Building 50. To hazard a guess we think there could be a total of 50 Buildings in Microsoft HQ in Redmond.

For those aspiring to work for Microsoft, please proceed to Building 19. Well, yes they have a building dedicated to the purpose of recruitment. Out of sheer curiosity, we decided to check out the positions available. Microsoft was looking for cleaners. Any takers?

We found Building 1 as well, but we simply could not locate the street One Microsoft Way. The closest we found was the street sign that said MICROSOFT WAY. Close enough, I reckon.

After satisfying our curiosity on how the campus of Microsoft corporate headquarters looked like, we left for Bellevue Square for a spot of shopping. Apparently men shop too, but mainly for their wives and girlfriends.

Olympia – The Capital of WA

November 21, 2005July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

Our day started early since it was the day Y was returning to Singapore and needed to be at the airport at 8.30am. Two other colleagues from a sister company decided to join us today and we wasted no time after depositing Y and his luggage, to proceed to Olympia the capital of Washington State.

ToD-Olympia004 — *The imposing City Hall building.*

ToD-Olympia002 — *It was turning cold and the leaves were changing hues.*

The first place we went to was the City Hall. We signed up for a tour around the building and had a rather concise history lesson about the State of Washington.

The state Washington, otherwise know as the Evergreen State, was the 42nd state to join the United States of America. All the chandeliers and lights in the building are from Tiffany’s and they are now priceless although they only cost USD5,000 and USD10,000 respectively in the 1920s.

ToD-Olympia016 — *The Olympia Highlanders.*

We were very fortunate to have met the Olympia Highlanders, who were at the City Hall to take their official band pictures (note: Highlanders are Scottish descendants whose clans originated from the highlands in Scotland).

Now, on normal days under normal situations, I would most certainly appreciate the music from the bagpipes… but playing indoors in a building shaped like a dome was simply a recipe for disaster. I suppose I learnt something from this scenario, that bagpipes are meant to be played in the open air, like the highlands.

I hate to admit this, but I couldn’t wait to escape from the building.

Following our walk through the numerous rooms and given a brief history of Washington, we were off to the Farmers’ Market nearby. Given that it was the weekend, the local produce market was lively and bustling with activity. It wasn’t too big though, and we managed to cover the whole place in less than thirty minutes.

ToD-Olympia037 — *Build-A-Bear is definitely kids’ paradise.*

We lingered around a bit more before deciding that we’d seen enough of what there was, and proceeded to Tacoma Mall. While window-shopping, I came to this very interesting shop called Build-A-Bear where shoppers can customise their own teddy bears. Ooh…. I would have loved to queue with the kids and get a teddy bear stitched up the way I wanted if I were with H (and not with 4 guys totally unrelated to me). And it’s relatively inexpensive to get a bespoke bear. On average, it costs about USD20.00 to get one done. The expensive items though, are the dresses and clothes for the bears.

ToD-Olympia038 — *Standing on one of those legendary steep slopes in downtown Seattle.*

After a quick lunch at Tacoma Mall, we drove on to Seattle downtown since both our new colleagues haven’t had the chance to visit it. By then, I was already nursing a headache. Not too sure if it was due to the heavy bag I was carrying or the cold climate. A definite dampener to my mood. It took us quite a while to find a parking lot, and finally, we found one on the steep slope characteristic of Seattle (since it was rebuilt above the ruins of the old Seattle which was destroyed by the earthquake). I reckoned the angle of elevation to be about 30 degrees. If you miss a footing while walking down, you can be rest assured you would be tumbling all the way down. No joke!

Pike Place Market was really busy and packed with weekend shoppers; I’ve never quite seen it like this before since it was always closed when we headed that way. We took the opportunity to explore the market. It’s really like one of our local wet markets in Singapore, the western version. And I spotted a frightening-looking fish. Upon closer inspection, we learnt that it was called a monkfish. If the fishmonger was trying to attract more shoppers to his stall, he had totally succeeded. Effective marketing at its best.

Dinner that night was settled in downtown Seattle, following which we embarked on the long drive back to Everett before it got too late. P had more activities planned for the next day so we wanted to have ample rest.

Passing Up on Skiing at Stevens Pass

November 14, 2005July 29, 2021 Genn1 Comment

And exactly one week later, we found ourselves driving up to yet another ski resort. I guess P truly wanted to snowboard. 😆

Throughout the week prior, D & I pondered over following P & Y (one snowboarding, one skiing) up to Stevens Pass since we both were certain we didn’t want to engage in either. Our Saturday could otherwise be spent doing something else but since there was only one vehicle to be shared amongst the four of us, we would effectively be car-less, and that left us with few options on where we could go. Furthermore D wanted to be the self-appointed driver on the drive down – he was being nice, knowing P would be too tired to drive safely after expending his energy snowboarding the whole day. So I too, decided to tag along otherwise D would be quite lonely.

The scenery along the way wasn’t as fantastic (last week’s drive was better) but the landscape was a lot more dramatic than Crystal Mountain’s. It was also much further but we were driving all the way there for the powder snow. According to our American colleagues, Mount Baker has the best powder snow for winter activities yet driving so far wasn’t an option for us. So Stevens Pass it was.

ToD-Stevens021 — *Visible ski slopes as we were driving up.*

From afar we could see the ski slopes. Felt so excited for the both of them. We started out slightly later than planned, at about 7.30am instead and when we finally arrived, it was just over 9.00am. Not many cars yet, but during the short 10 minutes preparing ourselves in the car (wearing more layers and gloves), there was an endless stream of cars arriving.

Again, time for pictures. Lots of them. Since we were more than adequately dressed this round, D & I ventured out of the cafeteria to walk about the ski resort when we got bored with sitting and sipping on our hot drinks. There were lots of space to explore.

ToD-Stevens037 — *Ski lifts were not even half full.*

It was still pretty early into the ski season so the lifts were not utilised at full capacity. Wished I could ski well enough to warrant additional expenses on buying ski suits and renting equipment, but I’m not exactly competent yet.

It started snowing midway into our exploration of the resort. From our prior experience, we knew that whilst falling snow may look all nice and romantic, it is not so nice to get wet from the melted snow. We walked back into the cafeteria shortly after, not wishing to get wet.

A parting shot prior to leaving Stevens Pass. One thing I didn’t quite like about this particular ski resort… it was a steep slope at the entrance to the resort. Walking up wasn’t too much of an issue but leaving was an absolute nightmare. Last week I couldn’t stop laughing at Y, but this week he had his revenge. I had so much trouble manoeuvring the steep slope down he took pity on me and lent me one of his ski poles (D took the other). Hilarious sight, I know. This taught me an important lesson in life: that karma exists. 😆

I sat beside D as he drove down the mountain, promising to keep talking to him so he wouldn’t doze off. But the interior of the car was so warm and toasty I dozed off. Felt so bad…

An unpleasant incident took place while at Stevens Pass. The resort had racks set up just outside the cafeteria/rest area for skiers and snowboarders to park their equipment since they were not allowed to bring them in. One thing I noted while I walked past them was that locks and chains were not involved (unlike in S. Korea, the other ski resort I had been to). Suffice it to say that the system was very much based on trust. I was skeptical that it would work, but well… who was I to judge?

P had a slight accident while snowboarding hence he stopped and came in to rest a lot earlier than Y, who continued skiing for a couple of hours more. By the time we got up to leave the resort, P couldn’t find his rented snowboard when he went to one of the racks to collect it. He panicked, and made a rash decision to pick out a random snowboard belonging to someone else. I didn’t agree with his action, but kept quiet since it was his decision to make (losing the snowboard entails a large fine).

Turns out that the snowboard he took and tried to return to the shop was also a rented one, and the other guy was a lot smarter in reporting the loss. Apparently all these rental shops maintain one system to track stolen/lost equipment. P got into a bit of trouble at the shop, I heard from Y. In the end, he had to pay a fine for losing his snowboard, but they decided to go easy on him for the other transgression since his intent was not with malice.

A questionable decision aside, it wasn’t really fair that P had his rented snowboard stolen. Seems like the system based on trust has broken down long ago.