Sunday, May 25, 2008
Weekend n-6. Pre-Berlin ;)
Unfortunately, nothing exciting this weekend other than the last party at Akua Keta because lessons are officially over for all the Italian students. So they only have exams they can choose to take now, or in September, or in December. Don't you just love the Italian system? Heh. Also because we charmed our professors to give us a 2-day week next week so we could fly off for the ILA in Berlin! *grins* Of course, it's paid for. ;) hey, it *is* a field trip. even though we have to fly there. hehe. Plus. I managed to get my hands on trade day tickets again!! which means, it'll be time yet again to cajole the nice people who are there exhibiting to let me see the inside of the cockpits. ;) You can never sit in an F16 too many times - even though of course, it isn't quite flying. Just being in it will do. Haha. Did I mention it was my favourite plane of all time? ;) Part 1 Part 2 Still can't believe 2 years have gone by so fast since the last time I was there. At the end of the last one, when they said "see you in 2008" I never expected to *really* see them. Coolness. =) Naturally, I managed to arrange it such that I'm extending the trip by another 3 days so i can pop by Munich for a visit. And yes, that's paid for too - although this time it isn't really with the rest of the class. *grins* But it does come at a price. It means an exam on Tuesday, and 2-3 more in the week when I get back from the 3rd - 6th. =( Oh well. No biggie. There's always retakes. *big grin* Again, I love the Italian system, if you don't get the grade you want, you just sit for it again with no penalty whatsoever. ;)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Weekend n-7. La Giostra
Well, not the whole weekend was spent there, but this was the highlight of the weekend, I'll say. Haha. Jason and Ben came for a visit on Thursday, and unfornately, having an exam on Friday - and on Tuesday, I couldn't entertain them as much as I would have liked to. =( So they ended up going to the Cinque Terre by themselves, and wandering Pisa a little too by themselves. I played "Big Two" with them on Thursday night though, and brought them to the Mensa. Of course. ;) And dinner on Friday was at this little pizzeria on the other side of the leaning tower that was pretty yummy, and the atmosphere was really nice too! Since it's so out-of-the-way, we were the only tourists there. Heh. On Saturday though, we left for florence in the afternoon so I could try and get some last minute cramming done for my next exam, and this was seriously the highlight of our trip. I wish I had all the photos, but I was distracted enough to not have taken it from their cameras! Such a waste right? So they'll only be back to upload and stuff at the end of the month methinks. So you will have to live with my descriptions till then. :p  This restaurant, is the benchmark for all the other places I will visit from now on. The Italians and their penchant for eating dinner late meant that we got a reservation at a perfect time: 7.30. =) This quaint little place, is named La Giostra meaning carousel - because it used to have a cellar which house a carousel. Haha. It was so cosy! There are virtually no big lights. The arched ceiling is red-brick, and there are these branches stretch out above our heads, with sparkly lights entwined. There are no other lights in the whole place other than the candles in the centre of our tables, so it was incredibly cosy, although photo-taking was slightly tricky. The moment was sat down, someone appeared with a glass of bubbly (Prosecco - the white sparkling wine which is the italian equivalent of champagne)- and looked highly amused when I declined - and the cutest Colombian waiter ever appeared with a plate of Hors D'Oeuvres while we decided what to order. (He was so cute Ben was contemplating growing his hair out to look like that. Sorry Ben, only looks good if you're South American. :P) Before we got there, Gaston was checking out all the stars that went there, and he got so excited because Sting and John Travolta, and Metallica were there before, so he was wondering who we would meet this time. Alas, we were so bedazzled by our food, that we didn't pay attention to much else. Just our (cute) waiter and (canadian) waitress. Then someone else (maybe the chef? i'm not sure?) appeared to help us the the charming Italian menu - and we followed his reccomendation for the freshly handmade ravioli. with pear and pecorino! And the Penne with Gorgonzola and Pear. Ok, it sounds better in Italian: Pennette con Gorgonzola e pere William's Ravioli di Brie con carciofini Morelli And when the food came, after our first bites, it was like heaven. Seriously. It was sweet, and tangy and amazing. Just purely mind-blowing. Extraordinary enough for us to decide to order dessert, despite the fact that we were definitely blowing our budget on food for like, the whole month or something. Haha. The had the Tiramisù... sù... sù... sù... (That was how it was written in the menu, seriously! So cute!) And I had the Sacher Torte Imperiale (Warm chocolate cake, with molten chocolate sauce, and cream on the side with straweberries) They the Tiramisu was amazing, but I couldn't try it cos of the alcohol. =( Although my chocolate cake was so good, that I didn't even mind that it was dark chocolate! Haha. It was the coolest place ever, and the people were incredibly friendly - coming to our tables to check on us, how everything was. And the price was surprisingly affordable for service and food that stupendous! I heart it. I will tell everyone who comes here to go there. And if you want, I can bring you in exchange for a chocolate cake. I was even contemplating working there for free, as long as I get a meal each time I go there. I would so do it. Travel an hour there, and an hour back, just to have that amazing experience every single day. If I could do it in NUS to go to dinky school, I would definitely do it for food this good. Definitely a place I will return to before I leave Italy. I'll see it as my last farewell from here. ;) Oh and by the way, it's Michelin-rated. ;)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Weekend n-8. Alghero, Sardinia
So the last post explained how I ended up flying to Alghero for a short weekend getaway. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty blah from the moment we landed in the airport. =( It was grey and cloudy - although for me, without the blazing sun, it was pretty ok. ;) And we walked so very very very much! We were lazy and didn't want to wait for the shuttle bus to take us to the town, so we decided to walk there from the airport, and see a little of the Alghero countryside. For all of 8km and two hours. Haha! You can imagine how tired and hungry we were by the time we arrived at the main Alghero port. So what did we do then? Head straight for the yachts sailing off to Grotta di Nettuna. And spent the next hour or two basking on the deck in the sun that peeked out from behind clouds now and then, turning the water the most amazing blue ever (that and falling asleep now and then since we came home at 3am, and our flight left at 6am in the morning). Basically, the whole weekend was spent eating Pizza, sitting at Cafes, and walking. Walking along the beach, walking through the city, walking along the cobblestone streets in the old town. It was a lovely place. =) Photos off Gaston's picasa till I can find time to prettify them - with travelling, eating, going to school, and last minute cramming, it's a lil hard to stick myself in front of the computer to put up a post, let alone sort through photos. heh.
Monday, May 12, 2008
peace. :)
hahaha. it's been so long since i've been on msn i forgot how fun it is to catch up with people i miss!! and it also reminds me why i don't go on all that often - it takes up waaay too much time! but it's nice to vent once in awhile. and it's nice to put up memorable bimbotic conversations. for example. colin didn't believe me when i told him that there exists a particular someone who i completely wasn't fond of. and he promptly made me launch into explanations. cos he decided that i was too i quote "peace-loving" and "docile". oooh, reminds me of the time we went to watch scooby doo - i remember cos i was wearing a scooby doo shirt, and didn't know he bought the tickets for that movie until AFTER i got to the cinema. *so* five year old la!! and while watching the movie, there's this part where this evil guy is destroying things. and daphne goes.. "but that.. that's so.. so... so MEAN!" and u know what colin does? he turns to me and says, omg, that sounds exactly like something you would say!! -nyeh-
Friday, May 09, 2008
so fast!!
on the one hand, it feels like so long since i've left home. on the other hand, it suddenly seems like such a shock to realise i officially have 8 more weekends to go before my classes are officially over. anything after that will be extra time so to speak, for exams i missed and such. 8 more weekends. A maximum of 8 more places to go should I choose to - while I'm here in Italy. 8 more weeks to soak up Italian culture and to practice il mio italiano! 8 more weeks of gelato and pizza and pasta, and extra cheap Mensa meals. of course it's also 8 more weeks of a packed packed PACKED schedule and exams (exams. not tests.) every week from now till the day i decide to fly off. I'll miss it when I'm gone. Even before I decided to live here, it definitely was one of my all-time favourite destinations. The culture, the colour, the people, the food. Oh yes, the food. (Did I mention, I am the proud owner of a FIVE KG jar of nutella now! Only in italy man. Imagine how big a 5kg jar would be. It's like the size of a pillow. Heh.) So this weekend, it's off to Sardinia. Photos soon. Other photos not up cos well, i procrastinate and I suck. And I am doing what I should have been doing instead of travelling and eating and bumming. Haha. Actually going to school and cramming for dinky exams I should have breezed through. So rather than build up a huge backlog, I will just look forward and fill in the blanks when I'm bumming. *big grin*
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