Fallen in love with Granada

Time to say Adious again
saying goodbye is always the hardest thing argh
Ive fallen in love with this quaint charming city
but yet it's time to go.

My course finishes tomorrow
haf my exam tmr darn.
but that's it
Im gonna say gdbye to my new frens
its been a mth
but a whole mth of new stuff, frens, partying, n laughter.

Moving to Madrid this week
ah new city, new life.
but anyhow! we'r probably coming back to Granada every other wkend
in Alberto's new car!

lotsa pictures to upload
Sometimes i get lazy trying to upload them all,
wonder if anyone sees them at all
but for the sake of Xindi! u better come visit
with my sis and kenlun!

P.S. Thanks to comp genius bing (note: no longer SB bing)
I put up some Picasa photo albums as links as well (Im a copycat)

Sevilla Charm 21-22Oct

we headed on a roadtrip in Alberto's old car to the infamous Sevilla
ive heard so much about the charms of that city
i had to see it for myself.
The capital of Andalusia(region in Southern Spain),
famous for its flamenco, bullfights, tapas
everything extremely Spanish,
apparently it all originated here.

we arrived on Saturday evening
to a big n not-so-welcoming city
on second glance, it still has that lil city charm that Granada has
but yet holds a certain tension that a big city inevitably exudes

the main centro stands a cathedral
with la Giralda, that used to be Muslim,
before the Christians took over Spain.

Of cos we had to try the tapas
but inevitably, we had to pay for them
alil strange for me nw, to hafta pay for wat i eat ??!
on that note, I miss the free tapas in Granada

Ragote de toro el flamenco (bull meat in Andalusian style)
Gambas al ajillo (prawns in garlic sauce)
- i know,its not enough to fill my belly

FLAMENCO @ CARBONERIA
finalli got to catch my first flamenco show
heard so much abt how it is the most represented form of art in Spain
it was good, n indulging
the spanish guitar, n the melancholic sound of the Gypsie
i could understand how people could fall in love with that.
me & Alberto spent the nite making jokes of the dancer thou.
she looked all fierce n angry
I guess thats how the Art is expressed thru flamenco.

All flamenco shows consist of
a dancer, a singer & a Spanish guitarist.
it's an Art originated from the Gypsies
and that's why they'r usually gypsie performers.
i never knew gypsie was a race, ethnicity

coincidentally,we met my fav girl in class, Melody in Sevilla
& we went for the flamenco show together
her juvenile frens were obsessed with getting drunk n partying
so we headed separate ways. lol.

pictures of the interior of the gorgeous Cathedral

El Parque de Maria-Louis
Teatro

PLAZA DE ESPAÑA
one of the most beautiful part of Sevilla
a grand plaza designed to represent Spain
with representations of all cities in Spain inscribed onto the walls

Menu del dia
how can we miss the best thing in Spain - food

check out the red soup - Gazpacho
it's a cold apetizer tomato-based soup
eeukk i hate it, apparently it's the love of Alberto's life.

i had Paella for first dish,
(my fav Spanish yellow rice with seafood)
and Pescado (seafood - calamaries, fish, prawns) for second.
Red wine and ice-cream.
all for 10euros.
it's always worth it. ;)

Nite full of laughter

Ah I hafta write this down for my own memories
been a great nite out with my new frens
my fav Melody n her hilarious fren with huge boobs
Emma and her giggles.
was glad they all tried to speak Spanish so Mariko could understand
a buncha Brits and Americans
was just an unexpectedly hilarous nite
I havent laughed so hard in a while.
sigh too bad Im leaving,
Im gonna be sad to leave this place that I've fallen in love with
and frens Ive made.
Short but memorable.

P.S.Me and Alberto are moving to Madrid 1st Nov,
he found a new job there!
his parents bought him a new Peugeot! motherf**ker so lucky!

Bonito y Romantico Granada

14 Oct was me & Alberto's 3rd anniversary
( u know i dont remember such dates)
it was the first time we could celebrate it together
we were in the mountains with our frens
but we decided to sorta celebrate it in Granada.
we spent an evening following the historial, romantic trails of the ancient city


THE ALHAMBRA
ah the oh-so-famous (according to the Spanish only) Moorish castle
it is the last remaining Arabic castle in Spain
in Ancient times, when Granada was occupied by the Arabics
the king used to live in the magnificent Alhambra
before the Christians took over it.
Gorgeous garden surrounds the grand castle
perched on top of the city
it overlooks the white houses & caves in the Albayzin.

a lil piece of heaven.

THE ALHAMBRA PALACE hotel.
We then visited my favourite cafe in Granada.
in the grandest hotel,
but with grandeur view of the city.
u pay for the ambience i guess.
still 2.50euros for a glass of wine, still cheap wat!

TAPAS!
Ah the best part abt living in Granada
the free tapas that come with cheap drinks!
for the sake of Xindi, who said shes coming to Spain
photos of the free tapas

Some tapas bars have a range of tapas you can choose from
that comes free with a tubo of cerveza (beer) or tinto de verano or clara (shandy).
Below: Croquettes & fries

MARIKO'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
had a fiesta with our classmates
in d'Cuadros - tapas bar cum club.
pretty fancy tapas - pizzas, chicken sandwiches..
wasnt as fun as anticipated
but still, was good to gather
the french guy Jeremy got all of us laughing
Im glad he came.
and Alberto is always the Mr Nice Guy everyone likes ;)

LONG WEEKEND!! Yaybeedebadoooo

Yes, 2nd week in Spain and we've got a long wkend

no school on thurs n fri!!
Wed nite @ Metro Club with Melody & her frens
her Swiss gay fren was soo hilarious!
went for an ERASMUS (european exchange) party with them
Satu left earlier after some tapas aishey
we planned to go to a flamenco bar but plan failed argh

MOTRIL Beach
woa had marvellous seafood n salad by the beach
an hour away from Granada
invited Mariko along,
with Alberto's best fren Alberto.
hanged out at a beach bar, pretty exotic superguay!
had baileys with chocolate milk , loved it.

A glance of the beach bar
nice decor, i like

ALPUJARRAS
Alberto's countryside house in the moutains of Sierra Nevada
started off on Fri afternn after hitting the shops with Satu heh
it was the 4 of us again,
the two guys bought soo much food for our hibernation in the suburbs
and none of Alberto's frens turned up lol.
we had huge meals thou woohoo~

Beautiful nature in the mountains
and white houses perched on the slopes
tranquility and natural beauty.

A look at the food we had
top left: tapas we had in the pueblo (village centre)
chorizo y pan (spanish sausage & baugette)

bottom left: great dinner that the other Alberto cooked up
woa chicken in white wine sause, extremely good

MERCADO MEDIEVAL (Medieval market)
the long wkend celebrates the fiesta de Pilar
this market was so interesting,
it was all over the centro,
selling interesting food, medieval costumes,
ancient maps, sweets & cheese

top left: all types of sausages (chorizo) - i hate, taste like taiwan sausage yucks
top right: ancient maps replicated, so real!
bottom left: lotsa gitanos (gypsies) hangin' ard the Square, performing tricks
bottom right: the Cathedral of Granada, absolutely magnificent

Fiesta time in Granada

It's been a week of drinks, tapas, fun and lotsa spanish.
better than I'd expected.
My spanish classes are damn useful, and fun,
made some new frens, feels like Im on exchange again.
been hanging out with the Japanese girls, they can't speak English
so it's all spanish (phew wonder how I managed)
nite out for tapas with Mariko and Risa
and Alberto & his best fren, Alberto (ah wat a common name)

top left: Risa, Mariko and me.
bottom left: Mai, Risa and tired me.
bottom right: Alberto & his silly face lol, Juanma and Alberto.

Had some tinto de verano (red wine+soda) with Finnish girl Satu.
such a farnie girl
we sat under the sun, drank, gossiped
and climbed up to Albayczin, the old part of Granada
the Mirador, viewing point of the city, has gorgeous views
and a wedding was taking place in the church..

Saturday Nite FIESTA!
Alberto's fren Javi invited us to a party for his sisters' birthday
woa lotsa pple, but alil lousy bar/club
all the guys wanted to SB my jap frens!! (but not me)
me & Alberto were trying hard to get Javi and Mariko together hehe

Mariko, Javi and Alberto

the fat twins were trying hard to SB Mai and Risa
lol they look so cute



Sunday - La Corrida de toros (Bullfight) !!!
my first experience witnessing a national tradition
all geared up early Sunday morning
was way excited, esp when we got in for free

our side of the ring was crowded man
cos we sat under the sun, where pple who didnt pay had to sit. lol.

The bullfights were spectacular
never had I imagine the adrenaline u get when u witness one.
there've been alota talk about how cruel it is to witness the death of an animal
it really is, when u witness it yourself,
as the Matador plunges his sword into the bull's spine,
everyone stands and cheers.
Albeit the violation of animal rights and liberty,
it is still a spectacle not to be missed..
the adrenaline as the Matador flashes the capote infronta the raging bull
the bull gets ready to dash n kill its enemy with its sharp horns
only to be pierced in the spine with a killing blow.

When a Matador is brave and fearless,
kills the animal with swift and sharp blows,
the audience stands and waves a white cloth
Once the Matador's bravery is recognised,
he gets the bull's ears and tail.
the Matador then parades around the ring,
with the ears and tail in hand,
proudly waving his achievements.

the Matador giving the bull a final pierce in the head.

The exterior of the ring,
and the poster of the bullfight.

All in a week.
we've got a long weekend, this week
no classes on thurs and fri!!
off to my long weekend!!

Singapore!!

the sun, booze and the food.
and of cos, my old frens!!

First few days in Singapore with Katie!
bringing her ard Singapore - Sentosa, Merlion..
and trying all the good food
im so glad she tried everything! she liked laksa!!??!
she ate as much as i did! lol

Nite out with Ash, Joanne

My Birthday - spent the afternn in Lil Bali with Alberto
I'd brought him there 2 year ago
now everyone seems to know it, and it's becoming more commercialised!
but we still had a romantic time sipping margaritas
and making jokes (as usual, at the expense of other pple - that's us).
Had dinner at Altivo Mount Faber
good food, nice views..

Adious London!!

Farewell party in the Fat Controller!
all my favourite people in the local pub

top left: me, Mark, and the two Toms.
bottom left: me and wide-eyed Denise. lol.
my big boss, drunk with me, us giggling like lil kids.
bottom right: all of us, drunk haha.
was so much fun, everyone was drunk,
was so farnie to see Denise drunk.
I remember the tight hugs that they gave me.
I miss them already!

A glimpse into our last few days in London.
Nottinghill Carnival..lotsa colours, culture, music
the famous festival was an eye-opener
althou im sure the real thing in Caribbean must be much bigger

Byebye London.

La vida en España

Ah..time flies so quickly
really don't have the time to relate everything tt's going on in my life.
Too much have happened..

Last few days in London were so good
almost made me feel sad about leaving that merciless city.
my farewell party in Fat Controller was so much fun
got drunk as usual, and i spent the entire nite hugging everyone
i remember very clearly the tight hugs,
almost felt like time was tearing us apart.

Spanish classes have started, and they've been great!!
University of Granada- really pretty impressive..
my school is a restored historical building,
beautiful white-washed brick-roofed house perched on pebble-stoned streets.
Monday was the level test, and I already met some interesting people
it felt like Miami all over again,
meeting new people, new environment, new things to learn
although the classes are a tad bit difficult, even for the linguist (me)
its still fun, n very helpful, my spanish has improved oredi!
made these 2 jap frens, and went out for tapas with them
and Alberto n his best fren..
there are these two french in my class, houuu annoying
their spanish is soo good, they keep interrupting the teacher
n obviously their level is higher than the rest of us...irks me..
then, there are these americans in my class
who'r hilarious, one typical bimbo who cracks everyone up,
and a i-think-im-cool, baseball-player-wannabe dude..ah these pple are farnie.
weekends' coming yayhoo!!~!

Time to change the title of my blog - Spain trippin'