Barcelona Beautiful

Some of my favourite parts of Barcelona! Park Guell and of course the ever famous Sagrada Familia that displays only a modicum of Gaudi's brilliance, and the beautiful Parc Montjuic with its sweeping views and people watching. Sat on the steps of the Montjuic castle/museum and had a scoop of Movenpick icecream while people watching to the strains of a guitarist busker-- utter bliss!! One of my best days was a solo jaunt to Sagrada and taking the lifts up and climbing down those scary spiral steps, and then heading off to La Boqueria market for a yummy lunch my friends Kristin+Sam recommended at Bar Central for superb seafood. Right now I kinda miss Barcelona, but since I just got back China and am now lying in my lovely bed, it is just really good to be home. Till I see you again, Espanol!!!

The Spanish art of life

  

Last month I headed to Barcelona with my gramma, cousin and 3 uncles for a sorta family vacation. I've never been to Spain before and there's always something thrilling about going to a new place you've never been before. The anticipation of wandering new tree-lined streets, seeing new-old buildings and scenery, of learning all the secrets hidden in the nooks and crannies, pounded into the cobblestone. Barcelona was beautiful for me, with its peculiar way in which the city was segmented into blocks, each junction similarly angular in layout. We lived in an apartment on Passeig De Gracia and walked down the bustling shopping street to get everywhere, taking nightly jaunts on La Ramblas and doing the regular touristy things like sitting on the upper deck of the sightseeing buses and eating Paella and drinking Sangria at every other meal. Oh and of course being Chinese we just had to have at least one night of Chinese cuisine!!! The entire culture of the city and the people is reflected in the way they take afternoon siestas, late night tapas, vibrant and noisy markets and of course the beautiful architecture-- sunrooms and balconies being a common feature of many an apartment block, where I imagined the Barcelona population soaking in the sun with a glass of Sangria in hand. More photos soon! 

It's official

I'm a Graduate!!! Officially no longer a student, since I now proudly hold a certificate from the University of Sydney. Flew up (or down, rather) to Sydney last week after coming back from Barcelona (more about that later) for my graduation ceremony. Was rather miffed at how it was sunny and beautiful just like the Sydney I love everyday I was there except for my actual Grad day, which was disgustingly grey and ended up drizzling through the evening and a downpour later at night. Somebody up there clearly has a sense of humour for new graduates. As the day wore on though, it really struck me that going to Uni was not really about getting an education. Of course I did learn a lot of things, but more importantly I think I grew a lot as an individual, and I definitely did not return to Singapore as the same girl who left for an overseas education in 2008, and I am glad for that. Even though I didn't have fun in the way I imagined a college educaton to be, and didn't make as many friends as I thought I would have, I'm still so so grateful for the way things turned out. If there's one thing I learned, its that quality triumphs quantity, anytime. Many thanks to Natania for taking these photos before my ceremony!

   

Thanks for the memories, Usyd x

The Dempsey BRAsserie

  

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BFF RACHEL MILEY SUSILO CHIANG SNOW WHITE! She suffers from delusional tendencies and a mild case of personality disorder, but I love her anyway. Its her birthday today, but I'm off to Barcelona tonight which I am so excited for, and we celebrated early at the Dempsey Brasserie. Names like these just invite a mocking of the word Brasserie, and when everyone asked me "what do they sell (as in, what kind of food)?", of course the answers would be BRAS. Yes, I know, HAR HAR lame joke, grow up! But honestly it is an amazing place to just have a cocktail and enjoy good food and hang out with people you love. The amazing high ceiling, the island bar area and the rough, unfinished feel of brick walls combines a rather gritty atmosphere with something that could have been too sophisticated for the Dempsey enclave, resulting in the perfect combination that is the Dempsey BRAsserie. We shared mussels, a caesar salad, creamy mushrooms with brioche, bangers and mash a charcuterie board of cut meats, and a tiger prawn pasta. The last two dishes weren't anything impressive, but everything else was so delicious the plates were clean before you could sing the Snow White theme song. The service staff was great as well, all of them came out bearing a chocolate fondant cake with candles and broke out into song to surprise our special birthday girl! I bought her some balloons and an XL sized Snow White balloon from Holland V which she had to stuff into her car boot so she could drive home safe haha watching her, zee and candice attempt to shove it in the boot without bursting it made my week! Happy Birthday Snow White, here's to more birthdays and more bras together.