BlaringSmelly

It was a spontaneous decision. When my sister mentioned her business trip to Spain in mid-April, I ‘volunteered’ myself to join her. Unlike me, she had a business agenda. The scheduled worked out that half the time I’d be traveling alone, but we also would have the chance to travel in pairs.

First stop, Barcelona. I planed 3.5 days here because for years I’ve wanted so badly to visit Barcelona.

Day 1
A 30-minute bus ride from hotel, I arrived at Barri Gotic, one of the major traffic and tourist hubs in the city. To get to the historical sites, I had to fight my way through the overwhelming amount of stores, crowds, and traffic at Placa de Catalunya. It was worth it when I stumbled into the wide-open space in front of catedral and Roman remains. And that’s when things started to get interesting.

Among many museum and historical sites packed in the narrow stone paved streets was Museu Picasso. The museum exhibited Picasso’s complete creative stages and media. I was overjoyed to be surrounded by master’s works. Little did I know this trip would be filled with moments like this. ☺

On the way back, I spotted a local market selling sweets, fresh produce, meat and seafood. All the stands were competing for your attention with colorful and neatly displayed goods.

When returning to hotel, I missed my bus stop and rode all the way to the last stop.

Day 2
Montjuic is relatively new development in Barcelona. Where the city hosted the 1992 Olympic games. It is also home to Museu national de Catalunya, Fundacio Joan Miro, and the Peblo. Buses and tour coaches roaming nonstop from one tourist attraction to the next. But if you are hardy as me, I recommend exploring Montjuic on foot.

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya has everything from medieval to early Modern arts. And to my surprise visitors are allow to take photos of museum artifacts. It’s too good to be true, almost like a guilty pleasure.

I almost didn’t go to Poble Espanyol because it sounded rather touristy according to the tour guide. But I’m so glade I did. Let’s face it, I AM a tourist. Beside, I get to see regional Spanish architecture styles in one place, all in picture-perfect setting.

After visiting Fundacio Joan Miro, I continued walking toward the east edge of Montjuic.

On the way, I past a somewhat secluded entrance of a high-end hotel. Some 20 plus shinning motorcycles quietly parked in front of it. There was no guards or securities to stop me, so I curiously wondered in. These were brand new Ducati Monsters, all with keys in the startup. I stood right next to a red one, the seat height was perfect for me. I was so close from getting on and start the engine. Later I found a guy with Ducati shirt. I learned from him that Ducati debuted Monster 696 and kicked off its European tour in this hotel (Hotel Miramar) just few days ago. It was such a treat!

Day 3
Betty showed up last evening. Per her request, today’s theme is Gaudi architectures. We took pilgrimage to Gaudi’s sites around the city.

Indeed we were all over the place – Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Casa Batllo, Parc Guell, and Palau Guell. For me, Gaudi’s architecture was not love at the first sight. The exterior, especially Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, feel rough and unfinished. It is not to question Gaudi’s achievement. In fact, his mastermind and genius came from his ability to draw inspiration from natural elements and translated them into manmade structures. Of all the Gaudi sites we visited, Casa Batllo is my favorite and most admirable, both interior and exterior.

At the end of day, we were exhausted and ended up somewhere in the Montjuic ara. Both Betty’s and my guidebook recommended a nearby restaurant Elche. We had a wonderful Catalonia dinner – Iberico cured ham croquetas, seafood stew, and cuttlefish artichoke paella. The cuttlefish-inked rice tasted so good I ate so much Betty got a little concerned.

In case you are not familiar with the name, Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest timber and paper companies in the U.S. and possibly in the world. Its Federal Way corporate campus was home to the company’s Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. 60 some bonsai were displayed in a beautifully landscaped outdoor area.

The collection is open to the public and it is well worth the trip. One can truly appreciates the art of bonsai and the museum’s serene foresty surroundings. The collection is one of the hidden gems in the great Seattle area. I feel fortunate to have finally learned about it.

It was almost a sure thing we’d be spending our Presidents Day weekend at Whistler. I was told that was the busiest weekend of the year for Whistler. Partially due to the holiday crowds from the U.S., also because some race happening in the following week.

We had no luck getting a room in Whistler on Saturday, so we ended up spending a night at Richmond. Inspired by Anthony Bourdian’s recent Vancouver episode, we headed to Vij’s. The restaurant, according to The New York Times review, is “easily among the finest India restaurant in the world.”

Vij’s doesn’t take reservation. We arrived the restaurant 5 minutes before 5:30pm opening time. Already there was a line formed outside the restaurant entrance. The early birds got seated right away. We were too late and had to wait for another 1.5 hour. The head chef and owner Vikram Vij was in the restaurant since the opening. It was almost mesmerizing to watch Vikram’s constant movement from table to table. From greeting guests, taking orders, serving appetizers, to signing his cookbooks, there was no doubt he ran the restaurant and provided a heck of a dinning experience.

The Chows joined us for dinner. Between the 4 of us, we were able to try a variety of dishes: duck breast in spiced mango reduction, beef short ribs and red wine curry, wine marinated lamb popsicles, and Fennel and zucchini dumplings in pomegranate curry. Later the desserts were served with a thin sheet of silver on top.

These were certainly no ordinary Indian food. We enjoyed our meals. But best of all was to shake hands and talk to Vikram. I mentioned my obsession with Anthony Broudian and his show. Vikram shared the days he spent with Anthony while they were recording the Vancouver episode. He recalled Anthony smoked, drank, and cursed so much during the 3 days shooting. If I ever get to hang out with Anthony Bourdain, I think I might cave in and start smoking.

Sunday was a good snowboarding day at Whistler. The snow was quite soft, but the weather was so sunny it was almost too hot to wear the heavy winter gear.

On Monday, we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. After we were seated, Ktula signaled me the person seating on the right side of our table was Ang Lee. I used my peripheral and right away recognized that was Mr. Lee. Ktula and I were making faces back and forth to “discuss” if we should approach him. We decided to respect his privacy and didn’t do anything. Later I checked with our waitress if that’s really him. She didn’t know but she checked his signed bill and went “Yup, that’s him.”

Running into Yahoo’s personalize travel site was entirely an accident. I was goggling for some travel information. One of the links led me to Yahoo’s travel destination page. The information was somewhat useful. But things started to get interesting when I noticed an “Add to Trip” feature by the destination info.

Since I’m collecting information on several locations, and I would like to compare them under one common area. I started adding photos and information I came across. Before I knew it, I’ve compiled a list of destinations. They were also pinpointed on a map view. And later when I did a search on airline prices and saved one of the better deals, it too showed up in My Trip.

My travel plan was putting together all by itself without me realizing it!

Knowing my travel plan started to take shape, I was ready to invest more time into this unknown territory. I tracked down MyTravel page under Yahoo! Travel. Other than the recently put together My Trip Plan, the page itself was, naturally, not one bit personalized. Big yellow sticky were playfully placed on sections of the page, providing hints and focal points of areas I can get started.

Personalizing these pages was hardly any hard work. So more time was invested. Then I found out connecting My Travel with my flickr account, my past travel photos will show up oh my travel pages without having to upload them.

Pretty sweet setup for travelers alike, my only complain about My Travel so far is it’s sharing amongst friends and family was overlooked.

Now, here is a city anyone can have fun and wanting to come back for more. My first impression about Singapore is the constant smell of food in the air. It began as soon as you step into the airport terminal. Even walking out from the hotel gym, by the swimming pool, I smell roasted duck.

One can spend hours and hours in the Singapore Botanic Garden. The varieties of orchards and other exotic plants were beyond my comprehension. Even though the heat and humidity made us extremely uncomfortable, I didn’t mind at all being sweaty and sticky being outdoor browsing different garden areas.

Excellent food anywhere we went in Singapore. We traveled far and ventured into different areas of the city looking for local favorites and eateries recommended by food critics.

There is definitely nightlife in this sleepless city. Nearly midnight, Orchard Road are still alive with streetlights, jammed traffic, and shoulder-to-shoulder pedestrians.

I also noticed a good amount of art displays in public areas. In the downtown area, MRT and malls are connected with tunnels. These cooling underground passages ways showcases contemporary and experimental art pieces.

Installation pieces are also common in outdoor shopping areas.