Bordeaux, again!

Bordeaux is really a lovely city... we had so much fun visiting Sera last August that we decided to go there again. No wonder people like to visit Europe in Spring... the flowers are blooming, the weather is perfect, and the scenery is unbelievable.

Photo on Left: Window view from the train on the way to Paris

Photo on Right: Guess who also came to visit Sera? Antonia and Teresa! Sera's friend, Francois (in the photo), was kind to lend us 2 mattresses so we all can get good nights of sleep. But how did we manage to move the mattresses from his place to Sera's? That's a question you must ask Sera and Syd. Actually, we are waiting to see how Sera and Francois are going to move the mattresses back to his place on the tram... And yes, Syd was the only guy who shared an apartment with 4 women.














We missed the Big Clock last time in Bordeaux so we had to pay it a visit. Sera took us to a medieval tavern near the Big Clock for some home-made meade. The meade was difficult to drink at first... I didn't like it and didn't think I would be able to finish it. But as I continued sipping the meade, it became easier and easier to drink. So either the drink gets better tasting when exposed to air or my taste buds have learned to love alcohol... any kind of alcohol.

Oh, I also tried to juggle in the tavern, but with the amount of wine and meade I had that night, well, let's just say the tavern was lucky that I didn't break anything there.

Photo on Right: My favorite statue in Bordeaux























It is always wonderful spending time with good friends. We exchanged news, gossipped, laughed, joked... simply enjoyed each other's company. Living in Torino for the past year has given me the opportunity to get to know Sera a lot better since we have met up in Bordeaux, Torino, Barcelona, and Lisbon. Sera still needs to study in Bordeaux for 1.5 years to become a wine maker. I know she'll do well and wish her all the best.

Sera, looking forward to see you back in CA and perhaps our next travel destination would be Tokyo? :) Thank you so much for being our next door neighbor in Europe.

Abrigato, Lisboa! （下）

The next day we took a train (1 hour ride) to a nearby town, Sintra, which was highly recommended online and by Sera's Portuguese friend. Sintra was beautiful with lots of trees and hills, no wonder it was where Portuguese kings retreat to during summertime.

We wanted to go to 3 palaces but Sintra National Palace was closed for renovation. :( But it ended up okay since after we finished touring the other 2 palaces, it was already 5pm.

The first palace we explored was a ruined castle, the Moorish Castle. It was very impressive as the entire castle, the defense walls, and the watch towers all were built with and into the rocks. What a tough job it must be back then! As a matter of fact, I admire Portuguese sculptors more from this trip because rock is such a difficult material to work with yet the result is amazing. I prefer the simplicity of the rock carving without any additional decoration or coloring. Oh, by the way, doesn't the defense walls of the castle look like the Great Wall? Well, not with the Portugal flag of course.






Next we went to Palacio de la Pena, the most famous palace in Sintra (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Ippar-palacio-pena-aerea.jpg). This palace is still in good shape as we can also explore the interior and admire the decorations and collections of the royal family. The palace was designed with colorful tiles and detailed rock carvings (as you can see from the photo with 2 silly CAL band alumni :p ).








After the historical/ architectural education, we need cultural experience to balance it out. For the next 2 nights, we tasted 10 different port wines at Solar do Vinho do Porto, organized by the Port Institute. Sera recommended and explained the various port to us while asking us (the typical consumers who only drink wine for the sake of drinking) in return how we liked them. Somehow Syd and I always liked each other's selection better. :p Now we need to get 2 bottles of port when we return to Milpitas. We also couldn't leave Portugal without listening to fado (Portuguese folk songs which are usually sang by sailors and their wives). I found a local hole-in-the-wall wine bar which was highly recommended online. Boy, was the bar LITTLE! It has 7 or 8 small tables and jam packed with locals and tourists standing and sitting everywhere. The bar is known for listening to the fado amateurs (most likely the person sitting next to you). Each performer simply went to the middle of the bar and sang. Their emotional singing was accompanied by Spanish and Portuguese guitars. Sometimes the singing was sad as the sailor was missing his lover back home while other times it was more light-hearted as he was remembering the better times. Sera was able to chat with a performer (the lady in the photo) in French. She told us that even an amateur takes more than 10 years of learning to sing fado.














And yes, we were a bit buzzed in the photo with the tram cuz that night we each had 3 glasses of port and also shared a bottle of white with the seafood dinner. :)

I'd like to end our adventure in Lisbon with the following geocaching picture since we have found the most puzzle caches here than anywhere in Europe. This photo with the American flag behind us is our 2,396th cache. Syd was a very happy guy dragging 2 tired Asian girls who were desperate for coffee that day.

Abrigato, Lisboa! （上）

Sera, Syd, and I had a "wild" idea: travel to the warmest country in Europe in February! Lisbon's weather was wonderful as everyday was sunny with an average temperature of a super comfy 16C!

The first area of Lisbon that we explored was Belem because it has many museums and famous monuments. We were lucky as the museums are free on Sunday mornings so we get to see Museums of Maritime and Archaeology for free. Afterward, we couldn't wait for lunch to eat the well-known pasteis da nata (egg custard) from the famous cafe, Pasteis de Belem. I had tasted these custards in Taiwan before as they were very popular a few years back. Chinese also have its own version of egg custard (蛋塔) which doesn't have the black spots. The custards were delicious! Syd insisted going back for more but Sera and I held him back by telling him the danger of cholesterol... NOT! :p We didn't get anymore that day simply because the line at the cafe was tooooooo long!














Guess what? Belem also has a Golden Gate Bridge! (See the bridge directly behind Syd?) It has a different name, Ponte 25 de Abril, but it's designed by the same architect. One of the famous monuments in Belem is the huge sculpture behind us, Padrao dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries). It's to celebrate the Portuguese who sailed out to the unknown in the 15th and 16th centuries. I thought for sure that the figure at the tip of the monument must be Vasco da Gama but it turned out to be Henry the Navigator, the sponsor of the Discoveries. Well, it makes sense as expedition requires financial support (like everything else). Vasco da Gama is still one of the figures in the monument though. (More details of the monument: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padr%C3%A3o_dos_Descobrimentos)



PS. I forgot to mention that Lisbon is built on 7 hills so ladies, leave your heels at home. Tennis shoes are the best foot gear.

Felice Anno Nuovo!

Happy New Year, Everyone! :)

Sera came to celebrate the new year with us in Torino. We 'had to' bring her to our favorite cafe, Caffè Basilica, to say goodbye to 2008 and welcome 2009. Here is a nice sober photo before we started drinking.



Now let the drinking begin... Domenico, the cafe owner, who was busy pouring alcohol all night. I had no idea what I drank the entire night but I downed 4 or 5 shots in an hour. Needless to say, I haven't felt this dizzy/ happy/ sick/ high since my wedding. :p Perhaps Syd's feeling the same way.














We had a lot fun drinking and partying with the local Italians. The DJ spun quite a few dancing tunes of disco, R&B soul, and most interestingly, middle eastern rap. Sera and I were the only Asians in the cafe so of course we 'had to' start the mambo line... and the Italians followed us! How much fun did we have? Well, we didn't get home until 3am that morning and for some reason, my right arm and both legs were extremely sore even today (too much aggressive dancing). I have to admit that my body is just not the same as in my 20s. (sigh)

Sera and Syd love mountains (why do I keep meeting hikers in my life?) so they decided to visit the Matterhorn (while dragging me along). The view was fantastic but my butt got frozen every time we went outside! The temperature was 3C during the day but it went down to -11C at night! Oh, Mamma Mia! :(














Here are 2 pictures I took while we were in Neive, a small town in Langhe. We went there hoping to taste the famous grappa (strong alcohol with 50% proof) but instead we had a delicious lunch (with truffle, duck, and home-made pasta with 30 eggs and 3 meat sauces) in a duke's palace and viewed some of the most beautiful snow scenery.

From Ciao to Hola!

Syd and I went to Barcelona last weekend on extremely cheap airfare. I guess not many people (including Europeans) are traveling in Europe during winter so airlines have to have promotions to attract customers. We have been thinking to visit Barcelona for a while so when Syd found a round-trip airfare for 2 ppl for total of 4 euros (yes, you read it correctly, FOUR euros!!), you betcha we are going to take it! We ended up paying 40 euros since we are not European citizens but hey, it was still a great deal.

Sera, our friend who studies wine-making flew in from Bordeaux and we met at the hotel on Saturday night. We decided not to waste a moment so we went to have tapas at 11pm (Spaniards' lunch hour starts from 2pm while dinner is from 9pm). Of course I had to have Sangria! :) We didn't end up sleeping until 3am: too full and too much talking.

So after eating, drinking, and talking, what do you do next? Dancing, of course! I saw my very first Flamenco! Live! in Barcelona (the next night)! The performers were amazing. Although I couldn't understand the lyrics they sang, the passion was communicated through their music and dances. Especially for the duet dance, you can really feel the emotions of love and hate between the two dancers. Powerful beats and movements! Brava!

If you think the night is finished, oh no, you are so wrong! We still need to have dinner so we decided to try 'pinchos'. They are similiar to tapas but tapa orders come on plates while pinchos come on sticks. You pay per stick and each pincho costs between 1 - 3 euros. While Syd and I were busy eating pinchos, Sera was busy making friends with some Spaniards in the bar. We were having a lot fun together though none of us speak each other's language. But it doesn't matter, when everyone is having a good time, body language and smiley faces are good communicators. A young Spanish woman taught me how to pour a drink properly. The entire bar ended up watching and laughing with/ at us. It was a heck of good time.

After partying some, we were finally ready to admire Gaudi's incredible architecture. My favorite is the Sagrada Familia. Gaudi began building it in 1882 but it didn't get finished before he died in a car accident in 1926. The Spanish government has continued building it and it is estimated to be completed in 2026 (another 18 years!!) It is so amazing in details, bold designs and symbolisms. You really have to see it to believe that someone could create a church this way.

Photo on Left: Inside of the Sagrada Familia.

Photo on Right: Lily, Sera, and Syd on top of the Church. It was definitely worth the elevator ride.

Our Little Friend

I just realized that I haven't introduced our little friend to you guys yet... we met her during the first few weeks after arriving in Torino. She has a cool name, Asia (pronounced ah-si-ah), and she lives next door. We became close after babysitting her a few times. Asia now comes to visit us at least once a week. Tonight she came over again (through the balcony) so I was able to take photos.















I don't get along with cats because they bit me and spooked me with scary shining eyes when I was a child. So I never thought this kitty would like me since she should be able to sense the unfriendliness from me. It was a surprise when Asia chose to sit in my lap (no kitty has ever done that before!) instead of Syd's (and he's a kitty boy). Asia is the first kitty that I have ever enjoyed to play with! I'm learning to be a friend to a kitty in Torino.

Birthday Present - Lake Como Trip

After dinner party on 9/26, everyone coincidentally took a trip: Antonia & Toby returned to SF, Trevor & Beth flew to Bulgaria, while Doug, Jen, Syd, & I went to Lake Como to have a drink with Georgie (Clooney) for my birthday weekend! :p Then Doug and Jen continued on their romantic Italian trip to Venice and Cinque Terre.

Guess where we stayed in Lake Como? The view was out of this world!














Ha, now we can say we have stayed in the REAL Bellagio (not the one in Las Vegas). Back in early September when we decided to come, I was looking forward to swim in the lake. However, it was no way I'd jump into the freezing lake when we arrived. :( Man, this year in Italy is just not my swimming year... I only swam twice: in Spotorno (Liguria coast) and in Cinque Terre.

Lake Como was beautiful and peaceful. We took ferries traveling from one town to another in leisure. All of us agreed that Varenna is the prettiest town due to its unique walkway along the water and colorful buildings. Oh, and we also found a geocache (www.geocaching.com) there!

The best birthday gift for me this year was relaxing and having fresh and yummy lake fishes for dinner!

Photo on Left: Group Picture at the Northern End of Bellagio

Photo on Right: Fanny Bridge














So what did I do on my birthday? Well, I didn't want to become a human popsicle in the water and my companions are hikers... so I was 'forced' to hike to a church way way way up on a mountain to celebrate my turning of 25. :p (Yes, that IS the church we were going for!)

See how happy Syd was showing me the way to the church.














After about 1 hour of zig-zag hiking straight up, we finally reached the church. I was the last one getting there, of course (hey, Doug and Jen are Ironpeople while Syd hikes for a living). I still couldn't believe I hiked (instead of swimming or karaoking or dancing or drinking... well, I drank some but that's another story) on my birthday!


Photo on Left: Look at the View Behind Us atop of the Mountain: See that Castle?

Photo on Right: A Bigger Photo of the Castle

Ciao, Amici di San Francisco!

September was the month for San Franciscans to visit Torino... well, at least 4 of them were here! :) Our friends took their time showing up (of course)... first Antonia and Toby on 9/19, then Doug flew in from Spain a day later, and finally Jen came on 9/25!

First things first, let's drink in our favorite wine bar! (For those of you with an excellent memory, I fell in love with a white... wine here, Moscato di Asti). But besides drinking, this family-run place also prepares delicious local dishes such as Acciughe in Verde (Anchovies in Green Sauce), various local cheeses/ salami, etc.

While we were waiting for Jen to join us, we visited famous sites in Torino: La Mole (Symbol of Torino - Cinema Museum), Superga, Egyptian Museum (way too cool), hiked to a ruined abbey in freezing cold (I was smart soaking in bathtub at home), Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), Venaria Reale, tons of awesome Italian dishes, chocolates (with ChocoPass), and gelatos. Toby even had 2 gelatos in a day!

But the best of all in my opinion is the drive to Langhe's wine region. All 8 of us in 2 cars searching for the great wine. We stopped at Bra (a small town where slow food got started) for a bellissimo lunch (tasty local raw sausages but I loved my goose with white beans more). Then we followed the directions from the wonderful wine bar owner and found THE wine producer: Beni di Batasiolo in la Morra. We didn't make an appointment beforehand so Syd just rang the bell. The gatekeeper asked quite a few questions but it turned out that Syd only needed to say the magical 2 words: Siamo Americani (We're Americans). Voila, the gate opened! :)

Photo on Right: Happy happy Lily!

Photo Below: Happy Antonia with all her wine glasses!














Photo on Left: Happy customers with the knowledgeable and friendly wine educator. We purchased total 3 cases (6 bottles/ case) of different wines.

Photo on Right: Happy ladies!















And of course the birthday party... we had 3 birthday people (1 Virgo and 2 sexy Libras) in the house: Toby, Doug, and me! Syd and I invited all of our friends in Torino to join us for a relaxing and entertaining night. Singing happy birthday in 3 different languages (Italian, English, and Mandarin) was a blast but I think Filippo had the most fun playing with Jen's new digital camera. It takes pictures when the target person smiles! Wow! Afterwards, we all went back to our apartment nearby to watch Doug and Jen's Ironman video and continue chatting. What a great night! Thanks, everyone! :)

Photo on Left: Toby, Antonia, Syd, Filippo, Roberta, Trevor, Beth, Jen, Doug, Lily, Giorgia, and Simone.

Photo on Right: Birthday people - Doug, Lily, and Toby. We all turned 25 this year! :p *Grazie per i fiori, Giorgia e Simone! Grazie per la carta, Beth!*