#FoodFriday A special bottle of cava

Welcome to YQtravelling’s FoodFriday. The day of the week when I show off some of the lovely eats I had while travelling.

Today’s drink was a bottle purchased in Barcelona but drunk in Singapore about 2 years after it was bought.

I bought a bottle of cava from Barcelona’s airport at the end of a business trip (aka press trip).

My interpretation of cava is a Spanish champagne. Only sparkling wines produced in a certain region and a certain method can be called cava.

My bottole of cava was dark green with a heavy bottom and a wooden cork. I made a promise to drink it only on a very special occasion.

The bottle moved with me to another place and stood in a corner for a very long while. It seemed like I would never have that special occasion to drink it.

Finally, I did take the bottle out in March 2013. Finally, I was going to travel around the world!

When I got it out eventually, it was covered with thick dust and strong strands of spider web (or was it dust?)

Most of the “dryness” of the wine was gone by the time I shared the bottle. Still, it was a good wine for me as it was still sweet and intoxicating.

Do you have a special drink?

5 places of worship I visited while travelling

I’m not a very religious person although I do visit a Buddhist temple from time-to-time.

Since I am not bounded by a strict religion, I like to visit churches and temples when I travel.

The places of worship are usually peaceful and beautiful. Usually…

Sagrada Familia @ Barcelona

Work in progress. The inside is actually prettier than the outside.

Tokyo Daijingu @ Tokyo

This place is supposedly great for praying for romance. Has it worked for me?

Church of Scientology @ San Francisco

Pretty on the outside…

Candi Sewu @ Prambanan

Candi Sewu is actually nicer than its more famous neighbor.

Masjid Kampung Kling @ Melaka

A mosque with the most unique roof I’ve seen since I was familiar with the onion domes. (Apparently, I’ve not visited enough mosques.)

Can art be a crime? #freestickerlady

On Tuesday, reports about the Singapore police arresting a 25-year-old “vandal” trended on Twitter and my Facebook wall. I’m not sure what the exact cause of arrest was, I think she was taken in for spray painting “MY GRANDFATHER BUILDING” on a pristine white wall and “MY GRANDFATHER ROAD” on a pristine gray asphalt.

Her works can be seen on Tumblr.

Besides spray painting, she was believed to have pasted stickers at on top of the button of pedestrian crossing lights. I find the stickers whimsical, something Zooey Deschanel would do after she checks the directions with Siri:

According to the Singapore Vandalism Act, enacted in 1966, those who are found guilty of vandalism “shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, and shall also, subject to sections 325(1) and 330(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, be punished with caning with not less than 3 strokes and not more than 8 strokes”. (TL;DR version.)

It’s strange that we’re still using a law enacted in 1966 for the arrest. Back then, gloves were still a hit among the ladies.

Street art overseas

Discussing this with D, she said the point of argument should focus on “how art cannot be a crime?”

I remember being impressed by graffiti during my travels so I scoured my photo collection for some street art/acts of vandalism.

In Nantes, this caught my attention because of Darth Vader and Little Miss Vadar.

Make love, not arrests.

The city of Yogyakarta is famous for its graffiti.

The Mission in San Francisco is famous for its murals. There’s even an app for that.

I suspect the graffiti in KL were city-sanctioned and even sponsored by a paint company.

I hope Sticker Lady would be given a lighter sentence instead of prison time.

#FoodFri Have my cake and nom it @ Barcelona

It’s my birthday today!

Today’s #FoodFri is a selection of pastry I found in a the windows of a bakery in Barcelona.

I was too shy to go in so I snapped photos instead.

#FoodFri My first Spanish order

Feb 19, 2011 12 noon @Barcelona

One of the best things about travelling is the memories. Today, I would like you to meet my first Spanish order–cafe con leche y pasta.

After seeing the sign outside, I went up the cafe counter, said: “Cafe con leche y pasta.” The employee spoke a long string of Spanish. I looked at her stupidly before blurting out, “No habla espanol.”

She pointed me to the pastry display. I picked the sugar powdered pastry. It was yums.

Munching through 7 of Lonely Planet’s Top 10 food destinations

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/blog/2011/12/15/food-travel-whats-your-favourite-destination/?affil=twit

Recently we asked our Twitter followers the question: which destinations have you (or will you) visit primarily for the food? As you would expect, hundreds of foodies replied with their favourite places to get their fill. The clear winner? Italy.

1. Italy

2. Thailand

3. Malaysia

4. Singapore

5. Japan

6. India

7. Spain

8. Vietnam

9. China

10. France

Guess what, I’ve been to 7 out of the Top 10. I’ll head over to Italy, Thailand and India soon (fingers crossed).

I love food and I live to eat.

Here are some of my favorite food I’ve nommed during my trips.

Continue reading “Munching through 7 of Lonely Planet’s Top 10 food destinations” →

Summary of my 2011 travels

2011 has been a very eventful year in terms of travelling. I was formally afflicted by dromomania.

I’ve also started on my Visit Malaysia project, visited Europe for the first time and went back to China and Japan since the last time I went as a student.

Here are the locations I went and the photos I took. Yes, I am also using this as my bragging wall. Thanks!

January

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [HOME]

01_sabah_mtkinabalu — Reflection of Mt Kinabalu

Continue reading “Summary of my 2011 travels” →

Celebration by accident: Feast of Saint Eulalia, Barcelona

I was in Barcelona this February for a work trip. It was the very first time I was in Europe.

Before flying off, I read up on the festivals happening in the Spanish city. I was disappointed that the Feast of Saint Eulalia was on February 12 and that I would miss it by just one day.

I reached the city early in the morning. My hosts were still flying over so I had the chance to wander around the town.

Many shops were still closed and the weather was chilly. I walked to the tourist center and looked at the beautiful European buildings.

On my way back to the hotel, I heard lively music and wondered what street musician was making such a racket.

I ran down the empty alley toward the music. To my delight, the citizens were having a parade. I didn’t miss the celebration after all!

Lively trumpet and drums played throughout the parade. I stayed on, staring at the giant figures and the happy people.

Here’s a snap of some guy escaping his giant whateverthatis

I left the parade in the alley and wandered off again. I was also lucky enough to catch the human tower mentioned in the guidebook.

When my hosts finally arrived, the celebration had ended. *evil laugh*

This post is part of BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel Project: Day 7: Celebrate.

The rest of my posts for the project can be found here.

Kindness

This post is part of BootsnAll’s 30 Days of Indie Travel Project: Day 5: Kindness.

The rest of my posts for the project can be found here.