I arrived just after noon today and after dropping off our bags and freshening up, we headed out for a late lunch at La Rita which was recommended by the concierge and a few blocks from Hotel EuroPark, where we are staying. I really like the black and white decor of the rooms:
Some areas of the hotel are a little worse for wear - according to the reviews online it underwent renovations last year and it seems there are still parts that haven't been completed but the room's comfortable and pretty spacious.
The weather's a little fritzy here in Europe - one moment it'll be sunny and warm, the next it will be cool and windy so you have to be prepared for any eventuality. We decided to wander down to Placa de Catalunya, through Barri Gotic and then along La Rambla just to scope out our dining options for the evening. We weren't too keen on the tourist traps we came across and after picking up a Time Out Barcelona guide have narrowed down our options to a couple of tapas places that aren't too far from our hotel. And since the custom is to dine late here, we're back again at our hotel to freshen up and wash the smoke out of our hair. It's a tough life, this vacation thing, huh? ;)
Mucha-esque details I couldn't help but notice in Barri Gotic
...and spent the evening at my Uncle F.'s, catching up over hotpot. It's strange how I miss my family even as I'm with them. Uncle F. is 2 years older than my mother, number 3 in the family and the eldest son and it's interesting to see how different, but seemingly the same the 4 eldest siblings are on my mother's side of the family.
My grandparents left my mother in China with her grandmother and 3 elder siblings when she was 1 year old in 1951 for Surinam, which was a Dutch colony at the time. She did not reunite with them until she was 13 and the mentality between my mother and her 2 younger siblings who were born and bred in South America is so different. Even the way my grandparents, particularly my grandmother, treated the 4 eldest is so seemingly strange...there isn't the same paternal/maternal instinct or closeness that one would expect.
Anyway...I had a great time catching up with my Uncle, who I hadn't seen since my last visit in Amsterdam 3 years ago...and then, there was other family there so we didn't have one-on-one time to chat. This time around, I was able to ask him about my mother when she was a child, and he was able to tell me a little bit about my father who was 3 years older than he...they were "brothers" practicing Wing Chun together in Surinam. We laughed and chatted over 5 bottles of Prosecco - my mother doesn't drink, but my Uncle F. and my eldest aunt do, so perhaps I got my taste for vino from them....
It's almost 4am here and I'm too tired to articulate what it is that I feel after spending time talking about the past...it's a wistful, bittersweet wondering of what might have been if my father had decided to settle in The Netherlands instead of Canada...I feel a deeper connection with my mother's side of he family...but that may also be because of so much water that's flowed under the bridge on my father's side...it is what it is though....that, we can not change...
I slept in this morning after coming home in the wee hours and spent the afternoon shopping in Covent Garden where I picked up the Flower Blossom pillow cases at Orla Kiely, a lovely chocolate chrysanthemum dress at Monsoon and a few goodies at Muji.
...and having a great time. I had lunch today at The Narrow, one of Gordon Ramsay's pubs a short walk from my cousin's and Jacob's Ladder, a beef short-rib stew was yum and I regret now not photographing it. Oh well.
I spent the afternoon rushing through the Ideal Home Show and am now back getting ready for dinner at Asia de Cuba tonight, followed by drinks at Kingly Club Soho - this is not my typical scene, but when in Rome... :)
I probably won't have time for proper blogs but you can follow me on Twitter if you're so inclined. I'll be taking photos as I go and will be posting when I'm able.
That's what one of the hygienists said as as they were working at putting the permanent wire in behind my bottom teeth before taking the braces off - which they offered to me as a souvenir. (Um...no, thank you.) I can't help but smile now and run my tongue across the front of my teeth. So smooth. I also can't help but run it across the back because there are these little bumps now where the bonding agent was applied to keep the wire in place.
To celebrate the occasion, my orthodontist had a presentation for me, which I'd missed the first time around - after we had our picture taken together for his wall, he gathered his staff around and they sang me a song to the beat of a toy drum and tambourine: "You're braces are off, they're off, they're off! Hurrah! Hurrah! You're braces are off, they're off, they're off! Hurrah! Hurrah!" It was just a touch embarassing, but at least there were gift certificates from Baskin Robbins to sweeten the deal. :)
My braces are off! They're off! They're off! Hurrah! Hurrah!! :D
Now if only I had an apple to bite into...It's been about 14 months since I've bitten into a whole apple and since I'm leaving in a couple days, I haven't re-stocked my fridge with fresh fruits and vegetables so I'm apple-less. Oh well. Meanwhile, my bag's still not packed, but my cabs are booked!
I finished Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant today, a collection of essays by writers and foodies about what they eat when no one's around, and to celebrate, I indulged in one of my own home alone meals: steamed rice, seasoned roasted seaweed and bonito flakes. I would never serve this to guests but the sweetness of the seaweed and the savoury bonito hits the spot perfectly.
I've been plugging away through my list - my taxes are done although the refund is piddly compared to years past...I suspect it's because I've begun paying back the withdrawal I made through the Home Buyer's Plan...On the bright side, I should be glad I'm getting a refund at all, teeny tiny as it is! I haven't filed yet. I like to leave it for at least a day and then review them a final time with "fresh" eyes in case I missed something the first time around.
On a lighter note, I pulled out the pretty little travel-sized bottles and jars I bought at SaSa in Hong Kong and filled them up with my toiletries. Aren't they the cutest things? I must have spent about a half hour poring over the display trying to pick just the right bottle for my facial cleanser and jar for my cream, they had so many! I know, I'm a nerd to get excited about these things. :)
Laundry's in the wash and I've plans to head out after lunch to shop for the special requests from my cousins.
When I first booked my trip to Europe, I felt like I had all this time to prepare and research things to do and see so I kept putting it off. But now it's upon me and I feel anxious because I don't have my spreadsheet compiled with said list of things to do and see, and I still don't have a hotel for Barcelona, which is really my cousin A's fault since she's so high maintenance and insists on 5 star.
So 4 days to go and I have a long list of To-Dos to get through this weekend including the preparation and filing of my taxes, a pedicure in anticipation of sandal days in Spain, cleaning my place so my friend who's house-sitting for me won't think I'm a slob, and picking up the requests I've gotten from my cousins which include, oddly enough: hair gel, cherry-flavoured TicTacs, and hand cream. :)
I put together the wine rack I'd picked up earlier in the week for my pantry et le voila, mise en place:
It's actually meant to hold 12 bottles, but the rack is a couple inches too long for my pantry shelf so there you have it. I didn't use the glue that came with the box - I just hammered the pegs in so I'm wondering now if it'll be sufficient...Too lazy now to take it apart to glue together so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there won't be an accident.
Thanks to Wanderluster's tip, I hurried on over to the Ikea website and stumbled upon their outdoor furniture line - it's filed under Summer if you click on the link for All Departments! And HELLO, jackpot!
I had in mind a modular set similar to Nuevo Living's Cubit line which, guess what, Ikea has too! It's called Arholma!!
I'm on the hunt for balcony furniture and it ain't cheap. What I need is for Ikea to come out with an outdoor furniture line. Their Urban chair came immediately to mind but there are no options table-wise for outdoors. And then I noticed the odd pricing:
Their pricing is typically round dollars - is there a web monkey behind the scenes having fun? I mean, what's with the Docksta for $228.65? You telling me I could have saved $40.35 if I'd waited a few more months?
P.S. I finally figured out how to print screen in Mac OS! Yay!!! :)
It's finally Spring and the sun is peeking through the clouds. I have plans for an anti-social day today and I quite like it. I slept in until just before 10am and have been vegging in front of the TV watching a Megastructures episode on the Water Cube that I'd PVR'd earlier while eating wonton noodles.
I'm now dillydallying because I have a list of things I'd like to see to today - including the purchase of a cap for running. I'm convinced I look like a complete dork in a cap but I've decided this is something I need to overcome. After trying a few caps yesterday during my lunch hour, I'm sure my head is bigger than the average woman - or at least the average that's been decided by the designers at Nike and Adidas because they're too small for me. So looks like I'm going to have to get a man-sized cap.
My fridge also needs re-stocking and having read a few of the essays in Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, I've decided to make use of my kitchen this weekend...perhaps pull out my food processor for something complicated...or not, but fantastic nonetheless.
So off I go to get dressed...the day waits for no one!
I ordered this top from J. Crew a couple weekends ago and it arrived today at work via UPS after being re-directed from my home address because there obviously isn't anyone there to sign for it while I'm at work.
My first reaction when I pulled it out of the box was that it was too close in tone to my skin colour and the last thing I want is to wear something that makes me look washed out so I was all set to return it in exchange for a different colour. But I tried it when I got home and I've since changed my mind. The cut is super-flattering - the v-neck is just right and the gathered neckline and loose fit skims the body just-so so that on days when you feel bloated and ick, no one else will know. :)
All I need to make this colour good on me is a tan, and to that end, I've decided it's time to begin using my must-have moisturizer for the lead-up to summer - Jergen's Natural Glow. It has the same distinct smell as other self-tanners I've tried that I find mildly unpleasant, but I like that the price is reasonable and it works fairly quickly. I wonder if there will be a noticeable difference tomorrow....
I just finished reading Xinran's Sky Burial and it truly is as its' subtitle suggests - an epic love story of Tibet.
Xinran recounts the true story of Shu Wen, a Chinese women she interviewed in Suzhou in 1994. Wen ventured into Tibet in the 1950s in search of her husband, a Chinese doctor and soldier who was missing in action.
She wandered for over 30 years in the mountains of north Tibet with a nomadic family who saved her with the unwavering belief that she would find her husband someway, somehow.
This is a fantastic study of Tibetan religious beliefs and the descriptions of the nomadic way of life and their instinctual movements as the seasons changed was eye-opening and beyond my imagining as a modern-day city girl.
While the fate of Wen's husband is revealed in the end, we're left wanting as to what becomes of Wen, who disappeared without a trace 2 days after her first meeting with Xinran.
It's a gorgeous spring day and I went for my first run outside this year. I headed west along Lake Shore through Coronation Park all the way to the Molson Ampitheatre and then doubled back along Queens Quay. I kept an easy pace and it felt awesome. So I treated myself to a grande-non-fat-no-foam-extra-hot tazo chai from Starbucks on my way home. :)
I spent the rainy afternoon in a theatre with wL watching One Week and thoroughly enjoyed this unabashedly Canadian road trip movie.
Joshua Jackson is Ben Tyler, a grade school English teacher who's been diagnosed with terminal cancer who's not ready to be a patient, so he buys a motorcycle on the way home from hearing the news and sets off across country for one last grand adventure.
If it's playing in a theatre near you, go see it. It inspired wL and I to plan our hypothetical trip from coast to coast...something I'd love to do one day. We decided that we'd fly east to St. John's Newfoundland and rent a car to drive west. The one rule is that we'd stick to the Trans Canada Highway and only deviate within 100km from it...one day...
I didn't want to be sitting at my desk this afternoon. The sun was flirting with me and while I'm not much of a cyclist, heading out for a spin would have been a lovely way to spend this Spring-like day.
I've booked my free flight to Europe! Well, it wasn't actually free because I had to pay the taxes which were still about $370(!!!) but I've booked my flight for April 8! I'm flying into London to meet one of my best girls, my cousin A. I'll spend a week there before we fly together for a long weekend in Amsterdam for another cousin's wedding. We then head off for a week in Spain together, splitting our time between Barcelona and Madrid. My return flight is booked from Amsterdam so I still have to book the flights in between but I can't wait!
I haven't seen A and most of my other Dutch cousins since I was over there in 2006 so it'll be fantastic to be amongst so much family again. So excited!!! :)
BUT! It means my training for the 10K will be interrupted...well...let's be honest, it hasn't really started, which means I either have to get my ass in gear this month or forget about it. What to do?
I just got back from attending an interview of Xinran by John Fraser at U of T's Hart House. If you're not familiar with who Xinran is, she is the author of The Good Women of China, a collection of real life stories of Chinese women. It was, at times, a heartbreaking read for me because it made me wonder at the resilience and strength of Chinese women to persevere through the hardships and injustices of simply being born a woman in a culture that generally does not value them. And it made me grateful that I was lucky enough to be born and raised in the West.
Fraser asked her about her childhood and her experience growing up in the Cultural Revolution. Xinran was born in Beijing in 1958. Her parents were both well-educated and from a wealthy background. She was seperated from her parents at an early age and was raised by her grandparents. She recounted the clear memory of meeting her mother for 10 minutes at the train station when she was 5, and the light purple clothing she wore. When she was 6 and a half, she was reunited with her parents only to be seperated again about 6 months later when the Cultural Revolution swept the nation and resulted in her parents imprisonment.
She spent the better part of her childhood living with other children in some sort of compound where she wasn't allowed to play let alone speak. And to this day, she still has nightmares that the Red Guards will darken her door in the middle of the night to take her away for a beating.
She spoke too, about her reasons for writing this book - Part of it is because Chinese youth today are completely ignorant of this period in China's modern history, and part of it is because if she doesn't do it now, it may be too late as most of the oral histories she collected were from interviewees in their 70s, 80s and 90s.
She shared with us a meeting she had with 22 young students outside a Beijing shopping district who were on break from their jobs. She asked them if any of them knew what the Cultural Revolution was and only 1 of them could answer correctly. She then asked them all to go home and call their parents for an answer, and in return, she would give them a gift the next day. When the next day came, all but 1 student came back. It's her belief that one can't move forward in the future without understanding one's past and what a disservice it is that so many of the young Chinese today have no idea.
When asked about her education, she said that she has 4(?) degrees the first being English and she wasn't able to communicate to the cab driver on her first trip to London; and while she has a computer science degree, she studied computers when the hardware took up an entire room. Despite being so well-educated, she got the most value from the stories she's been able to gather in talking to different people.
Anyway, it was rather a thrill to hear her speak of her first-hand experiences. I think I was third in line after Fraser to have her sign my book and I was rather dumbstruck. She asked me softly in mandarin if I was Chinese and I answered yes....and I can't recall now what her next question was, but I answered: "Wo shi Jianada waqiao", which means I am Canadian born Chinese...that was just about the only useful phrase I could recall at the moment after studying mandarin for 2 years. Lame. Then she said to me, in mandarin, "Please ask after your father and mother." Then I said "xiexie," thank you, and then I gathered up my things and left. Double lame.
In hindsight, I wish I could have told her that I really enjoyed reading The Good Women of China because it made me at times happy and sad and angry and hopeful. I wish I could have told her how much I am looking forward to reading China Witness for all that I will learn about my Chinese cultural heritage, but most of all, I wish I could have told her how thankful I am that she feels compelled to document so much Chinese history that would otherwise be lost.
I didn't then, so I'll do it now: "Xinran, xiexie ni."
Some areas of the hotel are a little worse for wear - according to the reviews online it underwent renovations last year and it seems there are still parts that haven't been completed but the room's comfortable and pretty spacious.
Mucha-esque details I couldn't help but notice in Barri Gotic
