Last Days in Valencia (1 of the Best Photo Feasts!!)

After much delay and shoving IMechE reports aside, Marpig shall wrap up her Espana trip with the last entry on the last 2 daes in VLC

1st, itz bf time @ the hotel ttz included in the price!! Marpigz fav croissant with butter and tea!!
牛角面包 tt looks so much like a... crabby? :P Not tt Marpig likes playing with her food but the funny idea just striked MarpigThe place tt JM and Marpig am visiting tt dae was to be the Mercat Central. On their way there, they (had to) pass by Placa de la Reina (above) and it was then tt Marpig pop into a local fast food chain to get this!!*yumyumyum* 超好吃!! Itz vegetarian and tt slab of thingy is not fish but eggie and potato!! Wow!! Itz abs delicious and speaking bout it now, Marpig am hungry!! :D__

After a 15 mins walk(?) they arrived at Mercat Central!!
The front of Mercat Central
*winks at Sansao* 艺术照 of the mosaic on the wall of Mercat Central with itz entrance!!

Wat greeted JM and Marpig when they went in was 金华火腿!! Therez also all sorts of meats and sausages!!
The "dry" section of the market also sells veges such as Marpigz fav runner beans
Therez also fresh carrots with their long hair of greens!! Although the greens can be eaten, but they are normally not, since the greens are slightly toxic
A "forest" of... erm... celery? Well, sm greens!!Mercat Central is basically a covered market, much like those 巴刹 in Singapore, just tt the design is slightly "posh"/artistic!! :P
Why does it reminds Marpig (again) of the "Russian Market" in Cambodia?! hahahahaha
Nutty tutty with walnuts, peanuts, almonds, etc!! But no nutcracker!!
名副其实的 "packed like sardines"!! Think itz similar to 咸鱼 and most probably they are used in the Spanish appetisers

Next up is the wet section which is much more interesting!!
If Marpig didnt put this pic up under VLC entry, any1 would think the pic above was taken at one of the 巴刹 in Singapore right?! hahahhahaha
Fishie: HUNGRY~~!! *chomp itz own tail*
:D__ Marpigz fav!! Therez fresh gambits, scallops and prawnies!! Yumyumyum!! Sauté with a dash of salt pls!!Therez also the intelligent octopuses which still ended up as seafood on the dining table... suckers!! :PMantis shrimps!! As Marpig mentioned earlier in other entries, they are neither mantids nor shrimps but are crustaceans, similar to the crabby
And therez also the angry-looking lobster which doesnt like to be "tied down"!! *Spine-chilling stare*Marpig tried escargots but she has yet to try... are the above considered as "gong gong"? Hmmm... one fine dae, she must try such th @ Chinatown food street (or wherever there may be such seafood) with brave and adventurous makan khakis!! :P Ding!! Dont look away!! You are one of them!! :P
Right O!! Marpig has no idea wat the above are. She just wanted to take lotsa 艺术照 Hmmm... they looked so much like barnacles... can they be eaten? Argh!! Of cos they can be eaten!! Otherwise they wont be up for "sail" :P
The above is Marpigz fav food which she would always order while eating at chinese rests in the UK with frens (subject to availability)!! Razor clams aka 圣旨!! In fact, she did order them when she had dinner with Gem in 西贡 (see here)

After sm fun pics, next pic might cause sm discomfort to sm pple, hence, itz NOT FOR the faint hrted!!猪头!! 还 fresh 的 leh!! *faints* Do the Spanish eat 猪头?! How?! omgomgomg!!
1 of Marpigz fav pastries (although Marpig prefers w/o icing :P) So wat are the above call?

After Mercat Central, JM and Marpig went to Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia. On their way there, Marpig saw a miniature toy of a manual foot sewing machine which is xactly the one Marpig had @ home!! Ah~~ Marpigz mom used to use it to make the many bedsheets, pillow cases, bolster cases, cushion covers, etc for she was so good with sewing... Marpig also used it to finish her home economics homework ON HER OWN!! Despite Marpig looking like the chor lor gal-next-door, her home economics are pretty good!! So good her peers were surprised and impressed!! For e.g, she dont need to do tacking to machine clothes!! :P Of cos, in terms of cooking, Gin is still the best!! So miss all the food she would cook and let Marpig eat then!!

Anyw, when Marpig used the (ancient) manual foot sewing machine last time, she realised one of the prob was the needle "sewing backwards" bcos the speed of the wheel is not fast enough. In addition, setting up the thread on the sewing machine required no less than *trying hard to rem* 7 steps? Up and down, left and right, in here and there, up there and here and finally through the needles... omg. Then ttz only the upper thread; need to load the bottom thread ttz under the needle... *faints*Oh yes, come to think of it, Marpig used to hide and sit on the foot rest of the sewing machine when shez 3, 4 or 5 yrs old (small enough to squeeze down there) and pretend shez driving a car with the wheel!! So fun!! Vavavroooom!! :P Now u noe when Marpig starts loving to cruise ard at night!! :P艺术照 again (during the hot walk to the museum)

Nth much to say bout the museum since the main website is in Spanish :P But itz the home of many paintings by faymoss painters (duh). Think JM would noe much more since she had the guidebook :P Remembered was looking for painters of sm faymoss painters but could only find a few of those listed on the guidebook... wonder where the rest were... hmmm...

Anyw, next stop (last as well) was City of Arts and Sciences aka Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (in Valencian) which both JM and Marpig went to on the same dae, albeit 1 after another separately bcos JM went to do sm last min shopping while Marpig carried on (cos she will take ages bcos of her tendency to take pic of EVERY SINGLE THINGY) :P

Indeed, on her leisure and wols walk from Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia to City of Arts and Sciences via the adjacent BIG HUGE park (approx. 4km, took her bout 2 hours(?) bcos of her constant phototaking!!), Marpig stopped by one of the fountain features in the park and took more arty farty pics!!Water is life!! :P
Stopping by a statue playing a flute, Marpig decided to take a pic with "him"After walking (and stopping every so often to take pics) for sm time under the hot Espana sun, Marpig finally reached Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts aka Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (in Valencian)

Marpigz 1st impression of it was tt it looked like 咸蛋超人 :P hahahahaha As the name suggests, itz an opera hse built by Valencia-born architect, Santiago CalatravaSide elevation of the opera hse. The 1st opera tt was played was Beethovanz only opera, "Fidelio". The roof is curved and is 230 m long and the building is 75 m tall. Although one cant really see from the pic above, the building is 14 storeys high and the lifts are external. It boasts 4 auditoriums and is approx. 40 000 sq m
Going ard the building (Marpig didnt go in) Marpig was admiring the structures and designs...
After Queen Sophia Palace of the Arts, Marpig continued walking along the City of Arts and Sciences, which basically is place full of entertainment and architectural structures. The structure (pic above) ttz bhind the signs is L'Hemisfèric, which has an Imax cinema, Planetarium and Laserium. Itz supposed to be built in the shape of an eye (see later pics of it and the opera hse from the air!!) Bcos itz curved, itz surface area is bout 13 000 sq m

Bside it is another structure which looked like fishbones (it is!! Supposed to resemble the skeleton of a whale actually) is El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe; an interactive museum of science

Next up which Marpig must have spent least an hour is L'Umbracle. Itz a beautiful landscaped walk with plant species tt are indigenous to Valencia. E.g are lavender, honeysuckle, bougainvillea, palm trees

Why did Marpig spend so much time there? Bcos shez taking pics like these!!

The above has the flowers in the foregrd...
While this pic shows the flowers out of focus... hmmm... Marpig wanted to just share 1 of the 2 but have no idea which is a better pic... Guess itz 各花入各眼 right?! :P More more!!
TTz the walk lined with palm trees on both sides and nope, itz not covered but still, itz hot!!
Therez also the L'Oceanogràfic which is an open-air oceanographic park. As much as Marpig would love to visit it (since itz the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe ttz 110 000 sq m and has 42 mil liters of water!!), therez not much time left (Marpig am supposed to rejoin JM soon at the shopping centre there) and itz still sm distance away :S Read tt it was built in the shape of a water lily (work of Félix Candela). Although Marpig didnt physically get to see it, but she did go onto Google map to have a look and itz impressive!! :D

Anyw, met up with JM and had MacD for dinner. Wow!! The MacD in Espana is BIG burgers (instead of those puny ones with 1/2 slice of cheese!!) So big, Marpig had difficulty finishing it!! Watz more, the buns have bacons on them!! *drools* Cant rem if it was chicken or fish... guess most prob itz fish burger!!
And finally, b4 Marpig round up her VLC and Espana trip, she took sm aerial photos during take-off!!Notice Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía on the top of the aeroplanez engine while itz making a left turn!!
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía and L'Hemisfèric!!
And ttz it for VLC and Espana!! BTW, during this trip, Marpig didnt get any souveniors xcept 2 bottles of~~Agua de Valencia aka Water of Valencia!! 1 for Marpigz sis and another for Marpig (which she still hasnt fin cos itz pretty strong for Marpig!!)

Why did Marpig buy Agua de Valencia or how did she noe bout it? Itz bcos Alvaro (the cute Valencian receptionist @ where JM and Marpig stayed) told them bout it!! :P

Just like Sangria (BCN drink), Agua de Valencia is a local cocktail not to be missed in VLC. Itz a cocktail drink ttz made with cava or champagne, orange juice, vodka and gin (no wonder itz strong for Marpig!!) Itz smth like Screwdriver (not taste-wise though) but mixed with more alcohol. Itz refreshing and in Marpigz opinion, better than Sangria bcos itz fizzy!!

And~~ ttz it for Espana!! Finally finished all backlog of travelling bloggie entries. Havent been to anywhere after Espana (no lollies!!) hence, xpect less travelling entries!! (Although Marpig am planning and itching to go smwhere in France... :P)

Lies (Almost) Forgotten

Went grocery shopping with Foldie and shite!! Realised Marpig am TOTALLY UNHEALTHY and FAT!! The average distance is bout 8 miles (approx. 12.8 km) but on the way back, Marpig couldnt take it anymore and was huffing and puffing like mad!! Well... MAYBE itz bcos:

1) Marpig didnt have any bf
2) Backpack full of grocery was very heavy and therez also another BIG bag of grocery which Marpig hang on the handlebar
3) Grocery on handlebar affected balance, hence, more energy required
4) Tyres almost flat (Marpig didnt pump more air)

Anyw... the above were xcuses (but true)!! :S Now Marpig noe why the Brits are BIG in size... shite. Marpig cannot go on like this!! *worried while sitting on a chair with fat bum*

All right, this entry isnt bout the issue above, just tt Marpig needs to lament. Was reading the BBC and saw an interesting article bout "Child Vampire Hunters Sparks Comic Crackdown"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8574484.stm

Why does it interest Marpig? Bcos ttz the reason why EC horror comics such as Tales from the Crypt (which Marpig tried locating them for 10 odd yrs and only finally got them last yr!!) were banned/taken off the shelves!! Tsk tsk tsk

And so the article goes where in the 1950s, hundreds of children aged btw 4 - 14 were patrolling the historic Southern Necropolis in Glasgow with knives and sharpened sticks (to be used as stakes for killing the vampire), in search of a 7 foot tall vampire with iron teeth

It sorta started with sm1 who saw a figure wandering bout and shouted "therez the vampire". Since then, although itz an urban myth, parents used the vampire to scare and threaten their naughty children instead of the Bogeyman (a ghost-like monster ttz originated in Scotland and who has no fixed appearance, hides under beds and tickles naughty children when they sleep), much like wat Marpigz mom would scare Marpig with 梅秀姐 when Marpig was naughty!! 好可怕!! hahahahaha

Anyw, pple started putting blame on American comic books with chilling titles such as Tales From The Crypt and The Vault of Horror, whose graphic images of terrifying monsters were becoming increasingly popular among Scottish youngsters (and Marpig) and were "corrupting the imaginations of children and inflaming them with fear of the unknown" (There are sm truths in such accusations to a certain xtent since children can be very impressionable. Marpig was also a 过来人 umk!!)

Anyw, itz interesting to noe tt Tales from the Crypt, etc have no mention of such a 7 foot tall vampire with iron teeth. Ironically, there was 1 such monster with iron teeth in the Bible (Daniel 7.7, is it true JM?) and in a poem taught in the local Scottish schools...

Right, actually Marpig hasnt got to the main gist of this entry :P The above was just an article which reminded Marpig of sm really *a-hem* mischievous lies she said while she was in pri 1, 2, 3? Around tt age 吧 :P

So wat lies did she said and watz the impact?!

Lie no. 1: Bicycle hidden within a gap in the stone wall ttz bhind the schoolz canteen

To: Marpigz best frens in pri school (3 of them)

Why: No idea, just for fun :P (无聊!!)

How: 1 fine dae during recess, Marpig brought them to the stone wall and point them to the hole. Cant rem the details now but think Marpig told them ttz smth shiny in the hole and started talking bout a bicycle hidden inside...

Length: Lasted for a long time until Marpig decided to confess :P

Aftermath: Cant rem but every1 was laughing

Lie no. 2: Vampire in the shed bside the school compound

To: Marpigz best frens in pri school again (and think other pple too?) HOWEVER, eventually the whole school noes including the principal!!

Why: Marpig loves adventure and xploring places and tt shed was a perfect setting for smth creative make-believe!! hiak hiak hiak (超无聊!!)

How: As it was, Marpig brought the frens to the shed during recess and led a wols and cautious walk-ard the shed with Marpig ever now and then fuelling suspense with ths like, "小声一点!!", "好像有声音!!", "停!!" hahahahahaha The walk-ards always ended with them running away after they 自己吓自己!!

Length: Dont noe... think bout a good few weeks. Marpig took bout a week to scare and start the myth. Then another week where the myth spreads and other students (including upper and lower pri!! :P) started investigating themselves. Another week when ths started to get out of hand and principal ended the whole thingy one 1 dae when lotsa pple gathered to check out the shed (much like those children in the article above) by going there himself and shouted to every1 to stop the nonsense

Aftermath: Marpig got tired after the 2nd week but was surprised tt her leetle naughty story got tt far... tsk tsk tsk talked bout the power of rumours!! Anyw, principal didnt 追究 and no1 really noes who originated the myth. Afterall, itz always diff to track down the rumour-monger :P

Aiyo, didnt realise Marpig am TT mischievous right?! Oh well, every1 was young b4. Ya noe, ttz the sorta ths youngsters of yester-yrs do!! No?! hahahahahahaha

BTW, dont noe if PS still rem the time in sec 1 when she and others told Marpig tt St. Bernadette's church bside Kellog Convent was haunted... with bats flying...? hmmm :P

X Culture Xperience

Last week while Marpig was on a "mission" to check out prices in 1 of the only 2 Chinese supermarkets in Bristol (well, itz the best since the other one was much smaller with less fares and more x) so tt she could feedback to Marpigz sis and then she will compare prices in London, she met 2 frens from China

And so, they decided they could spend the dae together shopping, dinner and catching up. Was really fun listening to them since their topics and ths they said are so interesting!! Although when they started talking bout the Chinese leaders, Marpig am lost bcos although she knew the names, she noe naught the faces!! :P

Anyw, had a great dinner at Mayflower (a cantonese rest by the bus station, dont think Marpig had the chance to bring Beenie there... but hey!! carvery and treacle sponge with hot custard were great too right?! :D__) where the 3 of them ate heartily and talked bout everyth under the sun; from travelling to food, horoscopes to history, games to comics, 中国四大名著 to 金瓶梅, 金庸 to 倪匡, 谷歌 (Google) and 百度 (Baidu) seach engines, etc. Really... smtimes even Marpig am impressed by her own knowledge in these ths!! hahahahaha

Anyw, towards the end of the dinner, Marpigz illness got worse (shez still sick rem?) and started to run a low grade fever and so, she went to the shared house of the frens where they brewed 姜水 (eh.. ginger with red/brown sugar(?)) for Marpig, saying tt is good for cold and such

So kind of them!! Marpig asked them how they know bout such remedies and they said their mothers taught them... ah~~ Marpigz dad didnt teach Marpig wor... but he does make gallons of 菊花茶 when Marpigz sis and Marpig go back and when he goes golfing :)

And so Marpig drank the 姜水 while the 3 of them continued chatting. Learnt alot bout the interesting chinese history from them!! Wow!! Also talked bout the issue on corruption and apparently, China wanted to improve corruption by adopting Singaporez idea of paying gahmen pple more so as to deter them from corrupting. However, frens were saying no use cos the lollies pple get by corrupting is > than their high salaries. Hence, corruption still continues in China

And then Marpig asked them a question which they xclaimed itz smth new and which they never thought bout;

"But the gahmen pple in Singapore dont corrupt with the high salaries. There may be sm still, but not as bad as in China and other countries. Why does it work?"

TT sets them thinking :P

Also got to noe from them (they r the "products" of Chinaz 1 child policy BTW) tt China developed too rapidly, so much so tt the gap btw the minority rich and majority poor are wide. It also led to social probs like the rich left the poor bhind and dont spare a thought for them, even though the rich used to be poor themselves too

Marpig did wonder aloud as to why was it tt China, with all the 道德经, 四书五经, 大学, etc pple seemed to have lost the morals and bcoming selfish. Frens also felt the same and xplained ttz bcos of the "hole" in Chinese history; the Cultural Revolution aka 文化大革命 during Maoz regime. Then again... cant morals be instill again?

Anyw, they also shared with Marpig, sm of the hilarious direct Chinese-to-English translations they noe such as:

1) Good good study, day day up = 好好学习, 天天向上 (A quote from Mao)
2) (U noe this one!!) Pple mountain, pple sea = 人山人海
3) If you no 3 no 4, I will give you some colour see see = 如果你不三不四, 我就给你点儿颜色看看!!

Muahahahahahahahahaha!!

Comfort Food, Comfort Smell

After talking bout attachments, letz talk bout other "comforting" thingies like food and smell

1st of all, 1 of Marpigz all-time fav comfort food (perhaps the 榜首!!) is~~ MARMITE!!Why is Marmite Marpigz fav comfort food? Well, although Marpig called it comfort food but Marpig really LOVES it too!! Has been on it (majiam like 风油) since Marpig was 3, 4 or 5 yrs old? You guessed it, Marpigz mom intro it to Marpig!!

Therez many ways of eating Marmite and the Brits use it as a bread spread which Marpig also did (but too rich) but prefers to add hot water for a bowl of steaming Marmite soup *slurps* Will also add a bit into porridge which gives sooooo much UNIQUE flavour!! In fact, Marpig am going to cook up a storm with Marmite over 1 of the weekends!! Wat recipe? Hmm... instead of honey-coated chicken wings, Marpig am going to xperiment with Marmite-coated chicken wings!! :P Ooohh!! Watch out for entry on tt in the future!! :D__

Apparently, Marmite is one of those food which pple either hate it or love it, much like 榴莲 and oh my, itz got a LONG history!! Here goes!!

话说 in 1680, a Dutch scientist xamine the used brewers' yeast (used to ferment sugars into alcohol and deemed as a nuisance by-product of the brewing process) under a microscope and discovered the used yeast consisted of tiny spherical and oval cells. Then, Louis Pasteur further discovered tt they are actually living plants and could be made into a concentrated food product which is similar to meat xtract in terms of apperance, smell and colour but purely vegetarian!!

Subsequently, pple tried to manufacture this yeast xtract commericially and in 1902, the Marmite Food Company Ltd was stablished

Ths werent as smooth initially bcos the yeast used in the British beer isnt anyth like the beer in Dutch/French but anyw, they perfected the process and wala!! We have the Marmite now!!

As seen in the picture above, Marmite has lotsa Vit Bs (B1, B2, Folic acids, B12), riboflavin and niacin and was used to combat outbreaks of beri-beri and other diseases!!

不说你不知, Marmite has a drug-like quality!! It can be addictive!! No wonder Marpig loves it just like she loves 风油!! hahahahaha

And!! They also come in different jar designs every now and then!! Yeah!! Like a collectorz item!! (But nope, Marpig doesnt keep the empty jars...)
The original and common Marmite jar (right) alongside a special edition Vdae "I Love U" Marmite jar!! Therez suppose to be champagne added but Marpig doesnt taste it wor... :PThen therez also Marmite cheddar cheese which is not bad too!! Marpig eats it just like tt and also melt it with other food :D__Therez also baked rice cakes with Marmite!! :D____ So much healthier than crisps!! And recently, the XO Marmite has just been launched!!Nay, XO = Xtra Old Marmite!! Not as though XO has been added in!! Marpigz sis got Marpig a bottle (u can get it in Tesco and other supermarkets too) So will taste it soon!!

And then u ask, "how come itz named Marmite". Well, itz taken from the name of a French soup, petite marmite. Marmite in French refers to a stock pot or cooking pot which resembled the Marmite jar itself. Hence, the century old black Marmite jar with itz yellow "top-hat"

The ingredients varies ax countries from the original British recipe but the Marmites in Singapore is the closest to the original. No wonder Marpig feels so comforted by it!! *beaming all over*

As it is, sm of u would have heard bout Vegemite. So watz the diff? Simple!! Marmite is from the UK and Vegemite (less strong and flavourful and the bottle is ugly!!) is from Aussie. Itz just like Lays is used by the Yanks and Walkers is used by the Brits

Oh oh!! Marpig am thinking of buying a cyclist jersey!! Any ideas which design is better?! (Although Marpig has sorta made up her mind on the 2nd design!! :P)

1st design: Frontand back2nd design: Front
and backCool eh!! :D Costs 45 quid but but but!! Itz dry fit and cool and itz Marmite!!

Finally, b4 Marpig ends this passionate entry on Marmite, she needs to just "rub it in" with one of her fav smells other than petrichor; Vicks Vapour Rub!!

Ah~~ also used it since Marpig was young, perhaps even as a baby!! Marpigz mom used to rub it on Marpigz temples, chest and back whenever Marpig was having a cold (maybe ttz y Marpig wanna be a sick baby!! :P) Used to love it when Marpigz mom rub it on Marpig and specially her last 招 which was to put sm on Marpigz leetle nosey *smiles* *sigh~~* Those were the daes... *remembering her TLC*

Think Marpigz dad also did tt a few times when Marpig was young and when Marpigz mom was sleeping at night. Ya noe, the father also needs to learn to change diapers!! :P

好怀念啊~~

And so the story goes tt Marpig bought herself a bottle of Vicks Vapour Rub when she was suffering from tonsillities/strep throat during tt 3 weeks (shez still not fully recovered yet... shite!!) but the bottle is different + the smell is not as strong (or is it bcos Marpigz nose is blocked?!) *pouts*

Think Marpigz sis also likes the smell but she did say she dont like the after-feeling of stickiness... ok la, Marpig dont mind :D

... ... gonna use it now and sleep!! :D *rub rub rub*