Chapter 3: Day Trip to Padua (Part 1: General Sights)

After much lazing, Marpig finally finished a test assessment report for qualifying to be an assessor of sm sort (equivalent to LEED, DD would noe perhaps?) Been a very nice sunny sundae (surprisingly!!) and Marpig just had a HUGE meal of Nasi Lemak (bought from Birmingham the dae b4) with Marmite soup and a jap dish (boiled spinach with miso paste and fresh diced garlic) Nasi Lemak was good but never as fantastica as those back home since there no fried chicken wings nor Otah!! Anyw, must continue with long overdued Italy trip last yr May!!

After day trip to Verona, it was day trip to another ancient Italian city, Padua. In Italian, itz Padova and for the sake of confusion, itz Patavium in Latin and Padoa in Venetian :P As mentioned in other chapters of the Italy trip, Padua is 1 of the cities in Veneto

So watz so special bout Padua? As far as Marpig noes, there 4 ths bout Padua:

1st, itz the setting for most scenes in Shakespearez, The Taming of the Shrew

2ndly, itz the birthplace of the famous architect Andrea Palladio who had several of his works such as the "Teatro Olimpico" (Olympic Theatre; considered as the 1st e.g. of covered theatre) under the World Heritage Site list

3rdly, Padua is known for the University of Padua where Galileo Galilei was a Prof who taught Geometry, Mechanics and Astronomy. Just a little bit bout GG (Marpigz interest); he was the person who realised tt planets don revolve ard Earth and proved (?) the idea of terminal velocity (the thought experiment bout him dropping 2 objects of diff weight from the top of Leaning Tower of Pisa) So cool!!

4thly, the University of Padua is also famous for housing the oldest anatomy theatre (built in 1594) and the worldz oldest botanical garden, "Orto Botanico di Padova" (built in 1545)

And so, on another fine dae in Venice, Marpig & fren set off to catch a train to Padua
Having taken trains in the UK, Marpig still prefers taking trains from other parts of Europe. Maybe itz so much less boring than the UK ones...The train station in Venice is Venezia Mestre and it says, "Estimated Arrival Time 08:46. Delay: 0:00"
The next display says (as any1 could easily guess), "Velocity 25 km/h. Internal temp 22 degC. External temp 20 degC. Toilet is not occupied. Delay: 0:00"

As it was, Marpig cant resist taking photos of the nearly empty early morning train...
In fact, the seats are compartmented and remind 1 so much of the Hogwarts Xpress!!Choo choo train arrived in Padua after bout an hour or so
Walking along the main streets of Padua, Marpig came ax a bookshop with this on display:
As well as a CD shop with a not-to-be-missed deal!!
If any1 has loads of lollies and wanna have jap food/sushi in Italy (how silly) then herez an idea of the price to pay from a jap menu which Marpig & fren got from outside a random restaurant
Continuing deeper into the city of Padua, 1 would passed Tronco Maestro Riviera, a pedestrian walk along a section of the inland waterway or "naviglio interno" of Padua
Shopping street in Padua. Much like a little Oxford Street or equivalent
B4 coming to the University of Padua, just round the corner, there is a popular cafe called Caffé Pedrocchi which is 1 of the biggest cafe in the world (or so says Wiki)
Accordingly, the cafe has been opened for 2 centuries (or so says Wiki again) A flautist performing in front of the cafeLittered ard the city are also statues :)
And... tada!! The main entrance (in front of the busy shopping main street) of the University of PaduaNay, Marpig and fren did not go in since time is limited, hence, moving on in an alleyway...to the 1st main attractions which is the Palazzo della Ragione, the town hall in PaduaApparently, the town hall is known to have the largest roof in Europe not supported by columns.

Happy Frenship Day

Happy Frenship Day!!

Really, as a senior colleague said, V Day is just one of those lolly-making day for pple. A cliche th he also said was, if couples love each other, everydae is V Day. Which is true anyw, just like Mothers' and Fathers' Day

Taking this bloggie entry as yet another summary of Marpigz thoughts and discoveries, here are sm interesting bits to share:

1) It is United Kingdom but therez always smth bout the Scots, English, Welsh and Irish (Northern). Each has their own Parliaments and laws. England has her own, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well. Every1 must know bout football. (In the UK, itz not called soccer; which the Yanks called the game) But, ttz not impt. Every1 must also noe and sm, e.g., Mr Calendar, must be crazy over English football teams like Liverpool, Man U, etc.

Right, now comes the best part. Every1 also noes the UEFA cup, etc, but does any1 of u notices tt in the Olympic Games, there never was a UK men football team? Never, for 40 yrs now. Not bcos of the lack of talent but itz all bcos the rivalry among the Scots, English, Welsh and Irish

Funny eh? Well, having colleagues from 3 of the 4 countries in the UK, Marpig learnt funny bits of their rivary. Scottish colleague refer to Welsh colleague as "their valley cousins who never stops singing" and the Welsh makes fun of the English with the "sheep shagging" joke. Wat is the joke bout u asked? Well, long long time ago, under the English law, u lose a finger if u shag a sheep but go to the gallows for stealing a sheep!! And yes, strange as it sounds, English used to shag sheep apparently. Hence the joke went like this:

Englishmen: Caught you!! Itz capital punishment for you for stealing our sheep!!
Welshmen caught stealing sheep: No, we are not stealing the sheep, we were just shagging them.

Duh.

2) The Scottish colleague was quite caring when he knew Marpig was sorta having a bit of fever. When Marpig told him she has no appetite, he told Marpig wat pple (in the UK or Scotland) always say, "feed a cold, starve a fever" Hmm... how wise and true is tt!!

3) It definitely was not PS who told Marpig this (though she said it to Balachan and Balachan told Marpig) Could it be smth Marpig told PS bout? (since she xperienced & 领悟 such ths...) It could be JM too... cant rem... but it is true tt "什么都可以等，就是孝顺不可以等"...

4) Marpig once had a dream bout being deserted by Marpigz dad... how true... ttz how Marpig felt with the recent happenings... when Marpig was young, she likes to observe Marpigz dad while he made the CNY red "炮竹" with used toilet roll (the core) and red paper with cut out of words, carved the wooden and Styrofoam 新年贺词 and air paint them with red paint as well as sprinkle them with those shimmering thingy as well as making cupboards(in all the rooms), wardrobes (in all the rooms), cabinets (in the kitchen) and Marpigz study table... even helped him a little...

He really may not know... but Marpig grew up under his influence... how did Marpig learn to use all the tools, etc despite being a lady and not attending handicraft lessons... learning to ride a motorbike... going to Geylang to have Teochew Moi... why is he no diff from all other men?

Marpig mentioned b4... she hates changes though she welcomes them... but only changes within her control and tt she can manage... changes to ths which she held dearly and deeply to her heart makes Marpig really sad... oh well...

TT dream was sad, itz true in real life and... Marpig could only let it go...

5) Marpig found out tt men are really full of cocks. There must be a few tt werent but with the case of Marpigz dad, tt belief is wavering. To confirm, tt China man is as well. Marpig saw thru him, totally "踩" (cantonese) him to the max and tell him wat his heart (or cock) is thinking which made him so boh been.

In addition, Marpig went shopping with Polish colleague and helped him with his grocery stuff to his shared house. While he went to the toilet, (although Marpig did not do it on purpose) Marpig saw he had a pack on Durex in his travel toiletries bag... hmmm... of cos, itz not wrong and Marpig am open with such th but it just goes to show 2 ths; he is sensible and as men, he needs "it" too. Ok.

6) Marpig went random blog reading again & cant rem she wrote such th... Refer to 30th July 2006 entry, "A Grain of Rice"!!

Marpig shall end here while she tries to fin the entry bout her dae trip to Padua!! Gosh!!

Marpig Want to Watch Ponyo!!

Yeah!! Itz abit late but Miyazakiz latest movie, Ponyo is already out!! Been eyeing it like for ages... too bad it wasnt showing in Singapore when Marpig was back... But oh gosh!! So cute!! As usual, Miyazaki style!! Just receive sad news tt Kino am not able to get Marpigz fav comic (she has alot of fav comics, very old ones which she wanted for many many yrs. e.g., 《一磅的福音》) 《百鸟丽子》 and 《新百鸟丽子》!! :( Nvm... maybe another 10 yrs wait... (ttz the time Marpig waited for 《一磅的福音》!!)

And as usual, Marpig will buy the colour comic of Ponyo (once itz out...?) from Kino!! Hopefully can get tt as a bdae gift!! If Gin can help Marpig buy, maybe when Marpig meets JM in July, she could pass tt to Marpig!! Oh boy oh boy!!

As quick responses to both Dang and XT;

Dang/ snowed-in isnt annual holiday nor public holiday... it simply just meant wat Marpig said; too much snow on the road which makes travelling hazardous so pple stay at home and nua ( or play snow :P) Marpig was "snowed-in" cos waking up on a snowy dae and feeling "sad-in" :D

XT/ :) Marpig always think XT is like a Guru sitting on top of a mountain!! Really!! Fits the not-used-anym nick of Ah Ma :D Other than JM, XT is the next person to give Marpig words of wisdom!! Totally agree with u bout if pple noes ttz ups and downs in all relationships, etc, together with commitment, there will be everlasting true love

But heu, with understanding, itz SUPPOSE to foster/encourage/make everlasting true love happen but ttz an idealised scenario in itself too... why? Just like human greed (for anyth and everyth), humans ARE weak and never 102% good. The age old questions of where humans are born good or bad surfaced. Put in bluntly, with menz weakness to sexual desire, therez no such th as everlasting true love. Yes, itz a sweeping statement, but Marpig has her reasons for coming to tt conclusion

1) Marpigz dad is an xample
2) TT china colleague (mentioned in previous bloggie entries) is another xample. Marpig just so understands and "see-through" them tt when he was trying to xplain ths with a mil xcuses, Marpig just told him bluntly, "其实你现在什么都不需要，你只要快点找个女朋友" and he went totally silent and after a bit, he agreed and went on to tell Marpig tt itz not good to "see-through" others and tell them bluntly such ths. But f**k it man!! Marpig am sick of playing games. Moreover, he deserves it. Pui. 贱男人，男人贱. Yes yes, not all, but come on, most.

Aiyo, as it is, itz suppose to be cute and Innocent Ponyo!!

风花雪月!!

Everyone brace yourself for sm snowballs and snowmen!!

Right, not sure if the news in Singapore report this, but over in the UK this week, it has been snowing heavily; never before since 13 yrs ago!!

Wow!! Marpig have been in the UK for 3.5 yrs now and never has she xperienced such heavy snow!! Of course, her 1st xperience with snowing was 2 yrs back in Leeds, north of the UK during Xmas @ Marpigz uncle J and aunty J with Marpigz sis and dad

1st yr when Marpig was in the UK, Marpig had a good summer (and probably the last since then, in 2005) weather since then was rubbish. Rain, grey skies, more rain, more grey skies. TTz the British weather for ya!! BUT

Boy oh boy!! SNOW!! Gosh!! Heavy snowfalls in the UK!! With snow bout ankle deep!! Woohoo!! Yeah!! Marpig went to SKorea during Xmas in order to catch the snow & white Xmas alas, although Marpig did saw snow and skied, it wasnt snowing. Plus, Marpig did not manage to build any snowman :(

But, with the recent heavy snow in the UK, Marpig had a great time!! Snowball fights with colleagues in the garden outside office (where Marpig played frisbee with colleagues in summer), building snowmen and snow women, watching snowflakes fall & their different structures, tasting snowflakes with the tongue, walking in the thick fresh snow and tracing her own footprints!!

Yes, the temp is low and the winds (specially in the SW, where Marpig am) are gusty, which caused the snow to fall sideways 80 deg, but oh man!! The fun!! Pple just get out to play in the snow!! hahahahahaha

Itz really hard to describe the feeling... but coming from the Sunny Island where snow is artificial and confined in small Snowcity, snow is one of the 人生追求 for Marpig (yup, Marpig is a simple pig afterall, though complicated at times) not lest to build a snowman!! One really needs to xperience it 1st hand to feel the ecstasy of it all!! Well, pictures tell 1000 words!! :D Here goes!!Snowing starts at night & often are quite heavy. The picture above and the one below are taken with flash in order to see the snowflakes!!Look closer and one will be able to the structures of the snowflakes!!
This was taken one the 2nd night after the previous dae of snowing. Notice (from the street light) tt it was still snowing heavily. See how the cars and vans, bins, roads etc are being covered by God's "icing" (refer to previous bloggie entry bout God is like a pastissier who sprinkle "icing" on Earth)

And in the morning...
Most pple are "snowed in" = pple stayed at home cos snow are too thick to warrant safe road travel. Marpig was snowed in (1st time seeing so much snow, hence Marpig did not go to work :P) Albeit being cold, pple still go out to...sledge!! hahahahahaha
Marpig couldnt resist the attraction of snow and hence, she quickly don on a jacket, hat and gloves, armed with her camera and out she went in the snow!! Oh, tt was a Merc tt was covered in icing, just outside where Marpigz flat isThe road outside where Marpig stayed!!
Just sm not-so-arty-farty pictures of snow on red bricks... reminds Marpig of cakes!!Admiring how snow attaches themselves onto thingy...Poor bin slightly buried and covered in snow!!
As usual, Marpig just loves to take pics of her trotters in snow :) Itz bout ankle deep. Soft, white snow!!
So, just how does it feel like walking in snow? Well, Marpig did asked tt ?. At 1st Marpig thought she could use the analogy of walking in very fine sand to describe the feeling of walking in snow. But, itz not really tt... maybe bout 70%? :D Itz really fun to walk in the snow!! Every step is like walking on fluffy thingy... not like cotton wool though... aiya, itz just diff!! :DWalking xxxcitedly and trying to leave as many footprints in thge fresh snow and guess wat Marpig spotted!!
Paw prints!! Doggiez paw prints!!
And of cos, the kitty catz paw prints!! Ah... now itz clearer why pple use catwalk to describe how models walk (in a str line) on the stage. Just look at the diff!! Doggie walk with leggies open while kitty cat, although having 4 leggies, walked just like a 2 legged animal!! Str line!! Meaow~~Ya noe wot, Marpigz TM which is CR!! How can Marpig not leave her mark?! hehehehehehehTT was a snowman in the back garden of 1 of Marpigz neighbours!! Played with camera trick (fish eye or similar) hahahaha Made tt life sized snowman looked SO puny~~

As it is, Marpig has always wanted to make a snowman!! But gosh!! Making a snowman IS NOT EASY!! Yeah yeah, you would have thought itz just rolling the snow into big balls? Well, much more than tt!! But Marpig smwat got the hang of it and/or practice by making 4 small ones :)Yup, Marpigz family!!

Marpigz neighbour who made a snowman in the back garden, have also made a "scare snowman" in front of the house!!
So 可怜, afraid tt the snowman will be cold, Marpig lent him her hat even though he...gave Marpig a shock!! :P
Marpigz family with scare snowman, to illustrate the diff in sizes... After a dae and in the evening, scare snowman had bcame...even more scary!!

The Brits are actually good-humoured pple and are always ready for impromptu fun!! Just look at the diff types of snowmen!!
Snowman or erm... snow monster in front of an office
Tall and slender snowman in front of another house
Looks more like a bear...
This was taken enroute to Marpigz office. The road she had taken everydae for 2.5 yrs already... spring, summer, autumn and winter!! Almost cant see where the path is, if itz not for the footprints
The pond and fountain bside the pathway

So, although Marpig was snowed in on 1 dae, she went to work on the next. Partly bcos she has work to do (although practically no1 went in to work xcept for a few) but mostly bcos she wanted to have snowball fight!! Hence, during lunchtime, sm colleagues don on their PPE (Personal Protection Equipment, for going onsite) for "war"!!
Once again, Marpig am the Unique, wearing red and being the only female tt went amok... :P
The yellow team fighting against...
the black team!! They are also colleagues of Marpigz, but just not too xxxcited like the yellow team!! :D In fact, they just stood there for the yellow team to take aims at which they clamly dodged the flying snowballs!! Darn!!
Bcos the snow is wet enough, one could roll it up like a grass carpet!! And, ttz the Scottish guy Marpig was talking bout in previous bloggie!!
Throwing snowballs require good marksmanship and a beautiful pose!! Take aim~~ & fire!!But beware of enemies sneaking from bhind!! Intrusion!!
Well... colleagues made fun of this pic... BUT!! Nth dodgey eh!! Scottish guy was trying to get snow into Marpigz neck which xplained the suggestive pic!! So, as a revenge!! Marpig got him in the thigh!!
One th which one must try is to be a snow angel!!
Lying on the snow, moving the leggies and arms... But!! Those guys!! Whilst Marpig was enjoying tt few split seconds of snow-angelling, they wanted to buried Marpig with snow!! Itz not a pic where Marpig fell mind u!! Look closer and one would see the marks Marpigz leggies and arms left bhind
A corner of office... notice the "damage" & "severity" of the snowball fight on the walls!! *splat splat splat!!*And here was Marpig, wearing a hat (of a mouse, Marpig thinks) which she bought in the Teddy Bear Museum (Gong) in SKorea & typing this bloggie entry!! hohohohohoho!!

真是麻烦!!

Kao!! Just had a telephone conversation with tt china colleague whom Marpig mentioned in her blog bout. TT uncle who likes Marpig?

Wah biangz. Marpig gave him a call bcos she wanted to ask him bout one of the rooms where he is staying and whether is it big enough, when is the tenant moving, etc since Marpig am xploring the possibility of downgrading to house sharing to cut costs. The house has 4 rooms and the landlord, a retired Royal Air Force engineer rent 3 rooms out

Marpig enquire bout the room bcos 1st, itz close to walk and also within walking distance. 2nd, itz much cheaper with all bills included!! Marpig could save a few hundred pounds/month!! Most impt th, save lollies. However, do not noe why, the conversation changed and wat happened in summary was tt Marpig told him flatly and bluntly tt Marpig do not like him, he has no chance at all, now or in the future & tt he can stop harbouring any thoughts bout Marpig

Really, Marpig noes he is interested in Marpig all along, which is why Marpig avoided him (refer to old bloggie entries) but this time, Marpig wants to come clean and be blunt to him. Dont like such pple. Keep being 油腔滑调 with Marpig which is such. a. pain.

Gets on Marpigz nerve tt he thought there is ever going to be a chance. Come on!! Marpig am not like any other woman who are so naive and gullible!! Totally noe wat he is thinking & Marpig xposed his thoughts. Rejecting sm1 like him? Marpig said the most blunt rejection thingy any1 could imagine, not sure if offensive but he said wasnt. Cant be bothered anyw

Told him he don stand a chance cos he is not the type Marpig likes. Even if the age gap is not great, also no chance at all. Told him Marpig don like him bcos Marpig DO NOT LIKE HIM. Simple as dimple

Really, all men are shit, specially china men. Also told him he is afraid of being alone, his fear which Marpig xposed. Wah~ at one point, Marpig got so irritated

Then he also quite daring, told Marpig he likes Marpig. Think cos Marpig also don give him face so he might as well said it. Guess wat Marpig said?

Marpig said thank u but no, Marpig do not like him. Told him Marpig noes alot of pple likes Marpig but Marpig would definitely not like him. Even to the xtent tt Marpig said she may like other ppple but he is never going to be one of them. Hope itz driving the message home!!

Really... Marpig dislike him but bcos he is Marpigz colleague so need to be 客气. But really, Marpig don like pple she don like to keep pestering her, which prompted her to be so frank

Nay, it wasnt an argument cos he is just too thick-skinned. He got the message (assumed Marpig) so hopefully he will stop being a pain

Thinking bout it... is it smth to do with Marpig? Is she easily being liked by all sorts of pple? (used to) Even sm pple in the office likes Marpig (they hinted to Marpig) for instance, the Polish colleague and tt Scottish bloke... why? Marpig am just a fat, ugly granny!!

Sigh... 你喜欢的人，不喜欢你。你不喜欢的人，喜欢你。搞什么?! 这是不对的!!

得不到的爱情，虽然苦涩，但也有它甜蜜的时候。
得不到的爱情，是最浪漫，最美丽的。
得不到的爱情，虽然不可能实现， 但可以是永恒的。。。

Replace "得不到" with "失去" for the above lines and they still hold true...