crystalise.

It can't get any better than this.

It can't get any worse than this.

Yet every time such thoughts cross my mind, it does get worse. It does get better.

The bad makes the good that much sweeter. Because the good times go by twice as quickly as the bad times so you gotta enjoy it as much as possible.

People have told me that university life is the best time of your life. There have also been others who would give anything to go back to being a teenager. Then there are those who long for the innocence of childhood.

Whether or not the best times of my life have gone by, I'm happy exactly as I am.

And hopefully continue to be for a long long time. 

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fast car.

Day 3

Sort of the last day as the next day was just us buying some chocolates and then going to the airport.

Day trip time! 

A return ticket to Bruges costs 14.40euros on a weekend but 24.50euros on a weekday. Not quite sure why a weekend ticket would be cheaper. Shouldn't they be charging more on weekends cause people travel more then?

Anyways, we only got in to Bruges around 12 cause obviously we did not leave early enough. Haha. Bruges is like a quaint little town though most of the people there were clearly tourists.

Fluffly swans near the canal. 

One thing I made sure to put on my list of must-dos in Belgium was to go for a brewery tour. And since we didn't go for any in Brussels, decided to go for one in Bruges which had really good reviews. It was 6.50euros which included a free beer. Super duper worth the money in my opinion.

Halve Maan brewery. The last brewery standing in Bruges. 

View from the roof of the brewery. 

No filter no photoshop and it still looks gorgeous.

#7 Their local beer. Nice and refreshing.

Our tour guide was really funny and had a great sense of humour. Some things I learnt from the tour:

1. Sparkling water is great for curing a hangover.

2. You do indeed get drunk faster on beer/wine (fermented alcohol) when compared to vodka and such (distilled alcohol).

3. The shape of the glass in which you drink your beer from makes a difference.

Getting to learn about the whole process of making beer makes me appreciate it much more because it is really quite an effort. 

Most of the places that were open for lunch pretty much served the same menu so we just settled for one that looked nice. It was 20euros for a starter (I had celery soup which was actually quite yummy), a main (1/2 roast chicken which I couldn't finish) and a dessert (peach melba). 

#8 Kasteel Blonde. Standard blonde really. 

One main attraction of Bruges is that they have Michelangelo's "Madonna and child" statue. However when we went to the church it's suppose to be in, it was closed. Boo. But I suppose seeing as it was 5pm and everything in Europe closes early it's understandable. Oh well.

We had been in Bruges for five hours now and we hadn't even reached the city centre. Talk about walking at a leisurely pace. It could also be due to the fact that we walked into almost every chocolate store we passed, which is practically every store on the road. Finally made it to Market square which is sort of like the city centre but not quite the city centre. 

Really liked the way the lights gave the 'yellow' tinge to the buildings. 

Market square is next to the actual city centre where the town hall is. However, since market square is surrounded by restaurants, it was more lively whereas the city centre was empty.

Town hall.

All the gold detailing. 

Since there wasn't much else in Bruges, we took the train back to Brussels and chilled while trying a little something we bought from the brewery earlier.

#9 Their new quadruple beer.

11% beer is no joke.

More like stout I'd say but it tasted nice. 

And that's about all there is to talk about my Belgium trip. 

A good break from the ho-hum of Manchester. 

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normalcy.

Onwards to

Day 2.

As much as I would like to start all my holiday mornings at 9am, I know realistically I have to allow for a one hour delay. Sure enough we only left the hotel at 10am.

The walls of the metro stations in Brussels are really quite interesting. Only snapped the walls of the stop Heyzel cause that's where we stopped off to see the Atomium. There was one particular station that had statues in the station instead which was creepy to say the least. 

Pretty metro stops. 

 I read somewhere that the government hoped that the Atomium would be to Brussels what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Where the moment you see the structure you immediately know where it comes from. Don't really think it's going to work with the Atomium as it is about half an hour away from the city centre by metro so unless you make the trip out, there is no way you'd be able to see it.

Really wanted to go in but the queue for tickets was just ridiculously long and we couldn't be bothered to wait an hour or so for it.

It's really massive.

As there was no straight metro to the next place we wanted to visit (Grand Sablon), we opted to just walk from the closest stop possible. Stumbled onto the Palais du Justice and spent a good half hour inside cause it was just so pretty and impressive. 

There was actually a lot of scaffolding but once you walked passed it this was the entrance. 

Would totally do my studying here.

Made our way to Grand Sablon but the antique market there wasn't open, most likely cause it was only a Friday. Boo. We did make a stop in Pierre Marcolini which was one of the more expensive chocolate makers to take a look. Didn't end up buying anything though. Had lunch is this restaurant which was 'cosy' to say the least but seemed to be frequented by locals so we knew to expect some decent food. 

#6 Hoegaarden. My favourite ever! A lot fruiter than I would like though. 

Shared the mussels with Audrey and even though we kept eating and eating, there always seemed to be more mussels at the bottom of the pot. A bit like magic. 

The sign says Fireworks. What kind of establishment it is, I can only guess. 

Walked to one of the major tourist attractions in Brussels which is the Mannekan Pis. The pissing boy. Considering it is a major attraction and that there were also so many people taking pictures in front of it, I expected something more than a tiny little statue with a fence surrounding the fountain. Too much hoo-ha for nothing. 

This was taken with a zoom and me sticking my arms through the fence. 

Back to Grand Place after that as the day view is different from the night view. I have to say I much prefer the day view cause you can see the detailing on the buildings. 

Rain rain go away. 

Best waffles at the tea room of Maison Dandoy. 

Super nice and fluffly. Bit on the pricey side though.

Also practically every table had a Brussels guidebook with them. Tourist central!

Went back to the hotel and just chilled watching tv while eating chips and chocolates (holidays are fattening days) cause the rain was really off-putting. Early night cause next day we were day-tripping the next day to Brugges and wanted to get an early start. 

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last time.

While reading week is suppose to be for catching up with readings, I instead took it as a opportunity for a mini holiday. Honestly staying in Manchester is great and all but considering the fact that I get bored easily I do need a change of scenery every once in a while.

Traveled with a group of people who I've never traveled with before. However, it was definitely one of the least stressful and enjoyable trips I've had so far.

Day 1

Had a 9.30am flight so it was an early start. Got into Brussels-Charleroi around 12 and then had to join this massive queue to buy tickets to actually get into the city centre which is 45 minutes away. Woes of taking Ryanair, never getting into the main airport. And seriously, there was no system to getting on the bus to most people were just pushing their way through.

Getting into Brussels-Midi, we realised that almost all the stores were closed. Googled public holidays in Brussels later and couldn't find anything but we pegged it down to it being All-Saints day. Got to the hotel at 3pm, just in time to check in. We are supposedly on a student budget, but we stayed in Crowne-Plaza. Mainly it's cause they were running this really good deal, 180euros for a double for 3 nights. Practically the same price as a hostel!

'Atas' times. 

Decided to have a wander around after that and discovered that the hotel was very well located with everything within walking distance. 

Gorgeous weather that day!

Largest beer selection in the world.

It was really just a posh restaurant.

#1 Classic Stella. Slightly lighter to what you'd find outside of Belgium. 

Also had my first taste of mussels here in Belgium. Normally I'd say I prefer oysters over mussels, but the mussels in Belgium were soooo good. It just melts in your mouth.

Jeanneke Pis. It really is a statue of a girl peeing. 

Located right opposite Delirium. 

After dinner we wanted to go to Delirium to try their award winning beer but the main cafe was so so crowded. Instead we decided to head towards the city centre since it was still early.

Found ourselves at Galerie St. Hubert which is a sort of indoor mall. A lot of the shops were still open despite it being 8pm. 

Giant corkscrew in this shop that solely sells champagne.

One thing I like about traveling is how at times you can stumble onto places and have your plans change. Walked pass Little Delirium which is just a smaller version of the Delirium Cafe and decided to stop there and try some beers instead. Their walls are covered with all the names of different beers.

From L-R: Increasing alcohol %

#2 Apple. Just an alcoholic version of Snapple I feel.

#3 Nougat. Basically tasted like bile. 

#4 Tremens. The award winning beer was really nice.

#5 Satan. Quite easy to drink despite it being 9%.

Finally made it to the city centre, Grand Place. Spent quite a bit of time going into the never ending stream of chocolate shops around there that were still open. 

Grand-Place at night. 

Being tired and cold and the weather being wet, took the metro back for a good night's rest. 

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strung along.

There usually is always a reason.

Sometimes the truth is simple, sometimes it is not.

You know the past, but choose to ignore it when making present decisions.

Honestly, it can still surprise me at times how a person's true personality does not exactly tally with the person they are in a crowd.

And here I thought that drama was a teenage thing.

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imagine.

The feeling of being so close to one of the best DJ's in the world is just indescribable.

Being at the front, the lights, the beats all combined together made for a surreal world.

However, never has being short ever posed such a problem. It's as if people couldn't see me. Which is probably true as almost all the guys were a head or more taller, and the girls were just way too drunk. The amount of times I got elbowed in the head, the countless times my poor Converse got stepped on and the amount of drinks spilled over me. Also the lack of fresh air as everyone was wayyy too sweaty. And the amount of guys who took off their shirt when they really really should not have.

All that aside, can't wait to go back to WHP for Skrillex in December.

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always thought.

Don't ask me what I'm gonna do.

Don't ask me who I want.

Don't ask me.

Cause honestly I don't know either. Just waiting for time to pass and for a decision to make itself.

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never ever.

A month since I last blogged. And a week since I've been back.

When I tell people that I stayed back in London for summer most assume that I got an internship. When I tell them that I was doing some waitressing work instead they are surprised. I mean, I don't exactly need the money so why was I choosing to do such a job instead of learning something at an internship?

Well, to be frank, I think everyone should do a waiting stint. It may not seem like you'd learn anything at all since you don't intend to make a career out of it, but the experience is definitely something I'd recommend.

As waiting staff, you are the bottom of the food chain. Everyone and anyone will tell you off.

From managers telling you off for putting the glasses into the wrong crates because no one told you that different glasses go into different coloured crates.

To customers demanding for their food when the kitchen is in utter chaos.

To taking half an hour to get a bottle of tabasco sauce because no one seems to know where it is and then getting told off by the bar staff for being too slow.

To people who come back to the buffet table for like a 5th helping when they're only allowed one.

You see all kinds of people. Don't get me wrong, I've met really nice people as well. Especially since I'm Malaysian and a lot of people have had really good holidays here so we have a nice time chatting about the awesome selection of food and stuff. Getting tips is a nice bonus as well. And sometimes it's for the little things like knowing to ask whether the customer would like their scotch neat or on the rocks or serving a customers grandkid.

Have so much for understanding for people who work in hospitality now. 

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ombre.

I've always sought solace in the written word. From reading it in books or online to writing it out on paper or typing it out on my computer.

While my computer might hold more than half of my attention what with this blog I update, the fanfics I read, updating twitter and facebook (yes I consider that writing, even if it is just a sentence or two). There's still something about physically holding a book to read or holding a pen a putting my thoughts down onto paper. It feels a lot more comforting for some reason, less mechanical and more natural. Like how it is meant to be.

Life nowadays is moving closer towards a technological one. Even I have to admit that I don't read as much as I used to seeing as I spend most of my time glued to my computer screen. Most people now have a kindle or an iPad in which they read on as it is a lot more convenient than carrying a book around. And people don't seem to write anymore as it is definitely more efficient to type everything out onto the computer with it's autocorrect and search functions just in case you want to change something.

From time to time however, when I'm in the mood, I like to sit down and write. While I have been mainly putting my thoughts into blogposts (after all, I've been blogging since 2005), there are moments when I pick up a pen and just pour my thoughts out onto a piece of paper. It might not always be my opinions or thoughts about my day, it may be something completely fictional or descriptive that I just wanted to get out of my system. When I'm done, I promptly scrunch up the paper and throw it away. One thing I dislike is re-reading my work so if it's on paper I chuck it, if it's online I either delete it or just never open up the same file again.

I guess this blog post is mainly to remind myself of how I will always cling to the 'old' ways of reading and writing with paper instead of a screen. 

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of the wrong bed.

Second half of my Barcelona trip.

Day 9 continuation

After some wandering around, we found there was some sort of Catalan festival happening in front of the Barcelona Cathedral. For those of you who don't know this, the people of Barcelona identify themselves as Catalan rather than Spanish. The language may be similar in some sense but they like to think of themselves as an independent country rather than being part of Spain. So there are certain cultural things that are more associated with the Catalan culture.

One of it is a Catalan castle. It's basically a human pyramid that usually goes up to nine levels with the castle being considered complete only when a child gets to the top and raises their hand. If I was the child I'd be way terrified to be so high up. There were a couple of teams around with different teams in different colours cause I think they were having a competition.

The base is usually men. 

The middle levels are young women.

The top are the children. 

The little girl must have been terrified. 

When they did it in front of the town hall the next day, they also walked a good 100metres with their full formation where one team also made a turn. The balance is just amazing. 

Day 10

Morning was spent looking at two of Gaudi's most famous buildings. Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera) and Casa Batllo. Kinda pricey to go in so we just admired it from the outside. 

Casa Mila looks like a sandcastle.

The metalwork must have taken ages.

Casa Batllo is a lot more colourful. 

Looks like a paint palette exploded over it.

Next door to Casa Batllo. But not by Gaudi.

Gothic architecture is so pretty. 

Traditional Catalan dancing.

With a live band.

Some more wandering around later, found this shop that rents these 'vehicles' out which are like bikes but cars? Don't know what they're called or how to actually describe them. It was a four seater thing where the two behind cycling and steering. So we got into it and the guys cycled and steered across the road (we feared for our lives) and into Parc de la Ciutadella which was just across. 

Twas a good one hour. 

Steering and cycling was difficult. Sonia and I tried for a while but we couldn't go as fast as the guys.

Wanted to go boating as well. But didn't in the end.

We got so many people looking at us cause we were laughing so loudly. Well funny. Walked towards the beach to check it out. Had dinner along the way in this family run restaurant where the woman who ran it was this nice old lady who didn't speak any English and we didn't speak any Spanish so ordering involved a lot of pointing and hand gestures. 

The really yummy paella. 

Spent my time on the beach collecting shells. 

That I just left there. 

The beach wasn't that impressive. But it was gonna be a day out to Sitges the next day so wasn't fussed.

Day 11

Day trip out to Sitges. Aside from the fact that it was suppose to have nicer beaches than Barcelona, wanted to check out Casa Bacardi over there where you could learn about how rum is made and learn how to make a cocktail properly. 

But when we got there, the place was closed. Sad sad sad. So instead I spent the day napping on the beach while the others dug holes and played in the sea. The wind on the beach was so strong that I kept getting covered in sand. At one point I seriously thought it was a sandstorm. However as I was going to find out some time later, it was actually Sonia and Wilson 'throwing' sand at me. 

Sort of rushed back cause we had a concert to attend at the Palau de la Musica Catalana. The only other way to get into it is to attend a guided tour. In the end we decided that watching the symphony orchestra there would be more worth our money rather than attending the tour. 

More stained glass.

The mosaics were prettyy.

Quite enjoyed the music. 

The place was a lot smaller than I expected it to be. And everything was so colourful, from the walls to the ceiling. Overall a good experience so I do recommend watching a performance there. 

Day 12

Last day in Spain. Wanted to visit Casa Batllo but in the end couldn't be bothered and instead went to visit Camp Nou. Home to the Barcelona football team. There were so many people there going for the Camp Nou experience or just buying merchandise. Jerseys were a lot more expensive than I expected it to be with the price being somewhere around 70euros. What a ridiculous price.

Getting to the airport was an experience in itself. Ended up on the wrong train that took us out of Barcelona. So we had to get off and wait for another train back before waiting yet again for the right train to take us to the airport. Thankfully we made it to the airport in time. The staff at the ryanair counter did not make things any better though. Pretty sure there were quite a number of people who missed their flights because one of the counter staff decided to take a coffee break when the line was still massively long. 

So with all that travel stress aside, was pretty glad to be on the plane back to the UK. Even though I've been living in Manchester for less than a year it feels like home. 

And that's the end of my Spanish experience. 

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