Tays at Home

There are still one or two more posts about our 2 years adventure which I'd like to add to this blog before officially putting it to sleep but in the meantime, while I gather my thoughts, you can check out this brand new blog where we'll try to update snippets of our lives back home in KL. It probably won't be as often, considering that 'real' life will probably not be so exciting, but it'll still be an avenue for us to jot down significant events in our lives. So, see you there!! :)

Tays @ Home

Adventure ends....

Pack, pack, pack
Stuff, stuff, stuff
Eat, eat, eat
Walk, walk, walk
Saying hello again and farewell
Shopping for last minute items
Pack, pack, pack
Scratching head seeing the amount of things left to pack
Clean, clean, clean
Scrub, scrub, scrub
Cook, cook, cook
ENJOY!

That pretty much summarises our last few weeks in London. We were trying to do everything we have yet to do, eat all our favourite food and shop for things we needed to get. 3 large boxes, 3 suitcases and 2+ handcarry luggages later, we were all packed and ready to say goodbye to London. We leave with heavy hearts but we also bring with us a heart and mind-full of lovely memories and amazing experience from our 2 years adventure in the UK. The things we have seen and experienced, the people we've met, the places we've been to.... it has all been one huge rollercoaster ride but oh-so-worth-it!

It's back to motherland Malaysia for us and though we are sad to leave London, we are happy to be going back to family and friends (and our home!) in KL.

The plane that bringeth us hometh!

Conquering Ben Nevis

Gabe & I at the peak of Ben Nevis! Yes, it was so misty up there, very poor visibility!

We decided to forego our tickets to Norway and went up to visit our friends in Livingston instead. Also, took the opportunity to camp one last time as well as climb Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK.

We had a lovely time with our friends and the weather was absolutely gorgeous (especially by Scottish standards!) We managed to climb Ben Nevis and it was truly quite an achievement considering we didn't have any prior training at all. It took us 9 hours altogether but it was truly worth the hike. We couldn't see much of the view from the peak as it was super misty but the clouds parted on our way down to some magnificent views of the Scottish Highlands. We were dead tired when we got down and all of us ached everywhere but still the feeling of accomplishment made it all ok. The climb was pretty gradual but most parts were pretty rocky especially when you reach Ben Nevis proper, so that made it a little tougher to walk, especially during the descent. That combined with wanting to pee made the walk down much, much worse compared to the ascent. :)

It was also a trip of good food as we had yummy homecooked food by Jay Vian as well as steamboat with Dr Timmy at Edinburgh and also fish & chips in Tyndrum on the way back from Fort William. We also managed to see Oban and Stalker Castle which we didn't see the last time we were at that corner of the world. Throw in a bit of shopping at the outlet malls in Livingston and you get two happy people and one amazing trip! :) What a lovely trip to end our travels in the UK.

Yummy food in Scotland...


Our lovely campsite at the foothills of Ben Nevis


On the way up...


Our host and fellow climbers with our certificate of achievement. We had to pay for it but at least they required proof of climbing before selling it to us :)


The lovely view of Scottish Highlands after the dark clouds parted on our way down from Ben Nevis.


Sightseeing round the Scottish Highlands


By Loch Morar, the deepest loch in Scotland.

Living London

This being the last few weeks of our time in the UK (sob!sob! yes, we are headed home!), we decided to visit some sights that were new or haven't had the chance to visit. You could say, we are trying to absorb all the London sights, air and atmosphere to store up in our 'memory chest'. Our time here has been amazing and can't believe it's time to go! :( Here are some pix of what we've been up to in the past few weeks...

Visited the newly launched 7th July Bombing Memorial at Hyde Park


Then we went to see the Diana, Pricess of Wales memorial which was a lovely fountain/water path where they allowed you to dip your legs in and walk around.


Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall (we didn't get a chance to see a show here unfortunately!)


The beautiful Kensington Palace and the gardens in bloom. Gorgeous!


Random curios around town - the giant plugpoint and tinkling about the street piano at Carnaby Street.


And of course, lots of eating things we will miss - HK dim sum and UK Indian food

Crepes and English breakfast (Yum!)

Happy Birthday Gabriel! :)

My dearest husband turned 28 and we just had a simple pre-birthday celebration at home and followed by a day out for dim sum and a visit to the Science Museum on the actual day. The reason we went to the museum was because it was an adults only opening at night and they had some interesting programme that night. So it was a first, celebrating birthday in a museum. :) Never thought we'd do that eh, considering how much we love museums! :) It was pretty fun and we also learned a little about the constellations so it was also very educational.

Hope you enjoyed your birthday dear and I thank our Lord each day for you! :) Love you lots!

Birthday dinner at home :)


Home made birthday cake!


Birthday boy at the Science Museum! :)


Dinner at the Creperie :)

Last stop - Lisbon

This post is way overdue but yes, we're finally on our last leg to Lisbon. We took a bus to Lisbon and passed by the Algarve on the way. It looked absolutely lovely and hope we can go there some other time in future. We also passed by a lovely sunflower field but unfortunately it wasn't in bloom. Can imagine how gorgeous it would have been!

By the time we got to Lisbon, we were very tired and a little sick of travelling if we could be honest. Thankfully we got a great deal for a hotel there so we had a nice room. We pretty much spent lots of time just chilling and enjoying the room, aircond and TV!! Haha.. We also managed to catch the live screening of MJ's memorial thanks to our nice plasma TV in the room. So spent that afternoon in tears, listening to his songs. He truly was a great musical legend!

The weather in Lisbon was thankfully much cooler than Sevilla so that was a welcomed relief. Lisbon is a city full of hills so you can imagine how much walking we had to do. We walked up to the castle area and then down to the main Baixa-Chiado area and then walked all the way up to Marques Pombal and back up to our hotel. Man, did we have a good workout.

Gabriel was especially happy in Lisbon as he got to indulge in his favourite Portuguese Egg Tarts and it really was quite yummy especially when it's warm. They eat it sprinkled with some cinnamon and it was pretty good!

We also went to Belem (we tried walking the 7km there but gave up half way!) to admire the Discoveries Monument and saw the Jesus statue from afar. We also tried the famous pastel de Belem (egg tart). The recipe is kept behind locked doors and it is said to have originated from the nearby Jeronimos Monastery. It was pretty yum!

But yeah, at the end of the trip, we were pretty relaxed and I was looking forward to going back to London and not being a nomad anymore. :) I was practically smiling ear to ear at the airport waiting in anticipation to go home and once at home, we both happily cooked maggi mee for our supper. :)

The view of the viaduct and bridge from our hotel room on the 22nd floor!


At the Castel St Jorge/Alfama area


By the Marques Pombal and the huge park behind it


Baixa-Chiado area - the main square and the Elevador de Santa Justa


Discoveries Monument in Belem and the Jesus statue across the river


Jeronimos Monastery (where Vasco de Gama is buried!) and Belem Tower


Gabe's highlight - Portugues Egg Tarts!


Our last dinner on our trip - we had a grill dinner. Yum!


Waiting for the bus to the airport!

Sevilla

This was definitely the HOTTEST place we've been to in our entire lives. It was 46 celcius and 43 celcius respectively on both days we were there and that, together with the gum pain and fever I was having, was not a good combination. We downed liong cha and water like crazy, hoping to cool from the heat and at the end, we just stayed in the hotel during the afternoons where it was crazy hot. We got to watch Federer beat Roddick in what must be the best Wimbledon men's final though so it was all good! :)

We also travelled in style to Sevilla as there wasn't any 2nd class tix left from Barcelona, so we took the 1st class seats, complete with breakfast so we ended our Interrail pass in style. It was great- spacious seats, yummy breakfast, real cutlery, free drinks and the cutest salt and pepper shakers! :) We could get used to that anytime.. Hehe..

Despite the crazy heat, Sevilla is a very beautiful place - almost desert-like in landscape and because of its Moorish influence, the city is peppered with beautiful tile-work and my current favourite yellow, earthy toned coloured buildings. The heat did make it a bit hard to walk around but that aside, it was still worth a visit there. We didn't get to see a bullfight unfortunately or the flamenco (it was too late and a tad bit expensive for our budget) so that was a bit disappointing but a lovely Spanish meal of paella, calamari and sangria on the last night made up for it. What a lovely way to end our Spanish adventure.

Enjoying our first class seats and our yummy breakfast


Beautiful scenery


Plaza de Toros - the bullfighting ring


We weren't exaggerating.. it really was 46 celcius!


The most beautiful part of Sevilla to us - Plaza de Espana. The detail tile work was amazing!


Tile work


Torre de Toros and the Giralda by the cathedral


And finally, nothing finishes off the night better than good food and some tipple :P Cheers!