2006-09-16 . Having been back a couple (of) weeks 2

2006-08-21
Basel (cont'd)



forgive us country pumpkins for gawking at the espresso machine...



dinner was simple italian fare at a quaint sidewalk family restaurant


2006-08-22



breakfast was scrumptuous...there was even a manual nut grinder...and aloe vera yoghurt drink...which i unfortunately found later to have expired...unbelievable but true...



after the hearty breakfast, we headed for Milan...


Milan


The Duomo...


the famous arcade which the architect consecrated with his own blood upon his unfortunate suicide...



inside the Duomo




2006-08-23
Venice


about to take the ferry from the bus interchange to San Marco...




Palladio's Redentore...finally get to see it in the day...


ah...reaching soon...

having alighted at San Marco square , or rather near San Marco...we first walked past the Bridge of Sighs...



San Marco Square...



the tower



one of the many waterways






one of the kids in the tour group ill treating a pigeon...i can't believe i took this photo...sorry dear pigeon...


everyone watches as glass smiths blow up some glass vases...




more exciting was the godola ride...




Rialto...


lunch after the gondola ...

squid ink linguine...i spy a morsel of squid...at least it was reasonably fresh...



Verona


We had a 2 hr pit stop at Verona...some kind of tip for the couch driver...and the tour guide

Romeo and Juliet ignore tourists as they profess their love for the umpteenth time...



Milan(for the night)


the hotel was in the middle of no where...the in house restaurant had run out of food...can u believe it...so we had to eat good'ol reliable Macdonald's ...breaks my heart to see that they had to eat this crap...sorry mum n dad...really...


2006-08-24
Milan to Mt Titlis

the lobby of the hotel which ran out of food...who would've thought...


Mt Titlis(en route)

air-con broke down...



didnt ruin the scenery...



Mt Titlis! the base of it at least...


going up Mt Titlis...





inside an ice cave...

lunch at the peak of Mt Titlis...much too cloudy...



clouds clearing up!


managed to roam outside as the skies cleared briefly...
















Lucerne



Calatrava's Lucerne train station hall






Jean Nouvel's Culture Centre next to the train station



an upturned swan...


a blissful swiss honeymoon...

tribute to the many swiss soldiers who lost their lives...



Basel(for the night)


back at the quaint restaurant...





2006-08-25
back to Amsterdam










2006-08-26
Amsterdam






to Groningen



long walk to the hostel...drizzling too...

mum not too happy with the accommodation...


dinner ...

nice place...but water feature in disuse...quite sad...

2006-08-27
Schiermonikoog

waiting for the bus to the harbour





on board the ferry...



On Schiermonikoog



lunch...


smoked salmon sandwich...



















beautiful Schiermonikoog!


Dinner at a Macedonian steak house..



2006-08-28

Rotterdam


lunch at Qi Lin Ge...


walked through Richard Meier's municipal building


Back in Delft...


to get souvenirs...


met Huiping



Hyeon Jin n Chongsu...




cows behind my dorm...

apple trees near my dorm...


pre-departure party...






there is no end to Rai's jokes...

we had to look away so that Vanessa wouldn't feel embarrased...







2006-08-29
to Singapore...








yay! I'm home!