Spent the first day roaming around Brussels, admiring the intricate gothic architecture of buildings around the city centre. Not to mention, the ancient engineering of gargoyles - a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Gallivanted from one chocolate shop to another tasting chocolate but not buying any, made a cavity of mine worse. And then, ate a waffle entrenched in chocolate sauce, embellished with too many strawberries, while tiny hail stones bounced off my hooded jacket. Nomz. 

The second day was quite the adventure. A friend of mine desperately wanted to go shopping, so we left for a shopping outlet village, unbeknownst to us that it was located 200 kilometres away. We booked a car that we agreed would cost us 80 euros for a return trip, but ended up paying 100 euros for a single trip because the driver was so fed up we wanted to go so far, don't mess with angry Italians. Apparently, we were on our way towards Germany and Netherlands. Did not buy anything except for a new backpack and a t shirt, and then wandered our way to a bus stop and sang till the bus came. By then it was almost pitch black in darkness, took the bus to a train station in Genk, and then trained back to Brussels Midi. 

Third day, off to see more sights like the Atomium. It's a cool building, you can walk from one 'ball' to another and get a bird's eye view of Brussels. Apparently, in good weather, it's possible to see all the way to Antwerp. 

And lunch, one of the many gastronomic extravaganzas - mussels cooked escagots style. The dubious looking black pot contains mussels in white wine cream sauce, very yummy but not as epic as the escargots style one. 

Not to mention, I also had a super tasty bowl of lobster bisque, nomz x2. Wiped out cleanly by my friends and I. 

Later in the day, took the train yet again to Bruges. And because it was crowded and we were on free tickets, had to squat on the floor near the train doors because there were no seats left. Walked all the way to the hotel from the train station, and nearly died because I was using a duffle with no wheels. Anyway, I absolutely loved Bruges. 

It's a very quaint town, with very friendly folk around. I guess as a bunch of young Asian kids wandering around, we stick out like sore thumbs. But they were very willing to give us directions and remind us to get off at certain bus stops. The best thing about Bruges - we cycled around! 

I love exploring a town by bike, because you can go faster, feel the breeze in your hair and it's a lot easier biking than walking on the hard and uneven cobbled streets. Wandered into a gothic church that day as well, scared me out of my red pants a little. 

Food, nevertheless, also amazing. Had a marinara pizza and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream with my friend on Valentine's day. 

And this was breakfast. 

 

Need to hit the gym again. Fun trip overall with great travel buddies!

I wish I could write simply and happily that I played in the snow for three hours at dawn in London, and that it was the best first snowfall ever, but the events that transpired last night makes it impossible to write so. Staggered back to my apartment, cautious not to slip on the melting snow that covered Waterloo's roads in the post-snowfall morning. Felt emotionally and physically exhausted from what felt like the longest and most tiring night I've ever had. Took a bath and fell asleep quickly, and woke up at three in the afternoon feeling slightly numb, mostly sad yet relieved about all the emotions that were promulgated the previous night. In retrospect, I feel as though I am obliged to do everyone a favour and walk away, and which I am trying to do. But at the same time, I am not quite sure if I, or anyone, should be doing others any favours when it comes to relationships of these sort. And although I was glad my friend chose to tell me the truth, rather than to lie to try and protect my feelings, the truth is often the hardest thing to hear because we don't always get to hear the things we want to hear. Feels as though someone drove a truck right through me, feels as though someone took a stab and continues to twist the knife, feels as though I should be selfish instead. 

Hoping hard that time will heal everything.

Read something from someone's weblog that I vehemently agree with:

When you fall, you fly. Hoping that I'll feel better in a few days. 

Celebrating Chinese New Year for the first time in three years - because I travelled during every lunar new year. Tossed and ate yu sheng while shouting 'first class', hopefully that'll happen.

Second term at King's looks like a really busy time, albeit expectedly. Course outlines are about twice as long as they used to be in the first term, and my first term was characterised by a severe lack of preparation for tutorials (hence sitting there dumbfounded most of the time) and several painful all-nighters to finish up assignments on time. I swear I will work harder this term, I doubt I'll get by this term without some sort of effort. Plus, I entered a mooting tournament, shall expect evident hair loss this term.

That being said, January to February looks like an awesome time. Because it's Chinese New Year, even in London, so I've got reunion dinners lined up for several weekends in a row, and the sets department is making a trip to IKEA Wembley which means cheap yummy food. 

And recently, I decided that the sedentary life of a law student is far too unhealthy for my liking. Went through the exams sustained by instant garbage, after having returned from a trip inundated by numerous gastronomic extravaganzas marked by over-eating, feeling like a crappy bloated potato. Finally made good use of my gym membership, burnt 300 calories on Tuesday, and 450 calories on Thursday and hopefully some more tomorrow. Shall take it slow, bit by bit, because my stamina is virtually nadir. On the Tuesday that I went to the gym, proceeded to attend a clubbing event by LSE thereafter - bad choice, honestly. First, it was an expensive affair since they refused my NUS card and I had to cab back and forth to retrieve my IC; and second, the zip of my vintage leather satchel broke; and third, the DJ that night sucked, and fourth, the toll that gym coupled by dancing takes on one's legs, had to crawl to school the next morning, muscles could not even recover in time for badminton on Thursday. Nevertheless, had fun wiggling awkwardly on the dance floor amongst my close friends and dancers wielding fire and sparklers.

Travelogue put on hold for the time being, because my current schedule does not permit the strenuous chronicling of my adventures in Paris, Rome and the Vatican, well, mostly Rome.

1) Louvre - One of the most amazing and magical places to grace the Earth. It's an enormous place, I spent about 5 hours in the museum and only managed to cover the Denver wing, a little of the Sully wing, and the grounds of the palace. Felt gravely 'culturally inept' to understand and appreciate every painting. The audio guide certainly helped to highlight the nuances in each work that I would have otherwise missed, given my general lack of knowledge about art and the french-only descriptions that accompanied each piece of art. I'm definitely going back to the Louvre on my next trip to Paris. The only bummer was that I forgot that I had the ISIC card, otherwise I would have enjoyed a free entry into the museum.

2) Arc de Triomphe - Situated at the West end of Champs Elysees, something one has to see in person, not withstanding its historical significance. Go up to the top of the Arc to witness the radial symmetry of the city. More importantly, a short stroll from the Arc, there's a restaurant along Champs Elysees called George V. I think I might have attained gastronomical nirvana twice there! Dishes to try: Escargots (if you like snails), Poulet Supreme (Supreme Chicken), Creme Brule, Crepe, Scallops, etc. 

I have to make another trip to Paris because there are plenty of things I have yet to see, like the Versailles. But in all honesty, Paris is the least hospitable place I've ever visited. It's not just about the language barrier, because that happens in Japan too but in Paris, you can actually feel and witness the hostility from the locals. Plus, it's miserable in the winter.

Ciao.

Also did a clean up of the previous weblogs I used to write on, deleted a few and kept a few. This is a new weblog for the new year, still adamant about using Jugem after trying a whole slew of blogging platforms. Speaking about the new year, I read my entries in the past and realised that I've pretty much annihilated the new year resolutions I've made the past two years. For instance, I resolved to get four distinctions and apply for medical school in 2010, but I received five distinctions instead and applied for law school. Other minor ones like drinking less tea and eat less bread are virtually impossible to keep, given the circumstances I am living in.