Italy, Milan's Historic Buildings

The beauty of walking in Milan is one gets to discover many interesting streets that are not in the tourist guidebook. We wanted to walk like a Milanese so we also signed up for a free walking tour, and it was amazing as we met many like-minded travellers from different countries. The best part is that we can opt out of the tour anytime and give the tour guide any amount of money as a token of our appreciation.

We didn't opt out though as the tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly.

Walking along a small beautiful street in Milan, we reached the home of Alessandro Manzoni, a great Italian poet and author.

His casa (home) was a true gem in Italy. I couldn't help but marvel at the intricate details of its door; it was such a beauty.

Crossing the streets of Milan.

We came across yet another beautiful home, Casa degli Omenoni. 

There were a total of 8 telemons that embellished the building of this house. Telemon is the Italian word for a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take place in the form of a column. The use of telemons was popular in classical European architecture.  

Seriously, my photography skills did not do any justice to these amazing columns.

Photo credit to: http://www.pbase.com/amlobcas/image/90145730

I couldn't capture a great photo such as this. 

Casa degli Omenoni also means the house of big men. It was the home of Leone Leoni, a Renaissance artist who struggled to gain both professional recognition and social acceptance in the 1560s.

Wahh... I was seriously in awe when I saw all these telemons. Although they were unforgettable, wouldn't it be scary to come home at night and see these sculptures come alive?

Another medieval part of Milan is Piazza Mercanti. 100 centuries ago, it was the centre of activity for the Milanese. This was where the marketplace, city hall, law court and prison were situated. You can imagine how bustling this place used to be as weddings were also announced here. 

Piazza Mercanti was only a stone throw away from Duomo. It was in fact quite easy to explore Milan as the places were close to one another.

Up next will be my blog on the Duomo and Milan's posh shopping areas.

Italy, Milan

We touched down at Malpensa Airport at 7.50 am (Italy time). It was freezing cold that morning.

This is the Malpensa Express that we took from the airport to Milano Cadorna. From there, we changed to the Metropolitana (Urban Railway System) to get to Milano Centrale, where our accommodation was located.

Photo credit to: http://milanotravel.org/wp/milan-getting-in-and-around/

Even though Italy was 6 hours behind Singapore and the flight took more than 13 hours, there was no jet lag. We were lucky in that sense, so as soon as we had secured our luggage at the hotel, it's time for an exploration.  

Actually, I also had a bit of a culture shock earlier on while travelling on the Malpensa Express. I didn't take this photo but Milan was not spared when it comes to graffiti. It was disturbing too because graffiti covered every walls along the railway tracks. 

Photo credit to: http://jjinrome.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-11-calcata-foreskin-italian.html

However, the central area of Milan itself was a beautiful place. We went to Castello Sforzesco that morning. At Piazza Castello, there was a large fountain; it was really impressive. The water sprouting out had a rhythmic tune and it certainly had a calming effect on anyone.

Most of the buildings that we passed by were low rise buildings and there was so much space as compared to Singapore. Here, piazzas (public square) were built everywhere for people to get a good breather. 

Adrenaline high, I was being paranoid here. I had my bag placed under my jacket, a gesture to ward off pickpockets and those offering friendship bracelets.

Walking into the walls of the castle, I felt like I was in the era of medieval times. Strangely, of all the movies I could connect to in this era was the Lord of the Rings. That got a laugh from my friend because she thinks that I'm a craze fan of the LOTR. Urghhh... it should have been Robin Hood or King Authur.

This is one of the castle's courtyards.

I love the circular-shaped structure of the castle. This castle was originally constructed in 1358, but it was then enhanced into a princely residence by Francesco Forza, a duke, in the 1450s. When Milan came under foreign rulers, the castle became neglected. By 1860s, its state was really bad that the city wanted it to be demolished. Luckily, it was saved by an architect named Luca Beltrami. 

And today, this castle is a public building which houses 9 civic museums. After walking around the castle, we took our time to venture to other places.

Another piazza, Piazza Della Scala. 

This is the statue of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the three giants of the High Renaissance. The other two giants were Michaelangelo and Raphael (not featured here). I had to admit that I am always lost when it comes to art. But wrt Leonardo, I knew that he was the artist who painted the famous Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Huhu.. But I knew nothing on his other art pieces. 

And guess what? Nearby there's an exhibition on Raphael. Time to seek some knowledge.

Continue more of my trip to Milan in my next post.

Singapore, Blogging Again

I had not been blogging conscientiously for quite some time. Not because I had stopped travelling, it's because I kept on pushing to a later date and then the days eventually became months.

But, I'm back and I really need some time to recall my last year's December trip. It was the trip of the year for me because it was my first time in Europe. Gosh, just typing this out made me excited again.

I planned this trip with Jas, my travel companion. We didn't visit the entire Europe though as we wanted to learn more about a particular country and immerse ourselves in its culture. Italy fascinated us in a great way and 13 days is simply too short to cover from the top to the tip of Italy.

I have to stop here as I needed to get to work. Next post will be about our starting point in Italy, Milan.

Singapore, Esplanade

I had not been to anywhere interesting since my last Bangkok trip. It was an extremely busy period and I was working around the clock. But, I do feel that I am seriously in need of a break, something that could give me a sense of balance to armour me through this hectic life. 

An example of my sweet retreat is usually comfort food. I tried to prolong the retreat for as long as I could by savouring the taste of these marinated charcoal-grilled chicken satay. Don't forget to eat these with some rice cake dipped in peanut sauce and the feeling that comes out of it? Pure ecstasy... 

Another outlet for retreat is to go out with colleagues after work. We went to TWG at Marina Bay Sand and we ordered tea. There were various selection of teas for us to choose from - some with really mushy names. I had 'The Grand Wedding' on that day because I like my tea to be fruity. 

As this was my first time in TWG, I actually didn't expect that the price for tea here could be so steep. Buy hey, I'm already comfortably seated there, so I kept reminding myself to go for something cheaper tomorrow. But seriously, I felt the pinch. Ouch...

And while I'm still in the topic of self-indulgence, I also ordered myself dessert. Here's my chocolate fondue, topped with ginger ice cream. Nice, and I'll skip the part when I saw the bills. 

After that, we took a walk around the Esplanade. Singapore is perhaps the fastest changing city in the world. The skyline too keeps on changing as new buildings were built and the old ones refurbished.

There is a saying, "those who can't wed, plan". 
Well, those who can't travel, stay... and be a tourist in their own country. 

I took the Singapore River Cruise for the first time on that day. It costs $20 per person and here I go on the bum boat, aka Singapore River Cruise.

The Singapore Flyer, the Singapore Art Museum and the Marina Bay Sands are important structural icons in Singapore. They depict modernity and innovation; and that's where Singapore is heading towards.

The boat glided along the Singapore River, where you could view the charms of the old Central Business District. There are prominent buildings in Singapore that show Singapore's British heritage. An example is the building below.

Built in 1826 by the First Governor of the Straits Settlement, Robert Fullerton, the building was once used as a fort to defend Singapore from any naval attacks. After that, it became the General Post Office, the Exchange, the Singapore Club, the Marine Department, and the Import and Export Department - in those particular order. 

Yep... I find the rich history attached to this building fascinating, but I didn't have the time to read further, but today, the building had again served another purpose. It is now a 5-star hotel, whereby a one night accommodation can cost up to $600.

I like the lightings that decorate the Singapore River. The rows of shop-houses that cover the length of the Singapore River looks really vibrant. By night time, the shop-houses were transformed into restaurants and clubs and the crowd will come to enjoy dinner and drinks.

Overall, the cruise is a great way to enjoy the day for me. It took about 40 min, which is a brief, short retreat.

 

Thailand, Bangkok

There was a hitch in my June holiday plans. I was already set to go to Sydney but my friend pulled out at the last minute. I had done all the travel research and it had came to nothing. Thank god, I had not booked any accommodation! I couldn't explain how pissed off I am right now. 

Sometimes, friendship really sucks but this episode had made me realized that nothing could stop my passion for travelling. I decided to go on a solo trip and change my itinerary to Bangkok, instead of Sydney. After researching on Bangkok, I mustered all my courage to book a flight via the Singapore Airlines (SIA). 

Absolutely, not going on a budget this time because I think I deserved a real break. And yeah, finally... I'm off to a great escapade.

My lunch on-board SIA. Ta-daa... 

This will at least keep me full for the next 5 hours. 

From the Suvarnabhumi Airport, I took the airport railway and transferred to the BTS train to get to the hotel. I love Bangkok. It was fun getting around on foot, and scanned the vendor carts lining up the streets. When tired, I found myself a nice bench or sat at a cafe and do some people watching. 

Here's the surrounding neighbourhood at Ratchathewi. I didn't take many photos as I wanted to blend with the Thais. I even passed off as a Thai because each time I came into contact with anyone, I was spoken to in Thai first. Unfortunately, my inadequacy in their language gave me away.

The intersection towards MBK was always busy with traffic. The reason why there was not much traffic in this photo is because it was taken at 9 am. I am an early riser, even when I am on holiday. I woke up automatically at 5.30 in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. So I gave up sleeping and began my day. Well, the shops were still closed but it actually felt good to take a walk along the quiet streets.

I had quite an adrenaline rush on Sunday as I came face to face with an anti-government demonstration. Loud speakers were blaring political slogans. The large crowds which had gathered on the ground and on the bridge cheered whenever the political activists fired some powerful speech.  I just came out from MBK and my heart was drumming its own rapid tune. 

Every now and then, a patriotic song was played. The atmosphere was "electric". A couple of policemen were around as crowd control, but when the National song was played, they sang with the crowd.

 

Photo credit to http://www.demotix.com/node/2137067

I didn't take this photo, but it's exactly the location where it happened on that day.


I crossed my fingers and prayed that it's not the Red Shirts. Fortunately, it's not. Their shirts were pink. Funny, how colour made a difference here. But what was more amusing was how my mind managed to convince me that these pink activists were less 'dangerous' than the reds! How ridiculous was that?!

There were a couple of Guy Fawkes masked men on the bridge too. They were dancing and teasing some people, who were watching the demonstration. I did not like the way they were acting so I hurriedly walked away. I didn't want to get myself involved in this political turmoil. 

Instead, I took the train and went to Chatuchak, where the atmosphere was more amicable and calm. I was looking forever for this clock tower because there were many Muslim food stalls around the area. But, I ended up not eating at any of the stalls. I bought some fruits to snack on since they looked more appetizing.

 
I bought this coconut ice cream too as it seemed like it was the latest craze if you go to Bangkok. This was one of the best presentation I found in one of the stalls. The stall owner also gave me a free cup of coconut drink to quench my thirst. The ice cream was a delightful treat. 

My trip to Thailand feels incomplete if I leave without eating the glutinous rice with mangoes. It's yummy and definitely one of my favourite Thai food.

On the whole, I find my solo trip liberating and reflective. A lot of times, I found myself ruminating about things that I wouldn't have given a second thought. I had been living in a fast paced life all along and it suddenly felt awkward to walk unhurriedly, chew my food properly, and enjoy my day without having any plans ahead. This must be amusing to some people but hey, you have got to try solo travelling to understand what I am trying to say.