Day 79 - España Solo - Córdoba

Woke up early to catch a bus to Córdoba. Had a really weird dream. I dreamed that I was back in Singapore, but was very much aware that it's a dream. Like huh?

Oh and I bumped into Melissa Chua (From Kent Ridge D Block) over breakfast at the hostel! Her gang is heading towards Portugal, while I'm heading towards southern Spain.

The older metro trains. This time, you don't press a button to get the door to open. You lift this lever.

When I arrived at the bus station, I walked the whole ground floor. All I saw was buses, but no ticket office. Turns out the ticket office is upstairs with the other shops and travel agencies. =.=

My bus to Córdoba. I have no idea what Soci means. Definitely not Sociology.

You can see how big the ground floor is, and how much time I've wasted to walk around looking for the ticket office. Wah lao, how come no signs to say that the ticket office is upstairs one......

And after 4 hours on a extremely comfortable bus (with loads of leg room space. Worth every euro cent of the €12.50 ticket), I've finally arrived in Córdoba. Basically, this place was recommended to me by Keng Rui (or Mr Wee to some of you) as a more unique place in Europe. Córdoba was basically the capital when the Moors conquered Spain. At the height of this empire, a lot of scientific, religious and philosophical knowledge was developed. The key attraction is the Mezquita, which is the third largest mosque in the world. And what's more interesting about the Mezquita is how it integrates Christian elements when the Christian Kings re-conquered Spain.

The bus station was kinda at the edge of the town, which was pretty modern. So after about 10 minutes of bus ride, I've finally arrived at where my hostel is.

The older streets. Narrow, quaint, and well trimmed trees.

For some unknown reasons, the whole street was filled with daffodils floating around. I had to cover my nose and mouth to prevent myself from breathing them in.

Souvenir T-shirt designs. Just because the Mezquita is the key attraction, Córdoba is being represented with Arabic designs, when it doesn't have much relevance to modern Córdoba? It's like Singapore is being represented by European Designs just because of its colonial past, when it has not much relevance, nor a true represent of Singapore today.

The Mezquita. I'm saving it for tomorrow, as there is free entrance between 8.30-10.30 am.

The older and narrower streets of Córdoba.

The minnaret-turn-bell tower.

And across the road from the Mezquita.....sigh.

Wonderful integration of mural art with Christian motifs and Arabesque designs. I'm beginning to like the Mezquita.

The Minnaret turn bell tower

I have no idea what this thing is called.

I just love the Mezquita's design.

A restored Roman Bridge. Yes, the Romans were here before the Moors.

Sigh...McDonalds......

The Roman Bridge has a raised bottom that is higher than the river bed. So of course it has some effects on the ecology and sedimentation in the river. Ok I shall spare you the geography lecture.

Onward to the Roman Bridge

I went on to Torre de la Calahorra (Calahorra's Tower), where there is a museum about Córdoba's history and achievements.

The first set of surgical knifes in the world, invented during the reign of the Moors. I was absolutely awe-struck by its intricate designs, and the variety of surgical knifes for different purpose. And the knifes are really small!

I love the concept in this museum. Instead of an audio guide, where you have to hunt down for the number to press, you're given this pair of headphones.....

And when you're in the room, just press the red glowing button, which will play the explanation in your earphones! Cool huh?

View of old Córdoba from the top of the tower. The old Córdoba is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site (I can see why)

A restored water wheel, which is unfortunately, blocked by some pavement works. The Moors brought along several agricultural and water works innovations, one of which is this water wheel.

I'm welcomed into my Hostel!

Basically it was already 7pm when I returned back to my hostel. And the sky was still very bright. One thing I don't understand about Spain, is that it's at the same longitude as UK, but yet it's one hour ahead. So the sun doesn't set till like 8+pm here.

I thought Córdoba would be a good place to try Spanish food. After all, it's less touristy than my next destination (Barcelona), so I'm likely to try something more authentic. My hostel owner recommended me this restaurant just around the corner.......

Eating al-fresco. Nice environment.

It's 8+pm and yet the sky is still so bright. I can't imagine what it would be like when Day-light Saving Time (DST) kicks in in 2 days time.

My Paella - Spanish Mui Fan? Kidding. It was really really flavourful and good. And the seafood , which can turn dry and rubbery very easily, was cooked to perfection.

My hostel room. Turns out among the 8 people I'm sharing the room with, there is a Malaysian who's on medical exchange at Barcelona! No wonder I saw a Zaki on the blackboard at the entrance of the hostel that welcomed us!

Day 78 - España Solo - Madrid

My first leg of Easter Trip: Spain. Flew from Gatwick, which was such a nightmare to get to, and reach Madrid at around 1pm.

Boarding / alighting the Metro? Open your own doors! It doesn't open automatically.

Madrid's metro. Barajas Airport is pretty near the city centre - it took me only 20 minutes on the metro to get to central Madrid.

The narrower and older streets of Madrid

The road signs are like a painting on its own. Basically I settled down on my hostel, and walked around. Was shocked to see so many Asians owning shops around. Am I in the middle of Little Asia or Chinatown?

A small bus to go around the narrow streets.

Entrance to Plaza Mayor - A tourist spot.

Hmm, feels very "Vantage Point"

The murals on the walls

Catedral del la Almundera

Royal Palace

Basílica de San Francisco. €2 just to see the interiors? No thanks.

Statue at Puerta del Sol, one of the busier areas in Madrid. See if you can spot the pigeon on the statue's head.

This is like a giant cuckoo clock. At 6pm, a music piece was played ( I used to play that piece when I was learning the piano. Can't remember its name) and these wooden figurines came out into action.

Plaza Cánovas del Castillo. Why is it a plaza if I can't get near it?

Plaza de Cibeles. Again, why is it a plaza if I can't get near it? Claimed to be one of the most gorgeous fountains in Europe. Me thinks it's over-rated.

Palacio de Telecomunicaciones (Madrid Town Hall). Quite a gorgeous building I must say.

So I've walked around Madrid and cover the key attractions. Really, Madrid is nothing much. Of course, the nightlife in Madrid is known to be crazy, but sorry, I don't club. So it's nothing to me. Thank goodness I'm just spending an afternoon here to get to Córdoba tomorrow.

So I went to the tapas bar near my hostel to try some tapas. You see, Spanish have their dinner only after 9.30pm. So before that, they take little snacks and small dishes, called Tapas, which are pretty much pre-cooked already at the bar. They can be simply olives, or salads, or more elaborate dishes. You could pretty much upgrade the portions to make it a full serving (ración) as a main dish, or half a serving, or keep it small as tapas.

My first tapas - Fried Calamari. Pretty good, and kept me full enough as dinner. Ok, I've tried tapas in Spain.

Day 77 - "Modelling" and Last Lesson

The International Office sent out an email a few days back, asking if they could take my photo. Well, apparently, they want to use quote my feedback I gave for the International Students Survey for next year's International Students Prospectus.

If you have seen any UCL Prospectus, you will realise that all the students are photographed against a red wall. Well, that's what happened to me today. This is the "famous" red wall you see. And if the picture I "modelled" for appear in next year's prospectus, this is the wall it was taken against.

Today's also my last lesson in UCL. Thursday is my free day, and my Friday's lecturer is not around this week. Technically, it's not in UCL, cause the lesson is at British Museum, but oh well, technicalities!

Anyway, it was nice and sunny. It's also the first time I entered British Museum from the front, as the back entrance is nearer to where I come from.

The Greek-Roman entrance.

It was a fantastic last lesson. Jan was fantastic as always. I learnt a lot from her, not just about Egypt, but teaching as well. I'll definitely miss her teaching, her passion for ancient Egypt and her sense of humour.

Oh we got back our object analysis essay. I scores a 67, which is equivalent to an A-! (70 is first class, i.e. A) She commented that it was a good essay and well structured. That's new for someone who used to fail GP in JC.

Time to prepare for my first leg of Easter trips!

Day 76 - Another post to rave about spring arriving

Yes I know I have been mentioning about spring creeping in. But it's just such a beauty to see the plants sprouting and flowers slowly blooming.

Took these photos at the park next to my hostel.

Cherry blossoms.

Feels so CNY decoration.

The lone green among the pink.

Sprouting leaves on the trees.

This one is taking a longer time to bud.

There is this beauty about sprouting and budding trees, as compared to one with fully grown leaves.

Day 75 - First and Last Presentation in UCL

Stayed up the whole night to do up this presentation. I wonder why I always choose topics and examples that are hard to find in current literature, or deviate quite a bit from the examples covered in lecture. Why do I always take the harder route......guess it's more satisfying in the end?

Anyway, time for my first and only presentation in UCL - my Restoration and management of Freshwater Ecosystem presentation, which was postponed to today (why it got postponed?). Instead of 10-12am lecture, the slot was pushed back to 1pm, as today is the deadline for dissertation submission. Many of my classmates, being 3rd Year, had to make it for the 12pm deadline, hence requested for the lecture to be pushed back. It also resulted in the attendance to be rather bad. Heard that many were either a little tipsy from their post-submission drinking (yes I know. In broad daylight) or were too tired and wanted to go home and sleep.

I was the last to go, cause I'm the only one who need to have the projector connected to my laptop. I'm quite happy with the comments though. The lecturer mentioned "Can I just say that this is the most visual presentation among all?". And my classmates asked me how I did it. Hehe.

Here's some sample slides of my work. See, I got do work one hor!

Day 72 - Fleeting feeling of time

Had our last lecture for Geopolitics today. Well, it's not the last instructional week, but our lecturer will be away for a conference next week. Yup, we applauded when he said his thanks. Same tradition as many universities.

Heather and Mingli commented "Wah lao! Time pass so fast! Last lesson already!" (not exact words, but I paraphrase to avoid plagiarism). Indeed. We're already approaching the last week of lessons. Soon it will be our long awaited Easter Break.

Day 71 - Special Lectures to remember your late colleague

This email was sent and resent for the past week.....

Hello students, a reminder of what being at a top university is all about!

May I please encourage you to attend Professor Rick Battarbee's special lecture at 5.30 pm on March 19th. The title is "Fossil Fuel Combustion: the Environmental Impact" and it will be held in the Christopher Ingold Chemistry Lecture Theatre. It has been designed with both physical and human geographers in mind and will relate to the courses of all years. You will have the opportunity to hear a renowned world specialist on one of the most important topics of the age.

The lecture is the annual Frank Carter lecture. It is named in honour of our former colleague, Professor Frank Carter (1938-2001). Frank spent almost all of his academic life lecturing and researching the geography of Eastern Europe at UCL and SSEES. His research interests were broad and included a range of environmental issues in Eastern Europe. Hence, it is highly appropriate that this year's lecture has an environmental theme.

John Salt

And so I went for the talk. Returned to Chemistry Auditorium, where we had our International Orientation.

While the speaker is getting ready

The huge periodic table that grace the auditorium.

When they started to introduce the speaker, saying how this is a bi-annual lecture to commemorate their generous late colleague, I began to feel that something is not right. Turns out I was in the wrong lecture theatre! Yes, this is a memorial lecture, but it's on Shakespeare and Romanticism!

I quickly exited the LT with much embarrassment, only to find out that the Chemistry Auditorium is not the Christopher Ingold Theatre. How come? The direction signs point to the same place what?

Turns out there is a small door around the corner......

I thought the talk was a waste of time. Don't get me wrong, it has wonderful content on the research behind acid rain and lake acidification. But it's EXACTLY the same thing I had when he lectured for the Restoration and Management of Freshwater Ecosystem!!! So there wasn't any value adding for me though. :(

But I thought it is an interesting way to commemorate your late colleagues.