Eleventyone　⑪❶：

Vienna - Julius Meinl am Graben [23.05]

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:10:39 GMT

「Julius Meinl am Graben」
Graben 19, 1010
(U1, U3 - Stephansplatz)
1-532-3334
meinlamgraben.at

Monday - Friday
08:00-19:30
Saturday
09:00-18:00

Attention, y'all!

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:23:44 GMT

facebook.com/tsai.my

Yes, I'm finally on motherfuckin' Facebook.

Kaylene (whom I met at ANZBYC; she was in my group) was urging me persistently to get one; and a nudge from Huei finally drove me to sign up for another damn social networking website (Rest in peace, Bebo).

So, add me!

... or I'll find you!

New Yorker Steak House

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:23:20 GMT

「New Yorker Steak House」
148 Victoria St, Christchurch
03-377-1748
newyorker.co.nz

Monday - Sunday
17:00-Late

The family and I chose to dine here tonight because: [1] It was listed in the Entertainment Book; with 25% discount, [2] We felt like steak, simple.

This was our second visit to the restaurant, but the photos are actually from previous before (I didn't bring the camera along tonight). Anyway, technicality aside, the steak at this place are actually pretty damn good! Probably one of the best in Christchurch, I'd say. That said, it is also the most expensive. Their steaks start from $35.00, and their specialities can go as high as $45.00. I doubt we'd normally come here if it wasn't for the discount, haha.

↑ Breads and Dips - in house baked bread served with a selection of dips [$11.00]

↑ Seafood Chowder - with mussels, prawns and fish [$14.00]

↑ 800g Prime Rib - with salad, mashed potatoes and blue cheese sauce [$45.00!]

★

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:21:48 GMT

↑ The 'outfit' I wore to Lisa's flat warming party; the theme was "school or medical". Hardly an outfit, I know :p

My download speed on µTorrent was all fine and dandy, until last night when our Internet suddenly disconnected. Now the network traffic is limited, and the port is no longer being forwarded. I've turned off both Norton and Windows Firewall, but the same error is still occuring. I didn't change any of my preferences from before, so I have no clue why the download speed suddenly slowed down.

To be honest, I don't even fully understand 'port forwarding'. I just know I need to open it so others can connect to me. I tried reading guides online, but they're so frickin' long I just gave up half way. Now my season five of CSI is stuck at 89.4%. I'm not a happy camper >:[

/ramble

Anyway, Huei Yin is here tomorrow! :] Needless to say, I'm super pumped! I'm dying to do some serious catching up (and alcohol consumption).

Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" [Concept Art]

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:34:17 GMT

[click to enlarge!]

The egg-shaped twins, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, are created through motion-capture technology and played by Matt Lucas.

Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland"

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:32:40 GMT

Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter

Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen

Anne Hathaway as The White Queen

Other casts:
Alan Rickman as The Caterpillar
Christopher Lee as The Jabberwock
Stephen Fry as The Cheshire Cat

I can't fucking wait. 2010.

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:10:51 GMT

I am actually in New Zealand already. I arrived back last Tuesday evening, but so far all I have been doing is resting at home trying my best not to die. I caught a horrible flu as soon as I came back, and I freaked the shit out because I thought I was infected with the swine flu (H1N1) from another passenger on the plane or something. Luckily after a couple of days of rest and plenty of antibiotics, I am now feeling much better. False alarm, phew!

This hasn't been the only scare for me recently. Last week I had my first experience of sleep paralysis; though in Chinese culture, this is most commonly regarded as 〝鬼壓身〞 (pinyin: guǐ yā shēn) or 〝鬼壓床〞 (pinyin: guǐ yā chuáng), which literally translate into "ghost pressing on body" or "ghost pressing on bed".

I had dozed off to sleep, only to be woken up about half an hour later when I felt the mattress sink, like someone or something had climbed onto the bed. Before I had time to decide whether or not I should open my eyes to check, I heard a low chuckle coming from beside me. I freakin' panicked and tried to reach my arm out to turn on my bedside lamp, but I found myself unable to move an inch. My body was asleep, dead. I wanted to scream for help, but my lips couldn't move either. When I tried to scream for a second time, I was able to let out a small, pathetic groan; and my body finally woke up.

I've never felt so nervous in my life before.

After I was able to move again, I bolted up and went to turn on all the lights in my room. I actually Google'd 'sleep paralysis' and read up on it to convince myself that it wasn't what I thought it was. I know there is a perfectly logical scientific explanation for what had happened, but I have always believed in ghosts and I was already aware of this ghost-pressing-on-body belief in Chinese culture.

Anyway, luckily this experience hasn't had the chance to reoccur itself (which I am deeply grateful for). After this happened I had trouble falling asleep the first couple of nights, but the paranoia is gone now. Sleep is always good; sleep means no zombie!Amy. Yay!

Stadtpark [21.04 Part II]

Sat, 16 May 2009 06:11:12 GMT

Stadtpark [21.04 Part I]

Sat, 16 May 2009 06:10:14 GMT

The Viennese City Park (Wiener Stadtpark) extends from the Parkring in the First District of Vienna up to the Heumarkt (a street, literally translated as hay market) in the Third District and is visited both by tourists and by native Viennese. Stadtpark is the park with the largest number of monuments and sculptures in Vienna.

MuseumsQuartier, graffiti/street art [27.04]

Thu, 14 May 2009 22:39:54 GMT

Naschmarkt, again [11.05]

Thu, 14 May 2009 22:37:54 GMT

Previously posted before already (read here). More photos taken from just a couple of days ago.

Mother's Day [10.05]

Thu, 14 May 2009 20:50:48 GMT

London - Aviva Tower [12.04]

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:23:34 GMT

「Aviva Tower」
1 Undershaft, City of London

The Aviva Tower is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London. It is 118 metres tall and has 23 floors, and is the sixth tallest building in the City.

London - Lloyd's Building [12.04]

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:29:37 GMT

「Lloyd's Building」
1 Lime Street, City of London
lloyds.com
richardrogers.co.uk

The Lloyd's Building is the home of the insurance institution Lloyd's of London. It was designed by architect Richard Rogers and built between 1978 and 1986. Sometimes also known as The Inside-Out Building, the building was innovative in having its services such as staircases, lifts, electrical power conduits and water pipes on the outside, leaving an uncluttered space inside.

London - red telephone box

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:16:23 GMT

The red telephone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, an English architect. He originally suggested the colour silver, but the Post Office chose to paint it red in order to make them easy to spot. Though numbers of these red telephone boxes have been reduced in recent years, they are still a familiar sight around Britain.

Yes, those are phone sex advertisements in there. I didn't come across a single telephone box in London that didn't have dirty pictures plastered all over inside. I did go into a booth at one point to take photos, and the heavy stench of men cologne was overwhelming. Oh, I can only imagine what happens in there...

London - Disney Store [08.04]

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:52:16 GMT

「Disney Store (Oxford Street)」
360-366 Oxford Street, Westminster
(Underground: Bond Street)
0207 491 9136
DisneyStore.co.uk

Monday - Saturday
09:00-21:00
Sunday
12:00-18:00

Filled with plentiful toys of Disney and Pixar characters, this store is often packed with tourists and most especially the little ones. Photos are prohibited, unfortunately (I snuck this shot before the security guard asked me to stop). This two-storey store features giant plasma screens on both floors that play clips from Disney movies over and over again. Subliminal messages hidden behind, perhaps?

The British one pound (£1) coin

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:20:01 GMT

The £1 coin has the standard obverse designs used on all contemporary British coins, namely the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The design of the reverse of the coin changed each year between 1983 and 2008 to show an emblem representing the UK, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England. In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin.

Top-left- 1983: Ornamental royal arms. Edge inscription: DECUS ET TUTAMEN ("An ornament and a safeguard") – originally on 17th century coins, this refers to the inscribed edge as a protection against the clipping of precious metal.

Top-right- 1986: Flax in a coronet, representing Northern Ireland.

Bottom- 1994: Lion Rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory, representing Scotland.

London - the house, and a sandwich

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:07:04 GMT

View from the back of our building (a long apartment block). Our apartment is on the second floor; the ones on the ground floor have their own gardens. There is a lot of greenery surrounding us which is very pleasant. Those other houses in the back are town houses.

Don't be deceived by this photo - weather in London is horrible. It is constantly cloudy, often topped with rain also. This was just a lucky day.

The bridge at the back is a London Underground railway. This view is outside our front door, from the left..

.. and from the right.

This is the Putney Bridge station (taken from the name of the bridge close by) right outside the front of our apartment block. It takes literally 5 seconds to walk to - super convenient! Buses also stop here, and there are a few shops around.

Wikipedia: Putney Bridge and Putney Bridge tube station.

What a random way to end my post with, but I just had to post about this sandwich that Jessie had made :)

Taiwan-style sandwich: pork floss / ham / pickled cucumber / egg omelette. Very reminiscent indeed.

Okay, I'm done.

London - first night, home-cooked dinner [07.04]

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:45:49 GMT

After a 2½ hour flight from Vienna to London Gatwick Airport, I spent a further 1½ hour on a bus which took me to FBDY (Fulham Broadway), a shopping mall/underground station near my friend's house. Then after another ½ hour wait, I finally met up Jessie :) We quickly visited Sainsbury's to purchase some fruit and household necessities, and there I had my first realisation of how expensive everything is in London. £1 (= NZD$2.60) for a bag of eight tiny mandarins - and this was supposed to be an on-sale price! Anyway, after grocery shopping we headed back to her house - on a double-decker bus! I suggested we stay in and cook dinner instead of eating out because I was too lazy.

Pan-fried Japanese gyouza with sour plum dipping sauce - beyond delectable!

'菜脯蛋', omelette with pickled radish and spring onions

Pickled cucumber

Britain's Got Talent - Susan Boyle

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:02:24 GMT

With over 31 million views on YouTube already, it won't come as a surprise to me if everyone has seen this already.

But for the remaining who haven't - Susan Boyle is a 47-year-old woman from Scotland who amazed everyone with her stunning performance of 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables on Britain's Got Talent.

I just love Simon Cowell's reaction when he heard her voice for the first time :D

[ YouTube link ]

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:29:30 GMT

I was greeted back in Vienna with brilliant weather :) The sun was beaming through the clouds, and I took this shot whilst on the bus to Westbahnhof from the airport. The sky was obviously brighter and actually blue, but I aimed the focus on the sun so that the surroundings would turn out darker. (Is there a professional technical name for this?) No Photoshop.

Updates on my trip to London will eventually come. I am slow at this, I know.

London, baby!

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:13:10 GMT

I will be at the airport in less than 12 hours, on my flight to London. I am especially excited about this trip because I will be staying with Jessie who I hadn't seen for two years. I think the last time we hung out was in in Taiwan; we're both from Kaohsiung.

No idea what my plans will be in London, but I'm sure Jessie has planned some pretty interesting things. There's also a Taiwan Cinefest being held there between 15/04/2009 - 19/04/2009, so luckily I will be able to catch at least one or two films. Some even have free entry!

I will also be travelling to Amsterdam (oh yes, you know what that means) on 06 May with the two friends I made here. I am definitely hoping we will have the chance to visit a ~~marijuana~~ café ;) We've already bought the plane tickets and booked the accommodation (apartment-style hotel with kitchen, and great location), so it's all set!

Then on 09 May I will be travelling to Brussels by train by myself in the morning (the other two are going to London), and fly back to Vienna at night.

Needless to say, I'm pretty fuckin' ecstatic about all of this. I am hoping to plan a trip around Germany when I come back from London. Maybe 1-2 weeks, either by train or plane if there are cheap airfares.

I've also contacted the Austrian Consulate with the visa enquiry, and they said that if I leave Austria and go to a non-EU (European Union) country and then return to Austria, I will be able to stay for another three months. England is an EU country, which means I can't extend my stay in Vienna. But I will try and apply for an extended visa. I really want to stay a bit longer; I've only just realised how little time I actually have left to travel around Europe.

That's all for now. I will still have Internet access at my friend's house, so I will try and post some photos of London while I'm there.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Julius Meinl am Graben [03.04 Part V]

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:44:45 GMT

「Julius Meinl am Graben」
Graben 19, 1010
(U1, U3 - Stephansplatz)
1-532-3334
meinlamgraben.at

Monday - Friday
08:00-19:30
Saturday
09:00-18:00

Situated in the heart of Vienna, Julius Meinl am Graben offer the finest ingredients and materials from all over the world as well as other grocery products. The extensive array on offer includes more than 16,000 delicacies, among them 400 kinds of cheese, a wide range of hams and cold cuts, the finest chocolates, caviar and truffles, the rarest wines from Bordeaux, and much, much more.

Meinl also has its own restaurant - one of the top five in Austria, wine bar, sushi bar, as well as a famous café, serving their own brand of coffee. The boy in the red hat (as seen in the photo) is their mascot. [Website: meinl.at]

It's made up of red and gold ribbons and bells.

Easter = chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, chocolate chocolate.

Wiener Eierlikör, a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy.

1/3 of the cheese section.

Hundertwasserhaus Wien [03.04 Part IV]

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:15:43 GMT

Additional photos from Hundertwasserhaus Wien. Not of the apartments though, this was another building on the opposite side containing cafés and various gift shops.

"an uneven floor is a divine melody to the feet"

Photo taken from above the stairs of a café in the centre

Friedensreich Hundertwasser (December 15, 1928 – February 19, 2000)

Inside a very large gift shop which mostly consisted the art of Klimt

.. See? (That's an ~~ugly~~ tie, by the by)

Hundertwasserhaus Wien [03.04 Part III]

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:10:49 GMT

「Hundertwasserhaus Wien」
Kegelgasse 34, 1030

The 'Hundertwasser House Vienna' is an apartment house in Vienna, Austria, designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

The house was built between 1983 and 1986 by architects Univ.-Prof. Joseph Krawina and Peter Pelikan. It features undulating floors ("an uneven floor is a divine melody to the feet"), a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows. Hundertwasser took no payment for the design of the house, declaring that it was worth it, to prevent something ugly from going up in its place.

Within the house there are 52 apartments, four offices, 16 private terraces and three communal terraces, and a total of 250 trees and bushes. The Hundertwasser House is one of Vienna's most visited buildings and has become part of Austria's cultural heritage.

p.s. You should see photos on Flickr of the apartment in Summer. The greens are amazing and look so environment-friendly :)

p.p.s. This (the second to last photo) was just a random graffiti, not associated with Hundertwasser in any way.

p.p.p.s. We met this delightful middle-aged man who was using an interesting-looking doll as his 'model' in his shots. Apparently he was seen elsewhere as well; with the doll, yes. Hmm.

Eleventyone ⑪❶：

Vienna - Julius Meinl am Graben [23.05]

Attention, y'all!

New Yorker Steak House

★

Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" [Concept Art]

Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland"

Stadtpark [21.04 Part II]

Stadtpark [21.04 Part I]

MuseumsQuartier, graffiti/street art [27.04]

Naschmarkt, again [11.05]

Mother's Day [10.05]

London - Aviva Tower [12.04]

London - Lloyd's Building [12.04]

London - red telephone box

London - Disney Store [08.04]

The British one pound (£1) coin

London - the house, and a sandwich

London - first night, home-cooked dinner [07.04]

Britain's Got Talent - Susan Boyle

London, baby!

Julius Meinl am Graben [03.04 Part V]

Hundertwasserhaus Wien [03.04 Part IV]

Hundertwasserhaus Wien [03.04 Part III]

Eleventyone　⑪❶：