bird of passage
decoding myself
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Where Have I Been - Part 3d - Viva La Italia
The flight to Milan was a breathtaking one even though it was freaking 6am. The flight plan was to fly above the Alps. Man, at that time I felt like jumping off the plane.
We arrived at Bergamo not Milan since we were cheapskates. The good thing to be only few Non-European in the Immigration control was a bliss. We were out on a jiffy. We had to take a bus to Milan which took about another hour and a half. Our tour starts with discovering Milan from Piazza Duomo, where you can admire the Duomo, that is one of Milan’s most important symbols. I actually wanted to go to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The only problem was they are closed on Mondays. Not only that, almost all tourist sites are closed on Monday. Great planning from my side again. Haha.
After the Duomo, we headed to the splendid Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The Galleria and its luxury Liberty-style furnishings in wrought iron, mahogany and mosaics hosts coffee-shops, high-end boutiques and McDonalds. Imagine this, Prada and McDonalds next to each other.
We continue walking past Piazza della Scala until Castello Sforzesco. There isn't much going on there though. The main thing about Milan was people watching. We just sat in all the piazzas and admiring the Italian beauties. Very stylish, it better be since it's the fashion capital. I heard even the police uniforms are supplied by Armani. I didn't have the guts to go and verify it.
After that I was contemplating to go to either Armani cafe or 10 Corso Como. At the end we decided to check out 10 Corso Como since its supposed to be more upper-class and chic. The path leading to it was definitely not chich but that place is way beyong reach. A freaking white t-shirt with their logo costs E$200. That is definitely upper-class. We then chilled at the cafe sipping grappa.
I really wanted to go Armani's and Prada's factory outlet and they too are freaking closed on Mondays. Damn!
The day in Milan photo album
We arrived at Bergamo not Milan since we were cheapskates. The good thing to be only few Non-European in the Immigration control was a bliss. We were out on a jiffy. We had to take a bus to Milan which took about another hour and a half. Our tour starts with discovering Milan from Piazza Duomo, where you can admire the Duomo, that is one of Milan’s most important symbols. I actually wanted to go to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The only problem was they are closed on Mondays. Not only that, almost all tourist sites are closed on Monday. Great planning from my side again. Haha.
After the Duomo, we headed to the splendid Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The Galleria and its luxury Liberty-style furnishings in wrought iron, mahogany and mosaics hosts coffee-shops, high-end boutiques and McDonalds. Imagine this, Prada and McDonalds next to each other.
We continue walking past Piazza della Scala until Castello Sforzesco. There isn't much going on there though. The main thing about Milan was people watching. We just sat in all the piazzas and admiring the Italian beauties. Very stylish, it better be since it's the fashion capital. I heard even the police uniforms are supplied by Armani. I didn't have the guts to go and verify it.
After that I was contemplating to go to either Armani cafe or 10 Corso Como. At the end we decided to check out 10 Corso Como since its supposed to be more upper-class and chic. The path leading to it was definitely not chich but that place is way beyong reach. A freaking white t-shirt with their logo costs E$200. That is definitely upper-class. We then chilled at the cafe sipping grappa.
I really wanted to go Armani's and Prada's factory outlet and they too are freaking closed on Mondays. Damn!
The day in Milan photo album
Labels: italy, milan, vacation europe
Monday, September 03, 2007
Where Have I Been - Part 3b - Sunday Bloody Sunday
After a good nights sleep, we woke up all fresh and dandy. Yeah right! The pub right next to the hotel kind of kept me awake for some times plus the jet lag.
After another morning of dreadful English breakfast, we headed down to Albert Docks to check out the Beatles Museum. The weather decided not to kind on us. It was a cold breeze day, and everytime the wind blows, we would just froze up for few seconds. The bright idea of walking to Albert Docks was not a great one. But we did get to see the depressing side of Liverpool, the abandoned buildings and stuff. On the other side, there were works going around since Liverpool was awarded to be the Cultural Capital of Europe for Year 2008. With this award, then town gets some money to built some stuff. I don't really understand what it actually means.
After finally arriving at the musuem, I was relieved at the touch of warm air. Bought our tickets and went through the whole place. The whole thing took almost an hour and a half with audio tour provided as part of the ticket charge. On the way out, grabbed some stuff from the gift shops. I went sort of crazy but we are not discussing this.
After that, we continued our walk to Mathew Street where it all started. The cold kinda numbed my senses and I was able to fully soak in the magnitude of the area into my brain. Then we headed back to the hotel and checked out to drive to Manchester(belch). My friend decided to drive us there even though we already had tickets to Liverpool and he came all the way from London. It was relatively a short ride like an hour or so. First stop was the wretched Old Trafford. My travelling mate and friend are both Man U fans and I had to force myself into the stadium. Its definitely bigger and better than Anfield but wait till Stanley Park is ready. We took the last guided tour,and my friend managed to slip in to the guide that we went to the match and I was a Liverpudlian. No frenzy mob attack happened. Only some banters! Then we headed to our hotel, went to have dinner at some place we remotely have clue as we just walked randomly towards some lights. We had to take the cab back as we had no idea where we were. But that whole surrounding area was cool and we had good pub food.
Then we headed back to the hotel. Time to sleep as we had to wake up at 3:30AM so that we can make it to our flight 6:00AM to Milan, Italy. Well Bergamo actually, we were cheapskates so had to take the budget airlines which landed in Bergamo which is like an hour and a half from Milan.
I pitied my friend who had to drive back to London all by himself and go to work the next morning.
After another morning of dreadful English breakfast, we headed down to Albert Docks to check out the Beatles Museum. The weather decided not to kind on us. It was a cold breeze day, and everytime the wind blows, we would just froze up for few seconds. The bright idea of walking to Albert Docks was not a great one. But we did get to see the depressing side of Liverpool, the abandoned buildings and stuff. On the other side, there were works going around since Liverpool was awarded to be the Cultural Capital of Europe for Year 2008. With this award, then town gets some money to built some stuff. I don't really understand what it actually means.
After finally arriving at the musuem, I was relieved at the touch of warm air. Bought our tickets and went through the whole place. The whole thing took almost an hour and a half with audio tour provided as part of the ticket charge. On the way out, grabbed some stuff from the gift shops. I went sort of crazy but we are not discussing this.
After that, we continued our walk to Mathew Street where it all started. The cold kinda numbed my senses and I was able to fully soak in the magnitude of the area into my brain. Then we headed back to the hotel and checked out to drive to Manchester(belch). My friend decided to drive us there even though we already had tickets to Liverpool and he came all the way from London. It was relatively a short ride like an hour or so. First stop was the wretched Old Trafford. My travelling mate and friend are both Man U fans and I had to force myself into the stadium. Its definitely bigger and better than Anfield but wait till Stanley Park is ready. We took the last guided tour,and my friend managed to slip in to the guide that we went to the match and I was a Liverpudlian. No frenzy mob attack happened. Only some banters! Then we headed to our hotel, went to have dinner at some place we remotely have clue as we just walked randomly towards some lights. We had to take the cab back as we had no idea where we were. But that whole surrounding area was cool and we had good pub food.
Then we headed back to the hotel. Time to sleep as we had to wake up at 3:30AM so that we can make it to our flight 6:00AM to Milan, Italy. Well Bergamo actually, we were cheapskates so had to take the budget airlines which landed in Bergamo which is like an hour and a half from Milan.
I pitied my friend who had to drive back to London all by himself and go to work the next morning.
Labels: liverpool manchester, uk, vacation europe
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Where Have I Been - Part 3a - The Pilgrimage
After a long flight to Heathrow, my only paranoia is that the Big Brother in UK decides to put me back on the same flight back home just because my name has Khan in it. I have read enough horror stories. Lucky enough, the lady in the immigration only response was, “You came all the way to watch a football game? You guys are crazy!” Phew, that was seriously a relief.
UK as usual was grim and raining. But I was brightened up by meeting up an old friend I have not seen in ages. He was nice enough to pick us up from the airport and drop me off at the Euston station. With a currency exchange of 1 to 7, I will have to take any free stuff that I can get especially when travelling in UK is so damn expensive. Imagine 4.5 quid for a one way tube ride. That’s almost thirty ringgit man!
Anyway, reached Liverpool in the middle of the night where almost everything was close. Since it was still raining (surprise, surprise), we decided to hail a cab. As we hop on the cab, the driver was nice enough to tell us that the hotel is just one block away across the other side of the station. We were already on the cab and too damn tired to drag ourselves and our bags to the other side. We just told him, just go on.
The hotel was like a cross between Transylvania and some Goth-inspired 1600s building with goblin statues around it. It was pretty creepy but what the heck. At these times, one can’t be choosy.
Breakfast at the hotel was not exactly the greatest. They serve authentic British cuisine so you can imagine how it was. We also met some Malaysians who also came all the way for the game. It was a group of Man U wankers and were daring enough to wear Man Utd jerseys around the streets of Liverpool.
First day, we were still full of energy plus anticipation for the match. I told my friend, let’s get to the stadium early, less crowd, check out the surroundings and stuff like that. Damn, I was wrong. It was 9:30 AM and it was already packed with people. Match does not kick off till 12:45 PM. People were already on the bars around the stadium hitting the drinks. Beer for breakfast?
So there I was, right in front of Anfield. I felt like I just made my pilgrimage to the holy land of Football. I could die at that time and still be happy. That was actually striking off item no 1 of my list. It was so surreal I was getting goose bumps. So decided to check out the stadium museum and the official store. My friend was not too enthusiastic. Well what do you expect? He is a Red Devil. The joke was he had to buy a snow cap with LFC emblem right on top of the forehead because he refused to buy a normal when he had the chance. I made sure I had a good shot of that. That picture will come in handy one of these days.
Next step was to get into the stadium. As we were walking towards our gate, we saw bunch of people just waiting for something and the cops were holding line. We knew, this has to be where the players come in. So we blindly waited there for like thirty minutes with the hopes something actually happening. And a bus came and it was hoarding the damn Man Utd players! Well at least I managed to give them a scoucers welcome to them.
So finally we reach to our seats, the stadium inside was still empty. People were just too busy drinking outside and you can’t bring them into the seating area. It figures.
It was a perfect weather day for a football match and I could not be happier. The Kop as usual started singing the club anthem “You’ll never walk alone” and the giant banner being unwrapped. Being there at that moment gave me the goose bumps. Well then the game started and Liverpool can count themselves unfortunate to come away from the game with nothing after being more than a match for their opponents. Damn Man Utd, carried out a smash and grab job at the 90th minute. Frankly, we did not know who scored till the next day when we read the papers. The scoucers did not take it well especially a loss at home to Man Utd. Anyway, enough about fottie, after the match, we decided to hit the streets of Liverpool. But at that time, I felt inner peace that I am ready to die.
Liverpool is not exactly the most exciting or happening city. During its heyday, it was one busy port. Nowadays, after hit by the recession in the 80s, it’s still trying to rebuild itself. Most of Liverpool’s offering lies within one street, starting from St John’s Complex then along Victoria Street all the way to the Anglican Cathedral. After some shopping, decided to check out the movie scene. The theatre was a bit different from what I had expected. It was an art gallery/movie theatre which got me confused for a while. On top of that, all was playing was British movies which you typically do not see the promos back here which convinced me it was some art house screening. Then there was a movie called “Hot Fuzz” which I was pretty sure would be an art movie. So we took the risk and it actually paid off. It was actually a movie which pretty much makes a parody out of supercop movies such as Bad Boys and some other. But we fell asleep halfway through the movie. Not that it was bad, but it was the jet-lag kicking in. we did manage to get the end and from there straight back to the hotel.
The day in Liverpool photo album
UK as usual was grim and raining. But I was brightened up by meeting up an old friend I have not seen in ages. He was nice enough to pick us up from the airport and drop me off at the Euston station. With a currency exchange of 1 to 7, I will have to take any free stuff that I can get especially when travelling in UK is so damn expensive. Imagine 4.5 quid for a one way tube ride. That’s almost thirty ringgit man!
Anyway, reached Liverpool in the middle of the night where almost everything was close. Since it was still raining (surprise, surprise), we decided to hail a cab. As we hop on the cab, the driver was nice enough to tell us that the hotel is just one block away across the other side of the station. We were already on the cab and too damn tired to drag ourselves and our bags to the other side. We just told him, just go on.
The hotel was like a cross between Transylvania and some Goth-inspired 1600s building with goblin statues around it. It was pretty creepy but what the heck. At these times, one can’t be choosy.
Breakfast at the hotel was not exactly the greatest. They serve authentic British cuisine so you can imagine how it was. We also met some Malaysians who also came all the way for the game. It was a group of Man U wankers and were daring enough to wear Man Utd jerseys around the streets of Liverpool.
First day, we were still full of energy plus anticipation for the match. I told my friend, let’s get to the stadium early, less crowd, check out the surroundings and stuff like that. Damn, I was wrong. It was 9:30 AM and it was already packed with people. Match does not kick off till 12:45 PM. People were already on the bars around the stadium hitting the drinks. Beer for breakfast?
So there I was, right in front of Anfield. I felt like I just made my pilgrimage to the holy land of Football. I could die at that time and still be happy. That was actually striking off item no 1 of my list. It was so surreal I was getting goose bumps. So decided to check out the stadium museum and the official store. My friend was not too enthusiastic. Well what do you expect? He is a Red Devil. The joke was he had to buy a snow cap with LFC emblem right on top of the forehead because he refused to buy a normal when he had the chance. I made sure I had a good shot of that. That picture will come in handy one of these days.
Next step was to get into the stadium. As we were walking towards our gate, we saw bunch of people just waiting for something and the cops were holding line. We knew, this has to be where the players come in. So we blindly waited there for like thirty minutes with the hopes something actually happening. And a bus came and it was hoarding the damn Man Utd players! Well at least I managed to give them a scoucers welcome to them.
So finally we reach to our seats, the stadium inside was still empty. People were just too busy drinking outside and you can’t bring them into the seating area. It figures.
It was a perfect weather day for a football match and I could not be happier. The Kop as usual started singing the club anthem “You’ll never walk alone” and the giant banner being unwrapped. Being there at that moment gave me the goose bumps. Well then the game started and Liverpool can count themselves unfortunate to come away from the game with nothing after being more than a match for their opponents. Damn Man Utd, carried out a smash and grab job at the 90th minute. Frankly, we did not know who scored till the next day when we read the papers. The scoucers did not take it well especially a loss at home to Man Utd. Anyway, enough about fottie, after the match, we decided to hit the streets of Liverpool. But at that time, I felt inner peace that I am ready to die.
Liverpool is not exactly the most exciting or happening city. During its heyday, it was one busy port. Nowadays, after hit by the recession in the 80s, it’s still trying to rebuild itself. Most of Liverpool’s offering lies within one street, starting from St John’s Complex then along Victoria Street all the way to the Anglican Cathedral. After some shopping, decided to check out the movie scene. The theatre was a bit different from what I had expected. It was an art gallery/movie theatre which got me confused for a while. On top of that, all was playing was British movies which you typically do not see the promos back here which convinced me it was some art house screening. Then there was a movie called “Hot Fuzz” which I was pretty sure would be an art movie. So we took the risk and it actually paid off. It was actually a movie which pretty much makes a parody out of supercop movies such as Bad Boys and some other. But we fell asleep halfway through the movie. Not that it was bad, but it was the jet-lag kicking in. we did manage to get the end and from there straight back to the hotel.
The day in Liverpool photo album
Labels: anfield, liverpool, uk, vacation, vacation europe
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Where Have I Been - Part 3 - Whirlwind Tour of Europe
The next leg of journey took me to Europe, particularly England, Italy & France. This whole thing started as a chat between two footie fanatics; me the fanatic Liverpool fan and my friend the die-hard Red Devil’s worshipper. I coyly suggested that we should go catch the Liverpool - Man Utd game at least once in a lifetime. While I was telling this, I opened up the browser, showed the schedule and even managed to get the travel package and stuff related.
Then he asked, why not? That struck my head! Yeah, why not! Called the travel agent, made arrangements and boom we are on the way there. I decided that we should extend the opportunity and check out Italy and France too. It was a hell of schedule. Pretty much like 10 cities in 10 days. The list goes like this:
Day 1 – London, Liverpool
Day 2 – Liverpool
Day 3 – Manchester
Day 4 – Milan
Day 5 – Pisa, Florence
Day 6 – Rome
Day 7 – Paris
Day 8 – Paris, London
Day 9 – London
Frankly, I would NOT suggest taking this path ever again. I am Not in freaking college anymore. I am supposed to take more time to dwelve around and absorb the atmotsphere more. No, did I do that? I decided to have my own amazing race. Waking up like 4am to catch the first train or plane to my next destination. If it’s not for the Italian Espresso that wakes you up till your spine and the eye candies, I would have been dead.
Then he asked, why not? That struck my head! Yeah, why not! Called the travel agent, made arrangements and boom we are on the way there. I decided that we should extend the opportunity and check out Italy and France too. It was a hell of schedule. Pretty much like 10 cities in 10 days. The list goes like this:
Day 1 – London, Liverpool
Day 2 – Liverpool
Day 3 – Manchester
Day 4 – Milan
Day 5 – Pisa, Florence
Day 6 – Rome
Day 7 – Paris
Day 8 – Paris, London
Day 9 – London
Frankly, I would NOT suggest taking this path ever again. I am Not in freaking college anymore. I am supposed to take more time to dwelve around and absorb the atmotsphere more. No, did I do that? I decided to have my own amazing race. Waking up like 4am to catch the first train or plane to my next destination. If it’s not for the Italian Espresso that wakes you up till your spine and the eye candies, I would have been dead.
Labels: vacation europe
