Day 30 - Lanzarote - Day 1

Such a perfect day!! We didn't do anything the whole day!!

Eat sleep walk sleep walk eat sleep swim shower eat play sleep

We decided to spend the day relaxing around our resort and the city area. We wanted to start fresh on the following day as we didn't know what we wanted to do & we also needed to rent a car for the remaining days. We were also dying to get some sun & today's weather was just perfect too!!

Can't believe we slept so much! I didn't really have any deep sleeps but more like just closing my eyes... but the feeling was so good!! It's really rare that my holidays are like this... it's always been weekend trips were things are always so hectic!! So finally having the holiday to do this... so awesome!!

The sleep was good and being able to get some suntan was great too. Luckily i didn't get sunburnt!! Hehe... but J's suntanning session didn't go too well. Well, we have 10 more days to go so hopefully her suntan will even out!!

I'm hoping that my suntan on this holiday will be good too! Just enough to look tanned but not black. I need to avoid having my face in the sun... don't want my freckles to get darker. If so, what do you think I will look like?

You think I will come back as a Vietnamese or a Phillo??

Day 29 - My First Easter trip

Finally my first Easter trip!! Not only is it my first time in london... it is also the first time in my whole life!! All these years, I've always been working at the restaurant. That's why I hate public holidays... I can't be like other people and go on holidays.

I'm quite excited about this trip cuz its with my Provence group!! It's been a while since we have travelled together... and all of us can't wait to get some sunshine!!

We arrived in Lanzarote around 9pm and rushed to the hotel straight after we collected our luggage! We were quite hungry and luckily we arrived just in time to grab what was leftover. We spent 5 mins or so walking around all the food bars to check what type of food was available. There was a chef that cooked pasta, fresh meat & seafood. And the usual hot food, salad, bread, cold cuts and desserts. I think all of us were so hungry that we grabbed as much as possible... even the ice cream cuz we were scared that they would take away the ice cream while we were eating our mains!! hehe..

It was just amazing to see how fast it took us to gather all the food in one hit... and as per the below photo, our whole table was full and i think we ate most of it too!! lol

Day 28 - Sashimi... raw stuff.... eww...

Went to have Japanese food with a friend today. While we were ordering food and I reminded him that i didn't eat raw stuff and then he asked "Why"?? I've already told him several times before that I don't raw stuff and every single time he has to ask "Why"??

My answer is: "I don't like the texture!!"

I can't seem to appreciate it and I think that there is no flavour. People use soy sauce and wasabi to eat with their sashimi but i don't really like wasabi (or mustard)... My dad always tries to force me to eat it but I just don't like it. All I can imagine is the actual fish getting their flesh carved out (fresh and still moving image going through my mind right now)... yuck!!

Maybe there will be one day that I will start liking it. And hopefully by that time, I can go to Japan and experience eating their cuisine to the max!!

But right now... "No, thank you mate"

Day 27 - Van & Ed

Another friend came into town for a visit - Van & Ed

It's been a while since I last catched up Van. Ever since she left RBC, we haven't really been able to meet! So I was quite excited to see what's the latest goss, where she has travelled and etc...

We headed to Vapiano on Great Portland street for dinner. It's my second time coming to this restaurant. Their second store opened next to my work place in Southwark. The concept is quite interesting. Everyone gets a card to order as much food as they want at the different food counters. When we leave, we use the card to pay at the end.

After dinner, we headed for dessert at Princi and then headed to Pep's accommodation to say a final goodbye to the girls before they started their top deck tour.

These last couple of days have been busy for me... catching with everyone but I've had a great time!! So much to catchup on and I hope all them is currently have a good time with their travels... definitely can't wait to catch up with them when I go back to Sydney one day!!

Day 26 - Tartare Sauce

Tartare sauce (or Tartar sauce; US spelling) is a sauce made from mayonnaise and finely chopped pickled cucumber, capers, onions (or chives), and fresh parsley. Chopped hard-boiled eggs, olives, and horseradish are sometimes added, and Dijon mustard is often used as an emulsifier. It is frequently used to season fried seafood dishes. Vinegar can be added for a sharper flavor. The sauce is typically of a rough consistency.

In Britain, tartare sauce is based on mayonnaise made with eggs, white wine vinegar and oil, with the addition of chopped capers, chopped gherkins, a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped parsley.

Britishs pronounce it > "Tar tar"
Americans pronounce it > "Tar ter"
Aussies pronounce it > "Tar tair"

Which is the correct way??

I think the Aussie one is the correct way and it sounds so much better!! But my work colleague (British) thinks it incorrect... we constantly have this debate at work...

My British work colleague: "tartar sauce!"
Liv: Hahahaha...lol... "NO, it's tartair sauce!!"
My Aussie work colleague: "Yeah, it's tartair sauce!! You guys are wrong!!"

It's just hilarious everytime this topic is brought up. All these disagreements between the Aussies, the Britishs and the other nationalities!! Its the same argument as pronouncing "yogurt", "vitamins", "database"... the list just goes on and on... when will it ever end?

Day 25 - Brunch, Flat White & Sunday Roast

Once again... today's adventures was filled with food food food!!

Went to brunch with the girls (Van & Lam too) at Coco Momo. Food was so so. Typical brunch menu... nothing too special about the food. But it was a nice catchup with everyone. Seeing what everyone did the night before... plans for Easter... and just joking around!! hehe...

After brunch, we headed over to The Providores for some coffee. This place apparently serves good coffee but no takeaway so we had to wait for a seat just to have a sip of Flat White!! Luckily the wait was not too long... the flat white compared to the one i had at Allpress was much stronger. Not as smooth as Allpress. I prefer the Allpress one!!

We split separate ways at Oxford Street for some shopping... this was my last weekend in London and i really needed to find another set of swimwear. I thought i was gonna run out of hope as i couldn't find a lot of selection in some stores. But just as i was about to walk out of Debenhams, i found a whole range in the corner of the ground floor. I did manage to find a set. I tried it on and it fits but... looking at myself in the mirror... oh no!! Need to have a strict diet once i come back from Easter. I need to look fit for Ibiza!! Ahh!!

At night, I meet up with Peps and the girls again for Sunday Roast. Suggested by Lina, i decided to head out to Kings Cross to the Easton Pub. It was a long walk from Kings Cross... 10 mins or so. We were so hungry when we arrive... order the roast straight away!! 5 Lamb and 2 Pork Belly.

I had the pork belly... the meat was nice but the crackling was a bit chewy and it was soooo salty!! The vegies and potatoes were good but the crackling was such a let down... maybe next time i should try out the lamb??

Day 24 - Peps in town!!

Peps arrived with her uni friends to London to start off their 2 months Europe trip. They arrived on Thursday afternoon but we decided to meet up tonight so I can take them out to dinner and Di's birthday drinks.

K's bag got stolen while she was trying on shoes at Clarks today. For some reason, she had all her euro and pound money in the one bag along with her passport and credit cards!! They spent more than 2 hours at the police station. She was totally devastated so some of the girls decided to skip dinner and go back to their apartment to rest up.

This incident really illiterates the need to be extra careful of your bag while going out in London or in any other country!! You should never carry that much cash with you. And if so, you should split up the money or use a money belt. I guess for K it is a big lesson learnt and definitely an unlucky start to her holiday. She needs to rush to the Australian embassy on Monday to get an emergency passport. Hopefully everything goes well for her on Monday.

In the end, I had dinner with Peps, G and Ning at an Indian restaurant in Holborn called Sitaaray. Suggested by Amit, it is unlimited set menu of kebabs and curries. The interior design was quite cool. A lot of photos of Bollywood film stars and movie posters. We were lucky enough to get allocated a private seating on the top level.

We had a good time catching up while slowly chewing on our food. They brought out a lot of food... meats, starters, nann bread and etc... we were so stuffed by the end of it and then the waitress comes along to tell us that there is more food... the mains!! Curries!! ahhh... we were so surprised cuz we thought everything came out already.

We asked them to bring out a small portion of rice and curry for us to try. We didn't really touch it but I managed to try some to see what it tastes like.

We quickly left the restaurant so we could rush to get to Loop Bar before 10pm for free entry. We made it just in time but my gosh, this place was packed with so many. So hard to find an area to talk or dance and not get bumped into...

I think we were all very full from dinner so we couldn't really drink a lot. The girls left early and I stayed around for a bit longer but started to feel tired. I wasn't in the mood to get tipsy and dance so PJ and I caught the last train home.