Who is king of the Road?

 I posted this in my FB timeline.... I just wanted to get to the bottom of the question 

"Who is king of the road?"

 

Although the message on buses indicated to "Please give way to buses", does that means they are king of the road?

My advocation is that "HUMAN" and "LIVING BEINGS" should naturally be the kings of the road!!  Having said that I have personally witness disrespect on the road..........

In China, especially primary city like Beijing, the drivers care not two hoots about pedestrians.  They exercise their rights to "right turn" even if the traffic light is red on their side and they will mull you down if you will to be in their way......ridiculously no qualms on human life.....

However,  in Australia, as soon as a pesdestrian steps on the "zebra" crossing, the passing car came to a complete stop, well away from the crossing.....majority of the drivers (sometimes Asian are excepted) will stop their vehicle near all pedestrian crossing. 

In Australia, especially in Melbourne, where the tram is a major feature of public transport, one has to give way to them; it is written on the tram that it weighs as much as a thousand rhinos!!!  So it would serve you well to stay away!!

What about Malaysia....the people are friendly, kind and peace loving but when it come to road manners they can be a menace.  Some drivers (not all), will rush to get through before the pedestrian crossing lights turn red....or they will stop so near the crossing, you might feel intimidated to even dare cross the road.

All in all, it is an overwhelming experience learning about different countries rules of the road!!  Not to mention the different side of driving...........right or left hand drive........it makes a lot of different to look in the right direction before crossing a road!!   So, if you are like me, who advocates that pedestrians should be kings of the road, you will have to think again!!

Its a world of ALPHABETS!!

Am I digressing or what?  I don't seems to understand many things these days!  Do I have to sign up for the latest language class where people communicate in alphabets?

Yes alphabets - the first sets of alphabets got to me is ROFLMAO, I thought it was a boy's name or a new spelling for ROMEO or something.... and when I asked what he meant he must think I'm dense!  All these while I was thinking I must be cool or what, I could sms (short messaging service), I could whatapps, I could chat on MSN and I used quite a bit of shortforms like brb, 2moro, nth, u, y, hv, b4, omg, lol, pic, n, d - isn't that a cool handful?

Then I came across this cartoon picture and I have this strong feeling that is where our future generations are heading......

And I could say its not really this generation's fault; its probably the fault of our generation if the following picture is anything to go by............

Portobelo Mushroom Baked

Inspired by the Master Chef series and many cook shows on the TV,

I came up with my very own concoction of a quick fix meal

 Remove the mushroom stem; chopped them up

Fillings can consist of many items;
I used chopped garlic as fillings once.

But this case (cooking for non-garlic lover)
 I have to think of alternatives,

so I use pumpkin n sweet corns instead.

Mixed all chopped ingredients and seasoned with salt, black pepper,
butter and cream (optional)

to give it a crunchy feel,
you can either add chopped walnuts or almonds

Topped with grated cheese (parmesan or mozzarela) till golden brown on top

For a wholesome meal, served with mash potatoes 

but it serves as a meal by itself!!

Custard Apple

A winter fruit to enjoy!!  Just love it!!  

Looks and feel like soursop but the taste is totally different.

Its different in taste and texture

This is smooth and very sweet with no tinge of sourness at all

 

  

So aptly described by a friend ...."taste heavenly".

  Yummmmmmy!!

Brunch at Grain Store

Good morning

time for late breakfast and early lunch at 11.00am!!

29June2013

 

  

 

 beverage order came first 

Hot Chocolate

 

Cappuccino

 Hmmmm.... the coffee smells so good.... dying for a sip!

And the long awaited dishes ............
"yummy yummy"

Brioche & Buffallo Mozzerella

spice nashi pears.candied walnuts.basil 17

 

 Portobello Mushrooms & Raclatte Potato Rosti

Poached eggs, hazelnut hollandaise 18

Orange Cured Salmon & Fried Poached Egg

truffle creme fraiche, smoked eggplant & crostini 17 

 the fried poached egg cut open!!

Hot Chocolate Cake to finish as dessert 

(actually it did not happen that way, 

this dish was served first 

and we got no choice but to eat it before it gets cold)

They have yet to improve on a few pointers; long wait for drinks and food, hot chocolate served was lukewarm; the sequence of food served was wrong; the food portion a little on the small side; the salmon was a wee bit salty and has lost its flavour (can i say its over-cured!);  however, one of the waitress was very cheerful, friendly and helpful and the ambience and decor is pleasing.  That kind of counter balance the negative aspects on food service.

The Art Precinct - St Kilda Road

With the sun shining and at 17 degree,
we set off  on our Sunday outing
to the

Art Precinct at St Kilda Road... 

a short tram ride away

Its  the Sunday Market

 Most of the stalls display local arts and crafts; handmade leather bags, water color paintings, costumes jewelleries ....and unique foodstuff...

Chooh La La

Praline nuts packed in recycleable designer bags

 Too tempting.........so we ended up first with 1 small bag of Macadamia nuts @ $8

then went back for another bag of medium $15

(yummy)

Post

Its been a long time since I have to post a letter!!  With the advance in technology we do not need post office as much as we used to. Today we stay in touch via the various social medias like FB, twitters, emails where we are kept aware of the happenings ........ very much so with our smart phones.

I remembered those days where my friends and I used to wait for postmen like as if they were our best friends....not any more.... and writing and posting letters are our only way of communication - most of our family cannot afford the telephone and mobiles were unheard of.

So when I have to post some stuff to a friend, it was a pretty strange feeling walking into the post office....

\

And its not cheap to use the posting services....

Those days of 15cents for a sealed letter and a 10cents for an unsealed one were definitely a thing of the past.. too good to last!!

Manneken-Pis

Manneken-Pis (Flemish) 
simple translation as "little pee man"

 Before I see the actual statue of Manneken-Pis, 

I imagine it to be life-size but look ... this is how big he is........

Located close to the Grand Place on rue de l'Etuve31 (Lievevrouwbroerstraat 31, 1000 Brussels, Belgium) he stands at just 61cm (24 inches).  The peeing boy is a tiny bronze fountain statue.

There are many tales as to why this bronze statue was erected and celebrated so ernestly.  The daring one is where the boy was a spy during the seige of the city.  He literally put out a ploy to bomb the city by urinating on the explosives!!  Many stories such as this has put Menneken-Pis a firm place in the city of Brussels.

The Belgians dressed him up on every possible occasions and he has 600 costumes to his name....his wardrobe ranges from Santa claus to national costumes of many countries around the world. 

Atomium Square de l'Atomium, Brussels 102m (1956)

What is it?  An alien spaceship; a UFO; a giant metal spider; a gigantic metal structure built in the shape of human DNA?

Its 102 metres high with 9 interconnected spheres (it represent an elementary iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times.  This structure was the creation of the engineer Andre Waterkeyn.

Neither tower nor pyramid; its cubic and spherical; an architectural, futuristic sculpture!!  It is actually an exhibition centre and a museum.  It signifies a symbol of its kind in the world and eludes no classification.The Atomium was the main pavilion of the World Fair of Brussels in 1958 also called Expo 58.

The Atomium was not supposed to survive the 1958 World Fair but its popularity and success made its landmark and symbol of Brussels first then internationally.

Diane Hennebert in 2008 aptly describe the Atomium as follows:-

The story of the Atomium is, above all, one of love, the love that the Belgians have for an extraordinary structure symbolising a frame of mind that wittily combines aesthetic daring with technical mastery. The appearance of the Atomium is unusual and unforgettable. It has a rare quality of lifting everyone’s spirits and firing their imagination.

The Eiffel Tower - the magic of light

Eiffel Tower is a monument you would want to experience first hand; its impossible to describe the feelings upon seeing it, upon entering and ascending it.....

Eiffel Tower is France's symbol in the world, the showcase of Paris, today has welcome almost 7 millions a year (75% foreigners) making it the most visited monument that one has to pay for in the world.

Since the 1980s, the monument has regularly been renovated, restored and adapted for an ever-growing public. 

 "The first sighting"

 "The Close-up Look"

"Looking Up"

 "Inside - Under Eiffel"

 "The Ticket Office"

Adult entrance by lift Euro8.50

by stairs Euro5.00

Built by Gustave Eiffel (it took 2 years 2 months 5days to build)  for the 1889 Exposition Universelle to celebrate 100th year anniversary of French Revolution, the tower was intended to last only 20 years but today it is still standing strong; it has so far received 250 million visitors.

I am proud to be part of the 250 millions!!

(13 April 2013)

Like all towering building (though an extraordinary one this is), it allows us to see and be seen boasting a spectacular ascent by its ancient lift and a panoramic view of the city, a glittering beacon in the skies of Paris

Eiffel Tower by Night

The  Eiffel Tower also represents the magic of light