Alhambra – Part II

The Generalife was constructed to be the recreation area of the Kings of Granada.  It includes the lower gardens, the Palace of the Generalife and the upper gardens.

The lower gardens.

Patio de la Acequia (Court of the Water Channel).

The cypress tree at Patio de la Sultana (Court of the Sultana).

Patio de la Sultana (Court of the Sultana) was a secret meeting place for the wife of the Sultan and her lover.

Palacio de Carlos V

The circular interior.

Other buildings in the Alhambra compound are the Church of Santa Maria and the baths of the Mosque.

Church of Santa Maria

Star-shaped skylights in the Mosque’s baths.

Alhambra – Part I

The Alhambra complex includes the Nasrid Palaces, the 13th century Alcazaba, Partal, Generalife and the Palacio Carlos V.

It was built when the Nasrid dynasty ruled Granada using modest materials of tiles, plaster and timber but with superb workmanship.

Tickets can be bought online and preferably so as there is a limited number on sale per day.  Ticket cost euro14.30 and can be collected at any La Caixa terminal(there is one opposite the Catedral along Gran Via) once you arrived in Granada.  Entrance is only allowed at 8.15am which is just enough time for a walk to the Nasrid palaces which opens at 8.30am.

The Nasrid Palaces is a construction of three palaces built in different periods – Mexuar Palace, Comares Palace and Palace of the Lions.

Mexuar-Oratory

Little archway leading out to the patio of the Comares Palace

Facade of the Comares Palace

Patio de Arrayanes (Court of Myrtle) where the hedges are lined with myrtles and a pond which captures the reflection of the palaces beautifully.

Honeycomb dome of the Sala de dos Hermanas (Hall of the Two Sisters)

Intricate carvings on the walls in the Sala Dos Hermanas.

Looking out at the Patio de los Leones (Court of the Lions).

Patio de los Leones.

Slender marble columns at Patio of the Leones.

Exterior of Sala de Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrages) which is currently closed for upgrading works.

Palacio del Partal, the Alhambra’s oldest palace.

Five-arched portico of the Partal.

Alcazaba is one of the oldest parts in the Alhambra and the military area of the complex.

Plaza de las Armas.

Torre de la Vela (The Watch-Tower)

Hotel Santa Isabel la Real

A charming little restored house from the XVI century tucked away on the narrow cobbled streets of the Albaicin neighborhood, Santa Isabel welcomes travelers in quaint Andalusian style with helpful staff to boot.

The hotel entrance which is cut into the wall with just enough feet room for you to hop-on to make way for oncoming cars.  Yes, that’s how narrow the streets are!

Sign on the other side of the door warning the same.  No kidding!

Hotel Santa Isabel

Convento de Santa Isabel.

This is where the buses stop(where the white car is parked).  Get off here and walk back up the street.  The hotel is right next it though like us, you would probably miss it the first time due to its unassuming front. From the city centre you can take the red minibus line 31 along the Gran Via-Catedral to get here.  The red minibus 32 to Alhambra(takes about 20 minutes) stops here as well making it super convenient.

Check -in is at the small room right behind the pillar on the left.

Patio

Quaint lounge decors

On the upper level.

Super cosy and romantic room ambience.

Comes with a lounge.

Also a dining area.

Unique toiletries.

Buffet breakfast is included in the room rates.  Though the selection is not very wide their croissants are absolutely delicious – soft and fragrant.

I just love their croissants(the reason why there’s only one left on the tray!).

It is just ten minutes walking distance to the city centre(assuming you don’t get lost along the way!  Trust me, every street will look the same if you don’t pay attention) and about five minutes to Mirador San Nicolas.  Along the way you will see neighborhoods with white houses called Carmenes.

Some even with beautiful flower arrangements outside their windows.

Stunning sunset view of the Alhambra from Mirador San Nicolas.

So book early to avoid disappointment as it only has 11 rooms in total.  You will love it as we did.

Note: Inter-city bus tickets can be bought in the bus itself and comes in a booklet of 7 tickets for euro7 whereby euro2 is refundable when the card is returned at the end of your stay.

Tea Room by Bel Jee

The TeaRoom is located at Ground Floor, Wisma Volkswagen, Lorong Maarof.  It closes quite early though at 6.30pm on weekdays and 2pm on Saturdays.  No business on Sundays and public holidays.  I believed this establishment is set up mainly to cater to the working lunch crowd and individual personalized cake orders.

I was piqued by their many interesting cupcake themes.

The Angry Bird phenomenon now in cupcakes!

36 pieces mini cupcakes budget version(RM65)with one red bird and garden theme.

Mind having some tea?

Mars bar cheesecake which is quite good actually.

The same goes for their Brownies

Latte anyone?

Upcoming Raya Themed

Verdict: Be prepared that the cupcakes are only basic butter cakes and nothing spectacular or out of this world.  What they are selling here is mostly the concept and not the cakes itself.  They sit very nicely in a room though and are a sure-fire attention grabber if you are holding a birthday party or a themed event.

Levain Boulangerie-Patisserie

Stone Oven & The Crowd

A colonial-style bungalow lot converted into a French-inspired bakery and cafe appealing mostly to the uber chic crowd.  Bread and pastries are baked using natural yeast, in a traditional stone oven which supposedly imparts a unique flavour and texture.

The quaint cafe  commands a steady stream of patrons at all hours throughout the day and all days throughout the week!

At the cashier

Airy interior with high ceilings and an insatiable crowd.

Bartlett Strawberry Tart (RM4.90).  Just the look of it will make you order two instead of one!  That’s what happened to us.

Caramel Nut Danish (RM4.20).  Crispy pastry topped with a generous amount of macadamia, walnut and cashew nuts.

Our absolute favourite – Mushroom Cream Pasta.   At RM9.90 it’s really a steal and well worth every cent of it.  If you have to choose only one item from Levain this is the one.

Macaroons supposedly are their best selling item but we didn’t try any cos we are not fans of the little sandwich wafer.  They looked very colorful for the camera though.

Some help on how to order cakes and macaroons.

Levain cakes are a bit on the pricey side given their minutiae sizes.

Criollo Arabica(RM9.00).  Layer of sponge soaked in espresso ganache and coffee buttercream.

Chocolate Tiramisu which sadly doesn’t come in slices.

More cakes to feast your eyes on.

The bread table

Soft and fragrant walnut bread(RM3.00)

Do also try the maple syrup bread which sold out before we managed to get our hands on it!

Verdict: If you are into breads, The Loaf bakes much more fragrant breads.  If however, you are a cake person, for the same price tag or slightly more you can get better cakes elsewhere.

A Stroll in Coloane

After the busy and thriving Macau mainland, a visit to the quiet little village of Coloane is most welcoming.  You’ll hardly see any villagers walking around this town contributing thus to a dead town feel.  You can do your jumping pose or lie down in the middle of the streets and not be worried about getting mowed down by cars and trucks!

Quiant village

 

Laidback waterfront

Houses on stilts

Dried salted fish in a row

Head down to the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier located at the Church Square facing the seaside promenade. Built in 1928, the classic Portuguese baroque-style chapel enshrines some of the most sacred relics of Christian in Asia.

The popular Korean TV drama “The Princess Hours” was shot here.

The monument in front of the chapel was erected to commemorate the victory over the pirates in Coloane in 1910.

But the best thing of all – Lord Stow’s bakery is found here!  Looks slightly rundown but selling the best of the best egg tarts which costs MOP8 a piece.  Personally,  I prefer Lord Stow’s egg tarts as the caramelized top is done more fragrantly than Margaret’s.

The signature Portuguese egg tarts have caramelized sugar on top that gives the slightly burnt, golden brown colour. The warm, crispy and fluffy puff pastry containing the not-so-sweet eggy, creamy filling satiate your tastebuds to the max.

p/s:  Lord Stow’s can also be found inside the Venetian.

House Of Dancing Water

Macau’s most expensive HK$2 billion theatrical  “The House Of  Dancing Water” opened late last year at the City of Dreams lets you marvel at their superbly crafted water stunts and high-wire acrobatics guaranteed to capture your senses.

Dancing waters.  Photo taken by my sister as I realised later on that I’ve mostly taken snapshots of the cast but none of the water itself!  Haha

The talented cast.

Happy ending!  Riding off to the moon……

p/s. Try not to get tickets to the first three rows of the theatre as the possibility of water raining on you and your equipment(if you are an avid photographer)is extremely high unless you are thinking of bringing your brolly along.

The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel

After hearing some friends gushed about this establishment we were all decided on this hotel.

Outside facade of the luxurious hotel

The opulent interior – lobby and colonnade

Our booking of one Royale Suite with one king bed was upgraded to a Bella Suite with two queen beds upon check-in.  In case you are wondering how a Bella Suite looks like – it’s a split unit level room.  Simply awesome!

The room is so spacious and comfortable that I would have willingly spend the whole day in the room doing nothing if we weren’t that tight with our programs and schedules.  Haven’t slept in such a super soft and comfy bed before.  You just don’t want to get out of that bed!

And let’s not even start on the bathroom.  It’s definitely bigger than my room!

Shower room, make-up room, separate toilet cubicle all roll into one big room ala a walk-in bathroom.

Venetian surrounding grounds.

The shopping mall within the Venetian with canals, gondolas and man-made blue blue skies

Beautiful balconies

Not forgetting St Mark’s Square.  We are in Venice after all!

And St Mark’s clocktower.

 

The Historic Centre of Macao

Our challenge was to hit as many of the 25 listed UNESCO World Heritage sites as possible within our 2 days/1 night stay.  On hindsight it was not a simple task given the insanely long queues for the free transportation provided by the casino hotels which look like this most of the time!

Holy House of Mercy

 

Monte Fort

Lunch break at the super crowded Margaret’s café.  Look at the queue again.  We had to eat ours standing by the backlane balancing our drinks and tarts between us.  Thank god we have 2 pair of hands here!

The infamous Portuguese egg tarts selling at MOP8 a piece.  By the way, Margaret is the ex-wife of Lord Stow who is also famously known for their egg tarts.

 

Ruins of St Paul

 

Na Tcha Temple and Section of the Old City Walls

For those who are hungry after the climb up Monte Fort and the stairs down St Paul, there are lots of shops lining the streets on the way back out which generously offer free tasting of their goods – snacks such as almond cookies, crispy egg roll, pork fillet and an assortment of cookies to fill your stomach.

 

St Dominic’s Church

Coincidentally it was also the Macao Grand Prix:Guia Circuit 2010 weekend thus lending an air of madness to the already chaotic Senado Square and town center.

 

Leal Senado Building

 

Senado Square

Moving on out of Senado Square which is brimming with tourists to the quieter street of Lou Kau Mansion.

 

Cathedral

 

St Augustine’s Square

 

St Augustine’s Church

 

Dome Pedro V Theatre

 

Chapel & Lighthouse, Guia Hill

We managed in total 14 of the listed sites.  Not too bad considering we wasted some time on the first day trying to get to Guia Hill but was told to turn back due to road closure for the circuit racing.  A cab ride to Guia Hill from Hotel Sintra takes only about 5 minutes and costs MOP20.

Early dinner at Wong Chi Kei famous for their springy noodles made with long bamboo sticks along Senado Square before we catch the bus back to City of Dreams for The House Of Dancing Water show which starts at 8.00pm.

It is as delicious as it looks.  Big juicy, sweet and springy prawn inside the huge wanton.

Soul Mates

“A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that’s holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.  A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake.  Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. ….purpose was to shake you up, drive you out of that marriage that you needed to leave, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light could get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you had to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master and beat it.  That was his job, and he did great, but now it’s over.”

And somehow I sort of know who exactly this person was in my life, who has shaken my life back into order through disorder, put me out of my reverie….