Amsterdam

Some say, the past should stay in the past and not worth revisiting but I am not most people. Well, at least in the form of places to travel. I for once revisited Amsterdam.

I had been to Amsterdam in my 20's and boy, I had fun. Before any of you had some funny ideas, my idea of fun didn't involve indulging in smoking "herbal" cigarettes or eating enhanced brownies (though I kinda wish I had). Back then fun is about getting adrenaline rush and one of them is roller coasting at Walibi World. But this post really isn't about visiting the past. It is about our (not so) recent trip to Amsterdam in May 2015.

On the first day upon arrival, we decided to be spontaneous and tried to beat the long queue at Anne Frank's House. I had read the book and was there during my first visit so I wasn't keen because I knew it'll be impossible to get in without prior booking but it was H's first time to Amsterdam so we decided to give it a shot. The queue was too long and let's face it, my son couldn't stay still so we forgo the plan of going in and took a hop-on hop-off boat ride instead. Oh, this trip also wasn't about culture or art so we ditched the museums all together. So, bye Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer.

Outside Anne Frank's House

I AM STERDAM

And obviously a visit to Amsterdam is incomplete without trip to the famous Keukenhof. You can take shuttle bus from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the journey from the airport to Keukenhof takes about 45 minutes.

Aqil is almost 3 and yes, I am still babywearing him. With the right carriers you can still carry them as long as you can. In case you are wondering the carry style is rucksack carry and the wrap is Bebe Sachi Meranti. Bebe Sachi is a proud Malaysian brand and both internationally and locally known.

Someone couldn't resist sleepy dust.

Our last day was spent by strolling around various flea markets, the Flower Market, Albert Cuyp Market and going to Vondel Park.

We have been travelling together with Aqil since he was barely 2 months old and the secret to travelling with kids is not to expect much. You wrote the to-do list or itinerary and congratulate yourself even if you made half of the list. Countless pit stops and small breaks are necessary to keep them entertained. I know that my travelling style had evolved significantly for these past few years since I became a mom. Goodbye Deuter & Vaude and hello to Samsonite and Storksak. It is a matter of time till I lug a Trunki with me.

Deutschland Revisited

I was organizing the harddisk when I stumbled upon these photos. It's the usual thing that I do whenever I have free time, you know - rearranging stuff. I can't stand when things are not in order and like the Germans, I love my stuff to be in order - alles muss in Ordnung sein. I am denial that I (might) show signs of OCD but believe me, these little things keep me together and sane.

They are mostly pictures taken during our trip back to Germany in mid June 2012. As per mentioned in my previous post, we were there to visit a family friend. It was my first time meeting his family but they treat us indifferently. We were treated with nothing but only warmth and kindness.

It felt good to be back in Germany after I left it in 2008. It truly felt like coming home.

That's his old hostel

Proud products of HS Aalen

I was 20 weeks pregnant

I can safely cross out strawberries picking from my wishlist

Fat and juicy strawberries

Our kind host who treats us like part of their family. We're brothers and sisters in Islam, he said. Masya Allah.

Family photo

And yerp, the cat is ALSO part of the family.

Andalucia: Sevilla

The next morning, we took a train to Sevilla, the capital city of Andalusia region. Out of the 3 places in Andalucia that we went to, this probably was the most relaxing place ever. We didn't have much sight seeing to do because we decided that we wanna ditch all the Christian tourist attractions in Sevilla, which leaved us to nothing. Hehe.

Seperti biasa, we got lost finding the hostel because the hostel's street was so narrow, it didn't appear in the map. After checking in, we quickly went to a cafe to have some churros!

Lepas makan churros terus rasa mual cos I don't really like fried food to begin with and the combination of dipping fried churros into thick hot chocolate just amplified the nauseating feeling. Nak mengelakkan dari buat scene muntah tengah jalan, H bought Minute Maid orange juice for me. Baru rasa lega.

Lepas tu, we just took a stroll in the city and - shopped. I think most of you know that Spain is the birth country to high end street brands such as Zara, Pull & Bear, Bershka, Mango, Massimo Dutti etc. The price of course relatively cheap even when compared to other European countries. For example a Zara top is price at 29 Euro in Spain but it's 35 Euro for the rest of European countries. Sadly I didn't do much shopping except a pair of Mango jeggings that I love to bits but I can't say the same about my husband. He went all the way and got everything that he wanted. Shirt, t-shirt, belt, you named it. Over tau laki mak ni.

That night, we went to watch flamenco dance performance at Tablao El Arenal. The entrance fee is 37 Euro/person with one complimentary drink. You can also choose to have dinner while watching the performance but of course it comes with a higher price.

The performance was superb! My husband being a fan of classical guitar and a classical guitar player himself was in awe with the awesome skills showed by the flamenco guitarists. I was in awe with the dancers, the elaborated & colourful costumes, the skill and the passions. I think the baby was enjoying the performances too that I kinda feel a soft quickening in my belly! Well, or that the music was too loud that s/he was annoyed. Sadly no photographing or recording are allowed but I managed to record a 1-minute video of one of the performances.



5 days in Andalusia were definitely not enough. We wish that we could spend more time to explore other places in Andalusia such as Malaga with its famous Costa del Sol, Almeria or Jaen, the world's capital of olive oil.

Maybe if the timing (and money!) is good, we will come back?

And oh, lastly before I forget, while we were window shopping I found this:

Apa celop tok?!

Tanjat gegerl tau tengok.

Andalusia: Cordoba

We got train from Granada to Cordoba at 9.10am to catch but there was no one at the reception by 8.30am. We were told that it would take us 15 minutes by walking from the hostel to the train station but I guess the receptionist must be delusional. It took us 35 FREAKING minutes! And mind you, I naturally walk fast but for this, I walked twice as fast as than I used to! Shessh.

Arrived at the train station panicking cos the train was already at the platform, quickly retrieved the tickets (we bought online, thank God!) from the counter and made in just in time. Phewww. The journey took about 2 hours and we napped throughout the journey. Must be tired from all that walking and running, I guess. Hehe.

Took a bus from the train station to the hostel. Cordoba's tourist information centre is super helpful unlike in Granda and Sevilla. While in the bus, a local elderly man was kind enough to ask us to follow him cos he was getting off at the same stop. We were thankful that he offered because if he hadn't we wouldn't know where the stop would be.

Entrace to Hostal El Antiguo Convento

Took this picture the next morning

We loved the hostel to bits. The setting has a whimsical and quaint feeling to it and the owner was so helpful in giving us directions to main tourist attraction and cheap eateries. Location-wise, it's only 5 minutes away (walking) from the famous Mezquita-Catedral.

We didn't waste any time and went straight to Mezquita to witness one of the great Islamic architectures in western world.

The Mihrab

The seemingly endless pillars

The Christian part of the mosque

The mosque courtyard - The Orange Tree Courtyard

Gate walls of the mosque

Not far from the Mezquita is Roman Bridge but we didn't cross the bridge. It was scorching hot and all I wanna do was to eat ice-cream and rest under the shades. So eat ice-cream we did before continuing to stroll at the nearby alleys. 

Roman Bridge

Between the streets, we found a beautiful small alley full of flowers called Calle de la Flores.

Lepas tu jalan-jalan cari churros membawa dari Plaza de la Correda sampai ke Plaza de las Tendillas tapi malangnya bila jumpa, kedai jual churros dah tutup.

Misi gigih mencari churros

Then it was time for dinner so we went to a tapas restaurant not far from our hostel. It was non-halal so only we ordered seafood tapas and decided that after two nights in a row of tapas, we've had enough. Our trip to Cordoba was a bit relaxing compared to Granada because we decided that we wanna ditch all the Christians attraction such as cathedrals, convents etc. and focused more on Islamic monuments/history remaining there.

To be continue....

Andalusia: Granada

I uploaded this photo about 5 weeks ago via Instagram and now I can't believe that it's over. This is the itinerary of our trip and yes, that's my ugly handwriting that you're looking at.

We flew with Norwegian Air, Norway budget airlines similar to Air Asia. Our flight was from Oslo Gardemoen Airport to Malaga International Airport. The journey took about 3 hours and upon arriving, we took a train to Malaga train station before proceeding to Granada via intercity bus.

Arrived there roughly at 7pm and spent about an hour trying to find the hostel. Walked for few kilometres before finally spotted the hostel's sign. Once we settled in, it was almost 9pm and went for a stroll around the tourist attraction area.

Finding ways around

Then I saw this and quickly penned it down on the map. HAHA

The next morning, we woke up early and got ready for Alhambra. We bought the tickets few days prior to our visit and I tell you, I'll never do a last minute booking anymore. It's a miracle that we managed to secure 2 tickets at the very last minute because most people do their booking months ahead and tickets to Alhambra especially to Nasrid Palaces are of limited quantity. The main attraction of Alhambra (to us) is the Nasrid Palaces and our slot was at 8.30am. Ticketing booths are only open at 8am but when we arrived there at 7.30am, people had started queueing up!

The Nasrid Palace is so amazing and magnificent that it doesn't take you to be an architect to appreciate its beauty. The intricate calligraphic carving on the walls and domes of the palace and the soft light streaming from outside just magnify its glory. I am out of adjectives to describe the feeling. You just have to experience it yourself.

Close-up of the carving on the walls. Subhanallah

After we were done with our tour to Nasrid Palace, we then moved on to Alcazaba (still within Alhambra).

View on top of the Watch Tower at Alcazaba

Albeit panting while climbing the tower, all is forgotten to this mak buyung upon seeing such wonderful view. Oh yes, being 18 weeks pregnant (at that time) not going to stop me from all of these.

On our way to Generalife

We spent 4 hours at Alhambra and by the time we were done, our stomach (or at least mine) were grumbling with hunger. Took a mini bus back to the city and went to nearby restaurant for quick bite. Then, we just strolling around the city.

For dinner, we found a halal restaurant that served Spanish tapas, so we decided to give it a try.

The portion may be small but we were so full afterwards that we decided to call it a night! Head back to the hotel at 11pm and I dozed off as soon as my head touched the pillow. Long day awaits the next day because we were heading to Cordoba to see the famous Mezquita-Catedral.

To be continue....

Sneak Peak on Spain Trip

Sorry for the long hiatus. For those who didn't know, H and I were away for 5 days for our (backpacking) trip to the Andalusia region in southern Spain.

I wouldn't say that it was a babymoon trip because to my understanding, a babymoon trip supposedly be a relaxing trip but trust me, there was nothing relaxing about this trip! We city-hopped, went sight-seeing all by the means of public transportation and man, lots of walking involved! Sometimes, I think that I'm Energizer bunny and kept forgetting that I'm pregnant.

I will write more on my trips but before that, I will leave you with some pictures taken that had been posted on my Instagram while we were there.

On board Norwegian Air

Magnificient Alhambra, Granada

Nasrid Palaces in Alhambra

When in Spain, eat like a Spaniard

Mezquita-Catedral, Cordoba

Quaint hostel in Cordoba that we loved to bits

Chocoloate con Churros

Checking out at another quaint hostel in Sevilla

Taken right after taking off from Malaga leaving behind wonderful memories

Toodles for now. I have 2 buckets load of laundry to do!