Roland Garros

The highlight and grand finale of the trip is Roland Garros. The tickets that we got are for the Philip Chartrier Court for Monday and Tuesday of Week 2. (i.e. 2nd day of Round of 16 and 1st day of Quarter-finals).

Monday featured Djokovic vs Verdasco, Hewitt vs Nadal, Clement/Llordra vs ??/??. [ok, as with most tennis fans, i don't really care about doubles.] Tueday featured Ivanovic vs Kutsnetsova, Henin vs Serena Williams, and Federer vs Robredo. Can't complain about the line-up as every match featured a player of interest. Only regret is not seeing Sharapova in action with her trademark shrieks. =(

The most memorable match has to be Henin vs Williams. For me, it was a David vs Goliath story, with pint-sized, lion-hearted Henin against Williams with the Nadal-sized arms. Like most of the crowd, i was rooting whole-heartedly for Henin and having fun do it, booing at Williams when she disputed line-calls and even clapping at her errors when the points got tight. =P

For 1.5 sets, i really tot that Williams is going to turn-ard anytime, reduce her errors a bit and blast Henin away. It was disappointing when Williams collapsed in the last half-set and just gave the match to Henin, contrary to a tight 3-setter i was hoping for.

Another highlight for me was getting up close to the players, watching them warm up in the practice courts. We had the privilege of catching Jankovic, Vaidisova and Chedvakadtze in action. Jankovic was immediately recognisable form far with her distinct Pan-asian exotic features. For Vaidisova, even up close, it took us some time to recognise that it was her probably because her features are not distinct from a typical blond lady. Jankovic had displayed more positive body language through-out the practice and, SK and I went on to predict correctly that she would prevail in her match against Vaidisova. Too bad that there are no booths at Roland Garros where we could place such bets. =P

2 surprises as i roamed around the grounds during break-time:

Mary Pierce interviewed along major alley. Not as big in person as i thought she is.

Dojokovic interviewed by ESPN at the staircase.

Other roam-around pictures.

Other match photos.

Swiss Stop-Overs - Interlaken & Lausanne

The accoms at Hotel Stechelberg is at the base of the steep trail that we were to embark to Gimmewald. The room and bed are a tad small but the view is quite stunning. The room window is like an gateway to a lostland, allowing one to step right into the mountain-embraced fields, shadowed by low-hanging clouds. In the early morning, the view gets more interesting as the misty clouds rise slowly from almost ground level and drift with the softwinds sweeping across the field. Another commendation goes to Hotel Stechelberg for the warm-hearted "Ah Ma" serving the breakfast, fussing over her guests like her children/grandchildren.

The full day at the Interlaken area was unfortunately marred by rainy weather. The supposed impressive view along our steep trek to Gimmewald was obscured by the all the mist and clouds. The gondola ride from Gimmewald back down though made up a bit with the excitement of the steep descent and the decent view that it offered over the valley.

It was the day in which we had the best workout as we followed up our steep trek with an hour's session of tennis and another 6km trek up from Lauterbrunnen to our accoms at Stechelberg. The tennis experience was a refreshing one, with the enjoyment of cool weather and Alpine scenery.

The weather turned out bright and sunny the next day.View of Inter-laken Lakes on the way to LausanneUnfortunately, we had to go already to Lausanne for a visit to Musee de l'Art Brut, featuring artworks of the mentally- disabled/unstable.

The artworks are not exactly haute art but it was more of a voyeuristic experience, as one relates the artworks to the accompanying life-stories of the artists.

Santa Margherita & Portofino - Warm Italian Aunties, A Fiesty one & the Mediterranean & a

Could still remember the excitement as the Mediterranean coastline came into view of the train window. The captivating sights of rocky cliffs against the mesmirizing blue of the sea affirmed that our decision to re-route away from Rome was a correct one. During this while, one of the Italian aunties that we have been "talk"ing to, beamingly directed our attention from sight to sight, like an experienced tour guide.


The word "talk" was used as we both spoke little of each other's language. However, that did not dissuade both of the Italian aunties from interacting with us, sometimes via entertaining rounds of charades. When we reached our stop at Santa Margherita, the auntie that has yet to alight stood up, shook our hands and wished us "Bon Voyage", and even waved us goodbye fondly as the train pulled away! Talk about warm-hearted!


After plonking our bags in the hotel, we headed towards the beach to take advantage of the warm sunshine that we had missed for a few days. Lying on the stony beach took a while to get used to. But thereafter, having the sunshine warming the body on a cool 20 degree day, the feeling was simply "shiok"!

The next morning, we headed to Portofino, sort of a Monaco-like area, where the Richies park luxury yatches, chill out at costal homes and shop at Prada, LV. Along the way there, have heard SK mention that Portofino's beautiful harbour have propelled it the pages of many magazines and photo-books.

Well, it is really a pretty sight but not too impressed about it. What i enjoyed more was the good conversation that i had with SK on the way.

In the afternoon, we proceeded to Rommagiore to see the famous Cinque Terre, which are supposed to be impressive sights of 5 fishing villages against a rocky coastline. Unfortunately, it was rained out and we had to head back.

On the return trip, i was quite disappointed. Then came along , a skinny conductor auntie who demanded to see our tickets. To our surprise, we are actually to have the tix validated at some machines. We tried to explain that it was an honest mistake as the tix and signs are all in Italian, and the ticket sellers did not tell us anything. But the "garang" lady refused to listen, and insisted repeatedly "25 Euros a ticket! You pay! You Pay!!!" Feeling pissed about spending 10 euros per person on the return tickets, seeing nothing and now having to pay another 25 Euros, we dug our heels and stuck to our ground.

She then threatened " No pay. Police come and **Clack**!!" gesturing the handcuffing action, to which SK replied., "Good!! Police come and we explain." Fired on, she whipped out her phone and proceeded to dial, and stormed off.

Following that, feelings of excitement and anxiety circulated in me as thoughts of being stuck in an overcrowded and smelly cell, and the novelty of a once-in-a-lifetime experience alternated the spaces of my mind. Stop after stop, i was half-expecting the sight of awaiting policemen at the stations.

Finally, when we reached our station of Santa Margherita, we found no sight of any policemen nor even the conductor. That suited us more than fine, and we walked off, wondering if she really believed us or if she thought that it was really not worth the trouble.

Florence Highlights

Just when i thought that Venice was the last i would see the last of tourist swarms, i was wrong! Florence has it fair share, the manifestation in queues outside Florence's most popular museums, the Uffizi and Accademia. The former houses a great collection of all the Renaissance artwork, while the latter has Firenze's world famous attraction - David. Typical queue time for the former is 3-4 hrs while the latter is about 1-2 hrs. The advance tickets which cost a premium of 3 Euros is a wait of 2 days for the former and 1 day for David.


One small section of the queue outside Accademia.

With limited time and not wanting to suffer from Museum-backaches, we decided on David. In fact, a good replica of David could be found in open space at Loggia della Signoria, next to Uffizi. And besides the free admission, open space also means photo opportunities with David! There are also replicas of many other great but less famous statues in the area.

Notice where the lady is focussing her camera on!


Palazzo Vecchio
Da Vinci Sculpture (outside Uffizi)

Ponte Vecchio



However, with the restoration of the original David in 2004 and the ideal setting that Accademia has positioned it, the Accademia was still very worth a visit. David is positioned at the centre of a room with a dome roof the end of a 15m long corridor, perched on top of a tall pedastel. Such was the visual impact, that it pulled me immediately, ignoring all other exhibits along the corridor. Being close to the statue in the conducive settings made me appreciate at how magnificent it is in its life-like realism.






Another satisfying meal of the trip would be at Mario's, close to Accademia. Mario is a small and cosy family-run outfit, serving Italian food with home-made wholesomeness. It has received numerous mentions on both local and international travel and food guides, and is well visited by locals and tourists alike. What i had was ravioli and beans soup. Though not exqusite in terms of taste dimensions, it more than makes up with its sincerity in the generous use of fresh ingredients. In fact, so generous was the use of beans in the soup, that i had a fartingly good time thereafter.






The other major attraction of Florence would be the Duomo, which is interesting in the seemingly Islamic influences on the design.


The interior though is nothing to shout about, with the exception of the well-ornated ceiling, as its deco is like most Europenan churches.
Gate of Paradise at Battistero, next to the Duomo.

Mini vehicles are a common sight in Florence, with centre crossed by narrow streets. Besides mini-cars, mini-buses and mini-lorries also dot the city.



Gelato outlet recommended by LP.
Really enjoyed my flavours of chocolate, rum and coffe. Have seen a gal got 6 different flavours packed in her cup!