Verona through pictures

Sorry for the break from blogging about my last trip. I've just submitted my essay today, which is a big relieve. No more exams and essays next year!!! I will have to warn you that there's going to be another break as I'm flying off to Oslo tomorrow.

Continuing from where I left off after Venice, our next stop was Verona.

The best cichetti was actually a take-away from a supermarket in Venice. All that squid, mussels, and prawns. Accompanying that was Riso Alla Valenciana. Which tasted nice too. The apricot juice didn't spoil the taste much.

Our Amazing Race continued. We thought that we've reached Verona train station as we got down as soon as we saw Verona on the sign board. How wrong we were. It was a stop too early in the outskirts. Luckily, trains were every 20 minutes, so, we just had to take the next one.

Stranded people killing time by promoting fruit juices.

Finally, our train to Verona main station.

We were unlucky that the tourist information office was closed by the time we got there. So, we had to navigate based on our instinct and also with the rough guide from the guide books. We did get lost before we found the main attractions. Firstly, there was this amazing Amphitheater which was still fully functional but sadly, due to a play that was on that night, we couldn't go in. We could see some of the props in the form of sphinxes outside.

Guess what Verona is famous for? Romeo and Juliet.

We visited Juliet's house where the famous balcony scene took place. There is a statue of Juliet and legend says that if you touch her right breast, you'll find true love. I don't know where did this come from, but I decided not to molest her unlike 2 other people. Hehehe. The place was really crowded with tourists.

I think he might have guaranteed himself true love.

There was this street, not only full of shops, but overcrowded with people that we could barely walk. Sales were everywhere and we were so tempted by them that it took us every ounce of discipline to walk down that street towards Juliet's house. After visiting her house, we had gelato while watching the hustles and bustles.

The beautiful river running through Verona.

I really like the views of rivers in Italy. The scenes are just so romantic.

Not to mention that apparently this was a love bridge. The bigger the lock, the stronger the love?

Last view of Verona before we made our way back to the train station, continuing our journay to Florence.

That was when, the most challenging part of the Amazing Race started......testing not only ability to compose oneself under stress, quick thinking, the survival of the fittest. Stay tune.

P.s. sorry for leaving it hanging like this. I'll be off to Oslo for 4 days tomorrow. Have a great summer and will update soon.

Eddie Rockets, finally....

I guess you all must be wondering what is this Eddie Rockets thing about. Well, the story began in first year, when M and I used to go down to town after plenaries. We often walked past this cute little American restaurant on Bold Street but never went in. The reason was, due to the strong pound value, everything was multiplied by 7 at that time = very expensive. So, we concluded that this restaurant wasn't for us to step into randomly, but should be reserved for a special occasion.

We promised each other that when we passed our first year exams, we would have our celebration there.

First year results came out.......second year exams approaching. Again, the same promise was applied to the second year results.

Passed second year.........third year exams approached.

The same promise was renewed each year, and without realising it, the both of us passed our 4th year and we have yet to step into Eddie Rockets.

So, the day that we've been waiting for has finally arrived! But first, we met up with K at Nandos for lunch. She graduated last year and has been working in Manchester but came down especially for us. Awwwww....

I didn't remember K being that talkative before. K, you do talk a lot!

I think my stomach has shrink over the years, I felt so full after lunch and our plan was in jeopardy. Will we miss the opportunity to step into Eddie Rockets like what happened on Friday evening?

After burning off some calories through shopping, finally.....

Recalling all those times I've walked past this small little restaurant admiring the American layout and other dinners having their desserts there. It has been a long time indeed.

My Oreo milkshake. Delicious!

I had the All American New York cheesecake with fresh cream. It was the best cheesecake that I've tasted so far. M had her really tall sundae and K had chocolate fudge with ice-cream. I was delighted with the great desserts and the 60s American atmosphere. All that hard work to pass the exams just for this!

'When are we going to come back?' I asked M.
'When I pass my finals', replied M.
'Make sure that you pass. Meanwhile, I might go with another group of people since I've no exams left. Muahahaha'.

Vivid dreams

When people say make your dreams come true, they are just assuming that every dream is positive, what you wish would happen, what you've always yearned for, etc. But I do not wish for what I dreamt last night to happen in real life.

It all started with me, M and PL carrying our bags and rushing onto a train which was supposed to start moving in less than a minute. We tried looking for a place to sit but it was too crowded. Suddenly M said she forgot to buy our tickets. So, we had to catch the next train.

We made our way to the ticket counter, bought our tickets and was making our way to an empty bench when I spotted the post office. I have this craze for stamps and first day covers so I dragged the both of them with me.

M wanted to buy different values of stamps as she likes the different designs, but somehow the guy at the counter said he's not allowed to sell them like that. So, M was disappointed. Then it was my turn, and I asked if he had first day covers, or stamp collections for sale, and also 2 stamps for posting international postcards. He took out this massive stack of them and I happily started choosing.

When I wanted to pay, he suddenly asked for my passport to confirm my identity. So, I placed it on the counter. While waiting for him to check and take a photocopy of it, M suddenly just reminded me to watch out for my bag which I had left on the ground a few steps away from our group(I never do this in real life). I glanced up to see if he's finished and the next thing when I glanced down to check on my bag, it was gone!

I looked at M in disbelieve and started to panic. We frantically search for the police station and luckily, managed to find a lady officer who could speak English. She said she would follow me to the scene to question any witnesses there. All that time, I was just scolding myself for being so stupid and hoped that my bag would be found. I was thinking of all the money in my pouch (which I normally wear around my waist but I don't know why did I leave it in my bag), how was I going to survive the next 3 days without money, clothes, toiletries, etc, and where did I leave my passport again? Oh no! I haven't collected it from the post office in my panic with the disappearance of my bag.

So, the police officer and the three of us went back to the post office. Luckily my passport were still on the counter. I would have strangled myself if I'd lose that...........

The dream ended here and I woke up. It was so vivid that it took me a while to wonder why was I sleeping on my comfortable bed at home and not in a hotel on a trip, and what had happen to my bag. Phew, luckily it was only a dream. I wouldn't be so careless in real life.

I came to conclude that the more I sleep, the more vivid my dreams are. Maybe it's an indication that I'm sleeping too much these days.

Never thought the problem was that significant

I'm not going to dwell on anymore excuses that I wasn't feeling well this morning, didn't ate enough breakfast, etc. as I've done enough of that.

This morning, after an 8am start, we went to watch a bone marrow aspiration and trephine at the day ward. Initially, I was feeling all right, the bone marrow aspiration didn't scare me or made me feel uneasy. However, when it came to the trephine, the doctor showed me this really big and fat needle which he was going to introduce to the same site as the previous aspiration needle, that was when I started feeling a bit quesy, lips going numb and light headed, then after the initial give going through the tough fascia, I started hearing this grinding sound of the trephine needle against the bone. That didn't last long and he managed to get the sample, but that was when I couldn't take it anymore.

I took 2 steps out of the cubicle, walking towards the nearest chair, but the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to one of the nurses holding up my legs and another calling me. I didn't even realise that I fainted. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any pain anywhere. Most probably somebody caught me before I fell. The worst part was I fainted in front of 6 other patients who were waiting for their turn for the bone marrow aspiration and/ or trephine and they all laughed at me. I think that didn't help for those who are afraid of the procedure.

So, what should I do now? I know that I've always been afraid of pain and needles all my life, but I didn't think that it will affect my medical career this seriously. The last time I felt this way but didn't faint was during the stitching up of a huge wound under local anaesthetic during my electives at the A&E department. That patient was complaining of pain all the way through. How can I harden my heart and become ruthless so that I don't feel this imaginary pain of the patient?

Worse case scenario is, after I completed the Sci59 questionnaire which helps provide a guide to which speciality will suit me most, my top match was haematology! Does that mean I can't run away from bone marrow trephines? Why is medicine so brutal?

Venice Through Pictures

I can't help but comment that this trip was so much like participating in the Amazing Race. Our first detour was at John Lennon Airport where M and I already did the online check-in but we forgot to get our visa check at the counter opposite the check-in desks so we had to leave C at the security check-in while we ran all the way down to sort that out. The second thing was, due to the long going recycle and save the forest campaign, M decided to print the boarding pass double sided and apparently this wasn't acceptable at the security check-in. However, we didn't have any trouble while boarding the plane. Seriously, I thought that I didn't have fate with Venice. C would have to go on her own if the both of us couldn't board the plane.

Finally, we managed to overcome our first obstacle and off we went on the 2.5 hours flight to Venice last Thursday evening.

We reached Venice around 10.30pm. Checked into our hotel and to satisfy C who is a hardcore gambler, we made our way to the casino.

We started getting hungry halfway and sat down at one of the restaurant to have supper. We ordered seafood cicchetti which was in such small portion, and not only was it expensive, we were charged 1 euro each for using the cutlery, which is called coperto. C got the local beer which tasted not too bad, but I'm still not convinced that beer can taste nice.

Finally, we reached the Casino.

Can you believe that they allowed me to go in dressed like that and in slippers? I felt so out of place among all the gentlemen dressed in suits and ladies dressed in evening gowns. C managed to make 10 euro profit. So, that's the cost of her beer and coperto covered.

Next morning, we went to collect our Venice travel card and museum passes.

The main form of transportation is the vaporetto or water bus. As you can see, only in Venice can you get floating bus stations. Of course, if you're rich enough, you can go everywhere using the gondola.

Rialto bridge as seen from our vaporetto.

The Rialto bridge is unique in that it has 2 rows of shops on it and it used to be the economic heart of Venice where retail and wholesale took place.

The original Pinocchio! I feel like a kid again. If I want my nose to be sharper, should I tell more lies?

A picture paints a thousand words.

St Marks Square

We went around St. Marks Square stopping at St. Mark's Basilica first.

From the outside, it looked really impressive. The insides was better, the walls and ceilings were covered with gold plated mosaic patterns. Too bad I couldn't take photo in there. Surprisingly, there were not many pigeons around.

Doge Palace

A long time ago, this stone face was used to prove whether someone was telling the truth. The accused has to put his hand into the mouth and if lies were told, his fingers will be bitten off. I don't know why did I make that horrible looking face and don't tell me that I look similar to that stone face.

The Doge palace was the center of political power in Venice where the courts and parliments were held.

The Bridge of Sigh

Best place to 'haih.......'. The reason behind the name is that this bridge connects the Doge Palace to the prisons. So, people who were convicted had to pass through this bridge while making their way to the cells.

The last glimpse of freedom...

The beds in the prison. I think I'll get backache from sleeping on them.

Prison Break! 2 convicts out of their cells! Wait, trying to get into the cells...hmmm.

I can't believe how commercialised the Bridge of Sigh has become. Its practically drowned in advertisement by Sisley.

Sisley advertisement started from ground up.

My takeaway wrapped sandwich with ham and mushrooms. It was delicious!

Some filming going on at St Marks Square. Don't know who was that but not too bad looking.

'Would you stop sighing?'
'How can I? So many people are watching and I can't make them go away. I bet they don't even know how famous we are.'
'You better make sure you can sigh like that for our next scene on that bridge.'

Famous postcard picture

Put my face in as evidence that I've been there.

No wonder the photographers charge so much for wedding photos in Venice but I think it's worth it.

Gondolas. Too bad I'm a poor student.

C's ancestor might have been a regular at Harry's Bar.

Not only were the sceneries beautiful in Venice, the shopping there was good as well. I really liked the handicrafts there. How I wish I had enough luggage space and money to buy a really nice Venetian mask.

Handmade masks

Shoes made by the shoe fairy.

Music boxes

So elegant

More masks

Next, we made our way to Murano island where the famous Murano glass is produced.

Our 45 minutes boat ride. No picture of the other 2 as they have seasickness.

I really wanted to get one of this glass fish but they were so expensive!

Amazed by the detail of the glass spiderweb.

Some random Murano glass display.

Imagine, a whole set of the orchestra made from glass. I would really love one of those.

Murano glass Christmas tree.

Back to dry land. M and C were quite glad about that. Too bad we didnt' have time to visit Burano island due to the bad weather. It was starting to rain and we could hear the thunder.

Found my unicorn

Dinner

Had spaghetti, a bowl of salad and Tiramisu. Delicious. I came across this bun filed with olives and another with spinach. Too bad I was too full to try them after dinner.

Next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel:

Recharged and really to explore more of Venice.

First things first, sending off my postcards.


Small, just nice......and the Giant.

Scala Contarini - just a spiral staircase in the middle of housings.

Photo with gondolas from head, body to tail.

Hardrock cafe is everywhere.

M practising her pose for Leaning tower of Pisa.

Pigeons, stop here.


We explored the older side of the town that morning.

The absence of gondolas do indicate that this was no longer the posh area.


Nice cafe by the canal.

As you can see, the scenery is totally different. We went to visit the Jewish ghetto which is basically an island surrounded by high walls and wires.

M in the air. Who was the photographer? Me of course.

They used to keep the Jews here and they had curfews where they had to return to this island after certain hours.

My house, I wish.

Santa Maria Basilica

It looked so beautiful from across.

Another shot with the gondola in position.

3 lost people. We wanted to walk toward Santa Maria Church, but ended up walking in the wrong direction for 1.5 hours under the hot sun.

Ended up at Venice's University of Architecture instead. I want to go on a holiday, not to uni again!

Finally, our vaporetto back to our hotel.

On our way back using the vaporetto, we stopped by the 2nd supermarket we've seen in Venice to buy some packed lunch for our train ride to Verona.

The watermelon here was so tiny. Most probably due to the cost of transportation. Everything is more than half its normal size.

Next post will be the trip to Verona, covered in 3 hours.