July's itinerary (lets pray that all goes well):
9-12July: Paris. I'm the brave soul going there alone. So if anyone has nice friends there who will go out with me, let me know!
12-19July: Marseille & Cassis with Zab. South beaches of France...here I come!
25July: Return to Singapore. Ok...I am going back...stop bugging me.

Day trips: Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Maastricht

Shucks. It starts today with Michel leaving first and before we know it, we'd all have parted.

De Efteling

De Efteling is the largest and most popular theme park in the Netherlands. Surrounded by trees, large ponds and gardens, it lives up to its fairy tale theme. Moving on!

Rollercoaster!!! ARHHH....(I'm excellent at screaming. Believe me.)

The housemates...

I have not really introduced this group of extremely fun people. I'm going to miss them so much!!! From top L: Mash, Adolfo, Marcel, Zab, Ewa, Dorit, Chiara, Me, Michel, Valeria

By a stroke of good fortune, Ewa and I managed to catch a snazzy ride to de Efteling in Marcel's vintage car. It is super cool! Orange striped seats, out-of-the-world locks, low roof (which can be opened but the weather today was cold and rainy...aww) By the way, Marcel is Dorit's boyfriend and literally, "the boy next door". And of course, the rest gave us the dirty look. :)

I'm back in the Netherlands after a 4 days $1500 13hour flight to Singapore for the semi-finals. It didn't turn out well and I returned feeling like a joke. It's not so much that my presentation wasn't as great as I thought it was, but the real, tangible cost of learning that I'm not prepared enough for the contest, and that as I went in for the interview and as I sat for the drawing test, I was already disappointed in myself. Ok, back to the academic stuff.

I am a semi-finalist for the Spore Fashion Design Contest! WoooHOOOooooo!!! Unfortunately, I don't think I will get to move up to the finals because they're having a practical assessment next week and they require you to be there in person to present your design submission. I would like to be there but it's just not possible and I don't want to fly back just for those 2 days. They can't do it via alternative ways like a video conference either. Well...nonetheless! Excellent news! I am thoroughly satisfied and proud of myself. :)

Cornflakegirl

Tori Amos was beyond awesome! I was completely drawn in to her performance. WOOHOO!

I'm so glad my cousin is here! Had a great time re-visiting and exploring Amsterdam. Went to the Dam, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk museum, Anne Frank Huis, Jordaan, Prinsengracht, Red Light District...ate more Dutch food than I could ever imagine...I've certainly grown in size ie. waist size, thigh size, cheek size...also visited Zaan Schans and Harlem. Right now we're back in Utrecht...have plans for the beach in Den Haag and another live music show featuring Badly Drawn Boy, Rotterdam and enticing weird architecture, Kroller Muller museum again, and probably another village on the outskirts of Utrecht. Gooood lifeeeee....

Start off the trip with food...

A huge serving of tuna salad with egg and fresh vegetables

Traditional Dutch snack - bitterballen (the skin is crispy and the inside is a sort of meat paste)


Poffertjes, or mini pancakes. Dutch pancakes...les plus! You can have the normal size pancakes plain otherwise with generous toppings like cheese and bacon, fruits etc.



We pedalled a boat down the canal and it must have been a damn hilarious sight! 2 girls trying to manoeveur a pedal boat while bigger boats came crashing down our way. Shoo! Shoo! The good things were, of course, the rare experience and the charming view of Amsterdam.




Museumplein


Amsterdam by night. This is the Red Light District, and apparently it is 50euros for 20 minutes of carnal pleasure. Haha.

Windmills in a small village called Zaan Schans - Windmills like these might seem out of date, but in fact they serve really useful purposes. For example, in an oil mill, they make use of the wind (and turning wheels and mechanism) to pound nuts and obtain oil.


Haarlem was really beautiful. This is St Bavo's Church which had some interesting designs and carvings inside, and the Christian Muller organ which was played by Mozart and Handel. Oo...