The Colored Bowls

I have a habit of buying home decorations from the cities that I visit, ones that sort of depict the traditional art or landscape or beautiful landmarks of the city.  I love that they always bring up the fond memories of the trips whenever I look at them.  I think it started when my husband bought me a Baroque shoe from Versailles on our first trip to Paris, and it goes on until now.  When we visited six cities in Italy in 2010, I bought one home decoration from each city.  My husband said "It's a good thing that you're a neat freak otherwise this apartment will look like a decorated shipwreck".

In addition to the thin sculpture that he bought me on our last trip to Bali, I also bought these colorful bowls from the Nusa Dua Art Market.  The pattern on the bowls are not exactly traditional Balinese pattern but I just love the color combination and thought that they would be gorgeous for my coffee table.  They are!

I Think Paris Stole My Heart

Date of Travel: March 2008 and October 2009

Unlike our first trip to Paris, the second and third ones actually made me say, "I think Paris stole my heart".  I think it's because we had more time to enjoy the city, food and culture instead of just rushing from one tourist site to another until I almost put myself to shame by falling asleep in metro and let my saliva dripping.

L'Opera Garnier will always be my favorite place and architecture in Paris, but on the second and third trip I discovered some other places I greatly enjoyed.  Place de la Concorde was one of them.  Some people (including my husband) find it weird that I listed the largest square in Paris as one of my favorite places, but hey.. everyone is different, right.  For some unexplainable reasons, I enjoyed sitting there in silence, thinking, and watching the traffic and passerby going through the square.

Eiffel Tower seen from Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde

Not only did I find a place to think in silence, but I also discovered several places that I loved for strolling.  One of them is Pont Alexandre III, a bridge that was a marvel of 19th century engineering, where I also got to admire the beautiful art nouveau lamps that decorate it.  There was a huge pile of horse dung in the middle of the bridge but the beauty of the bridge and the lamps were the memorable sights... really..

Pont Alexandre III

My other favorite place for strolling is the Seine river next to Notre Dame.  Aside from the fact that they are both listed under UNESCO World Heritage, I got to see the finest French Gothic architecture of Notre Dame de Paris while enjoying the calming and romantic walk as well as the revolting aroma from the river.

Seine River with Notre Dame in the background

Finally, Jardin de Tuileries was the place where we relaxed and enjoyed the Pierre Herme macarons while watching the other tourists and fashion crowd winding down (I matched my travel date with Paris Fashion Week on both trips).  I love to observe the outfit worn by the fashion buyers, editors and bloggers and play a guessing game with my husband on the language spoken by the other tourists.  I love Paris during fashion week!  Everyone was either very chic or unique.  It was such a contrast view to Vancouver where 8 out of 10 girls walking in downtown wear yoga pants that show off their G-string or an uber low top that show their decolletage.

My husband enjoying the Cassis macarons from Pierre Herme at Jardin de Tuileries

Relaxing at Jardin de Tuileries

We also spent time trying different restaurants with raving reviews suggested by my foodie friends.  These are our favorites:

• Le Comptoir du Relais in St. Germain.  Tips: Stalking the restaurant close to their opening hours will most probably guarantee you a table.  Also, order their Braised and Roasted Pig's Feet.  It was heavenly!

Le Comptoir du Relais in St. Germain

Braised and Roasted Pig's Feet at Le Comptoir du Relais

• L'As du Falafel in Le Marais.  The place to go if you're out of money but still have few days left in Paris.  If you want to be really cheap, just order the falafel for to go and eat it outside the restaurants (sitting on the curb) just like the locals.  That way, you wouldn't have to tip.

L'As du Falafel in Marais

• Chez L'Ami Jean at 7th arrondisement (delicious Basque cuisine).  The restaurant was full of Americans when we were there, which made me think that maybe this was one of the tourist trap restaurants.  No, this is not a tourist trap.  The chef, Stephane Jégo, is a genius.  The food was amazing!  Also, if you're lucky enough to get a table near the kitchen, you get to watch a live show of Hell's Kitchen.
• Le 404 near Le Marais (Moroccan cuisine).

The third trip actually gave me a strong desire to move to Paris for the obvious reasons: the food, fashion, culture and architecture.  Unfortunately, this is more of a dream at the present time, the language is the biggest barrier while jobs and a mortgage are the other big reasons for us not to move anytime soon.  The language is the biggest barrier, jobs and mortgage are the other big reasons for us not to move anytime soon.  It didn't stop me from hoping though...

Do tell your love for Paris!

Admiring the Temple on the Cliff

Date of Travel: December 2011

My dad used to take my mom, my brother and I to Bali almost every year.  I was 6 years old when we went on our first trip.  That was our first and last trip to Bali where we actually visited different temples and learned a little bit about Balinese culture and history.  The rest of the trips were filled with swimming, relaxing on the beach and enjoying Balinese food.

Ku De Ta Beach

Last December, I went to Bali with my husband's family and our Canadian best friend.  My best friend has never been to Indonesia so I thought that this would be a good chance for me to explore the culture and history of Bali again after 29 years.  Well.. in addition to swimming, relaxing on the beach, enjoying the scenery and the food.

Blue Lagoon Beach, Padang Bay

Lotus Flower

By the 6th day, we only managed to visit one temple because we spent most of our time in the car (we were constantly stuck in traffic).  I forgot that December is the peak tourist season in Bali, which adds more vehicles to the streets.  Bali (and Jakarta and maybe the rest of Indonesia) doesn't have the proper traffic regulation and infrastructure to begin with.  I was a little bit disappointed but at least the temple trip was a memorable one.

The temple that we visited was the Uluwatu Temple, also called Pura Uluwatu.  Built in 11th AD, it is one of the oldest temples in Bali and is dedicated to the spirits of the sea.

The Silhouette of Uluwatu Temple

Looking at a temple is one thing but admiring a temple perched on a steep cliff above the roaring Indian waves was a remarkable experience.

To top it off, the temple was inhabited by lots and lots of monkeys, which my young nieces found annoying.  One of them actually cried because the monkey tried to snatch her sandals twice.  I found the monkeys adorable and cute.. maybe because they didn't try to steal my bag or sandals.

Here, we also watched the Kecak Dance, also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, that depicts a battle from the Ramayana epic.  The dance was performed primarily by men who percussively chant the word "cak" and with a backdrop of the sun setting behind the Indian ocean.

The Beginning of the Kecak Dance

The Kecak Dance

Hanuman, The Monkey King in the Kecak Dance

The trip to the Uluwatu temple was the highlight of our vacation in Bali.  We got to see an ancient temple with a beautiful scenery, the live show of the animal planet (the monkeys) and the amazing Kecak Dance.  If you ever visited Bali, Uluwatu temple is a must-visit tourist site.

Happy New Year!

Date of Travel: December 2011

I spent 6 relaxing days in Bali with my husband, our best friend and my husband's family.  It was a perfect way to end the hectic year of 2011 and welcome 2012 with new hopes and goals.  At the end of the trip, my husband surprised me again with how well he really knows me.  He got me a very thin wooden sculpture (on the right), which now sits together with my other thin sculpture that I bought in Chicago years ago.

Happy New Year everyone!!  I wish you all a year of peace, happiness and joy!

Season's Greetings from Jakarta

Date of Travel: December 2011

May the warmth of hearth and home fill your hearts with joy this holiday season!