One of the most memorable experience during our journey was our fortunate and impeccable timing visit to Switzerland and Austria - right smack during the football frenzy, the Euro 08.

Okok, I know it is perhaps long overdue to be rambling about the Euro 08 when we are stepping into year 2010 but let's just imagine we just took a time machine back to good old year 2008 ok?

The twin mascots of Euro 2008

For a football fan, you will know that an unforgettable time is in store for you when you see an otherwise calm and peaceful city being transformed into a town decorated with everything football and houses hordes of fans in their national colours.

Watching live football in front of the Rathaus

Seriously, you can't help but feel the amazing football atmosphere in every corner. Football and everything Euro were incorporated into every single object you see, from our favourite McD packaging, decorations on table to the street lamps.

Our staple meal. Yum

Football deco on the table

Countdown to the opening ceremony

There is even a freaking football at the top of the Jet d'Eau, the iconic Geneva fountain!

The Jet d'Eau

Flower Clock decorated according to the match between Swiss and Turkey

Everything just seems so happening.

Fanzones were erected throughout the host cities to allow the not-so-well-to-do-football-fans-who-can't-afford-a-match-ticket a place to gather, mingle, cheer and watch your favourite team battle it out on a huge ass screen.

Hello there, Lahm!

Screen in the middle of the lake

Concerts, parties and events were all held in full force to cash in on the most happening sporting event in Europe every 4 years. 

Even though we have no idea who those singers belting out in alien languages are on the stage, we still managed to soak in every bit of the atmosphere available and enjoyed ourselves tremendously along with the concertgoers and fans.

Speaking of fans, football fans have got to be the most passionate people. The would sing, cheer and scream in unison to protect the pride of their national colours.

The singing Dutch fans!

Huge flag waving Turkish fans

Even to the extent of a football riot as I'd written here before. Which was a little too much for my liking. Especially when a missile missed my head by just a couple of inches.

The Croats football riot

If only Malaysian football fans have the same level of passion (without the riot and chair burning of course), we might actually be better. Well, at least we won in the SEA games this time around.

Face painting sponsored by McD's

Chummy with Ronald himself!

Oh, and I absolutely loved those roadshows that provide us free face painting. With a Swiss national flag on my face while watching the Swiss national team on the screen, I'd never had a welcome as warm as this from the fans. Absolutely brilliant.

Amazing Swiss fans

Was so reluctant to wash off the face painting after that.

Well, it's time to step off my time machine and just reminisce the marvellous experience that was the Euro 2008. Looking forward to the World Cup in South Africa this time. Unfortunately, absolutely zero chance of me being there.

So fingers crossed I would strike a lottery and be on my way to Rio for the 2014 World Cup. That would just be sweet.

This is an enormous chair.

In fact, this is an enormous, broken chair smacked right in the middle of Place des Nations, Geneva. In front of the European United Nations.

Standing tall with only three legs, this eloquent sculpture symbolises the fight against land mines and cluster bombs, understandably with its missing leg. Where better to position the broken chair than in full view of the world's delegates entering the UN building.

It is a wonder how a structure so huge can stand straight with only three legs without tipping over.

Let's hope it doesn't. If it does and crushes somebody's leg, that will be ironic.

La Pedrera at night

Judging by the demure outlook of the La Pedrera at first sight, I wouldn't have known that this is another masterpiece by the famous Catalan architect - Gaudi himself. Let alone paying 10 euroes to visit it.

Casa Batllo and the welcoming lights

In fact, I was attracted to another Gaudi work nearby with its remarkable facade and bonelike balconies - the Casa Batllo and almost decided to pay 16 euroes for a tour...

Bonelike balcony

...till our trusty guidebook saved us. You see, due to limited funds, we had decided to only visit one of La Pedrera or Casa Batllo, if we had chosen Batllo, we would never see what La Pedrera had to offer.

And luckily we chose the demure looking one. As they say, never judge a book by its cover.

Exhibitions of Gaudi's works

La Pedrera, once an apartment designed by Gaudi now houses a museum dedicated to Gaudi's many works and exhibitions. You would be able to see how he designed the various known buildings and his artwork ranging from chairs, tiles to even the doorknobs.

A mirror reflecting a hanging chandelier. Used to project the building's architecture

At an entrance fee of approximately 10 euroes (I believe mine was cheaper thanks to my almighty student card), you would be given an audio guide which explains in detail everything through your journey in La Pedrera along with the how the apartment rooms once looked like.

Notice the unique doorknobs

The corridor. No sharp edges around like most Gaudi's work.

Hungry anyone?

The bedroom.

The owner's office

However, the charms of La Pedrera does not lie within the museum or the apartments. What's interesting is on the roof!

The chimneys on the rooftop

No doubt this is one of the most photographed rooftop in the whole wide world (as I'd read somewhere). Cause I can't stop myself from snapping away at the distinctive view.

Not-so-overall view of the rooftop

Spiral

The rooftop just oozes uniqueness and eccentricity as I trust that nobody would like their chimneys looking like those nostalgic Ultramen or Easter island statues.

Tell me does this not look like Ultramen or Easter statues?

I looked pretty amazed

The view from the top of the building over a dense but organised looking Barcelona city enhances the amazing feeling I had on the rooftop at a UNESCO heritage site.

Archway

Never would I have known that such a demure outlook has an amazing rooftop.

A lonely chimney

La Pedrera is definitely one of my recommended place to visit if you are ever in Barcelona - just for the rooftop itself. Furthermore, its cheaper than a tour to Casa Batllo which according to hearsay, doesn't have that much to offer in the building compared to the bonelike facade.

Nevertheless, I would totally pay Casa Batllo a visit if I'm ever gonna be in Barcelona. Good to see what I have been missing eh?

20 plus years of city life, I have never seen such bright pastel colours since pre-school.

Human subject unintended

Stepping foot on those Greek islands, I can't help but feel that I was transported into a fantasy land that only exists in childrens books.

Window of a shop in Paros

This way to fantasy land

Bright white houses painted with eye catching pastel blue. Grey well painted pebbly walkways. Brown. Yellow. Red. It seems like all buildings are painted within the lines, just like how a child would with a pack of crayons.

View as a resident of Mykonos

No rust. Nothing fades. No boring looks.

If you remember Mamma Mia, that is how most Greek islands looked like.

KW looking at a lonely cat. Cats are all over the islands

The quaint and charming looks of the islands' architecture warrants a visit whenever you are in Greece. If the beautiful beach and amazing party life ain't enough to tempt you already.

It is a shame really that we didn't had the chance to visit Santorini, the most popular tourist island in the Aegean Sea. But 2 of out 3 most popular and prettiest Greek island ain't too shabby after all.

Non functioning windmill I suppose

With such gay colours every nook and corner, I suppose I finally solve the mystery of the gay crowd abundance at those islands. Hmm...

One thing great about dining in most 'standard' places in Europe is that you know what you are paying for. No service tax, no government tax and the hassle of recalculating your budget - everything is inclusive.

Unless the service is top notch, it is not compulsary to tip either especially for frugal students like us.

So, there were we sitting in the wonderful Cafe Vian in Budapest sipping the local goulash and savouring the Hungarian styled duck meat with paprika counting our lucky stars that food in Budapest ain't as pricey as other parts of Europes.

Local speciaty - Goulash

The waiters were nice too and spoke decent English!

After a hearty meal, we asked for the bill. The waiter brought us the bill with such a presentable smile. Hmm, pretty reasonable price considering the nice food and cafe we were in so we counted our Forints (Hungarian currency) and paid the nice man.

Pretty tasty duck meat and potatoes. Can't remember the name though

The waiter thanked us and returned back to the restaurant while we continued sipping our sky juice (which happened to be free!). Then, the waiter reappeared with the menu and a not-so-presentable smile. Must be a demanding customer next table ruining the waiter's day we thought.

Shockingly, the waiter returned to our table. To refill our free sky juice perhaps? He looked, mumbled something and smiled at us. We looked back at him puzzled. He flipped open the menu and pointed at a not-so-fine print in the bottom corner of the menu.

Something along the lines of:

"Compulsary to tip at least 10% of the total bill price." Wow, didn't know we were in the States! Needless to say we paid only the exact amount previously.

Sheepishly, we digged our pockets for some extra Forint coins (exactly 10 percent of course, lol), apologized and went off like the wind.

Piece of advice - Always read the fine and not-so-fine prints on the menu before making a fool out of yourselves. Damn those kiamsiap asians, the waiter must have mumbled.

Any volunteers to give my tangled yarn ball of a blog layout a vamp up?

The owner is just plain clueless on this alien language called HTML codes.

Meal on me!

This is Neuschwanstein Castle.

I dare you to spell that with your eyes close.

Located on top of a hill in Bavaria, this is one famous landmark that tourists would flock to when they are in Germany.

Part of the tourist waiting queue

'Famous?' you asked? Well, if you haven't heard the name, I bet you have seen it before.

Yes, that Sleeping Beauty castle logo you see on anything Disney? Totally inspired by Neuschwanstein.

The Neuschwanstein Castle can be an enchanting view with its majestic facade and the breathtaking surroundings..

Photo obviously not taken by me

...Only if you are viewing it from the Marienbrucke (A not-for-acrophobics bridge across the castle) or the only son of Krypton.

The suspended bridge is Marienbrucke alright. Vertigo much?

Up close and personal, not so much.

Pardon the annoying figure over there

To get to the castle, you will have to hike a distance littered with horse shits if you are a pauper like us, or pay approximately 15 euroes to sit a smelly horse carriage that moves above 0.2 m/s faster than foot. Your choice.

Although the surrounding atmosphere was amazing when you reach the top, the crowd of tourists can be quite a nuisance. After a few compulsary camwhoring sessions, we purchased our tickets and waited for our turn for a guided tour in the Neuschwanstein itself.

The scenic surroundings.

To add to the air of fantasy, our tour guide was a meek, scrawny, wooden, soft spoken guy alike those castle servants or butlers straight from a fantasy book. We were led through the rooms and chambers once accomodated by a certain Ludwig II.

Replica of the castle

Disappointed to say that the tour was pretty short and no photos were allowed in the premises. What a bummer.

Only photo from within the castle

Fortunately, none of us were acrophobic so off we hiked to the Marienbrucke which promises a great side view of the castle itself while enjoying the cool air, tranquility, strong winds and shaky railings. Such bliss!

On the shaky wooden planks of Marienburcke. Woot

Beauty ain't it?

To end this post, I should attempt spelling the name with my eyes closed. neusawstein...nsrudvhsesndyrin.......neauschwanstein.... me give up.

My friend took me down memory lane by tagging me in a facebook note reminiscing the good times we had during our year in Nottingham UK. After leaving university for a while now, those memories are indeed sweet and precious.

Nothing feels better than a little nostalgia.

So, to rehash what I'd written in facebook, these are some things that I miss in Nottingham, just for old times sake. (If case some photos looked familiar, that is because I had used them before.)

The greenary and amazing view and environment we find ourselves in, every single day.

Our very first jakun taste of snow. Ran straight out from class to savour the moment.

Our first cooking session in our life that I promise did not kill anyone alive.

George Green library. Don't want to be there, but you will fail if you do not step foot in it.

Fresher Fayres! Free goodies given out here might come in handy. Free Dominos pizza, who can say no to that. Five slices please.

Just plain chilling out with friends out in the open under amazing weather where nobody give a damn what we are up to.

Chicken Joes in Portland Building. We love our chicken legs!

..and chicken pita too. Miss the meal card as well. No hearty lunch everyday without it!

Sherwood Hall is wonderful! Best hall ever.

Place I call home. (Pardon the overflowed trash can, I'm a huge eater)

With some of the best people I'd the privilege to meet.

Not forgetting the personal fridge I can't live without.

To the breakfast I would sacrifice sleep for.

Derby Hall. Place where I improved my pots and pans washing skill working under the nicest chef Richard.

The green serene path to class every single day. Walking has never feel so good. Unless you have to run back to your room cause you forgot your assignment and its near deadline. (Happened once!)

The Chemical Engineering buildings and labs.

Fun times trying not to blow anything up in the labs.

Assignments, courseworks, projects, presentations. What would university life be without these essentials.

Got to say I even miss the times we burn the midnight oils for projects or exams.

Am I the only one who misses university life?

Seeing that I was absent for long, I was about to go on a long Mediterranean food journey through Greece describing all the exotic and awesome food that I'd tried...

The land of Alpha, Beta, Gamma

...before I realised, I can't actually remember much about Greek food.

Not that there is nothing special to eat in Greece, its just that we didn't have much opportunity to savour them - with the paid for hearty cruise meals that we were entitled to.

My daily cruiseship Greek appetizer - Pita bread with tzatziki and other delicious sauces. Can't resist.

But there were two Greek cuisine that was etched on my mind though - apart from the rather delicious cheap McD chicken burger there of course.

First of all, you can't go wrong with souvlaki. (or gyros? I am still confused at the difference)

Pardon my unappealing photo, can't wait to munch it.

Pretty similar with kebab, this grilled and succulent piece of meat (and some greens too..pfft) wrapped in pita bread is one of the most inexpensive and tasty fast food found in Greece.

Preparing those mouth watering souvlaki and gyros

I believed I gorged on a couple of these fantastic meat during my days in Athens. The hot juices and sauce that splurt out of those pita, orgasmic I assure you, if done well.

The next on the list would be this thing here:

Ok, I don't know about you but when I ordered grilled octopus, I was expecting to see at least parts of an octupus body, like those seasoned Japanese octopus in medium size you know. Hell'a', not just ONE freaking tentacle! To think I have to share this dish as well.

It was pretty pricey as well. Possibly the most expensive body part I'd eaten ever. Quite yummy though.

Oh, I remembered another Greek dish I'd tried. Something that looked like the lovechild of pasta and lasagna called the Pastitsio.

As the description suggest, it tasted just like lasagna mashed with loads of pasta stuffed into its gut. Quite a filling dish nonetheless.

Despite the fact that my taste bud did not go wild during my time in Greece, rest assured, my eyes did. Greece is a pretty pretty place.

But of course, I will leave it till next time. Procrastination rocks.

At the rate my procrastination is going, my blog is gonna die a slow and painful death.

So much material, so little time. Perservere!