things i'm grateful for: road trip! (italia!)

passing by some amazing landscape on the way to italy

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (starnberg-austria-switzerland)

finally, it was the day to start our road trip from munich all the way to tuscany in italy!

but first, we met up with good couples friends c and j, m and i, in starnberg, an upmarket town near munich.

we went to this lovely restaurant for a breakfast buffet.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (bavaria)

i can vaguely remember our few days in munich as i think i just slept most of the time! haha.it was drizzling and the skies were dark.sometimes when the sun would peep out, we would head out to the playground near oma and opa's house.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (wuerzburg)

we took a train to munich, but not without stopping at wuerzburg, a baroque old town.we saw an interesting wedding shop with a "bride" casually for waiting her groom, probably.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (frankfurt)

zeil is a main shopping street in frankfurt, complete with designer and high-street shops.

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (frankfurt)

experience.

mr t and i are both suckers for travel experiences.we may not have the latest gadget or the most luxurious fashion item, but we have countless experiences that are simply priceless.

i cannot speak on behalf of my husband, but i am sure he has thousands of stories to tell.as for me, i thrive in experiencing little things.

power of two

i've totally forgotten about this song, until now.

memories! haha.

weekend roundup

it was a weekend just for us! friday was beach day as we took baby out to the sea.and oh, how she loved it!

we were quite surprised as it was not hot as we thought it would be.we went out at around half past seven in the morning, and went back home two hours after.we would not have gone home yet, except that baby swallowed some sea water and we did not have her water bottle with us!

fujairah lovin'

so this time around, mr t and i decided to spend our special day in fujairah.

fujairah is one of the seven emirates of the uae.it is about a two-hour drive from dubai.it's a popular getaway among residents because of its mountains and beaches.

hey you

yes you, dear readers.all 3 of you.heee...

just a li'l inspiration to get us moving.


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

hey mr t

this sweet poem which i wish i have written myself is all for you.

Having a coke with you… by Frank O’Hara

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary

it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still
as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them
I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time

and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank

or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully
as the horse
it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

**

so thankful that you understand my definition of love - crazy, irrational, yet beautiful

because isn't love supposed to be like that?

**

here's to more wonderful, blessed years together! xoxo

ramadan kareem

have a blessed ramadan.

summer!

*warning: video heavy.don't say i didn't warn you!

yes, the temperature is somewhere in the 40s. thank god for air conditioning.thank god for summer.contradictory much? heh. that's pretty much our life here.

and thank god for happy summer songs

exactly

so sad with what's happening in the world...

baby update

baby was a handful during our trip, but we would not have it any other way!our li'l family bonded to the max, and baby just developed socially.it was amazing.

now, she can name parts of the body like head, nose, eyes, mouth, teeth, ears, chin, hands, feet.one of her favorite songs is, you get it, "head, shoulders, knees and toes."

things i'm grateful for: tuscany

tuscany is *love*

if tokyo assaults your senses in a wonderful way, tuscany lulls you in the most relaxing way.

its gentle rolling hills, golden fields, endless rows of vineyards, magnificent cypress trees, stunning churches and picturesque villas are enough reasons to just stop, and let your surroundings take your breath away.

look who's back!

let me get back to reality.

meanwhile, here are some of my favorite photos from this remarkable trip:

st moritz, switzerland

munich, germany

tuscany, italy

disclaimer: we have not (yet) won the lottery, we just work our a**es off.and i'm also shouting my gratitude to the entire universe for this wonderful opportunity.that is all.

and what's worse than forgetting your camera on a trip to tuscany? well, it's actually taking the camera with you, without the charger! WTF. anyhow, our video camera saved us as we were able to take decent (but grainy) shots.could this be another reason to return to possibly the loveliest place on earth?

seriously, i left a piece of me in tuscany.

this is the place i can stay in forever.

off we go

our li'l family is off to get some bavarian/swiss/tuscan sun.so excited to see how baby will react to these new surroundings now that she's more aware and she's physically stronger.

see you in three weeks' time.

**

meanwhile, i leave you with this. would you rather be an octopus or a mermaid? hee.

whoops...

there's an iceberg in the sea!

things i'm grateful for: road trip! (denmark)

our next stop on the next day was a romantic summer residence park called liselund.it was buit in the 18th century by a french nobleman for his wife.

there were houses like this manor