Stonehenge 巨石阵

一个充满神秘感的圆形石林

一个在考古界依然让人迷惑不解的遗迹

一个让百万人从世界各地慕名而来的景点

一个让我在那儿呆上两个小时的世界遗产

她的威力何在??

她的气势何存??

就等待您来亲身探索,体会了....

巨石阵也叫做圆形石林，坐落于Amesbury。那里的几十块巨石围成一个大圆圈，其中一些石块足有六米之高。据估计，圆形石林已经在这个一马平川的平原上矗立了几千年。

巨石阵的形成和其用途,意义至今仍然是个谜. 有人说她们是由居住在那儿的巨人僵化而成的,也有人说是个恶魔运用魔法让这些石头飘洋过海,堆栈而出的.种种传说道出了人类对她的好奇,对她的期待,欲知....

巨石阵的存在有何意义呢? 与宗教信仰有关吗? 古代墓葬 ?? 抑或与天文扯上关系呢?? 奈何,迄今为止，没有人确切知道当初建造它的目的到底是什么..

如果有一天
人类不懈地探索揭露了真相 ...
那么美丽的传说就不复存在 ...

遐想空间也被剥夺了....

其神秘感也会随之消逝...

是好还是坏呢? 则见仁见智了...

~~ 或许生活中有些事应有所保留比赤裸裸地呈现在眼前,才会显得更完美,不是吗??

http://elal.shutterfly.com : Salisbury & Stonehenge

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Was there in year 2006, still remember that it was a good day with blue sky.... brought along some food, sitting in the green field and enjoying the sun there ... it was so great !!

Had a day trip from Florence by train. Once got out of the train, just followed the sign and crowd, walked past the Arno river and University di Pisa, then the famous tower that just won't stand up straight was appearing in front of me !!

The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the highest side. It is now leaning at about 3.99 degrees which means that the top of the tower is 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical according to the wiki. 3.9 m ?? almost 2.4 of me .... amazing !! Really didn't feel so when i was there .. There are 2 buildings nearby the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the lovely Gothic Baptistery which is best known for the hexagonal pulpit and the Cathedral of Pisa which make it as one of the world's most memorable squares.

Cigar 雪茄

cigar ... a special topic for me to write about as I am not a smoker. Just found few pack of cigars on the table which the packaging caught my eyes. Those cigars were given by my uncle to my aunt who is having her holiday with us now. I took a few photos of them just for fun and searched for some basic informations to share over here...

Cigar ( 雪茄 in mandarin was translated by a poet 徐志摩 ) is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. It undergoes 5 processing steps :

1. Curing 烟草加工
2. Fermentation 发酵
3. Sorting 甑选 ( bale, inspection, unbale, reinspection and bale again repeatedly as it continues its aging cycle )
4. Rolling 捆卷
5. Keeping 保存 ( suggested 21°C & 70% relative humidity in a wooden box )

Cigar is made up of 3 compositions - wrappers 茄衣 , binders 茄套 and fillers 茄心.

Wrappers 茄衣 are the outer layer used to wrap the fillers which determines much of the cigar's character and flavour. The colour of the wrapper is used to describe the cigars.

• Double Claro 青褐色
• Claro 淺褐色
• Natural 自然色
• Colorado Claro 暗红褐色
• Colorado Maduro 深褐色
• Maduro 咖啡般的深褐色
• Oscuro 近黑色

Binders 茄套 are used to hold together the bunches of fillers.

Fillers 茄心 are the main composition of a cigar. The flavor of the cigar depends on the blending of the tobacco leaves. The leaves from the bottom of the plant produce less flavour compared to the middle of the plant, whereas the upper leaves give the strongest flavour as exposed to the most sunlight. The fillers can be grouped into 3 types :

1. Long fillers - uses the whole leaves ( the highest quailty )
2. Medium fillers - uses larger pieces of leaf than short filler without stems
3. Short fillers - uses the chopped leaves, stems and other bits

The best cigar is said from Cuba ...

p/s: Cigar has higher level of cancer causing substances, toxins and more tar than cigarette. It is also a major source of indoor air pollution. So, think twice before you smoke :)

A Souvenir ... A Memory ...

Glass Cabinet
This glass cabinet was bought and special deliveried by my brother from Ikea in KL ....

It is used to fill in the souvenirs that i bought during my travelling and some are gifts as well ...
I have changed the arrangement, which the 1st layer is used to display the little things from Europe trips ...

1. Picture of Colosseum, Rome, Italy.
2. Plaster cast of Venus de' Medici, Greece.
3. Venetian masks, Venice, Italy.
4. Porcelain bell, Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic.
5. Thimbers from UK, France & Spain.

1. Eiffel Tower model, Paris, France.
2. Eiffel Tower keychain, Paris, France.
3. Wooden Paper holder, MSM, France.
4. Ticket to 3rd level of Eiffel Tower
5. Sweets case with William Shakespeare, Stratford Upon Avon, England.

1. Parliament House fridge magnet, Budapest, Hungary.
2. Funicular railway ticket to Royal Palace, Budapest, Hungary.
3. Bear shaped paper holder, Kyoto, Japan.
4. Elisabeth of Austria, Sissi's reuter porcelein, Vienna, Austria.
5. The Last Supper plaster model by Leonardo da Vinci, Rome, Italy.
6. Wooden Paper holder, MSM, France.
7. Ticket of London Eye
8. Pewter pin badge of the Phantom of the Opera, London, England.
9. Pewter violin model, Salisbury, England.
10. Wolfgang A. Mozart porcelain plate, Salzburg, Austria.

1. Various brands of perfumes
2. Glass, Prague , Czech Republic.
3. Hair grip, Bangkok, Thailand.
4. Postcard from Europe countries.
5. Green glass candle holder, Dubai, UAE.
6. Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China.
7. Alabaster clock, Italy.
   

1. A wooden postcard, MSM, France. ( sent: 14th Nov , received: 24th Nov )

2. Wooden paper holder, MSM, France.

3rd level

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Key chains & badges from Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, China , Taiwan , Dubai, England, France, Spain, Italy, Australia .......

1. Koala bear, Sydney, Austria.
2. Colourful sand bottle, Dubai, UAE.
3. Mickey & Minnie hair band & hair pin, Osaka, Japan.
4. Crab shaped paper clip, Namba, Japan.
5. Essence sticks, Bangkok, Thailand.
6. Chopsticks, Bangkok, Thailand.
7. Ticket to Disneyland, Hong Kong.
8. Ticket to Universal Studio Japan,Osaka, Japan.
9. Keychains from various countries.
10. Dinasaur model, USJ, Japan.
11. Paper holders, Namba, Japan.
    
    
    

1. Specimen of sakura flower, Yokohama, Japan.
2. Sake bottle, Osaka, Japan.
3. Paper fold crane, Namba, Japan.
4. Mobile strap, USJ, Japan.
5. Bear shaped fridge magnet, Oxford, England.
6. Camel keychain, Dubai, UAE.
7. Eiffel Tower keychain, Paris, France.
8. Pisa keychain, Pisa, Italy.
9. Venezia keychain, Venice, Italy.
10. Shells in sack, Pulau Redang, Malaysia.
11. Petronas Twin Towers keychain, KL, Malaysia.
12. Petronas Twin Towers bottle opener, KL , Malaysia.
13. Elephant toothpiece, Negombo, Sri lanka.
14. Envelope opener, Shanghai, China.
15. Transformer 2 movie ticket .. why do i keep this ??

Plaster cast of Flamenco dancer, Barcelona, Spain. ( My favourite )

Merry X'mas & Happy Birthday

happy birthday to u ...

happy birthday to u ... happy birthday......... happy birthday .......

HaPpy bIRthdAy to UUuuuuu....

Tomorrow is Christmas Day .. it is also my brother's birthday. So, yesterday and the day before, i was trying to bake a cake, hope that this year i can make one by myself to my dearest brother.

The 1st trial was not really successful but the 2nd trial was good. The cake was basically finer in texture and tastier after some modifications on the ingredients.

Today, i will bake another bigger one with topping .... (the LOOK isn't good but the TASTE is really nice... hehe!! Thick topping as i have whipped too much but it is okay as it doesn't taste sweet )

BROTHER, WE LOVE YOU FOREVER !!

1st Trial

Last Saturday, was having a gathering with friends after the 15th anniversary CL reunion dinner ...
A friend of mine taught me the way to make a baked cheese cake ....
Was thinking to make it on Sunday but due to my laziness ..... hehee .....
Today, i am quite free. So, why not try to bake a cake ?? Then, i started to prepare the ingredients and materials that i bought on Sunday ....
Here we go .....
Ingredients
cream cheese : 250g
sugar : 1/2 mug
melted butter : 150g
egg : 4 pcs

biscuit : 150g
lemon juice : little


Step 1 : Smash the biscuits
melted butter ~~~ smashed biscuits
Step 2 : Mix the smashed biscuits with the melted butter ( heated by microwave for 40 sec )
Step 3 : Place the mixture into a baking plate and put them into freezer till it is shaped
Step 4 : Blend the cream cheese and sugar until it is smooth

Step 5 : Add in egg yolk
Step 6 : Blend the mixture evenly
Step 7 : Whip the egg white
~~~~~whipped egg white~~~~~
Step 8 : Add the whipped egg white into the mixture
Step 9 : Pour the mixture on the freezed biscuit

Step 10: Heat up the oven
Step 11: Bake it at 220 C for 20mins then cover it with the aluminium foil, lower the heat to 150C and bake for another 40 mins
Put the cake into the fridge and it is ready to be served after 30 mins ( should be like this , but i didn't know earlier )
Not a successful work ... but still acceptable lah ... heheh !!

I am thinking to have the 2nd trial with a layer of peanut butter as my nieces like peanut butter very much !!

2010

Year 2010 is just around the corner ....
Time flies ....
I have back from my trip and started to work as well ....
In the new year, will allocate more time for myself lah ...
I should have learnt something new as having 12 hours extra per week ...
The most challenging should be taking up a course as reading makes me sleepy ...
Learning a new language ?? Or I should just concentrate on my violin ??
Should come out a list ... if not i will end up doing nothing !!