The gym debutant

Thought of going to the gym today....but got lazy after skyping with Lil' Sis and Mi Madre :D

So lemme blog about yesterday's gym session instead.

I changed into my gym clothes at home (thought I'd save time by not having to change at the gym later), laced up my sport shoes (which has taken a beating over the years...from hiking to rafting, etc) and walked to the gym to meet the trainer (which turned out to be a she :< ....I was hoping it would be a cute guy coz Mi Amor said there's a cute trainer ). Anyway, she doesn't speak a word of English and I still can't speak/understand a word of French so when she showed me the changing room, she was saying something  to me which i didn't understand but had a feeling it had something to do with my shoes (well she kept pointing at em'). Luckily for me, there was a woman in the changing room who could kinda speak English (she's Brazilian and she can speak French also so she translated for me and told me that I can't wear my shoes to the gym (I was thinking "What? Are u guys THAT snooty that my ugly shoes aren't good enough for the gym?!?"). Turns out what she meant was that I have to change into my sport shoes at the gym itself ( i.e you're not allowed to use shoes that you've used outside at the gym...it's not hygienic). Ok, I admit I don't have much gym experience but from the few times I've been to the gym in Malaysia, no one told me that was part of the gym etiquette.

After apologizing and saying next time I won't wear my shoes straight from home, I was ready for my workout. After writing down my name (I have no idea if she understood that my name is Azareena and not Yahya :P) she asked me something in French and started using her fingers to emphasize, showing me 1 finger, 2 fingers, 3 fingers, 4 fingers, etc (I think she went all the way up to 20)... I thought she was asking me my age so I showed her 2 fingers (which she nodded) followed by 9 (which she gasped). Okayyyyyy....so she wasn't asking my age then :P My next guess was that maybe she was asking me how many times do I exercise or plan to exercise in a week so I held up 3-4 fingers, which was greeted with a Oui!

So she took a clipboard which had a piece of paper with the word programme on it and some tables to fill in (my guess is that was prolly suppose to be like a fitness chart/review or something) and brought me to the machines. She asked me what kind of exercise would I prefer (I said cardio) and which machine would I prefer to use so I chose the eleptical. She switched on the machine, keyed in my weight, set it for 10 minutes at level 4 (so maybe that's what she was asking me, my preferred intensity level ?!?) and left me to it. After 12 minutes (10 mins workout + 2 minutes of cooling down), the programme stopped. I didn't know what to do....was I suppose to just continue coz that was just a demonstration on how to set the machine? or am I suppose to wait for her to come back and get me?WHAT?!? So after waiting idle for about 2 minutes, I decided to turn the machine on again and started a new programme. 10 minutes into the new programme, she came over to check on me and was suprised that I had started a new programme. I sheepishly smiled and stopped the programme and we moved on to another machine. She asked me if I preferred to jog or walk and I said walk (baby steps ok?) so she showed me to a machine that looked like a treadmill but is used specifically for walking. Then she went ahead and set the programme and Voila! Let the walking begin!

I thought that maybe she had set the programme duration like how she set the eliptical, which is for 10 minutes but 10 minutes came and went and I thought ok, maybe not...maybe 20 minutes then. After 20 minutes came and went, I thought hmmm.....30 minutes? (all I can tell you is I saw 30 minutes come and go and I waved to 40 minutes as it passed by). I started to wonder if the trainer was gonna come back for me or whether I was really left to my own devices this time (not to mention when the hell is this programme suppose to end?!?). I didn't want to stop incase she came back for me and thought that I had given up and God forbid, am so unfit that I can't even complete the programme that she had set for me. Then I realized that there's this bar graph thingy on the machine that lights up as time goes by so I thought that perhaps once it lights up all the way, that means the programme has been completed.

Anyhow, after 1 hour and 12 minutes of being on the freaking machine I thought, Ok, this is just ridiculous, screw the programme, she's not coming to check on me is she? and turned the machine off. On the way to the changing room I bumped into the trainer who was busy talking to some other woman and she was all "Tres bien!" while patting my back and saying something else in French which I thought could either mean "I'm not done with you, I'll be with you in a moment" or "OK, that's the end of our session". I took it as the latter so I changed into my clothes, thanked her and waved goodbye.

Oh well, 1 hour and 22 minutes for my gym debut isn't too bad I guess. Hmmm... now to make myself a gym schedule :D

Unlike revenge, lunch is not best served cold

Normally I make sure lunch is ready by 12, latest 12.30 (coz Mi Amor tells me he'll be back by 12 for lunch everyday even though he never is on time). However today, an hour after I had prepared lunch, Mi Amor called to tell me that his morning meeting was still ongoing and that he'd be back late for lunch (that is if he even comes back for lunch!).....BOO!! Now the food will get cold :(  
If he does come back for lunch, I won't be around (am heading off to the gym in a bit.....yes, u read right..GYM...ughhhh) and I highly doubt he will be rajin enough to use the microwave to reheat the food.

Today's lunch menu: Nasi goreng padprik, sayur campur goreng, sotong goreng tepung

So why am I going to the gym? Coz I figured I might as well make it a habit to exercise while I'm here (to balance out my cheese and chocolate intake...I swear I'm beginning to look puffy and its only been 2 weeks!! :P). I asked Mi Amor to sign me up (spouses of Nestle employees can sign up to use the Nestle gym facilities...but only at certain hours) so today I have an appointment with the instructor. Apparently you must go through some introductory thingy with an instructor before you're allowed to use the gym facilities. Mi Amor says it's good coz besides teaching you how to use the machines, they will tell you what you should do/what machine to use/which programme is suitable in order to achieve your fitness goal.


Yeah, only problem is, the instructor that I'm suppose to meet does not speak English....GREAT! :P I foresee him giving up on asking me all these fitness questions and prolly just showing me how to switch the machine on and off. I also foresee that I will look out of place coz I'll prolly be the only one wearing t-shirt and sweat pants (coz I'm a dork like that...haha :P) while every other female is wearing sports bra/tank top and shorts (no wonder Mi Amor has taken up the habit of going to the gym!).


Ok then, gotta get ready....maybe I should look up some french phrases like, "Hi, My name is Azareena. I don't speak French and my goal is to lose weight. If I can tone my arms and ass along the way that would be great. Please help me. Thank you".

I Personally Believe.......

.......that she prolly just freaked out and her mind drew a blank, leading to verbal diarrhoea. What's impressive though is that Mario Lopez managed to keep a fairly straight face :D

Rainy Sunday and Raclette

I thought that yesterday would be a lazy Sunday in (since it was raining plus Mi Amor worked till 7pm the day before) so I cooked lunch and Mi Amor and I decided to spend the day curled up on the sofa watching movies.  However after lunch Mi Amor suddenly remembered that we had some Nestle Malaysia employees gathering thingy to attend (actually it was a post CNY lunch get together hosted by one of the colleagues). Wish he had remembered earlier so I could have saved those 4 pieces of chicken cordon bleu for next time! :P


So we attended the lunch get together and though I was freaking full, I stuffed my face silly since there was Raclette (cheese is my Kryptonite). I've only had Raclette 4 times in my life (and 2 of those times have been here in Vevey). I keep teling Mi Amor that we should get a Raclette set so that we can have Raclette on days when I'm too lazy to cook but Mi Amor isn't really a huge fan of cheese (but you're still gonna take me out for fondue right Mi Amor?). While everyone else was busy enjoying the Yee Sang and Mee Kari, it was raclette all the way for me! (seriously, there is no Malaysian food that I'm missing at the moment....either it's too early for that or I'm just not a big fan of our local food). 


At one point everyone started talking about each other's house warming and Mi Amor mentioned that he would inform everyone of our house warming soon. That totally killed my appetite (Housewarming?!? Easy for him to say, he doesn't even hafta cook! What the heck are we gonna serve people? As it is I've just started learning to cook for 2....now I hafta cook for a whole bunch of people? I don't even know how to make hot drinks!). It doesn't help that Mi Amor's colleagues are also good cooks. Arghhhhhh!!!!!!! (see Mi Amor, this is why we need a raclette set...then we don't hafta worry about cooking when we invite people over!)


When we got back home around 6pm, we decided to play Guitar Hero. Since it was the first time setting up/playing the GH game on the PS3, we had to calibrate the game but it just didn't seem to work. At first Mi Amor thought I just suck at GH and he didn't believe me when I said the guitar/console was not reading/sensing properly so he told me to play Easy mode (I've always played Medium) which I found insulting! :P and when I couldn't even hit notes in the Easy mode, then only did he finally believed me
( coz he's smart enuff to know that though his wife may not be great at GH, she doesn't suck THAT BAD.....though he did try to get me to play Beginner mode....how dare he! >:(  )


After an hour of unsuccessfully trying to calibrate GH, we gave up and ended up watching TV instead till we both fell asleep.

Mi Amor's colleague's apartment 

Balcony stretches all the way to the side

View from the front part of the balcony

I love the view of the houses up in the hill....I can only imagine how it must look like covered in snow

The Xmas/ CNY tree

Mi Amor mastering the Raclette

Yes, I like to put cheese on everything!

It seems so unfair that a baby should have such long eyelashes....I'm jealous :<

Mi Amor unhappy with the GH

*** Oh I just had to add this as a side note:  Remember how I stumbled across my anniversary surprise from Mi Amor while cleaning the cupboard? Well, since then he has requested that I leave the top shelf of the cupboard alone and that it should be his personal space to store things. He even made me PROMISE that I will not touch the shelf or so much as look at it (he said he could even hide a girl in there if he wanted to coz it's his prerogative). Whatever  :P (as long as there are some more good surprises in store for me on that shelf!). Then yesterday while I was about to enter the room, I saw Mi Amor standing in front of the cupboard rummaging around his shelf.....and this is what he pulled out:

A box of white chocolate bars with praline filling

HAHAHAHAHA.......so he's been hiding food there!! Food which he doesn't want to share with me....giler buruk perangai! Like seriously Mi Amor, you think I would actually steal your food?!? :P (though I must say, the chocolate bars are YUMMY so I don't blame you).

Ok then, maybe next weekend

This week has officially been my first full week in Vevey (coz when I first arrived, I only spent like 5 days in Vevey before leaving for our Anniversary trip to Barcelona). I've finally gotten over the jet lag and am sleeping and waking up at the normal hours (though Mi Amor would beg to differ coz he thinks 10 pm is too early to be falling asleep :P). Thought that today I would have the opportunity to go walking around Switzerland (take a train to Geneva to get em' macaroons that I've been craving for to be precise) but Mi Amor had to go into the office today for work (he just left like half an hour ago) :(
If you're thinking why can't I just postpone my macaroon and sight seeing tour of Geneva tomorrow, that's because most if not all shops are closed on Sunday (it's times like this when I miss Malaysia). Guess I'll just hafta wait for next weekend then :P (I swear Mi Amor, the longer I wait, the more macaroons I'm gonna buy, hah!)

So then, how did I spend the first half of my Saturday? Well, we went to the open air market in the town/city square and marveled at the fresh produce there though we ended up not buying anything (supermarkets I am used to, markets not so much. I personally felt intimidated  and overwhelmed). Highlight of the market trip was seeing 2 guys being arrested and handcuffed by the local police and escorted into the police car. I don't know what happened though, we missed all the action (not that there was much action, we only realized something was up when we saw the police talking calmly to 2 guys who were sitting down quietly and the next thing we know, the police car came to pick em' up).

Went to a halal butcher to get some meat and chicken (freaking expensive...can u imagine around almost 5 swiss francs for 5 pieces of chicken drumsticks?). They do sell a whole chicken but unlike our butchers in Malaysia, they don't chop it up for you (and I sure as hell ain't going to do the chopping at home!) so we settled on chicken fillets and the drumsticks. Apparently there's a cheaper halal butcher but the shop is further away (around half and hour's walk) and since we didn't have enough time (Mi Amor had to be in the office in the afternoon) we settled for the expensive one. Then we went to Migros (supermarket) to do our grocery shopping.

And that's that! Now I'm looking for recipes online to cook tonight's dinner. Yeah, interesting way to spend a Saturday, I know :P

Stopped by the recycling place first to throw out our trash 

On the way to the market 

Could have taken the scenic route (by the lake) but was trying to break into my new boots and I kept slipping so Mi Amor decided we should take the short cut

Swiss people take their dogs everywhere! To the airpot, to market, to shopping complexes....sighhhhh...makes me wish I could take my cats out too 

There's also a small antique market nearby

The only shopping complex in the city

My kinda marketing

The stupid boots I was trying to break into. Won't be wearing these the next time I go marketing!

Te Quiero Barcelona........Part III

Dia cinco.....el final dia

So this is gonna be a short one

It was raining on day 5 (I'd like to think that Barcelona was sad to see us go). Checked out of the hotel. Last visit to the market to get some fresh fruit juice....coconut strawberry (awesome!). Last walk along La Rambla and nearby areas. Stopped by some FC Barcelona store so that Mi Amor could buy a souvenir for himself. Had our final lunch in Barcelona at a cafe we stumbled upon while looking for souvenirs.

Somehow God must have thought that I've been a good girl coz he sent us a really cute Italian waiter (from the city of love, Verona which btw is where the story Romeo & Juliet is set....sighhhhhh). Not only was he cute, he was very attentive and whenever Mi Amor decided on something (we were trying to decide on what kinda tapas and paella to have), he would also look at me with that "Do u agree?is that what u want?" look (and all I could do was stupidly grin and go "aha"). He was so cute that it took all my strength and will power not to keep staring at him! Even Mi Amor agreed that he was cute.....at one point Mi Amor suddenly went, "Damn...I'm a guy and even I find him attractive and keep staring at him! How weird is that? Maybe I swing both ways? Not only is he good looking....body pun mantap! Ni kalau bawak balik Malaysia confirm boleh jual ni....ada package....Aaron Aziz pun kalah!" (OK I know I should have been worried by that statement Mi Amor made but the only thing that went through my mind was,  "Who the hell is Aaron Aziz?" and "Sighhhh, he is so cute...I wish he didn't hafta wait on other tables"). Believe it or not I got slightly jealous when he had to wait on other tables that had female occupants :P I even looked at their reaction to see if they found him cute (and believe me they did....I practically saw this woman's eyes light up when he spoke to her).


After lunch we walked about some more before finally leaving for the airport. As usual, we arrived at the airport just in time, hopped on our plane, and as they say, the rest is history. Adios Barcelona y  muchas gracias por los recuerdos!

The cute cozy cafe

Got us a table by the window

View from our table

Our waiter....tried to discreetly take his pic

Mi Amor trying not to get too excited...heh

Only noticed this sign on our way out, too late dammit! (or I would have claimed it from him...heh)

Mi Amor's souvenir.....FC Barcelona captain's arm band :P

My souvenir.......

.......that is if you don't count these (you happy now woman?)

and a lil' something for Ayden (I know it looks big but he'll grow into it)

Te Quiero Barcelona........Part II

Dia tres

Forget Valentine's day, day 3 was OUR day of LOVE. It was our 1st year wedding anniversary (not to mention our 12 years of being together anniversary!). Received a sweet anniversary wish from lil' sis on fb (awwww, I kinda had a feeling you love me, but I didn't know you love Mi Amor too....he has finally grown on you after all these years huh?) :D and from some friends. Great way to start the day! Even the weather for that day was prolly the best throughout our visit as it wasn't as cold as the other days and it was bright and sunny.

Unfortunately something just had to happen to put a slight dampen on the day (guess you can't always have your cake and eat it too). Mi Amor got pickpocketed in the Metro. According to Mi Amor, while he was trying to enter the train, this dodgy dude just didn't want to budge and make way for Mi Amor so Mi Amor had to squeeze by the dude. And just as the train doors were closing, this dude quickly got out of the train. At the same time Mi Amor said he felt like something was amiss with his jean pocket and when he checked, he found that his phone was missing! Thank God though that the guy didn't get to Mi Amor's wallet which was also kept in the same pocket as his phone. I shudder to think what would've happened if Mi Amor lost his wallet since he had kept all his cash and cards there. We'd prolly hafta busk in the metro for money (come to think of it, I don't have any talent to offer) :P

After getting over the initial upset, we made our way to Park Guell, a huge ass World Heritage park and spent around almost 3 hours there (even then I don't think we covered the whole park). Moved on to Sagrada Familia, a breathtaking cathedral which is taking forever to be completed (it's been what, 120 years so far?). Frantically walked around looking for an Irish pub to catch some Liverpool game on TV (since their local pubs couldn't care less). Mi Amor even stopped by the tourist information centre asking for directions! Miraculously we didn't come across any. After Mi Amor realized it was a futile attempt, we went to La Roca Village, an outlet shopping mall instead (believe it or not, it was Mi Amor' idea, I was too lazy to go shopping....though yeah, I did end up buying something..heh). Ended the day with a quiet romantic dinner in a restaurant at Port Olimpic.

I love mosaics!

The long bench on the main terrace in the form of a sea serpent covered in Gaudi's mosaic work is a real beauty

Sagrada Familia, a work in progress (estimated date of completion :2026 -2040)

I love stained glass as much as I love mosaics :)

The alter

Looking up (the sprained neck was worth it)

3 course dinner at La Fitora Restaurant

Dia cuatro

Visited La Pedrera, a famous apartment block (Mi Amor thought people were still living in the apartment!), Casa Batllo (my fav coz it's so whimsical!) and Montjuic. Montjuic is where the Olympic Stadium is located,which according to the tourist guide book we obtained from our hotel, is home to the football team Espanyol. Since there was a game that night at 9pm between Real Madrid and Espanyol (played at Espanyol's homeground), we rushed all the way by foot (since waiting for the bus would take too long) to Montjuic (freaking tiring since we were going up hill!) coz Mi Amor wanted to try and get tix to watch the game. After huffing and puffing our way there, we arrived to......AN EMPTY STADIUM!!!  Turns out that Espanyol had moved to a new stadium sometime last year  -_-  (lesson of the day: do not believe everything you read in a tourist guide book.....or at least check the date of publication)
I think Mi Amor did briefly contemplate on going to the new stadium but we wouldn't have made it in time. Settled for dinner instead at a place that was showing the game.

La Pedrera 

From the foyer entrance

Looking up from the middle of the foyer (yupp, it's open aired) 

Rooftop

Casa Batllo

The vibrant colours of the facade of Casa Batllo

Going up the stairwell. There are 6 levels to this apartment

If you look through the glass at the landing of the stairwell, it feels and looks as if you're underwater!

The grand window of Casa Batllo, facing the main street

Sunset on the rooftop 

Casa Batllo at night....sighhhh

The lights of Montjuic (it's further than it looks in this pic!)

The Olympic Stadium up ahead

View of Barcelona from Montjuic

Watching the game over dessert