Welcoming 2014

This will be an amazingly long post about 2013, my short break in Amsterdam and my amazing trip to Italy so if you continue reading, thanks and I applaud you. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I sincerely hope that 2013 has treated you as well as it has me, and here's hoping that 2014 will be a year of new adventures, facing challenges and experiencing new things!

Here are a few things I'm grateful for for the year of 2013;

Traveling, like, everywhere.

Traveling around Malaysia.

My family.

Graduating with a degree.

Organizing a graduation exhibition.

Participating in an art festival.

Designing murals for charity.

Facing a few fears.

Patriotism.

Discovering my eternal love for cafes.

Being more patient.

Understanding my best friends more.

Getting accepted to GSA!

Moving to Scotland.

LIVING ALONE.

Doing laundry, cleaning and things!

Cooking ... all the time.

Walking every. Single. Day.

The sky.

Sun.

Meeting and making new friends.

Meeting someone special!

Finishing my first term of my MDes.

LEARNING THINGS.

These are at the top of my head of course haha. I've been a very positive person for a long time nao and it's getting me far. I sometimes have a slip of mind and forget to think on the bright side, especially with all the obstacles I've faced; here in Glasgow especially. But it's a new year, and I'm ready to face it with confidence! The cold winter weather ain't gonna get me down. Term 2 will not be difficult ok *snaps fingers*. My lecturers will never crush me *flips hair*! 

This year, I will always remember to stay positive, to make others happy, to encourage instead of bring down, not to judge and not to care when being judged. I will also put in even more effort to communicate wit family and friends back in Malaysia; I miss everyone! And I will put in A LOT of effort to meet new people and keep my mind open to all new things in the world! I've had an amazing start to the new year and I hope that this feeling of gratification continues to progress as the months pass! 

CHEERS TO NEW ADVENTURES AHEAD! Ching ching! ヾ(。◕ฺ∀◕ฺ)ノ

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I will just lightly mention that I went to Amsterdam (some time in December) with Amir and Hee Eun, and it was so relaxing and chilled that I want to go back, like, NAO. We went to so many cafes and ate so much cheese, it was utterly satisfying. Here are some of my favourite photos from the trip!

The first thing we see after dropping our luggage, BABA COFFEESHOP. This is perfect. It relates to so many people I know and love hahaha. (★^O^★)

And of course, overcoming my craving of macarons (though I could have some like NAO if possible). Every macaron I tried in Amsterdam (and trust me, I ate a lot, like, every single fucking day I was there) was absolutely PERFECT. Not like the shit you get in Malaysia. These were like eating fairy dust and unicorn poop ... MAGICAL! (｡♥‿♥｡)

Of course, on our first night, we decide to drop by a coffeeshop for a bit. We arrived pretty late so shops started closing after we chucked our bags into our accommodation. We found a super chill reggae coffeeshop though! Where we met a super happy and high Greek man who chilled with us the whole night.

The next day, we spent all our time wondering around Amsterdam and ... well ... you're with me ... so of course, cafe hopping was a must! Haha. Amir didn't have a choice because Hee Eun and I are avid cafe hoppers. For breakfast, we went to De Koffie Salon, which was combined with an interior design shop called Hay Hay! I super love how much they utilize space in Amsterdam! A lot of the shops share spaces for their businesses!

There's unnie, posing with our breakfast in a little mirror pocket of the cafe! (*°∀°)=3

This was another cafe we visited; decided to have tiramisu for dessert and gawk at the awesomeness that is Mazzo. The timber and warm lighting was so sexy. The hairs on my neck rose from how beautiful the cafe is.

Take a moment to admire the slanted, tall, narrow buildings with gigantic windows please. I still wonder how it's possible that these buildings stand, even when they're not straight ... the Dutch are awesome. 〜(￣▽￣〜)

After hours of walking around and exploring Amsterdam, yes, another cafe restaurant pub whatever. Haha. This one is called Cafe de Jaren. It's right beside the canal so it's very romantic! We wanted to sit outside but the weather wasn't all that great that day; I swear my finger tips were frozen!

We took a boat ride along the canals! There was a light festival going on, but I wouldn't say it was great. I mean, the installations were alright ... ? I was busy enjoying the boat ride to care about the installations to be honest.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant in ... I don't remember where and I don't remember the name of the restaurant (which annoys the hell out of me cause usually I remember these things), but they food was really good and the ladies who owned the place were super friendly and pretty!  (◕‿◕✿)

The next day, we went to Zaanse Schans; a very touristy place BUT it was beautiful regardless! Even though the best time to go is when the tulips have bloomed, we still enjoyed it. And c'mon, FREE CHEESE SAMPLING. I swear, we were there for like a half an hour eating cheese and mustard! And the Dutch ladies (lol) didn't even mind. ＼(*T▽T*)／

A very grim photo of the windmills. (\˳˘ ɜ˘)˳ ♬♪♫

The weather was pretty awesome that day; disregarding the crazy wind. ヾ(*´∇`)ﾉ

Me and unnie! Our very Dutch touristy shot! ☆*･゜ﾟ･*\(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Us with the windmills, and the sky cleared up, just for us!

We headed back to Amsterdam and wandered around Haarlemmerstraat St (applaud me for remembering the name of this street omfg I impressed myself) and found this jewel of a cafe! The coffee was SO GOOD. In fact, almost all the coffee I had in Amsterdam were good. 2 points to Amsterdam! Anyway, it was a perfect little cafe located on the mezzanine floor of a fashion boutique called Six and Sons! Super gorgeous, playing awesome music with delicious coffee! Whart more could you ask for?! We chilled here before sending unnie to the train station. o(^▽^)o

That night, Mir and I had dinner at Kak Nina's place! Here house is SO GORGEOUS. I was so envious man! It's so cozy and simple! I love it. And of course, it was great catching up with Kak Nina and meeting her hubby. They were very hospitable. ♡(*´∀｀*)人(*´∀｀*)♡

The next day, we had no plans at all! So Mir and I, again, wandered around Amsterdam. Just jalan-jalan and hoped to find somewhere to go. It's funny cause when we don't intend to go to a museum, we keep passing by them or finding them along the way, but that day we were so eager to go to a museum or something and we got lost looking for it. Haperkebenda laaa. It was a gorgeous day anyway so we spend time outside a lot too. （*´▽｀*）

Look at the sky! So beautiful. (✿ ♥‿♥)

Just before heading to the airport, Mir and I sat at another cafe called Cut Throat Barbers which was, yes, you guessed it, also a barber shop! The coffee was excellent, for realz. The guy with the awesome beard and tatz on the right made the coffee. Good job bro! They also had this arcade machine that you can play with for free; it had a soccer game thing on it so me and Mir played like little kids.

Polaroids from the trip. (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡

For sure, I'll be in Amsterdam again! VERY SOON IN FACT. Maybe in February, since my sister will be moving to Linden for her studies. Can't wait!

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It's the 5th of January at this very moment, and this feeling of pure contentment gained and that I still feel from my Italy trip is indescribable. NYE was the cherry on top of the perfectly constructed end-of-the-year banana split with sweet whipped cream. Simply amazing! But lets start from the very beginning (breaks into Sound of Music jam). (ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ

Hee Eun and I flew from Glasgow to Amsterdam to Milan then took a train to Padova, where we met the Italian. Stayed there for about a week and then left for Milan for our last couple of days in Italy. And then from Padova, we went to Venice, Murano, Verona and Sirmione. First of all, I'd like to say that in terms of the cityscapes, I much much much prefer the smaller cities we visited which excludes Milan. Milan, in my honest opinion, was boring and dingy, disregarding the rich cultural appreciation of the arts of course. Anyway, moving on ...

This is a fragment of my favourite part of Padova, Prato della Valle! And we went there while the sun was setting! The lights, the sky, the landscape ... all very beautiful. (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡

Another part of Prato della Valle. So pretty! (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

This was a basilica in the city where Hee Eun had a sudden religious experience and was crawled up at the corner of the floor from being so dizzy and suddenly ill. We thought it was the sheer power of Jesus Christ taking over her body ... but she was just dehydrated (LOL). (ノ＞▽＜。)ノ

This was at Villa Pisani; Napoleon's crib (hahaha). There's Hee Eun looking like Lee Bo Young in a Korean drama. Regardless, it was a beautiful villa! 

I mean, look at how massive the garden is. I want a backyard this massive too. ~(˘▾˘~)

Oh yes. Here's a very elegant photo of unnie and Gianluca, extremely focused on the food in front of them. This day was dedicated to just eating. Just. Eating. Gianluca was so full from the meal (and mind you, we were eating non-stop since the afternoon and ended at midnight) that when we got back to his house, he KO-ed on our bed from a food coma, like seriously. (∪｡∪)｡｡｡zzz

But who could resist?! LOOK AT THIS PLATTER. JUST LOOK AT IT. ((((；゜Д゜)))

Anyway, as you can see from this photo, that day was perfect and sunny! So we went to Venice and Murano. Finally, I got to see these beautiful cities. But of course, my expectations weren't exactly met, only because of the influx of tourists; I'm sorry but I'm getting sick of seeing satu kampung travelling together with their noisy, rude children, fanny packs and 10 million DSLRs around their necks. ("ಠ_ಠ)

But please, do appreciate the handmade glass sculptures! ヾ(@^▽^@)ノ

And this photo of two is so romantic! I love it! (>^_^)><(^o^<)

Gianluca brought us to this super coohl book shop/library hidden in Venice! You should have seen the cats that the owner has! TWO FAT FUR BALLS! I couldn't grab a photos because you know how cats are, bitchy and all. Haha! Okay back to the library, it's super interesting! There were spaces that looked like they were from a Studio Ghibli movie. 

Look at this corner! It's a staircase made of books!

And WALLS made of books erhmahgerd.

This is TITI the family dog! She is the only female that could make Gianluca reveal his ultra-manja voice. She loves apples and being stroked on the head. She's also the only woman in the world who looks adorable with a moustache and beard. ▼o・ェ・o▼

Look at how much love unnie is giving Titi has she romantically stroked her soft fur in front of a strategically places Christmas tree. ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Look at Gianluca, looking like a total Italian diva/gigolo.（￣ー￣）But his new hair looks really good on him! Super love! SUPERRRR LOOOOVEEEEE (lol). This was taken before we took like 21453434423 hours to decide where to go before and for the New Years celebration.

We decided to go to Verona to see the Romeo and Juliette balcony (or whatever) but ended up finding other more amazing things because the R&J balcony was so difficult to locate and it was just a balcony after all whart is the big deal omg.

I can't handle how delicious gelato is. Only chocolate gelato in Italy could ever satisfy my desire for a rich taste of heaven. 且_(ﾟ◇ﾟ；)ノﾞ♥

This square in Verona though ... so preets ok tolong larh aiyo. ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)

And this balcony was just a great big lump of pure architectural deliciousness. Of course, my photo fails to display how beautiful it is as it totally lacks composition and lighting, but OH WELL.

A very tourist-y shot in front of the tiny version of the Colosseum. (｡-_-｡ )人( ｡-_-｡)

We countdown and watched (not so impressive) fireworks at Verona after our little (tiring and cold) tour of the city.

After the fireworks, the Italian drove us over to Sirmione. We arrived there around ... 2am? And it was cold and windy as fuck! We were freezing omg! The amount of swear words that repeated in my mind was in the hundreds. BUT, when we arrived at the hot springs ... wahhhhhhh. So much love poured out of my heart and soul. Whart a better way to celebrate 2014 then relaxing in hot springs, with the view of the stars! It was amazingggggggggggggg. And I saw shooting stars for the first time ever in my life! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

We stayed there for hours - half the time sleeping in the jacuzzi and keeping each other company. Hee Eun was hogging the jacuzzi beds (and felt no guilt for doing so) whilst Gianluca slept over the violent bubbles produced at the warmest pool of the hot springs - kinda like a massage. I did the same ... was either sleeping somewhere or gazing upon the stars of stalking people or sleeping again. Haha! (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

The most surreal and outstanding part of celebrating New Years with Gianluca and Hee Eun was this amazing sunrise. I've seen many sunrises before but this one takes the cake. It was ... gorgeous. The photo doesn't do justice, obviously. You just had to be there. The sky was so paddlepop-py and the mountains with snow at the top were just SO beautiful, I couldn't stop looking at it or talking about it! I've never seen it before in my life! I was so happy and so grateful Gianluca shared this with me. (◡‿◡✿)~♥

Best NY celebration ever. ♡｡ﾟ.(*♡´‿` 人´‿` ♡*)ﾟ♡ °・

After watching the most beautiful sunrise ever, we (not including Hee Eun) were like little kids in a theme park, filled with rainbows and happiness! The Italian and I were so excited that we were just hopping around and making noise while looking at everything - scenery, ducks, the lake ... everything. ♥ （・⊝・）

I mean, just look at that. SAH BEAUTIFUL. ♥

JUST LOOK. I want to live here and wake up to beautiful mountains and sunrises too. (⊙︿⊙✿)

That morning, Gianluca managed to get us back to Padova in one piece (thank you baba, you're amazing). And that evening, we had to leave for Milan without the Italian because he had to finish work. (╯︵╰,) But it's okay. We troubled him enough.

Gianluca, I owe you so much for making our New Years so unbelievably amazing. I'm very grateful for you (and your very caring family of whom I love so much nao) and your hospitality and kindness. You brought us to SO many marvelous places and we tried and experienced many new things together! I'm super thankful! Hopefully, we'll have more wonderful trips together in the future. And when you decide to visit Malaysia, I will return the favour okay baba don't worry. (●´∀｀●)~♥

Thank you so much. ♥(ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)♥

After arriving in Milan, unnie and I crashed at the hostel. Lack of sleep = NOH. But the next day, despite the weather being absolutely shitty, we went around the popular spots in the city. Here, you see the church located at the popular Duomo Square. SUPER PRETTY. ♥

Just look at the details! There are like hundreds of statues ALL OVER the church! Made of marble (I assume). So friggin' meticulous! Beautiful. ((((；゜Д゜)))♥

This is a mosaic of a bull that you're suppose to violently ... erm ... castrate (?) by putting the heel of your foot on its testicles and spinning on it 5 times. This apparently gives you luck (in which I didn't obtain because I did not mutilate the poor bull's balls).

To be honest, the best thing about Milan was the exhibitions that unnie and I went to. We went to 4/5 exhibitions at the Palazzo Reale (which was upsetting cause we really wanted to see the exhibition of works from Centre Pompidou, but we didn't have time unfortunately) and those include exhibitions of works by Andy Warhol, Kandinsky, Pollock (and other artists from the abstract expressionist action painting movement) and lastly, Rodin! ♥

I loved the exhibitions so much (not so much Pollock though)! Everything was explained in full detail (thanks to their free audio guides!!!) and the exhibits were beautiful! The photo above is a painting by Kandinsky that he did whilst he was teaching in Bauhaus - an experimentation with geometric forms and compositions. (✿♥‿♥✿)

I gathered a new profound appreciation for art and exhibitions while admiring all these pieces. I finally discovered a great way of learning about history without forcing myself to read text books. BRAVA!

Here's Rodin's sculpture of The Kiss in all its glory. His sculptures were very ... mmm ... personal and deep. I personally liked the Athena and Titone best, and also the one called The Hand of God! The concepts and stories behind those sculptures were more impactful to me.

This trip was so unfamiliar and new to me ... it made my wanderlust grow more vigorously than before ... which is brilliant because my need to read my goals to travel all over the world have nao been heightened. A great end to 2013 and perfect start to 2014! ☆*･゜ﾟ･*\(^O^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆

I shall abruptly end this post about Italy with a horrible (and the only) photo of the three of us after countdown (haha). 

☆*･゜ﾟ･*♥ヽ(＾▽＾)人(＾▽＾)人(＾▽＾)ﾉ♥*･゜ﾟ･*☆

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Hope everyone had a good New Year celebration and hope you're all well and healthy! (◕‿◕✿)