guilty pleasure

Today I noticed how much pizza I am capable of gorging when I’m hungry, regrets ensue of course. 

Baby steps to taking better photographs

Today I noticed how photography is not about the gear. This video really nailed it. I also spent my whole day watching different videos on Skillshare and yet I still feel like I learned nothing. If there is any knowledge I have managed to gather from the videos, it's lighting and composition. I feel like these two go hand in hand. Not that I understood lighting nor composition (I wish!), I just know that if these two elements are off, the photo is basically rubbish. I'll attempt to practice by shooting daily, starting with simple objects I can find in the house. Today's subject is pineapple cakes which I got from Taiwan. Just like Malaysia's pineapple jam tarts and Indonesia's Nastar cookies, it's a pastry with pineapple jam filling. I made use of this slab of stone which was sitting in the corner of our living room collecting dust. I threw in the "tea towel" (it is actually a table runner, I don't have any tea towel) for contrast because everything was looking monochromatic, cold and hard. I noticed how little 'props' I have to compose a decent photo, or perhaps eventually I will get better at making use of what I can find around the house.

Bubble tea

Today I noticed how Taiwan has changed my appreciation for bubble tea. I also noticed that there are possibly no bubble tea outlets in Melbourne which will ever come close to the quality of Taiwan's. I remember having my very first bubble milk tea,  it was from Ten Ren in Melbourne. I don't have a strong recollection of their drinks, probably because they were not very good. Which is ironic because Ten Ren is from Taiwan. The second time I had bubble tea was from a chain called Easyway in Sydney, circa 2009? I remember liking it and being ecstatic when they opened their first store here in Melbourne. Back in those days, there were not many bubble tea chains around. Chatime came into the scene a couple of years later, both in Malaysia and Melbourne. For a while, I was addicted to their Roasted Milk Tea with Grass Jelly topping. On my first day in Taipei I stumbled upon Ten Ren which immediately evoked nostalgia. I bought myself a drink, it was my 'dessert' after my beef noodle soup dinner. Even though I did not enjoy pearls as much as I used to, I got them with my milk tea anyway because why not. As I have anticipated myself when I bought the drink, I couldn't finish it. Starchy pearls - there's only that much I can stomach. I did thoroughly enjoy the drink. I didn't think I enjoyed it that much until I tried a few other bubble tea drinks from other stores in Taipei which I found to be inferior to Ten Ren's. Their tea flavour just could not compare. Yesterday, I bought myself a pearl milk tea from Chatime because surprisingly I've missed it! Taiwan's bubble tea, I mean. The first time I tasted a Chatime drink many years ago I remember going "mmm..." with satisfaction but this time, I was mildly disappointed. Tea flavour was weak, pearls were way too 'al dente'. To give them the benefit of the doubt, I got a different pearl milk tea from a different Chatime store today; it was the same story. I am unsure if it was due to a drop in quality, or because Taiwan has spoilt me. Either way, I am now on the hunt for the best bubble tea I can find in Melbourne.

Bubble tea from Han Lin Teahouse in Jiu Fen - their pearl milk tea was quite good.

VERSAILLES

If there's one word to describe the Palace of Versailles, it'd be opulence.

CHAMONIX

Also known as Chamonix - Mont - Blanc, it's one of France's oldest ski resort and also the site of the first Winter Olympics. 

(This is why I love Wikipedia, makes me look more knowledgeable.. than I already am HAHA)

To make the most out of our trip that winter, we decided to pop by where Mont Blanc is. Because the cold just wan't cold enough.

PONT DU GARD & ANNECY, FRANCE

Oh dear, what has become of this blog? 

A grand total of 10 posts last year. I'm getting so good at this ahahaha.

Welcoming 2016 (albeit 2 months late) with another sporadic post! It's almost a year ago when we were at France.

Pont Du Gard, another destination Wk wanted to go to. Had no idea what is it but as a good wife, of course I said ok eheheh.

ARLES, FRANCE

When planning our journey Arles was one of the places Wk said he wanted to visit. Initially we (or more like I) would have absolutely loved to visit the lavender farms in Provence (all thanks to L'occitanne, I'm sure 99% of girls who look at L'occitanne have dreamed about visiting Provence!) but because it was winter, there would not be anything to see as the lavender will be all grey and dry, and the farms would not be opened :( 

When we planned our journey we were driving towards the south and we had to pick a place to stop at otherwise it will be a long, hellish drive. Since Arles is in Provence and Wk wanted to visit, to Arles we went.