Viva Espana

Sophia, happy after a plate of Paealla.
Festive Castllian dress.

Mmmm, a vat of boiling pig legs!

Best cheese plate ever.

Sophia en el cafe afuera.


La finca (farm) in the outskirts of Madrid.

Jamon de Serano

Cool fino from a cask.
Upstairs in the manor house.
The grounds
Flamenco! Ole!
Mas flamenco!

Resting in the plaza.
Sophia and her hero - Velazquez (didn't he play for the Mets?)
Waiting for the tapas bar to open
Statue?
Or real person!

Sophia and I recently traveled to Madrid. It's a short 13 hours from Singapore (Ok compared to going to the US). Spain proved to be a refreshing respite from life in Asia.

The pictures speak for themselves - we ate great food like paella, tapas, churros, fine cheeses, jamon and sausages. Drank Rioja, Finos and cerveza. Visited museums like the Prado, the Museo de Reina Sofia and the Museo Archiologico. Strolled through flea markets, fancy shopping streets. Walked into local hangouts and well known places.

Cool your Dogs on Hot Coals

Demetra, Sophia, Myrna and Ronak looking for hot coals to walk on
Even Ronak knows Ganesha
I wore my team India cricket shirt to blend in with the crowd.
You want to stay on this Deity's good side!
A last look at one of the alters before heading home.

A few weeks ago, as part of the Deepavali season here in Singapore, the Hindu Thimithi Festival (http://events.skyteam.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=62781) took place at the Sri Mariamman Temple. (http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/architecture/srimar/1.html)

Myrna and I happened upon it last year and missed the coal walking so this year we had a plan. Sophia, Myrna, and me along with work friends Ronak Patel and Demetra Merikas started the evening out with a really tasty Nepalese dinner at a restaurant called Ghorka in Chinatown. (http://www.streetdirectory.com/restaurants/singapore/reviews/restaurant-Gorkha_Grill-1884.php ) The food was really good - Momo appetisers (small filled samosas), great mutton and really fine naan, all washed down with cold Kingfisher beers.

After dinner we wandered over to the temple, which is about three blocks away. The paper said the fire walking was Monday with festivities starting early and the actual walking taking place quite late. As we walked towards the Temple entrance we were able to see that there was a big crowd inside. You see, everyone needs to remove their shoes before entering and there were about 500 pairs of sandals and other assorted footwear all over the sidewalk on both sides of the large doors. We deposited our shoes in the pile and went in. there was a lot of activities but not hot coals or burnt footed devotees. While Ronak, our Hindu expert, was misidentifying the various statues of well known Hindu deities, I found some guys to ask when the walking was set to begin. Sadly, the men who I asked laughed and said that the walking took Place at about 2AM that morning. I guess it was actually Monday, but as usual the local paper, Sraits Times, was a little vague in their description of the exact timing.

We hung around the temple for a while soaking in the ambiance and soon headed our separate ways. Well, at least we had a good dinner that night!

A Yen for a Haircut

Sisters Jesica and Jolene pose in front of Jesica's picture.
Sophia in the midst of her transformation.
I'm up next for my trim.
Jolene smiling for the camera.

When we first moved to Singapore Sophia tried several hair places. There was the $500 treatment that took 4 hours. She left the salon looking great with perfectly straight hair and a chic style. By the time she walked the three blocks to our house it looked like and afro (not that there's anything wrong with that). She tried a very cheap place and wouldn't you know - it was a lousy doo. I got my first cut in Asia at a hotel in Bangkok and it was fine but it is kind of a long way to go every few weeks for a trim.

At some point someone recommended we go to Yen's. Yen's is one of the 1000s of hair places in Singapore and one of probably a dozen places in the Holland Village area. It's on the third floor of a kind of a shopping mall. The mall is not plush by any means and has a grocery store, some gift shops, tailors, clothing stores, a few foot massage and manicures places and several salons. It is frequented by a lot of expats who live in the area.

So we went and we keep going back. Beautiful sisters Jessica (Yen) and Jolene are in charge. Jolene makes the business work and Jessica cuts hair. They are really nice women who came to Singapore from China many years back and started their business. They can both be found at the shop 6 days a week (the place is open all seven days), pretty much all year round. In addition to a nice cut I also enjoy a great shampoo and scalp massage on their flat bed shampoo tables.

It all adds up to a very nice experience. (Sorry to my barber of over 30 years, the Gus Man!)