TP862 LIS - ZAG; Dec 2013

The photo shows an inflight-meal of TAP Portugal flight TP862 Lisbon, Portugal to Zagreb, Croatia (LIS - ZAG) via Bologna, Italy for a technical stop. It was a four and a half hour-flight. While the plane was stopping at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport, lots of passengers whose ultimate destination was Bologna, Italy got out of the plane, and several passengers who was going to fly to Zagreb, Croatia from Bologna, Italy got on the plane. Passengers who was going to fly to Zagreb, Croatia from Lisbon, Portugal could not get out of the plane, so I was stuck in the plane for 40 minutes or so. Every cabin crew was just fabulous. They were all kind, friendly, and fashionable. Overall, I enjoyed my flight pretty much.

Is the flower pot half empty or half full?

I took this photo in Luxembourg city, Luxembourg in January 2014. There were several flower pots on the street and the photo shows one of them. It was in winter, so the flower pots looked like this, and I thought it was cute. There was a bus stop near there, and some people who was on a bus or who was waiting a bus did a double take like how come an Asian woman take a photo of an almost empty flower pot. There's a common expression 'Is the glass half empty or half full?' Come to think about it, the flower pot was half full.

Things to do at platform before get started

This is my first photo in Ljubljana, Slovenia by my iPad mini. I took this photo right after got out of the train at Ljubljana Railway Station. I didn't even know which exit should I take to get to the city center, but first, a photo. My train was an international train which departed from Zagreb, Croatia and bound for Frankfurt, Germany. The train on the photo is a different one which stopped at the opposite platform at that time. Ljubljana was much colder than I expected before. I should have gone there wearing warm winter boots, but when I realized that, it was too late. My winter boots was in my suitcase in a hostel in Zagreb, Croatia.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

I took this photo in Milan, Italy. One of the world's oldest shopping malls the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is right next to Milan Cathedral. I visited Milan Cathedral and the surrounding area nightly just to view the stunning architecture of the huge cathedral, the old picturesque shopping mall and so on. There were so many restaurants, souvenir shops around there. Even though I was in one of the world's most important fashion capitals, I didn't buy too much things. I bought some postcards at a souvenir shop and that was it.

An all-European view

I took this photo in Luxembourg city, Luxembourg. The stunning building on this photo is the Cercle Municipal. I don't think this is the most famous building of Luxembourg, but for me, this kind of view is one of the most picturesque images of European continent in my head. The Cercle Municipal is located in a popular square named the Place d' Armes. The square is situated right in the middle of the city center and the area attracts a lot of people. I truly enjoyed to be there.

Khao Tom Gai with a set of spices jar

The photo shows Khao Tom Gai (Thai: ข้าวต้มไก่) and a set of Thai spices jar. I took this photo at a river view restaurant in Chinatown, Bangkok, Thailand. Khao Tom Gai is one of the very popular Thai breakfast and is like chicken and rice soup. Khao Tom Gai itself is already tasty, but you can add Thai spices from a set of spices jar on a table. If you do so, you can have your Khao Tom Gai with your own favourite flavour. Generally, your waiter bring you a set of spices jar together with your Khao Tom Gai. Red powder is chilli powder, white powder is sugar, brown sauce is fish sauce (Thai: นำปลา, Pronounciation: Nam Plaa), and the other is chilli marinade. I usually add some fish sauce and a lot of chilli powder to my Khao Tom Gai. The morning view was also very nice from my table, by the way.

River Vibe Restaurant and Bar in Chinatown, BKK

I took this photo at a river view restaurant in Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand. The restaurant is situated on the top floor of a guesthouse nearby the Chinatown Gate and provides great view from morning till night. Some couples prefer to sit on sofas like the photo shows. I'd rather sit at a table at the end of the restaurant to view the capital Bangkok with the Chao Phraya river from above. Every guest tend to say the night view was amazing, but the morning view was also fantastic from there. Chinatown in Bangkok is one of my favorite destinations in Thailand, so I'll go back there some time in the future.

Shine through stained-glass windows

I took this photo minutes after getting out of the train at Luxembourg Railway Station in Luxembourg city, Luxembourg. The station hall had a high ceiling and was suffused with mild light from gorgeous stained-glass windows. I think the art on the stained glass is a depicted image of stunning Luxembourg city. If so, the bridge in the stained-glass is the New Bridge (a.k.a. Adolphe Bridge). After got out of the station, I walked toward city center on foot, and walked around the city. While doing that, I crossed the New Bridge as well.

Bond Street Underground Station

I took this photo while I was walking around Oxford Street in London, England, the UK. There was this huge sign that indicated Bond Street Underground Station was under construction to upgrade under way. It was a cloudy autumn day, and it seemed like only this sign board depicted a picture-perfect light blue sky with patchy clouds on Oxford Street. By the way, Oxford Street is known as the busiest shopping street in London. It was in late October, but some of the fancy department stores on Oxford Street had started to display for the Christmas shopping. It was fun to view windows in the street.

Lisbon Cathedral and a tram

I took this photo in Lisbon, Portugal. I wanted to take a photo of Lisbon Cathedral (a.k.a. The Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major, Portuguese: Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa) together with a tram, but shortly after I arrived there I realized that it was hard to take a nice photo of large picturesque cathedral and Portuguese tram together. The street was a kind of curvy and was a tad busy. So, when a tram passed by Lisbon Cathedral, I took a quick photo of the view. This is the result. I think this is still better than nothing.

Speaking of all-you-can-eat

I took this photo in Antwerp, Belgium. When I walked around the city, I found this cute restaurant. I've already had lunch with some beer at another restaurant, so I couldn't go inside of this restaurant, but I looked closer and found out that "All-you-can-eat" menu was available on the wall. It was a little too late to know, though. The term all-you-can-eat reminds me of fabulous buffet restaurant in Vegas quite a lot. The place named The BUFFET. The staff members were well-trained and friendly, the buffet lines were fantastic. I could take a wide variety of foods on my plates: soup, salad, fruits, sausages, grilled meat, different kinds of cooked rice, fruits, cup cakes, and then some.

The dull sky was full of deep gray clouds

I took this photo near the Leidseplein (a.k.a. Leiden Square) in Amsterdam, Holland while I was doing a bit of ground research before I chose a bar for my arrival beer in Amsterdam, Holland last time. Yep, it was my second time in Amsterdam, Holland. When my plane flew in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the sky was this dark and it was rainy. My plane flew in to Amsterdam from Tel Aviv, Israel. Tel Aviv was normally sunny and hot around that time of the year; November. So when the plane landed, lots and lots of passengers on the plane couldn't help but sighed then say "This is Amsterdam" or something similar. Luckily, I had eight nights in Amsterdam, so I could enjoy a few crisp sunny days as well. Anyway, this was my first photo of Amsterdam by my iPad mini. It looks like a bit gray, but this was it.

A bottle of Karlovačko and Rajčica Salata

I took this photo at my hostel's traditional restaurant in Zagreb, Croatia. I had a little afternoon break with cool Karlovačko beer and Rajčica Salata (English: Tomato Salad). It was in December and normally the outside temperature was below zero or similar, but inside of the hostel was very warm due to a central heating system. After exploring Zagreb city and its Christmas market, I returned to my hostel and had a cold one at the restaurant. Karlovačko is a very popular in Croatia. Sometimes at night, bottles of Karlovačko went out of stock at the restaurant. Well in that case, I drank Heineken instead.