Monday 30 April 2012

Sekolah Balai Teacher's Day Out

We went for laser tagging battle during the day out. It was so much fun that everyone got their legs aching. Even though the post-battle effect was quite painful physically, we really really had a good time and would gonna remember that outing forever.

Oh, I was in third rank of my group. Not that I won first, but it was my first time being in such battle, so 'masuk bakul angkat sendiri' kejap.

Then, we head to have lunch buffet at orangegrass restaurant. It's a Thai restaurant which serves halal cuisines. My tummy was already dreadful singing a tummy song. So, once we got seated, there I went, straight to the buffet array. The black pepper beef and ginger chicken were awesome. I ate a lot of the dishes compared to rice and noodles. Haha. Could not get over of them.

Nice outing indeed, and I'm looking forward to next outing. Yosh!

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Newcastle during DJ's visit

St Nicholas Cathedral
Situated in the ancient heart of the city, the area around St Nicholas Cathedral and the Castle form the Medieval core of Newcastle. The Cathedral is mainly 14thC with a striking 15thC Lantern Tower. Medieval treasures include the ornate font cover, a stained glass roundel of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus and the magnificent Thornton Memorial Brass. There is a fine collection of 19th and 20thC stained glass windows. Other features include a the 17thC Hall, Maddison Memorials and the Collingwood Monument dedicated to Admiral Lord Collingwood.

Reference: http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/the-cathedral-church-of-st-nicholas/1
Castle gate

Castle Keep

Castle gate

Castle Keep
The Castle Keep is one of the finest Norman stone castle keeps or donjons surviving in Britain today. It is a scheduled ancient monument and Grade 1 listed building. The Castle Keep is located within the historic heart of the city. It sits upon ground previously occupied by the Roman fort Pons Aelius, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Norman motte and bailey castle from which the City takes its name. The Castle Keep also boasts an outstanding view of the river and seven bridges from its rooftop.

Refernce: http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/castle-keep/
Panorama in Newcastle

Tyne Bridge and Swing Bridge

The Sage Royal Theater 
The Sage Gateshead is an international home for music and musical discovery. It houses two main stages of acoustic excellence, a 26-room music education centre, a music information resource centre, four bars, a brasserie and a café.


"The Sage Gateshead is in the top 5 best concert halls in the world"
Lorin Maazel, Philharmonia’s Director of Touring

Reference: http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/the-sage-gateshead

Milennium Bridge
Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and engineered by Gifford, the bridge takes its place at the end of a line of distinguished bridges across the River Tyne, including the Tyne Bridge and Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge.

Some facts:

  • Contains enough steel to make 64 double decker buses or 16 Chieftain tanks
  • Cost £22m to build
  • Each opening and closing takes four and a half minutes
  • Can withstand a collision from a 4,000 tonne ship travelling at 4 knots


Baltic Museum
Housed in a landmark industrial building on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, BALTIC is the biggest gallery of its kind in the world – presenting a dynamic, diverse and international programme of contemporary visual art.

Reference: http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/baltic-centre-for-contemporary-art
Milennium Bridge

Sand Gate



King's Gate

Hancock Museum

The Great North Museum incorporates collections from the Hancock Museum and Newcastle University’s Museum of Antiquities, the Shefton Museum and the Hatton Gallery.

Highlights include a large-scale, interactive model of Hadrian's Wall, major displays showing the wonder and diversity of the animal and plant kingdoms, spectacular objects from the Ancient Greeks and mummies from Ancient Egypt, a planetarium and a life-size T-Rex dinosaur skeleton.

Reference: http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/great-north-museum-hancock

Newcastle University Entrance



Architecture Building, Newcastle University



Newcastle University Student Union

Newcastle University Mosque

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Suddenly I feel educated...














Trinity College



Eiffel! I'm in love

Paris merupakan satu destinasi yang we both planned to visit. I would say like a MUST GO place in Europe? Haha. But you guys better prepare for the dark side of Paris la, especially the smell. Memang korang x kan sangka la how the real Paris is. People always say Paris is a fashion and love city. So that's why we decided to go one day. Alhamdulillah cita-cita untuk ke Paris bersama my loved one tercapai, even though that was my second visit to Paris, and soon becoming third next summer. InsyaAllah. 

We went to so called the city of love, Paris by Eurostar. Harga tiket? 66 pounds return. But, you could get it cheaper if travelling by flights. But, after calculating all side costs, nanti lebih kurang sama je. Taking Eurostar would be more convenient as it transfers you from city to city, so you would arrive at the centre of the city.


Our first place was Sacre Coeur. This is a cathedral. History dia, sila google. But to get there, you have to climb up stairs. Penat gila okay? *Maklumlah... orang x fit langsung. So, sampai atas, teguk air macam orang lari 10km pulak. over gila! Haha* From the top, you can view Paris city. Same with other metropolitan, all you can see is just buildings' rooftop. So macam, x de lah indah mana. But, worth climbing la. 


From Sacre Coeur, kitorang jalan kaki turun bukit, and berpandukan map, sampailah kami di Opera or a.k.a Music Theatre Museum? Ha, lebih kurang tu la kot nama lain dia. I don't really know the flagship events held there, but there must be something famous happened before, for sure. Kami pon bukan beria-ia sangat nak tau all those histories, just nak tampal muka dalam gambar yang ada background Paris je. Haha.


So, kami teruskan perjalanan dengan berjalan kaki ke next stop. The picture above was taken randomly. I couldn't remember exactly why we ended up taking picture there, even with that style. Nahh, nevermind. LOVE FROM PARIS. xoxo. 


This one is one of the love lock yang attached on a bridge. From far, the bridge seems to be shiny and magnificent. Tapi, bila datang dekat, bridge tu sebenarnya bridge biasa je. Just ada added value je. Those padlocks yang sebenarnya buatkan bridge tu nampak lawa and bermakna. They believe their loves' akan sentiasa terikat. Maybe the keys semua dah kena campak dalam laut, so none can unlock it. Indirectly macam eternal love la jugak. Macam-macam kan?


MUSEE DE LOUVRE. Place where Monalisa is portrayed. See how many people at the back? They were all actually queuing up for the museum entrance. And we couldn't be bothered to go in. I remembered, last time, during my first visit, the museum was closed. So I didn't expect this crazy lot of people actually like to enter a museum. That was a normal scenario in Europe in fact. The Europeans love to learn and appreciate their histories. Far different from Asians, our museum would only be visited by school children only. Agree with me?


Picture berlatar belakang kan boats and a bridge. I don't know what this place is called. We just stopped by because the scenery was just fascinating. The weather was unstable on that day. So, you guys would see photos taken yang macam gloomy, ada yang very bright, ada yang lawa, ada yang buruk. But, after all, it's not the pictures that matter that much, it's people you are going with matters the memory so so much.


The hunchback of Notre Dame. What story is that? I don't even know. You can google it. That must be a famous story I think. Notre Dame is actually a cathedral. I've been inside during my first visit to Paris. The interior is just the same with other cathedral *not that I notice everything though*. You can be at the top, of course by lifts or stairs *which ever you prefer* with some fees incurred. 


It was a spring break but it was freaking cold by that time, the sun acted like a light bulb only, shone without significantly radiated heat. CHERRY BLOSSOM is just awesome. Every time when I see that same tree, I put a smile on my face, to Allah I send my gratitude. Subhanallah.


The side view of Notre Dame. Pretty, is it? Three colours, grey, green and pink. Awesome combination. Can I suggest this colour theme for my wedding? Hehe.


The main feature of Paris, EIFFEL TOWER! Yes, Eiffel, I'm in love. Konon dalam filem Indonesia la. Haha.  Besi buruk je ni. But sebab people always film or drama screening here, this place become famous. We didn't go up pon, sebab ramai gila orang beratur. Alhamdulillah even though the sky was gloomy, we still could see the top clearly. 


Our very last land mark of Paris, Arc De Triomphe. Arch macam ni banyak gila kat European countries. In fact, every big cities or capital cities ada arch like this. There is one in London called Marble Arch. I had visited one also in Berlin. It's just like tugu memorial to commemorate the French comrades who died for the country during the war. Ada la nama those soldiers on the wall. And, this building pon, visitors can go up for Paris viewing.

Sekian lah coretan jalan-jalan Paris saya. Paris, I would never be in love with you all over again. Not until you ask your people to stop peeing randomly anywhere. 

Much love,
Nicitoyou

Spring in London


 I don't know if you could see this. Actually, the flower petals are full of dust. It is pitiful to see this, especially for a nature lover. But what can you expect? It is in London after all. In fact, if you see any flower nearby main roads, you could spot such thing too.

White flowers *unknown specific name*

 So called Holland Park... There were only a few tulips blossoming at that moment. Maybe the unstable weather made the tulip season came a bit later than expected. I shall hunt for more tulips in Newcastle after this. London had turned my hope down this time. Sigh... Anyway, getting there with loved one did cheer me up. You're the flower in my heart, blossoming more than the beautiful tulips garden.

Tulips

Purplish flower *yet unknown specific name*

The flowers are actually on a big tall tree. *don't know the name also*

 Here is Kyoto Garden. It is funded by a few architectural firms worldwide and guarded by a person who will shout at you if you step on the grass and act stupid at the waterfall. Haha. The serene garden is peaceful, surrounded by pink cherry blossom and Japanese carp fish.

The Japanese tea garden

Cherry blossom

On the step between the waterfall and its pond