RevePlanner's Travelogue

Chocolate in Cusco

2013-05-18T10:30:00.000+08:00

I must share this tasty finding!

Superb hot chocolate at this counter (inside in a small clothes shop!)
High quality cocoa with just the right mix of bitter, sweet and texture.

Yes, made from this pure bar of cocoa (left)

This is a city for wandering at will...

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What is Machu Picchu?

2013-05-17T15:00:00.000+08:00

The Incas did not have a writing system, neither did they carve depictions on the stone temples that they left behind. No wonder the existance of Machu Picchu is shrouded in mystery.

In short: why did the Incas build a secluded citadel on an insane mountaintop?
Modern tourists may ride a bus from the base of the mountain to Machu Picchu. In olden times though, accessing the citadel meant multiple days on foot from the nearest village.

A popular theory is of Machu Picchu as a sacred citadel - visited by royalty and priests as a religious pilgrimage. Astrologer-priests perhaps sight the nightsky from platforms (explains the remoteness & height of the place) and forecast the year's harvest.

What a view!
Other mountaintops were covered in mist on the day we visited

Engaging a guide helps make sense of the citadel complex.
This the the Temple of the Condor.

Grazing llama

Surprised to see so many wild orchids along the pathway to Intipunku

View from Intipunku (Sun Gate).
Zigzagging is the bus road from the base of the mountain.

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Sacred Valley of Peru

2013-05-15T22:14:00.003+08:00

Imagine a lush valley floor with a flowing river, among mountains at 2871m above sea level... this is the Sacred Valley of Peru.

Located between Cusco (capital city of the Incan empire) and Machu Picchu (sacred citadel), this beautiful area has a smattering of ancient ruins, rolling hills and townships where a distinct lifestyle persists. In Ollantaytambo town, heroic stories of General Ollantay's successful battles against the spanish conquerors are still being retold.

Amazing views on our afternoon drive in Maras

Ahh... mountain horses!

"Laboratory" terraces for agriculture cultivatation

"Are you looking at me?"

Fernando sharing his knowledge on the growing crops...

She is weaving belts (end products on the right side of the mat)

Food market at Pisac

Local get-together around some foodstalls

Woodfire flatbreads (plain empanadas)

Main town square of Ollantaytambo

Lunch at a local market... armed with a sense of adventure
& a spanish phrasebook (bottom left)

For the record, this was one of the best meals we had in Peru!

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Peru destination altitudes

2013-04-14T22:35:00.000+08:00

¡HOLA! Greetings from Peru!

Interestingly all the famous destinations in this country are on a different altitude. So make sure you prepare for the varying heights when planning your holiday & packing. This is my trip route:

Sacred Valley (2871m)

Fertile agricultural valley among moutain peaks and spotted with Inca ruins

Machu Picchu (2400m)

The pièce de résistance for travellers journeying into this secluded subtropical area (or braving the 4 days Inca Trail)

Cuzco (3400m)

Capital of the Incan empire

Andean Explorer rail journey (highest point exceeds 4000m)

Luxury 10 hours trainride passing various scenery and people landscape

Puno (3827m)

Lake Titicaca, highest lake in the world

Lima (60m)

Back to oxygen rich habitat. Foodie capital of South America.

Stay tuned for the corresponding travelogues ;)
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Real Chinatown still alive in San Francisco

2013-02-13T08:00:00.000+08:00

The famous Dragon Gate 龍門 on Grant Avenue marks the entrance to Chinatown. The main street is lined with shops, restaurants, tourists... and more tourists. "Oh no! Have I just walked into a big tourist trap?", you think to yourself.

Answer: (thankfully) Not entirely!

Wander along the off-streets with less flashy, non-English signages. And you can find:

grocery stores frequented by regulars
decent chinese eateries (yes, by asian standards!) with cantonese background chatter
tiny entrances leading to hidden temples on the higher floors

Here is a glimpse of what was happening on Chinese New Year day...

Kong Hei Fatt Choy!

First glance: folks lingering at a florist shop

Actually: They were heading up to this temple on the top floor!
Take another look at the previous photo ;)

First glance: Hmm, shall we have Sichuan for lunch?

Look up! A taoist temple on the 2nd floor

For those in the know: mui-choy kao-yuk 梅菜扣肉...Yum!

Duet with music accompaniment at a public square :)

The 2013 Chinese New Year parade will take place on 23rd February @ 5:15pm.

RevePlanner wishes all readers a fun-filled, happy & prosperous Year of the Snake!

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Gourmet Trails: holiday for foodies

2013-02-12T08:00:00.000+08:00

Love trying local foods when you travel?

Gourmet Trails website is launched with an all new look this 2013!
Perfect for 2-6 travellers (family, friends & couples wanting an affordable yet interesting holiday).
You can even choose your own Travel Style to suit your budget:

midrange: Simple fun. "Think we will save on accommodation to spend on food"
boutique: Some splurges. "Ooh, I love boutique hotels... and cooking classes"
luxury: Indulgence. "It's our honeymoon!"

Destinations currently cover: Europe, The Orient, Australia

Coming soon: Africa, USA

Here is a screenshot to whet your appetite ;)

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Suburban christmas lights

2012-12-23T11:33:00.000+08:00

Deck the house with strings of lightbulbs
Fa la la la laa La la la laaa

In tune with the festive cheer, some homes get a lift this Christmas with lovely house lights & deco. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish our readers a Merry Christmas & wonderful time with loved ones... See you in 2013!

Imagine a street lined with homes like this... what a night stroll

Dear Santa, here is my chimney!

Nutcracker, Penguin, Teddy, Angel... what a party!

Can I take a peek at those presents on the lawn?

simple & nice

Goodbye Mr. Snowman!

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Grand Canyon is grand indeed

2012-12-02T09:09:00.000+08:00

So huge... So old... I suppose that goes hand-in-hand for rocks that stand the test of time. From constant erosion of water and wind, the Grand Canyon was carved.

Early american pioneers saw a potential mining location and source of income. In a way, it was a good thing that the canyon was lacking in precious metals!

Geologists now see wondrous layers of exposed rocks - the oldest rock basement formed over 1 billion years ago (billion!!). Those layers unravels the history of the continent:
- how tectonic plates moved
- landscape and climate changes for the timeline of a billion years (the same area were mountains dwarfing Mt Everest before changing into oceans, beaches, deserts

Ancient rock on display along the Trail of Time

Eyepiece directing the viewer to where the rocktype is within the canyon

Joined park range programs

Hiked the Bright Angel Trail

Can you spot the deer? ;)

Rewarded with sweeping vistas when hiking

Healthy breakfast

More sinful breakfast, hahaa

I would say that we ate well in the National Park ;)

Historians study the ancient rock paintings and previous dwellings of the Pueblo native american tribes.
Naturalists come for the wildlife.
Artists paint Grand Canyon's grandeur.

Tourists see an impressive UNESCO Heritage sites, take photos and walk the trails. Most spend just an average of 3.5 hours at the Grand Canyon.

Now that is too little for a massive natural wonder, don't you think?
Grand Canyon changes throughout the day and seasons:

Midday

Morning sun

Glimpse of the Colorado River that carved the canyon

Sunset views

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Red Rock Country

2012-12-01T11:00:00.000+08:00

The Red Rocks of Sedona are sandstone formations of orange & red hues, especially brilliant during sunrise and sunset. Numerous hiking trails lead to one rock formation or another - the popular Bell Rock and The Cathedral have befitting names - and can be easily seen from the main road. The pretty little town center is thoughtfully done up in the same colours to blend with the surrounding landscape.

An interesting aspect to the Red Rocks are the energy vortexes. A vortex site is defined as a place where there are flows of energy in multiple dimensions. Believed to be spiritual and healing, some people seek out energy vortexes for meditation and prayer. Well, something to be experienced...

Native cactus and agave

Just one of the many red sandstone rocks

National Park poster

Picnic area with view of Bell Rock (left)

Town center: touristy but pretty

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Napa Valley in autumn

2012-10-27T02:41:00.000+08:00

An easy drive north of San Francisco lies the Californian wine valley of Napa. Autumn is grape harvest season and also the time for splashes of fall colours... so we got behind the wheel and did just that. Our first stop was Downtown Napa where a nice lady told us "you can identify the different grape vines easily... red grape vines turn rust, white grape vines turn gold"

There was a local halloween event in the town center... even dogs were dressed up! But we decided not to linger and continued our journey northwards along the old Silverado Trail road. A pleasant drive with rolling plains of wineries and the mountains on both sides of Napa Valley.

Tip! Should you wish to picnic, wineyards are private property and you can only picnic at those that permit picnicking. This typically require a call-ahead. Otherwise look for a park in one of the towns.

And here is another secret:
Of the many Napa Valley towns & villages, Yountville stood out with its quaint small-town ambience and celebrity-chef restaurants. Shall be back even if it is just to dine at each of these restaurants ;)

Colours of autumn

eastern mountain range of Napa Valley

Yountville

Rock mushrooms

Tin sculpture of a cook... well-suited in this gourmet town

Public park

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Pre-musical in San Francisco

2012-09-01T09:30:00.000+08:00

San Francisco is a cultural melting pot. Big on celebrating diversities of its residents, foodies and art lovers will be right at home here. Joining in the fun, I purchased tickets for a musical :) And fit in some detours before the show...

Stopped by the Golden Gate Park (concourse area):

Japanese tea garden
(aww, now I miss Japan)

And some famous sourdough clam chowder at the pier of course!

Then it was time to head to the musical theatre:

View of cityhall far back

Lobby before the doors open

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Guest visitor at Google HQ

2012-08-21T12:29:00.000+08:00

What luck! Got invited for lunch at Google's global headquarters by a friend who works there. Toured the main buildings, snapped photos with Android icons, and enjoy a complimentary alfresco lunch at its cafeteria - buffet style selections from various food points of different cuisines. If you are a person who likes choices, this is heaven.

One of the buildings

Company "shuttle" service :)

Playground for fans of the Android OS

Hahaa...

Charging dock for electric cars

My platter of cafeteria food (1st helping, there were more!)
Took small portions so I could fill up on variety instead, hahaa

Clockwise from upper right:
Tomato gazpacho soup, seafood pizza,
barley lemon appetizer,
nachos & guacamole, taco, grilled veggies

Thank you Kevin for hosting us!

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Garlic festival

2012-08-10T06:07:00.001+08:00

For shoppers, the city of Gilroy (just off Highway 101 in California) is synonymous with the Gilroy Premium Outlets. What I recently found out: this place produces garlic and has a factory that processes the most garlic in the world! So it is only natural to satisfy my curiosity at its annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, the 34th one running...

Just one of the many truckloads of... GARLIC

Plenty of food stalls. Glad we arrived before the crowd!

my lunch of: garlic toast, garlic shrimp, garlic mushroom & a burrito

fresh garlic topping on fries :)

The theme goes down especially well with mussels, toast, fries and really most meats. But then I love the taste of garlic so am definitely partial here, hahaa. There was a stall giving out free garlic ice cream too! Could not taste the garlicky flavour after the garlic fries though.

A number of events kept the crowd entertained - live music, mascots, cooking competitions, souvenir booths, garlic braiding demos

photo op with Mr. Garlic
(Thanks Mrs. Garlic for offering to take this picture!)

garlic braids anyone?

cooking a blaze

Finals for the garlic cookoff by professional chefs
(the 2011 festival included an appearance by Top Chef tv show's Fabio Viviani!)

And complimentary mint candies to ensure a refreshing end to a garlicky experience. Good thinking folks :)

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Cooking class in Tuscany

2012-06-08T11:48:00.001+08:00

the Kitchen

Note: Without shortcuts!
To the extend that we made the pate from scratch, kneaded & beaded our gnocchi, created tomato sauce for the meatloaf (from tomatoes, not canned puree), sliced open a vanilla pod to flavour the torta custard (no bottled vanilla essense here)...

You get the idea. Brilliant change from the cityfolk convenient-packs... think natural & flavourful ;)

Yes, we made the liver pate from scratch!

Recipe for a great cooking class:
1          modern kitchen in lovely Tuscan home
1          italian mama
2          assistant/translator
heaps oh-so-fresh produce from the countryside

Our grand culinary goal:
2 antipasti (appetisers) - salsa verde crostini, liver pate crostini
1 primo (first course) - gnocchi in sage buttercream
1 secondo (second course) - meatloaf
1 dolce (dessert) - torta della nonna (custard tart)

the freshest garlic bulb I have seen... still moist, its skin is not the typical dry, paper texture

goodness of the garlic, fresh herbs, EVOO in the salsa verde

boiled potatoes are ready when they slip off the knife

preparing potatoes for the homemade gnocchi

gnocchi beads

don't overcook them!

add in the rich sage buttercream sauce (yes, we prepared the sauce too!)

italian mama showing us the way to roll up the meatloaf

tip: add white wine when meatloaf is 3/4 cooked

meatloaf + the all-natural tomato sauce

of course, we eat our hard work for lunch ;)

preparing the custard filling, to be chilled later

chilled custard filling in dough

generous almond toppings

a slice of sweetness

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Almost residential in Florence

2012-05-14T14:15:00.001+08:00

Florence Old Town is artistically beautiful and still a living city centre.
And it is great fun staying (almost) like a resident in a converted old palazzo in the heart of the city where everything is within easy strolling distance.

Entrance gates into the building
(we had keys to both the wooden & metal gates)

The courtyard

Bedroom

Living room space (with extra high ceilings!)

Reading / Teatime corner with a strategic window for natural lighting

Bathroom

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Ancient Citadel of Pompeii

2012-05-14T14:06:00.000+08:00

Who knew that our "modern day" woodfire pizza oven looks just like the one at a bakery in Pompeii, a citadel founded in 8th century BC! It was a thriving citadel until a major earthquake in 62AD followed by the devastating volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD

excavated bakery site with oven & stoves

earthenware among the ruins

plaster cast of a mummified victim

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Naple's old grandeur

2012-05-13T23:10:00.000+08:00

The saying is right: "Don't judge a book by its cover"

Old grandeur survives in Naples and may just pleasantly surprise.

Example#1
This is what we found beyond a grubby-looking open garage door (But by all means, please do not poke your head just anywhere in the city of the Camorra! If the door is closed, let it be... ahem)

unassuming, but this wooden gate is automatic

holding our breath...

wow: 4-storey hallway to the apartments

Example#2
Graffiti-flanked entrance to this prestigious pastry shop yields delectable snacks. Especially famous for their ministeriale - chocolate medallion with a rich liquer filling

good thing we were specifically looking out for this pastry shop

mold casings for their famous chocolate medallions
(note the rows of pastries & cakes in the background left)

creamy & potent filling... Yum!

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Gino Sorbillo - temporarily closed

2012-05-11T01:52:00.001+08:00

Naples is the capital of pizza & Gino Sorbillo is one of THE pizzerias to go for. So much so that there are several pizzerias of the same name in town.

It was shocking to find a smoked, sooty place when we arrived. Spoke to a neighbouring shopkeeper who told us that there was a fire.

Mr. Gino: All the best in the rebuilding. Stay strong. Pizza lovers will await your comeback eagerly!

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Capri's Grotto Azurra

2012-05-06T06:05:00.001+08:00

To go or not to go?

Verdict: Go! For the interestingly beautiful seacave, albeit short & brusque experience.

The experience

Tiny entrance of the sea cave

Choose a rowboat (or the other way around actually)

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Magical dinner at lemon grove

2012-05-05T14:40:00.001+08:00

Stumbled upon this beautiful place just next to our accommodation in Sorrento! Lemon groves abound in the town that created the limoncello so why not dine under these fragrant citrus trees?

Rule of thumb: when at the coast, order seafood. And we were not disappointed. Mussels were especially fresh. Slurp.

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Vatican City with pilgrims

2012-05-05T06:24:00.001+08:00

We visited on the day before the 1st anniversary of the beautification of Pope John Paul II. There were many more visitors, even the skip-the-line ticket holders had a line while the normal queue snaked approx 1km around the Vatican walls to the very front of St Peter's Basilica! Photo shows the sheer number of seats prepared for the big day.

Although more lengthy, the visit was still thoroughly enjoyable with our knowledgeable, entertaining & carina local guide. Mission accomplished!

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Gelato Gelati

2012-05-04T06:22:00.001+08:00

Yes, gelaterias are everywhere! Ranging from moderate to great, choose from the classics (chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio) to refreshing (melon, lemon) and sophisticated (proscuitto) or interesting (tomato & basil)

Look for the term 'artigianale' which means that gelato is produced with love and quality ingredients

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Pastas redefined

2012-05-02T05:38:00.001+08:00

1) Carbonara

As the rest of the world knows it: in lots of thick, white creamy gravy & bacon

What it really is: dryish with a coat of bright yellow egg yolk sauce, grated cheese & bacon

the REAL carbonara

2) Bolognese

As the rest of the world knows it: minced beef in tomato sauce with spaghetti

What really happened: we have been eating ketchup all these while!

Ragu alla bolognese sauce (bolognese sauce) does not even have a strong tomato flavour, just mild acidities to enhance the meat sauce. And it typically comes as a tagliatelle instead of spaghetti

tagliatelle alla bolognese

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Church bells ringing

2012-04-30T13:28:00.001+08:00

8 o'clock and the sun is setting in Rome. And then a magical moment: church bells started ringing from around the city. Perhaps it was more beautiful because we were strolling along a quiet street from the Borghese gardens... it was just church bells against the backdrop of serenity. And from where we were, our view was of the rooftops of Rome with the Vatican City in the (not so far) distance. Upper right dome in the photo.

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TURKEY. Food. Self sufficient.

2011-10-09T11:59:00.000+08:00

Impressive.

How many countries are self sufficient in the current globalised age of inter-dependency? Turkey is. It produces enough to feed its whole population AND manages to export dried fruits & nuts. While travelling across this country, agricultural landscapes are common sight. And in season this end-autumn are: figs, citruses, grapes. I also find the views of white-speckled cotton fields very pretty.

Local produce are extremely fresh and affordable. Regional specialties are a sense of pride for the people. In the countryside, families tend to their own vegetable/fruit gardens and sell excess at weekly open-air markets. Come to think of it, there are plenty of fishing lines even in metropolitan Istanbul along the Galata Bridge. Ah, what a change from city living in Singapore where ingredients are considered imported by default!

My experience in images...

Home grown organic lemon

Drying in the autumn sun

Olives

Vegetable/fruit patch

Handpicked tomatoes

Grapes for white wine

Kids after school

Cotton fields

Figs

Saturday market in a town along the Aegean Coast

Colourful okras anyone?

Hahaa... soap galore

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