Memories Treasure Chest

Like I described under my profile, I love dogs and currently have four dogs (Mom is taking care of them since I am not around at home). But, my brother has been home since the last couple of weeks. Why do we want to have pets? Knowing that one day they will leave us and not only that, it can cost quite a bit! Can you imagine from the beginning as a puppy (being disobedient, pee-ing and poo-ing all over the area, chewing your beloved slipper, etc...) and all the time you spend training them... We put so much effort into teaching them and it does sound like a strenuous 'job'. Even after those sufferings, is it worthwhile to get a pet? The answer is YES! We or myself get so much in return from them, the unconditional love they give us is invaluable. There is always the time when they come to you when you are feeling sad or lonely; waiting for you by the door to greet you after work; protects you from the danger (strangers, snakes, etc); be your confidante when you can't ...

All right, so due to the massive traffic jam, we arrived in Rouen about 2.30 am? Finally after about 4-5 hrs, we reached there and it was so nice to see a familiar face in this French speaking country.   To my beloved cousin, thank you! He even made supper for us: ‘rolled apple puff pastry’. The first misfortune for mom: somehow she managed to slide down the stairs from the top to the floor and landed on her bum. Ouch! We fall asleep as soon as we hit the bed… Woke up the next morning and cousin already bought croissants for us. How good is his hospitality? You really cannot complain at all. After that we went to Paris (1 hr drive) and the first stop is the Eiffel Tower, the icon of France and the tallest building in France. There were so many tourists there and it was actually quite difficult to take a decent picture. I have to mention that there were two groups consisting of blacks and Indian selling souvenirs such as miniatures of Eiffel tower or key rings. My cousin told me ...

Finally we arrived in Switzerland during the night. I don’t think Swiss drivers are friendly at all. There was a driver who honked at us and pointed ‘the finger’ at us. Totally not our fault, we had to stop suddenly before the zebra crossing for an old lady to walk by. He was behind us and wasn’t happy that we stopped. He followed us behind and later drove pass us ‘cursing’ us.   Anyway, we quickly find a hotel to rest for the night and had McD for dinner. That’s right! We actually went to a restaurant nearby and waited for about 30 minutes but no one serve us at all. Hmmm, second ‘bad’ experience in a row! Rhine Falls The next morning, we drove to Rhine Fall. It was snowing heavily the night before and the drive there wasn’t easy. Reached Rhine Fall and we were the only visitors there (free). Was it worth it? It’s OK . My brother and me throwing snowballs! It seems like we (more like me) have been ‘transformed’ to little kids throwing snowball at each other. [In other ...

From Germany, we drove to Salzburg, Austria and overnight in a motel nearby. The next morning, we went to visit the city and went to the place where The Sound of Music was filmed. Mirabell Garden in winter time! It snowed heavily the day before and all the gardens were covered with snow. Took this picture in a Christmas market nearby! Cute little cow (the same horoscope as me!) A stall selling 'pig' like logs. *Cute* After that, we went to Salzburg "Old Town" (Altstadt). Here we visited the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Too bad we can't take pictures in the house, there were security guards sitting in each room making sure that people don't start snapping any pictures. Well, that is how they earn the money! Is it worth the visit? Emmm, I am not too sure. There were mostly portraits of Mozart and his family, some of his letters, his music scripts (is that what they are called?) and various other stuff that i can't remember now. Moza...