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| The Dom Luis Bridge that connects Porto and Gaia. |
After the finals, we had about roughly a week to rest and prepare for our upcoming 12-day journey to Portugal and Spain. Usually around this time, I would be heading to US to meet up with my family but due to the summer placement that I was offered, which began at the end of June, I could only delay the trip to hopefully, the end of this year. =(
During the week, while rushing to finish all my e-learning, I managed to squeeze in some time to spend with my smurfies before everyone parted ways for a few months time. We actually went boating in our very own university and it was definitely a memorable moment spent together. And to think that I almost missed it due to being too busy with everything. Fortunately, I decided against it in the very last minute. It was my second time to row such a boat since I went on vacation with my brother and friends in Australia and it made me those time so much.
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| The boat colour just reminded me how much I loved the colour red. |
Besides that, I decided to try out the Thai restaurant in Beeston recommended by Vivian. I guessed I had to settle with Thai food for the moment then since I had not had any real Malaysian food since last September. However, I was really pleased that I could still be able to go back to Malaysia even though it would only be 2 weeks due to the price and time. Speaking of food, I also managed to satisfy my sushi cravings by trying out another restaurant in the city. =)
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| The delicious salad chicken that Chiechie and Phey ordered. |
To start off our summer holidays, nine of us spent about 6 days in Portugal. Due to the exams and everything, I did not have time to anticipate anything. Therefore, there was no excited feelings, pre-departure sleepless night or any oh-my-gosh-the-trip-is-finally-here type of wait. However, I guessed that was the good part because with no expectation came no disappointment. To say that Portugal was a beautiful country full of amazing food (especially the appetising Portugal tart), good wine and breath-taking scenery would no doubt be an understatement. In addition, the weather was also perfect by my standards. Our first stop was no other than Porto, which itself was a World Heritage Site.
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| The Livraria Lello bookshop that inspired the birth of the Harry Potter series. |
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| A delicious signature local dish: Francesinha with fries. |
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| Portugal tarts and breakfast!! |
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| Wine tasting session: Pink and Reserva. And Tawny 10 was perfect! |
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| The mouth-watering cherries that were sold at rock-bottom price. |
While in Portugal, we visited Porto, Lisbon, Sintra and Abufeira. Of all places, Sintra fascinated me the most, particularly Cape Roca. Its untouched beauty was unquestionably beyond description and I just loved the way it made me feel. And yes, I was usually afraid of height, but it just felt somehow so right and comfortable to be up there, especially when you let your view stretch as far as the eyes could go.
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| Cape Roca facing the Atlantic ocean. |
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| At Cape Roca with the stunning view. |
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| The view from the bottom of the Initiation Well. |
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| At the Initiation Well, my dream destination!! |
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| The majestic Regaleira Palace. |
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| The scenic view of of town of Sintra. |
Of course, Lisbon and Abufeira too had their own charms as well. Delectable food, nice company, pleasant weather and great scenery made time rocket past so swiftly. However, before we left Portugal, we witnessed the theft of a tourist's bag. The incident jerked me right back to reality, that there were still unpredicted dangers out there especially in a foreign country. It was easy to forget that when you're surrounded by pretty scenes though. However, what bugged me the most was the fact that I could have at least done something to help avoid it, and I would never forget the look on their faces after the incident.
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| At Belem Castle. |
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| The majestic Belem Castle. =) |
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| We're in Rio. I'm just kidding. =P |
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| We're in San Francisco. I'm just kidding as well. |
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| Salted sardines with potatoes. |
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| Arroz de Marisco that tasted very similar to Grandma's crab porridge. |
My memories faded a lot faster than that of a goldfish. It was extremely easy for me to forget the little things, moments and feelings (both good and bad) that I had experienced as the time passed. It's treacherous in an insensible kind of way. The years went by so quickly that people came in and out of my life so fast and sometimes with just a blink, they were already long gone and forgotten. Everything was moving forward and before I knew it, the very next phase of life had arrived. That was exactly one of the reasons why I decided to write things down every now and then. However, with the limited time and busy pace of life, it was hard. But I always tried my best to do so, so that I could always hold on to these tiny infinities.
Tiny infinities that made up my life and your story.
Problem - Ariana Grande
