First Landing in America! (Part 3) 🌞🌞

Taterscape brunch in Arturo’s Underground Café – fried potatoes, eggs and avocado (for the third time this week!!)

My final post on my week-long trip to Austin as I count down my final few days in my first trip to America! Just like the rest of the week, the sun shined brightly across the river on Thursday with my first stop being the central library by the river. Not only is the library well facilitated, but it also has a rooftop garden overlooking the scenery nearby. And I managed to squeeze some work in there for an hour or so haha (as the reality of being back at work soon was starting to hit me)- such an amazing working environment! 😛

Depiction of all the famous murals in Austin

I then walked across the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge, enjoying every bit of the scenery nearby as I headed to my next place of interest, which is the the Picnic Food Truck Park in Barton Springs in the south of the city. ☀️☀️

The Picnic Food Truck Park in Barton Springs

A funky display of caravans next to the food truck park

I was dying for the toilet when I arrived at the food truck park but unluckily the toilet there was locked, so I decided to sneak to the bar/restaurant next door. Out of embarrassment (and I doubted they will lend me the toilet for free), I ordered a drink to sit in. I unwittingly ordered the cool-looking Earth Rita (not realising it was probably short for margarita, partly blaming the unclear menu who only said “secret ingredients”… 😂🍹)and OMG that drink was so so strong (literally tasted like pure alcohol)! 😵 But I was adamant to finish it since I paid over $10… 💵 Ended up stumbling my way back to the food trucks and hazily ordered a Louisiana fish and oyster platter that I can just about remember what it tasted like haha… 🥴

This Earth Rita drink literally killed me… 🥴😵

A Louisiana fried fish and oyster platter – can barely remembered how it tasted haha. I assume it was good cause I finished the whole plate! 😂

Lemon pie, coconut and hazelnut gelato (the latter saved for my friend)

In a bit of a drunken stumble, I headed back to the central library, meeting my friend there before we headed north to the Blanton Museum of Art together (and I managed not to have the gelato melted all the way haha!😀) And it was free entry on Thursday (with free lockers provided)! Here are some snapshots of the artworks inside. 🖼 🎨

The Blanton Museum of Art also has a special chapel-like exhibition piece (called “Austin”) by Ellsworth Kelly.

Dinner was Tex-Mex grilled chicken with beans and rice. Tasted much better than it looks hehe!

After a brief rest in the evening, we then decided to make full advantage of Austin’s busy night life and headed to clubbing in the downtown! 🌃 Haven’t been out in ages, and it was definitely hot and sweaty on the dance floor there haha! (So unprepared for it! 😂) But it surely was nice to feel like I am back in uni again! 🕺🕺

Not being too hungover from the night before, we then headed to the Bullock Texas State History Museum the next day (with my history buff friend acted as the tour guide!) Truth be told I know very little about American history, let alone the history of Texas so it is nice to be able to get glimpses of their culture and all the stories behind its making.

We then continued our sightseeing tour, visiting the campus of St Edward’s University and Lake Austin.

Grabbed a fried chicken and burger whilst waiting for the bus 🚌🥤🥤

Tea break at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters by the lake

And on my penultimate night, after making a quick pass through Waterloo Park, I finally get to sample some Texan BBQ brisket. 🔥 I went to Stubb’s which was very close to my hotel. It wasn’t highly recommended by a lot of people I spoke to (Franklin which was quite well known was pretty much fully took up 😕). However, I actually did enjoy my brisket which was tender and also the sides of mac and cheese and collard greens. 😋 (Though the cheese and jalapeño sausage were slightly on the dry side for me).

On the last day, before heading to the airport, my friend and I managed to squeeze in an All-you-can-eat meal in a Japanese restaurant near to him. The food was average but I thought $27.95 was quite reasonable for the quantities you get! 😙

And finally after saying a proper farewell (also slightly ready) to my friend, it was also time to say bye bye to the city. 😢 Until the next time, Austin! I hope I can come back soon!

Day 4 in Vienna: A Shopping Trip to End All Trips

Our last day in Vienna was finally greeted by sunny weather! ☀️☀️ After the jam-pack schedule of the trip to Salzburg yesterday, we got up slightly later this morning. 😴(Especially considering I got down to the hotel reception for a glass of coke and caught up on UK TV past 2am last night! 📺 🥤😂) However, there was still a bit to do before our flight in the afternoon. 👌

After checking out of the hotel, we headed straight to the Holfburg nearby for some more sightseeing in the Sisi Museum, which showcased many beautiful silver collection and also the history of Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the Imperial Apartments. 👀 (Not to be rude but I think I was more interested in the dinnerwares! 😂)

Glorious weather! ☀️☀️

Next up we headed back to Stephansplatz (where the St. Stephen’s Cathedral is) to finish our Vienna trip with a shopping trip! 🛒

Back in the shopping district in Stephansplatz

The third time seeing St. Stephen’s Cathedral in this trip! 😂😂

Have you ever seen a recipe postcard before? 😆

Beautiful painting of St. Stephen’s Cathedral ❤️

After adding some more load to our already full suitcases, we went back to the hotel to collect our luggages before taking a taxi to the airport. ✈️ Our flight was a light flight which only allowed a maximum of 8kg per hand luggage, and we were lucky that we got away being checked on our journey to Vienna. But this time we weren’t so lucky! My bag was 2kg over (I don’t know what it was, but I guess it could be my laptop plus the added load of the wafer biscuits… 😐), but I was charged €40 for the excess luggage. 🤷‍♂️ (Not to mention the zip on the front of my suitcase broke, and my portable charger almost fell out when I collected it in baggage reclaim! 🤦‍♂️)

Anyway, but to end our trip here in Vienna, I had one more slice of Sachertorte before boarding on the flight back home. 🍰 Obviously nowhere near as good as the one in Sacher Hotels yesterday, but still finished our trip in style! 😂 The end of a journey is only the beginning of another! 😉

One more Sachertorte before flying back to London ✈️✈️ – the cake was much drier than the one in Sacher Hotels though 😂😅😗

Sunday Brunch, More Exploring, More Brunch!

My train today back to London was just after lunchtime, so I most definitely have more time to spend in Rochester. A Sunday brunch was obviously the first thing in my mind after waking up, so I checked out the hotel around 10am and headed to The Quills just right next door. I already love Eggs Benedict (that velvety Hollandaise sauce mmmm…❤️), but I really like how they paired it with the pulled pork. 🤤🤤 Great way to start the day! 👍

Afterwards, there are more sightseeing to be done as I headed to the Guildhall Museum down the road. (It’s so convenient in a small town ’cause everything is on the same street! 😂) Given it was a Sunday morning, it wasn’t that surprising that the place was eerily quiet (in fact, I was the only visitor lol) but that didn’t stop me from exploring inside. (Though at one point I got freaked out by my own reflection in the mirrored wall! 🤣)

Tiptoeing… 😬🤫

Next up, I headed to the beautiful piers (after unceremoniously trying to get inside the cathedral without noticing a Sunday worship was happening lol. ⛪ 😂 ) So blessed to still have the beautiful weather today though (albeit a bit windy haha!)

With still more time to kill, I decided to sit down in a café for a second brunch, but ended up running a bit late, taking the burger with me in a doggy bag to meet the bus to Strood…🏃‍♂️🚌 (There was no train running from Rochester because it was a Sunday, so we needed to get to the station in Strood. To be fair, it was so close I could have walked – the station was even closer than Jerk Café from yesterday night. Would have saved me from bolting out the café with the burger in my hand lol!)

Anyway, bon appetite!

Finished that on the train back home! 🚂 (Yeah, the bun was a little burnt, but it actually tasted quite good 😂)

Day 2 in Glasgow: Back in Time

After what seemed like a very short night of sleep, we continued our second day in Glasgow after checking out the hotel at 10am (yes, that was the official final check out time… 😛) We headed to Bill’s for a conventional full Scottish breakfast (how I missed black puddings lol!), then decided to stop by the Riverside Museum and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum today before heading back in the late afternoon.

We decided to go by the route via the Glasgow Subway. Unlike the London Underground, it felt much cosier and I actually found their small carriages quite cute lol. 😂

Wall painting outside the subway station

The museum itself is a transport museum where many of the displays are interactive for visitors, so many of the transports can be climbed inside.

This reminds me of the mini vans in Hong Kong.

Inside the van. A nostalgic feeling for my mum.

Or, even better, walk in the old streets of Glasgow and taking the old subway. It’s like being transported back in time. 😮

Guess I can come here if I need some cash…?

Inside the old subway (it actually smells a bit… 😅)

The museum is also well known for the Tall shop from Govan parked outside by the harbour. The ship was built back in 1896 as a cargo ship and visitors were able to also go on board to take a look around. (Totally felt like I was in the Pirates of the Caribbean lol 🌊🌊)

Could actually imagine me bathing here lol 🛀

Exploring to the depth of the ship… 🤭🤭 (actually only a café and a souvenir shop down there 😂😂)

The bottom of the shop (there is a children playground right next to this! 😆)

Before my mum started feeling too seasick (lol), we then decided to move on to the Kevingrove Art Gallery and Museum not too far of a walk away.

Greeted by an organ performance upon entering (thought we accidentally stepped into a church service lol)

Probably my favourite painting of the ones I saw ❤️❤️

Tired from all the walking and sightseeing, we finally decided to head for lunch at the Hard Rock Café. The portions were absolutely massive! 😨😅 (Still delicious though haha!)

Nachos, Spicy Prawns and Buffalo Sliders

We loved the nachos (No joke, it was probably the biggest plate of nachos I had ever come across in my life!) with its overload of cheeses and spices. The spicy prawns were okay but slightly too much mayo in the coleslaw. I liked the sliders but just couldn’t really taste the blue cheese. The portions were so big that we had to take a huge doggy bag with us on the bus back home! 😂😂 (P.S. we were still having it for lunch today… 😅)

An Education

After once coming across a poster in the London Underground, I learnt of a exhibition called ‘FOOD: Bigger than the Plate’ that is currently taking place in the V&A Museum. After reading a bit more about it online, I was very interested by its premise so I decided to visit it a few days ago.

The exhibition was split into four sections discussing the composting, farming, trading and eating of food, and really questioned the sustainability of the current food culture. Being completely honest, while I had always been passionate about food, I never quite thought deeply about the many environmental and ethical aspects surrounding it, but this had really invoked my feelings towards it. I was also impressed by some of the artworks on display there, so here are some more snapshots from the exhibition:

The agricultural growing calendar in Hong Kong. The exhibition discussed the difficulties of growing crops in Hong Kong due to its lack of open spaces, something I knew too well having lived there. Still a nostalgic feeling though…

Project Florence: an interface that makes conversation between plants and humans possible (?) I couldn’t get any coherent answers from it though no matter what I asked… 😅

Free samples to try! Though I don’t think I am a huge fan of the floral flavours though…

Obviously I needed to take a picture of this lol! 😂

The power of Instagram in food marketing nowadays (as we all knew too well haha!)

Cheeses cultured from human bacteria taken from ears, toes and armpits of these celebrities that include Heston and Ruby from Bake Off… Not sure how I feel about this lol…. 😅

Moving on to the last section of the exhibition, I was very intrigued by this interactive stall from the LOCI Food Lab. Basically, a small taster menu will be created according to your selection of answers to the big question of ‘A great food system should be…’ I chose ‘cutting-edge’, ‘zero waste’ and ‘delicious’. What would you have picked?

The small sample actually tasted not bad. I personally quite enjoyed the cucumber crisp, though I am not entirely sure what the rest of the stuff was.😂 (I couldn’t taste the powdered anchovy at all until I looked at the receipt!) It turned out that ‘delicious’, ‘nutritious’ and ‘zero waste’ were the popular answers (in that order) chosen by the 26,254 visitors that had visited so far. (I guess I am not a healthy person after all lol…) ‘Profitable’ was the least popular answer. Do you agree with this result?🤔