Hmmm

Hahahahaha

Xmas baking

Baking cookies for Christmas is a serious thing here. I've got different colleagues who bang on the first of December, walk into the lab kitchen with a box full of lots of different types of biscuits aka, plätzchen. This year I was asked if I wanted to join in on the baking fun. My reply was a resounding yes! On the baking day, it was decided that we would make just 4 different types. Believe it or not, making these took pretty much 6 hours. I'd really hate to know how long it takes a colleague to make 10 types.   

We made them in a variety of festive shapes!

We also made some that were jam-filled!

And here I am melting the chocolate for some chocolate ones!

However, since it took the entire day to bake these different types of cookies, I'd spent the time in between testing things here and there. This meant that by the end of the day, I was all sugared out and didn't want any more.  

Offspring

Oh god, I can't....I just can't deal with this. Even all the way over in Munich. I mean it got spoiled for me (thank you, Facebook), but knowing what was going to happen *sniff*. I screamed when I saw how things were going to pan out and wanted to vomit. Then I burst into tears when Kate screamed. It was too much.

So all I can say is that we should remember Patrick the way Nina would think of him.

Rest in peace. 

Ah-chee chee!

The day after the wedding, me, Poo, and Smee headed over to best man Aheugenah's place for multiple reasons. One - palm off wedding cake. Two - play Street Fighter. And, most importantly, thee - PLAY WITH ARCHIE THE CORGI!!! It's been a few years since I saw Archie, but he's JUST AS KYOOT as the last time I saw him!

LOOK HOW KYOOT HE IS!!!

Me and Archie getting reacquainted

Archie, *whut are you doing?"

Eyeing each other off

Puppy face competition!

Archie goes in for the smooch

And then looks away like nothing happened.

I'll admit, I kinda really love this photo. 

Pooey and Archie 

She restrained herself a bit more around him. 

After the initial excitement, we went off and did something else more fun - Smee taught Archie a new trick and we all took turns reinforcing it.

For each time Archie would put his paw on that rubber chicken toy and made it squeak, we would give him a munchie.

I think he learned it within 5 goes.

And then he went around to each of us, making the chicken squeak progressively longer and louder until we fed him.*

In the end, he got tired of playing with all of us and went to sleep.

*Smee went and visited a few days later and said Archie basically followed him around with that chicken asking for food. And then watching with a quizzical look when he wasn't fed. 

A Walk in the Park

Pooey had her wedding preparation under control and as such, she didn't need me as much as I'd anticipated. This wasn't such a bad thing - I had the opportunity to take some time to myself in autumn sunshine after the crappy German winter (and autumn, and spring). 

I don't know what these flowers are but they were a happy and colourful sight after the grey winter. 

The Secret Garden-esque entry to the Heide II Kitchen Garden...

...where snakes are a natural part of the environement (hehehe)

And spiders!

Although it looks full, I could see that a few of the beds were in the midst of being re-planted.

No matter how often I see these corrugated iron cows, I love them. They just look so much like...cows...

Gardening - Australian style

I made my way down to the river and enjoyed the sight of sunshine coming through the trees and reflecting off the water. 

Then I made my way back to the other Heide Kitchen garden and took photos of...

Zucchini!

Tomatoes!

Eggplants!

Chillies!

I never really appreciated how nice the Australian landscape was until I left and really enjoyed walking around and seeing our weird flora, like these blossoms. I ended up walking out for around an hour - Mum actually rang me to ask where I was for so long!

And as I made my way back, despite the clear blue skies and warm sunshine, I got this reminder that winter is coming...but not snow :P

Munich in Motion

from Greg Kiss on Vimeo.

I love having visitors because I love showing people around and seeing the city through new eyes. And when I see something like this, it does make me feel a little bit bad for calling Munich *a village*. (But you know...it is). 

My new obsession

DOWNTON ABBEY!!!

People have been saying for a while that I would love this series but in Germany it aired on cable (which I don't have), and it probably would have been dubbed into German (which I don't understand perfectly). Having said that, my boss said she had the DVDs and I could borrow them off her and watch it if I wanted (I don't have a DVD player at home).

Pooey gave me the files when she came and visited in June but I was instead watching Offspring, Glee, and Game of Thrones, among others. But even then, Pooey was telling me I HAD TO WATCH IT. And that I would appreciate a pair of fine (piercing) eyes in the series. Well now! But I was also told it was engrossing and given that my evenings in Munich are also taken up with cooking, gym, and social activities, I decided that the best thing I could do was watch the series while I was isolated in Bremen.

HEILIGE SCHIESSE, THIS SERIES IS AWESOME!!! 

My god, it is perfect for me! Taking place from 1912 to 1914, it's a world of almost perfect civility, white-tie formality (the people upstairs), the people who make it possible (the servants), intermixed with family drama and class interaction! And there is a mighty fine pair of piercing eyes. Damn schexy ones, with great dollops of sexual tension.

In tuxedoes! Dammit, you two need to get together!

But upon completion of the first season, I discovered that Pooey didn't give me all of S2! I had to hold off watching until it was complete so I wouldn't have to be kept in suspense! Instead I decided to re-watch my favourite moments (such as when Lady Mary and Cousin Matthew flirt), but especially the tour de force awesomeness that is Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham. 

As seen in this video!

But I've started S2 now, and it's set during WWI so this time around we get some uniform action.

And I love a man in uniform. Although I think that's a lieutenant uniform, not a brigadier.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Andres Iniesta and my husband Iker roam the streets asking for photos and autographs from randoms. 

Been a while since I featured my first husband...

These were apparently taken back in May 2011 for Russian InStyle. I don't know how I missed them!

 It's really good to see you again!

Really, really good...

(Images ripped from the cornedbeefhash tennis blog.)

Encore Paris - Jour 2

While planning this time around, Jul, Amandine and I all agreed - we'd each done most of the important touristy things in Paris, this time we were going to EAT and SHOP!!! And we stuck to this promise, MUHAHAHAHA!!!!

In the spirit of our declaration, we started off by walking down the street to a close cafe/boulangerie - Fauchon - for breakfast!

Jul gets into the Asian spirit.

Amandine being cute.

Nom nom nom!

After our epic breakfast, we decided to head towards Boulevard Haussmann towards the Grands Magains to get in our shopping. I mean, we could have turned the other way and gone towards Place Vendome but you know...anyway, I ended up buying a big down coat for winter and a pair of black stacked heel mary janes that should be easier to walk in on the Munich cobblestones! We also went into Uniqlo but it was so full of people and queues that we didn't get any thermals or merino jackets :(


Eventually we went home exhausted by the huge number of crowds on the streets - I had forgotten the craziness of the shopping crowds and traffic leading up to Christmas on Boulevard Haussmann. Which are of course inflated by people stopping on the street to look at the Christmas lights and windows of Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. It sent me back 7 years!

Eventually we stopped to recharge our batteries before heading out to dinner at our restaurant in the Latin Quarter. But we decided to walk there and admire the city by night :D Our route took us down Rue Saint-Honore and through the Cour Carrousel

Where we saw this monkey guy hanging out of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs

...and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel + friend

So purdy

Walking along the Quai Francois Mitterand, we took a load of photos of the buildings lining the river,

and of the great view of the Institut de France all lit up...

and of things in the distance.

We chose to cross the river at the Pont des Arts and saw all the lovers locks,

posed like Asians,

and admired the view of Pont Neuf and the Ile de la Cite from here. 

We continued along and joined all the other tourists admiring Notre Dame

and the lovely full Christmas tree outside. 

And continued along while every now and then looking down the little alleys of the Latin Quarter.

We then ate a huge dinner which will be recounted in another post. After dinner, we chose to walk back again but I also saw this for all the Harry Potter fans...

HELLS YEAH!!!