A New Day

Hi! We are finally in 2010. I don't know about you but today actually feels fresh and new. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. Although the bitterly winds prevailed it didn't hinder us to go out for our first walk this year.
Recently I have been drawn to the natural world. I hope this year I could explore more places in Britain and share them to you. I am also considering of doing a long walk following one of the trails of Alfred Wainright. There are so many beautiful places in this country which I'm truly looking forward to visit.

In the Bae front I wish out man would continuously provide us with exciting projects to watch and enjoy although we all have wished him a healthy and successful 2010.

I hope your first day of 2010 was just as good and promising.

Images of Graftam Water Nature Reserve.

Holiday Excess

Hello there! How was your holiday? After being subjected to sumptuous food and intoxicating drinks this season our family tradition is to go for a good walk in the country (not just to blow cobwebs away but burn those extra bits we gained apart from what's already there). This time we headed to the nearest RSPB reserve- Frampton Marsh.

We were first optimistic since the sun was out and the ice on the ground had started to melt. When we arrived in the area our enthusiasm was suddenly extinguished after the northerly wind hit us. In less than an hour I couldn't feel my hands and my fingers started to hurt badly. The fresh air was refreshing though so we endured the walk in a muddy and  ice ring- like ground. Unfortunately some of us landed on knees and back but suffered no serious injuries. At the end of the interesting walk we still managed to smile and came home safe. These are some of the photos of the reserve.

Have a lovely week ahead..

Visit Korea

For many of us in Baeland Korea is the ultimate tourist destination. Thanks to Bae Yong Joon and the Korean wave. This new ad of Visit Korea for 2010-2012 signals a very welcoming message for all of us to discover Korea. Have you planned your next visit? His travel book is the best tool to begin with.

Photo scan from Asahi Shinub courtesy of Mizuumi. Thanks.

Edible Rambling

Hi! It's pretty quiet in Baeland. Apart from the law suit BYJ filed against a tour agency organizing tours for Japanese tourists which signalled a huge warning to those who would like to use his name for commercial purposes without his consent whilst tramping on his own right to privacy. This serve them right. I hope this would be the end of the story.

Looking at the brighter side. It's the festive season just around the corner. Abundance of tempting food sprouts like nobody else's business and parties don't help at all. Plus it's winter time. It's getting difficult to shed those extra calories. I have decided to keep myself active apart from work by using the bike..it's too cold to jog and trip to the gym doesn't even look appealing. So we'll see if it works. I've tried to avoid festive food as much as I can though..wish me luck.

However I'd like to share some of the food we had tried when we were in Scotland. Scottish food are quite different from the English as you would hardly taste salt in the former.

Let's take for example this chicken with vintage port pate with oatmeal biscuits. The port was noticeably strong that would surely leave a distinct aftertaste. It's not sweet nor salty either.

Alex had a pheasant with mince meat and Haggis which to me was an interesting combination but he certainly loved the Haggis, neeps (turnips), potato in whiskey sauce for starter.

Hope you have a lovely day wherever you are. :-)

Edinburgh

Hello there!

Last weekend I had the chance to travel with the family on a chartered train going to Edinburgh.The five hour journey on each way wasn't so bad. It was actually  faster than I thought. I used to have this picture of a train travelling near the coast in my head and I'm glad to be on a similar trip.

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. The city is situated on a hill while the castle is at the topmost part. As we came out of the station we had to climb which seem to me a hundred steps to get to the city. It was raining, cloudy and truly a dull day. The grey colored buildings with its old Georgian style stood out the most.

Above is the statue of Sir Walter Scott whose famous works include Rob Roy and Ivanhoe.

This Highland Piper is wearing a 'Number One' dress uniform which is made up of kilt, tunic and sporran, spats and diced hose, full plaid with a Cairgorm brooch and a feather bonnet. He's kind enough to pose for me. It's strange when he asked where we came from and when we told him the place he shouted back, 'ah England'. Then I felt we were certainly in a different land.

Edinburgh is a lovely place. Although our visit was short it's surely a great place to see for another time.