Singapore

Approaching the end of assignment in Brussels, I checked the road map to find a slew of crappy jobs in the near future. I was pretty sure that India was on the horizon, but my luck prevailed yet again. Instead of getting to come home to the US after 4 months or getting a bad assignment, I got assigned to replace someone in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. So I headed straight to Singapore with a brief stopover in London. Upon arriving in Singapore on Tuesday night, I learned of a local holiday the next day, so I was ‘stuck’ until Friday. What a tough situation. Stuck in Singapore waiting for a Thai Visa.

Singapore Pictures

I found Singapore to be quite nice actually. They city is clean, most people speak English in addition to Mandarin, and it was easy to get around. I didn’t do too much besides sleep, eat, and catch up on some paperwork, but I did get out a little bit. On Thursday I took myself to the Singapore Zoo, which is renowned as one of the best zoos in the world. I agree. Although you may think I am quite the loser for attending a zoo by myself, I am really glad I went.



They had some good exhibits with animals from all over the world. Obviously my favorites involved me arriving right at feeding time. These guys above grabbed their fish and ate voraciously, hoarding their food like Nasty Nate used to steal their fruit cocktail in prison. I waited around an extra 15 minutes to see the white tigers eat, and it was worth it.



Good eye-paw coordination when the assistants launched raw meat at the tigers.

On Thursday night I went to Clark Quay, which is a night life hot spot I guess you could say. A congregation of restaurants and bars right on the pier complete with neon lights that filled the sky and reflections on the water invite everyone to come check it out. A lot of Westerners were present within the Quay. There was even a Hooters.



I had a good time, but I’m sure I would have had a lot more fun had I not been alone…would have been a really great place to stay out drinking late with some friends.

On Friday I picked up my Thai Visa, and I headed to the airport.

Belgian Beerfest

OK, I am having some internet troubles, so I will update this with pictures later.

What you have to do in Belgium: eat waffles, eat mussels, eat fries, eat chocolate, and drink beer. The waffles are like candy, and the fries are double fried in beef fat...how can you pass that up. Anyways, the beer is delicious. All different styles, some having really high alcohol content. Some of the lambic ales are kinda nasty, but still have quite a following...just not for me.



Beerfest Pictures

Second weekend in Brussels...huge beerfest at Grand Plaz. Third weekend in Brussels...smaller beer tasting festival. What an awesome place.

Brussels, Belgium

Ciao, Italy. I traveled directly to Brussels for the month of September. The first weekend I walked around a lot checking out all the sights. Brussels is the unofficial center of European politics with the European Parliament here. Also with being located in the middle of Europe, it is easy to travel to and from lots of surrounding countries. Plus it is really easy to meet people since there are lots of short term interns for the EU and many are multilingual...which usually includes English. Hopefully I can take advantage of this, but I am only here for a month.

Brussels Pictures

So far, I find Belgium to be really great. The only down side is that it is constantly on the verge of rain - very windy and gloomy looking. One of the guys from the refinery told me that every country has its faults. In Belgium, it's the weather. In France, it's the people. Spain has bad food...but he rather fancies Italy. OK, so his theory isn't that solid. But the point is that no one likes French people.

As some of you may know, I don't really give a crap about American politics, not to mention International politics...unless they directly affect me. Case and point...last Monday this whole Russia invading Georgia thing...caused the EU to call an 'emergency summit.' OK, whatever. Except that my first hotel was right by Parliament. It took me 2 hours to get home that day. So you can see what influences my political beliefs. They need to end that conflict so I can drive through the city faster.

Except for everyone speaking French here, the job is good. The construction guys are all Italian or Romanian, so I can talk to them a little. I have already identified a favorite construction worker - this real big Romanian guy. Upon seeing me, he says USA? I nod, and he replies 'Pamela Andersons' and gives me the thumbs up. Then he says, I know USA. George Boosh...Obama...Eminem. I'm glad these are the symbols of America. Sorry - I can't have a camera at work or else I would Definitely have a picture of this guy.

Italian Dudes

If I had a nickel for every gelled hair, tight bright-colored jeaned, popped collared, designer sunglass-wearing Italian dude I have seen, I could retire for the rest of my life. You think this might be a stereo-type, and not everyone dresses like this in Italy…but they really do. Even the older men. I’d like to include a few pictures to prove my point.



For some reason rolled up jean shorts are popular. I will never understand, but it does make me feel comfortable knowing that whatever I wear cannot top the ridiculous-ity of Italians. If they can pull women wearing these jhorts, anyone can.

More Venice

I really haven’t been to Venice much since it is no longer alluring to me, but there is a pretty solid beach on Lido I’ve been to a few times. To get there, we have to take the 10 minute bus ride into Venice, then about a 40 minute water bus out to Lido…but it’s worth it. Last weekend, Sveta and I went and on the water bus I just started grinning. She asks me what I was smiling about and I said “I was just thinking about all the people who are stuck in China, India, or Belarus for the summer.” I'm sure my luck of good assignments will run out sometime...but hopefully not soon.



Anyways, we ended up sitting next to a bunch of law school students from Louisiana who were studying in Vienna, Austria for the summer. I threw my towel down, someone spotted my Braves hat, and there we had people to drink with for the entire afternoon – exactly what my summer has been missing. After an entire afternoon of Newcastle, grappa, and some strange rum/orange Gatorade/pineapple juice concoction, Sveta and I took our newly acquired tans back to Mestre.



How was everyone else's summer?

More Venice Pictures
Even More Venice Pictures

I would say just about the only downside to this place is that it is a tourist town, so we don’t have the same kind of interaction with local people as in other locations. The locals are accustomed to tourists coming, asking them for directions and stupid questions about the town, and leaving. So when they see obvious Americans like myself, they don’t go out of their way to communicate with me…even though I am going out of my way to study Italian. The hotel staff and refinery employees know how long we have been here, but I think it’s time to start branching out and driving up to Jesolo on the weekends. They have a huge beach there and a bunch of bars and night clubs. Venice is overrun by cafés and other spots dedicated to Tourists, and it seems that the other young people get out of town when it comes time to go to college.

Zurich, Switzerland

At this point, I have been in Italy for 90 days so I needed to leave the EU. Fortunately, Switzerland is the closest country to the north and is not a member of the EU...so I took myself there for a weekend. I took the short flight and stayed in a hotel with a fitness center...finally! I stayed in Friday and slept in on Saturday morning, which I was really happy about since I worked the weekend before.

Zurich Pictures

Unbeknownst to me at the time, there was a gigantic street parade going on in Zurich this weekend.



This was basically like Halloween and tailgating all rolled into one. There was a ton of drinking on the streets, performers, street vendors, and most importantly: people dressed up like prostitutes. Another great place to people watch.

I piled down some Bratwurst and made my way to the Kunsthaus Art museum...which was lovely. Then it was back out to the parade and walking the Swiss streets.



Overall, I liked Switzerland in my weekend trip of only seeing one city. Almost everyone speaks English and German, so it was very easy to get around. Plus, all I really needed to know how to say was Heineken and Bratwurst.



Plus I bought some chocolate...and it's flippin delicious.

Grom

Grom is our favorite gelatteria in Mestre; possibly anywhere in Italy…and in the world for that matter. Grom’s high quality and large selection, as well as its convenient location across the pedonale from one of our favorite restaurants, Garibaldi’s, make it the logical end to a delicious evening in Italy.

Mariana, me, and Sveta indulging at Grom

Whether in the mood for milk based or fruit based gelato, it goes without saying that we are going to Grom anytime we head west of our hotel. Birthing the phrase “Grom-up” when in need of this delicacy, even a small cone (cono piccolo) comes with two scoops of mouth explosion. I prefer the dark chocolate (cioccolato extra noir), chocolate chip (stracciatella), and raspberry (lampone), whereas many prefer strawberry (fragola) or Crema di Grom, which is a flavor specific to the gelatteria with kind of a cookie dough/butterscotch taste.

Feeling really bold? Try the Scott special; two scoops of lemon (limone).

So if ever in Mestre, I suggest giving it a try...especially if they bring back Blueberry (Mirtillo), pictured below, as one of their special monthly flavors.

I’m going to Grom up right now.