MADRID – PUERTO LAPICE – CORDOBA

Good bye to Madrid and off to Andalusia, Cordoba. It's sad that for our short 2 days in Madrid, we were not given any time to shop at this Capital! Also, we failed to tour Spain's famous football stadiums and watch any bull fights =( Definitely something I'll do if I return in the future. Then and again, most cities look the same and it's always more interesting visiting the smaller heritage towns.

dress: Topshop, shoes: Aldo, bag: Mulberry

Another long day of traveling on the coach but stopping by a little town called Puerto Lapice. Really nothing special about this town besides it being a rest stop for tourist heading towards Cordoba...

Another UNESCO World Heritage Site - Cordoba.

Something super interesting about this place is that it's a Cathedral that was built inside a Mosque, which was built over a Roman Temple once upon a time... Jewish, Arabs, and Christians managed to cohabit peacefully and help construct this magnificent structure (Mosque/Cathedral/Temple).

The most distinctive feature of the Cordoba is the arcs used in the mosque and was built in a shocking 10 months, as compared to regular structures of that era which took few hundred years to complete.

The holiest place in the mosque where the Coran was read

Right in the middle of the mosque, a Cathedral was erected.

And under the floors of the mosque, ruins of a Roman Temple was found

How much more complicated can this religious house get? hahahaha. No wonder it makes the UNESCO list =)

Madrid - Toledo

Plaza Mayor, the central plaza of Madrid

Palacio Real, a palace that's still visited by the Royal Family and used to host official events. It's huge with 1600 elaborately decorated chambers, and used to house over 6000 people.

dress: Miss Selfridge, necklace: Banana Republic, shades: Ray Ban, sandals: Steve Madden, bag: Balenciaga

We didn't get to visit the famous stadiums of Real Madrid F.C. but still managed to take a snap shot of the stadium as our coach drove past...

The entire afternoon was spent at UNESCO World Heritage Site, formal capital of Spain - Toledo. Christian, Jewish and Moorish used to coexist here.

Narrow streets, pebbled pathways, stone walls, arc bridges

Catedral de Toledo

Segovia

UNESCO World Heritage Site - Segovia. The extremely famous Aqueduct of Segovia. It is essentially a bridge right on top for water to be transported from one side of the city to another via a water pipe. And instead of building a regular bridge or wall, they built this formation of arcs. Walking through these old towns brings a totally new understand to how people lived in the past.

cardigan: Primark, dress: Hollister, bag: Balenciaga

Alcazar Castle, the source of inspiration for Walt Disney's Snow White Castle in Disneyland Paris.

BARCELONA – ZARAGOZA – SEGOVIA

8 hrs coach journey from Barcelona to UNESCO heritage town - Segovia. We stopped by Zaragoza to visit Basilica of El Pilar, the primary church of the Marian religious order in Spain dedicated to the Virgin of El Pilar.

UNESCO World Heritage Town - Segovia

Famous traditional Suckling Pig

Hola Barcelona

Greetings from Barcelona =) Love love love everything about Spain. The weather is perfect and the architecture is GORGEOUS! I have a million photos but that have to wait as the internet here is snail like.... Highlights definitely have to be Anthonio Gaudi's creations: La Sagrada Familia (construction from 1882 till current and probably requires another 20 years before completion). Totally understandable from the level of details put into it. El Camel, another of his really famous work was really pretty too. And of coz our visit to Montserrat Monastery, up in the Catalunya mountains.

Reasons to get excited

1. traveling out of SG for the 5th time this year
2. traveling on family's expense
3. exciting outfits planned out for each day
   
4. shopping at the motherland of Zara, Mango, Massimo Dutti, Bimba & Lola, Bershika, Pull & Bear etc.....
5. escaping from my ex boss's last day and reporting to a new boss upon return

can't wait..........

Coming to Singapore in July! My boy promised to get me one =)

Latest addition to my collection

Let's take a peek.....

Presenting, Black Rose Gold Giant Hardware Part Time.

Under natural light

Rose gold is the hardest to capture accurately on film. When I first saw RGGH photos, I hated it and felt that it looked really dull. But after I saw the real one at Hilton, I was sold. Plus 2010's black leather is so chewy and thick and wrinkly!! After debating for a long while, I finally decided to get one but I was too late. Black RGGH Part Time was sold out in Paris, Cannes, London, Milan, everywhere! They only had it in City but I wasn't keen on getting another City. Even Black GGH was easier to locate. It didn't seem that I was fated to own this beauty and I kinda gave up. But it was then when I finally received an email from Balenciaga Printemps saying that 1 piece is available =) My dad's theory of 'law of attraction', want it real hard and it will come to you eventually. 2 days later, Cannes also had 1 available.

Close up on the new Rose Gold giant hardware. It's distinctively different from silver and gold hardware. It's less bright as compared to silver and not as loud as gold in my opinion. Rose gold, together with black streaks give the hardware an antique look which I'm totally digging =)

My Balenciaga Collection. 2009 S/S Sanguine GSH City, 2009 F/W Anthracite Twiggy, 2009 F/W Galet First, 2010 S/S Black RGGH Part Time

Size comparison between City and Part Time

Juicy Couture charms to accessorize my Bals. Ballerina charm for my Black RGGH Part Time.

Mouse trap charm for my Anthracite Twiggy

And Lady Bug charm for my Sanguine GSH City. I'm still missing 1 charm for my Galet First.......

Bal Sandwich. Yummy! I'm gonna take a long long break and I'm going to practice a '1 in 1 out' policy after that.