Aunt Opal's last week.

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Dear Family and Friends,

We are heading into Aunt Opal's last week in Ecuador.  We have been having a wonderful time.

Here is Aunt Opal and Chuck at Turi.  The city of Cuenca is in the background.


We had fondu at a Swiss restaurant with old friends and new friends.


We took Aunt Opal to Eduardo Vega's gallery.  While we visiting, Eduardo Vega, a world famous ceramics artist, posed with Aunt Opal. 


We went to Clarke's and Brenda's house for homemade doughnuts.  Here is chef Clarke making sure we had fresh hot delicious donuts to eat.


He used his grandmother's recipe.  They were very, very good.  Thanks for inviting us Clarke and Brennie.


We had a nice dinner at Tiesto's.  The most famous restaurant in Cuenca.  Here is our table.  No one was paying attention to the camera, we were all busy yaking it up....as always.


Here is Aunt Opal with Chuck.  Our friend, Nancy Hamm, presented Aunt Opal with a token gift for her to take back to Georgia.


Best of all Aunt Opal is staying hydrated.  She is making a lot of friends too.


Love,
Nancy

QT Gold Coast, Surfer's Paradise

To contact us Click HERE


If I had a choice between a Hilton or a Marriot and a boutique hotel, I would definitely go for the latter.
Boutique hotels range from quaint to stylish but the personal touches make all the difference. From ecletic and stylish furniture to more personal touches from hotel staff, that's the reason why boutique hotels are gaining popularity with many tourists. QT Gold Coast has so many of these quirky colourful touches that I just can't stop taking a closer look and snapping away. I wonder how their rooms look like. 

The exterior of QT has an interesting feature wall that reminds me of the Chinese abacus 

Cup cakes, rocky road, macaroons, meringues -these are a few of my favourites things

Many colours and different textures but they come together beautifully

Chairs that radiate the bright rays of the sun

Playful patterns

I love love the organic patterns of the coffee tables

Vintage + surf = hip 

A funny guy fooling around with the bike at the entrance 

Old school weather board that has to be updated daily

Peter's Fish Market - Gold Coast Australia

To contact us Click HERE
The last time I had fish and chip from a take away shop was when I was in Cornwall, England during my teen years. It was wrapped in newspapers and I gleefully headed to the beach with it so that I could enjoy the sea breeze and my hot and fragrant fish and chips.But things turned ugly as a flock of seagulls descended upon me like a group of well trained commandos. Think my fish and chips were ultimately abandoned on the beach as I made a dash.

Well that was years ago and here I was in another country where fish and chips are enjoyed with a similar gusto. The billboard at Peter's Fish Market in Gold Coast says "Fresh and cooked, straight from the trawler."
I could see a funny looking seagull at the corner of my eye but at least he was alone. According to Sun Tzu's Art of War, it is important to know your enemies. As for the fish, it was battered and fried and served with fries. The fish was fresh so it definitely tasted better than the average fish and chips served at family restaurants. But what I loved were the oysters costing only Australian $15 for a whole tray. They were fresh and succulent and ultimately, I abandoned the fish and chips midway, left them to my lunch companions while I just focused on the oysters. Perhaps fish and chips and me were never meant to be.

There are lots of seafood offered within Peter's Fish Market and I was particularly amused by the bugs , a name that locals call this clayfish looking creature as well as the spanner crabs which somehow looked too plastic to be eaten. You can choose your seafood and request it to be cooked to your liking. Battered, crumbed or grilled , seasoned with lemon pepper, spices or cajun pepper. They also do their seafood with a Thai vinegrette - with garlic, chilli and lime. The food can be enjoyed at the benches and tables outside, Alfresco style or you could take them to the beach ! Just be wary of those innocent looking seagulls. Everything is casual and relaxed at this place.

Tiger prawns from Australia 

Spanner crabs- don't they look plastic ! 

Australians call these bugs

Fish that I don't see back in Singapore markets 

Fresh succulent oysters 

Fish and chips 

Singapore advertising in the 50's and 60's

To contact us Click HERE

Took a picture from a friend's magazine of the 50s just the other day. It was an old jewellery ad from one of  the many Chinatown goldsmiths in Singapore. I remember some of the jewellery styles from my mum's old collection especially that of the insignia ring. Singapore 's advertising scene at that time was probably very influenced by that of the British with just drawings and words. The era of models and artiste endorsements came much later. I would love to look out for more of these vintage Singapore advertisements as it shows the trends of fashion and style of the different eras.

Lin Dai - Asia's screen goddess

To contact us Click HERE
I love going to Cathay Restaurant for dim sum and amidst the pictures of Cathay's movie stars of yesteryears on the walls is that of Lin Dai, the screen goddess of Asian cinema in the 60's. My mum was a big fan of hers and she used to mention to me that Lin Dai was a true beauty with the tiniest waist ever . Seeing this picture made me realise that she wasn't exaggerating at all. Love her hair cut and her dress with the musical notes. It certainly wouldn't look out of place today with the popularity of vintage designs.

If the table just next to the picture wasn't occupied, I would usually insist on sitting there for lunch, close enough to admire the picture.

QT Gold Coast, Surfer's Paradise

To contact us Click HERE


If I had a choice between a Hilton or a Marriot and a boutique hotel, I would definitely go for the latter.
Boutique hotels range from quaint to stylish but the personal touches make all the difference. From ecletic and stylish furniture to more personal touches from hotel staff, that's the reason why boutique hotels are gaining popularity with many tourists. QT Gold Coast has so many of these quirky colourful touches that I just can't stop taking a closer look and snapping away. I wonder how their rooms look like. 

The exterior of QT has an interesting feature wall that reminds me of the Chinese abacus 

Cup cakes, rocky road, macaroons, meringues -these are a few of my favourites things

Many colours and different textures but they come together beautifully

Chairs that radiate the bright rays of the sun

Playful patterns

I love love the organic patterns of the coffee tables

Vintage + surf = hip 

A funny guy fooling around with the bike at the entrance 

Old school weather board that has to be updated daily

Peter's Fish Market - Gold Coast Australia

To contact us Click HERE
The last time I had fish and chip from a take away shop was when I was in Cornwall, England during my teen years. It was wrapped in newspapers and I gleefully headed to the beach with it so that I could enjoy the sea breeze and my hot and fragrant fish and chips.But things turned ugly as a flock of seagulls descended upon me like a group of well trained commandos. Think my fish and chips were ultimately abandoned on the beach as I made a dash.

Well that was years ago and here I was in another country where fish and chips are enjoyed with a similar gusto. The billboard at Peter's Fish Market in Gold Coast says "Fresh and cooked, straight from the trawler."
I could see a funny looking seagull at the corner of my eye but at least he was alone. According to Sun Tzu's Art of War, it is important to know your enemies. As for the fish, it was battered and fried and served with fries. The fish was fresh so it definitely tasted better than the average fish and chips served at family restaurants. But what I loved were the oysters costing only Australian $15 for a whole tray. They were fresh and succulent and ultimately, I abandoned the fish and chips midway, left them to my lunch companions while I just focused on the oysters. Perhaps fish and chips and me were never meant to be.

There are lots of seafood offered within Peter's Fish Market and I was particularly amused by the bugs , a name that locals call this clayfish looking creature as well as the spanner crabs which somehow looked too plastic to be eaten. You can choose your seafood and request it to be cooked to your liking. Battered, crumbed or grilled , seasoned with lemon pepper, spices or cajun pepper. They also do their seafood with a Thai vinegrette - with garlic, chilli and lime. The food can be enjoyed at the benches and tables outside, Alfresco style or you could take them to the beach ! Just be wary of those innocent looking seagulls. Everything is casual and relaxed at this place.

Tiger prawns from Australia 

Spanner crabs- don't they look plastic ! 

Australians call these bugs

Fish that I don't see back in Singapore markets 

Fresh succulent oysters 

Fish and chips 

Singapore advertising in the 50's and 60's

To contact us Click HERE

Took a picture from a friend's magazine of the 50s just the other day. It was an old jewellery ad from one of  the many Chinatown goldsmiths in Singapore. I remember some of the jewellery styles from my mum's old collection especially that of the insignia ring. Singapore 's advertising scene at that time was probably very influenced by that of the British with just drawings and words. The era of models and artiste endorsements came much later. I would love to look out for more of these vintage Singapore advertisements as it shows the trends of fashion and style of the different eras.