From my observation, the older you get, the more you like the word cozy.
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Counting by 7s
There's this restaurant at the Korean business center that has the coziest spaces, complete with large tables, comfy sofas and private booths that are large enough to sleep in. I think it sits between a Korean BBQ and a Chinese hotpot restaurant, but the decor, both inside and out, screams English cafe. I've never done any sleeping the two times I was there, but I can definitely say if I had to choose a place where you can order shepherd's pie and sleep if you feel like it, this would be my choice.
This is also a great place for some girl talk. Sometimes girls just need a cozy nook to chat and giggle and be serious all at the same time. Took a few snaps of the details while I was there for a quick afternoon drink with T, a good friend who's been teaching in CQ for years.
Too few photos, too short a time to spend there, the good thing is that it's only two bus stops from where we live.
We discovered Bakery 5 last year, and were pleasantly surprised to know that they've expanded to open a couple more branches all over the city. Last week, we dropped by their Nanbin branch because we were starving after getting stuck in the middle of the Chongqing International Marathon bus rerouting, and it was the only chain that we had tried before. I try to avoid eating at new restaurants if am starving. If the food isn't that good I usually end up hungrier than when I came in.
Baker 5 has a great view of Nanbinlu, the river and the cityscape acrosss the river. This part of town is also not too crowded, unlike Jifangbei or Guanyinqiao, and there are lots of art studios and galleries inside the mall. Hop a bus and two stops later, you arrive at Madame Tussauds, too! No wonder a lot of families like to spend the weekend here.
Bakery 5 serves great comfort food, like salads, pasta and breads and sausages all set in a single plate. They also have a great selection of fruit teas. Pair all these with a great view and you get a pretty enjoyable weekend by the river.
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes
the whole world around you
because the greatest secrets
are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”
― Roald Dahl
The excitement of knowing what's behind that wall, or finally knowing what's around the corner because my feet have touched their grounds and my toes have felt the blades of grass that cover them-- there's nothing like it. And when these things happen on a Sunday afternoon that felt like it could go on forever, just perfect. I love how quiet this place is, how the leaves, shrubs and even the trees are in the shade of green that just blows me away.
A few months in a new place bore a lot of new and wonderful friendships that I am still so happy and excited about. One of those is with S and S, a wonderful couple with a tornado of a little boy and the most adorable baby girl. This quick photo op almost didn't happen, although we had planned on taking them a few months back. Family commitments, vacations and my impending trip back home were making me think that maybe, this wasn't just in the stars. But then, I had to make the rounds visiting friends before going back to the islands, and so we finally managed to squeeze in a short shoot one hot CQ day.
And I'm so glad we did because I came home with my camera loaded with fun snaps that overflowed with smiles and seemingly boundless energy. After almost a year of not picking up my camera for anyone else but me and JP, using it to capture this lovely family's afternoon reminded me how precious these ordinary moments are, especially since these kids are growing like crazy!!!
A few snaps from that afternoon.
“Do your little bit of good where you are;
it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
― Desmond Tutu
These bougainvilleas were in their full glory when I spotted them from the bus, so we just had to stop and bask in their vibrant color. They bloomed in a corner of this park, partly hidden from view by the bus stop but vibrant nonetheless, quietly prettifying their corner of the street. It reminded of how little acts of kindness and goodness that are seemingly insignificant in the bigger scheme of things can matter right where we are, even if the entire world is oblivious to it.
Aren't they glorious?
“You've got this life and while you've got it, you'd better kiss like you only have one moment, try to hold someone's hand like you will never get another chance to, look into people's eyes like they're the last you'll ever see, watch someone sleeping like there's no time left, jump if you feel like jumping, run if you feel like running, play music in your head when there is none, and eat cake like it's the only one left in the world!”
― C. JoyBell C.
So while shopping at one of the grocery stores last week, friends decided to buy a box of cake mix which we put to the ultimate taste test yesterday. This was actually the first time where I was in the immediate vicinity of baking supplies and equipment and I did more than just eat and go "This is ammmaaazzzing! More please!!!"
I got to hold the mixer until "Chef" R pushed me aside while saying that I was doing it too slowly for his taste, and I also got the pull the thing out of the oven when it was done. Since I'm no baker, I consider these as definite accomplishments on the road to total domesticity.
Thanks to my friends for forcing me to participate! All went well, even after a few minutes of arguing between M and R about how ugly it looked with the wrong frosting (the frosting packet that came with mix was conveniently misplaced during the entire frosting debacle, and turned up when it was no longer needed. Evil, evil frosting packet!) Thankfully, the cake turned out great and tasty and thanks to C, we all now know what a Bundt is. Great way to spend the afternoon, to say the least.
(And Fei Fan got a haircut, because that's how dogs roll in the summer.)
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
― Henry David Thoreau,
Walden
I've always been a fan of walking. There's nothing like the feeling of seeing places and knowing that I have walked their grounds, padded over their cobbled streets, their smooth pavements and even skipped over their wet and muddy potholes during rainy days. Walking makes me feel that I have put my stamp on that part of the world and now I can continue on to some other unexplored territory. And don't even get me started on the health benefits of walking! If not for achy joints and poorly-chosen shoes, I could probably walk all day!
But last weekend's walking session made me think like maybe we overdid it with the walking bit. I don't know how far we walked, but the hubby's phone pedometer clocked us as having walked a total of 1400 steps that day. That's a lot of walking. In fact, we walked so far that we fell asleep on the bus home and almost missed our stop.
However, in the middle of all that walking we finally found the park that JP always wanted to visit. Like most parks in this city, this place is gorgeous. And huge! It boggled my mind to think that the park sat in the middle of a busy highway, since it was quiet and peaceful inside. One of these days I might just hop on the bus with a good book in hand and spend a few hours here.
