15 minutes

15 minutes to go before the end of this prestigious Exhibition ends...

We had a terrific and excellent time here... its such a great opportunity and contributed our part informing the international visitors about the art scene in Singaore.
Its been a BLAST!

time to pack up... see u guys back in Singapore!!!
its Shopping time !!! Muahahaha!

Signing off for the last and final time
...... ryf n debs!

the End is near...

3 more days!!!!

Cass is arriving tomorrow afternoon... we cant wait !!
We will be leaving for Barcelona on the 15th.

4 days ago while cleaning the apartment, we stumbled upon a box full of lotuses. It was Jason's lotuses tucked away in the corner, we discovered there were 27pieces of Lotuses, and we put them up for sale! We were not informed that there were more lotuses in our apartment. And the lotuses were snapped up within two days. There was this couplme that bo]ought all 5 of the lotuses, must have wanted to recreate the smaller version of the chandelier.

Da wu's room is full of drawings and images that the table could no longer contain them. They spilled out to the floor and covered part of the room. He provided paper and drawing materials for visitors to draw/paint. The visitors were very excited and fond of contributing their artworks as part of the exhibition. But we are just wary as the visitors are allowed to keep their artworks, you would never know, if they took any of Da Wu's paintings. We kept checking the room to ensure that it does not happen.

The sonic dome has been a room full of treasures, where people leave their cameras, scarfs, hanphones behind. We had to constantly make rounds just to make sure that no one leaves anything behind. And they leave their mess as well, tissues and pieces of paper.

There was this perculiar writer from France who viewed Vincent's work and informed us that the penises from Vincent's sculptures were the same. We looked at him for a bit and then look at each other. We were just baffled. Why would anyone touch the penises of these sculptures, and what is he expecting, varyiing sizes? It was hilarious and we got a good laugh from that.

We are expecting more people nearing the end of the exhibition. So will write soon!
Have to clear the catalogues and the posters...

Vi di a'more
ryf n dubs.

Happy BIRDAY

2 days without internet (sigh)
8 more working days!!! wohoo...
8 more days till cass and phil comes...
16 more days to start of Euro trip...
37 more days till we see Singapore once again...
37 more days till we have to get a real job!!

Busy busy week. thursday we went shopping, the whole day dedicated to shopping. We bought more stuff for ourselves this time. Went to Rialto, and mestre to do a full, all out shopping spree!! Went to look for debs bag in mestre, was cheaper tho, but the design that she wanted was not available (don't remind her about it)..We bought musical stage puppets, handcrafted in Italy, and it moves to the music. One of a kind... Cost us a bomb (don't ask us about it..). On friday was Andrea's birthday, so we bought him a praline chocolate cake on the way to the train station and asked the shop keeper to reserve it for us till we got back about 8pm.Went mestre to look for bags, was a lengthy walk, and by the time we reach, most shops were closed for LUNCH. Apparently, italians have their lunch from 1230 till 1530. guess too much pasta requires a lil nap afterwards. We took a break at this asian cafe, where we had HARD croissants and NICE hot chocolate. We were sure the croissants were kept for a week! lol. Afterwards we asked for directions to Corso Del Popolo. Thats the location where they had the bags. We took a pit-stop at one of the deparmental stores, the first shopping mall we stepped into in Venice. I bought a top hat. NICE. We then made our way to Del Popolo, and when we reach the bag shop, we went on a hunt for the bag. Saw a similar one but the like i mentioned, it was not the right design. We then headed for the indian fast food restaurant where we bought tons of food, to celebrate Andrea on his birthday. We hopped on the bus (for free as the bus driver didn't have any more tickets to spare)...yay. We speed-walked from the rail station to get the cake, bought for Andrea a small towel that he requested for and paced ourselves home.

He was coming after work to celebrate with us, and we have to prepare everything before that. We prepared food for quite abit, and sneaked a preview of the chicken satay that I prepared before we left (to soak up the marination). It wasn't the ideal Singaporean Satay, but Deb thought it tasted good! We started to heat up the food we got from the indian restaurant, swithed on the TV and awaited Andrea's arrival. Time went by............and I fell asleep. Then suddenly awoken by the loud annoying buzzer. Andrea was FINALLY here. He arrived and changed into his first bday prezzie, given from his frn, a pink gay shirt! (it's supposedly a vintage tee....) We handed him our present he requested for, but what he didn't know was that we had a whole string of surprised up our sleeeeeves. =)



The food was good, on top of that, Andrea had commented that he preferred the satay chicken better than the tikka chicken frm the restaurant! YAAAAYY!!! A success! By the end of the dinner, we were all stuffed! Andrea got comfy on the sofa bed to watch TV, while Deb and I prepared the bday cake surprise...For once, the failing heating system was a blessing in disguise. We used that as an excuse for me to secretly bring the cake out to the laundry area (which has a window that connects to the toilet) while Deb "had to pee". So we both met at the window and I handed her the cake. She planted the nice candles and lit them, I gave her the signal to come out, and as she came out, we dimmed the lights and did a rather horrible rendition of a 'Happy Birthday'. He looked surprised, and said, "oh my god" several times... lol.. After blowing out the candles, we gave him the 2nd birthday gift, nother towel, this time a lil bigger just in case he needs a bigger one. Its actually a rolled-up Singapore Flag. By this time he was flustered. Hes been wanting to get a Singapore Flag for a long time, since he misses home so much. We asked Khim to get it for us when she came down...shh.. Then after he cut the cake and we had a slice each, we gave him his last birthday gift. We actually didn't know what to get someone who has everything, so we settled on a Fossil wallet, since it looked quite worn out. The fossil wallet was special as it had his embossed initial. Its one of a kind. He seemed quite pleased as well... with his many "oh my gods" We promised him that that was the last of our gifts.

Afterwards we just spent the rest of the evening watching a DVD of Hot fuzz... Then he slept over at our place, where the next day he was treated to a hearty breakfeast of one pancake (he was late for work and had to go... not our fault). Thats it for thursday and o friday we just spend the day at home after work watching buncha movies on tvs, Italian and German.

Will update again, whats happening in the week... happy reading

.ryf n dubs

we love our tap water.. COLD

Hello all...

We had a warm bath yesterday and the morning... FINALLY! and we had the heater / radiator fixed. its all controlled by one machine and max said that it was a temporary part that they replaced as they did not get exact part for the old model of the heater. And temporary it was. Just before we left, we tested the tap again, just to feel the warm relief of warm water once again, but to our dissapointment, THERE WAS NO HOT WATER... Sien...

WHY WHY WHY...

sigh...
well, on the plus side, Today is our favourite day. OFF day tomorrow. We are thinking of going to the curches/ museums, well maybe not museums, we'll wait for cass to come down to do tht. Thinking of going mestre to do a lil shopping. Buy deb's eastpak.

Talk soon.. off to a cold shower once again....

.ryf / dubs

Feeling chilly

The apartment is in a state of chaos. Max the landloard has been delaying to fix the heater. So right now there is no hot water, no heater, and practically no gas to cook. According to him, the people responsible for the heater has been delaying the process as they are attending similar problems. He says that its common, as winter is nearing and only now then they check the heater / radiators. we've been microwaving hot water for more than a week. And its simply unbearable. The water is ICY cold. no kidding how cold it is, seems like its spring waters from the mountains. Khim bought lots of food, and we are just waiting for the gas to be fixed so that we could cook. Haiz...

The weekend breezed pretty fast, On friday we went out for dinner in a restaurant recommended by Khim. The risotto was great, loaded with seafood and it came in a huge pot, enough for 4 people. We had that on the side of lobster spaghetti, fish soup and a plate serving of mixed grilled fish. The portions were huge. It was amazingly filling. Then we skipped desert for coffee and chocolatte drinks. When we steped out of the resturant, it had already started to rain. Lucky me, i didnt bring any water -proof coats and unmbrella, i had to run all the way back home, frezzing my ass off. Deb walked w khim, they walk slower anyways...lol.

On thursday, we went to Padua, where we were amazed by Giotto's amazing Scrovegni Church. We are only allowed to spend 15minutes in the curch and make way for the next group of tourist as the entire building is equipped with humitdity control to preserve the beautiful frescos by the great Giotto. The church was simply amazing!! we were awed by the magnificient frescos and the superb technique on how he sectioned the various chapters of jeasus and mary's lives. The last judgement was even more breathtaking. its such a pity we were unable to take pictures.

Next we made our way to the 2nd oldest university in Italy. University of Pardua. Although the school is still active, when u enter the building, it still resonates the feel and essence of nostalgia of the past occupants. We spend some time at the university... it had a presence that is hard to describe. maybe its just me...i like old buildings.

Nxt we went to Porta Della Valle, an area covered with statues. It seemed that rich /important people at that time had their statues erected as a sign of status. It was an amazing sight, with names of the staues carved, to be imortalized for their future grandchildren to behold.



Soon after we headed to San Antonio Curch. It looks odinary from the outside, but once you step in. The walls and the ceilings were not filled with painting, but SUPER AMAZING marble sculptures. It literally had marble sculptures as ornaments throughout the entire church. the curch was believed to house the tomb of Saint. Anthony, and in the middle of the room, there seemed to be a relic. It was believed to be the tongue of Saint Anthony. A lil unbelieveable, but, the idea, i have to admit was kind of interesting.



Then we headed back to the train station to mestre where we were on a hunt for an eastpack shop. We reached there pretty late, around 7, and the shops close iin half hour, we rushed through the drizzling rain cold winds to reach our destination. When we cant seem to find the right street we decided to head back. OOh, we went to a Trudi store there, and tried finding for foofoo, when we enquired the owner about foof and its model, he replied that she was an old model, and the new shipment would come in a months time, for christmas. Maybe, its destiny. we wunt be able to find foof a mate. lol.

There was a surge of visitors to the plazzo on the weekend, with Da Wu conducting his performance. Nataliah, the ex intern was here with her boyfiend, Mahmood. She told us that we are so lucky to be in the plazzo. Its so much better compared to the location she was in 2 years ago. yeah lucky us! lol. There were a lot of participnts for the performance, kids especially were having a great time experimenting with chinese ink and also other dry medium. It was great to see people of all walks enjoying each others company doing art together.





Khim has left Venice for istanbul, Alan, has left for Paris and Rofan is leaving us in 2 days time. Soon we will be all alone once again... Till our good old friend cass comes in november. Cant wait till for our EUROtrip. wohoooo..

talk soon!
.ryf

Mixing it all in!

Friday we went to our Ochestra performance at Chisea San Vidal.Its an amazing and truely breathtaking experience. The Ochestra was playing Antonio Vivaldi's pieces, four seasons and more. The group was exhilarating and the audience cheered in celebration. Rofan was unlucky tho, as she bought her tix at another place for that similar concerto, but her's was at another location, so at the last minute, she had to rush to the other place, on the other side of Venice... Poor gal,she had to rush in her long dress n leather boots. But she managed to make it in time for the second half of the concert.

On Saturday we had sandwich for dinner, Andrea brought us to a terrific sandwich place where they had the most variety of sandwiches in Venice. We were hooked on the salmon, shrimp and crabstick sandwich and also tacchinno (turkey) mayo mix. Incredible servings at only 1.5 Euros. Its located near to the Rialto Bridge. Truely amazing. We bought the sadwiches back and enountered something uneventful that we will ever forget in Venice...

On our way back, we went our normal route back to the apartment, and we passed this group of teen, smoking and drinking along the allies. We passed by them and made our way. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the back and when i turned, i saw Andrea being tripped by one of the teens. And the whole group were mocknig us. pulling their eyes down and slanting their eyes, while yelling out asians! asians! We cant believe that there are people here that discreminate other race. If without Asians and the surge of tourists, venice won't flourish. It reflects how these teens are being taught in school about racial discremination. it was utterly disgusting. Andrea was furious, and we was constantly jeered at as they walk pass. He was so furious that he called up his friend, an Italian and wanted to settle the problem. he felt that they were disrespectful. Meanwhile we were in our apartment having the sandwiches, watching spongebob,and was very worried for Andrea. But he came back 20 mins later, fine and a little better. Aparently his friend was so intimidating that he scared the bunch of 20 teens. Its very sad tht in this day and age, there is still race discremination around, and the education system is not doing anything to stop it.

After the entire ordeal, we had our dinner and left for soccer at Giardini. it was a long and chilly walk but a nice one. We wanted to run, but deb doesnt have track pants and are wearing jeans, so we walked there instead. We were just playing a simple passing game when a group of people swarmed into the football field. After the incident, we are a lil wary of the company at first, but they turned out to be a group of nice guys from the jewish community in the ghettos in Venice. They are here to contribute their services and teach to the jewish community here. It was more challenging playing agaiinst them, but exhausting.

Sunday, we went to a sushi restaurant (again on Andrea Expenses, but he insisted). Food was clearly overpriced and the ammount was little. Paid 105 Euros for a sushi boat and 2 side dishes. Sushis are much better and fresher in SG. YES back home in SG! With that price, we could've bought 10 boats. lol. We went back and Rofan bought desserts for us. 5 flavour Gelatos.
Got back to the apartment to play taiti (big two). And the forfit for the loser is to be drawn at their backs. This is so they will not know what is being drawn till end of the game. We had lots of ticklish fun of being drawn on. lol.. here are a few of the finalist. Andrea won the best drawn on contest!




Before we forgot and failed to mention, WE DO NOT HAVE HOT WATER since Saturday!!!! and gas at our apartment. It's ridiculos. Deb was showering halfway and suddenly there was a surge of cold water. and she jumped out of the tub! The cold water is not even funny, its crazy cold! We called the landlord, Max and he said that he will call the company, and till now we are waiting...its WEDNESDAY! What do we do instead, you might ask? We microwave water and transfer them to bottles of mineral water to shower. haiz... And we took turns to shower and fill up for each other. Believe me, it looks like we are on a water rationing program...lol.

Rofan has left Venice for Istanbul, and will be back only on the 20th. Alan is now here, and hes bunking with us. He'll be here for about 3-4 days before leaving for florence. And Khim wil be coming down to Venice this evening with Pratas and more spices for us. haha. aren't we pigs! lol.

Tomorrow is our OFF day. Favourite day of the week, and we will be going out of the city to Treviso and also Padova. Alan will tagg along as he suggested cycling at the mountainous alps at Treviso, that would be fun. Scaling the mountains in our winter wear, braving through the near winter climate. i think we are nuts. but.. lets live a li'l dangerously..

Till friday!
.ryf n debs

BUSY BUSY week

Its been a hectic week sofar. a lot of things snowballed and we were preocupied with things.
We went to Arsenale on our day off, could u believe it! More art exhibitions...OUR OFF DAY and we viewed more ART?!! arsenale was very intense with a gallery space, the size of 2 football field. There are many othrs, but we actually were caught up at the souvenir shop for about 30minutes. very NICE tees, just that its expensive for A tee(23Euros). I found the artwork on the left execptionally strong, although it could serve to be quite disrespectful. Hmmn, there were nice works aroud, sculptural ones prove to be more spectacular than others.



This artist packaged her works within suitcases (deb's favourite). She packed a series of offices within comparmentalized sections in the suitcase. Its amazing, how she included large bulky items such as typewriters, to teacup sets. Although not for carrying around. But for display. Thought provoking how working spaces could be packaged and you can bring that workspace anywhere around. What defines a workspace anyway? There were plenty of Video installations and most of them are not as effective as i think they should be. Come to think of it Zul's Sonic dome is the ONLY sound installation sofar. There were'nt much interactive media works at all in Arsenale.



Theres Also another work that resembles Joseph Beuys, and Vincent. The trenchcoat, is painted white and emerged from it are swirls of lines that lead up to an intricate pattern of maps. cool...Another work that is interesting is of a video work of people confessing that they are going to die. From all ages toall walks of life, to races. Its interesting to see that pause in their eyes when they utter those word "i will die". They know they are going to die suddenly.
its inevitable.

Before Arsenale, we went to San Marco Bascilica. Finally we made it in after 1 month here. it was amazing...golden mosaics all within the domes. nicely done paintings with mosaics. The highlight of the bascilica is actually the 4 horses of san marco which we are unable to take pictures of. Cameras are restricted so we only took pictures off the balcony of the bascilica. Nice view of San Marco Square.







Another stop that we made was at San Zacaria Curch. its one of the church with many wonderful paintings.. one of which was Bernini's last n most magnificient paintings. everyone was just gathering there and slotting coins, waiting for the spotlight to illuminate he paintings...
Very Excuisite.

Ok to cut things short, and not be so like a loh soh grandma (according to deb). Other things that we did were attending an ochestra, played soccer with Andrea and a couple of jewish kids. Got into a rascist fight... all in the next episode.

Tune in..
ryf.deb