Port Vell Barcelona - a hidden gem

Duquesa de Cardona - Barcelona

View from the  Open Deck Terrace on 6th Floor ; W Hotel in the distance

       A fantastic value-for-money boutique hotel in Barcelona is the 4* (in my opinion 5*) Duquesa de Cardona hotel. Situated at the far end of the Passeig Colom (Column Street), it is easily accessible from the road and the front staff are 1st class in their service. 

      I requested for a quiet room in the back and we had a huge bedroom with great bathroom / toilet for the price we paid (EUR 151 including taxes). As winter is not the high season, the price was the cheapest amongst all the 3 major cities we stayed in. Plus points for the hotel :

a) Breakfast - fit for a king ; with Balotta Iberico cured ham, plentiful cheeses, salads, eggs

                      done in any style, omelette (with ingredients or not) ,sunny side up, nespresso

                      breads (multigrain,panini,ciabata, croissant the lot). I will remember the 

                      breakfast for a long time !   

Tapas Chicken Salsa and a Vermouth

b) Top Rated Front Service staff - Manuel was the first front desk staff who attended to us ;
     Friendly, polite and so efficient, we were really impressed by his professionalism. He       
    was knowledegable about everything from best tapas, to taxis to sights and an incredible 
    resource.

c) Location , View of Hotel - Overlooking the marina, the view of this hotel is absolutely 
    stunning ! I made the best of my time one early evening while my wife was out shopping 
   and went to  the Terrace Bar on the 6th Floor. You can see the entire Port Vell area, as 
   well as the 'W'  hotel in the distance, and a slight peek into Barcelonetta beach, the 
   sounds of the La Rambla, as well as the human traffic are not there, so its so pleasant. I 
   must say this was THE view of the city, in my opinion.  

                       Night comes early, around 6.30 and the pretty waterside is all lit up

    

d) Room - Huge ; at least 400 square feet, ours was at the back and the window facing     

   was  the courtyard, most preserved buildings have this kind of design.Very modern 

   amenities, and super clean. It was a very pleasant respite from the days walking and 

   exploring. But all in all, very quiet and clean.No residual smoke smell at all which is the 

   worst thing I most experience in hotels in China.

e) Accessibility -  From the airport, take the Metro to Placa de Catalunya, from there its a 
   short taxi ride (EU 10) to the hotel. Turn left and within 10 minutes, you are at Born district,    turn right, in 10 minutes you are at the start of La Rambla and the Metro. So convenient.

   Would I come back and stay here ? Certainly ! Amongst the 3 cities we visited, Barcelona is the most interesting in architecture, food and Mr. Antoni Gaudi's signature works like La Perdrera and Sagrada Familia. 

  

I'll soon be 55.

Visiting the Tower Bridge in Dec 2016  

      This year marks another milestone for me, the 55 year old mark. In the old days people would regard this as the age of retirement and soon to be end of life. In today's age, the 21st century the 3rd Millenium (after Jesus' birth at year 0 according to the Georgian calendar), age 55 is still considered Middle Age, but hardly young. There was an episode on BBC today regarding the end of life and after-life and the presenter mentioned things like cryogenics which basically keep the cells alive, although the body may be brain-dead and heart not pumping. There are literally thousands of dead individuals in cryogenic labs all over US and other places where the bodies are kept in cold storage in saline solution and induced heart and respiratory conditions waiting for technology to revive them maybe in 30 to 50 years time.

Embankment and the river Thames

    The scientists who were interviewed were specialised in the wood-frog species which eat and store foods in the form of sugar and then somehow induce their bodies to below living temperatures and 'hibernate' or decelerate their life support functions (heart, lungs and brain) to such low levels that they appear 'dead'. Their feasting during the summer and autumn months in preparation for winter and spring cold (it can fall to -40 deg C) is indeed fascinating, but we are talking about amphibians which have completely different functioning systems as human beings.

      On a cellular level, the frogs are alive, and after the days get warmer, somehow, the entire body system turns 'on'. 

     I can do without all such elaborate immortal living. I believe God created us for a purpose and for a limited life span so when my time is up, that's it.   

'Animal' - my favourite character from Sesame Street

Cool Cat or whatever 

     My favourite character from the Muppets on Sesame Street is Animal. He is normally on a leash and he plays the drums in the band. A totally out of control chap, he is so physically and visually incorrect he is the coolest muppet in my opinion. Such irreverance to the expectations of society and doing whatever comes to his mind, such as chewing the band sticks to spewing incomprehensible words he is comparable to Cookie Monster in terms of 'lovable'.

    Those days of innocence are long gone, the 70s. Long Live the 70s !   

The First Years 11 - Swimming Club Days ; training times

At the Singapore Swimming Club, circa 1975. John and I with our 

maternal cousins Wendy and Angela

       Palma Qui Feruit - the motto of Singapore Swimming Club. Our parents signed up the family membership with the Singapore Swimming Club in late 1974. We (my brother and I) still continue to be members (thats a total of 43 years including 2017!). My Dad Geoffrey very soon after that (1975) was elected into the Management Committee of the SSC and appointed as its then legal convenor, first under the President of Mr. Henry Chan, followed by Mr. Cheong Boo Hong and finally Mr. Teo Khiang Hwee. 

     I was 12 and John was 9 then. We signed up for the swimming programme under the well known coach, Mr.Neo Chwee Kok. The other assistant coaches were Mr. Mohammed Salleh and Mr. Chan. Mr. Neo very sadly passed away in the late 80s due to cancer while the other 2 I have lost contact decades ago. Mr. Neo was an Olympian representing Singapore in the 1950s and early 60s and was known then as the 'Flying Fish'. High praise for such a warm hearted and humble man. I remember him as a strict coach who would yell and sometimes beat out heads with a kick board (styrofoam) if we did not swim according to the speed required or do something stupid like swim against the stream of swimmers 

   Mr. Neo had a much gentler and kinder side to him and he would always offer to drop my mother and us back on days when Mum's car was in service or when she didn't opt to drive.

Regarding swimming training the schedules were such :

Monday  5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm 

Tuesday 5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm

Wednesday  - Off day

Thursday  5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm

Friday   : 5.30 - 7.00 am or 5.00 - 7.00 pm for either the morning or evening children 

Saturday : 6.00 - 7.30 am 

Sunday : shorter training from 6 -8.00 am in mornings and then followed by water-polo (friendly) ; only morning sessions on Sat and Sundays

     My mother was an extremely active member of the swimming club, she would be very active in many activities. After work on weekdays, she would go for the following : swimming (first) and perhaps a game of badminton (after the swim) while waiting for us to finish the training.

Mum, Anna and me, 1964

    Over the years she was an active member taking part in the following ; badminton, swimming, kong chian (some Chinese martial art), tennis, jogging, jazz ballet (the group even performed overseas at some stage) and squash. I owe my massive interest to sports and many outdoor hobbies to my mother's insatiable interest in the 70s right up till the last few years of her active life.

Mum's Jazz Ballet friends from SSC 

    

  

The Shallow President

   

The Wall 

      Everyday we are bombarded in the news, real and fake about how President Trump has signed a number of Executive Orders. Most controversially, an Executive Order first to ban temporarily refugees from 7 Muslim nations, only to have the order withheld by a federal court judge pending more states filing against the ban and the Government's relentless bids to overturn the judge's decision. The Court of Justice representing the Government has appealed and a 3 judge hearing has been completed with both sides presenting their cases.

      It is almost certain that the case will be taken to the Supreme Court and people all over the world are aghast, enthralled, disgusted, enraged and bemused all at the same time. The White House has never seen such a tumultous 1 month let alone 100 days in its entire history, I dare say.   

       The reality show that is the Trump Government versus everyone else has kept people the world over spellbound. Its as if he wants the world to always to be talking about him, good, bad and ugly. The groundswell against the ban is really taking steam with numerous Fortune 500 companies coming out against it in a court paper. 

     It doesn't mean that the companies totally disagree with everything the Trump administration is dishing out on a daily basis, without consulting or even appointing a Select Committee to deliberate the pros and cons of each EO. The bipartisan system between the GOP and the Blues (Democrats) are showing up serious differences in views leading to a very divided "so called" No. 1 country. 

    Will it impact the ordinary citizen from Afghanistan to Azerbaijan, from Zimbabwe to Zambia ? Definately, but not so soon. Its too soon to see the effects the Trump Orders and his intentions have been debated and argued at all levels from the Senate, House of Representatives to the working Government officials. Every organization is undergoing tremendous scrutiny and change at all levels.

     The US is the largest industrial economy in the world for the last 100 odd years and it is the strongest militarily, while it has record levels of debt, US$ 25 trillion, its currency the US$ is the reserve currency of the world, so that means that in the event of a currency meltdown, US$ still holds as the only currency which countries of the world will still trust and trade. Such a contradiction, the world's greatest debtor nation is also the country whose currency which the world needs to in the event of a global financial collapse. Her constitution encourages the 'poor, huddled, teeming masses running from persecution and poverty' to flock to her shores whatever their race, religion or ideology.  So this latest 'ban' flies in the face of the US Constitution in the name of 'pre-emptive control against potential terrorists'. 

Mexicans not wanted ; but this is Garbine Muguruza from Spain. World No. 5

     It is, however, totally unnerving and unecessary a playout of discord within the corridors of power, between the Government's inner circle, the Government servants, the judiciary and the legislative powers of the US. The past 2 and a half weeks have been a roller coaster of the Government accusing the media (some newspapers in particular CNN, Washington Post and NY Times) of biased reporting, blanket coverage of atrocities and then, coming up with their own version calling it 'alternative facts' !  I am speechless, but can still put this down to utter stupidity, a global embarrassment and chaos in action from the you know who's administration.  Fox News which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, is unsurprisingly pro Trump given the 2 families close personal connections. So every news media is biased, to a certain extent. 

    The ordinary citizens must be quite aghast at all this. I am. The personal and press freedoms of the US are being put on show and a stress test is being carried out at the moment.  

    Do we, the citizens of the free world really need this at this time ??  

      

Finally - we can get the real work done !

            


        Today the 6th Feb is the day we get everything to be moving. No ifs, no buts, no excuses. The year has finally started with both the Western New Year and the Chinese New Year well under way. Lets do it and well. Vision, Plan, Scrutinise, Analyse and Execute and Fine Tune. A revision of the Plan Do Check and Action of the old Management 101s.

Happy CNY from the 'A" families ! 

Visiting Por Por's 

        Lets make this a successful year.