4 Dec 2016 Barcelona Day 1 La Pedrera < Casa Mila >

                                                             La Rambla Vendor 

We arrived by Air France to the first of 3 cities of our annual holiday, Barcelona, which is in the Catalan province of Spain. Rather sleep deprived, I managed to book the hotel below for 5 nights based on a 9 rating out of a possible 10. We were not disappointed ! The hotel is along Passeig Colom or the Colom Passage. There is a rooftop bar as well as a small pool which probably can cater to plenty of parties in the summer. The hotel is also facing the waterfront and the marina, which leads to the Mediterranean Sea. What a gem of a hotel !

                                                    Dequesa de Cardona Hotel

                                                    Paseig Colom, 12 Cuitat Veila

                                                    06002 Barcelona Spain. 

In my notes, I did remind myself that there is an Aerobus which departs from the airport and the stop to exit is Placa de Catalunya. 

                                                                        La  Pedrera

First stop, La Pedrera or Casa Mila (1906-1912), designed by Antoni Gaudi no less, this magnificent building stands out because it has no sharp edges and some people describe it as a 'petrified wave'. There is a magnificent inner courtyard and you walk up the 4 flights of steps. Located in Barcelona's Eixample district, it certainly stands out from all of the other commercial buildings around it. 

Known as La Pedrera for its rough outer appearence, it is reminiscent of an open quarry, with sinuous curves and forms inspired from nature. Gaudi planned the building at the height of his career at 54, and it was his Magnus Opus apart from La Familia Sagrada. UNESCO declared the building a World Heritage in 1984 on account of its extraordinary universal value.  

Designed as an apartment complex for families, it stands out in that there are numerous wavy structures on the outside resembling a wave. There are also lots and lots of windows, so it can easily house 40 apartments.

                                                Inner Courtyard La Pedrera

The inner courtyard looks magnificent with ample lighting to give it an airy feel and you can sense the stylishness just by standing inside it. Its a must visit for any visitor to Barcelona in my opinion.

                                                    Rooftop Chimneys La Pedrera

At the rooftop, instead of the normal pathetic looking chimney funnels, you see all these alien looking structures with holes peeking out, so these are the chimneys as dreamt out by Mr. Gaudi himself.

The Rambla is a wide expansive walking street which is world famous. Be careful of pickpockets !!!! 

Gum disease - floss floss and more floss. There is hope in Dental Implants.

Yesterday I had my right molar taken out. It took the dentist a whole one hour to execute the procedure. So, at a ripe young age of 61 I have lost one of my key teeth. Painful, yes, but not overly so.

The fact of the matter is that I have been suffering from gum disease for some time. Therefore,  when the gum gets infected by years, no decades of poor dental health, the accumulation of food deposits, harden and become plaque. My poor or spotty record of visiting dentists and hoping against hope that somehow I would be able to live to a ripe old age with all my teeth intact is a pipe dream.

Many people are in that denial mode. The faster you can come and realise that regular brushing of teeth is INSUFFICIENT and that the following are necessary 

Daily

Brushing 2 times minimum

Flossing x 2 between teeth. - I use an interdental brush which looks a little like a miniature bottle brush only that it is easy to push it between the teeth. For the premolars and molars, its more difficult. 

Every 6 months

Visit my dentist

I have been recalcitrant here, so I will try not to repeat my mistake again. 

My gum disease was first detected in 2019, preCOVID and now a good 5 years later, I have lost 1 tooth to it. I am determined to keep as many of my teeth till my old age hence I will study and take all the necessary health supplements and do the necessary oral hygiene daily and 6 monthly and hope for a good outcome for the years ahead.

Growing old is inevitable, growing old with the best quality of life is totally up to you.

Set Clear Big Goals, then Break Them Down to Smaller Pieces, Move on the Smaller Pieces.

I am no great achiever of anything, but I am determined to make my mark in the Laboratory Test space for Biomedical Products manufactured in S E Asia. That is the space I have identified for my fledgling business since 2015.

QRA LAB TESTING FOR BIOMEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS

Hence, with that goal in mind, we set out to seek opportunities to test for major biomedical manufacturers in S.E.Asia and we identified what exactly we need insofar as test equipment was concerned. We identified that we needed to procure

a) Stability Test Chambers

b) A convenient location to house the test chambers

c) Ample electrical and cooling area for the heat to be dissipated from the Lab, either through convection cooling or through air conditioning.

Then we went on a major marketing campaign which is ongoing to secure long term testing contracts with major players - but that did not go according to plan.

The world is such that even "the best made plans of mice and men, often go awry" - Robert Burns 

We  therefore need to ADAPT to the circumstance. Meaning which major manufacturer would happily give you long term contracts even though you have a decent sized Lab set up at their doorstep.

Who indeed ?

We knocked on many many doors and sent numerous emails. The trick is adapting and looking out for opportunities, scrounging for any lead, until you hit paydirt.

That pay dirt may never come !

Persistence

Perseverance

Luck

Contacts 

Likeability

Even with a dose of all of these, you may and likely will fail.

MOST IMPORTANTLY set clear goals from Day 1, break them down to smaller bite sized pieces and get moving.

If you are a fisherman and the fish have swum to other waters and you are still in the same lake. Then what ?

a) Close shop

b) Row or Sail to where the fish are ; if only 20 % remain where you are currently what do you do ? Can you split your boat into 2 or get another boat which will add to your operating costs and even then there is no guarantee that the new lake will be as bountiful as the original one which fed you and your crew.

There are so many unknown unknowns in this business world  !.

Im still fishing , if and when I do reach the shore with either

a) empty boat 

b) a boat overflowing  with fishes. 

only I and my immediate crew will know it.

 

 

Accelerated Aging for Biomedical Devices.

 This is not a long post. Essentially, every product which values its brand name and wants the 'quality' mark associated with it should have its products aged for studies in long term performance and degradation of their flagship products.

Just like our seamen of old, seafarers who were on the decks of their ships were always aging before their time. This is because of several  environmental factors such as :

a) Sun

b) Heat

c) Humdity

d) Salt 

Similarly, the products which QRA INTERNATIONAL ages undergo similar accelerated aging tests for biomedical and medical companies internationally.

For every 10 C increase in temperature, ages the product 2 x so, by putting the products in stability chambers and ovens, we are able to ACCELERATE AGE the samples quickly, as much as 4.5 months when kept at 55 C for a product which ordinarily has a shelf life of 3 years or 36 months.

For further information, please contact 

QRA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD.

Email : mark@qra.com.sg

Tel     : (65) 6795 1486. 

 

 

Vision and Goals - QRA INTERNATIONAL

 

QRA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD.

21 Toh Guan Road East

#04 - 02 Toh Guan Centre

Singapore 608609 

Day 12 11th Dec 2023 Chiuggia Last Day of Trip

 

The last day of our lovely trip. We made the bus trip to Chioggia which is slightly over 1 hours bus ride from Santa Lucia station. When we arrived, we were shocked and pleasantly surprised that we were the only tourists in this picturesque town.

There being not much else to do, we went around the town looking for some decent lunch. We were not disappointed. 

Ristorante Bella Venezia

Ravagnan Roberto (Proprietor)

Calle Corona 51

30015 Chioggia

Venizia.

The food, as in many places in Venice, was unbelievably good. We had the Tortelli Rumbo which looked a lot like the stuffed dumpling in our wanton noodles. In addition, we had the seafood platter and some espresso to top of the five star food at 3 star prices.

Readers, if you do visit Venice one day, DO visit Chioggia. You will find it a mini Venice without the hustle and bustle of the tourists and souvenir shops. It is still a fishing village and its proximity to Venice makes it worthwhile for a half day jaunt to get a flavour of everyday Italian life. 

Me at the entrance stairway to the Doge's palace. 

This is the final post of our unforgettable Italian holiday. The unfortunate incident aside, I am very pleased to say that this is a truly hospitable country, even with its relatively unsafe and security issues.

The country has a long and fascinating history, with periods of wars, Roman occupation, early Christian influence and the Renaissance period to embellish its good image throughout the 2 millenia.

Thanks for the ride. Time for some new adventures in possibly East European or South American shores.  

Day 11 10th Dec 2023 2nd Last Day

Venice ; Weather : Overcast all Day  

3 days left and I am raring to go ! We had planned a trip to Chioggia today but Marco at the front desk advised against is citing unfavourable weather.

Our alternative plan then was to cover the 2 musuems as well as the St. Marco Basillica.

1. Museo de Cornee

Situated at the far end of Piazza St Marco 

2. St. Marco Basillica 

It is world famous because it houses the presumably the remains of Mark the Apostle in one of the pillars. It is a church secret as it was done so to hide it from the invading Ottoman soldiers.

We had a lovely lunch at a small cafe near the Hugo Boss and Gondola station.

In the afternoon more sightseeing and we went to the world famous Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal, also called the Lover's Bridge. We had some wefies for rememberence and then walked to the nearby cafe for coffee and some tarts. I had a hilarious conversation with the Bangladeshi head waiter about where were 'orginally' came from. For censorship and diversity compliance reasons I will not post it here or on any social media platforms.

Finally the shot for the trip, which we will keep for our old age memories. This will be the second last post for our wonderful Italian holiday, and the very unfortunate event which occurred to me on Day 13 Dec 12th 2023 has already been posted previously. 

  We also were mesmerised (is that the correct word ?) by the sewage dump boat, which literally comes every day to take the sewage in containers from all the establishments and homes on a regular basis.

Venice, is a fully functioning city, with cinemas, post offices, supermarkets, gyms, administration offices, theaters, restaurants, museums, boutique shops and lots of other entertainment venues just like in any major city. This aspect of city maintenance and cleaning on a daily basis is often overlooked or not even given second thoughts.

Truly a city for all seasons and reasons to visit.