what did i eat for last 2 months...?

well, i better do this before all the memories fade away...
in barbados...
was awful... didn't get to eat anything interesting... we were taken to this tourist joint that served burgers and chicken wings while this singer/guitarist duo were singing all pop songs... yikes...
in korea...
ate lots of my mom's home cooked meal which was fantastic... she fed me 3 big meals a day and they all had so much garlic...! she would finish cooking the food that already had so much garlic to begin with, then put even some more raw garlic afterward...! tasted great and sure helped my immune system and i didn't get sick once for last 2 months, even while traveling non-stop...! also everything was pretty much very very spicy... you know, korean food... didn't have so much street food as much as i hoped for, but oh, well...
in stockholm...
well, remember having very good coffee and dessert in general... had a very good chicken dish with very yummy quinoa salad... went to glenn miller to see nina (de heney) play a gig and they had a great atmosphere and food... and people were listening to music...! oh, also i got hooked on eating soft boiled eggs with that kalles caviar paste... you know what i'm talking about, right...? wish if i could have brought three tubes of those back home...!
in copenhagen...
had a fabulous salad right in front of my friend's house in downtown copenhagen... it was 4 different kinds of cold salad... especially green bean one with tomato was so tasty... wish i remembered the name of the restaurant... again, very good coffee... oh, by the way, i didn't drink coffee before... i only drink it when i'm not in the states, weird... i find most of espresso drinks with strong bitter after taste which i'm not so crazy about... also my friend cooked a lot and that was delicious and fun...
in uk...
well, i know it'll make me sound like just another tourist but it IS expensive over there... i have to admit i ended up eating quite a lot of those pre-packed sandwiches since they are reasonably cheaper and pretty good quality... but after a while, i got really sick of them... uh, i got treated very nicely once outside london in terms of food... oh, rachel made this unbelievably delicious vegan chocolate cake... i'm not kidding, it was so moist and chocolaty... and yes, it was vegan... then once i returned to london, i thought i should treat myself to one nice meal at least... so i asked a couple of people for suggestion for a good indian restaurant... and they directed me to this one called rasa on charlotte street... well, it was pretty good but i ended up spending £25 and sorry to say this but it wasn't worth that much money... but then as i said, it is expensive in london, period...
then paris... oh my god...
pretty much any pastry i got was fantastic... and again, good coffee... made me feel so stupid for not being able to say anything in french... also this chocolate cake we had at mike's place was so out-of-this-world yummy... i forgot to ask him where he got it, damn...
uh, went to this famous l'as du falafel and it did kick ass... i love good falafel and chickpea in new york is pretty damn good too... but at this joint, they put fried eggplant with falafel and that made it extra delicious... yes, you can get fried eggplant sandwich with eggs at chickpea but not with falafel... maybe i should ask for it...
also liberty and i stumbled upon this restaurant called la jacobine on rue saint-andré des arts... liberty had this lamb dish that looked really good... oh, he said it tasted good too... my crepe was not too bad but i'd had better... oh, then we got this aztec chocolate drink at the end and that was some serious chocolate with nice hint of chilly pepper... made me all dizzy and shit...
then upon a friend's suggestion for the best cous-cous, i went to this place l'homme bleu on jean-pierre timbaud... actually i went there on sunday first then so pissed to see it was closed... then i went back and boy,was i glad...! it was empty and the owner was sipping a glass of wine... i ordered cous-cous with lamb with sauce and sausages... and it was amazing... probably the best cous-cous i've ever had... as i poured the sauce over cous-cous, it became plump and tasty... and the meat... wow, i'm drooling... thanks, andrea...
in anguilla...
we were taken out for every meal... and my favorite was conch creole dish at tasty's... must have been the first conch dish ever... it was sweet, soft, juicy and great with rice... they serve lots of red snappers over there... also some nice salad... the last night i had gorgonzola salad with orange wedges at the pump house and that was really good... oh, was so intrigued to find korean bbq wings and had to try it... but it wasn't korean by any means... wonder why they called it korean...
so there you have it... now i can go back talking about movies...

ah, paris… just thinking of it makes me sigh…

just had my first bagel in almost a month… wasn’t the best one but still… i’m back in new york finally…
so paris… it doesn’t even feel real that i was there for a week… had a very exciting and “(a)live” gig with vijay and mike that the audience was very responsive and enthusiastic… the venue was pretty nice theater outside paris called… then had a solo set at this club called le triton which i think it went pretty well… the thing about playing almost everyday is that you kind of get sick of what you are doing… especially doing solo stuff… feel like you are repeating yourself yet again… and i hate that feeling… the first piece was more abstract and noisy but then the last one was only notes which will make some of my friends “proud”… just joking… and everybody at the club was so nice and open… i was a bit nervous since i was opening for a rather straight jazz trio… but they were really responsive and made me feel comfortable…
then had 3 full days of just wandering around… well, the fist day which was sunday was not so eventful since so many things were closed and i was exhausted after changing the hotels… after wandering about a little bit, i went to see a concert at instant chavirés… it was concert of lebanese improvisors collaborating with other european musicians… and the entire night was great… those are the people i wouldn’t have heard unless i lived in europe…! and they were making some unbelievably cool stuff… although i wasn’t so crazy about the place itself…
then the next morning, i went out to get lost in the city… and can i just tell you, paris was way more beautiful than i even imagined… all the endless array of amazingly beautiful buildings and bridges and everything… every block i was in awe looking at all the details wondering who in the earth had the right mind and time to do all that… then they were living in a very different time for sure…
the first place i went to was napoleon’s tomb along with army museum… actually i was heading to eiffel tower but got turned around and ended up there… and when i walked in, i just couldn't believe my eyes… the size of it and how elaborate the whole thing was… as if they tried to make him into a god or something… his coffin, although hard to believe there was something really in it, was at the bottom of the building and surrounded by this female figures gazing onto it, guess there were 12 of them… actually i didn’t count but it looked like some kind of clock so i’m just assuming… then on the ground floor there some of his swords and pistols and they were so beautifully ornamented…
then made a quick stop at eiffel tower… thought about going up there but then the line was long and somehow i didn’t feel like doing it by myself, if you know what i mean… looking at the tower from the bottom was really beautiful anyway… and when i saw it later at night time all lit, it was just gorgeous…
went on to louvre and i have to admit i wasn’t so crazy about it… first of all the size was way too intimidating and there were just so many paintings and not every one of them are masterpieces… i ended up only going to the italian painting section then i also got weirded out by the fact that most of those paintings were stolen… maybe i was focusing too much on darker side but still… well, i though i would go back to check out the french section but it wasn’t meant to be…
then did a quickie shopping since practically every shop in paris was having a huge sale… heh heh heh… i’m just glad i didn’t have that much money to spend… otherwise…
then when i thought i couldn’t walk anymore, somehow ended up near the arc de triomphe and decided to go up… after walking up the spiral staircases that made me dizzy i got to see the paris at night and it was breathtaking… the fact that the city had so many roundabouts that had some kind of beautiful structures in the middle made every single section of the city unique and charming… then that eiffel tower lit up with the spotlight rotating all over the city… ah, it was beautiful even when it was drizzling…
the the next day… went to musée d’orsay and oh, my, it was a fabulous museum… they had some fabulous manet, monet, cezanne, van gogh and my love, toulouse-lautrec…! and although i was never been a huge fan of degas but there were many gorgeous pastels works of his displayed under dim lighting and they were stunning…! the way he colored human flesh was absolutely genius… and this piece called… by monet was such a delight to see in person… i’d seen it many times on books but too see it in person was so different and could only imagine how surprised people must have been back in the days… it was so abstract but caught exact the impression of the sunlight and wind yet you cannot even see her face…! oh, even some of renoir pieces had similar effect on me… then i walked into this room full of toulouse-lautrec’s pastels… oh, my god… his usage of green is just out-of-this-world marvelous… and the expressions he got were so alive you could feel the personality of each person… wow… was blown away again by him… then of course van gogh… one of the paintings was his portrait and it was touching in so many ways… his gaze and solemn expression… and another one with farmers sleeping next to haystacks painted in his famous yellow… wow… oh, forgot to mention i did see some of van gogh’s work at the national gallery in london and they were unbelievable… i’m seriously running out of vocabularies to describe all these amazing paintings… and i’m sure i’m forgetting to mention so many other great works…
then my new discovery was hector guimard… he was an architect/designer from art nouveau who also created “metropolitan” sign outside some of the metro stations… and i almost didn’t make it to his room at the museum because i’m not such a big fan of furniture but then when i saw his green couch with cabinet on top of it, i was in shock… was one of the most beautiful thing made out of wood i’d even seen… the shape of it, flow of it, compositions of it… it was perfect… then jewelry by rené lalique was another discovery of mine… wow… how did they do it…?!?!
then i was too stimulated to go to any other museums really… thought about going back to louvre but thankfully it was closed because it was tuesday… then ended up wandering about some more… oh… i really need to go back and just go to all the museums… it was such a fabulous deal to have that museum pass… not only the price but the fact that you don’t need to wait on line to get in… oh, and yes, paris metro is the best… never had to wait more than 3 minutes ever… and so easy to get around and figure out where to get out… although there weren’t any lifts or escalators so it was a bit hard to get around with my cello flight case… then the last day, one lady offered to help… thank you who ever you were…
you might have noticed that i have’t mention a single food i’d had in entire trip… well, it’s because i’m going to talk about food separately… what do you think about that…? wait and see…

good old england...

wow... cannot believe i did it... but yes, i did my last gig in europe two nights ago... and only two more nights left in paris... wow...
hmm... so much has happened since my last blog... hope this won't sound all too crazy and confusing and too long... oh, well... maybe i'll break into two parts...
so after the first gig in london, i went on to bristol, hull, leeds, nottingham and back to london... took a train to bristol... the one i was supposed to be on got cancelled because there was fire... then the one i took ended up hitting a dog... then did a fun gig with patrick farmer on drums... although it felt a bit weird opening up for this singer/songwriter person... don't know if people liked or not but we liked it... some people did walk out which i actually liked... it's better not to have those people around sending out weird vibe, if you know what i mean... the following morning, we took the very first train to oxford... then again this one stopped due to some engineering work... while we were being held, patrick saw this guy outside the train and said "i didn't think you could get off the train..." then a minute later, the conductor announced that we were being held because this guy who was wanted by police and being escorted to the next station had escaped through a window... then we saw this lone police officer who happened to be woman, chasing the guy by the train... while the conductor was running around within the cars... finally that guy ended up running off to the nearby motorway and we could see that poor police officer gave up on chasing the guy... so that was my british train experience... so exciting...!!!
then we got off and joined patrick's band mates and drove to leeds... and they were all so lovely... and i was surprised that i understood what they were saying... guess by then my ears were adopted to british accent... then i dropped my expensive croissant at a service station because the woman at the cash register was mean... well, i was being clumsy more or less but she WAS mean...
then met up with jez riley who set up hull & leeds gigs for me and drove off to hull... played at this super cool, funky place called the adelphi club... and let me just tell you, paul who owns that place had a voice so much like patrick mcgoohan's, i was in awe all the time... and he was such a cool guy with great sense of humor, you know, so-called british style... the gig went well, i think... was really shocked to see people had turn up... played with jez, karl d'silva and rob gawthrop after a short solo set... also cooper-jones from manchester shared the bill and they were lovely...
the next day was at leeds playing with 7hertz and the navigators and matt bourne... they were all fantastic and sooooo damn nice... and the place we played, holy trinity church was just fantastic... you know, you can do anything and still sound good because the acoustic is so amazing, especially if you play a string instrument... i somehow ended up playing standing up for 10-15 minutes... have no idea how i did it but i didn't drop my cello...
the following day jez and i went on to nottingham to play at the rose of england with lee patterson, will guthrie and dom lash which patrick and rachel put together... was more electronics heavy line up which worked very well... although i was struggling a bit with my solo set... think my strings were pretty much dead and harmonics were not really coming through... oh, well... i somehow managed thanks to the great audience... after the gig, i talked to dave (sorry, didn't get your last name) who told me he agreed on what i thought of "mystic river"... gotta check out that "dead man's shoe" he recommended... it has paddy who i find very intriguing...
uh... then got back to london, went straight to the gig with liam noble at the shaw gallery at LSE that jamie (damn, i forgot your last name again, sorry...) set up for me... and the place was really great... except i was a bit intimidated when i got there since it was a real library that everybody was very very quiet... or asleep... we did a short duo set i liked a lot... although i felt bad for liam who probably had no idea what to expect from me musically... but he played great and kicked my ass... well, there was this girl who slept (even snoring lightly) through the entire set somehow... i really did my best to wake her up by playing all the ugliest sounds i can make on my cello but did not work... thought about throwing a lychee at her but then didn't want to start a trouble...
oh, have to mention this horrible hotel i stayed in london... well, the first one i stayed at called europa house hotel wasn't too bad... it was rather old and not the most convenient one but still people were very sweet and its location was great... a few minutes from paddington station... then the second one i stayed called comfort inn at earl's court was AWFUL... the people were not friendly, the room was literally a closet and it was so damn noisy, i ended up waking up at 7 in the morning... i stayed there on the 2nd and the 7th... and i asked them if i could leave my cellos flight case for the days i was gone and they wanted to charge me £5 per night...! if it hadn't for matt milton (who is one of the sweetest guys i've EVER met even though he might not like me saying it) who took it for me, it would have cost me £30...! i really strongly discourage you from booking at that hotel...
oh, although i wrote that it was mainly ladies who helped me out at the tube stations, there were many gentlemen who helped me out on the last day... i actually almost got into an accident on an escalator while carrying my flight case and suit case... was scary... yikes... my flight case got stuck at the bottom of it and almost fell... after that at least 3 people helped me with carrying my stuff... and this time, many of them were men... (matt, people are nice in london although i did see a guy getting out of his ferrari with a metal rod ready to hit this guy who punched his car in the middle of oxford circle...)
went to tate modern twice and i really really really love that place... they had two barnett newman pieces called "adam" and "eve" and they were so beautiful and inspiring... amazing red and deep brown/purple... and his "zipz" are so poetic... if i can ever write music remotely close to them, i'll die as a happy person... and saw an elegant piece by giacometti called "hour of the traces"... it was something he made totally unconsciously (or tried to, it looked so damn fantastic!!!)... saw bruce nauman's "double no" again... also i saw "three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion" by francis bacon and i think it might have been the very time i saw hos paitings in person and i was totally blown away... the color and intensity... how abstract the figures were yet so emotional and felt real... wow... i got chill on my spine... i really need to spens whole week there just sitting in front of the paitings... oh, then there were this set of 9 paitings by rothko... damn... wanna go back tomorrow... too bad i didn't get to ride those tubes... oh, well...
ok, i have to write about paris in the next one because this one is already ridiculously long... but can i just tell you, i do LOVE paris too... wow...

still tired...

ah... in london at the moment...
after stockholm, traveled to copenhagen by train... then hung out with a friend of mine for a couple of days... and it was fun, stimulating and relaxing... we talked a lot about music and many other things... i have to say so far that's been the best part of it... playing music and having lots of great conversations with people...
was really warm and beautiful in copenhagen, believe it or not... the city was old but had great energy... also my friend happened to live in the middle of the city where surrounded by many vintage stores which was great and dangerous for me... i did score a couple of great skirts and stuff... then also i got to play with my friend and another pianist from copenhagen and it was really great... (i'm leaving out my friend's name because i think she'd rather prefer that...)
then flew into london by easyjet which is one of those very cheap airlines flying within europe and have to say i was surprised that they were not too bad... although the lady at the check in kiosk wasn't sure if south koreans were allowed in uk... actually the same thing happened when i went to barbados a few weeks ago... but i thought that was rather funny since there were so many tv monitors with huge LG logo on top which is korean company... anyway she was very apologetic about the whole thing... the plane was very new and reminded me a little bit of those chinese buses running between boston and new york... new but definitely not made with the top quality material, if you know what i mean...
then i arrive at stansted airport which is northeast of london and i was personally glad i didn't have to go through heathrow which can be a huge hassle with all that security... then took a shuttle bus to london...
i do like london quite a lot... although i still find the place more intimidating than new york... it's spread out endlessly and busy and expensive... but people are very friendly... so far i had to go through tube stations with my giant flight case with a suitcase where there were no escalators or elevators... but then there were always someone offering to help... actually funny that 3 out 4 people who helped me were all women...
did a very nice gig with matthew milton and stefano tedesco a couple nights ago... the atmosphere was very nice as well... i was so surprised that there were actually people showing up... probably more than in new york... well, yes...
hmm... now i'm thinking about visiting tate modern today... went to tate britain and national gallery yesterday... love that those museums are all free...! there were some nice exhibit about protest in britain called of stae of britain... seems like people are very upset with blair which they all should be...
then tomorrow, more traveling... i'm glad i got 9 hours of sleep last night...
oh, went to christian marclay's opening at white cube gallery here and it was really fantastic... if you are in london area, you should definitely check it out...