#drive on to their next place for delivery. and the other restaurants in the plaza are very local/family-owned places so some of their

[blunderpuff]

ranked choice voting but it's Subway:

[jvuhn]

Olivia

Christmas party.

“Can’t even look at you”

Moksha. 

Hongkong side restaurant.

“May charger ka ba.. paubos na battery ko paheram. Ilan pa percentage? 40. Tagal pa yan. Kailangan ko para makauwi ako.. but I wanted to take you home”

Australia.

“Uy, Note 9. Gaya gaya ng phone forever”

Treehouse 1. 

Japan.

Ice eye drop.

Cigs from japan.

Asking to what to wear for formal event coat and tie.

Went to you after the formal event and you saw me in my formal attire.

Drive by to one stick. Our usual YB spot.

Yii dashcam.

"I need to pick up my litol brader is it okay if we use the h1 for picking him and his friends? Yeah. (Wow shes not picky with my anti date car) listen to this *plays alive acoustic by kruwella* she likes the SQ set up of h1"

Alive.

Uptown katip.

Drive the car while in the nail spa because no parking.

Happy glass game while waiting at NKTI.

Been you.

Getting you drunk.

Buffalo wings.

Mint chocolate shake.

My secret romance.

Terius.

Jedspeed.

That night before leaving the country april 25 "close your eyes".

Treehouse 2 when i followed early in the morning and convoyed you back home.

Greenhills to get your laptop fixed.

“You are one unique Pokemon that I will never let go”

Accompanying you to NKTI East Ave and De Los Santos Hospital. 

Talk about your work and achievements (always so proud of you) and personal stuff.

Beerpong always trying to get you drunk.

Blade timog.

Sudden carwash cause you bought rain repellant and mits.

Korea.

May 30 always that date. 

Santolan Town Center. 

Aladdin. 

Scouts honor.

“Hinahanap ako ni Mommy”

Classified kitchen.

“Alam ko kung sino kasama mo manuod ng aladdin”

Greenhills to buy Nord.

Lg2.

Prologue.

Magnolia.

Ramen nagi.

Black Scoop.

Botejyu.

Plant errands at taguig.

Japanese restaurant near fantastic baka. 

Tipsy pig timog you so so drunk and drunk driving at its finest. 

Netflix series and movies with food and drinks of course. 

Mr. Kebab.

Greenhills.

BLK 513.

Potato corner.

Evade K and D. 😂

Army navy.

Lam tin tea. 

Caliburn.

Premium Strawberry Juice.

Going to makati to pick you up with bea.

Makati shortcuts.

Goto tendon.

"Bea saying that ive changed and you got kilig"

Fat russells.

Karaoke singing our lungs and hearts out. 

Car matting at areneta ave. 

Car matting at west avenue for altis. 

Banawe. 

Bosch europa.

Powertorq. 

Change oil.

"Lets drive thru mcdonalds im hungry. Stuck in traffic eating mcdonalds and singing in the car"

Antipolo. 

Led lights ph. 

Romeos. 

Car errands you sleeping in of course or out of nowhere wants to clean the car or we were so tired from all the errands so i fell asleep on you. 

Vv9736. 

"She got 3rd wheel with her little bro and his girlfriend. The little bro and girlfriend are making "harot" while stuck in traffic. She told me she wants that too so our next date we got harot" haha

Francos baptism. 

Your cooked meal Bangus and rice. 

"May dala siyang mango. Gusto ko siya ang gwapo pa".

"Gym". 

Citadine. 

Moa. 

LANY. 

Moscato yellow tail. 

"Pano ka maglinis ng face? Parang carpenter". 

Here with me.

Makati shortcuts.

Sm north.

Archery bullseye.

BTS. 

BTS Keychain.

Vertis. 

Wangfu.

Daiso.

Bbq popcorn.

John wick 3.

Korea. 

Batman Keychain from Korea.

Buen comer. 

Trinoma. 

King chef banawe. 

Shangrila. 

Movie bench. 

Kissing booth. 

Nomiya izakaya with winona. 

Canada. 

Sleeping early in the morning to getting sleepy at 930-1030 to falling asleep. 3 days live in. 

Ooma.

Fat Cousin.

Maginhawa.

3 days Live In.

“Ang bilis kung galing sa bahay mo papuntang Makati”

“thank you for waking up early”

“Ang ganda ng rain shower”

Songdowon. 

Vinci X.

Our send a selfie everyday cause we just couldnt get enough of each other. 

Nicos birthday. 

Aki. 

Gabs birthday.

House renovation.

"When the house is done ill invite you over".

Hair color "take a picture of me..my hair". 

Your spa date with tris then off to capitol commons.

Tipsy pig capitol commons. 

I need you right now. 

Our not so christmas. 

Christmas at Josh.

Last tambay at Josh.

New year. 

Omni. 

Diffuser na napaka bango. 

Towel. 

From everyday to weekly. 

Helping me study. 

Going to clark. 

Veterans army restaurant delivery.

Simulator at my laptop and saying im here na. 

Surprise visits. 

Starbucks mindanao.

"Did you miss us going roadtrip and have no where to go"

Dampa seafood grill tomas.

Aegis Boost.

Tristel house tambay.

Roses delivery. 

Valentines at your place.

To all the boys.

"Can we make this last?" - 2/14/20

"Im starting to like someone else"

Billie not biting me.

Polo.

Maxie. 

The family. 

Pancake house.

Cube gilmore for computer chair.

Singing in the car.

Doing netflix and chill.

Mang juan. 

Lockdown. 

Mangobravo. 

Birthday. 

Massaging machine. 

Korean zombie movie. 

Video call while watching.

Kingdom the zombie series. 

On a break pause. 

World war z. 

The sims. 

April 11. 

Still lockdown.

Aegis Boost (replacement)

Chill at your house. 

The King. 

Falling asleep while watching. 

Never have i ever.

To all the boys i loved before.

Julie And The Phantoms.

SM Sucat.

“Sino yang gagong nakaharang sa kotse natin” 

Half saints. 

Yoshimeatsu at BF Paranaque.

Grab food since no dine ins outside. 

Chicken chingu our favorite. 

Gout food. 

Araneta ave for visit. 

Banawe. 

Winona. 

Santolan town plaza.

Moved to other spot since you guys dont like barcino.

Mclarens.

Musicroom after with Winona. 

BTS online concert. 

Drag S.

Trying Tsiklet and Mango Grapes.

Bulacan.

Con.

Rustic mornings. 

Golf Driving Range.

Ortigas to BGC real quick.

Popeyes.

Arcovia.

Make hatid bea. 

Christmas. 

Gc3 auto lounge.

Jico’s despidida.

Yoos Korean BBQ at Pearl Drive

“Wag mokong ingittin sa S21 mo. Magaaway tayo”

Computer building. 

Valentines at Clark Noreng Chicken at Friendship because you don’t like to eat at JunJuns then went to Subic to meet up with Gian? your friend.

Harbor Point.

Starbucks.

Cafe Espresso.

“Picturan mo kami habang naglalakad ung candid ah”

Greenstreet.

Pho Hoa.

Pet shop supplies. 

Woofpack.mnl.

Harley.

Cartimar. 

PET ALLEY.

Shima Japanese at BF Paranaque.

Plant shopping.

"Iba nanaman kotse niya". 

Batman cake. 

Letters.

“My Future Pilot”

Portable vacuum. 

Space sweepers. 

Air Double bed. 

Baby pictures. 

Deodorant Mall Hopping.

Tagaytay. 

Josh.

Lunch under the sky.

Carwash.

Convoy to Tagaytay Highlands non-stop screaming and this is not your car.

Tagaytay Highlands. 

Jurassic Park Cake cause you said you wanted a Jurassic Park Cake.

I remembered us when I watched Kissing Booth 3 a while ago. I know I may not the be perfect boyfriend to you I have flaws that makes you jump off or made you let go of us for how many times already but you always give me the last decision for us. I’m regretting my decision and I’m missing you.. missing us.

Remember you always tell me that we are destined to be with each other that we have this invisible string thats linked to the two of us that whatever happens we will always find our way back to each other.

I hate myself for losing you.

[bigyack-com]

Accor Opens Second ibis Styles Hotel in Vietnam

Accor has expanded its portfolio of hotels in Vietnam with the opening of a second ibis Styles in the country. Overlooking the long sandy Back Beach, the ibis Styles Vung Tau is just a two-hour drive from Saigon. The hotel’s 250 guest rooms range in size from the 24 sqm Standard Room to the 46 sqm Premium Family sea view room with balcony. In addition to a rooftop bar, the hotel also features a restaurant designed similarly to a street food concept with an open kitchen and a spacious terrace with various selections of Vietnamese food and international cuisine.

The hotel also has a rooftop pool, 24-hour gym, a kid's club, and two meeting rooms which can be combined into a ballroom for up to 200 people. “Vung Tau has long been a popular beach getaway for locals from Ho Chi Minh city, and in recent years we have also seen arrival of travellers from other regional countries. With the opening of ibis Styles Vung Tau, we look forward to welcoming guests looking for an economy-priced hotel with all the modern travel necessities including a stylish design, premium bedding and fast Wi-Fi,” said Mathieu Le Besq, General Manager of ibis Styles Vung Tau. In addition to beach activities, guests of ibis Styles Vung Tau can enjoy the succulent catches of the day at the Night Seafood Market just 10 minutes away by foot. Perched atop Small Mountain and a short walk away stands the 32-meter-tall statue of Jesus Christ, from which visitors can enjoy a panoramic view across the ocean. Other sites of interest within a short drive away are the Lighthouse Tower, White Palace, and Ho May Park.  See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Accor, Vietnam. 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Airport Introduces New Round of Relief Measures  Russian Helicopters to Commence Production of Ansat Aurus  Hong Kong Win Bronze at Inaugural World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series  Bangkok Airways Partners AXAThailand to Offer 'Protective Wing'  ANA to Test Autonomous Mobility Assistance at Narita Airport  Green Light for MotoGP in Buri Ram, Thailand  Aviation: COVID19 Cuts Demand and Revenues  Martin Dell Returns Home as GM of Four Seasons Hotel Prague  SWISS Takes Delivery of First A320neo  Sabre's Sean Menke to Participate in Keynote Interview at ITB Berlin  Executive Appointments at Outrigger Hospitality  CWT Appoints Linda Creighton as Vice President - Business Finance  Hilton to Open Garden Inn Hotel at Adventure Parc Snowdonia, North Wales  AirAsia Philippines to Launch Flights to Zamboanga from Cebu and Clark  Swiss-Belhotel Opens First Hotel in Malaysia  Joanne Taylor Joins FCM as Director of Account Management Asia  Thai Airways Waives Fees on Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan Flights  SalamAir Partners Tune Protect for Travel Insurance  American Airlines to Expand Preordered Meal Service  Etihad Airways to Launch TravelPass  AirAsia to Launch Flights from Clark and Cebu to General Santos, Philippines  MICE in North Wales - Interview with Richard Jones of venue cymru, Llandudno  Air New Zealand Extends Reduction in Flights to Hong Kong and Shanghai  Patrick de Castelbajac to Join Nordic Aviation Capital as CEO  Thai Airways Opens New Lounge at Phuket Airport  Bulgaria Air and Qatar Airways to Codeshare  Tarom Takes Delivery of First of Nine ATR 72-600s  Whitbread Signs Sixth Premier Inn Hotel in Ireland  Mandarin Oriental Jumeira Dubai Opens Royal Penthouse  COVID19: Zero Risk and Travel Advisories - Where Do We Stop?  Campbell Wilson to Rejoin Scoot as CEO  MIAT to Implement Sabre's Global Demand Data Solution  Cathay Pacific Carried 3M Pax in Jan; Reduces Flight Capacity by 40%  Roger Brantsma Joins 825-Room Hilton Tokyo as General Manger  Thai Airways Increases Passenger Screening on Flights from Cambodia  Mandarin Oriental Boston to Complete US$ 15 Million Renovation in April  Erica Antony Joins CWT as Chief Product Officer  Bjoern van den Oever Joins Alila Villas Koh Russey as Executive Chef  Unicorn Hospitality Opens 47-Room Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand  Hong Kong Airport Handled 5.7 Million Passengers in January  Vietnam Airlines Adds Wide-Body Aircraft to Hanoi - Saigon Route  Pratt & Whitney GTF Engines to Power Korean Air's New A321neos  AsBAA Appoints Jeff Chiang as Chief Operating Officer  Psychometrics at Naruna Retreats in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand  Airbus A330-800 Receives Type Certification from EASA and FAA  Hamza Sehili Joins Four Seasons Tunis as Hotel Manager  British Airways and Royal Air Maroc to Codeshare  Green Africa Airways Signs MOU for 50 Airbus A220-300s  Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals Plummet to Below 3,000 Per Day  What Does Tourism Mean to Conwy, North Wales? 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[luccazeray]

9th st Protected Bike Lane with Mixing Zone.

3/18/19

New Amsterdam is not Amsterdam. New York in the past 5 years alone there have been an estimated 140,000 more daily trips by bicycle according to the Department of transportation bringing the current daily ride count to 800,000~ daily trips.  New York’s only recently started embracing two wheel culture, prior to 2007 the bicycle in New York was simply for messengers, kids in parks, guys in spandex, and delivery men. Nowadays It is not uncommon for a young mother to pick her kids up from school by bike, or for 20 something year olds who just moved to Bushwick to feel safe enough to ride to the Grand Army Plaza farmers market on a nice Saturday. New Amsterdam is slowly but surely embracing two wheel culture, not only as residents but also from a city planning perspective.

Bike lanes only really existed on a few select avenues in Manhattan, the westside highway, and in sections of the still neglected east side water front “back in the day”. Flash back to 2007- 2012 Janette Sadik-Khan was appointed transportation commissioner of the NYC DOT under Michael Bloomberg, her effect was hard to miss across the entire city, 250 miles of bike lanes were added, pilot programs were instated and citi-bike became another way for Ny’ers to move around the city. The first protected bike lanes were piloted , the now common practice of painting green bike paths was instated and a bike share system was implemented. Under Sadik-Khan ridership increased 13% between 2009 and 2010 alone. She isn’t the reason cyclists started riding their bikes, but she is the reason they could do so safely. Little by little it became less “weird” to ride you bike to work, or to get groceries, or to the bar.

A few moths ago the DOT repaved the stretch of 9th st between 3rd ave and Prospect Park west. A fresh pave means, fresh road, which means fresh lines, which means, “hey should we put a bike lane there?” A newly paved street is a great opportunity to try out new lane markings or even a new protected bike lane. Street markings are relatively low cost to install, use little additional material and can greatly impact the flow of traffic and safety of the pedestrians. Bike lanes have been proven to increase safety of a street for every not just cyclists but for everyone. Slowing the speed of traffic and drawing lines marking where a bike lane starts and ends raises awareness, all of which is greatly increasing the chances of decreasing traffic accidents and fatalities.

The newly minted bike lane on 9th st did not remove a lane of parking like its 14 foot wide sister on Prospect park west, but simply traded locations. The lane is now sitting flush to the curb and the 4 foot buffer zone is between the passenger side doors of the parked cars, while the single lane of traffic and median remain unaffected. In theory the drivable road was unaffected. However 9th st is one of the many 2 way commercial streets in Brooklyn, there are multiple deli’s, restaurants, the YMCA, a massive grocery store, two new construction condo buildings, and other various small business. New York isn’t Amsterdam, most delivers are coming in 16 to 26’ cube trucks with no loading dock to pull into, people run errands in SUV’s, and plain and simply New Yorkers love double parking.

We are are creatures of connivance, when driving to get a quick carton of eggs, picking up take out or grabbing something from the pharmacy, we double park. Although illegal, it is out of necessity, finding a legal spot or even a metered one can reduce ones day to driving in circles looking for a place to park. It is completely irrational but, that is how we city function, we park in bike lanes, stop in the middle of the street, and drive unnecessarily large trucks and cars.  On any given weekday between the hours of 9am-7pm 9th st is a single lane of traffic.

The new 9th st protected lane marks a gentle culture shift. Bike lanes are ubiquitous throughout the city but not widely understood or accepted. Parking in a bike lane is accepted as the lesser of two evils in blocking the flow of traffic. That being said, traffic and pedestrian deaths have decreased severely in the past 5 years, largely in part of the current DOT commissioner Polly Trottenberg’s effort to get to zero traffic deaths. The 9th st bike lane like the other protected lanes (sections of: 9th ave, 2nd ave, Prospect Park West, etc) throughout the city is simply a joy to ride in, the buffer zone makes its irrational to be worried about getting doored, the lane is a great addition to the large network of NYC’s bike lanes.

The trouble that New York faces is in the next few years connecting the sections bike lane together will require reducing areas where drivers can double park “comfortably”and making pedestrian lives more protected.  Something is going to give, residents may start buying smaller cars, cube trucks might get traded for sprinter vans, and mom might start riding her bicycle to C-town instead of driving.

[sandiegocanear-blog]

San Diego, CA Near

San Diego is the Place!

San Diego is one of the most desireable places to live in the United States and when reviewing further, there's no doubt why. The weather is pristine with little rainfall yet the warm temperatures throughout the year without being overbearing provide relief to everyone. The beach scene is top notch and arguably the best to be found anywhere in the lower 48 states. Downtown in the Gaslamp District, an assortment of restaurants and cool clubs dominate the city skyline. When you add in local attractions like the San Diego Zoo, Sea World and the marina, there's little doubt why San Diego is the place to be.

Let them take Cake Photos!

Make the memories of your next event last forever by adding a Cake photo booth for your guests. Cake photo booth's modern design in photo booth will accommodate groups of up to 15 people, and come in both an open air and inflatable cube styles. Your guests will be able to make an unlimited number of prints of their photos. Booths can be fitted with a variety of ready made or custom backdrops; they can even add a green screen, so any image can be used as a backdrop! Cake photo booth can also provide a large assortment of props---such as goofy glasses, hats, etc---for even more fun. Packages range from 2 to 5 hours and start at $495, and they all packages include delivery and set-up of your booth. Don't miss out on having Cake photo booth at your next party or event!

San Diego's Most expensive development underway

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) – A major milestone for what is being called the biggest, most expensive development San Diego has ever seen. The nearly $1.5 billion Manchester Pacific Gateway Project has been in the works for more than a decade. Manchester Pacific Gateway will include class A office space, iconic hotels, lifestyle & luxury retail shopping, exquisite dining, plaza and cultural space, entertainment, public parking, and overlooks San Diego's waterfront.Read more here

Manchester Pacific Gateway is San Diego's most expensive development yet and it just broke ground. This development has been in the planning stages for more than 10 years. The 1.5 billion dollar project will include 2 hotels, the Luxury Boutique hotel and the Convention Hotel. Amenities at these hotels will include over 1000 rooms, indoor and outdoor restaurants, indoor and rooftop bars, spas at both locations and 1000 parking spaces. There will also be public parking for those visiting the property鈥檚 office spaces and other attractions. The Manchester Pacific Gateway will contain shopping, dining and entertainment, all beside San Diego鈥檚 beautiful waterfront.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park: Entertainment for the Whole Family

If you’re looking for a fun outdoor experience that is a little bit different than your other zoo experiences, the San Diego Zoo Safari is a great option. This is a stop that the whole family will enjoy with several different safari options to choose from. Some of the exciting exhibits to check out here include Elephant Valley, African Woods, Nairobi Village, African Outpost, and beyond. There truly is something that the whole family will enjoy here, even if you have been before. The up close and personal experience with a wide variety of beautiful animals is simply awe inspiring.

Link to map

Driving Direction

30 min (15.7 miles)

via CA-78 W

Fastest route, lighter traffic than usual

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

15500 San Pasqual Valley Rd, Escondido, CA 92027, USA

Get on I-15 N in Escondido from CA-78 W/San Pasqual Valley Rd and E 9th Ave

14 min (6.6 mi)

Take CA-78 W to Sycamore Ave in Vista. Take exit 9 from CA-78 W

9 min (8.7 mi)

Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto Sycamore Ave

Pass by Jack in the Box (on the right in 0.4 mi)

2 min (0.4 mi)

Cake Photo Booth

770 Sycamore Ave, Vista, CA 92083, USA

[drtanstravels]

We had known for quite some time that we would be making a trip to Spain in September of this year so Anna could attend the 2017 Euretina Congress in Barcelona and we had decided to make a trip out of it. When we lived in New York, Anna had a Spanish colleague, Rosa Dolz-Marco, and the two of us got along really well with both her and her husband, Roberto Gallego-Pinazo. Rosa and Roberto have since moved back to Valencia, Spain and the pair of them are both ophthalmologists and would also be attending the conference so our plan was to head down to Valencia to hang out with them for a few days and then travel back up to Barcelona a day or two before the conference and meet up with them again when they arrived in town. Anna and myself have both been to the Andalusia region in the south of Spain, but neither of us had ever visited either Valencia or Barcelona before so we had really been looking forward to this trip for a long time, the anticipation growing stronger as September 1, the date of our departure, loomed nearer. But then disaster struck:

On the afternoon of 17 August 2017, 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub drove a van into pedestrians on La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain, killing 13 people and injuring at least 130 others, one of whom died 10 days later on 27 August. Abouyaaqoub fled the attack on foot, then killed another person in order to steal the victim’s car to make his escape. Nine hours after the Barcelona attack, five men thought to be members of the same terrorist cell drove into pedestrians in nearby Cambrils, killing one woman and injuring six others. All five attackers were shot and killed by police. The night before the Barcelona attack, an explosion occurred in a house in the Spanish town of Alcanar, destroying the building and killing two members of the terrorist cell; including the 40-year-old imam thought to be the mastermind. The home had over 120 gas canisters inside, which police believe the cell was attempting to make into one large bomb or three smaller bombs to be placed in three vans which they had rented; but which they accidentally detonated.

It was a terrible tragedy to hit the country and it occured less than two weeks before we were due to arrive, but we weren’t going to let this event ruin our travel plans. Anna had been working incredibly hard in the lead up to the conference and it would just be ridiculous to put that sheer amount of effort to waste. Besides, if anything it would probably be more safe to travel there in the wake of the attack because there would be a lot more police and security around and people would tend to be on their guard a bit more so we we went ahead with our plans.

Wednesday, August 30 It was my birthday so Anna had made reservations at Nouri, a fine dining restaurant that was doing a special menu called ‘4 Hands’ where two chefs, Leandro Carreira and Ivan Brehm, were making tapas using a combination of Portuguese and local ingredients and it was pretty damn good. A look at the menu should give you a decent idea.

It was definitely a great meal, but it also wouldn’t be the last decent thing I would taste over the following weeks, not by a long shot!

Thursday, August 31 The bulk of Thursday was spent tying up loose ends such as getting Kermit to the dog hotel while Anna was at work before we made our way down to Changi Airport for our flight that was scheduled to depart at 12:30am on Friday morning. One pleasant surprise that occured during the day was when the postman dropped off a special delivery for Anna, which she promptly opened after returning home from work. An article she had written had been published in an ophthalmology textbook and she had been sent a copy in advance. Anna said she knew all about it, she just neglected to tell me, but I thought it was pretty cool. In fact, if it were me, I would have been telling anyone who’d listen!

  So, this is what she was published in

I was an English teacher and even I can pronounce maybe half of those words

Thursday and Friday were all downhill from that point onward; we had dinner and arrived at the airport at about 10:30pm, two hours early for our flight, which is never a good omen. After we had checked in we went into the lounge to relax, as Anna still had a bit of work to do. I went over to get some food, but they only had several curries left and it’s not that I don’t like Indian food, but more that it doesn’t particularly like me and that is a recipe for disaster when you’re going to be stuck on a plane for around 12 hours and can’t fit in the toilets.

We couldn’t get too settled

When it came time to go down to our boarding gate, we made our way there quite efficiently and waited… and waited some more. Soon 12:30am arrived and an announcement came over the intercom claiming that there was an issue with our flight and we would be delayed by at least an hour while they tried to resolve it. We thought about going back up to the lounge, but there wasn’t much to eat and we figured we wouldn’t be up there that long anyway, so Anna continued working at the gate while I went over and watched the wrestling on one of the TV screens. At about 2:00am there was another announcement saying there was a problem with our actual plane and that we would need to wait for the next one, which would be arriving at 6:30am. Lack of sleep is one of the factors that triggers epileptic seizures for me and we were flying Singapore Airlines, an airline with whom I have had several seizures on flights in the past. Anna believes they might have flagged me as a risk for that very reason so she explained the situation to someone at the service counter and we got put up in a really nice room in an upgraded wing of the Crowne Plaza for free so we could catch a nap for what amounted to about three hours.

Friday, September 1 We got up from our little kip at 5:45am and went back down to the boarding gate, but by the time they had cleaned and refuelled the plane it was around 7:30am before we were airborne. I managed to get a fair bit of sleep, watched American Hustle and we eventually arrived in Munich, Germany for our stopover. Despite already having a planned three-hour stopover, because of the delay Anna and I were given a €20.00 (approx. US$24.00) voucher to use at any of the restaurants in the airport so we chose Airbräu for some sausages, sauerkraut, pork knuckle, and of course, beer. When we had finished lunch we walked up to the airport lounge to kill time before getting back on another flight for a couple of hours to Barcelona. We boarded our flight and by the time we finally arrived and I had extremely chapped lips from being on planes for so long, but I was also a little bit delirious from lack of sleep. Anna offered me her Burt’s Bees lip balm, something that I thought would offer more relief the more I put on, but also a product Anna didn’t bother to tell me was tinted. Instead she just laughed at me while passengers getting off the plane gave me horrified looks, most likely thinking I was a some kind of serial killer, a la Steve Buscemi in the film Billy Madison. The similarity is real.

  After we went through immigration, we walked down to get the car, a Mini, we had hired, however, yet again it was a case of getting a car that was too high-tech for us. It took about 10 minutes of trying to figure out how to start it, but we eventually got it going and Anna drove about an hour down the freeway from the airport to a nice little beachside town called Sitges. There were tollbooths along the way and at the first one Anna didn’t pull up close enough to grab the ticket so she had to get out of the car, leaving the car in ‘Drive’ and just putting on the handbrake while doing so. This forced the car to shutdown, causing her a little difficulty getting it started again until she attempted doing so with the car in ‘Park,’ but still, it needs to be said, Anna does an incredible job at driving on the opposite side of the road and even parallel parking.

A little about Sitges:

Sitges is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, renowned worldwide for its Film Festivaland Carnival. Located between the Garraf Massif and the sea, it is known for its beaches, nightspots, and historical sites. While the roots of Sitges’ artsy reputation date back to the late 19th century, when Catalan painter Santiago Rusiñol took up residence there during the summer, the town became a centre for the 1960s counterculture in mainland Spain, then still under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and became known as “Ibiza in miniature”.

That sounds pretty cool to me, the place also has 17 beaches, three of which are nude, and plenty of bars. Factoring in the time difference, the people at our resort, Hotel Sitges, were expecting us at 3:00pm, but due to the delays it was about 9.00pm when we arrived. The good thing with this part of the world at this time of year is that it stays light until about 10.00pm so driving wasn’t a hassle. Also, we were starting to get our second wind so we checked into our hotel and then went out to grab a bite to eat and a drink. Dinner was a great lobster paella and this is a beautiful town, but there was something different about Sitges that we couldn’t quite put our collective fingers on at first, but we soon figured it out. This will help me describe it accurately:

GAY POPULATION: The percentage of the Gay Transient Population= 35%

HOTELS & ACCOMMODATIONS: Sitges has approximately 4,510 accommodations and the majority are 4 stars hotels. They all are gay friendly.

RESTAURANTS: Sitges has over 20 restaurants that are gay or gay-friendly.

GAY BEACHES: In Sitges most of the beaches are gay friendly.  There are 2 main beaches that are considered gay and also 2 nude beaches where the majority of the people are gay.

2 Gay Beaches 2 Nude Beaches (gays and straights) 13 Beaches (gays and straight)

SCHOOLS: Gay couples with children can enjoy excellent International schools in the area.

Gay life in Sitges is very nice and very open.  You will see gay/lesbian couples holding hands by the beach and by the center of town.  Sitges has become a very popular destination for gays and lesbians travelers. It is one of the most gay friendly cities in the world.

Sitges becomes very gay during the months of July thru August.  Fewer straight people than normal or at least you will be too busy looking at all the gays that you will not notice them.

  Furthermore, our stay in Sitges coincided with this little shindig:

Towards the end of summer, in September, another popular event that takes place is the Bears Week. In the gay culture, a Bear is a large, hairy man that shows an image of masculinity. The event attracts over 5,000 people on a period of two weeks.

This could make for a fun Friday night out and some great people-watching and we definitely weren’t disappointed. Anna made one little faux pas while we were walking through one of the busier parts of town after she overheard someone describing what an ‘otter’ is — a gay man who is usually hairy, but reasonably thin or athletic. I hadn’t shaved for a while so Anna laughed, turned to me and said in her loud, shrill voice “Oh, that must make you an otter!” Needless to say, there were a lot of eyes staring in my direction and there wasn’t another woman in sight, just burly, hairy men. We found a bar that seemed pretty cool so we pulled up a seat, grabbed some drinks and had a really fun night watching the world go by until the tiredness kicked in again and it was time to go home. Some scenes from our night out in Sitges:

  Hotel Sitges, our home for the night

What greeted us in the foyer

Walking into town

Might have to check that place out tomorrow

Across the road from our restaurant

Dinner was fantastic!

Not a lot of women around…

Oh, that could be why

It’s reassuring to know that Anna’s safe

Having a drink

One of countless transvestites that we encountered over the course of the evening

Beginning our walk back to the resort

This really is a beautiful place

Saturday, September 2 The plan for Saturday was to walk back into town, grab some tapas, and have a look around before driving to Valencia at around 3:00pm. This included checking out one of the town’s most famous landmarks, the Església de Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla, which dates back to the fourteenth century:

The Church of St. Barthlomew and St. Tecla (or ‘Església de Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla’ in Catalan) is Sitges’ most instantly recognisable landmark, thanks in part to its dramatic location perched on the Baluard headland, overlooking the Mediterranean sea. Visible all along the Passeig Maritim, its lofty presence mean that locals refer to it simply as ‘La Punta’ or ‘The Point’. Although a church has existed since medieval times on the same site, the present building was constructed relatively recently in the 17th Century, but retains two Gothic tombs from its previous incarnation, and also boasts an impressive organ and Renaissance-era altarpiece.

We woke up reasonably early, most likely due to jet-lag, and strolled along the beach into the main part of town, the same route we took the previous night. We made good on our tapas promise, wandered through the narrow lanes and alleys to do a bit of shopping and had a look at the outside of the church before checking out of our hotel and making the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Valencia. Some more sights from our last look around Sitges:

  Around the corner from our hotel (No, there aren’t many buildings like this, I just thought this one looked pretty badass)

Walking into town again

One of the only women we saw in Sitges. That actually explains a lot

When you see it…

One of many small alleys

This one with a tree growing in it

Jamon!

Anna getting excited about tapas

Church of St. Barthlomew and St. Tecla

The view from the front of the church

From another angle

Walking to the sea

Another part of the beach

Panoramic shot of the coast

Anna hanging out during siesta time

More jamon.

One thing we forgot to factor in when we were looking around was that Spain still has siestas, meaning that almost all shops close for several hours in the afternoon, usually between the hours of about 2:00pm – 4:30pm, but it varies from store to store. This meant that nothing was open for a portion of our time there, but it encouraged us to get in the car and make our way to Valencia after having a quick look at the beach.

We eventually made it down the freeway and navigated our way through the endless roundabouts to get to where we staying in Valencia, but we weren’t expecting Rosa and Roberto to move out of their apartment so we could stay there. More than a little unnecessary, but thanks, guys! Once we had taken our suitcases upstairs we took the 10-minute walk into the city and looked around before meeting up with the couple for dinner, a drink and a chat. Here are our first impressions of Valencia, I have no idea what most of these buildings are, however, a combination of my phone’s photo locations and Google helped with some of them. Anyway, we would definitely be seeing a lot more over the following days:

  La Seu Cathedral

Plaza del Ayuntamiento

I think this was a bank on Calle de las Barcas

Near Valencia Cathedral

With Rosa and Roberto. Anna blinked yet again

Valencia Cathedral

Sunday, September 3 We were still quite tired so we decided to take it easy on Sunday, something which is incredibly simple to do in this country. We walked into the city centre, grabbed a coffee each, Anna also bought a hat because of how sunny it was, and we decided to take a look inside the González Martí National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts. It might not sound particularly interesting to many, but it was actually quite impressive, especially the façade of the building, which was designed by Hipolito Rovira and made by the Valencian sculptor Ignacio Vergara. Once inside, there are three floors and this probably provides the best guide:

Ground floor

Mostly dedicated to temporary exhibitions, in this floor is the remarkable “carriage patio” (named this way because it was the carriage house and the stables) and the main stairs.

First floor

The first floor spans the private rooms of the Marquis de Dos Aguas, decorated with stucco, wall and ceiling paintings made by artists such as Plácido Frances y Pascual, José Felipe Parra and José Brel Guiralt in the 19th century. Marble floors are of different colors, with the initials “MD”, corresponding at the Marquis de Dos Aguas.

Outstanding rooms are The Ballroom, the Red Room, the Eastern Sitting Room (also known as the Porcelain Sitting Room), equipped with part of the original furniture. Furthermore, all rooms are ornamented with works of art, lamps, clocks, vases, etc.; reflecting the elegance and style of the time.

Second floor

 Hall of ceramics from the 16th, 17th and 18th century (second floor)

Divided in several rooms, this whole floor is entirely dedicated to the exhibition of the ceramics collection, including one adapted to reproduce a typical Valencian kitchen, designed by self-Manuel González Martí, with mosaics, friezes and decorative panels of the 18th and 19th centuries. The decoration of this space is complemented with popular contemporary ceramic pots and copper objects.

Here is a taste of some what we saw, both inside and out:

  Around the corner from the entrance

I told you this thing was impressive

A closeup of the entrance

Hand carried carriage

Not sure what is going on here

This carriage looks like something out of a Disney cartoon

Watch out, she’s starting to tip!

A typical Valencian kitchen from the the 18th and 19th centuries

Let goat-boy serenade you

18th century Valencian bedroom

After the museum we went to Horchateria Santa Catalina for some horchata, orange juice and churros. We were told to try it so we did and it was actually quite nice, but what is it?

In Spain, it usually refers to horchata de chufa, made from tigernuts, water, and sugar. Originally from Valencia, the idea of making horchata from yellow nutsedge (tigernuts) comes from the period of Muslim presence in Valencia (from the 8th to 13th centuries). It is served ice-cold as a natural refreshment in the summer, often served with fartons. Tigernut horchata is also used instead of milk by the lactose-intolerant.

Fartons sound interesting too so we might need to have those next time. For most people who aren’t Spaniards, probably the first thing that comes to mind upon hearing the name ‘Valencia’ would be oranges. Yes, you can get orange juice quite readily in cafes and restaurants, but oranges in general just weren’t as abundant as I expected, however, that could be due to visiting at the end of summer. The orange juice was served at room temperature, which is how it is traditionally done, and is really sweet and delicious, but I think I would’ve preferred it colder.

When Rosa and Roberto saw the picture of the “paella” we had in Sitges, they weren’t even sure if it was actually paella so they decided to take us to one of their favourite restaurants, La Pepica, so we could try the real deal and it was far better than we expected. We pulled up a seat outside overlooking the beach and ordered two paellas, one squid ink and one chicken, as well as a side-dish of octopus and potato to go with Anna’s dress. Here’s a taste of our day up to that point:

  The entrance to Horchateria Santa Catalina

Me inside

Our horchata, orange juice, churros and hot chocolate for dipping

Anna, Rosa and Lucas, Roberto’s son

Some of those paella pans are enormous

Inside La Pepica

Octopus and potato

Traditional Valencian paella

Squid ink paella

A panoramic shot from our vantage point

We had spent a large portion of our day eating so we figured it was necessary to walk this one off. We set out on what would become a 20km (12.5 mile) trek over the course of the remainder of the day, taking us along beaches and through a really cool complex called the City of Arts and Sciences:

The City of Arts and Sciences (Valencian: Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències; Spanish: Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia and one of the 12 Treasures of Spain. The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the former riverbed of the river Turia, which was drained and rerouted after a catastrophic flood in 1957. The old riverbed was turned into a picturesque sunken park. Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project began the first stages of construction in July 1996, and was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L’Hemisfèric. The last great component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was inaugurated on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day. Originally budgeted at €300 million, it has cost nearly three times the initial expected cost.

We continued on into town, eventually reaching a market, Mercado Colón, where we stopped for a few drinks and some orange slices and after that it was into an older part of the town for dinner, a shisha and a few more drinks. The remainder of the day looked like this:

  Part of the City of Arts and Sciences

Where the freeway passes over

A panoramic shot of the complex

An arch on one of the many roundabouts

The market

Hanging out with their snail mascot

La Seu Cathedral, this time at night

Yet another church

Having drinks in Plaza del Tossal

Monday, September 4 Monday was our last full day in Valencia so we intended to spend it walking around the city and checking out the shops when there is more open, but first we had to get some fartons because they sound interesting, however, we had no idea what they were. It turns out this is what they are:

Fartons are confectionery sweets typical of the Valencian town of Alboraya, Spain. Elongated and glazed with sugar, they are made of flour, milk, sugar, oil, eggs and a leavening agent. This delicate and spongy sweet was made to be dipped in horchata, a drink made of tigernuts that is served cold, but fartons can also be eaten with hot beverages such as hot chocolate or caffè latte.

I don’t have a sweet-tooth, but, like pretty much any traditional Spanish food, fartons were delicious. I guess the closest comparison I could make would be if plain Krispy Kreme’s original glazed doughnuts were elongated. A couple of these and some horchata would provide the energy we would need to walk around the city, with our first stop being Mercat Central, the central market of Valencia. Predominately a food market, you can get some pretty spectacular stuff here, from ostrich eggs to steaks that have been dry-aged for over five years!

  Fartons and horchata

Entering the Central Market

This stall had some damn good ham and cheese

I think the ostrich eggs are the ones on the left

Fresh snails

Dried sharks

If you can zoom in on this photo, check out the dates on that meat!

Yes, fluently in places like Myanmar

We walked around different areas of the city for the afternoon to do some shopping, then met up with Rosa after work at her favourite tapas place. I made the small error of trying to use the side of my fork to cut through something that was a little bit tough in a bowl of oil when my fingers had olive oil on them. Instead, the fork just slipped from my grip and slammed into the bowl, spraying Rosa’s new dry-clean-only pants with oil and potentially ruining them. Luckily, the bar had a can of special spray that helps remove oil from fabric after such accidents so I hope it worked. After tapas we went and grabbed dinner and some drinks in the same area as the previous night, but we didn’t want to go too hard, as we had a bit of driving to do the next day.

Tuesday, September 5 We had a couple of things we wanted to see before we started to make our way down to Barcelona, particularly looking inside the Valencia Cathedral, but we stumbled across a flea market en route. This market extended for several streets, but like we had already noticed with most secondhand markets in Valencia, the majority of the stalls were mainly selling extremely large, used women’s underwear so we didn’t stick around long. Instead we walked to Valencia Cathedral:

The Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia, alternatively known as Saint Mary’s Cathedral or Valencia Cathedral, is a Roman Catholicparish church in Valencia, Spain. The cathedral was consecrated in 1238 by the first bishop of Valencia after the Reconquista, Pere d’Albalat, Archbishop of Tarragona, and was dedicated by order of James I the Conqueror to Saint Mary. It was built over the site of the former Visigothic cathedral, which under the Moors had been turned into a mosque. The Valencian Gothic is the predominant architectural style of the cathedral, although it also contains Romanesque, French Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-Classical elements. The cathedral contains numerous 15th-century paintings, some by local artists (such as Jacomart), others by artists from Rome engaged by the Valencian Pope Alexander VI.

The Valencia Cathedral is another example of one of those places where you just need to let some pictures do the talking so that’s what I’ll do (plus one of some used undies at the market).

  Rather large undies

Outside the Cathedral

One end

The ceiling

The other end

A panoramic shot inside

Before long it was time to go back to where we were staying and load up the car for the drive to Peníscola, where we’d be spending a night on the way to Barcelona.

Stay tuned, you’ll be able to read all about that next time when I finish writing Part 2 of our trip to Spain!

Traveling to Spain in the Wake of a Tragedy, pt. 1: Sitges and Valencia We had known for quite some time that we would be making a trip to Spain in September of this year so Anna could attend the…

[designsurvivor]

Challenge 10: Bettah Food Trucks

Food trucks: the quirky, less traditional alternative for grabbing a meal, often promising a specialized cuisine or unique location. Perhaps you use them simply for the convenience, or maybe you’re one of those food truck superfans who tries out any new food truck to see how it compares. Food trucks are popular for many reasons, but one thing they certainly aren’t known for is their comfortable working environment for the employees inside.

In fact, perhaps since one’s interaction with a food truck is generally quick, most people don’t consider how the restaurant-style work environment has been forcedly adapted to the interior of a truck. Because of this apparent neglect, we decided to look at the physical design of food trucks and see how they might be improved to better serve the needs of the workers in them. We split our redesign into two parts – an interior and an exterior, although, as one will see, they often intertwine – and then looked at the existing food trucks in the Science Center Plaza, as well as interviewed people working inside them, to gain some of our insights.

The result from our research and design led us to create a potentially better -- or “bettah”, in a Boston accent -- food truck for those working within it. (As such, our example food truck is named “Bettah Burgers”, but our designs are for those who buy or work in food trucks, rather than designs for a food truck made for specific customers or with a specific menu.)

Exterior

Based on our user feedback obtained through interviews of food truck employees, there was a need to improve the exterior design of the truck in order to facilitate a more intuitive customer experience and flow.

Single Windows vs Double Windows

One of the major issues employees face with current truck designs is that customers often order and receive their food from the same window. This creates a mob of waiting people cluttered in front of the truck as people are also trying to order. There is no flow to the experience, making for a hectic mess. Our design works to establish a flow to the ordering process that mimics what you might see at a drive-through.

The customers move from right to left, starting at reading the menu, then ordering at the first window (not counting the passenger window in the front of the truck), and finally picking up their food at the second window towards the back of the truck. This keeps the line moving and eliminates a crowd in front of the ordering window. We've added a retractable divider that protrudes from the truck to create a boundary between the windows so that the ordering and pickup are clearly divided.

Table Placement/Cleaning

Another feature that current food trucks use is an exterior table where workers can place napkins, condiments, and utensils for the customers. Food trucks like BonMe use a foldable table that they store inside their truck when not open. This takes up possible storage space for other items inside the truck. Our design rethinks this feature by attaching a small table directly to the exterior of the truck. When not in use, the table can fold up along the side of the truck, storing it externally yet securely.

The table also is towards the back of the truck, imitating where food trucks place their current standalone tables, since employees can have easier access to this table through the back doors in order to clean and restock it with supplies. (One major complaint was that employees often have to take a lot of time to climb down and clean the table, so keeping it as close as possible, and giving one the ability to sweep directly from the back of the truck if necessary, is vital.) Because of this convenient placement for the employees, our truck's overall exterior flow moves from right to left (as opposed to a possibly more intuitive left to right).

Interior

The things the inside of the food truck should be optimized come down to space, flow, and access to ingredients/restocked ingredients. With that in mind, we created a prospective design with a number of unique features.

Modular Storage

When a storage chamber runs out, the employees must restock it, usually from a delivery van that arrives (this is why you’ll often see, say, the Whole Foods food truck parked next to a smaller Whole Foods van). This involves leaving the truck, halting the workflow of everyone in it so one can easily move new ingredients in and out, and then restocking.

Our design makes use of the concept of “modular” storage, with access points on the exterior of the truck, so that the restock-van driver can restock from outside the truck by opening certain hatches and replacing properly-fitted containers filled with ingredients after removing the same-sized containers, now empty, from the truck. We planned the floorplan such that much of the dry and cold storage under the counters can be modularly refilled from the exterior.

Similarly, the chilled trays are also modularized, and can be easily replaced with full ones from the cold or dry storage areas below.

Sauce Dispenser

Counter space is extremely valuable, since it’s so limited, but we found that counter space was often lost to clusters of sauce-filled squeeze bottles that were only used briefly at the end of food prep. So, we replace these bottles with upside-down versions hanging above the counter, with tubes for directing the sauce placement. This way, the sauces are in the same place and are still easily accessed, but they don’t take up counter space.

Extra Counter Space

The double-window design allows us to close off what might otherwise be one long open window, giving us a chance to put in an extra counter and storage cupboard on the right side of the truck. Above the counter, we also can add extra shelves, since they don’t block the view of the window that, in this portion, no longer exists.

Notes on the Process

From our research, we learned a couple of things do work really well in food trucks, which we left intentionally unchanged in our designs. Anyone who looks at redesigning, or refining our designs, of the food truck might want to keep these elements in mind. The first is the straight and central path. This allows prep workers to use a line-based food prep system, even if counters jutting out further might provide more space or storage. Similarly, the second point to keep in mind is that, due to this line-based prep system, it is most efficient to order storage/counter space in the direction of food construction. In our case, that means that the hot elements are prepared, then combined or tossed with the cold/dry elements, before being dressed at the end. A third aspect to note and preserve is the gap between storage and the ground, which is actually regulated to be at least 6” to comply with food safety standards.

Overall, while today’s general food truck designs certainly function, a lot of room for improving the experience for the employees – rather than the usual focus of improving the customer experience �� is still a major opportunity.

[bigyack-com]

MHG Signs Two Hotels in Doha, Qatar

Thailand’s Minor Hotels Group has signed a management agreement with a private developer for two new properties in Doha, Qatar. Currently in the pre-opening phase, The Vyra Suites NH Collection Doha is a 228-key serviced apartment property located in West Bay, Doha’s prominent business district hosting much of the city’s most modern infrastructure. Situated amongst a plethora of commercial skyscrapers, large scale mixed-use developments and government entities, the new-build 44-storey property is comprised of 72 one bedroom, 144 two-bedroom, and 12 three-bedroom apartments, as well as a restaurant, coffee shop, gym, indoor swimming pool, kids’ club, teens room, and a number of meeting rooms.

This will be the first NH Collection to launch in the Middle East and the first outside of the brand’s traditional areas of operation in Europe and South America. Additionally, The Plaza Doha Anantara Hotel & Suites (pictured) is under development in the Um Ghuwelina area of the city, approximately 15 minutes’ drive from Hamad International Airport. The 292-key property will feature 118 guest rooms and 174 apartment suites, a large F&B offering which includes multiple dining options and a fully air conditioned courtyard atrium which will be the centrepiece of the property. Other facilities will include a spa and wellness area, a roof top infinity swimming pool and an indoor pool, a kids’ club, gym and an 1,200 square metre ballroom along with six meeting rooms. “We are very excited to announce these two upcoming hotels and to grow and launch our brands in Doha,” said Dillip Rajakarier, CEO Minor Hotels. “The combination of both Anantara and NH Collection, combined with our existing portfolio, will attract a diverse range of travellers and meet the market’s increasing demand for short and long term accommodation.” MHG currently operates 17 properties in the Middle East, including Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara, three Tivoli properties and one Oaks in Qatar. Globally, the company has a portfolio of 536 hotels and resorts in 55 countries. See latest Travel News, Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: MHG, Minor, Doha, Qatar, Anantara, NH. 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