day out to the Sabinillas flea

it was a Sunday and probably the hottest day since summer arrived here in the Mediterranean and on a whim, the mister and i decided to check out a flea market (or "rastro" as they are called in Spain) in Sabinillas, Spain that a friend of ours recommended.  Sabinillas is about 20 minutes away by car from Gib.

so together with another friend of ours, we hopped on the car and looked for the place with a lot of people, hoping for an adventure.

 i love this poster but the mister wont let me buy Jet Li.

beautiful paintings of the idyllic Spanish coastline as well as ordinary things people do (such as a guy standing over a presumably dead guy!).  also, there were a lot of religious iconography scattered about.

surprise, surprise!  we saw the sword from Game of Thrones! made from Valyrian steel no less and.....ohhhhh that helmet!

tutus in all colors of the rainbow!

i love these African baskets!  

i also love this guy.  just dont know where to put him in our house!

animal skulls (maybe cows or bulls)

there's plenty of signs available for the homeowner with a house full of exits

cow bells of all sizes

this guy is rated PG though (you have been warned!)

in the end, i loved all of them but unfortunately i had to leave them all behind.  we bought loads of fresh fruits though: avocados, mangoes, loquats, peaches, green apples; and herbs (we love our mint tea!).

flea market finds: shoot em up

there was a carboot sale the other day and of course i was there early.  been anticipatin' this carboot for two weeks now and so i came prepared with my sturdy shopping bag and a pocket full of change ;)

here are my lovely finds:

(1) a tiny Delft stein buried under a mound of souvenir mugs from all over the world 

(2) a Canadian pewter whale "piggy" bank - isn't he just sooo cute?

(3) a functional 1960's Fujica 35 ee camera (my favorite find!  perfect for my collection plus i really, really like lomography)

(4) a vintage photo album with a brown leather cover - i bought this because of nostalgia really. when i was little i remember all our photographs were 

neatly arranged by my mom in a similar album

(5) a square monkey pod salad bowl and guess where they were made?  the Philippines!

*linking to The Penny Worthy Project @ hey what's for dinner Mom? :)

good luck charm

we have a new addition to the house :)

presenting "el macho"! (the mister insists he shall be named "Finch" henceforth, but i digress)

"el macho" is a common gecko who decided to one day live in our bathroom.  i discovered him one night a few days ago when i was about to do my nightly ablutions.  i slightly freaked out when i saw him.  

house lizards are pretty common in the Philippines... but not in Gib!

they are also considered to bring good fortune to the house. so bring it on!

Roman Holiday: design inspirations

let me start with the hotel we stayed in.  

the Rome Times Hotel just opened a few months ago and we were among the first guests.  the amenities were very modern and the rooms have dark wood flooring, crisps sheets and pillows, spacious bath and the safes are free (we've never stayed in a hotel where the safes were free, ever!).  the mister is delighted at this because he can shove all his gadgets in there without fear of it being nicked in a foreign country.

it was one of the best hotels we've stayed by far!  here's a pic of their bar below.

inside the Vatican Museum, i also saw the contemporary art of Henri Matisse defined by "gouache cutouts" made of special paper in their designs.  i love the color palette that he used! 

as we were nearing the exit of the museum, we had to go down this beautiful spiral staircase and into the Vatican post office where i mailed ourselves a postcard back home :)

in the streets of Rome:

spotted a Space Invaders street art near the Vatican! i don't know if this is one of his but sure looks like it :)

they are big on Audrey H. there by the way :)  before going to Rome, i actually watched the movie "Roman Holiday" and now it is one of my favorites :)

ahhh who wouldn't want to sit under that bougainvillea portico and sip some capuccino, eh?  la vita bella!

don't miss the shop windows!  they have the most interesting displays!  like this sea-themed one with ceramic fishes galore :)

or this leather gloves shop in all the colors of the rainbow and then some!

a beautiful stained glass display that caught my eye just as when the light of day was about to fade...

 and who could ignore CoCo Chanel?

and so, as a result, i bought these:

i saw her quietly sketching away in a corner where i found all manner of Audrey Hepburn kitsch...  she was a true artist and i could not help but love her Underground System of Rabbits!

while waiting for our coffee, this little number occupied our weary minds... made of a few different kinds of beans and a pretty little cactus, we were heady with the scent of rose in the air... 

sip, sip, sip...

Roman Holiday - the food

when in Rome...

one must sample everything... especially the food!

(1) bucatini all'amatriciana - all the rich sauce goes inside these hose-shaped pasta making it more delicious!  Chef Mario Batali frequently does this dish in his many restaurants :)

(2) spaghetti cacio e pepe - also a Batali favorite, a simple pasta dish with just cheese and pepper

(3) pizza con le acciughe - with anchovies

(4) pizza quattro stagioni - what can i say?  he loves his pizzas.

(5) tiramisu - what?! visiting Rome and didn't sample the tiramisu??!!

in Pompi???? (via della Croce 82, near the Spanish Steps)

(6) the classic simple canolli - a Sicilian pastry dessert that melts in your mouth!  found this one in a tiny shop on a nondescript street on our way to the Pantheon

(7) a day is incomplete without gelato!  they have many interesting flavors like prosciutto, foie gras, habanero, avocado, etc., i chose the simple ones, combining, coffee, chocolate, banana and coconut.

(8) Silvano, our hotel's pastry chef was very proud of his chocolate truffles and they were soo good I had to take a picture.  he was so pleased and told me to spread the word (i'd be glad to!)

(9) like every holiday we go to, i always do extensive research online before visiting a place.  in many of my online searches, this Sant Eustachio coffee shop off the Piazza Navona always came out tops so me and the mister had to try this one out.  i ordered a cappuccino "banco" which basically means i will be drinking it standing up right at the counter and not "tavolo" which is more expensive because you will be sitting down in one of the tables.

no wonder its been voted the no. 1 coffee in Rome... it is heavenly! there's something in it that's very sophisticated and earthly at the same time.  not too cloyingly sweet and not too strong either.  

i bought these chocolate bon-bons as a souvenir :)

(10) another great coffee place is the distinctly italian brand illy.

(11) another coffee i sampled in Rome is the ginseng coffee in Castroni.  only half a cup full and comes in a demitasse cup :P  i was left wanting more.

(12) pasta, pasta!  we found this unusual pasta shop in an alleyway on our way to the Trevi fountain selling very colorful pasta with whimsical designs! check this out: 

these farfalle or "butterfly" pasta is made with beetroot, seaweed, arugula and other colorful vegetables!

this spaghetti is made from pepperoncini, squid ink, seaweed and vegetables! we cooked this when we got home and it had a very nice flavor mixed together with the sauces!  i just wished i could have bought more.

(13) street food in Rome! like the roasted chestnuts below:

fresh and crunchy coconut chunks:

hot donald's buns hehe

(14) French macarons bought at Laduree, a French pastry shop - pistachio, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.

(15) seared tuna in sesame seeds - so simple and yet so tasty! we ate this at a restaurant near our hotel in the middle of the night when we were so bushed from a day of sight-seeing.  washed down with a glass of spumanti, of course

(16) and lastly, still in Castroni... i bought some familiar goodies from my childhood :)