notes to self

Whoever said that for the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them, was a genius; I did not realize that the whole time I spent in the kitchen to have a piece of tart closes to what I could only remember as a treat in my childhood was a learning process. Mommy is never so keen to see her son being in the kitchen but hey I can't help it… the desire to go back is what rouses the soul.

I was supposed to see Broken City tonight but had been drinking Gespritzerweiss wein since it was hot and became too lazy to cook so we went out looking for a restaurant with patio. Here we are, having grilled Kotelett with couscous for only CHF 15 in this "pop-up" restaurant in the park behind Viadukt. I missed the movie but it's okay, this place is awesome.

Today we want to see Sechseläuten, how locals burn the snowman puppet to welcome the spring/ summer. But before that, let some friends burn their own calories on this pedalo.

I want to ask why do the people here want to leave this beautiful island and live somewhere else just because they could make more money in the strange land and then I remember that I live in the strange land too. I deserve a slap on my face but none wants to slap me, so I guess we can forget about this and just focus on the picture. Does it make you wanna come to Palma de Mallorca?

I went to the Cathedral La Seu, which was build on a pre-existing Arab Mosque according to Wikipedia , but even though Antoni Gaudí did a part of its interior, I did not get "the feeling" when I was there.  That was when I decided to take the vintage train from Plaça d'Espanya to Sóller for a day trip. The view during one hour in the train was nothing amazing, okay, perhaps a little bit mesmerising for a minute or two when it passed the orange and olive trees, but the destination was really something! I had a really good time enjoying the sunshine over Sangria whilst surrounded by caliente people. 

The modern museum Es Baluard in Palma de Mallorca is definitely a must visit in this island. This upside down house welcomes you before you step your feet into the front yard of the museum. You might fancy the Picasso Ceramics but Têtes de Sardines (1999) by Miquel Barceló is my favourite in this museum. Têtes de Sardines belongs to the Duality selection from five artists whom are connected to Mallorca. This mixed media on large size canvas caught my attention as if the dead Sardines were real minus the stinks. I do not know if in the future we will have such artworks that give the scent to complement the visual but would it not be nicer? These are sculptures from the famous Llorenç Ginard. You would notice and might as well relate to the extra meat on the belly, no? Sometimes I think people should not call themselves artist unless they can sculpt. 

We planned to have dinner at another restaurant but they served only if one had reservation and we did not, so we came to this place that was 10 meters away. The steak fillet with foie was ravishingly delicious paired with Ses Nines, the local red wine. It looked tarnished, wet, but it was because I liked the meat rare. They opened until midnight, other restaurants were already closed around 22.30. And of course the wifi here was free!

I have a page of many things to do in Majorca but would only go to La Seu Cathedral and the modern museum Es Baluard because... I wanna focus on my tan!

Tadaaaaaaa. This is the Palm of Majorca. I don't know why I like to look up to the tree. Perhaps because this palm looks like coconut tree? I'm from an island; there are many coconut trees on its beach.. and the coconuts keep falling down for gravity. Of course it's a stupid habit, what if when you look up, the coconut falls down? Anyway, breakfast is in the hotel courtyard, surrounded by colonial style hotel building (Krzys says, renaissance style. Whatever.) and a couple of Palm trees. Breakfast is nothing special but the atmosphere gives me awestruck. The air is fresh and chill like an early morning in an island.

Alex Katz  is a great American figurative artist known for the colourful paintings. The pop artist slash post-abstract painter is currently doing an exhibition themed "Landscape" at the Haus Konstruktiv Zurich. Expect many huge paintings about... landscape here. I wanted to emphasize the word huge so I took this picture. It was a nice painting worth the effort to wait until other visitors went away and gave the clearance to photograph it. This is my favourite,  Ada in the Grass (1963).  Ada Del Moro is the wife of Alex Katz, posed for him "in the Grass" three years after giving birth to their only son, Vincent Katz. Blueberry Field 2 (1959) is quite interesting for me. If you see it close enough, you will see that the landscape is not oil on canvas but watercolour and coloured paper on masonite. Cat is one of the collage works of his. I am living in a no pet allowed apartment so you would understand how much I want to have th...

This handsome sidekick is still in a very good condition. It is actually a new unit I received as a replacement of the unit that I dropped last January . Because of this, you will get the BlackBerry with the different pin than stated on the box. The new pin is Pin:2AA10537, still the "special" pin dedicated to Porsche Design units. The warranty is so awesome, valid until December 2014. You get a new unit if you, let's say, drop it onto the floor, into the water, or whatever, that makes it not working anymore. Write me if you are interested in it or have some questions for me.