Mei and the Kittenbus

上个星期回KL 庆祝Doris 十六岁生日。她妈妈送她一张宫崎骏的DVD, 收录了这位日本动画大师和吉卜力所制作的著名动画，包括：龙猫，千与千寻，猫之报恩等，还有最新的《悬崖上的金鱼姬》。

过后，Vic 提起我们去年到日本的吉卜力博物馆（Ghibli Museum）看到的一部短片，有点像是龙猫的续集~ Mei and the Kittenbus，　一部像《龙猫》一样，充满童真的动画。Vic网上找到了这个youtube　slideshow! Enjoy~~




这让我想起了我们的日本之旅(我的blog 不知几时才会完成:P )。三鹰之森吉卜力博物馆是其中一个我们说好一定要去的地方。要参观这个博物馆可不是件容易的事，一定要提早预定及买票，因为他们要控制每天的游客量，但在马来西亚又没有办法买到门票。最后我们是通过东京的民宿主人先帮我们买票才能成行。

Vic and Minsi in Ghibli Museum, Mitaka



















龙猫在卖入门票





















隐藏在树林间的龙猫
















这是个很迷你的博物馆，半天时间就能走透。馆内不能拍照，他们希望参观的民众，尤其是孩子们，能亲自感受博物馆里的一切，而不只是专注于拍照。

整个博物馆像个大大的独立式洋房游乐场，主要的展览有宫崎骏的原画，工作进度表，动画原理和制作过程等，不是枯燥的展览，而是透过游戏玩乐的方式，让我们理解动画的制作。里头小孩子们跑上跑下玩得不亦乐乎，每个角落都有些小惊喜，让我们发掘。

此外，里头还有个小剧院，放映吉卜力制作的动画短片，其他地方是看不到的。我们那时就看了Mei and the Kittenbus，好喜欢这部龙猫的续集哦 :)

小孩们最喜欢的房间就是猫巴士了，他们可以爬上大大的猫巴士玩乐嬉戏。好羡慕，我也想坐进猫巴士里，但大人是不准进入和孩子们玩的 :(

经过猫巴士游乐场，再爬上旋转楼梯，就能到达屋顶，和天空之城的机器人，也是吉卜力博物馆的守护神合照。






















屋顶上找到的神秘箱子：























煤炭师姑






















总的来说，吉卜力博物馆比我想象中小，但我很享受在里面玩乐的半天。能感受得到博物馆的用心，让宫崎骏迷和小孩们放开心怀，开开心心的感受童真，就好像在他们的网页上写的：

This is the Kind of Museum I Want to Make!
A museum that is interesting and which relaxes the soul
A museum where much can be discovered
A museum based on a clear and consistent philosophy
A museum where those seeking enjoyment can enjoy, those seeking to ponder can ponder, and those seeking to feel can feel
A museum that makes you feel more enriched when you leave than when you entered!

关于宫崎骏：http://baike.baidu.com/view/2890.htm

关于吉卜力博物馆：http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/

Toothache

MS: I have tooth-ache :(
Going to see dentist later after work at 6.45pm.

Vic: Poor meow. Be careful, else I’ll have more teeth when older :D
I can bite you and you can’t do anything about it.

MS: -_-|||

Deepavali 的早晨

已经几个周末都没在槟城，家里的野草长得好高了。难得这个Deepavali的long weekend我和Vic 都在，早早起身为房子‘美容’。请人来割草，Vic也把长得高过屋顶的竹子给斩得光溜溜的。看着干净整洁的草地和花园，心情也特别漂亮。忙碌的早晨将要告个段落，Vic上楼睡个午觉，我则把累积一个星期的衣服给洗了。在屋后晒衣服，左边的天空晴朗炎热，右边的天空却乌云密布，好特别吧！

好多友人问我婚姻生活如何呢？我的答案通常都是一句：Still the same, nothing different. 我想，像这样一个平凡的周末，两人一起打扫屋子，简简单单，心却是充实的，这就是我的婚姻生活吧！

The Country of Maple Leaves 4 ~ Stanley Park

Stanley Park is the backyard of Vancouver, an evergreen oasis of 400 hectares next to the downtown Vancouver, and that’s our next destination of the day. We rented 2 bicycles from a shop at the entrance, and started our exploration of the park.

This is the map of Stanley Park. We started from ‘S’ in the map, and cycled a big round through Beaver Lake. We were not able to make a full complete circle, as we originally decided to rent the bicycles for 2 hours, but we ended up with 3 hours for the ¾ round.















Some nice scenery along the way.







































The green lungs of the city:
















Yacht parking
































Notice the divider on the road? They have very good system in the park: separate lanes for bicycles and for pedestrian, both ways. It was so enjoyable riding in a nice cold weather, without worrying that you might hit someone jogging in the park.
















The totem poles, monumental sculptures carved from large trees by native aboriginal people in Canada.











The light house
















Cloudy weather, best time for cycling as it’s not too hot or too cold.

















Stanley Park is home to a wide range of resident wildlife including:

Raccoon – we met this cute little fellow half way cycling. Many people stopped by to take photo.















Duck A: I don’t want to friend you anymore.
Duck B: Hei, we are not friends. We are just colleagues.
















How come this guy was talking using hand phone with swan?















It was as if a goose standing on top of my head :P
















Vic: Where are we? Are we lost?

















This is the Beaver Lake. We rested there for a while, and had some chocolate to restore energy.
















There were some ducks resting in the middle of the lake. When they saw me squatted down eating chocolate next to the pool, 2 ducks swam quickly towards me from far hopping for food. It was so funny to see the ducks shaking their bucks and swam eagerly towards you.
















We spent some time relaxing and cycling around the lake and jungle, then realized that we almost late for the 3 hours rental time. We cycled quickly and rushed back to return the rented bike, and yes, we make it on time!!!

After returning the bicycles, I was too tired and just sat down near a resident area. Those residential are very well maintained, the gardens are decorated beautifully with colourful tulips and all sorts of flowers.

































Victor took a nap in front of the Lost Lagoon after the tiring exercise =P
















After taking a good rest, we had our dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant before heading home. I always miss Vietnamese food in North America; tasty, big portion and cheap!


















Wow, what a great day to begin a journey! I have fallen in love with this beautiful city in just 1 day!

The Country of Maple Leaves 3 ~ Gastown

Gastown is the historic centre of Vancouver. Today, it is a refreshing mix of old and new, the host of restaurants and nightspots. We took a relaxing walk down the cobblestone streets, experiencing the Victorian fixtures and narrow lanes that display the historical landscape of 20th Century architecture.
















The Famous Gastown Steam Clock
On a street corner of this Victorian-era warehouse district stands the world's first steam powered clock. The timepiece plays the Westminster Chimes every hour and whistles every 15 minutes with a gush of steam. This melody is the first song I learned to play piano when I was 7 :)





















There are many unique shops in this little street. We stopped by a few souvenir stores and were attracted by the Vancouver Winter Olympic 2010 mascots.












All the mascots of Vancouver 2010 are based on legends from Canadian aboriginal culture. Let me introduced you Miga, Quatchi, Sumi and Mukmuk.
Say hi, guys!
















Miga was based on the legends of the Pacific Northwest First Nations of orca whales that transform into bears when they arrive on land, but is also a snowboarder.

Quatchi is a sasquatch, but a shy and gentle giant, that loves all winter sports, and is especially fond of hockey and dreams of becoming a world-famous goalie.

The third mascot, Sumi, is an animal-guardian spirit who wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty Thunderbird and runs on the furry legs of the black bear.

The three creatures' sidekick is Mukmuk, a rare Vancouver Island marmot. While not officially a mascot, Mukmuk enjoys surprising his friends by popping up on occasion.
















There are some cute videos stared by the mascots here:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot/en/meet.php

The logo of 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics is based on the Canadian Inuit Inukshuk.

















Inuit : The native tribes who inhabit portions of Alaska, Arctic Canada, and Greenland.

Inukshuk: a stone marker that has been used by the Inuit to help guide through the northern Arctic terrain for centuries. In order to pass on information that is critical to survival, the Inuit developed a unique form of communication based on rock formations. The longer arm of an inukshuk points in the direction that one should travel to.

It is amazing how much Canada history and culture I can learn from the Olympic logo and mascots, by making a trip to Gastown.


Vancouver is a beautiful city. We can see snow on mountain while walking in the city.

The Country of Maple Leaves 2 ~ Granville Island

In the afternoon, we went for lunch in Granville Island with Joyce. Granville Island is an island in the middle of Vancouver, physically connected to the city by a causeway. The whole island includes several theaters, a huge market place, numerous galleries and shops. Public transport in Vancouver is really convenient. We can basically take bus to go to most attractions in the city. We took the bus to go to Granville Island, walked pass the causeway, and the first sight we saw was a very beautiful lake and garden. The weather was perfect, thus there were many people hanging around the garden. We too enjoyed the warm sun with slightly cold breeze, hanging around the garden and watching Vancouver people spent their spring time. Wild geese were everywhere and they were not afraid of human.




































This little Korean girl was feeding the little geese with bread, so cute! The baby boy also wanted to play with the little goose.

















Cats Social House, no dog allowed. This poor dog had to wait outside.






















A nicely decorated pet shops ~~ Woofles & Meowz.






















A street performer, he asked 2 audiences to tied him up with big chain, and then covered with black clothes. We didn’t finish watching the entire show...

















We hopped into the Kids Market, which is a kid-friendly zone with unique shops geared towards the younger, before we continue our journey to the Public Market. Food sold there was really fresh and looks attractive and colorful. Wandered through the counters and stalls set up by farmers, bakers, butchers and fishmongers, we bought some fresh fruits, meats and other ingredients for our home cook meal tomorrow.






















We were very lucky that it was Spot Prawn Festival that week, and the market invited a Canadian Iron Chef ~ Rob Feenie for a cook show. We watched him demonstrated the Prawn Fettuccine recipe, and had chance to sample it too. I like the little taste of lemon flavor in the pasta. Look at the mirror on top of the chef; they placed it in the right angel so that everyone could see clearly how he cooked.






















Done with our shopping, we had our lunch in The Keg Steakhouse, one of the finest local-based steak house in Vancouver. These are the food we shared among 3 of us:

The spinach salad: It could possibly be the nicest salad I have ever tasted. Baby spinach with mandarin oranges, mixed with slices of red onion, dried cranberries and sour cheese, I just love the combinations and it tasted incredible! Besides, I enjoyed the bread served (no photo).
















The appetizer, can’t remember the name, it’s something like a fried potato shrimp cake. It was too salty for me.
















And here comes the main course: The steak was done a perfect medium-rare and it was very juicy and tasted great with its sauce. This is one of the best meals I had this trip. I like the garlic mashed potatoes too.
















After we left the restaurant with happy full stomach, Joyce went back home with our fresh food from market, while Vic and I continue with our next visit to Gastown.