Oxford Year in Review #3 - Mini Plant Oxford

Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/

A few months after I arrived in Oxford, I was lucky enough to find a job as a media analyst at a communication research company. I was assigned to the automotive team where I read and analysed articles about cars. When I found out there is a MINI assembly plant in Oxford, I made it a point that I must visit the plant before I leave Oxford: firstly, it would add to my knowledge as an automotive media analyst, and secondly, as a trained engineer, I am kind of ashamed to have not been to any assembly plant before, hence, I must not miss the opportunity to do so.

Oxford Year in Review #2 - DeadFriday at Ashmolean Museum

One of the more memorable events that I attended in Oxford was the DeadFriday at Ashmolean Museum. The museum has this LiveFriday programme where it opens doors to visitors during night time on certain Fridays, featuring a specific exhibition theme. DeadFriday was organised in conjunction with the Halloween celebration, focusing on the topic of "Death".

Oxford Year in Review #1 - The Oxford Canal

My time in Oxford officially came to an end on 30 August 2016. 

Time passes by so quickly when one is having a good time. RC and I had an amazing year in Oxford, learning new things, exploring new places and making new friends. It was also an important year for us to build our relationship living together as a couple, and learning to adapt to each other's lifestyle. 

To me, it was also a year of rejuvenation, rediscovery and reconnection. My health has improved a lot due to healthier diet and a stress-free lifestyle; I was able to explore my interests in arts, volunteer and get involved in events that inspired my mind; I also met up with some old friends, whom I haven't seen in a long time, and got to know new ones through RC's and my friends' connection.

To wrap up my year in Oxford, I have decided to write a blog post series about the things that have made life memorable in Oxford.

Japanese Woodblock Painting: Process & Final Result

From this

to this

I had to go through 8 stages:

Japanese Woodblock Printing

The Great Wave of Kanagawa - an iconic woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai
source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa.jpg/800px-Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa.jpg

Recently, I took up a Japanese Woodblock Printing course organised by the Oxford Summer School (website). The summer school offers many art courses taught by local artists and craftsmen, and they are surprisingly popular as most of the classes are full by early summer. I only managed to get into the Japanese Woodblock Printing course after a few weeks on the waiting list.

A Roman Holiday - Our Itinerary

I shared in my previous post some trip planning tips for a holiday in Rome. Here, I would like to share an outline of our Rome itinerary. 

The walking duration on the map indicates the the total walking time. Although we walked for the most part, we did use metro/bus to get to places when the walking time exceeds 30 minutes.

Day 1 

• St. Peter's Square (for general mass), St. Peter's Basilica
• The Vatican Museums + Sistine Chapel
• The Spanish Steps (closed for renovation), the Fountain of the Ugly Boat, Trinita dei Monti
• Trevi Fountain

A Roman Holiday - Trip Planning Tips

I am writing this to share some trip planning tips that I hope will be useful to those who intend to visit Rome in the near future. Rome is a city always buzzing with tourists. Planning ahead will definitely save you from unnecessary stress and headaches.

Also check out this post for our Rome itinerary.

Roman Forum

My Roman Holiday 2016 vs 2005

2005

11 years ago in 2005 Spring, I visited Italy with a group of friends. We were all students traveling on a limited budget. Five of them travelled from the UK and I from the US, and we met up in Rome.

I still think it was quite an epic feat that we managed to plan and execute the trip, considering that we were studying in different universities across different counties/continents. The strategy we employed was to divide and conquer. We divided ourselves into three groups, each group was in charge of planning the itinerary for different cities.

We were quite "kiasu" back then, trying to include as many attractions as possible in our itinerary. My memories of the trip were: lots of walking, lots of picture-posing, lots of gelato, and sore feet/leg/body. No pain no gain. "Physical sufferings" aside, we achieved our goals (with some misadventure), and had so much fun!

Cantonese-style Spaghetti

Instead of the typical pasta sauce, I tried cooking a spaghetti dish with some starchy sauce that you get in Cantonese-style noodles (广付炒).

Potato Leek Soup with Udon Noodles

After a heavy dim sum brunch in London, I craved for a healthier, lighter dinner meal. As there were some leeks left in the fridge, I was inspired to cook potato leek soup with a twist to it – turning it into a soupy noodle dish.