used this KAF recipe for easy cinnamon bread because i finally found and bought inexpensive cinnamon.

 this was the batter.
 this is the result. smelt heavenly!
but i didn't add any cinnamon chips so it was plain.
gave half of it to D in return for the milk tart.
will make it again with walnuts.

later that night, wanted to give MF some of my extra food and it turned out that he was at a mutual friend's flat. they were having a hot pot party and i ended up joining in.
spicy salted bean soup base with dried red chilis. yum.
everyone was from China or Malaysia. after dinner, we played math-related games where you had to clap at numbers that contained 7 or were multiples of 7. lol

 auntie P was also looking for a dog to be Frodo's playmate.
we went to Dogs' Refuge Home to look for small dogs.

 this is their reception area.
 and here are two sweet dogs - Pluto (left) and Uggie (right).

we got to meet Uggie in the adoption pen (it's a fenced grassy area with trees) - he's calm and friendly lap dog, albeit in need of a good groom.
he was found at a pound and was just put up for adoption the day before.

the dog refuge does checks (via a lengthy face to face interview) on the prospective adopter, which is very good, and they needed to check how Frodo would get along with Uggie.
but too bad, we didn't have time to bring Frodo over, so auntie P gave up on the adoption, since management would only reserve the dog for 24 hours.

there was also a cat refuge across the road, called Cat Haven.
 there weren't many cats... which is good, i guess.
each cat has their own pen and a personalised info sheet - i like how the staff write fangirly comments there, such as "Annie thinks I'm (i.e. the cat) cute".
a 3 storey home.
i love cats :)

auntie P had her appointment near Kings Park, so i got to explore some of it on a cloudy morning.
it's really nice.

 fuzzy plants - purple version
 foxglove-looking plants
 fuzzy plants - raccoon tail version
 tiny flowering plant
 plants in pots
 fuzzy plant + aloe vera trees
 baobab tree overlooking the river
 bigger baobab tree
 fuzzy plant - holly leaves version
 this is their tree top walk. it's very short, only takes about 5 minutes to slowly walk across it.
 the bridge is paneled with glass, so i experienced a bit of acrophobia while on it.
 the bridge arc from another angle.
looking at same arc from the ground.
 there's a lady standing in the water.
 war memorial
fallen flower

 volunteered at the Art Gallery on 28 jul...

 this was so realistic. the most photo-realistic sculpture i have ever seen.
 the pieces of art the visitors drew were cool. this looks like a tattoo.
 this is a nice self-portrait.
met auntie P and had dinner at Bull Creek Hawker.
my beef fried kway teow ($9) had a lot of wok-hei but not enough noodles.

some pictures from last week.

 there is an Ancient Egypt exhibition called 'Secrets of the Afterlife' going on at the West Australian Museum.
i don't think i'll go because a ticket costs $20. but the details on this poster are really gorgeous.
 this is from Victoria Gardens, which has a lot of nice houses. the bridge in the distance spans Swan River. the neck of water between the tree in the fore and back ground leads to Claisebrook Cove. it was an important site for Aborigines.
these two blokes found gold.
i went to Perth Mint and was impressed by the pretty opal jewellery.


and some notes from today:
- mr "quick-tempered + jump to conclusions" boss got on my case when he thought i didn't get the piece that the customer wanted, so he scolded me in front of her as a way of apologizing for my 'mistake', but the customer made eye contact with me to indicate that she, too, thought the boss was crazy.
- lady from Croatia and her young son sat beside me on the bench when i was having my break and talked to me. she wasn't crazy, wasn't trying to sell anything or ask for anything - it was weird, but she seemed nice and recommended going to Split in Croatia.

asked my flatmates B & M to go to Little Creatures with me, because M said he loves beer (and the beer there), and i wanted to check the place out. they have a brewery in Fremantle.

they had a random sand sculpture on premises.
butt-grope.
M's pale ale. he had 4 pints. i still can't appreciate beer...
our food - fries ($9), lamb pizza ($23).
pizza bread was unusually light and fluffy and the lamb was chunky but soft. it was good but lacked the wow factor because it wasn't cheesy.
and we also shared chicken tenderloins. they were very tender, but flavor-wise, not much going on.
i got an apple cider ($5.30) and actually finished the whole pint. then felt pretty ill. hurrr.
it was quite packed for a Thursday night.
hmm. we took an hour to get there by bus. for this dining experience, it's not worth it.
but it was fun to get to know my flatmates.

my flatmate came back from New Zealand and got me a Cookie Time white chocolate chunk cookie :)

 he went on a holiday there and the tour guide said that the cookie is a really famous souvenir. it awesome - moist and chewy on the inside.

last night i went to bed at 7pm and woke up at 3am today, thinking about places i want to visit.
one of them was Paris. i want to go there again. 
anyway, this is the continuation of the travel log for the 2012 trip to France.

on 14 June 2012, we went to the Palace of Versailles.

 reached the palace late, at about 11am - the queues to enter snaked up and down the parade ground.
we stood in line eating our breakfast of bread and strawberries.
 statue of King Louis XIV.
 part of the Grille d'Honneur.
 awnings on the Chateau
 reception area, i think.
 nice wallpaper
 tiny bed.
 gold o'clock.
we had to rush through the chateau and missed seeing a lot of it, including the galerie des Glaces, because i made Marie-Antoinette's hamlet a priority.
nice.
 birdy and fauns. near the Parterres d'Eau
 vast. towards the Orangerie side, i think
 Bassin de Latone and beyond
 partial view of la Colonnade
 the Grand Canal, with swans, ducks and rowing boats for rent.
we saw tourists who sat backwards and rowed into the parked boats, unable to understand what the people on shore were trying to tell them.
 uncle, cousin, aunty. we had ice cream and enjoyed the show.
 after a long walk through the gardens, we reached the Grand Trianon.
it's marble, built in 1687.
 a hall of paintings.
 gorgeous interior
got this from a vendor who had a big portable oven roasting potatoes. big portion of baked potatoes with cheese, dried ham, and general awesomeness.
intensely fragrant roses in the English Gardens of the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette. /swoons
in the temple de l’Amour
one of the buildings in the Hamlet
 cute.
 the Petit Trianon
 interior of a music room with a piano and harp

Versailles closed at 6.30pm and we had to leave. i'll be back someday!
we were all tired but had to make good use of the Paris Museum Pass, so we went to the Musee d'Orsay which closed on 9.45pm that day.
this museum used to be a train station.
it was great to see the glorious collections of art.