Salad of the Week, Part 1

What better time to start Salad of the Week challenge than between Easter and St. George's Day (my family's patron saint's day or slava) both of which feature heavy food and loads of creamy cakes that yours truly tends to succumb to with reckless abandon.

Another reason that made me think this was a perfect time to blog about salads was the fact that my tofu container recently went empty which alarmed me to take another trip to Block 70....pronto. 

The new Ada bridge takes me there in no more than 10 minutes.
I took this picture the first time I crossed the new bridge on foot on a gloomy, icy January afternoon. Looks a bit menacing, doesn't it?  Walking over to the Novi side against a strong and cold wind, at one point I thought I would give up and turn back, and I would have, except that I did not know if it would take me longer to walk back or continue and reach the other side.

In sunny weather, the bridge and I seemed to have decided to make friends with each other.  

If Wikipedia can be trusted, it is the longest single-pylon cable-stayed bridge in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Bridge
BUT THE VIEW!

I took these pics while driving, thus risking my life and the lives of other people who were on the bridge at the time but I had to make you privy to both the view of the bridge and the cables that run in the middle of the bridge... I know some of you will say that is not much unlike my usual driving. Whatever.

 Naturally, once there, I could not just get a block of tofu and turn back, I mean, after all, I did risk my life to get there. So I picked a few other items including fresh celery stalks, a bag of Chinese greens, assorted instant soup (in varying degrees of spiciness), sesame oil, fermented tofu, oyster sauce and some mysterious Chinese pickles.
Some of the lot I came home with:

By that point I was starving and did not have much time to think or cook so I came up with this "Salad on a Whim"

Can you tell what else is there other than the Chinese greens???

Red grapefruit, pickled beansprouts, beetroot, radish, silken tofu.

 
I seasoned it with olive oil, grapefruit juice, light soy sauce, dry basil and a drop of sesame oil. 

YUM! Chocolate cake no more. 

BELGRADE CALLING!!!!!!!

The tickets for the biggest musical event in Belgrade this summer are OUT!

http://www.belgradecalling.com/


THE LINEUP IS AWESOME:

Faith No More, The Cult, Ugly Kid Joe, Ozzy with friends (Slash being one of them!), The Sisters of Mercy, PUBLIC ENEMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this promo video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cSYqdIhwfPM#!

You can buy the tickets here:
http://www.eventim.rs/en/tickets/belgrade-calling-2012-beograd-usce-265900/event.html?

I suggest you get the tickets and book a spot on my couch (or floor, or even balcony, depending on the number of guests) ASAP!

Jane Doe

There are the shops that are pretty straight-forward and what you see on the rack is pretty much what you get in the fitting room. A dress is a dress, a coat is a coat, a shirt is a shirt. Those are the shops where you go to buy basics, dress code clothing items or any clothes that make you look normal  in that ordinary, unintimidating kind of way. That is where I too buy items when I need to create the impression of a safe and boring normalcy  (that is, job-interview duds, because once I get the job, all normalcy goes out the window and the poor employer has no clue s/he's in for quite a ride). I buy such clothes with as much gusto as I invest into, say, refilling wiper fluid.

Then there are shops like Jane Doe Vintage Shop ( http://janedoevintage.tumblr.com/ ) which carries dresses that can be worn as shawls, tops, skirts or just dresses but in about a dozen different ways, shrugs that turn into belts or headwear, tops that can be worn upside down and inside out, you name it. Nothing is what it seems and some articles are so complicated you start hoping they come with an instructions manual.     

This cape, for example, can also be worn as a skirt. When this lovely girl put it on, you could tell it has finally found it's owner! 

This intriguing dress on the store clerk has been resurrected from a house robe.

She was very patient and forgiving of our screams of joy and surprise at the beauty and intricate detailing of some of the items in the shop.

This gorgeous dress was another item to have happily found its true owner aka yours truly!  

And I simply had to try on this 20s headpiece.

Matched it to the golden bows on these suede pumps, one bow kept falling off and eventually went MIA...

Then this designer jumpsuit. 

It screams Mariah Carey circa 1985, minus the perm.

I liked the style of these glittery shorts but found them a bit too long for my taste.
I'll keep looking for a perfect pair to wear with a tuxedo jacket and a simple white T-shirt. And some sky high heels!

The whole room lit up when she donned this dress!

And this one...

I secretly prayed she wouldn't like this one as I plan to go back for it....

...and for this crazy sequined top!

Last but not least, the dress that almost looks ordinary...

...until you you realize that its front is longer than its back!!!

I was told it could also be worn upside down when it turns into a jumpsuit but don't ask me how.

Thought it funny to stumble upon this writing on a day like this.

The Great Outdoors.

Here are a few suggestions what to do in Belgrade on a beautiful day like today...

Visit Topčider Park and some of the Serbian royalty's leasure-time retreats.

Or go up to Košutnjak Hill. Hike up to the top of the hill, then sit back and enjoy the view... 

The Topalovićs Residence from "Maratonci..."

Kalemegdan Park, always a safe choice.

You can walk about for hours or just stay in one place to get your bearings...

..and make sure that the Sava-Danube confluence is still there.

Then cross Branko's Bridge to Novi Belgrade...

...walk along the Danube Quay in Zemun...

...and take bad composite photos...

...before climbing up to the old city of Gardoš.

Relax in the shade of Gardoš Tower and enjoy the view...

Janko Sebinjanin's (or unfortunately translated into English as John Hunyadi's) Tower...

He may have lost the battle 300 kilometers down south (The Battle of Kosovo, that is)...

...but he had a nice crib to return to...

and a city to defend. 

The next day I went to the Avala Tower. This is the view from about 200 meters in the sky...

The original tower was destroyed in the NATO bombing on 29 April 1999.
The reconstruction began in December 2006 and the new tower was officially opened on 21 April 2010, almost exactly 2 years ago.

According to Wikipedia, it is currently the tallest consruction in Serbia and the Balkan region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avala_tower

Another great misfortune the tower suffered was yours truly's picture-taking.
There is the truth in the old adage that the road to hell is paved with good intentions
You see, I was simply trying to give Belgrade a leaning tower. 

The tower without a "divine intervention"... either mine or that of NATO.