Day trip to Raleigh!
Monday was a holiday since it was Labor Day Weekend, so I pestered Jia Wern to bring me to Raleigh.
Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina, and a mere half hour drive from Durham. I'm not much of a traveller myself - the hassle of logistics and the exorbitant cost gets to me a bit too much - but short distances and day trips to explore new places? Count me in. It was a day well-spent if I might say so myself.
First off, we went to Crabtree Valley Mall where I promptly spent an hour and a half shopping at Forever 21. Okay, that's not very touristy but the mall was HIS idea, and I enjoyed myself immensely. =P After that, we walked around the mall, had lunch, and headed out to the Raleigh Little Theater's Rose Garden. The rose garden was very quiet and secluded, and the landscape looked rather English Aristocrat-ish, like most of Raleigh does. Unfortunately, September seems to be the tail end of the rose season and we only got to see mostly tired roses in full bloom. Still, it was nice to chill in the garden and rest for a while after traipsing through the mall. There were also a few other locals scattered around the garden; one was reading a book with earphones on, and that's a testament to the garden's chillaxin' properties. =P
At 3pm, we left the garden and headed to downtown Raleigh where the museums were. Now, I'm not much of a museum person, and in my defense, I feel that Malaysian museums are - how should I put it - hardly inspiring. Suffice to say, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences impressed me. I actually bothered to read the descriptions written and interact with the displays in this museum this time. Reading the reviews on TripAdvisor the night before, I was a little worried that it would be somewhat childish since many reviewers commented about how wonderful a time their little children/grandkids had there. And there were many children milling around. Contrary to my expectations, though, the museum was designed to engage both adults and children. That, takes some serious skill. Or perhaps my taste is more similar to little children's than I'd care to admit. =P The best part was, entrance is free! Oh and there are two more museums adjacent to the Museum of Natural Sciences - the NC Museum of Arts and the NC Museum of History. I think the other two also offer free entry, so if we ever do go to Raleigh again, they're definitely on my to-do list.
Ironically, the biologist walking beside me didn't give me much time to pore over the exhibits because he knew most of the esoteric biology and biodiversity facts already. Killjoy. It's a challenge being married to a brainiac. =P
We left the museum around 5pm and went to Sitti's, a Lebanese restaurant for dinner. Our entree was the Fatteh : "Stewed lamb over basmati rice, crispy pita chips, pine nuts, roasted eggplant, chickpeas, whipped yogurt and garlic." I copied that right off their online menu, and aren't you just salivating now? =P It was SO GOOD. Along with that, we had two sides, fresh pita bread and Kibbee Mikkli (fried dumplings of ground beef and lamb).
Yeah I have a love affair with lamb meat.
LOVED the dinner, it was worth every penny of the thirty dollars spent. As I said to Jia Wern, since we don't want to travel to Lebanon, we might as well spend our travel money on the cuisine.
It's also amazing how many things we can justify spending on if we don't travel. =P
Okay that's it for now, signing off to do more fruitful things (hopefully).
Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina, and a mere half hour drive from Durham. I'm not much of a traveller myself - the hassle of logistics and the exorbitant cost gets to me a bit too much - but short distances and day trips to explore new places? Count me in. It was a day well-spent if I might say so myself.
First off, we went to Crabtree Valley Mall where I promptly spent an hour and a half shopping at Forever 21. Okay, that's not very touristy but the mall was HIS idea, and I enjoyed myself immensely. =P After that, we walked around the mall, had lunch, and headed out to the Raleigh Little Theater's Rose Garden. The rose garden was very quiet and secluded, and the landscape looked rather English Aristocrat-ish, like most of Raleigh does. Unfortunately, September seems to be the tail end of the rose season and we only got to see mostly tired roses in full bloom. Still, it was nice to chill in the garden and rest for a while after traipsing through the mall. There were also a few other locals scattered around the garden; one was reading a book with earphones on, and that's a testament to the garden's chillaxin' properties. =P
At 3pm, we left the garden and headed to downtown Raleigh where the museums were. Now, I'm not much of a museum person, and in my defense, I feel that Malaysian museums are - how should I put it - hardly inspiring. Suffice to say, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences impressed me. I actually bothered to read the descriptions written and interact with the displays in this museum this time. Reading the reviews on TripAdvisor the night before, I was a little worried that it would be somewhat childish since many reviewers commented about how wonderful a time their little children/grandkids had there. And there were many children milling around. Contrary to my expectations, though, the museum was designed to engage both adults and children. That, takes some serious skill. Or perhaps my taste is more similar to little children's than I'd care to admit. =P The best part was, entrance is free! Oh and there are two more museums adjacent to the Museum of Natural Sciences - the NC Museum of Arts and the NC Museum of History. I think the other two also offer free entry, so if we ever do go to Raleigh again, they're definitely on my to-do list.
Ironically, the biologist walking beside me didn't give me much time to pore over the exhibits because he knew most of the esoteric biology and biodiversity facts already. Killjoy. It's a challenge being married to a brainiac. =P
We left the museum around 5pm and went to Sitti's, a Lebanese restaurant for dinner. Our entree was the Fatteh : "Stewed lamb over basmati rice, crispy pita chips, pine nuts, roasted eggplant, chickpeas, whipped yogurt and garlic." I copied that right off their online menu, and aren't you just salivating now? =P It was SO GOOD. Along with that, we had two sides, fresh pita bread and Kibbee Mikkli (fried dumplings of ground beef and lamb).
Yeah I have a love affair with lamb meat.
LOVED the dinner, it was worth every penny of the thirty dollars spent. As I said to Jia Wern, since we don't want to travel to Lebanon, we might as well spend our travel money on the cuisine.
It's also amazing how many things we can justify spending on if we don't travel. =P
Okay that's it for now, signing off to do more fruitful things (hopefully).
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