Book Review: Inteligensi Embun Pagi

Title: Inteligensi Embun Pagi

Author: Dee Lestari

Publisher: Penerbit Bentang

February 2016

710 pages

I grew up with Supernova series since it was launched back in 2001. Dee Lestari, as the author, took 15 years to end these series. All big fans of Supernova would impatiently wait for this 6th book, Inteligensi Embun Pagi. I was also curious about the ending and what would happen to all characters of the series. 

Well…I have finished the book couple days ago and now I got a mixed feeling. I found something went wrong in this latest book. It's just too thick with many pages that simply could be skipped   because I didn't get the point of the writing either. Moreover too many new characters, no deep description of existing characters, lots of 'technical' terms and WHY oh WHY this book turned into a teenager-science-fiction with a mission to save the world? HUGE disappointment. 

I guess not only the readers but also the author grew with these series. If we compare each book of Supernova series, we will find differences for each of them, such as the characters, the plot, and others. Every written story will definitely be influenced by author's feeling, surrounding, inspiration, and many more. I don't know whether Dee wrote this latest book in a hurry (since her fans kept asking her to finish this book) or she just wanted to surprise her readers with this unexpected yet disappointing ending.  

Paris, Je t'aime

Still stuck on memories of my last trip to Europe. I experienced lots of things. I kept the best parts and learned from the bad ones. Every trip will definitely give you something to ponder. Since each country has its own specialty therefore I plan to write several different posts about this memorable journey. 

When Indonesian talk about Europe trip, Paris will be the center of the destination. Yes, most of Indonesian even associate Europe with Paris. No wonder that Indonesian prefer to go to West Europe (since Paris is there) instead of East Europe (Austria, Slovakia, Prague, etc) that actually also has many beautiful places.

Paris that morning was really wet. Although it's already March but it turned out that the weather was still really cold. In fact I still saw some snow in Netherland and Germany. No wonder if the temperature could go down to 2 Celcius degree combined with strong wind and rain. Freezing cold. But that day, since the excitement was really high to witness one of the best West European icons so we could simply beat the rain and cold weather. 

We walked along the area. Amazed to see the old buildings that have been there for ages and how they have long history for each of them. Curious about the Louvre Museum but the queuing was quite long and the museum itself is HUGE --it's said that you can spend three days to explore all parts of the museum and its great collection-- then I decided to just see the place from outside. 

Ended the Paris trip by visiting its popular shopping centers such as Galeries Lafayette and Champ Elysees (and stunned for its luxurious design and...price, hahaha) but I also dropped by at a chic outlet, La Valle Village, they offered branded items with affordable price. You can have a good discount and tax refund. I will write about these shopping experiences in a different post. 

We stayed in Kyriad Torcy Hotel, Torcy, France. An old hotel but I loved it since the location is next to Carrefour so I could buy lots of necessary things with good price such as things to cook (my friend brought a magic jar so we could always have rice, mie gelas or indomie and chocolate for the souvenirs). One of the ways to manage your expenses.

      

10 Days, 6 Countries & Unlimited Excitement

Luxembourg

Just returned from a 10-day-trip to West Europe. It's a kind of sudden idea actually. During our lunch, my friend suddenly asked me to have a trip together to Europe and I just simply said, well...okay, why not? I never thought that the trip could be executed this year. Yet it seemed the universe conspired to make it came true. All was very smooth. The Schengen visa, the sudden leaves approved, the hubby and girls' approval also obtained (since it's the first time that I left them for 10 days). Unbelievable. 

I started the journey from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris, Frankfurt, Koln, Venice, Rome and it ended in Vatican. A bit ambitious trip actually.  I could  go to three countries in one day. Having breakfast in Amsterdam, lunch in Brussels and dinner in Paris. Still I enjoyed all moments. Embracing the uniqueness of each country.

Venice, the Magical City!

Luxembourg

From ten cities I visited, my favorite is Venice, Italy. The city is magical. Just like living in a fantasy island. Hope to get back there someday. Not only Venice but I do dream to explore other parts of Italy such as: Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre and Bologna. All of them having their own specialty. Although lots of people say, beware of Italy, pickpockets are everywhere, but it doesn't stop me to love the city and plan to revisit it. Someday.