周末流水账（二）

LM often drains my left-over tea in several big gulps after coming home from lab, and often he exhales an enlightened 'ahh' to hint his thirst has been quenched and the tea is good. However a recent adventure with Tazo Earl Grey turned his eyebrows into a painful knot. “好难喝，就像在喝风油精” quote. In case anyone wonders where the oil part comes from, earl grey is a type of black tea infused with citrus oil, or lavender as hinted on Tazo package.

I'm planning to try a proper English style tea house on weekend.Yes, guess we are paying handsome money to get ourselves tortured to a degree way more damaging than Earl Grey. 'Annvita' tea boutique（安薇塔）is all over China now. There's one in Suzhou SIP but their scorns and sandwiches aren't exactly fresh made. The Chinese and British share a lot in common when it comes to making a huge fuss over tea and tea related etiquette, like the order of steps, how to hold a teacup, where to place your hands etc. There are significant differences too. We like tea in its pure fresh form without the addition of milk, sugar or lemon. Besides, an English afternoon tea is more like a dessert break than just tea.

Back to Part 2 of weekend stumble upons - Salk Institute and Gliderport.

Salk Institute is literally in the backyard of where LM works but we only checked it out recently. It's rare to find 'architecture tour' listed on a research institute's front page (it's actually a great idea and an easy one to execute). The architecture at Salk is a statement in itself. I would have gone a second time INSIDE instead of circling outside like a thief since the gate was closed on weekend.

To give a bit of background (or you can read from the school's website), Salk was envisioned by its founder Jonas Salk, M.D. and designed by architect Louis Khan in the 60s. Usually the accolade is bestowed on the architect but I have to say Party A is as important as Party B as the former lays the foundation for the latter in every way. It would be insufficient to delineate Salk as just the scientist by trade.  (Nor would it be sufficient to label Steve Jobs as a business man. his vision for a ring-shaped apple HQ in Cupertino poses threatening challenge to engineers and architects - not a single straight window!)

Love the choice of materials, especially teak windows and travertine flooring. Travertine is warm to touch and it's got breathing holes reminiscent of fossils.

A nice video from fellow youtuber who took really awesome pics of the building.

Louis Khan: Silence and Light (exerpt)

You wouldn't think Salk was built in the 60s given this minimalistic concrete structure that easily blends into contemporary trend. Its symmetrical layout and 'unfinished' concrete blocks even gives a futuristic robotic presence. But on second thought, the giant courtyard with rectangular blocks flanking it almost resembles an archaic Roman temple except the columns are now functional working units (labs actually, and poor researchers stuck in lab). Exuberant lighting fills the huge space giving it a ceremonial facade where you have to lift your head to marvel at the sky and clouds caught in its frame. In Chinese terms, the building has good feng shui. It overlooks a small chasm where Gliderport is located on the other side.  We heard there were fatal accidents at Gliderport. We did come up close to see gliders taking off the cliff. They look like dandelion seeds blown off the coast. Two 'seeds' barely rubbed shoulders as we watched on with sweaty palms... I have to be earth bound to feel secure. Air sports is probably the last thing on bucket list.