Ever since with Rayden around, we don really celebrate Vday, but since this yr's fall on a Saturday. Hooray more mood. hee
As usual, Sat bringing Rayden to MIL's place, then hubby and me went ahead to Orchard.
Did some window shopping along Orchard road, met our tour mates from Eu trip..hee..
Proceed for a early dinner at Suki Sushi, followed by an 2hr movie at Cineleisure "Slumdog millionair".Interesting show, this is our first Indian movie..hee
We finished with a drink at Gloria Jean's before heading MIL's place to pick up our little darling..
There was it.. Simple, sweet affair.. hee
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Superstar Virgo Cruise 3D2N weekend 06Feb09
Indeed, so many trips for this all this while.. Finally, this is the one with my family.. Hee..Planned and booked this trip around Oct08 timeframe. This was meant for my family, but in the end asked FIL along, coz feel quite bad to "dump" him alone at home, furthermore he hasnt been to starcruise before.
Then the day, 6th Feb, we are supposed to board the cruise by 730pm. Phew! This is really the RUSH HOUR man! Hubby picked me up from office at 540pm, back home around 6pm, do our last min packing, and zoomed off from house around 630pm. Picked up my parents, then zoomed off to Harbourfront. TRAFFIC JAM! We were so anxious but phew managed to reach there around 740pm. Haa Juz in time!
We only booked 2 cabin (Deck 9 Type DB,i think)
- 1 for my parents, sis and bro
- 1 for us + FIL
But the cabin is better than wat i thought, quite nice for us, except for the zero views to outside world.
In total, we spent $3k for the 2 cabins.
Verdict:
Cabin - Fine to me, didnt find it too small
Food - Not as good as I thought, limited variety. No free hi-tea, minus points.
Activities - Juz nice for a 3D2N stay, if longer, gg to be boring.
Beside eat and sleep, watch movie, go pub listen songs, casinos, KTV, swimming.
Oh ya, find that the pool service for the little ones are not good, juz a plain small pool with no features, for kids > 5 yrs is fine, another bigger, deeper pool for them. See my photos, baby pool is quite pathetic. And ya the water is so cold over there, but alas, Rayden seem to love it!
Wont mind gg back if the prices is low and not more than 3 days. Hee
Then the day, 6th Feb, we are supposed to board the cruise by 730pm. Phew! This is really the RUSH HOUR man! Hubby picked me up from office at 540pm, back home around 6pm, do our last min packing, and zoomed off from house around 630pm. Picked up my parents, then zoomed off to Harbourfront. TRAFFIC JAM! We were so anxious but phew managed to reach there around 740pm. Haa Juz in time!
We only booked 2 cabin (Deck 9 Type DB,i think)
- 1 for my parents, sis and bro
- 1 for us + FIL
But the cabin is better than wat i thought, quite nice for us, except for the zero views to outside world.
In total, we spent $3k for the 2 cabins.
Verdict:
Cabin - Fine to me, didnt find it too small
Food - Not as good as I thought, limited variety. No free hi-tea, minus points.
Activities - Juz nice for a 3D2N stay, if longer, gg to be boring.
Beside eat and sleep, watch movie, go pub listen songs, casinos, KTV, swimming.
Oh ya, find that the pool service for the little ones are not good, juz a plain small pool with no features, for kids > 5 yrs is fine, another bigger, deeper pool for them. See my photos, baby pool is quite pathetic. And ya the water is so cold over there, but alas, Rayden seem to love it!
Wont mind gg back if the prices is low and not more than 3 days. Hee
Europe Trip III - Italy
Moving on from the postcard like Swiz, we moving on to Italy.
A less expensive, friendlier but also hmm.. less cleaner but nevertheless beautiful city as well..
This is me and our driver..taken at mid stop at Swiz..
Less expensive lunch in Italy
I.T.A.L.Y
Milan
1 nite stay over at Grand Hotel Brun (my rating: 8/10)
Highlights:
Gothic Duomo, Victor Emmanuelle II Galleria, La Scala Opera House
This is the only place in Italy I got enough time to shop, the time in Italy were too short, too many visitings to go, too little time to shop..hee
But the local guys outside the Gothic Duomo is scary, tour leader had warned us. Coz this is an tourist spot, alot of tourists take pics here, the guy will juz place some seeds on your hands, ask u to feed the birds and take nice pics. price of the seeds, think we dun want to know. Indeed when we were taking pics, a guy came to me, i said don wan, then he held on to my wrist and wanna pour seeds on my palm, I flipped the other way, it drop to the ground, i was quite afraid. Dare not to take too many pics over there. phew..
Venice
1 nite stay over at Hotel Antony (my rating: 8/10)
Highlights:
St Mark's Square, St Mark;s Basilica, Bridge of Sighs, Doges Palace, Glass blowing demonstration
Optional Tour:
Gondola Serenade (30 eu) -- Boring and smelly
Pisa
Highlights:
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Duomo, Baptistery
Florence
1 nite stay over at Art Hotel Museo (my rating: 7/10)
Highlights:
Sanata Maria del Firoe Catheral, Ponte Vechio, Uffizzi Gallery, Door of Paradise, Piazza Signoria
Rome
1 nite stay over at Holiday Inn Rome West (my rating: 6/10)
Hightlights:
Colosseum, Trevi fountain, Vatican City, Piazza Venezia Roman Forum
Optional Tour:
Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel (35 eu) - Awesome! Great works by Michelangolo and folks
Verdict:
Great trip! Average temperature in the city was ~10degC, -9degC in the snow mountains in Swiz. And of coz, burnt a big hole after we returned, but never will regret. In total, we spent about S$30K. phew... next 5years, the furthest trip shall be Johor Bahru only. LOL.
Frens are asking which country I like best. Well, I am quite receptive as long as the living condition is acceptable, my views will be as follows.
Paris:
Great place to shop, a one-time place. Juz like sgp. Beautiful sculptures everywhere, see until i blur.. haa. LV there is roughly 30% cheaper (after VAT tax)compared to Sgp, did not do too much studies on Gucci, but a rough guage is also about 20% cheaper.
VAT tax in Paris is 12%. Claim back in credit card is 10%, with cash it's 8%.
Impression of French folks, beautiful but seems rather arrogant.
Paradise for shoppers definitely!
Swiz:
Lovely! Scenic! Fairytale! While I was browsing my photos, I still couldnt believe I was there. The sceneries are just like postcard! No words can describe the magnificence. For Shopping, it would be the watches and the chocolate! We compared, ROlex watches, it's actually a few hundreds more expensive than Sgp's (even after tax rebate). But after traveling 12hrs, aiya, juz buy it la! That was our mentality..hee ..Anyway, Hubby bought one for himself not me, I couldnt afford. hee
A few hundred dollars watch is good enough for me. Unless I strike the 10millions TOTO tonite..Haa
Italy:
Lovely Catheral, paintings, food! The Italians are general friendlier i feel. The hygiene condition is not as good, graffiti everywhere. "Tiramisu" everywhere (Dog's poo) haa..Superb scenie too. The Italian brands are cheaper here of coz, but I have compared, LV was only about 5% more than France's.
Food:
EXPENSIVE! These are the places where I found how dear and true my mother's saying were. "Don't waste your food, else thunder will strike you" Haa .. Why? Coz the food are so expensive over there.
A simple Mac meal cost $8+ eu, coffee $2+ eu. A simple "foodcourt meal" for both cost $40eu.. nearly cough blood. To add on, the portion wasnt huge, it's same as in Sgp, though the european could look bigger in size.
Group members:
A big group of 38 folks in our group. But they were all terrific people :) Had so much fun with them. there are only 2 honeymoon couples, everyone thought we are one too, but we always proudly we already have a cute lil boy of 2years lo! hehee even showed them photos of him. Mostly are there with large group of family members, 7, 8 of them. Let me try remembering them, we exchange contacts, likely to keep in touch :)
Me and Hubby - 2
Evelyn & Darrel - 2 (Honeymoon couple)
Eefang & Neo - 2 (Honeymoon couple, wed in Nov)
Sansan & fren - 2 (Travel duo)
Shanghai uncle & wife - 2
Uncle Francis & Aunty Lucy - 2 (The rich Ferrari/lamborgini old couple)
Uncle Edwin & Aunty - 2 (The funny uncle "bodyguard" with 3 grown up sons)
Janice & Family - 3 (Long Lash Gal + parents)
Anthony, kelly & family - 4
Tay family - 4 (Uncle Simon & wife with 2 adorable dotters, Louise 18 & Joey 16)
Yap family - 6 (Da yi + san yi + Alvinson & gf + Adams + Mr Yap)
Shopper family - 7 (Wujintian boss w Wife and talkative Linus 12, elder son 28 & gf , Aunty & Cousin Carmen the tissue gal)
Total 38 .. Haa i can remember all.
And not forgetting our wonderful tour leader, Laurence Lim.
We are planning to go house visitg someday, but of coz not the entire big team.Haa
A less expensive, friendlier but also hmm.. less cleaner but nevertheless beautiful city as well..
This is me and our driver..taken at mid stop at Swiz..
Less expensive lunch in Italy
I.T.A.L.Y
Milan
1 nite stay over at Grand Hotel Brun (my rating: 8/10)
Highlights:
Gothic Duomo, Victor Emmanuelle II Galleria, La Scala Opera House
This is the only place in Italy I got enough time to shop, the time in Italy were too short, too many visitings to go, too little time to shop..hee
But the local guys outside the Gothic Duomo is scary, tour leader had warned us. Coz this is an tourist spot, alot of tourists take pics here, the guy will juz place some seeds on your hands, ask u to feed the birds and take nice pics. price of the seeds, think we dun want to know. Indeed when we were taking pics, a guy came to me, i said don wan, then he held on to my wrist and wanna pour seeds on my palm, I flipped the other way, it drop to the ground, i was quite afraid. Dare not to take too many pics over there. phew..
Venice
1 nite stay over at Hotel Antony (my rating: 8/10)
Highlights:
St Mark's Square, St Mark;s Basilica, Bridge of Sighs, Doges Palace, Glass blowing demonstration
Optional Tour:
Gondola Serenade (30 eu) -- Boring and smelly
Pisa
Highlights:
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Duomo, Baptistery
Florence
1 nite stay over at Art Hotel Museo (my rating: 7/10)
Highlights:
Sanata Maria del Firoe Catheral, Ponte Vechio, Uffizzi Gallery, Door of Paradise, Piazza Signoria
Rome
1 nite stay over at Holiday Inn Rome West (my rating: 6/10)
Hightlights:
Colosseum, Trevi fountain, Vatican City, Piazza Venezia Roman Forum
Optional Tour:
Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel (35 eu) - Awesome! Great works by Michelangolo and folks
Verdict:
Great trip! Average temperature in the city was ~10degC, -9degC in the snow mountains in Swiz. And of coz, burnt a big hole after we returned, but never will regret. In total, we spent about S$30K. phew... next 5years, the furthest trip shall be Johor Bahru only. LOL.
Frens are asking which country I like best. Well, I am quite receptive as long as the living condition is acceptable, my views will be as follows.
Paris:
Great place to shop, a one-time place. Juz like sgp. Beautiful sculptures everywhere, see until i blur.. haa. LV there is roughly 30% cheaper (after VAT tax)compared to Sgp, did not do too much studies on Gucci, but a rough guage is also about 20% cheaper.
VAT tax in Paris is 12%. Claim back in credit card is 10%, with cash it's 8%.
Impression of French folks, beautiful but seems rather arrogant.
Paradise for shoppers definitely!
Swiz:
Lovely! Scenic! Fairytale! While I was browsing my photos, I still couldnt believe I was there. The sceneries are just like postcard! No words can describe the magnificence. For Shopping, it would be the watches and the chocolate! We compared, ROlex watches, it's actually a few hundreds more expensive than Sgp's (even after tax rebate). But after traveling 12hrs, aiya, juz buy it la! That was our mentality..hee ..Anyway, Hubby bought one for himself not me, I couldnt afford. hee
A few hundred dollars watch is good enough for me. Unless I strike the 10millions TOTO tonite..Haa
Italy:
Lovely Catheral, paintings, food! The Italians are general friendlier i feel. The hygiene condition is not as good, graffiti everywhere. "Tiramisu" everywhere (Dog's poo) haa..Superb scenie too. The Italian brands are cheaper here of coz, but I have compared, LV was only about 5% more than France's.
Food:
EXPENSIVE! These are the places where I found how dear and true my mother's saying were. "Don't waste your food, else thunder will strike you" Haa .. Why? Coz the food are so expensive over there.
A simple Mac meal cost $8+ eu, coffee $2+ eu. A simple "foodcourt meal" for both cost $40eu.. nearly cough blood. To add on, the portion wasnt huge, it's same as in Sgp, though the european could look bigger in size.
Group members:
A big group of 38 folks in our group. But they were all terrific people :) Had so much fun with them. there are only 2 honeymoon couples, everyone thought we are one too, but we always proudly we already have a cute lil boy of 2years lo! hehee even showed them photos of him. Mostly are there with large group of family members, 7, 8 of them. Let me try remembering them, we exchange contacts, likely to keep in touch :)
Me and Hubby - 2
Evelyn & Darrel - 2 (Honeymoon couple)
Eefang & Neo - 2 (Honeymoon couple, wed in Nov)
Sansan & fren - 2 (Travel duo)
Shanghai uncle & wife - 2
Uncle Francis & Aunty Lucy - 2 (The rich Ferrari/lamborgini old couple)
Uncle Edwin & Aunty - 2 (The funny uncle "bodyguard" with 3 grown up sons)
Janice & Family - 3 (Long Lash Gal + parents)
Anthony, kelly & family - 4
Tay family - 4 (Uncle Simon & wife with 2 adorable dotters, Louise 18 & Joey 16)
Yap family - 6 (Da yi + san yi + Alvinson & gf + Adams + Mr Yap)
Shopper family - 7 (Wujintian boss w Wife and talkative Linus 12, elder son 28 & gf , Aunty & Cousin Carmen the tissue gal)
Total 38 .. Haa i can remember all.
And not forgetting our wonderful tour leader, Laurence Lim.
We are planning to go house visitg someday, but of coz not the entire big team.Haa
Monday, February 9, 2009
Europe Trip II - Switzerland
Crossing the border to "white" Swiz....
Lucerne
1 nite stay over at Hotel Astoria (my rating: 4/10)
Highlights:
Lake Lucerne, Lion Monument, Chapel Bridge
, Mt Titlis
Common fact in Lucerne, haa not anything about this town but it's ourselves.
The sole of my boot "give up" on me after >6 yrs of companionship.. And Hubby's shoes was drenched and cold. Hence, both of us got our new boots ($124 swiss francs) and shoes ($39 swiss francs) in this small lovely town.
Interlaken
Arrived Interlaken around late evening time, then we proceeded for our Swiss Fondue Dinner!
The Yucky Cheese Fondue --> Meat Fondue --> Choc Fondue
This place is fun, the host is very entertaining and even let us try the french horn ..
1 nite stay over at Chalet Oberland (my rating: 4/10)
Hubby's BIG TICKET:
Was too bored at nite, hencewent casino for small fun..hee contributed 50 swiss francs to town Interlaken's economic.. hee
Optional tour:
Jungfraujoch (135 ch) - thumbsup! Magnificent!
Another 7 hrs coach ride.. to "invade" Italy...
As Swiz is using different currencies (Swiss francs), not Euro, Tax claim have to be made during departure...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
