Post Holiday

So, how has our Europe trip been? Overall, I would say that it was a wonderful experience – we had been to a part of the world that we have never step foot on, we survived a long haul flight and didn't missed our connecting flight and we had the priceless opportunity to spend a few days with ah yee. This trip had been the longest in my life (8 days previously) and we all missed home towards the end, especially Lil Isaac who cant wait to sleep in his bed with his old socks buddy. It would have been even more enjoyable if Lil Isaac could have cooperated, behaved and walked more. At the end of the trip, I didn't mind coming back to work and spend some time without the kids. Lol.

We survived pretty well after the trip. Popo had a table of home-cooked Chinese food waiting for us back home and we gulped all the food down. It was simply delicious and different from the constant bread and cold cuts. On Sunday night, we went to bed at 9ish Singapore time and could sleep. Daddy Lim already knocked out way before that given that he barely slept on the plane to watch his 4 movies. Zzzz… The kids played together nicely before bed too. Hehe.

The kids did suffer a little from jetlag and woke up in the middle of the night. Lil Shauna woke up at 1ish and didn't go back to sleep until about 3am. Lil Isaac woke up at 2am to ask for the toilet and milk but was easy to go back to lala land. I heard Lil Isaac woke up at 6.30am on Monday morning whereas Popo had to pull Lil Shauna from bed at 9.30am – not strange given that she was walking around in the house in the middle of the night. Lol. 

Daddy Lim and I went back to work the following Monday and didn't die at work. In fact, I didn't feel jetlag but could barely keep my eyes opened at 9pm on Tuesday night. Maybe jetlagging takes a while to kick in. Nevertheless, we survived.

I definitely like London better than Paris, given that the people are nicer, the roads wider and cleaner, less smokers and everything is in English. Haha. I think we should have more time in London and there are so much more to explore. Geneva is basically boring. Lol. 

Now that we are sure that we can survive the 13 hours flight, it gave me fresh hopes that we could soon visit ah yee again. The next time, we will make sure that we have direct flights. My poor heart cannot take the stress of chasing after connecting flights. Should I have the chance to go to Geneva again for meeting next year, Daddy Lim and I agreed that we should send him and the kids to Paris 1st. They can definitely find more things to do in Paris than Geneva. Daddy Lim even gamely said that he could fly later with the kids to Paris to meet me after my meeting. I am impressed! Let’s just hope that my future trips could fall nicely during school holidays. 

Regrets? The adults could have mingled more during the nights in Paris. We didn't get a chance to go to those underground tunnels in Paris. We aren’t careful enuff and lost a lot of money in Geneva, which I had already submitted the insurance claims and waiting for the claim officer to come back to me. I didn't buy any LV bags from Paris (hehe). We could have done more homework and do more exploration in London. I am not too concerns with the regrets though bcos we could go back and do those next time. Haha.

We survived! Now, I shall start planning the upcoming Taipei trip after I have settled down. Hmmm… what comes after Taipei??!! I am a sucker for holidays.

Mummy Lim

Day 13 - Paris to Singapore

We had bfast in the hotel, our very 1st ever hotel bfast in Europe. There was the option of early rider for hotel guests, starting at 9.30am at particular segment before park opens. The park opens at 10am.

We were late and also took a walk around in the zoo/farm that faces the hotel and only got to enjoy a few rides before the rides were opened to public.

Along the way, Lil Shauna also gamely posed for us. If you didn't realised, she was trying to look like the masks behind her.

The early rider was followed by fast track pass for an hour. By then, the park was already crowded. We rode the roller coaster that was crowded the day before and viking too. The viking was the only ride that both kids enjoyed. I personally love viking. I like the feeling of being lifted up in the air at the highest point. Lil Shauna sat at the extreme end while Lil Isaac sat in the middle row.

The park was so much crowded than the day before and there were long Qs everywhere. We were lazy to q and thus didn't take many rides. We ended up doing more shopping. Afterall, we were quite deprived and felt rich with the GBP left. Lol. We also spent more time at the mini indoor playgrounds, that weren't crowded.

We had a simple lunch.

Our final pictures before going home.

Then, we headed back hotel to wait for the booked cab to go to the airport. The night before, we had the reception to help us book a cab to the airport and it cost us GBP 31.5.

The cab was supposed to pick us up at 2pm, but it was late. The hotel helped us to chase and tge cab finally arrived at 2.30pm. We had to take the highway, which cost us GBP10 more, in view of the time. I felt that we were held ransom - we were short of time and had no other choice but it was bcos he was late! I half wonder if he had arrived late intentionally. I also cannot help worrying that he is a crook. My imagination ran wild as his low gas sign kept flashing and I wondered if he would suddenly stop on some deserted road and claimed that he ran out of gas.

Well, nothing of the sort happened. The kiids slept on the way to the airport while the driver entertained Daddy Lim with car talk. Haha.

The flight to Frankfurt delayed by about 30 mins. the flight had less businessmen and we got less dirty looks. I had to sit with 2 kids while Daddy Lim pretended not to know the noisy kids while seated one row behind us. I had a busy time given they both kids wanted my attention. I can't wait for the kids to grow up quickly and be able to self entertained on the flight.

We had to run to catch our connecting flight. We literally ran all the way, which was about 5 mins. When we finally reached the gate, we saw that the flight was delayed too, probably to allow people use like us to board the plane. We were so glad to make it. Daddy Lim even could steal a smoke break.

The flight was much more enjoyable. We also realised that the entertainment can be turned on the moment we were seated. We all watched some movie and the kids slept before dinner was served. They didn't wake up until about 2+ hours before landing. Then there was more movie watching and bfast.

I didn't sleep well on the returning flight and caught 3 movies in all. Daddy Lim was better. I think he intentionally didn't sleep and watched 4 movies!

We were all so glad to finally arrive in Singapore at about 4 pm. We took a cab back and popo welcomed us home with a nice dinner - home cooked Chinese food! It was so nice.

Finally, home sweet home.

Mummy Lim

Day 12 - London (Chessington)

We had intended to sleep in and then make our way to Chessinton after the peak hour. It wouldnt be fun to lug 2 suitcases and 2 kids and try to fight for space in the train with people rushing for work. But, we woke up to the fire alarm at 7.30am and had to gather outside the hotel lobby. This is ths 2nd time that we encountered fire alarm in a hotel. The 1st was in the middle of the night in Melbourne many years back. 

At the gathering point, I saw that most of the hotel guest were already dressed, appearing ready to start their day. Others at least grabbed an additional jacket while we were still in our pjs with messy hair. I had forgotten to take the jackets, concentrating only to grab $$, ppts and the kids. Apparently the bag stolen saga must had scarred me. Lol. Fortunately, we weren't the worse, we saw a lady still with her hair wrapped in a bath towel, probably in the midst of her morning toilet routine and 2 others without shoes. Haha.

The Firemen arrived by the time we gathered at lobby and we were impressed by their efficiency. We waited about 10 mins before we were given the clearance to go back to room. However, the alarm kept going off intermittently thereafter. Maybe they were testing the alarm but I only wanted to check out ASAP. 

We left the hotel at about 10 am and headed to Chessington South by national rail and did avoid the peak hours. We had to take an underground before changing to the rail and was worried that we would miss the train but got it all right. This whole trip was about constantly chasing after trains and planes. Lol. The journey proved to be really smooth. We were very surprised to find the train empty and almost had the entire carriage to ourselves.

Chessington South station was about 30 mins ride away. Then we had about a 10 mins walk to the resort. It wasn't difficult to get to the resort. Lil Isaac sat on the luggage while Daddy Lim wheeled him to the resort. Remembered? He was sick and tired of walking. 

The hotel was right next to the theme park. We left  the bags at hotel lobby as the room not ready and headed to theme park. We were all very excited.

It was a good choice to go on a Friday. The park was not crowded and mostly young kids given that it was a school day. The Qs were not long. The longest was probably 20 mins wait and some rides had no q at all. It was rides.

And more rides.

We played games too, opting for those sure win stalls and bringing home plenty of many small soft toys until I had to stop the kids from more playing.

We visited the aquarium too.

Chessington Resort is a combination of zoo/ farm, small aquarium and theme park rides. They have rides that catered to young children (flying dumbo, ferris wheel, indoor playground) as well as more exciting rides (viking, roller coaster). This suits our kids perfectly bcos Lil Shauna loves thrilling rides and found baby rides boring, whereas Lil Isaac  usually avoids all rides that seem anything near scary. 

Time passes very easily. We left the park for our hotel when the park closes at 5 pm. While Daddy Lim checks in, the kids were well entertained at the lobby. 

They also got to see the monitor lizards and even experienced strange insects! 

Lil Shauna was so brave and she held the stick insect. I was more worried than her bcos I know I wouldn't be able to help her. In fact, I stood pretty far from her while she handled the insect. 

Then she was even braver and handed a cockroach! This time, I stood even further. She said that the stick insect has sticky legs and the cockroach has ticklish legs. Hmm...

Daddy Lim got the keys and was told that luggage already in hotel - such good customer service. Our hotel room was on e 2nd floor. We took the lift up and found one side of the glass wall facing the zoo/ farm and we can see animals roaming. Nice.

Unfortunately, we cannot really see the zoo/ farm from our room but I didn't really mind. It is quute weird tp have animals watching us while we sleep. Lol. We had a nice and big room and the kids had their own sleeping area. Lil Shauna was very sure that she wanted to sleep in the kids' area while Lil Isaac preferred to sleep with us.

We had a nice and hot dinner at the hotel. Something considered a luxury in the expensive land of Europe. Lil Isaac fell asleep at the restuarant, but before he slept, he agreed to shower in bathtub with jiejie back in the room. So, jiejie really woke him up back in the room and they had splashing good time in the tub.

We had really tired kids and an early night. Lil Shauna did sleep in kids' area and we shifted Lil Isaac over to keep her accompany. In the middle of the night, the boy automatically walked over and hopped onto our bed. Not long after, Lil Shauna also came over bcos she had a bad dream. In the end, Daddy Lim had to go over to sleep alone on the tiny bed. The bed was so small that he couldn't even fully stretched his legs. Lol.

Mummy Lim

Day 11 - London

I had wanted to visit the Portobello market, which is located one station after from the station where we were supposed to gather for Fat Tire Bicycle Royal Tour. Daddy Lim's idea was to nauh in the hotel until it was time to go for the bicycle tour. So we ended up leaving the hotel a little too earlier for the tour but too late to really shop at Portobello. Zzz. 

There were many interesting things to see and shop. 

Unfortunately, most of the shops weren't not opened yet and we also didnt have enough time to shop. The actual Portobello market was some distance from the station and before we reached main street, Daddy Lim said that he needed the toilet. We had to turn back. I was mad yet worried that he would soil his pants. Haha. He was pissed at me for insisting to visit the market. It was such fortunate that we didnt literally kick each others' butt. Lol. Most of the cafes were closed and we eventually found this cosy one in a corner. Lil Shauna benefited with a nice bfast.

After bfast and using their toilet, we had to run back to catch a train to the meet up point. We were the last to arrive and luckily only a few mins late. I was happy to see that there was another Australian couple with 2 girls, 8 and 10. Our kids didn't warm up to them until the end of the tour where they were trying to catch pigeons and squirrels together. There are plenty of both in London. There were really that many squirrels.  We even saw people feeding squirrels from their hand! 

Lil Shauna rode a tandem bike with Daddy Lim. Her bike was attached to Daddy Lim's bike, sort of like the double bike that we see in Singapore, but double wheeled. Daddy Lim had to take special care during turns. A couple of times, Lil Shauna's bike rammed into corners and lamp posts. Oopsy. 

Lil Isaac had a baby seat attaached to my bike. It was tough to balance with him bcos I blocked most of his views and he had to verve  left and right to see what was happening in front and each time he moved, the bicycle swerved. I had to constantly yell at him to sit still especially when we were on the road. 

We made many stops and the guide will explain at each stop. I didn't quite know where was what bcos I was busy trying to entertain the kids so that we dun disturb the rest while the guide was explaining.  I only know that this palace that didnt quite look like a palace and it currently houses Prince William, Kate, their baby and Prince Harry.

We were also at this big building with plenty of statue in front. One of them is a big blue cock.  The owner ran out of money to build the statue and there was eventually this online voting to build a blue cock. Hmm....strange London people.

The returning route was tough. I am bit sure if it was bcos I was unfit or I had extra weight attached to me and the weight was constantly was increasing given that he became more and more bored and started moving and fidgeting increasingly. I was pedalling so hard and constantly trying to catch up. At many points, I was panting and cursing under my breath whereas the rest seem to be cycling leisurely and enjoying the view, even the old couple that we had in our team. What the.... I couldn't tell you how glad I was when we finally made it back. Lol. 

The tour ended at 3ish and we headed back to one  of the nearby parks that we passed through during the bicycle tour. In the midst wad Princess Diana memorial playground and the kids had fun.

Then, we took a stroll on this lake filled with swans and ducks and pigeons. We saw people feeding the birds and they were not at all scare of humans. I think we were more scare of them given the number of them. The kids enjoyed trying to run and chase away the birds, who mostly lazily walked away than fly off. Haha. The only down side is the amount of poo poo everywhere.

We left the park in the early evening and walked to nearby pub for fish and chips. London is famous for fish and chips and for some strange reasons, mostly served in pubs. Maybe they go extremely well with beer? The one that we had wasn't especially nice, it tasted not much different from what we have in Singapore.

We ended our night and got ready for the last stop of our tour - Chessington Resort. Our trip was about to end. We all missed home. It seemed like we had been away from home for a long time.

Mummy Lim

Day 10 - Paris to London

We had to wake up early to catch the train to London. The fact that we were going to really leave Paris, leave Uncle C and ah yee upset me greatly. It had been a wonderful 4 days in Paris and it would be many more moons before we will see ah yee and Uncle C again. It is such pity that they couldn't join us in London. 

We had a simple and our last bfast in their little living room and their antique dinning table. Then was last minute preparation and we got out of the house. The kids loved ah yes and uncle C's companion this period and this picture tells all. The parents were loving it, leaving us a little time to walk hand in hand, which rarely happens when we are with the kids in Singapore. They did look like a family, don't they? Haha.

We took the tube at one of the usual stations and the tube was more crowded than usual given that it was the peak hour. I couldn't be more thankful for Uncle C to be with us to help with the luggage. We would soon part ways and be on our own for the rest of the trip. Truth be told, the thought was super daunting. It had been wonderful to be able to be free rider and had ah yee and Uncle C took perfect care of us. I had to keep reminding the kids to behave themselves. They had to start cooperating to make sure things move smoothly.

We parted ways with ah yee at the station where we would take the train to London. It was so sad that we didn't have much time to really say goodbye. We had to clear immigration and rush for our train. We had our hugs and kisses and I could barely hold back my tears. I wonder when it would be that I would see my little sister again. I hope she will come back to visit us in Singapore soon or maybe we could visit her again next year. The 13 hours flight wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Even Daddy Lim agreed on that but of course we should only speak after surviving the returning flight. Lol. Then again, the kids would be older and there's direct flight to Paris too. All things looked great. Haha.

Back to our train journey, we cleared the immigration smoothly but wasn't left with a lot of time. We visited the toilet and changed the euro that ah yee loaned us into pounds. We heard the train operators rushing the passengers to board the train and was asked to hurry given that our cabin was right in front. It was a mad rush on the platform trying to get to our cabin and our seats. We barely settled down in our seats and the train started moving. Phew. It was also great that there was an empty seat and Lil Isaac got a seat of his own.

We were trying to keep Lil Isaac awake since it was only an over hour train ride. We were puzzled when we didn't reach the station at the schedule time - the trains are supposed to be super on time.  It was then that we realised that London is one hour behind Paris and I finally tucked the fussing boy in for a nap. That nap brought us such great peace.

We reached London shortly and we glad to see wider pathways, English signs everywhere and hearing people talk in English! 

We then attempted to find our hotel given that Daddy Lim had Google map the location the night before. After like 5 mins walk, we arrived at the hotel to realise that it was not the hotel that I had booked. Zzzz. The hotel reception was really nice to Google map for us and print our the map for us. It turned out that our hotel is on the other side of the Euston station but very near to the station.

We checked in (at extra 10 pounds) upon arrival. Our hotel was no frills but nice and clean with 2 double beds. The bathtub was a bonus. Hehe. Then, we tried to decide what to do next. Daddy Lim and I aren't the best travel companion but have compromised over the years. Lol. I am the kind who loves to pack every minute with activity while he would be happy to stay in the hotel to watch MTV. For the London trip, we had some major activity nailed but pockets of time to fill. It was tough trying to agree what to do (or not to do). Eventually, we agreed to head to Covent Garden. We got ready to leave the hotel and while packing the bag, I found the chocolate bun that ah yee packed for us. These are her favorite in Paris. I couldn't hold back my tears and starting crying. The kids were a little shocked. Now that I thought about it, it seems quite funny to me. Haha.

We took the Underground and found it so much simpler as compared to the tube in Paris - maybe bcos the signs are all in English. I was also more relaxed - at least I dun have to constantly remind the kids to be quiet and the English people are definitely kinder than the French. I get some friendly smiles from people. Hehe. 

Covent Garden has some high class shopping and  also pasar malan kind of stalls. The 1st thing that we did was to stop for ice cream.

There were also many buskers and we were very entertained by this one.

We didn't buy much and walked to the Thames River.

Then we headed back to the hotel thereafter for an early night. The kids were all tired from the early morning and traveling. Lil Isaac fell asleep on the way back and slept to the next morning, leaving Lil Shauna to enjoy the bathtub alone. On the way back to the hotel, Lil Shauna told me that she was sick and tired of climbing steps. Me too. I am amazed at the numbers of stairs they have in Europe. Haha. And by the way, Lil Isaac had been sick and tired of walking since many days back and had been taking every single opportunity to ask us to carry him.  Zzzzz. 

Mummy Lim