back from europe! i think i'm suffering from pvd - post vacation depression. a day of rest and i have to dive back to work tmr. in fact i'm working on some lesson plans now :(

brief reflection:

London - the boy told me i'd love London (he was there previously and he loved it, more than new york & tokyo) i can see why. it's beautiful. i can see myself living in London. i find every moment of the 5 days there inspiring.

Paris - i've heard from people that Paris is overated and the streets are dirty. well... it isn't. It took my breath away. the people were really friendly too. it was everything i imagined it to be and more. we made a side trip to montmarte and that was real lovely. the boy,"London is beautiful and liveable but Paris is simply breathtaking."

Lucerne - a night walk around Lake Lucerne. hot swiss chocolate. gorgeous views of mountains, cows on green green hills and pretty little houses.

Venice/Florence/Rome - it was lovely revisiting these places again. it's amazing how the boy can still remember the directions to our favourite restaurant in Florence.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable & meaningful trip spending time with the boy and his family. exploring London on our own and following the trafalgar tour from Paris to Rome. we made many American and Aussie friends. Also, the boy and i bought many paintings and collected knick knacks along the trip.

detailed updates to follow soon :)

i can't believe this but i actually forgot all about the wedding prep until the boy reminded me on our cab ride home that we gotta do the save-the-dates!

the insanity has consumed life for the past month. so as i take a teeny weeny breather now before it resumes tmr... here are some snippets of what was, what is and what will be.....

i fainted. recovered. found out i'm anaemic. ate lots of steak at the advice of the doc. am happily settled in the new home. loving the view of bishan park. growing a pot of hydrangeas. waiting patiently for the flowers to bloom and discover the colour. heart to heart with the twin. cuddling up to Love Happens. the little munchkin turned one. caught up with sandra and clydie at cedele. received pretty journals from sandra! can't wait to start journaling in europe. shopped at the baby fair with the cly who is three weeks away from giving birth. amazed at the type of products offered to mummies to be. i can't wait to see baby asher!!!! delighted at the fellowship of the young wives club - loving organised by mummy-to-be. looking forward to more fellowships.

on a wedding prep note,

i've tried a few more gowns and am in a dilemma. a good dilemma. met mili and she has kindly accepted my request to be my coordinator and it's hilarious how we went around shopping for wifey stuff (household items and groceries). we have engaged and confirmed our wedding photographer! we love this quirky husband T and wife G duo and can't wait for the photoshoot in sept. received my first etsy package delivered right to the doorstop... a surprise gift for the gals :)

i think the most meaningful thing we've done was attending our church's marriage preparation retreat. a two day retreat with other couples and our pastors, deacons and their lovely wives. We went into the retreat with several issues yet to resolve and hoping to spend time with God. and God being God...so amazing and incredible...spoke to us and planted loving people around us to share, guide and mentor. we've learned new things about each other and also developed a close friendship with another couple and had such real and heartfelt fellowship. a wonderful time indeed. the boy and i have put what we learned of each other and of God into practice - learning to approach every decision and every possible challenge with "Let's prayerfully consider this."

and... i'm so excited to be flying off to europe again in June. for a holiday with the boy's family. i'm looking forward to London & Paris, having missed these 2 cities out the last time. the best thing is returning to Italy... i cannot wait. :)

daydream...

plenty of updates.

weddings.

farewells.

new beginnings.

but for now

I'll give anything to have

that cup of latte again

in venice.

it's pouring outside. cool breeze and rose scented lotion. puts me in a "missing you" kind of mood. when the madness is over... we shall meet! meanwhile... i miss...

Mili. I do miss you very much.

Let's do porridge, eggplant and snowpear again.



the herdies! when can we get together again. boys in school. girls at work. crazy crazy world. i miss you bs!

teresa and kevin. my dinner buddies. yes i do miss you both very much. apologies for being MIA for so long.

Kailin dearie. i miss our heart to heart conversations. I cannot believe we are into our 12th year!

the dancers. Pei who left last month for Michigan to do her Masters. miss you dear and hope you're settling down well.

liling. somewhere in India now doing her medical degree. come back soon!

but most of all. i miss Florence. Trattoria Anita and our funny Italian waiter we affectionately call Mr Bean. the boy and i loved the place so much that we went there for dinner twice on our 3 day stay in florence.

It's been two weeks since school started. going through a whirlwind of emotions is an understatement.

wk 1: really thankful. I'm thankful that i don't feel stressed even though i do stay past 6 everyday. In fact, i do enjoy staying till 6 in my cozy little cubicle. I'm glad that this little nook of mine is a haven for the other newbies to take a break and relax... away from the conversations surrounding work and prying eyes of the other peers, and perhaps indulge in the occasional whining... thankful also that the ever reliable CK is sitting next to me.. one whom i go to for the latest announcements and important meetings.

wk 2: a little stressed - yesterday saw my first almost breaking down moment. overwhelmed by expectations. slept early. cried a little. plenty of giggles - my first lesson today got me into giggling fit. the sec 3 class continued their harmless but extremely infectious clowning around. usually, i can control myself and remain firm. but with the incessant exclamation of "miiiissss liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim.........." in an insanely high pitch tone by the resident class clown (a boy), and lo and behold, i lost it. I started giggling and that was the cue for my class giggler, yes, the class giggler. Did i just coin that term? She went into her giggling fit. I lost it. completely. I had to excuse myself from the class for a minute to empty the laughter and the tears that came with it. strongly encouraged - I have been giving intensive N level oral practices for the sec four class. Even though it means staying back till 6.30 just doing that, with security guard having to lock up after me, i love the fact that it gives me time to bond with them and in the process have heart to heart exchanges and it really does makes my heart smile to see them willing to wait for my oral time keeping duties to be done so that they can practice oral. :) In the midst of one practice session, my student actually walked up to the principal as she walks past and started dancing in front of her. My heart almost leaped out at that moment until i saw the principal break into laughter. And after that, i just couldn't stop laughing. As much as they make me want to pull my hair out during formal lessons, I just can't get angry with them :) settled - prayers answered. matters and expectations clarified.

the break: this was a much welcomed break though i knew it was also time for me to catch up on my marking of which i have tons of. but..... i'm glad our dg is back after the june break. studied Romans 8 and was reminded of the fruits of the Spirit. i'm glad to help out at children's church. the kids are simply adorable. and i'm glad for the time we had sitting on the couch, watching the nail biting, nerve wrecking wimbledon finals till 4am.

In the midst of it all, I'm longing to go back to Europe. 3 of the herdies are travelling there and i'm yearning to go back. take me back to the lovely Siena... a cup of tea... soaking in the rays... sitting and pondering as the world goes by...

Barcelona vs Real Betis [Day 4 - Spring 2007]

:: Happy crazy anniversary ::

68 months......

really sounds like an installment plan

Barcelona :: Gaudi ::

Another travel post at long last.... Nie has been keeping me busy... (aeuropeanspring.blogspot.com)

i love this post. On this day, we went on an art trail....to visit one of Spain's finest artist and Barcelona's favorite son- Antonio Gaudi. I came across some of his works while doing my modern architecture module at NUS. while i don't really fancy his work...the idea of seeing his buildings in person overwhelms me. The boy on the other hand is very much interested in Gaudi. So off we go on this exciting adventure through the streets of Barcelona in search of everything Gaudi!

walking through our beloved La Rambla. this time, a photo with the roman ceasar... this guy was such a gentleman. He gave me a little star (seen here in the palm of my hand) after we took the photo. This star accompanied me throughout the rest of the trip, safe in my comfy bag. Until now, it has never failed to bring a smile to my face. :)

it was truly a beautiful walk through the many streets... we basked in the Catalan sunlight... soaked in the fragrant aroma of coffee as we passed by numerous cafes... photos here and there... and tada! came to ZARA! haha... what's a girl like me to do? walk in of course! not before getting the essential snap of me outside the store. :) I was disappointed with the collection then though. Mostly bold prints and graphics which i wasn't interested in. Oh well... but it was still fun! The boy had to wait around while i browsed. oops.

the walk continues...

the boy had a crazy time taking arty shots of me. here's my favorite.

:: closer ::

:: Barcelona Musuem of Modern Art ::

the whimsical metal/wire mesh structure adorning the facade of the building

gallery walk

the series of shots we took on the steps of the museum. love it. so artsy. those steps lead to an open deck where there's a mini garden and a huge painting. After our clowning around... we head out to the first gaudi building... tada here's La Casa Amatller. As you can see below it was built in 1910. the house is an exquisite piece of art. below is the gorgeous stained glass ceiling. the colors look so magical. really like the different shades of purples. Jordan and I stood there for quite some time, marveling at the glass. so captivating.

stained glass ceiling

Next stop was 'The Casa Batlló' (1904-1906)

On the outside, the building is covered with pieces of tile on the rear facade and large, multi-colored ceramic scales on the main facade. These scales, together with the sinuous shape of the roof resembles a dragon’s back.

We couldn't really capture a good shot of the top where you can see the dragon. so use your imagination yup. it's really an amazing piece of work.

La Pedrera (Casa Milà, 1906-1910)

This building was the last great civil work which Gaudí performed before dedicating all his time to the construction of the Sagrada Família. Will blog about Sagrada in the next post.


( L-R) exterior, sitting on a gaudi inspired bench, the interior of casa mila, the dining room, the sewing room and the last level depicting the miniature constructions of the building.

my favorite shot of us in the building. with our audio guides.

At the top of La Pedrera. The construction is really fluid and organic. It's gorgeous in an unconventional way. I love the colors. Reminds me of Greece. the sculptures remind me of Darth Vader.

okie that's the first part ogf the Gaudi experience. Next up will be the amazing tour of Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family)

:: match of a lifetime ::

:: Here's to Five & a half years ::

clydie and joey and finally...the maiden post of the european reunion.

July saw us climbing up the fort canning slope to catch the annual Ballet under the stars. We overestimated our appetite, bought lots of food from Carrefour. couldn't finish :( BUT the ballet was fantabulous! Of course with me around, i went shutter crazy.

pre -performance :: a little blue
intermission :: flash and colournote: the above facial expressions were not rehearsed. totally unplanned.

I had the privilege of tasting the culinary skills of chef clydia. and i had the pleasure of finally meeting the infamous dog. clydie is dog sitting her. People, meet Dog. Yes, that's her name. i almost went crazy calling her that the whole time i was there. i felt really stupid. Dog doesn't like to take photos. the last shot was sheer luck. As for the food, it was yummilicious. Thanks clydie!

first post of Joey's reunion with the boy! http://aeuropeanspring.blogspot.com/ or click on the link on the right.

Changi Airport

saying goodbyes to mummy, my bro and his girlfriend, xiaoxi and arthur. xiaoxi's just the sweetest. she arrived at my place, bringing along a month's supply worth of muesli bars. my brother was so amused by the photo taking, "waaaa... not as if you're going off for years right...only a month leh." i was so excited to see the boy in 18 hours. everything just felt so surreal. but not seeing mummy for a month, that's scary.

on the plane! midnight flight on KLM. i was so scared i might be bored during the flight that i brought copies of National Geographic but kudos to in-flight entertainment! watched episodes of friends, without a trace, music and lyrics and a week's notice. eating ice-cream at 4am in the morning is an experience as well. Had nice conversation with my flight companion, a friendly MBA student going to amsterdam for a job interview. the flight was rather comfortable with generous leg space but i couldn't sleep much though... i guess it's the adrenaline rush, knowing that i'll see the boy real soon as well as the constant supply of food and movies. :) the sky was absolutely breathtaking. i could see the moon and the countless stars. the bulb of light illuminating from the wing was cute too. as we flew across the continents and various timezones... the break of dawn left me speechless... went completely shutter crazy.

Amsterdam: Schipnol Airport

Ah....the Land of Tulips!!!! Sigh, the beautiful sight that greeted me and made me weak in the knees...... flowers... pretty pretty tulips.... bags and bags of tulips..... pink, purple, orange...they should have a flower shop like this in Changi airport... showcasing all the orchids so visitors can buy them. :) i was so tempted to buy a bag back but at 40 sing dollars before i even touch down at Barca, i think the boy will faint.

Ola Barcelona!

Finally, after a 15 hour flight and a 3 hour transit, welcome to Barcelona! that's not the end of my agonising wait though. the boy will only arrive 6 hours later. i settled into a cafe, ordered a drink, a donut and bread stick and read "Three cups of tea." on a toilet break, i came across the cutest little boy in a barca FC jersey. He was kicking a soccer ball with his dad. i couldn't resist the urge to take his photo. his family was so warm and adorable with their thumbs up sign.

the barcelona bed and breakfast. right smack in the middle of La Rambla. really pretty the decor. yup we brought silly bear with us! the boy cooked dinner. chicken and mushrooms from carrefour!