Venice 2-5 Apr

A place where there are no traffic lights, round-abouts, trains, cars, only bridges, boats and gondolas.. we had our most relax time here.. walked and ate a lot.. gelato, pizzas and pastas.. we paid for a shared bathroom stay and lucky to be upgraded to a big room with attached bathroom and balcony.. felt very safe and carefree.. a must-go city..

Antoni Gaudí

Casa Milà, Park Güell, Sagrada Familia

Barcelona 30 Mar - 2 Apr

France 26-30 Mar

We have 1100 pics just for france only.. lucky my dear downloaded them into the appropriate folders.. so it's not tat tuff to go thru them.. spent most of my time today just to pick the best according to the itinerary.. actually all r nice but taken at different angles.. crankygal and ah lian will know how "bored" it gets to browse thru all of them.. anyways i have picked the highlights of the trip.. just let me know if u r keen to find out more.. will continue with the rest next wk.. stay tuned =)

Paris in 1 day

Château de Versailles, Paris

We were back to paris late as we spent quite some time trying to find the d-day beaches.. so it was drizzling and 1 hr to closing time when we reached.. we hurriedly followed thru the route and snapped pics quickly.. actually i was quite bored after seeing a few chateaus.. but this is the only one with a huge and pretty garden.. lucky the rain has stopped when we were strolling in the garden.. rays shining thru the clouds.. so pretty.. hehe but the way back to paris city to find a petrol station and return the car was scary.. rush hr traffic in the city is horrendous.. drivers were impatient and navigating in the 5-lanes round-about is tricky..

D-day beaches, Normandy, France

I felt very sad when i was here.. the scenes of "saving private ryan" were flashing in my mind.. i cannot imagine how much blood were shed here..

Mont Saint-Michel, France

Chateaus in Loire Valley that we visited

First night in Amboise, France - Chateau des Ormeaux

Some notes from honeymoon trip

1. No stamp of custom clearance in paris and we were lost.. trying to confirm this is ok.. i din wan us to get caught of illegal entry to country at the start of our honeymoon.. hehe.. took some time trying to find hertz and the rented car.. we got a hybrid car.. toyota prius..

2. Roads are narrow in france (loire valley and normandy) and driving in paris is crazy.. cars are packed and close to each other.. roads are complicated and u will get lost even with gps.. we had a hard time trying to find a petrol station in paris central.. if u are not daring enuff dun drive!.. however the countrysides in france and uk are scenic and smell great.. definitely worth trying..

3. Flight to rome on 2 apr was cancelled due to technical fault.. lucky we picked venice instead.. else dunno wat will happen to us.. heard there were fights at the football match in rome as well (police and the man u fans).. it probably quite chaotic there..

4. We packed the lightest so far.. each about 7 kg plus.. just change of 2 tops and 1 bottom.. 1 set of sleepwear.. toiletries and slipper.. so that we can carry and go.. esp after car return in paris and london.. we can oso save some $.. checking in baggage at ryan air is not free.. hehe definitely diff honeymoon from others.. it's impt to watch your pockets and bags tight.. these ppl are so skillful that u wont feel anything and in a blink all your valuables are gone.. i guess we asian have a "pls-rob-me" face.. kekeke..

5. I "fainted" on our way to football match in barcelona.. thanks to sangria.. a super doper strong drink we had for dinner.. lucky just after the man left the train whom we suspected as pickpocket.. the train was warm and i couldn't see anything.. so we got out of the train and i rested on the bench.. lucky i was fine after that and still enjoyed the match :)

6. Building of sagrada familia still on-going.. dunno when it will b completed.. hopefully it's done when we bring our kids there.. i actually felt sad about gaudi's death.. he's such a genius..

7. Football match in europe is a must-watch.. esp barcelona as nou camp is the biggest in europe and fans are passionate..

8. Full english breakfast in uk is a must-eat.. tasty and filling.. roast duck in london too.. oily, juicy and tender..

9. Hotdog in paris near notre dame is a must-eat.. so cheesy and tasty..

10. Gelato in venice is yummie too but i think it's not too far from gelare.. fish soup is a must-eat.. it's better than spaghetti..

11. Never schedule shopping on sunday.. all the major shops are closed.. only managed to shop at zara but i have oni 15 mins to browse and try.. hehe coz we were on our way to the bus terminal for airport transfer.. totally no time in paris as we were running thru all the major POIs under the 2-days museum pass.. i dunno whether my dear purposely or not.. or just me no luck for shopping.. harrods and m&s etc were closed on easter sunday.. ah lian was "screaming" in yahoo tat i have changed.. well not quite.. havent been a shopping person for ages.. so din really feel anything abt this..

Full english breakfast..

was wat we had for 3 mornings (including today).. 2 from b&b at the farm stay and 1 here in hilton.. it includes sausages, egg, bacon, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, coffee, cereal, yogurt and juices.. these lasted us till late afternoon.. so far was the best meal for the world trip.. escargot and croissants in paris still our favourite.. paella in barcelona was not that great.. still prefer japanese rice.. sangria almost "knock" me out.. even my dear cannot take too much of it.. spaghetti in venice.. yummie.. esp the fish soup.. *drool*..

Yosh..

we are now enjoying the sunset in london from the executive lounge at the hilton canary wharf.. it's gorgeous.. we redeemed a free night stay and got upgraded to the executive guestroom.. with free access to the executive lounge for free snacks, drinks (including beers/wines/liqueurs) and internet for all time.. breakfast for 2 as well.. so lucky and we are so glad to end our honeymoon with such treatment.. hehe in a blink we are flying home tomorrow.. time just passes by so quickly.. we are now walking in london city.. it seems like yesterday when we just had our wedding.. really dun feel like going back to work.. geeeeeee.. my dear beloved hubby can i just quit and be taitai????.. plssssss.. *pout*..

Caving..

in gough's cave at cheddar caves and gorge was really exciting and interesting.. we were crawling thru really tiny holes and crevasses (hehe my dear managed to squeeze thru.. i was worried he may get stuck =P) and climbing up and down the ladders.. some parts involved near vertical head first crawls.. the chambers were huge and cooling.. very dark and "muddy".. too bad no pics as no cameras allowed.. really not for claustrophobia.. i doubt i will ever go caving again.. i had bruises now on my knees and i was "stressed" by my dirty hands, legs and body.. luckily everything was provided but still the thought of crawling with my bare hands in the "mud" again freaked me out.. definitely a good experience with a cost of 16 pounds per pax.. no more mulu caves in my to-do-list.. yuckssssss..

Hola...

Finally i can access the internet.. we are at barcelona now and leaving for venice later..

Everything happened pretty fast and we are now half way thru our honeymoon in europe.. the wedding was great minus a few minor hiccups.. thanks to my dearest crankygal as the main coordinator.. muikian, jiawei, seowwen, weiling, tianlong and janet who helped out in the morning and lunch.. as well as kellin and kat.. we had a "special" solemnization as the JP is my folks' friend from bishan cc.. our guests were punctual and fun.. the day before we were still busy with the trip booking and packing.. as well as last min wedding prep (esp the montages).. now we have seen chateaus in loire valley, abby on mont st-michel and d day beaches from world war 2 at normandy.. paris.. barcelona.. famous of gaudi works and football match at the nou camp (fc barcelona vs deportivo).. the 3 months effort for the wedding and honeymoon really pays off..

So far we are lucky.. almost got pickpocket for past 2 evenings.. 1 in the train on our way for football match.. 1 at subway.. this one was scary and it happened in a blink.. if he succeed i would have lost my camera.. we saw them walk out in a hurry.. young chaps.. the person behind saw everything but din tell us until they walked away.. i was still in shock when we back to the hostel.. drive trip in france was great too.. just a few kisses of the curbs and 1 of the hub cap dropped at amboise.. lucky the man from hertz din spot any.. the view was scenic.. greeny and vast..

I had fun at the football match.. 1st time was in singapore.. a boring game and i was dying to go home.. this time since we din manage to get tickets for game in london we paid 48 euro per pax for fc barcelona.. i actually watched the game hoping to see a goal.. the stadium was huge and packed with ppl.. the atmosphere was exciting and "loyal".. supporters were cheering hard for fcb (barca), messi and ronaldino.. final score was barca 2 deportivo 1..

Alright have to end here.. will try to blog if i have access again.. meanwhile we will watch our pockets tight and venice here we come..

Chateau des Ormeaux

We pick this over Chateau du Guerinet after many days of comparing and researching.. this chateau has won Best Hidden Gem (world and europe), Best Bargains (europe) and Best for Romance (world and europe) from tripadvisor's 2006 travelers' choice.. dinner will be provided at 48 euro per pax with minimal 8 pax.. i hope there will be enough guests for that night.. looking forward..

http://www.chateaudesormeaux.fr/

Excited.. finally..

We have been busy with accommodation researching and booking.. itinerary planning.. some highlights are as follows:

1. chateau stay in loire valley with dinner and breakfast (255 euros and i'm still thinking..)
2. mont saint michel and D day beaches
3. farm stay in uk

Will be renting car in paris and road trip to loire valley and mont saint michel.. 2 days rent is more ex than 3 days.. weird.. same for london.. 2 days rent and road trip to southern wales.. hehe.. our budget is getting more and more with all these special stay.. *stress*.. anyway.. need to settle all by this week..

Had my last fitting last evening.. hehe din lose much.. so sad.. but EG will be altered.. slimmer waist :P.. it keeps dropping.. album reviewed and will be ready on friday.. my MUA cannot make it at 630am.. need to sort out the actual day schedule.. montage still on the way.. haven't decide on match in songs.. geeee still plenty to do.. OMG..

Itinerary

After few days of searching and researching we have fixed on the cities that we are going in 2 weeks.. between rome and venice we picked venice.. we dropped geneva bcoz of the limited time and ex flights.. the budget airlines (ryan and easyjet) fares kept increasing since last week.. its complicated and tedious to find and compare fares and routes.. but still my dear managed to sort all out.. thanks dear *pat*.. about 300 euro in total.. accommodation is next.. goodness the rates are even more scary.. peak season.. spring and easter *pout*.. kinda tedious oso.. as i need to check the location, rates and reviews of the hotels.. hmm mayb it's better to join tours.. but i dun think so.. still fun to do free & easy despite of all the troubles.. flexible and interesting esp when we got lost :P.. geeezzz i'm getting excited..

Paris (26-30 mar)
Barcelona (30-2 apr)
Venice (2-5 apr)
London (5-8 apr)

Honeymoon

Yippie.. after sourcing high and low for cheap air tickets and package tours for so long.. we have booked sin-paris london-sin by emirates for 2 at 2426.. depart 26 mar 12:30am and return 8 apr 8:30pm..

Was considering qatar at zuji and emirates online.. the flight schedules are not so ideal.. emirates online is better.. luckily i have been lazy and indecisive.. keep delaying on the purchase.. last weekend we went suntec to check out sa tours, chan brothers and asa holidays.. so crowded and super long queue.. we gave up.. then later at night found out that chan brothers was offering 750 fare by emirates at the suntec fair.. geeeee was quite disappointed.. then i found this fare from misa travel on wed.. booked sin-paris-sin online on wed night and next day the fare was increased to 780.. luckily my booking locked the earlier fare.. after many queries and verifications we changed the outbound to london-sin.. the airport tax is ex.. difference about 180.. but to reduce traveling time we decided on this itinerary.. so excited.. think more excited over my honeymoon than the wedding :P.. but more planning to do.. itinerary, accommodation, car rental, etc etc.. another 2 weeks *grin*..