Munich - Part 1

yeah, we are back from our holidays to europe!
this time round, hubbi and I decided on some cities in germany and amsterdam.
what's different for this europe trip from previous ones is we brought yz along!
its also the furthest we have brought him overseas.
apart from missing the younger boy badly during the trip, it was a blast.
the flight there was rather smooth and fast (though not the same can be said for the return one. @_@) and yz has been rather good and patient both on the flight/trains + all the museum/shopping trips.
and again, im very proud that my planning was a good one and most of the time the activities panned out just as planned. :P

ok, shall blog as much as possible with the memories still fresh in my mind.

if not, i never get to finish the posts like for our last south france/spain trip....

haha, arriving 8pm at frankfurt airport but was actually 2am in sg (6hrs difference).
a dazed yz despite catching some winks on board.

i deliberately chose a day flight contrary to what most would have wanted.

reason being though a night flight can save me time by reaching europe during day time but i can't imagine a dazed and cranky yz plus a giddy me suffering from lack of sleep (i can never sleep well/for long stretches on flight) starting our trip!

so for the first day, we checked into the nearest airport hotel for a good night sleep before starting the trip for good the next day.

and it turned out to be a good choice. though it didnt adjust yz's body clock immediately but it definitely helped to maintain our fatigue and sanity level..

waiting for free shuttle bus to airport early in the morning.

the last night was like a dream with us falling into deep sleep before 10pm and then me waking up at 4am (cos its 10am in sg.. lol). zzz

breakfast was done at a place familiar to all of us, esp. yz.

MAC! i love trying mac in other countries with their varied menus - we had scrambled eggs and a mcglory (?) burger - pretty similar to sausage mcmuffin just with different toast and lotsa vegetable.

on board the ICE train - bound to munich! 3 hours train ride and we were glad to buy yz an activity book from T3 airport which kept him occupied for most of the train rides we had during the trip

in munich in a jiffy - a slice of pizza - yum yum

apart from my own reluctance to take planes, i much preferred to take trains within europe though it may not be cheaper than domestic flights and definitely takes longer.
but, if you factor in the 30-45mins checking in, boarding time, waiting for luggage and the travelling time to/from airport, the time difference is actually not that big.
most importantly, i love the fact that main central station for most cities are located centrally in the city. so you get to "roll" into the heart of each city and surrounded by the "heartbeat" of it made up by all the buzz of people and activities there!
ok, that's just the romantic and old-school me talking.
in short, i really heart the train rides part. 

after checking in and freshening up abit, we were good to go!

on board the local tram to.....

tada! the alte pinakothe - in short museum (the bane for the boys - muhaha)

first, we needed to settle lunch and made the boys happy first so food!

it was a good thing that yz likes the sauerkraut (the sourish cabbage that is present with almost all dishes) so he did have his share of vegetable intake there.

the museum has its highlights and some classic pieces.

it was good that yz fell asleep for a good hour+ or so so i can roamed the rooms in peace with the husband trailing behind and sitting down at every opportunity. tsk tsk.

some of the pieces i really like:

the last judgement - by Hieronymus Bosch.

his style was definitely very different from the others gothic/renaissance artists and his paintings are always fascinating with their details though more often than not, they are kinda grosteque and unsettling.

such fantasy/futuristic style is really uncommon for those times.

i first known him through "the garden of earthly delights" in Prado, Madrid.

that is very very good.

albrecht durer! i especially love his self-portraits! this frontal one with his faraway gaze is fascinating.

seems to be seeing beyond us or above us.

the details of his hair and fur-trimmed robe were wonderfully drawn.

he always give me the idea that he's a vain one. with the superior air he drew himself, the fanciful signature he created (look at the AD!) and the luxurious wear.

but you have to admit, he's a good looking one at 28 for this painting. :)

this is really a masterpiece!

they have a rubens room! and i finally changed my opinion of him as the one who drew plump bodies for women. LOL.

they really housed some of the best rubens pieces here, in fact better than those i saw in prado.

a good baroque painter here as he managed to capture the "moment" in most of his paintings.

the last judgement on the left, though not fair to compare to that of michaelangelo's one in sistine chapel, may be as good in its own terms. the writhing bodies on different sides convey differrent emotions - the saved on the left and the damned on the right.

the rape of the sabine women on the right:

his composition  for his paintings is all great given the size of them.

and classic baroque - capturing a snapsnot of an action. *thumbs up*

some nice pieces from gustav klimt - when can i see the kiss for good. :(

onwards to modern arts museum - surprisingly more of his thing than mine.

i cannot appreciate things that i cant fathom! very frustrating!

only this piece from palermo managed to evoke something from me. and what is that i cannot tell.... @_@

after spending a "torturous" few hours with me, the boys deserved some fun time for themselves.

and since we are in the land of automobiles, where should we go?!

to BMW welt (showroom) of cos!

all the newest BMW models housed in this futuristic building!

left: on an old model of BMW bike

right: the happy boys not sure where to start in the building

yz having fun at the kids section

and of cos, we didnt order the new 320 much as the husband would like to do so. LOL.

but there were really locals who walked in, collected the cars and whizzed off in their new cars on the spot! cool!

all their metro stations have defibrillator and SOS direct line - a practical set-up

and then its dinner time! i've did some research before the trip noting down resturants which were recommended online!

so for dinner tonight, we are having at Ratskeller at the old market square at Munich.

an old-fashioned beer tarven styled place.

german beer!

i realised fanta+coke mix is a recurring item in the drinks menu and its really tasty and refreshing. :)

start of our meaty porky diet for the next 10days! @_@

the dishes were all delicious but after too much german food (which can be too savory in cases), i started to crave for plain wanton mee/fish soup..

ok, we will be heading to neuschwanstein the next day! - the castle that inspires disneyland sleeping beauty castle.

definitely a treat for yz who is into castles and knights recently.

a first @ turf city



My team was invited by our GM to the turf city today as his horse was competing with some of the best 4yo horses today.

This was my first time @ turf city! and we got to sit at owners' lounge and watched the races in comfort. :P

quite an experience and of cos we betted on some of the horses.

all by gut-feel for me since i've no ideas how to read the 马经！

my horse actually came in the second place for the 1st match but nowhere to be seen for the 2nd match. LOL.

my colls were luckier! their horse came in 1st and they won $100+ per pax (based on betting of $10+ only). wow!

no wonder people can get hooked on horse racing since the odds are much higher.

spread your bets on a few 冷门 horses and if one of them comes in first, the winnings is more than enough to cover the initial bets + earn you a healthy windfall! 

the horse "parading" before a match

gaga..ooh lala!

it was gaga night with some of the peeps on monday!

despite it being the first workday of the week, our mood was not dampened at all!

most of us made the effort to dress up after work before the concert.

and mad dd bought the most atrocious headgears/wigs for us.

we had fun trying them on in the car park but decided to ditch them last minute simply because of the mad hot weather.

and being in the standing lot for the whole night was just not going to help!

i dont want rash on my scalp by end of night!

   

me in crazy crab headgear





me, dd + ser with our neon wigs





the concert was a blast! gaga gave us a solid 2.5hrs performance belting out songs after songs.

her vocals were really good despite all the dancing and her theatrical antics were super entertaining. :)

and i so so so love the finale encore - edge of glory followed by marry the night! *hoot*

but my knees and calves were aching after all the dancing and jumping the whole time....

still, one of the best concerts ive been to in my life!

berry tiring weekend!

ok, make it the whole week.
for almost the whole work week, work has kept me berry busy during office hours.
even after work, my brain was buzzing with what's not done.... @_@
i will survive! and i must!! with the upcoming month-end closing and all the tasks to finish before we are due to go for our hols in 2 weeks time! *gulp*

lucky for the shopping breaks i indulged in during the week to keep myself sane (though definitely not healthy for the wallet's sanity...)!
GG5 sale has started on thursday and im all geared up!
went to a few branches and i DID try to restrain that teeny weeny bit.
i think i did an ok job.
damage - 3 tops, 1 belt, 1 leggings and 1 pants.

and then the weekend came!
merry-making with my boys. :)
     

<> 

YR's hair is back again. so i clipped it up in the crazy hot weather. *muhaha*
he really look like me when i was young!

  

on saturday morning, we went to suntec bright and early.
brunch was dim sum @ food republic. 

我好帅，不知如何是好。。
check out his thick lips and ..hair! hiaks.



我和 大宝贝



Then off we went to book fair!
times was having this fantastic sale where 5 books were going at $30!
i got my 5 easily. :)
and the boys had their fair share of children and activity books too!

then we walked over to marina square for more window shopping.

and seeing that the time slot is do-able, we caught MIB3 at GV.

not as good as MIB1/2 definitely but will do for nostalgia sake.

by the time we reached home after dinner, the boys were grouchy and ready to sleep.
and they did at by 9pm. :)
both hubbi and me spent time reading together (believe me when i said its a rarity and obviously im not refering to myself reading..).

today was more or less the same with us hitting town early in the day for brunch @ mac.
after that, shopping for the ng family!
with the taka sale, we got a new booster car seat for YR as well as a new stroller - Maclaren volo which will come in handy for our upcoming trip.
so light at 4kg and being a no-frills stroller, it will be perfect for YZ and us during the trip!
and of cos, i have to buy something - CK shoes - a steal at isetan sale.


dinner was at meatworks @ ion - what's with the 迷蒙的眼睛？！

 by the time we reached home after the early dinner, the sky was still not dark. 

spot the wannabe ironman at the back!

One of the better buys for today was stickers i got for the boys at Prints.

they were good quality puffy stickers that retail at $4.90 original but going at $1 now!
and what's better is you get 5 free for every 10 strips bought!
so one is less than a dollar each!
i let the boys have 1 each to stick on their wardrobe doors just now and the results were pretty good!

done by YR with my guidance of cos

Done by YZ himself, pretty good!

waiting for the boys to zzz now!
then hb and me can try the PECK bread i bought from taka basement!

time of the year again

yuppie, GSS is slowly but surely happening!
but i've started shopping before that! *gulp*
work has been getting crazier so i cope by retail therapy. :P

so i bought:
- a dress from zara
- a dress + a romper from topshop
- a skirt from bysi
- a dress, a skirt + a romper from forever new
- lounge pants + sockss from uniqlo
- a belt from dressy

ok, after gg5 sale, i will be good for the rest of may till mid jun!
i promise.
because im saving up for my trip in jun! *teehee*

my baobeis!

wanted to post a photo of YR taken today but discovered more random photos from the past!

this is YR "unhappy" pose nowadays = pouty lips + folded arms 

this is YZ at 2y+ wearing...... my undie! LOL think he ransacked our wardrobe and wore it on his own. haha.

YZ at 1y+ - his looks has changed so much!

gor gor at 2y3m, didi at 1m+ :)

they really grow up too fast.....



mad dd + ser ser birthday party

*woohoo* time for the crazy gang to gather once more.

this time round, we met to celebrate dd + ser ser bday!

after much discssion on watsapp, we decided to go old school.

and gb managed to book a room @ spring court.

we went for the $538++(?) package which gave us a room to ourselves completed with a dedicated waitress.

PLUS big flat screen and karaoke system so we can sing while we dined. LOL!

and oh yes, a whole suckling pig for the "新人". hahah.

with jx, candice + tanny!

we sang and laughed throughout the whole dinner.

think the waitress was either laughing with or at us.... :P

we were selecting all those classic songs of our era:

吻别,宽容,剪爱 etc. gosh!

and the singing got us into the mood so much that we went for second round at liang court party world!

it was 3+am by the time i was home, bathed and ready for zzz. @_@

lucky for hb, i was able to snooze my way till 10+am before the rascals decided once and for all that mummy got to wake up!

got this book from bookdepository and finished it in 2 days.
this is such a sad sad story.
as we all know, prime numbers are only divisible by 1 and itself. so they can't be anymore solitary.
so when 2 prime numbers get together, will they be the perfect match for each other given how similar they are or never be given their very nature?

the book gives us a peek at how tragedy can strike anyone suddenly and without prejudice.
and the aftermath of each tragedy can affect an individual like a poison seed.
taking root and growing into something so strong that devour its host.

i finished the last chapter in our living room with the husband watching channel 8 news on tv.
as i put down the book with a deep sigh, i told him i think im going to tear.
and then the tears start pooling in my eyes and streamed down my cheeks.
(ok, stop the drama mama jest)
the ending made my heart so so heavy. :(
its not exactly sad or a happy one but just like that. just like how life is.

and yes as life goes, the husband is pretty resilient towards his one-kind of a wife.
not at all perturbed by the sudden emo floodgates and instead gave me a comforting squeeze on the arm.
im just glad we are both not prime numbers (but certainly odd numbers i think)...

attack!

i have to watch my diet very closely again... :(
my big toe joint was inflammed from last sunday and only subsided enough for me to stop hobbling today.
sigh. i was so glad when the medical report was fine for me last nov.
guess i over-indulged after that assurance.
time to cut down on alcohol, anchoives and all nutty stuff. *sniff*

hunger games trilogy

have finished the trilogy in barely a week and i super dig it!
i like it so much that i actually re-read the last half of book 3 - mockingjay.
really really like how the series tackle different themes while keeping the main story simple and easy to digest.
no wonder it was compared to the animal farm in some reviews.

now i really cant wait for the sequels to be shown on big screen!

day out with the little nut!

and so i am on leave today! and i planned to spend the day with little nut.
or rather, he spent the day shopping with me! :P
ok lah, im not so bad.. i brought him to watch the avengers!
and the little ironman 粉丝 was super duper glad to see his superhero on the big screen.
and its good that there were fewer people in the cinema at 10+am, better to entertain his not-so-quiet questions. ha.

after that we went window shopping @ ion area all the way back to cineleisure before we drove back to my mum's place to pick gor gor up.
didnt really buy anything except the laura mercier primer and tinted moisturiser from sephora to try since the stock finally came in.
saw that they have added the new fresh and philsophy lines to their shop, cant wait to try next time.

closing time....

once again, back to work on an otherwise public holiday for finance people like me..
so on 1st may, i was working berry hard at work from morning till evening.
WHILE obviously some people think im rather unnecesary and go ahead with their plans to gather and merry-make WITHOUT me.
wow, how nice and considerate.

but again, if you think hard enough, you cant expect too much from some.
one cant expect what the other cant do (read the little prince).
so from S&S pple, its good to set 2 kinds of expectations: low and lower.

the first S is selfish while the other S is up to you to define anyway.
definitely NOT sweet or sincere or anything along that line.

the good thing that comes out from a frustrating 1st may is that i get 1.5 days off in lieu in return.
time to plan some good o' me time leave. :)

lazy weekend

had a rather relaxed weekend with my friends.

on sat, fifi, RC & CY made their way to my house for a small round of gathering.

it would be better if YZ & yan can join us afterall.

anyway, cold beer, chilled moscato + KFC = heavenly!LOL.



yesterday, brought yz with me along to shirley's house for steamboat lunchie and also to have a mini celebration for stella's bday.

the steamboat was super duper yummy!

kudos to shirley's mum for preparing the soup base and the ingredients.

photo session with the birthday girl!



later in the evening went out to PP for a quick dinner before dashing home for my fav. 红星大奖！LOL.

sucker for scrutinizing all those stars' attires and of cos who are in the 十大. :P

i've caught on the hunger games fever!
books depository tempted me by delivering the 1st 2 books first and i completely devoured them over the weekend!
followed by catching the show on monday. wahahah.
they are all very nice!!
the books are better in terms of giving the background story and exploring the various themes better.
but im not too impressed with the prose and style of writing though reading the books was a breeze. :)
the movie brought the pages to life and i really liked what they did with the gamemaster control room.
pretty cool.

cant wait for mockingjay to reach me like FAST!
i want to know the ending!

and so, i continued to shop this weekend. teehee.
from uniqlo, i added another black sleeveless basic top & a windbreaker.
from pedro, a nice pair of heels (i cant recall the last time i bought shoes!)
from sephora, i bought the laura mercier foundation & loose powder to try.
i think i can call it a day for april shopping.

time to save up for start of GSS in may. hiaks.

a sign of maturity finally?

more like a sign of old age.
it was ages since the last time i clubbed.
such frequency has dropped to once a quarter and i can totally see it slowly dwindle down more in the future.
i definitely take much longer to recover than last time. lol.

and so yesterday was team building for my team.
a cooking class was organised and it was rather fun for us to whip up a decent (cant go very wrong with a chef guiding us on every step) meal from 4-7pm.
after that, adjourned to wine company @ dempsey with the team for moscato and more moscato. *woot*

the fun really begin when the chill out session was over and i finally can made my way to meet some of the peeps for a crazy night @ attica!
it was my first time there and though the crowd is ..... but the fab music really make up for most things. :)

perhaps i was too sober. perhaps im getting old.
but some behaviors in the night did get to me.
and its surprising since its really no big deal to me - previously.
and i started thinking, was i like that when i was younger?

haha. such a joke to be judging others like only starting from now?!
hmmm, oh well.

still, loads of fun with dd and all.
and supper @ maxwell market was to die-for! i need all the hot soup + noodles to soak up the volka and all. lol.

by the time i reached home, bathed and ready to hit the sack, it was already 4+am....
i was thissss short to collapsing.

hubbi was the best to let me sleep till almost 11am this morning.
and i took another 3 hours nap with the boys in the afternoon again.
gosh, so it really ended up like that.
taking almost a full day to recover from a drinking night out (im not even really hangover ok!)?!

geez.

Rising COE

and so, COE has risen past the $90k mark yesterday.
i mean, woah, this is getting totally ridiculous.
saw the news and this car salesperson was saying that its fear and uncertainty pushing up the COE prices.
people are scared that it will continue to rise so more flock to get it NOW than future.
i say bullshit.

is this really a case of demand and supply that COE prices are being pushed up.
can u imagine a whole horde of low, average, middle income people out there rushing to snap up the $90k COE in case it goes up further?
in the first place, $90k is definitely not affordable for most people being the annual income for many.
it would be more like a case of many rich people wanting to get the first hand audi, bmw, merc asap because they just cant stand their 2 years old audi, bmw, merc anymore?
okok, being a little extreme here.

but i really dont think its just a simple case of dd ss here.
and this whole COE saga/joke just goes to show that income disparity is a fact in sg now.

the next leo for me?

i realised i've watched quite a fair bit of channing tatum's movies!
- step up
- the eagle
- GI Joe
- She's the man
- Dear John
- Haywire
- the vow

upcoming ones that im interested:
- GI Joe:retaliation
- magic mike

maybe not 21 jumpstreet. ha

been working kinda hard at work so its time for retail therapy once more!
some needs some wants but making me a happy woman nevertheless.
1) books books and more books! i bought the hunger games trilogy, 2 more fiction books & a tin tin comic set.
bookdepository is so cool and there is an additional 10% off for mth of may! *woot*
2) the new le blanc chanel cleanser to try
3) shu uemura blusher since my existing one is finishing
4) diorsnow compact powder to try since my existing chanel one is finishing as well
5) a peplum top & dress from bysi (which the husband has kindly offered to pay - hiaks!)

adding on (hehe), 2 more tops from gg5..

a great way to start a weekend!
ok, gonna go catch "the vow" soon.
channing tatum... hmmmm. :)

long easter weekend!

we had a fun-filled long weekend!
on fri morning, we had breakfast with the boys, do household chores like its a saturday morning while the boys play on their own.
we made the boys took their naps earlier at 1+pm so that we can move out of the house earlier in the late afternoon.

plan for the evening: yz's kindy has requested a mini project which required us to bring him to alkaff bridge @ robertson quay.
it actually turned out to be a fun outing with the boys.


walking towards the bridge after parking - with 包 in their hands.


tada! @ the bridge. took a slow stroll across it and we had fun identifying the different types of circles on it.

part of the project requires him to draw his version of the bridge - "picasso" hard at work.

after that, we settled for an early dinner at brussel sprouts.

been wanting to bring the husband to try their mussels for the longest time and was so glad to do so finally.
the place was kid-friendly enough with their kids menu so the whole family can enjoy dinner together in a new eatery place!
im in love with the lindeman fruit beer there - yum yum!
desserts was at Laurent’s Café & Chocolate Bar - yum yum as well!

all of us had an early night on fri, gleeful with the thought that tomorrow is only saturday!

saturday afternoon was spent at GS's housewarming @ kovan residences.

her place is quite near our house, just a 10-15mins drive away? and her view at #17 is good! :)
the boys had fun playing with all the toys at her house and when all 5 kids were playing @ her balcony, her place looked kinda like a childcare centre. LOL.
we left ard 2+pm for the boys to come home for a quick catnap.

in the evening, i decided to bring all of us out to catch mirror mirror at tampines!
it was an early evening show at 7pm, just nice after dinner.
and at 26m old, YR fared better at watching this show compared to the last one "John Carter" given mirror mirror's more animated and lively action sequences.
still, had to resort to my phone games to occupy him towards the end of the show. ha.
YZ enjoyed the show since this is a mild version of the actual snow white story.
for me, i think its just julia roberts 撑ing the whole show up. the plot and other characters are really just so-so.

due to the activities during the day and movie, the boys K.Oed fairly early before 10pm.
leaving hubbi and myself to catch yet another show on our own "big" screen - the descendants.
again, its good but not as good as i expected like the artist.
i think i need to catch films earlier before their avalanche of good reviews.

sunday morning was spent catching yet another show with the boys - MI4!
hahah, its an old show but ive only managed to watch it now.
not too bad! tom cruise still has it at his age!

evening was spent at my nephew's 7yo bday.
quite a yawn for me though im sure the husband enjoyed catching up with his family and the boys playing with their cousins. @_@.

im counting down to this weekend already!

hot video! beat that, gaga!