Day 6-Milan/Lugano

Temperature fell further in Milan, but luckily there was no rain.  I thought Milan will be boring since it’s like a financial capital. Surprisingly, I quite like Milan. We began our tour of Milan with a visit to a castle, Castello Sforzesco. The castle looks nice with the fountain in front of it.  The castle was originally a fort.

<Castello Sforzesco>

<Scenery from the back of castle>

We toured the city in our coach and the local guide initially wanted to bring us to tour San Siro, AC Milan and Inter Milan’s home stadium, but the stadium was closed due to a Champion league match that night. Thereafter, we went to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the nearby Milan Cathederal. Milan Cathedral is the fourth largest church in Europe. I like the church which has an elaborate architecture and nice colour. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele has quite a few branded goods boutique. I went into Prada to take a look at my target. The shop has a whole range of the targeted bag. As a Champion league match would be held at San Siro that particular night, there were many football fans hanging around the area in their jerseys.   

<San Siro. I find Old Trafford better maintained. San Siro looks a bit old from its exterior.>

  <Top & Left: Milan Cathedral>

 <Galleria Vittorio Emanuele -

with pictures depicting 4 continents- Asia, America,Europe and Africa>

After Milan, we proceeded to cross the Italian/Swiss border into Switzerland. We stopped at Lugano for a toilet and photo stop. The scenery is definitely different from Italy. The Italian cities that we visit are more of human beauty while Switzerland is more of natural beauty.

 

<This is what I mean... Natural beauty @ Switzerland>

We made our photo and toilet stop at Lugano. It was a pity that we couldn’t stop earlier as the scenery was much more awesome. Switzerland gives a peaceful feel while Italy is more crowded. Switzerland has a small population and that explains for the more peaceful feel. It’s all about mountains. We passed by many mountains along the way.

<Lake at Lugano>

We reached Lucerne at night and had our set dinner in the hotel. Our tour guide told us that there’s a supermart in the basement area. I was initially quite fascinated by the idea of a supermart in the basement area, but it was actually a supermart in the basement whose entrance is just a few steps from our hotel. As we thought the supermart was in the hotel, we were not prepared with thick clothings and my dad had to run back to the hotel without any jacket on. Even though it’s in the basement area, it’s still rather cold.

<Night scenery from the hotel room in Lucern. I quite like this hotel room. It's spacious!>

Day 5-Venice

Next city is a unique city. As we heard that a previous tour group had to delay their tour of Venice due to flood the day before, we were a bit worried about the water level at Venice that morning. We even drove near Venice to take a glimpse of the high water level the night before. 

Just before we departed to catch our water taxi, our tour guide told us that a few of the luggages belonging to another Singapore tour group had been loaded onto a wrong tour bus. The tour guide went on to mention that the hotels in Europe typically hired part timer to carry the luggage should the customers requested for it. Hence, it’s far safer to load our own luggage. As our coach passed that Singapore tour group, I saw my colleague! I knew she’s touring Europe as well but I didn’t expect to bump into her since she set off 2/3 days earlier than me.

The tour guide also reminded us that Venice is a mafia territory which explains why they charge the highest price for toilet facilities- Euro 3.5 per person!

It’s a gloomy day yet again. The scenery was rather blurry as we took the water taxi to Venice. We reached St Mark Square just before the flood began. The water level started to rise as we left St Mark Square for the glass blowing demonstration. Platforms had been raised for people to walk on as the water level rose. We passed by various shops selling masks or glasses as we proceeded to the glass blowing demonstration. It's free and easy time thereafter. As the weather was rather gloomy and the place was flooding, nobody asked the guide about taking the gondola.

<Left:Water level begins to rise ; Right:Whole place flooded>

<Typical Venice canal and bridge>

<Flooded St Mark's Square>

 <Beautiful glasses>

<Bridge of Sighs- The bridge links the former prison to the interrogation room in the Doge’s Palace. It is said to offer the prisoner a last glimpse of the outside world >

<The gondolas>

<The dry part with stalls selling Venetian masks>

Lunch was great! We finally could escape from pasta/pizzas. Lunch was a mixed fish set with calamari and a tasty Italian  champagne! The champagne really has a fantastic taste. Yummy! The waiter was kind of friendly as well . He is a Singaporean!

  <Nice Italian Champagne>

<Calamari & lasagna>

<Mixed fishes set>

<Tiramisu>

 

<Venetian bridge and gondola>

 

Day 3-Pisa

We departed Rome for Pisa after the breakfast. It’s a 4 hour drive to Pisa. The weather wasn’t fantastic at Pisa either but it’s much better than the day before. It was drizzling while we walked to Piazza del Duomo  aka Piazza del Miracoli (Square of Miracles). I like this place as the marble monuments are beautiful. Besides the famous Leaning tower of Pisa, there’s also the Duomo, Baptistery and the bell tower. The meals at Pisa are rather cheap. They are around Singapore restaurant prices even after currency conversion.

  

<Piazza del Duomo>

 <Closer look at the Leaning tower of Pisa>

 After Pisa, we proceeded to Tuscancy region for dinner. The entrance to the restaurant was nicely decorated but narrow. It's a 3 course dinner with hams as starter,Florentine steak as the main course and ice-cream as dessert. We were also given a bottle of red wine per table. There's also live band at the restaurant. This meal is the most expensive out of all meals included in the tour package but it's not really my favourite meal.

 

 <Starter>

<Florentine steak>

Day 4-Florence

We started the our tour with a panoramic view of Florence at Piazza Michelangelo. There’s a replica copy of “David” at Piazza Michelangelo. As we embarked on the walking tour next, the rain started to pour once again. The local guide brought us to the Duomo, Door of Paradise, Piazza della Signoria, and Ponte Vecchio. Duomo is one of the top 5 largest churches in the world, but it’s much less elaborate as compared to St Peter’s Basilica. The only thing fascinating is the ancient clock which shows the time using the time towards sunset. Piazza della Signoria has been described as an open-air museum due to the various sculptures in the plaza. Ponte Vecchio is an old bridge that remains undestroyed during WWII. This area has lotsa shops selling gold. I didn’t enjoy Florence as I didn’t really find the sights interesting but I must say the heavy rain may have dampened the mood and spoilt the scenery. As my parents were a bit sick of western food, we had sushi for lunch. The sushi is really simple and expensive! The sky brightened up as we walked back to our tour bus.

<Florence from Piazza Micheangelo>

 <Replica copy of "David">

 

<Left: Duomo, Right: Door of Paradise>

<Ponte Vecchio>

<Blue sky as we left Florence>

This is a long outdated post. Didn't have time to post about my holidays after I am back..
This is my second time to Europe but it's with tour group touring 2 different cities from my first trip. Hence, it's definitely a different experience. On a whole, it's less tiring as compared to my first trip. It's more of touch and go at each sights and there's less walking since we are traveling with tour group. The accommodation is also of a higher quality. However, I lost the freedom to roam around or spend more time at sights which I like. The Europeans I met this time round appear to be less friendly as compared to my first trip there.

First day- Rome :

Flew to Rome via Emirates. I didn't like the flight. It's not as comfortable as the Emirates flight I took to Brisbane last year. The seats are narrow and the leg space isn't too fantastic.  I will try to stick to SQ fights for long haul travel in the future.. After refueling and transit stops at Sri Lanka and Dubai, we reached Rome in the afternoon. We were sent to the hotel directly. I initially harboured the thought of taking the hotel's shuttle to the nearest metro station, but unfortunately the shuttle bus has to be prebooked before arrival. The hotel is far from the city center or even the nearest metro station. Hence, we were kinda stuck at the hotel for the first day/night. There's a supermarket and a electronics megastore near the hotel, so we went to shop around. This area reminds me of our own IKEA-cum Giant cum Courts megastore in Tampines. It's a relaxing day as we went to bed after our short tour of the megastores. We woke up and had dinner at the hotel since there were no other options. We were the only customers when we first arrived at the restaurant. It's a weird feeling.
We had a bottle of red wine and pasta for dinner. The pasta was kind of plain. I like the noodles itself but it's really too plain.

<Dinner at the hotel>

2nd day-Rome:

We started the day with a visit to the Colosseum. The local guide was detailed and informative. We were given some time to tour the exterior of the Colosseum, a over 1000 year old ancient monument. The weather turned cloudy when we were there. It would have been more lovely on a sunny day.

<Colosseum>

Our next stop was Trevi fountain. The rain started to pour while we were on the way there and it's kinda irritating to walk in the rain. I wanted to buy the recommended Gelato near the Trevi fountain but gave up due to the long queues created by tourists. Rome is full of tourists and I didn't like crowd.

<Trevi fountain>

Lunch was pasta and pizza.  It's tomato based and kinda plain with few ingredients as compared to pizzas in Singapore. After lunch, we proceeded to the Vatican museum. It's a long long queue in the heavy rain. It's really cold! I regretted not bringing my gloves along! Thank god my mum has enjoyed it! She said that the queue is kinda worthwhile. Personally, I like the Gallery of maps which showcase the painting of the topographical maps of the whole of Italy. I find Sistine chapel a bit disappointing though. But I must say the artistes were really genius! It's a challenge to paint the walls and the high ceilings in the olden days where technology is not so advanced.Photography and videography is prohibited in the Sistine chapel and hence there's no pictures posted here.

<St Peter's Basilica from the Vatican museum>

 <Nice ceiling in Vatican museum>

 

 

<The above 3 pictures were taken in the Gallery of maps >

After a quick tour at the museum, we went to St Peter Basilica, the largest church in the world. It's really impressive with the elaborated designs and paintings. It also houses the tombs of the various popes.

<Exiting from St Peter Basilica-- Vatican city>

Our next destination was the Spanish Steps. Some of our tour members was busy touring the branded boutiques whie my parents and I spent our time at a local restaurant. Food at the restaurant was so much better than that in the hotel! I ordered Risotto for my parents and mum ordered a strawberry cocktail for herself!

 <Nice Risotto>

 

<Spanish Steps>

The tour of the Spanish Steps spelled the end of our short tour of Rome. We would move on to another city the next day.

Thoughts about Rome:

Its an interesting city. As the guide described, it showcases the ancient world, the Catholic churches & the smallest state in the world and the modern architectures. Don't expect to see a clean city though.

I am enjoying lst carefree Jan period ever since graduation. Shortbreak before joining new company.

It's a strange feeling when I tendered. I didn't feel as happy as I thought I will be. It could be because it's just too many years with my firm. Boss comes and talk to me etc.. But the feeling slowly changes as I went through my notice period. It upsets me that whatever I saw and felt previously was not real.. Whatever care and concern I felt previously was all fake. It's all self interests and hidden agenda. I felt disappointed but I learnt an important lesson.  There's really no need to be so committal. No one is going to remember the hard work and dedication when you choose to leave.

I am happy that I make the decision to leave. I have to give up in terms of monetary but I really think that it's a right decision when I serve out my notice. I am sure the per hour rate is going to be higher than previously..

I will miss my friends and juniors in the firm. I know that I will never be able to enjoy such a close bonding and friendship in any other commercial firm. It's a familiar place and I will miss it.

Recently heard from a junior that his friend passed away recently due to a flu virus attack on the heart. Another colleague is recovering from cancer. The colleague's case felt very close to me.. Anything can happen..

It's important to lead life to the fullest while we still can.

I really wish to exit from my industry so that I can have more free time for myself..

Tons and tons of things to do.. I feel that I am back to my senior years where I have loads of small jobs and this is really killing me. I no longer have the energy/motivation to work till 5am or 6am..

I need to exit.. Friends have done it and it motivates me.. I really hope for the best  in my search..

Sometimes I feel that my addiction to travel is in itself linked to my stress level.

I like to watch sequels.. Have watched 2 recently- Toy Story and Eclipse...I didn't watch Toy Story 2, but I watched the lst series.. I remembered myself liking Toy Story. Same applies to the third series. I find it touching..

Didn't enjoy Eclipse that much though.. I still like the lst movie the best.. Hope that the last 2 series will be good!

Waiting for Harry Potter to be out.. That's my favourite.. I like the last book so have been waiting for the movie to be out..

Periods of mixed emotions. There were periods of joy.. I had enjoyed my training because it is offsite and with sponsored hotel buffet lunches.. One friend commented that if it's such a life everyday, there's no need to quit..

Received the all important email before the letter is released. Another milestone reach and hence another milestone training. It will be offsite and I look forward to it because I will be attending it with a group of close friends. Envisage it to be another Bintan trip, but well.. it's not so relaxing as there will be various assignments during this training..

As I reach the milestone, I reflected on the years before this milestone. This route has not been smooth throughout.. I am glad to say that I have developed and grew during this period. My confidence level, communication skills, technical skills .. If I had not stayed till this milestone, I might not have developed as much.. At this stage, I am wondering what's my next path... I cannot imagine myself staying till the next milestone.. But I do need a bit luck to graduate.

Very glad that certain nice pp reach their own milestone as well.

Wth milestone reached came the heavy workload.. I m back to the days where I am loaded with many small tasks.. I feel that I won't be able to take it.. Need to graduate.

Today is the last day of activity in New Zealand. We would be flying back to Singapore the next morning. It's a day of travelling as we travelled from Queenstown to Christchurch. Our first stop was at the Mrs Jones Fruitshop. As one tour mate requested for an opportunity to take pictures of sheeps, the driver tried to make such an arrangement. The weather wasn't too good as we passed by Mount Cook region without catching a glimpse of the highest mountain in New Zealand.

Lunch was at the area near Lake Tekapo. The top of mountain ranges that were viewable from the lake was covered with snow. As  mum wanted Chinese food, we took lunch at this Chinese restaurant. The food wasn't fantastic though. After lunch, I strolled towards the lake to take pictures. Our next stop, Church of Goodshephard is within walking distance.

<Lake Tekapo taken from the Church>

It's another few hours of boring ride to Christchurch. There's a stop at a shop along the way, but we weren't too interested in the products that they sold which include beauty products and some health supplements.

We reached Christchurch in the evening and checked in to the hotel before having our meal at a Chinese restaurant. Our bed room is huge! There are two bedroom. One bedroom comprises of two queen size beds while the other bedroom has a king size bed. This can easily accomodate my whole family.

As the bus driver drove us to the Chinese restaurant, he warned us on the likelihood of bumping into drunkards should we roam near the "Manchester street" which is littered with pubs. Dinner servings is rather huge. We all wonder how restaurants in NZ survive as there were no customers other than us. It appears to be a quiet period.

We decided to have a short stroll along the streets of Christchurch city after dinner as it's simply too early after our dinner. The shops were selling mainly similar items and hence we didn't really feel like extending our stroll. It's a nice and cooling weather though and how I wished Singapore weather is like that cooling..