Stella

Day 9 – joke of the day.

“Knock. Knock”

“Who’s there?”

“Boo”

“Boo who?”

“Oh don’t be a carrot 🥕 it’s only a joke!”

Today we got a train  to Arc de Triumph and saw the big arch. We threw the frisbee 🥏 to each other, then we walked to champs Elysées and had a look. We went into a beautiful jewellery shop and inside we saw some beautiful steps. After that we went into Tiffany’s shop and we were wonderfully greeted by a nice man who held open the door for us.

Then we went and ate a little bit of baguette 🥖 near a fountain . Next we went and saw the Place de la Concorde. Sadly many years ago people got their heads chopped off there. Then we went and ate Nutella crepes – they were yummy .  We looked at another pretty archway, this time it was near the Louvre, then we walked home  Today was awesome.

Daisy

Today, today, today. Ahh. Well. We caught a train  to the Arc de Triomphe. It was about the size of fifty elephants  and can you believe the fact that it was hand carved! Wow! And 50 metres high – can you imagine that! We saw the tomb of the unknown soldier. There was also a forever lasting flame.

We walked up the road to another arch near the louvre it wasn’t as big as the other one. Then we walked to the place were the old guillotine was and then ate chocolate crepes. We thought how hard it must of been to build all this but luckily there wasn’t a guillotine there at all .

Jac

Had a touch of déjà vu (best to have that experience in Paris as it is a French phrase) when Dan asked me to grab a baguette for morning tea, then I realised there is nothing spooky about that, because we’ve been having that ‘experience’ for the past 4 mornings!

Our visit to Tiffany & Co today was memorable. I thought about getting the silver whistle as I’m soccer coach / umpire for Daisy’s U11 team, but at 340 Euros it seemed a bit rich. At that price I’d not only want it to give out an authorative ‘don’t mess with me ‘ sound, but also provide enough blow to air condition a small family room!

Hearing bits of cross information, Daisy thought the famous actress in the photo at Tiffany’s was Tiffany Hepburn-she was probably closer to guessing a band member of Bardot! Also, if you feel you’ve got everything and the dog and cat are suffering from FOMO, then keep those purse strings loose because Tiffany & Co also have a canine and feline range. The down side of a purchase is that the collar insurance policy would restrict walking to low risk times, becoming a toss-up between your dog’s health and status anxiety!

Talking collars, Dan has recovered from the incident of “stripe collar’ crime yesterday. It was a cute shirt but I’m sure it will give her an excuse for finding a Parisian replacement!

As we left Tiffany’s, Daisy asked one of the purchase assistants “ Does it cost a lot of money to work here?” The woman smiled and gracefully moved away (lost in translation) leaving Daisy to ponder how she could avoid a job that kept her in debt just by turning up for the day!

Guest Blogger: Rattle Teddy

Ok Bresnehan family, I’ve been in Paris 5 days and haven’t seen the light of day. You’ve climbed towers, looked at art, and enjoyed plat de jours and I’ve spent 5 days on a pillow looking at the ceiling – no way for a teddy to spend a European holiday! So I waited until you all went, then blew the joint in search of a little ‘joy de vivre’ for myself!

I called into Le Bonhomme de Bois to get a closer look at Mister who had stolen Stella’s affection right from under my pillow.

Mmmm, I can see the attraction, but that guy is big, suitcase-big, and not half as cuddly as this dude. I’ve got the sort of shape to go any place!

Once I realised there was no competition, I thought I’d enjoy myself by cruising around Marais to see the sights….

I had a manicure and spa….

Then checked out the real estate…

Perused my petite dejeuner options…..

Patisserie choices…..

Discovered a likeness to Salvador Dali…..

and then Foxy and I found a nice spot under a tree for a siesta!

Looking forward to Dijon and some mustard action!
Love Rattle Teddy xx

Dan

6 Days; walking, talking, exploring. I have thoroughly enjoyed piecing together the geography and history of this fascinating city, thankful for all of those nocturnal hours I spent last August completing a 4-D puzzle of Paris. Who would have thought such preparations could have so enriched our 2019 Parisian experience? If you are planning a trip here in the near future don’t hesitate to ask for a loan (of the puzzle that is!)

 

Dan

It is always important to factor in toilet stops when travelling with children.  The obligatory ‘go before you leave’ has been instilled in ours from a very early age. However, when you’re out and about for most of the day, it’s very easy to be caught in less-than-optimal conditions for such necessities.

From our experience, most Parisian café toilets are located down a steep flight of narrow stairs, often with no room to pass another who is alighting or descending, and usually with only one restroom available.

Yesterday after lunch, some of us were exposed to much more than anticipated. We were in line (for longer than hoped), when a man pushed his way down the stairs and into a door-less room alongside the adjacent locked cubicle. He unzipped and proceeded to use a urinal that was tucked away in the corner, oblivious (?) that he was in full view of the waiting female masses on the stairwell.  Daisy wanted to see what the man was doing in there, and with little room to move it was a case of blocking her view and talking over the sound stream!

Not one to be fobbed off, Daisy loudly insisted on knowing what was going on and asked why she couldn’t look.  Given the situation, insisting on ensuring the man’s privacy didn’t quite cut it, but I tried to explain that it wasn’t something that she should be looking at…the smirks from the onlookers didn’t help my cause!

Thankfully it wasn’t long before the lockable cubicle was free, and we could escape the ‘stream’ of males who were making their way down the stairwell.  Who would have thought there was a blog in a bog in Paris?

Jac

Easter Sunday in Marais!

The French Easter bunny delivered chocolate on a stick – and fine chocolate it was. The girls had an Easter visit at home last week so couldn’t believe their luck when EB delivered again today. Dan is very protective of her ‘before breakfast’ chocolate and snarls if you get within a measured bite of her Easter Sunday treat. Some traditions never change, and there must be some genetic influence, as all the Bresnehans were chocolate-less by 7.30am, with moi completing my chocolate eating duties by afternoon tea.

We had fresh raspberries from the street market. The market was full of colour and a gastronomic delight, with a huge range of fromage, fresh fruit and vegetables. We got another type of French cheese to try tonight. Continuing the “ Express” thread, we discovered a 24/7 pizza dispensing machine. Might be good for convenience but makes you wonder whether you get the “hold the pineapple” option!

We thought it best to avoid the Champs Elysee as there was news that the protesters might redo their thing today. Rather than risk our lives, we decided to visit the Père-Lachaise cemetery, final resting place of some very famous people. We saw the graves of Moliere, Chopin, The Doors front man Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf. We managed to be on the tail end of a tour guide commentary about Edith Piaf which was very interesting. She was blind when she was 3 years old until 7 and was discovered singing in a bar in Montmartre. She performed for the last time 3 months before she died from cancer. It sounds morbid but the cemetery was a very peaceful and decorative celebration of life.

We are having a pretty restful day today, recharging the batteries to go again in tourist mode to the Champs-Elysee tomorrow. If anyone’s looking for a good holiday read, I’d recommend Boy Swallows Universe.

Stella

Mum and mumma decided that it would be a good idea to go to… Sorry emergency   joke of the day. “What do you call a pharaoh in busy traffic? Toot-en-car  man…
Ok…they thought it would be a good idea  to go to the grave yard. We saw all the famous graves. Oh and I forget to mention Mum got a nice shirt  on the way.

When we got back from the grave yard we went to sit down at a park. Then a bit later when we left, Mum forgot to pick up the bag  and when Mum noticed and Mumma went back for it, Mum’s shirt  was stolen. I felt sorry for mum. We didn’t get the shirt  back but mum said it didn’t matter. Today was fun

Daisy

We had a homey day in a graveyard. We looked at all of the famous graves and wondered what it wood be like to be Dead  I think Stella knows!

After Descending from the graveyard we wandered around to find a good place for lunch. On the way we stopped for a rest at this place. It was a clothing shop. Dan bought a top and put it in a bag  along with the receipt. We went to a park as well, but alas when we sat down at the restaurant later, the bag, the shirt and the receipt were stolen. Luckily her pin wasn’t on the receipt. Poor Dan!

Dan

Not one to go anywhere under-prepared, I spent some time this morning reading up on the history of Montmartre and studying the Metro Map, working out the best route to get us there. I was able to reel off some amazing facts to excite the troops before I led them into the Bastille Metro tunnels to board the #8 to Madeline and the #12 to Abbesses. However, when confronted with train station closures across the city and everyone on our train being turfed out at Richelieu Drouot, I had to go back to the drawing board (or rather the CityMapper App) to get my bearings and lead the family by foot up the hill.

The walk into Montmartre delivered more than a train ride ever could (and a data bill in excess of $100 according to my text message from Telstra ). We excitedly explored the smaller streets and walked past less known village shops.  The chocolate museum and the Lindt store delivered free Easter treats and the giant Lindt bunny in the front window was lucky enough to score Stella’s inordinate affection.

We entered the over-crowded, tourist-ridden Sacre Coeur via many sets of stairs that Stella ran up effortlessly  (NB her legs were “rusty” yesterday when we were at the Louvre and I wasn’t sure she would even survive the first flight!) We sat and ate our morning tea baguettes in front of the church, overlooking the magnificent Parisian cityscape that stretched before us.  Once the eating and frisbee capers were out of the way, we went exploring. Daisy was so excited to be amongst artists doing what she loves to do that she told me she felt ‘giddy’ with excitement. It was wonderful to hear her speak to the locals and tell them that she was an artist too!

Unfortunately our girls were also exposed to the “underbelly” of the tourism business, witnessing scammers fleecing tourists of their cash.  We saw the “string men” and the “cup scam”, and then spent a long time talking to the girls about what we had seen and the impact that those actions had on the people involved.  Stella was so upset at seeing the reaction of a lady who lost 100 Euros in the cup scam that she said she would go and tell the lady that it was a scam and tell others too so that they don’t get caught. I must say the whole experience sent me back to LA, 2006, where I was caught out by scammers with a double or nothing number game that was “too good to lose”.

Tomorrow we are hoping that the protesters will disburse and we can see the famous sights of the Champs Elysee without station closures or other misadventures.

Stella

OMG today was so awesome 😎 We caught a train 🚆to…

Sorry 😐 emergency 🚨 joke alert…What do you call a pig 🐷 with no legs🦵? A pork slider – he he 🥴

Ok we caught a train to part of the place we wanted to go, but when we tried to catch the next one the station was cut off. So annoyingly we had to walk the rest of the way. But when we got there it was so beautiful 😍 There was so much art 🖼 People could get the shape of their head cut out on a piece of paper 📝 and you could buy art and lots more. I enjoyed today 💩

Daisy

Today was really fun. We all got on the train  but unfortunately the train station was closed for the day, but that was only a few lines. We had to walk the rest of the way.🏼‍♀️It was a long walk. When we finally got to this mysterious place there were loads of artists drawing portraits. Wow it was amazing. The experience gave me giddy feelings in my tummy.

Jac

Today we were patisserie abstinent and survived! It was a day of climbing as we ventured into Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur, which gave us an amazing view of Paris. It was great wandering through the cobbled streets of Montmartre and seeing the Moulin Rouge. The girls also captured another frisbee moment outside the Sacre Coeur.

The girls have witnessed and been quickly educated about the Dark Humans of Paris, with the cup scam today and yesterday on the way to the Louvre we saw a man chasing a pickpocket. The guy was so quick on his feet there was no way he was going to get caught. As you do, I fantasised that if he had run past us, I would have stuck out my foot, tripped him over, he’d be pinned down, the gendarmerie would arrest him, and I would have single handedly saved the day! What most likely would have happened is that he would have taken my leg with him and I would have spent the rest of the trip writing blogs from a hospital bed!

However, we also saw the best side of human nature today, when a lovely Paris Metro train driver created a wonderful memory for Stella. While we were waiting for our train, Stella waved to the train driver as he approached the underground station. He saw her and beeped the horn, not just a beep, but to the tune of: de-de de de de -de de!

Purchased my first piece of Paris fashion today and, as always, a little something for the kitchen .

Stella

Today we went to the Louvre. Emergency  joke of the day. Who loves to sit on the toilet  all day long? Lou-wees.

Ok back to business! We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa and lots of lovely carved Greek statues. We even saw a mummified cat . On the way back I bought a pocket watch. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fun. I enjoyed today🥳🤩🤪️🤣🥰🤪🤩🥳🤯🤫🤤🥴🤠🤡

 

Jac

So exciting to come face to face with the Mona Lisa and to wonder what was behind that famous smirk; maybe “ You might not think I’m much of a looker now, but wait 500 years and it will be all about me” # IMona

Continuing the thread, Stella asked me “Mumma, is the person who painted the Mona Lisa famous?” and I replied “Yes Stella, he is famous and his name is Leonardo Da Vinci”. Stella followed up with, “Mumma is Leonardo Da Vinci more famous than Sia?” The only answer I could give was that Leonardo Da Vinci didn’t do a version of Clap your Hands and Sia only ever painted the town red, so that makes them pretty much on par!

One of the things that is very noticeable at the ‘Paris Big Things’ is the long queues at the women’s toilets. My solution is to have a couple of designated “Express” toilets where your business is over within 2-4 minutes and then you’re out of there! Any longer, then the toilet flushes, the seat goes down, and the door opens*.

We’ve already got “Express” in banks, supermarkets and airports so why not in other “convenience” areas! But we might need to have a closer look at whether “Express” concepts of  “8 items or less” and “bag drop” are transferable…

*A sense of urgency, achieving KPIs and avoiding embarrassing situations are proven psychological motivators.

Daisy

Today we caught a train  to the Louvre and we saw the most important, amazing, incredible, expressive, accomplished painting ever! And it was the…Mona Lisa! It blew my mind! But there were actually better paintings in the Louvre. I mean, people think that the Mona Lisa is the most famous panting ever but this does not mean it is the best!

After that we had lunch 🥙 at this restaurant and it was yummy in my tummy. Then we went home.

Dan

Even though I had visited the Louvre back in 2012, I was not prepared for my reaction to the architectural delights that awaited us today. Of course I had anticipated the glass pyramids, and the external structure of the buildings, but upon alighting the Sully entrance staircase on our quest to see the Mona Lisa, I had to stop and take a moment to savour the enormous space around us, with its ornate ceilings and towering arches. The building was as impressive as the art pieces themselves, and I felt very privileged to spend a few hours within the grandeur of the old palace, wondering what secrets those walls could tell.

I also relished seeing Daisy and Stella’s reactions to all that they saw; paintings, decorative arts and antiquities! Daisy astutely wondered why there were no landscapes in the Italian painting collection and Stella’s unconventional viewing positions ensured no image was left unanalysed.

Tomorrow we are heading to Montmartre and Daisy especially is excited to mix with the local artists and share some of her recent works!

PS I saw Stella’s Mister today and added a picture to her previous blog post and song that she wrote for him.  Not sure he fits future son-in-law prospects but I’ll leave that up to you, the viewer to decide!

Daisy

To day we got a baguette 🥖and had breakfast to get prepared for a very, very long walk to the Eiffel Tower. We went in really big lines and went to the very top. 🏼When we finally got home  from our very, very long walk we were very tired and settled down for bed . PS: I had a muscle pot for lunch.🏼 PPS: the more muscles you eat make you strong

Stella

We had some cereal 🥣 for…oh sorry  I just died. Ok I’m better now. Where was I?Oh yeah. We had some cereal for breakfast  and then got prepared for a very, very, very, very long day p.s. Mum has a big nose . Ok I’m just going to skip the boring part and go to the exiting part. So we went to the Eiffel Tower and there was such a big line up just to get passed the security and then there was an even longer line just to get the tickets  then we had to wait for the lift to come. But it was worth waiting. The view was spectacular.🥈️🇫🇷

 

Jac

Pat on the back as I’m one blog ahead- nice to get copy in to the Editor early for publication. She will be well-pleased!

Still progressing through the stages of jet lag, we woke early and sensibly ate cereal, fruit and yoghurt at about 5.30am and then let our heads go with the patisseries at the second sitting at about 7.30am. The local boulangerie provided us with warm and crusty baguettes, croissants and pain du chocolat.

Highlight was our elevation up the Eiffel Tower which the girls will fill you in. We covered 20 kms of walking to and from the Tower and Marais, which was some well-needed exercise. We’ve decided to frisbee across Europe alongside some famous sights. Forgetting to take the trusty frisbee to the Eiffel Tower, we found an excellent replacement in Daisy’s newly purchased beret. Daisy threatened us with adverse action if we dropped it, hence our catching was spot on, captured in action by Dan.

We arrived home pretty tired and unfortunately an unnamed member of our family seated themselves on a metal replica of the Eiffel Tower. This is one of those souvenirs, along with the Statue of Liberty, that is best positioned on a mantle piece than on a dining chair. At least it was a reminder that we got to the top of the Eiffel Tower and the top of the Eiffel Tower was got!

Dan

Ok, let me just put it out there, French front-loading washing machines are not worthy of an hour of your life unless you are absolutely desperate for clean underwear. And don’t try googling for help or watching you tube How-tos, they all say you’re better off going to the laundromat!  Also, I suggest that you tackle the job after a full night’s sleep, perhaps in an Air B&B that isn’t located opposite the Yellow Mad Monkey Bar and without children who wake up at 2.30am thinking its morning and wondering where the party is.  But that’s not me (smug smile, loving glance towards clothes airer)

And so to today…I learned that Daisy & Stella’s current knowledge of Parisian geography can all be attributed to the TV show Miraculous.  I couldn’t believe the conversation atop the Eiffel Tower where Daisy was pointing out areas where Lady Bug had escaped from Time Breaker and where Chloe had been accumatised by Hog Moth (or was that Cat Noir?)  Anyway, they knew the place without actually being there and were totally excited to tick this off their “Must See List” for Paris.  

Tomorrow: The Louvre! 

 

 

Dan

I love a challenge. I guess that’s why I also love to travel, as it provides lots of opportunities to problem solve and deal with random events that come along.

In Singapore we tackled the train system (what a joy to travel in a place where the trains arrive and depart on time) and we overcame the heat (nothing like an airconditioned bar to make one feel refreshed!)

On landing in Paris, we were tired and grumpy (as you would be at 2.30am “our time” with only an hour or so nap during 17 hours of transit) and had to face immigration officers, barking orders at us in French and corralling us into lines with hundreds of other travellers looking similarly dishevelled and bleary-eyed.  After 10 or more minutes as our line progressed forwards, I realised that we were in the wrong line – we were not EU Passport Holders!

I looked around and spotted the All Passport Holders section, which had huge lines stretching back as far as I could see. With Stella and Daisy beyond anything other than sleep, I moved to the side of the EU line and spoke to the officer in charge in the best high school French I could muster, explaining that I had made a mistake. I’m not sure whether it was the appearance of the kids, the weariness in my eyes or the quality of my French, but she took pity on us and let us through to the EU Passholder gate and into the baggage claim area.  An hour later we had picked up our cases, navigated the trains to Terminal 1 and found our hotel.  Paris here we are!

Jac

Yay we’ve arrived in Paris… sleep was our top priority and once again the airport hotel served us well. Sad about Notre Dame, which has meant another addition to our list of unvisitable iconic sights #unexpectantly ruined. Allows us to spend more time at some other famous Parisian sites such as the Hard Rock Café at Montmartre!

Settled into our Parisian abode in Marais- great spot and opposite the Mad Monkey nightclub. We’re surrounded by restaurants, cafes and French fashion. My school French is surprisingly intact, with my default being to say the English word in a French accent – and it still seems to work.

Ah yes, those French patisseries – hard to think hips when these calorific delights are passing your lips, along with a fair smattering of Roquefort cheese! Anyway I’ve got a bit of catching up to do following the Emirates strictly vegetarian meal range, which was more rejection than digestion.

Tomorrow will be first off the bucket list for Stella and Daisy- top of the Eiffel Tower…..

Stella

Day 4 – I am Luckily recovering from my death I am very weak but I will right as much as I can.

Okay today was awesome 
We caught a train  into Paris. We walked down into a park and played there for about half an hour then we walked down into the place we were going to stay
at. Then mama and me went for a walk. We went into a toy 🧸 shop and there siting on a stool was the stuffed guy of my life and I just knew that I was meant for him. I even made up a song.

Once I walked into a shop and there siting was that guy that I knew I was meant for. He was 165 dollars  so I could not afford his life. And then later the next day he got married to someone else. When I heard this news my heart got grounded into a million pieces.  But the next day when I walked into the shop, there he was sitting in his regular spot.

Daisy

We woke up to a sunny day. The air was fresh and the sky was bright. Ok enough of that!

We got on a train  bright and early. This took 30 minutes. After that we wandered around our new neighbourhood and I had the most amazing, delicious meal of….. carbonara! 🥰 Stella had a mini burger 🤢🤮, Jacqui had soup 🥣 and advocado toast 🥑 and Dan had a smoked salmon salad and chicken curry 🤣  Finally I will show you what Dan looks like 🤯.

 

Daisy

It was a long, long day. We spent 14 hours on a plane moving from Singapore to Dubai.  We got to watch all the latest movies and we stayed up till 8 o’clock Paris time. 14 hours later, I think I’m a bit like Stella now, dead 🤯.

 

Stella

14 hours later.  I am totally utterly dead  to the power of 100% ☠️☠️☠️.
It took 7 hours for the plane to stop at Dubai and then about 5 min later we took off on another 7 hour flight. On the next flight I watched a funny  movie called The Grinch and there was this really funny part where the Grinch only had a pea for breakfast.

 

Jac

Dan is doing a great job getting us from one spot to the next – thankful that one of us was born with a talent for direction, instruction and arbitration. My strengths lie in squashing carry-on luggage, topping up water bottles and fairly distributing Minties!

It’s a 17 hr plus marathon movie day with the added bonus of seat-service: Economy Gold Class on speed! Having indulged in a movie marathon, I’m in a much better position to post-pick the 2019 Oscar winners having visually devoured The Widows, Vice, The Frontrunner, If Beale Street Could Talk, Wildlife and for a bit of light relief Crazy Rich Asians (not an Oscar winner in sight!) My height anxiety that kicks in above 50m didn’t hit the radar after watching Free Solo where a guy scaled El Chappo at Yosemite without ropes!

When you don’t have a lot of things to do, there is a chance that perspective gets out of whack and today I experienced some menu-envy. I ordered a special in flight vegetarian meal, but wasn’t totally prepared for the consequences. Note to Emirates culinary powers, chocolate raspberry brownies don’t contain pork, beef or chicken giblets and that a vegetarian’s dessert repertoire does extend beyond tapioca pudding and a dried apricot!

Dan

A Star is Born

Mamma Mia Here We Go Again

Crazy Rich Asians

Ladies in Black

I was expecting to cry watching Allie sing Remember Us This Way, but to let those tears flow through Sophia’s baby’s christening, Rachel Chu’s Mahjong win over Nick’s mother and whoever knows what in Goodes Department Store has left me wondering about my current emotional state… Nothing that a good dose of Parisian Couture won’t fix!  

Dan

An elbow in my side and a beam of light shining in my face disturb me from my sleep. The clock silently taunts me. 5am…again!

Stella is curled in a ball against my back, unaware of the impact of her karate manoeuvres and “night lighting” on Mum-Who-Had-to-Share-The-Bed-Because-I’m-Homesick. 

Daisy is sprawled across the other bed, snoring gently beside a cramped Mum-Who-Was-Never-Going-To-Win-Sleeping-Next-To-The Family-Night-Runner.  

I smile to myself realising that

1. We are now officially on holiday
2. Singapore time is 2 hours behind Hobart, and
3. The night light was coming from the vicinity of a fully-stocked mini-bar.

Winning. 

Stella

We are one step closer to glory. We woke up to a lovely breakfast buffet. There were waffles, pancakes 🥞 with chocolate sauce and even croissants and lots of other stuff. Then we went to gardens by the bay in Singapore 🇸🇬. It’s so hot 🥵 We walked to the kids fun water  park but unfortunately it was closed. But on the way back Mum spotted a Komodo dragon  it was so amazing 

Daisy

We were walking around the hot garden of Singapore when an unexpected visitor came lumbering out of the bushes. It was a Komodo dragon. It came up so close we could have touched it!

After all that Jacqueline decided that she wanted to go to Raffles the hotel. It was so hot and stuffy that when we finally got there we felt like falling down only we couldn’t fall down because Raffles was having renovations. We all groaned. We came all this way for nothing!

Suddenly Danielle spotted a sign. It said Raffles drink bar this way⬅️. We followed the sign up the steps and in to the elevator and there we found a big bag of peanuts 🥜 and a table. We were very warmly welcomed by a lovely lady who showed us to our seats.  There we cracked peanuts 🥜 and drank pink lemonade when we were finally finished we played a game of eight-ball before caching the train back.

Jac

The girls were very excited about going to Raffles today, however they were slightly disappointed when we got there as there was no Easter Egg raffle to be entered!

We settled into the Long Bar as the rest of Raffles was under renovation. This added to our growing list of visiting “ temporarily closed for repair and renovation” iconic sights, our last being the cable car on Table Mountain!

In the tradition of car pooling, we decided to do some drink pooling to conserve finances, and shared the original Singapore Sling at $ 35.00* (* historic story surcharge) and a lemonade at $10.00.! We did manage another “pool” by hijacking the eight- ball table and enjoying a game in the classic ambience of the Long Bar. We finished our limited edition Raffles experience devouring peanuts from the specially marked Raffles hessian bag, shelled by our girls who volunteered to be the Nutcrackers-sweet!

Dan

An early start, 5am. The to-do list scrolling through my head like a slot machine, stopping fleetingly to flash up another job to complete before 12.30pm. Toiletry bag…First aid kit…Adapters…Disappointingly, no flashing lights or monetary rewards to recognise the tasks already completed; a reminder that I need to work on my ‘inner coach’ over these next few weeks away.

Stella snuck into Jac’s office at 7 to find out if I’d set up her new iPad for the trip.  “Yes”, I replied, and she tore up the stairs to share the news with Daisy. Of course there was no way back from there. 

“What about mine?” Daisy yelled as she thumped down the stairs, waking Pa Ian and possibly the neighbours too. “Not yet!” didn’t cut it, and I felt the pressure of their presence for the next hour or so as I set up email accounts & downloaded apps ready for our adventures.

• “When is Hilary coming?”  12:30
• “How long now?” 3 hours
• “I’m ready to go” There are still things to do.
• “I’m hungry…” 5 weeks…35 days…24/7…Breathe. Slowly.

“She’s here!”  Straight to the airport.  Check in complete. Finally we take our seats: 29 D, E, F and C. Bring on that wine!

Jac

We just couldn’t get out of the country without incident and “carry on” today! Both Dan’s bag (left the laptop in her backpack) and her face were rejected by Customs. Apparently Dan’s “60-hour a week term-face” did not match her “3-year ago spring chicken” passport photo.

Pretty sure there’ll be better facial alignment on the way home after 5 weeks of the 3 R’s- relax, recharge and refill!

Stella

Day 1 – We flew to Melbourne. Daisy and me got to play on our iPads. Daisy loves to play subway run so she plays that for a while and a few other games on her iPad. As for me, I like to play stick man BMX and piano tiles and so I did that on my iPad and a few other games, but disappointingly there was no wi fi so I couldn’t play my absolute favourite game – maths balance. But the doom has not come yet. The 7 hour flight is awaiting. We are going on emirates for the 7 hour flight. On the Melbourne flight we went on Qantas. SEVEN HOURS LATER. I am totally dead 🤯🥶🤮🤢

Daisy

We are one step closer!
We’ve had a long seven and a half hours on a plane to Singapore and are now in
The Crowne Plaza to wake up to a free breakfast buffet.

One more day in Singapore and we’ll be on a long ten-hour flight, stopping at Dubai for thirty minutes till on we go to Paris 🤪