We were supposed to go to Star Vista for dinner last Saturday and utilised the ice cream coupons from the school - their Children's Day presents. But the washing machine died a sudden death on Friday. Sito and I rushed to Bishan to get a new one that evening and delivery was on Saturday between 6 pm and 10 pm. So our plans went awry. But we have promised ice cream to ZK!
The solution was to go to get ice cream for afternoon tea and come back for dinner at home. But ZY went down for a nap quite late so in the end, I took ZK out on my own.
Smiling his funny smile
Cheese...
"Mmmm, delicious!" *100!
Pony ride!
We went back to Holland Village and got ZK a pair of new shoes! He wanted to try shoes in Spain but he picked out girls' shoes *.* and there weren't much choices in that shop for him. He picked out girls' shoes again this time but we found a nice pair of Mickey Mouse shoes for him - his third pair of MM shoes!
By then he wasn't feeling too good in his tummy - too much ice cream, probably *.* But he still wanted to go to the playground so we did. By then ZY was awake so Sito brought him down.
Papa, blow bubbles!
ZY also liked the bubbles
Then Sito went to pack dinner while I looked after the two boys at the playground. But the wind came and the rain was following so we left quickly. In the end, it didn't rain so Sito managed to get home dry. But ZK didn't feel like eating cos of his tummy. So we fed ZY and put ZY in bed. Then ZK said he was hungry - tummy got ok. Phew! He had some noodles and went to bed.
The next day, we went to the playground again. Just me and ZK as ZY was napping. I made some bubble solution this time but it wasn't as good as the original. Ah well! Went back to bring his scooter when his classmate appeared with his scooter. They had fun scooting around until ZK said he was so tired...
And he rested on the ground! Yucky boy!
Went back for a shower and went over to Mum's place. After their nap, we had fun at Vivocity - we've been there many times but this was the first time we played in the water area at the rooftop!
ZY took off his pants...
ZK wetted his and Mum got him new pants
Stripped both down to the bare necessities!
After a lot of fun, and wiping and cleaning and dressing up again, we had a nice dinner.
Stuffed!
Both kids in the trolley!
Don't strangle DiDi!!
Not like that too!!
But they're cool this way :)
The weekend was kind of extended with Deepavali on Tuesday. We had dim sum for lunch - all of us big clan, except ZK who had only porridge. ZY loved char siew bao, just like his mama :)
MehMeh on piggyback and pig in front - thanks to N
Baby MehMeh on ZY
Showed them videos of Sito and me dancing in the studio and at our wedding - ZY was obviously more interested :)
We went to Mother's place. For the first time, we tried the playground downstairs - it's so different from the sand pit of my day.
ZY going up a plastic slide - my own slide was concrete ok...
And ZK attempted a wall again...
This weekend is looking fun too, with a good start ytd - we were driving down the ramp when ZK saw Papa at the zebra crossing. We waved bye all the way to the traffic light.
And this morning, I had some time alone with ZY as I took him out for the vaccination myself. Think we haven't been out alone since maternity leave!! He had fun at the clinic, running away from me!! When we got back, I saw Sito and ZK walking back from school so we waited for them at the traffic light to go home together.
On the bus - just the two of us :)
Playing on his own while waiting for his turn to be jabbed, ouch!
PS: He climbed up on his own too!
Now, both kids are napping - bliss for me and Sito :) Be heading out later - happy! :)
It's peaceful at home now though it's not a regular Saturday - instead of both kids in child care, I have ZY sleeping at home now as he has a vaccination appointment later this morning.
I sent ZK to school and had a little chat with the infant care teacher. Z came in when ZK was about to leave infant care but she took care of ZY since the beginning. We were talking about the merits of putting kids in child care, especially the part about them making friends. Like ZK who grew up with A and H since infant care time. She was saying how ZY would protect his baby friend, e.g. returned a toy to her when another kid took it.
Went to the market after that to get some breakfast - half-boiled eggs, yum! - and some ingredients for lunch. Bumped into H at the yong tau foo stall with her new helper. She told her that I'm ZK's mummy and gave my legs me a big hug! The warm fuzzy feeling you get from a little girl is kind of different from that from a little boy :)
On another note, I wonder when I could bring ZK to the market or anywhere and he would stand close to me all the time *.*
But ZK has been a pretty good boy lately, though he doesn't like me much for doing what I'm doing - putting him in bed and saying goodnight, leaving him there!
Since last Tuesday, I have not sat with ZK at bedtime, except Friday when Sito and I went out and he got N to sit with him. He came out a few times each evening, smiling, being cheeky, complaining about the scary noise from the camera, etc. Eventually, he fell asleep. One night, he told me nobody loved him cos everybody left the room :( The next day, he said ok when I told him we all loved him very much. Last night, he didn't come out at all.
Eyes wide open as he rolls about
I just haven't been too consistent with ushering him back to his bed when he came to our room in the middle of the night. Maybe twice so far. And he said he didn't like me :( But he stayed in bed. A few times, he went to find N instead of me in the hope that she would stay with him. She did a few times. I gave strict instructions this morning to send him to bed and leave.
But ZY is a different story. He went from dozing off after milk before and during Spain, to rolling into sitting position after having milk after Spain. A couple of times, I left the room and let him cry for a little while to tire him out before I went in again to hush him to sleep. But now he lets me carry him to sleep - he didn't let me do that last time. And when he wakes in the middle of the night, he sometimes finds N, sometimes finds me. A few times, I woke to him crying next to my bed. Or he woke me up by chatting to a sleeping me *.* This boy can talk non-stop *.*
ZY at the door when I left him
Looking at ZK, I know that at some point, ZY will become easier in terms of sleep. For now, well, take more chicken essence? Yucky but I started taking it this week whenever I felt too tired in the morning.
Wondering how long this ZY will sleep for... It's almost time to go for his vaccination *.* I'm super time conscious but now I have to live on rubber time, sighs...
The idea came about earlier this year when Sito and I were invited to C's wedding in Leon, Spain. We debated over whether to go. I mean, what about the kids?? Then Mum they all said they had not been to Spain and one thing led to another so off we all went!
9-10 October
Took leave on the 9th to pack the last bit so that we could check in the bags earlier. But I had a mega stomachache in the morning which delayed things a bit. Didn't manage to bring ZK to Children's Day party in office but oh well!
It was a very early flight on 10 October. We kept ZK awake until it was time to go. I failed to keep ZY asleep when I picked him up from his slumber though...
No time to pose for you, Mama - I need to catch a flight
The Clan - excited! And apprehensive??
Headphones for the tot
He went to sit with Mum and Dad after we took off as the flight wasn't full. And that was the first time we separated for the trip - we would be separated every night for the whole trip. After having him come into our bed at weird hours for some time, I missed him!!
Blissfully asleep!
Um, no zipping possible...
And actually, he didn't sleep much. And there was quite a bit of turbulence so I had to carry him anyway. And when he was awake, gosh, he was everywhere! He got friendly with a stewardess who fed him water from a cup coz he wanted it - seriously!! We had to change him as he got quite drenched *.*
No more Bruce Lee on the flight but the little athlete got a healthy apple!
We're here!
This pig would feature prominently in our trip. When it was not around, or when we couldn't find it for a moment, we feared a meltdown from ZK! *.* Needless to say, this pig also turned grey before the end of the trip, yucky!
Jiejie and I bought a SIM card at the airport before the group took a little trip around Barcelona as the driver+tour guide needed to get car seats for the kids - he wasn't informed of them beforehand and Spain was strict about it.
We left Barcelona to start our journey south. We were to go to Valencia via Peniscola, which was really pretty with nice slopes and houses! There were plenty of restaurants there that looked good but well, we had lunch along the way already..
Looking out towards the sea
Our first wefie! What's ZK doing with his tongue out?!
Big tapas for dinner in Valencia - anchovies on crisps!
Grilled squids? Yes, please!
Grilled vegetables? Yes, but no artichokes next time...
And speaking of vegetables, for the two weeks we were there, we had mostly roots or capsicums and very little leafy greens or even broccoli. And there was a lot of meat. After a few days, I had vegetarian options whenever possible and/or whenever the meat option wasn't too tempting! I felt like I needed a detox...
Anyway, my little ZK fell asleep on the way back to the hotel. So we didn't shower him - a little yucky after a long flight and an afternoon outside but babies are quite clean right? :p
Succulent cheeks! I tried - very yummy :p
Think ZY woke a bit here and there but mostly easy. I might have given him water before it was late enough for milk a couple of times but for most of the trip, he slept through the night!!
Sunday, 11 October
In the end, we didn't see much of Valencia. Only the plaza at city hall and the cathedral, and we only passed by in the car for the cathedral *.* For the Silk Exchange, a UNESCO heritage site, Mum and I didn't even go down.
Sito and I at the city hall
But we did go to the City of Art and Science, albeit just the outside. It's so big and has so many things that it's just not possible for us to cover anyway, and especially with the two monkeys.
ZK likes to have his photo taken
And so does ZY who was saying "cheese" a lot!
Love this shot of my tot :)
This could have come out of a 70s shoot, right? So cool!
With the sun like that, I regretted not bringing my sunglasses =/ Thought we were also unlucky enough to see lots of grey skies!
Good-ish lunch on the way to Granada - lots to eat!
And what a treat for the kids too!
ZK took this photo
Jamon sliced right behind us at dinner
That was quite a nice dinner recommended by the hotel though I was disappointed that my omelette turned out to two sunny-side ups *.*
ZY again fell asleep on the way back to the hotel. I didn't manage to change his diaper before he flipped on his front so I carried out a huge feat - changing diapers with him facing down!! Along the way, I also had to change his diapers with him standing up but that was nothing compared to this feat man... And, he remained asleep. See? Feat.
Monday, 12 October
We didn't realise that we should buy the tickets to Alhambra online so no tickets despite our driver's attempts to check for extras with local guides there. And it also happened to be Spain's national day. No luck. So we also walked along the outside area, and even then, the rain cut short our walk *.* It was just not meant to be...
ZK and Papa after Mama knocked the ring (see above them)
Us at the museum external grounds - pig in hands!
ZK's new love - cannons! And "it's powder inside"
PS: He made me walk back to take this photo when we were leaving!
Lunch was again on the road - some very fried frozen food especially mine which came a little raw at first. Developed a cough after that :(
But they had a playground..
It was a pretty long ride so ZY got fussy - think he was hungry. Poor boy :(
But he was happy with his videos *.*
Yup, we'd reached Cordoba! It was still early so we went off to see the Mezquita. The car couldn't go too near so we walked a little.
Arabic style buildings along the way
The Mezquita was quite nice. ZK was tired and wanted to be carried, but ZY was all over the place having fun!
Us and ZK
ZY and Mum
Everywhere together for a while...
Calleja de Las Flores or 白花巷
This was the first time I travelled like this in Europe - with a driver, with a guide, and with the guiding in Chinese!
There was a long bridge at one side of the Mezquita. I believe I turned around to capture the Mezquita behind us as we crossed to the end of the bridge to wait for our driver.
Amazing clouds!
Bored ZY got two random fruits as balls...
Finally remembered to take picture of the hotel, especially the bidet! Only in Europe :)
This was also a much nicer hotel, with carpet! Finally could moisturise my poor feet without fearing that the boy would slip on wooden floors, which were already slippery - he slipped once and hit his head light :(
The littler boy fell asleep before he could have dinner and stayed on my chest the whole evening
So Sito shelled prawns for me!
Jamon! Not my fave kind of tapas though...
Fried squid? Oh yes oh yes! I like!
Tuesday, 13 October
We realised we would have plenty of time in Seville so we took our time getting there. First, we checked out the pool area at the hotel. Then we brought the kids to the playground downstairs that I spotted the night before. Spain was generally very child-friendly. People kept smiling at the boys :)
Look, Mama!
Sunshine boy!
And little ZY went a-wandering, attracted by the water..
We went back to the Mezquita area for lunch. It was good though a little awkward as the driver was invited to lunch with us. Worse cos he was seated at Sito and my end of the table. Nothing to say hoho! And I think he must have had indigestion or been underfed - who would dig into shared tapas when you don't know the people at the table well, who happen to be paying??
While waiting for the restaurant to open, we bought tiles for our new home - it reads Clan Sito :) And after lunch, we had ice cream!
Even ZY had ice cream!
Funny face cos it was cold!
Yummy with pig? :p
It was a short ride to Seville, where we relaxed at the playground at a large mall near the hotel. That was also where we had our first llao llao the second night. In all, we saw only five llao llao shops...
Happy ZK climbed up the ride all by himself!
And ZY did the bad boy thing - climbed up the slide!
ZK did some wall slope climbing
Think lactic acid finally built up by then - I was so sore! Had dinner at Friday's without Dad, who wasn't feeling well. I didn't order anything, just pinched a bit, as I was still full from lunch - I was very seldom hungry the whole trip! ZY had fun at the restaurant - the service staff were very nice to him and gave him a helium balloon :)
Managed to rub my legs and feet after ZY slept. Felt soooo good! We thought it would be damn painful but super shiok to do foot reflexology when we got back home. We did but by then, the soreness was mostly gone, sad - haha, a bit of a 自虐狂?!
I suddenly remembered being sore in India too and scolded myself for forgetting that lesson and to warm up before the holiday. And I told Sito I probably should exercise regularly after the trip. He reminded me that I said the same thing in India too. Damn, what can I say - pregnancy really messes up the brain?
Wednesday, 14 October
I think ZY's sleep got very good from this point onwards - he woke only at 5 plus! :) Had some milk and then 7 plus :) Must be nice to have both of us with him? :)
The boys - all three of them - having fun at the kids' corner at Novotel, which happened to be one of the better hotels on the trip
First stop was the Plaza de Espana. I remember liking this place but the images in my mind were quite different - old :p Still enjoyed this trip.
ZK and Papa on a bridge
Little clan!
Wefie with ZY
Next was the bullring. No more fights going on but we could take a guided tour inside. It was quite a good tour, I must say.
Posters at the ticketing area
Moo~
ZY learnt to say that :) And to distract him from wanting to get out of the baby carrier, I kept pointing out bulls to him :p There was the head of one who survived the fight - that is very rare. They let him live cos it was a good fight. And then they hung him up when he finally died of old age *.*
Tomb of Columbus at the Seville Cathedral
It was at this cathedral that we climbed up the bell tower. And what a climb it was! Sito was pushing ZK in the stroller up the slopes while Dad was carrying ZY on the baby carrier. ZK was saying he was afraid. I walked between ZK and ZY, shuttling up and down, worrying about ZK being afraid and wondering how Dad was doing with 10kg on him going upslope. And I also wondered whether there were stairs cos the picture indicated so at the top.
After 35 ramps, we got to a flight of stairs to the look-out. And ZK got out of the stroller and walked up! We shouted for him to come back and wait for us. There was a small space where we left the stroller and went up. And then he refused to come down the stairs! We blocked some people for a while before I forcibly carried him down. Then he cried that he was a big boy and should walk down himself. Whatever...
Yes, this bell tower...
ZK with spaghetti noodles at least!
ZY had some of the spaghetti too. And the service staff were so nice again :)
First paella! But single portions and likely from frozen...
Then we walked the old streets of Seville. They were so quaint and nice.
High-tech rubbish bin with underground transfers in the old town; also in SG
Where Carmen met Don Jose and Escamillo
Nice courtyard - there are courtyard competitions in Spain!
ZY on a cannon at the Tower of Gold, which we weren't interested to enter
In Ah Ye's shoes
He seemed to have enjoyed time with the grandparents. Our first Saturday back, he cried on the way home, saying that he wanted to go back to the hotel with them!
Flamenco during dinner at a whopping 80 euros per pax!
But worth it cos ZY was so engrossed!
He was all over the place before the show started. And then he just sat on me. For one whole hour! He got restless the next 30 min as he was sleepy. Meanwhile, ZK slept through the whole thing *.*
Thursday, 15 October
ZY woke only at 5 plus then 8 plus - 8 plus! Bliss :)
We set off for Lisbon this morning. Near the Spanish border, we were stopped by the police. ZK was sleeping on Sito and ZY on Mum. I only had time to clear things off the infant car seat before we had to stop. So the police fined the driver 200 euros and gave him three demerit points for not having the kids in the car seats - it was a "discount" already, counting just one child. We paid the fine for him but couldn't help with the points. Gave him tips at the end though they weren't necessary.
Asleep on Ah Ma
He wasn't happy in the car seat but after that pullover, no choice!
At lunch along the way, tearing bread
I had mini cafe! Portuguese coffee cups all seemed very small...
ZY soon got used to the car seat and fell asleep
My fave!!
Wa! We had one each. Wished I had more...
Even ZK liked :)
Me with ZK at the pretty Belem Tower, which was closed by then
Now with ZY
And my hub - very windy, yup...
ZY and my shadows
if only it were real!!
Monument to the Discoveries - I thought we might have taken it for the Belem Tower last time *.*
The bridge behind is Ponte 24 de Abril, a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Little ZY at sunset - I like this shot :)
Friday, 16 October
There was a balcony in the hotel room and ZY had fun watching planes fly by - the airport was near.
Look!
He also left a kiddy trail in the room
Our first stop was the Eduardo VII Park with a monument on the Lisbon earthquake years back.
Cos ZY was sleeping in the car
We passed by Rossio Square but did not get down the car. Instead, we went towards the castle and took a nice walk up though we didn't go into the castle.
People actually lived around the castle!
Ice cream again, yeah! (Cos need to use toilet...)
I can have more of this....
The area was charming, with trams...
...and tuk tuks!
Shared grilled octopus with Mum, yummy!
ZY was everywhere again and stairs were his new fave
Next stop was Coimbra. Driver had never been there before but did some googling.
Papa and ZK at Conimbriga Roman ruins
Me and a nice arch
Looking at 花花 :)
mf: Do you like it here?
ZK: Ya but I'm a little bit tired
Of course he loved it - any small amount of sand would excite him cos he could fill his dump truck!
Within Coimbra, we went to Biblioteca Joanina - entry was at limited times only and we were just in time. Photographing was not allowed in the main room but :p
Taken downstairs - such old books!
Nice handwriting in a guest book
Hotel was a fantastic lake resort apartment some distance off the city centre. If we had known it was so fantastic, we would have skipped the ruins and spent more time there. We got there at Spanish dinner time and left right after an early breakfast the next day :(
My vegetarian dinner - enough meat!
As it was an apartment, I could wash things while Sito took his time in the toilet. And I could do things with the lights on while ZY slept in the bedroom too! How nice... I didn't have a chance to see Mum's apartment but heard it was four-storey high!
Saturday, 17 October
I would like to put on record that I had 3.5 Portuguese egg tarts at breakfast :) And an interesting croissant with a different texture from the usual...
Such a nice place!
What followed was a long ride to Leon. Yes, it was time for the wedding!
Gosh, this made me want to get married again! :p
Amazing organ player who sang too
At the altar - the one in red is the groom's mum
Us at the bar after the ceremony
Cocktails were drinks and tapas at a heated open area that reminded me a lot of a quad at Magdalen College at night. Had a good chat with Sito's classmates' partners before we were all whisked to dinner in a hall. It was like a Chinese dinner in SG but with the couple sitting at the back with the family.
Dinning setting
Effects of an open bar? Nay, he always turns red :)
Clever "advertising" - this was in the ladies; the gents had pictures of single girls
The dinner ended at close to midnight, with a montage of the couple. Then it was dancing time!! We danced a bit and stayed until 1.30 am when we really had to rest for the next day - gotta be alert for the kids!
Big ass key for the door - our hotel is housed in an old historic building
The wedding favour, Spanish shoes which I didn't keep cos they were too big
We had deposited ZY with Mum this night so without a little person needing watching, I repacked our luggage and freed up some space. More repacking in Madrid to minimise the number of bags on the train to Barcelona!
Sunday, 18 October 2015
Kind of worried about Mum handling the two kids so I woke early and popped by. Good to see them so happy!
Roll and roll and roll!
Hello, GeGe!
We were supposed to meet the party-goers at breakfast but we guessed no one woke in time?!
Just before we left the hotel
I want to stand and see what's outside!
We had a Chinese lunch in Salamanca where ZY did this...
... and this - so cute!
The boys loved this lunch - they had rice with pork ribs and squids, which looked nasty but tasted really good! Good recommendation for kids by the restaurant.
Raincoats on!
Plaza Mayor would have been a lovely place to chill if not for the rain...
Singing in the rain?
That was taken outside the original university entrance. There were many intricate carvings on the entrance and students believed that if you could spot the skull with a frog on top, you would be able to graduate.
We rested in the hotel after the sightseeing. I gave ZY dinner and stayed in while Sito went for dinner at the hotel cafe and packed risotto back for me.
Let's try Papa's shoes...
Monday, 19 October 2015
We started early today as we had to reach Madrid by mid afternoon.
I don't know what ZY was doing *.* But cute right?
Snow White (castle) at Segovia ^.^
My little prince charming?
ZY was sleeping so I stayed with him while the rest went into the castle. I took a few pictures of the sceneries and the outside of the castle while the driver watched over ZY. When I chop chop got back, he just woke. So we had some mum-and-pup time.
So happy!
And so cute!
This occupied us a long time...
Apparently, ZK wanted to take pictures at every cannon he saw while in the castle! And the grandparents got him a cannon replica - not really a toy but he loved it! Yet another toy in the bag for easy reach...
Lunch was at Meson de Candido where apparently the floor was made of pig bones!
The old owner cut the sucking pig for us and threw the plate on the floor!
What's THAT?!
The driver was invited to eat with us and he obliged since we couldn't finish the whole pig - it was meant for eight but without ordering the whole pig, there would be no cutting in front of us.
Wefie at the aqueduct
We barely settled down in Madrid when we hurried out to the palace by two cabs - I managed a decent "Palacio Real" :p It was closed early that day so we just walked outside.
Look at my cannon!
We walked to the train station across from our hotel to have dinner.
But kiddy ride first!
They loved it!
Dinner was BK, um...
ZY wasn't sharing!
ZK stepped on the high chair again but ZY pretty much ignored him
Tuesday, 20 October 2015
And today, we met our guide in Madrid. She was really nice and cool with the kids :) First stop - Toledo. Had to ch Lots of old streets to walk about.
Oh dear, he could recognise ice cream now...
Big clan at the cathedral
Oh yes, we bought some shoes by then! Sito's leather shoes were cheap! I didn't get as I just bought my black pumps the day we left Singapore - so comfortable! But ok, I bought shoes the next day in town :p
Photo with a mascot along the way - beer, anyone?
So it was sightseeing, shopping and tea before leaving Toledo. Oh, and ZK pooped in a shop which the guide knew well, phew!
The pretty train station at Toledo
Roast chicken dinner at Casa Mingo with their own cider - so nice!
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Our city tour started at Plaza de Espana.
Selfie at the Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
The guard changing ceremony at Palacio Real happens one day a month and we were lucky!
ZK enjoyed watching the soldiers and the horses
ZY watched from further on a step and couldn't come down!
Inside the palace
ZK wasn't interested but ZY was so curious and pointed out all the statues!
One of many baskers supported by Ah Ye ZY
We had Chinese noodles for lunch - finally real noodles for ZK! But we had to wake him to eat as he fell asleep on the way there... We were sooooo full! Perfect for shopping - walk away the calories :)
Which also meant we had to occupy the kids, especially ZK *.*
Big hug at the post office :)
Cute scene where ZY looked for Papa who was pushing ZK in the stroller
Cheerful at Puerta del Sol
Where the boys had fun chasing pigeons!
The guide brought us to Chocolateria San Gines for churros and hot chocolate! The hot chocolate was very very thick... The last time I had such a hot chocolate was in - was it Copenhagen or Bergen??
What's this, Mama?
And then he went on to have two of that, dipped in chocolate *.*
And ZY had one kosong to himself - he finished it before we realised it!
This was another stay-in dinner for me. I settled ZY and waited for Sito to bring me some food. I wasn't particularly hungry but he brought back his leftover spaghetti and a whole pizza that was meant for ZK but he didn't eat it cos there was plenty of spaghetti. They went to the Italian place at the train station which wasn't open when we had BK the previous day. I ate everything *.*
And then there was llao llao too - some special. We ate it all *.*
But full is good :)
Thursday, 22 October
And today, we made our way to Barcelona. The guide helped us make arrangements for another local guide to send us to the train station.
Happy ZY on the way to the train station
Barcelona, I'm coming for YOU!
We bought the train tickets online while in Singapore. Kids below four don't get seats. There was no other instructions though the journey to Toledo involved zero euro tickets for them. Lucky for us, the latest guide helped us ask at check-in so we knew where to go for the kids' boarding passes.
Free also meant no seats. And ZK wasn't too pleased about it. In fact, he wasn't being very nice to his grandparents on the trip. ZY was another animal too *.* I tried to pull down the shades but the guy in front sharing the shades was being an ass cos he wanted to rest his arm on the window sill. I said loudly that my poor baby could not sleep cos it was bright. I'll shame you if I can't get you!
Pacified by food
We managed to get in touch with the driver for the first leg of our trip - he was based in Barcelona - so he came to get us from the train station. We also got him for Friday and the ride to the airport on Sunday.
That bundle is sleeping ZY :p
A nice stroll from hotel to find dinner
お久しぶり！
I was last at Pollo Rico in 2001!! I remember liking it here :)
My sangria
Sito's turn to feed the baby today! And a good job he did :)
Check out our seafood paella!
And we had a mix paella too! (And roast chicken!)
Us against the familiar tiles
We were so full after that so we took a walk down a short stretch of La Rambla before heading back to the hotel. Sito almost tripped when ZK was on his shoulders, which gave me a huge scare!
ZK: You tripped? You tripped?
Papa: Yes, almost..
ZK: I'll pro-act you...
Mama: You'll protect Papa?
ZK: Yes, I'll protect Papa. And Mama.
:)
Is that why ZK likes policemen? Cos he wants to protect us? :)
Friday, 23 October
ZY wonders what's up today...
What? We're going shopping??
That's so boring....
He was falling asleep but he didn't sleep. He only slept after some time at the smaller playground at La Roca and some milk.
ZY going up the slide!
ZK likes to climb too
The rest went shopping while Sito and I stayed at the playground with the kids. We must have spent an hour there?? Then we decided to just go shopping with the kids. That was when ZY fell asleep in the harness. Things were easier with one kid awake :p Sito managed to get some underwear and two pairs of shoes before ZY woke. We shopped a little bit more but I didn't find anything I liked.
So we settled down at the bigger playground as ZY was restless. I think at this point, I made a quick dash to the other end of La Roca but found nothing too. I was looking for a wallet but couldn't find the shop I wanted. So I came back to watch the kids while Sito went to get some shirts. I guess I'm just not fated to shop *.*
That was a real drinking fountain but the kids treated it like water play *.*
ZK climbed up and over by himself! :)
When I saw Jiejie with a shopping bag from the shop I was looking for, I wanted to go shopping! So while the rest were finishing lunch, Sito and I took the troublesome ZY with us to go shopping! I went ahead of the boys and found a wallet and a bag - I've checked out their wallets in Singapore before but the bag was a bonus haha! Seriously, I have so many bags! But I don't have a sling of this size. So I guess my collection is complete :p
After dropping things down at the hotel, we went down to the port.
Lions galore! ZK took pictures with two. Here's the one of him climbing up.
ZY was fascinated by the seagulls
ZK was fascinated by the seagulls
Seriously? Those things shit a lot *.*
Our destination was Maremagnum, a mall at one end of the port. Dad spotted a jacket so was trying while we roamed about. ZY wanted to go up and down the stairs - damn tiring for me! But ZK helped at one point when he held ZY's hands. Usually, ZY would push off our hands but he couldn't shake off ZK haha!!
Come, I hold your hand...
Look, let's go there!
Calamari! Gosh, I love it!
Sito's lobster - so small...
Took the restless boy for a walk while the rest finished up
Was this the first time Sito carried ZY like this??
Saturday, 24 October
And it's sightseeing today!
Us at Casa Batllo
As we walked down Passeig de Gracia to reach the next casa, we saw lots of these bikes.
Pretty lamp with Casa Mila behind
Another ride on the metro brought us to Sagrada Familia! I don't remember it being so crowded and having so many peddlers but I could be wrong. After all, it has been years!
Clever use of an umbrella to hold earrings
We saw the church from the metro exit. It looked nice and new! When we turned the corner, the old greeted us.
This is the colour I remember :p
I didn't go in the last time but this time, we wanted to go inside and bought tickets online ahead of time. And it was so pretty! I've seen plenty of churches over many cities in Europe but none like this.
Us inside the church
ZY was happy too!
We liked this very much
And then, a staff rolled a trolley full of audio guides over Jiejie's little toe! It was quite bad, blood and all. Sito brought her out with the guards to dress the wound while we waited.
ZY, as usual, 不会欣赏 *.*
After some time, they came back. The church offered to get us tickets for the afternoon so that we could go out to get slippers for Jiejie and come back to visit later. But it turned out that the church was supposed to close early that day so we took another look inside and left.
But not before this epic shot copying LS's memorable shot under the same sad face donkey years ago!
Lunch was just across the street. Criteria was a nice spot to change ZY's poopy diaper :p
Sito interrogating ZK over a broken ipad cover :p
I like squid ink paella!
Took a cab to Park Guell. Last time, it was free access, not so crowded, and we had so much fun. Now, it's ticketed. Sito saw many tickets online the night before so we thought we could just go - didn't want to commit in case we couldn't make the timing. But tickets were out until 6 pm! Guess the Sagrada Familia's early closing could have led to this?
Us at the free zone
Us outside the gate in front of the monument zone
ZK had to pee so we bought an ice cream in a shop to share. Sito inevitably finished the last bit and ZK was not pleased. He kept nagging and nagging that it was quite funny :p
Sito was very amused
The walk to the station was downhill but longer than expected. We took the metro to Placa Catalunya and walked down La Rambla from there. It was after we came back that I realised that we didn't even look at Placa Catalunya *.*
Spent some time shopping for chocolate in a supermarket before searching for dinner. Dinner options weren't fantastic so we headed towards our hotel. Then we came across a stretch of middle eastern food - we haven't had that yet!
The big fat cat nearby
Big enough to contain ZK underneath!
Falafel and hummus
Shwarma
My kebab!! Love these things :)
And that was our last proper meal in Spain. Kebabs. Ha!
Sunday, 25 October
We were so lucky - it was daylight savings day! We earned an hour of sleep for nothing! And just as well cos we had to set off real early for the airport.
ZY running about (with ZK) while we queued to get our tax back
Breakfast was a rushed affair at Macs. The rest went shopping while Sito and I helped the kids finish up and went straight to immigration. Eventually, we all got through to the gate!
The ride back was less tiring than the ride out. Perhaps cos ZY slept through both take-off and landing - no struggling to get off me when the seat belt sign was on!
I want to sit and eat here instead of lying down!
Little ZK was tired and napped at the beginning too.
And he had his own full-sized meal! Cos we didn't order kiddy meals for the ride back.
The staff were very nice to ZY who of course wanted to move around when awake. And this time, he was the only baby onboard the almost-full flight. One of the staff brought us lots of baby food and diapers etc to take home cos they were going to dispose of them upon landing anyway. Gosh, such a waste! I was happy to take them!
Bed hair? :p
Big baby on Mama!
We had local breakfast at the airport - mee rubus!! - before heading home. Dropped the kids in school on the way though - it would be hard to get the big one out if we were to head home first! Then it was a morning of unpacking for me. Even went to Mum's place to pick up ZK's clothes.
In all, it was a fun though tiring trip. We have decided that we shall not bring the kids out for such long and/or far trips before minimum age three. Even though ZK had his tantrums and whines, he was still the easier kid on the trip.
And, young kids plus luggage can be a headache so we opted for convenience and that came at a price. The rides in Barcelona - fetching us from the train station, trip to La Roca, fetching us to the airport - cost 400 euros. Hopefully the next time we go on such a trip, we will be better able to negotiate public transport ourselves.
