All Roads Lead to Rome

Took a little detour from Amsterdam to Rome after our company's annual meetings. We chose Rome for a couple of reason, 1)we've never been to Italy, 2) it's comparably warmer to the rest of Europe this time of year and 3) I wanted to gorge myself crazy on pizza and pasta.

We stayed near the Pantheon at Delsi Suites - literally steps away from the busy square! Even though the buzz was downstairs, the accommodation was really peaceful and quiet and the location was excellent! It's literally a 10-20 minutes' walk to other attractions, and a 30 minutes' walk to the Vatican City. Yes, Rome is a super walkable city, we did not step into a tram or bus or train the whole 5 days we were there.

Here are some of the nice sights we caught - the sky was super blue and nice! Photographer's dream! The architecture and sculptures everywhere really made me understand why people say Rome is like a living museum. 

The entire trip was really smooth and relaxing, a pity we fell sick after snowfall in Amsterdam but we still managed to walk the routes and enjoy gelato and sunshine. I really did not know what to expect, so I only set one objective - which was to eat REAL Italian food. Hence all the googling and getting restaurant tips from my Roman colleagues which I really appreciated.

You would think you can walk into any random and get good pasta, I beg to differ. The only time I did not follow a recommendation did not turn out very well indeed *oops*.  One big tip I learnt as well was to have a back-up list of restaurants whenever you visit an area. More than once the restaurant we wanted to visit was closed (when it wasn't supposed to be!) and we had to seek alternatives. Boohoo thankfully 90% of our meals were good!

In Rome we also started each morning with a nutella (they love nutella!) croissant and a cappuccino, and then have interspersing cups of coffee at coffee bars throughout the day. 

Flowers for Lauren

Was coincidentally in town when Lauren celebrated her birthday with some scones, cupcakes and tea. Granted I was kinda late seeing as I had to check in to my hotel that day in Amsterdam, but I made it for the most part and had lots of laughter and fun with everyone. Lauren's favourite colour is purple, so we bought her some pretty flowers.

Hooked on Haarlem

Spent a weekend in Haarlem staying at Luis with Nicole. He bought an air mattress (but what a piece of art that was) for us to sleep on, and I called it the bouncy castle. It did provide an awesome night's sleep after the 13-hour flight.

Haarlem is a small town just outside of Amsterdam and has a really chill vibe about it. It's only 15 minutes' away by train and is a popular place to stay for people who work in Amsterdam but don't wanna live there for some reason or another. It packs a punch - small but is self-sufficient and quiet enough to get away from the city vibes. I love it!

It was a sunny day out when we arrived so we took a walk around. Luis brought us for yummy hot chocolate spoons - absolute chocolate sweetness melting in a cup of hot milk. If it doesn't sound yum enough, here's some picture proof that it was!

Happy times with these 2 :)

Get Down n' Dirty

Guess who turned 30 last weekend?? :)

We had a dirty messy yummy blast at Cajun Kings. Felt it was a little pricey for the combo - SGD95 for half an Alaskan crab, 250g of prawns, clams, corn sausages all mixed in the King's sauce. We also got some little cornbread muffins to not waste the dip. 

Other dishes we ordered included the Southern Fried Chicken, Pork Belly something (soooo good but it's basically fried pork belly) and some lobster rolls. The lobster rolls ain't expensive, like SGD35? But Laylay said the ones at Pince n' Pints were much nicer, shall have to try it out someday! 

The glorious mess we left behind.

All in all, the food is pretty yummy but we probably wouldn't go back cos it's a little on the ulu pandan side and there are several similar restaurants that are in more convenient locations. If you drive then no biggie la. 

We then headed to Club Street to get some drinks. Unfortch my nose (which had started to drip the moment I stepped out of the house) decided to take a turn for the worst after 10pm, so I was pretty sedated, sitting on my stool sipping my rum and coke, eavesdropping to everyone else talking. Still had a pretty chill good time though catching up with everyone and meeting Laylay's new boyfriend who was really sociable and funny and clicked with everyone :) 

We're really into camou print if you can't already tell LOL. In our defence, we had a theme going that night haha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE, and to many more birthdays we will spend together <3>

2015

2015, may you bring us more (good) surprises, sights and experiences than 2014!

The last few moments were anything but spectacular - if you count us curled on the sofa waiting Big Bang to come on stage for the new year's TV broadcast. However, we did spend it together, conversing about hair colour and sweaty kpop boys, shared a yawn, wished each other happy new year, and went to bed.

I follow some bigger-than-life personalities on Instagram, and I remember one posting "If you only knew how boring my life really is..." and I can 100% relate to that. Having purple hair and tattoos doesn't mean I drink all day and party all night. I have a proper day job which I enjoy, and we often reach home before 8 to do laundry. For 2015, I wish to continue that, because this represents stability to me, and a comfort level which others can't even envision. And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.