Formula 1 - Grand Prix arrived in Singapore this weekend.
Vantage point Altitude 1. Its on the 62nd floor of one of the tallest office buildings
in the business district. |
 Our friends Simone and Lisa invited us to join them at the rooftop bar to watch the race 
The race route - our rooftop bar is in the bottom left corner of this picture
The race was really fun to watch. I don't really know too much about the guy who won. I just know that he was driving the Ferrari (red with white spoiler). He started off in first place during lap 1 and maintained his position for the entire 61 laps. |
Labels:
Living in Singapore
Every Autumn in Singapore there is a Lunar festival to celebrate the moon. A major part of this celebration is the giving of moon cakes. They are considered a delicacy ($5-$50 per cake) and are given to friends and family. I had been eyeing these cakes in stores and bakeries for a while so I was pretty excited when Kingsley was given two moon cakes. I wanted to give them a try as they look VERY tasty from the outside.
However, I have lived in Asia long enough to know that what looks beautiful on the outside may not always be so good on the inside. So before eating them I decided to do a little google search (thank goodness for google).
I discovered that moon cakes typically have a thick filling made from lotus seed paste (not so bad) with the yolk of a salted duck egg inside (wow)! The duck egg is to symbolize the full moon.
I couldn't resist forcing Kingsley to try a small amount. And guess what, he actually likes the cakes! At least the lotus seed part of it.
This is what was left of the moon cakes after Kingsley cut around the edges to polish off the outer ring of the cake, carefully avoiding the salted duck yolk.
Labels:
Living in Singapore
After a 12 and a half hour flight back to Singapore, I arrived home to find...one starving husband, one empty fridge, and 20 pink shirts...
Yup thats right, Kingsley did a load of whites and somehow managed to add one of my pink shirts to the load. He has now officially been banned from laundry duty. I might have suspected that this was all planned had I not seen some of his favorite shirts in the casualty pile. It's good to be home.
Labels:
Living in Singapore
Although I loved exploring Germany, my favorite part of the trip was spending time with Amy, Sally, Shaun and Damien. I feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful family that I love spending time with.
Had a wonderful German meal at a traditional restaurant my last night in Germany. My meal was called the wedding banquet- veal with cranberries covered in a horseradish sauce. It was awesome!
Dessert?
Schnee Balls! This photo demonstrates the actual size of the pastries. Larger than teapot and xbox controller!
Labels:
Family and Friends,
Germany,
Travel Adventures
The week I was in Wurzburg coincidentally ended up being that same week they were filming the movie the Three Musketeers with Orlando Bloom. Not wanting to miss out on the action, Damien, Amy and I went to the location where they were filming to check it out. We had no idea if they would actually be filming anything while we were there but thought we should bring the baby along to win us brownie points just in case. We had no idea how close to the action we would actually get!
The Residence- the set for the filming of the Three Musketeers
Sword collection- Dartanians (Orlando Bloom) swords are labeled at the top
Other Musketeers
Extras
After a few minutes of walking around, we heard a helicopter approaching and realized was carrying Orlando Bloom. And thats when the real groupies started pouring out of the woodwork. Anytime he appeared in front of the crowd there was cheering and screaming (mostly from the women fans). Damien slept through the whole thing, so much for him being a side-kick.
helicopter arrives with Orlando Bloom
Posing with all of the groupies
Orlando Bloom filming the same scene over and over again. Walking up and down a platform.
Labels:
Germany,
Travel Adventures
One of my favorite parts of our visit to Rothenburg ob der tauter was seeing the year round Christmas store. Walking into the store felt like entering another world... a winter wonderland world. I could have spent hours there.
So many of the ornaments were hand-carved wooden figurines
Pyramid windmills
It wasn't until I was halfway through the store that I saw the signs that say no photos...oops.
Amy and I couldn't leave the store without buying Damien a little Christmas ornament from his Aunties. These little reindeer were too cute to pass up.
Labels:
Family and Friends,
Germany,
Travel Adventures
While in Germany,Kingsley's sister Sally took us on a fun day trip to visit the town called Rothenburg ob der tauber which in English means "red fortress above the tauber". The city is located on a hill overlooking the Tauber river.
Rothenburg is your classic medieval town and has been featured in several movies including one of my all time favorites Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Standing in front of the wall around the city
Amy and Lynn on the city wall
On of the things Rothenburg is known for is their Schnee Balls (snowballs) which are these softball sized donut like pastries.
They looked so good we couldn't help but buy a few...okay so we bought 5. They look a lot smaller in the shopfront window.
Amy and Lynn posing infront of the Rathaus or town hall. This is where they have the Christmas markets during December.
Sally, Amy and Lynn doing our famous Australia post at a lookout point with a great view of the city.
Post card worthy
Labels:
Family and Friends,
Germany,
Travel Adventures
Wurzburg is a city in the Franconia region of Germany and it's where Sally, Shaun and Damien live. It is a beautiful city that sits next to the Main river, the city even has a castle!
Marienberg castle in the background
Exploring Wurzburg, photo taken on the old Main bridge which was built in 1473
Marienberg castle with vineyards on the hillside
On March 16, 1945 about 90% of the city was destroyed by British bombers during a WW II air raid. The city center which was built during medieval times was totally destroyed by fires and around 30,000 people (mostly women and children) were killed. On March 16 every year the city arrives at one of the main churches with candles and has a moment of silence for all of the victims.
View from the castle
After a beautiful hike up to the castle we stopped for an authentic German lunch - Bratwurst and beer
Labels:
Family and Friends,
Germany,
Travel Adventures
Second stop on the trip was Germany to visit family and meet my very first nephew Damien. I have to say I have held a lot of babies in the past but nothing prepared me for the attachment I felt for this little guy. In fact, Auntie Amy and Auntie Lynn had to be closely monitored so that no one Auntie got more time with him.
Damien and Auntie Amy - happy face
Damien and Auntie Amy - surprised face
Damien's first Mohawk compliments of Auntie Lynn
First diaper change on the train, he thought it was such a fun game
Hanging out with his (fav) Auntie
We were all matching so had to take advantage with a photo op.
Labels:
Family and Friends,
Germany,
Travel Adventures
I couldn't resist forcing Kingsley to try a small amount. And guess what, he actually likes the cakes! At least the lotus seed part of it.
This is what was left of the moon cakes after Kingsley cut around the edges to polish off the outer ring of the cake, carefully avoiding the salted duck yolk.
Yup thats right, Kingsley did a load of whites and somehow managed to add one of my pink shirts to the load. He has now officially been banned from laundry duty. I might have suspected that this was all planned had I not seen some of his favorite shirts in the casualty pile. It's good to be home.
Schnee Balls! This photo demonstrates the actual size of the pastries. Larger than teapot and xbox controller! 
Orlando Bloom filming the same scene over and over again. Walking up and down a platform.
One of my favorite parts of our visit to Rothenburg ob der tauter was seeing the year round Christmas store. Walking into the store felt like entering another world... a winter wonderland world. I could have spent hours there. 
Amy and Lynn posing infront of the Rathaus or town hall. This is where they have the Christmas markets during December. 
Sally, Amy and Lynn doing our famous Australia post at a lookout point with a great view of the city.
