.Thursday, January 14, 2010 ' 2:02 PM Y
spain, france and italy was totally AWESOME :D.. it was really one of the greatest family trip tt i have been to.. probably cause 3 families go together.. thanks to the 3 daddies being good friends.. and the kids are all abt the same age.. so yea :D.. we had 15 ppl.. while there's only a total of 27 ppl in total.. so we practically took up more than half the tour grp =p
Disclaimer: i probably forgot the names of the places we have been to.. so pardon me =p.. shall just let the photos do the talking..
Day 1 (23 dec)- Jakarta, Singapore, Barcelona
Met everyone at jakarta airport.. lalala nth much la.. took the long long flight to barcelona which is in spain! transitted in singapore and milan.. was pretty worried abt the snowstorm since there were many reports abt it just the day before we fly.. but when we got there.. it wasnt snowing at all la! haha lucky us!.. saw a huge blanket of snow at milan though.. really pretty :D but we were stuck in the plane.. couldnt go out D:.. and on the last day of our trip when we got back to milan.. the snow was kinda pathetic.. all melted le D:..
Day 2 (24 Dec)- Barcelona
it was in the morning when we arrived.. so off we go to
Spanish Village! its basically a place where they have a duplicate of all the famous buildings in all of Europe.. sry for the lousy pictures.. it was raining so couldnt really take nice shots..
nxt was
Sagrada Familia Church.. it's a really pretty and grand church :D which hasnt been built finish yet cause they base it on charity for the $$ to build the church.. built by a v famous architect
whom i conveniently forgot the name.. sry =x.. but yeah his works were really good.. saw some of the other buildings designed by him while on the way.. and they were really one of a kind..
then we went to their shopping district to do some shopping! mostly for my mum cause my dad was getting picky abt what my mum was wearing.. guys ar =.= all like tt one..
oh ya.. pls be v v careful if you ever go europe nxt time.. the tour guide was just warning us that v day.. and tt night.. tada one person already got pickpocketed =x.. and the way those pickpockets do it is really imba!!.. havnt heard of a more cunning method than tt =/.. think he lost quite alot of money cause his wife just passed him the money which they just drew from the bank =/.. but aiyah they still spend alot on shopping in the end.. LOL..
and tt day's dinner was WOAHHHHHH.. ate at a chinese restaurants and had lobster, prawn, crab, clams and lots and lots of stuff.. crazy laaa.. i think we totally busted the budget for tt day's meal =p.. it would hav probably cost 1000+ bucks per table of 9 if we order them in singapore.. but somehow.. it only added up to around S$400 per table.. which is a really good deal.. considering tt there were more than 12 dishes! lesson learnt: do not let a hungry teenager decide the menu.. LOL
Day 3 (25 Dec)- Barcelona, Valencia
Left barcelona.. and headed over to valencia! i think it was a few hrs drive..
photo shoot of a bridge at a clift! while on the way to valencia..
another stop at this bull fighting ring place! but we couldnt watch the bull fights cause they werent in season =( must go in march may july or october..if i didnt rmb wrongly =p.. so yea.. we could only see the building from outside D:
drank red wine during lunch! and we keep on doing cheers so many times! uncle william kept on telling us to bottoms up so tt we could finish all the wine.. until his kids say 'BU YAO JIAO HUAI XIAO HAI!!'HAHA.. funny part is when the daddies turn around or get distracted by something else.. all the mummies will always pour their share of wine into their glasses =p HAHAHA
Touring of Valencia :D with a local guide! yada yada explaining all the origins of the place..
and i cant rmb a single thing
Day 4 (26 dec)- Valencia, Madrid
Travelled by bus again to madrid! well.. i think the itinerary was kinda slack on that day.. the only plan was to watch 'flamenco' at night.. so our really nice tour guide ronald.. decided to bring us to another small city a little off madrid!
oversee-ing the city :D omg this is really really a spastic photo! cause it was raining.. and the railings were wet.. and we would be blocking the view if we stand up.. SO GUESS WHAT! MA2 BU4!! HAHA OMG yeah man.. you can totally see who are sitting down and who are half squatting! spastic xD AND THE PARENTS ARRRR.. tskkk purposely take v long to take the photos.. éhh sry sry! wrong angle! TAKE AGAIN!' =.=.. but haha dont worry.. it was revenge time when the parents were taking their photos =p.. the kids all purposely press the wrong button.. HAHA!! yeah man we rock :D
btw.. here are the 9 kids who always play together during the trip =) good thing we are all abt the same age.. so there's no age gap =p all between 15-21 yrs old? and try spotting the pair of twins!!! LOL omg they are seriously the most unidentical pair of twins i ever know.. they are TOTAL OPPOSITES man.. and one of them is from TJC band? haha its really a small world..we were like ómg! we went to the same exchange TWICE!?!'cause he was from tanjong katong sec.. HAHA v funny =p..
Flamenco was nxt! did a little shopping before tt to warm ourselves up in the shop.. it was really getting cold =x esp at night..
well.. the show itself was kinda boring =/ its a local dance la.. no offence k.. but i guess its not for our age.. HAHA.. so you can imagine what the kids table was doing.. we were more amused by the meal itself.. and each person had one glass of red wine, champagne and white wine each! HAHA! it was crazy! and ditto actually finished a whole bottle of red wine in addition to that cause nobody else could drink.. was fun seeing ditto and victor competing each other in drinking.. and how victor's brothers will pour more wine into his glass TO THE BRIM when he wasnt looking! HAHA.. but wine really helps to keep us warm in winter =) so the weather felt much better after tt =p
Day 5 (27 Dec)- Madrid
so the nxt morning.. we went to
Royal Palace! preserved for many many centuries! the interior is really v nice and grand :D different rooms will have different decorations and themes.. love the painting on the ceilings =p mostly of angels and humans.. funny thing was that.. one of the rooms' paintings resemble tt of chinese history =/ no idea whyyy.. the tour guide didnt know either.. sad that there's no photos since its not allowed.. so there the exterior of the royal palace!
Prado Museum was next! well just to look at painting by goya! really big place yet it was sooo crowded! we had to use earphones to listen to the explanations of the works.. they only explained a few cause time was tight.. (good thing for raymond cause he wasnt interested in tt place AT ALL LOL)
After tt.. we went to
VALLEY OF THE FALLEN!!! OMG OMG this is definitely my fav place in the whole trip =p its a church at a hilltop! so we took really long to get there.. it was really really freezing and there was snow on the floor.. and when we reached there.. it really felt like HEAVENN.. we were overlooking the whole city.. as well as the snow mountains in the surroundings.. and the clouds were covering the giant cross at the top.. by the time we left.. we couldnt see the cross at all.. so lucky us tt we took the photos a few mins before tt happened =p its a really really serene place to be in :D
Day 6 (28 dec)- Madrid, Lourdes
Made our way to lourdes.. and it was a killing 9 hr bus ride? well ok it wasnt tt bad.. cause we were sleeping/ playing cards which was organised by the parents/ watching VCDs on the bus..
so when we got there.. it was already nightfall.. we checked into the hotel.. had dinner.. and walked to the nearby famous catholic church.. its a place where a sister saw maria.. and the sister's body didnt decompose for 3 yrs even after she passed away.. so until now.. its still preserved in tt church.. really really famous church.. saw the photos of the church during day time.. and the queue was WOAHHH.. its nearly impossible to get close to the church at all.. tts what happened to my uncle aunt and cousins when they went there a few months ago.. they waited there for 6 hours just to enter the church? and ended up giving up =x.. so we were lucky that we were there at night.. when there wasnt anibody =p.. many said their prayers.. while raymond was lighting the candles.. lol..
night: poker poker poker!
