We have been on the road for 5 days now. We visited Germany and Austria and they were simply marvelous and I am afraid that by trying to describe our experience in such a short post may do these places injustice. So will do so when I have more time. Everything has been perfect until now.

We are at our 3rd stop, Italy. Just checked into a hotel in this small town Mestre, outside Venice. First thing that welcomed me was this HUGE mosquito that tried to suck blood out of me while waiting for our turn to check in. With a quick swipe, I managed to cripple the hell out of this pesky little insect. I was pleased with my quick reaction though a little surprise to find mosquito breeding in a developed temperate country, it was afterall my first encounter with a mosquito in Europe.

We finally checked in and I had a shock of my life when I saw our room. Pink bedsheets and red curtains with japanese paper lamps hanging from the ceiling. Wooden furnishing that reminds me of my childhood days. Hangers of varied designs and colours that look like they were collected over donkey years. The best part is the huge oriental paper fan that opens up as the headboard of the bed! The room looks trying. Trying to be oriental in the 80s or even 7os and it does invoke a sense of nostalgia in me. But I certainly don’t expect a room that cost me close to SGD 200 a night to remind me of my grandfather’s in rural Muar! I can almost feel the mosquito sneering at me! I have my blood sucked after all!

Let’s hope that Venice will not turn out like Punggol ‘long gang” tomorrow!
oh one good thing here, I have free WIFI in the room, first time ever! thus the chance for me to bitch and vent my frustration!
swwisshh! I just killed another mosquito! 3 days seem like a loooong time here!

I can’t believe that it is all happening so fast!
We will be leaving for our road trip around western Europe. 25 days on the road and the logistic for the trip is killing me! There are just sooo many things to pack and it almost looks like we are bringing the kitchen and closet with us!
and I can’t be happier to have Daddy’s Europe Getaway Checklist which blatantly reminded me, Why I Can’t Live Without This Man!
cooking pot, checked
frying pan, checked
cooking oil, checked
maps, checked
handphone, checked
shampoo, checked
…

It has been my dream to own one of those authentic oil painting on canvas ever since we bought our house. It would be a centerpiece for my featured wall in the living room. But such paintings usually cost a bomb and because they were SO expensive plus the fact that I am such a typical fickle-minded woman, to single out a masterpiece and live with it for the rest of my life seems like a HUGE commitment. So instead of taking the risk, I ended up with many cheap reproductions from Ikea which gave me the freedom to replace them whenever I fancy. Even so, I am always on a lookout for good bargains.So when I saw these at the market place during our recent Nice trip. I was delighted, overjoyed, exhilarated! I had to own one of these! Not just because of how much I loved the bold and jubilant colours but because they were REAL oil paintings on REAL canvas, the artist even had his initials on the paintings. What’s more, he was selling them at really CHEAP price, the cheapest we had seen so far. The artist was one of those people we spoke to during our trip.

The artist who appeared to be in his early forties was ex-military. He was with the French Army and fought the war in Afghanistan.
He was parachuted into war zone, fought the Talibans, broke his ribs, survived and came back to tell the story.
Thereafter, he left the Army. With his pension, he moved to Nice and painted for a living. When we saw him, he had his paintings stored in a caddy, similar to those used for grocery shopping and displayed his works on the ground. He was funny to talk to, very cheerful and jovial.

It appeared to me that he didn’t care much about being rich or famous. He seemed happy and contented, selling his paintings at a local market and it dawned on me that, maybe for someone who had survived war and escaped death, money and status might have lost their relevance. To live and be alive may be all that matters.

For me, I was simply thrilled to finally own a piece of art . Thrilled not because of the name behind the work nor because I could appreciate the brush strokes that were used but simply because I have met the painter, talked to him and heard his story.

This is about the closest we could get to salad. The 3 of us can wallop this pot within a meal! It is easy to cook, considerably healthy and most importantly, it is satisfying and it doesn’t leave me feeling like some four legged cattle chewing on some cold raw leafy greens.
It has carrots, broccoli, celery, onions, tomato and mushrooms. Basically whatever vegetables I can find in the fridge. For meat, I use chicken.

In the car I sat

Wishing for my boots

I wasn’t prepared, not in this weather

To waddle in the mud and plough through the overgrowth

in my lovely red pump shoes

But I did.

Under make-shift shelter I hid

Devouring warm soft waffles

and piping hot drink

I wasn’t prepared, not in this weather

To feast in the rain and savour the food

in my lovely red pump shoes

But I did.

In the open field I stood

With my tangling hair and ruining mask

I wasn’t prepared, not in this weather

To soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the show

in my lovely red pump shoes

But I did.

In a little pause I thought

Feeling wet and dirty

naked and stripped

I wasn’t prepared, not in this weather

To feel this free and happy

just being ME

in my lovely red pump shoes

But I did.

We celebrated my husband’s birthday on the road during our drive to Sanicole and here’s Malcolm’s little something for Daddy, and of course, it had to do with planes! A 8 pages Jumbo Book of Airplanes which took him 5 days to make. He helped to draw and colour the planes, write the words , paint and sponge stamp the background. It was lots of effort for this little guy and it kept us real busy for the past 1 week. Each day when Daddy came home from work, he would cheekily chirp ‘we have a 5 day surprise for you’. It was just so cute, watching him keep a secret.

We are back! After 9 hours on the road over 2 days for an airshow in Sanicole, a little town in Belgium. We weren’t so lucky this time though. As it turned out, the weather sucked on the way there, sucked during the show, but cleared up on our way back! It didn’t help that we had to park in a pool of mud, and waddle our way through it (yes, the mud pool) to the spectator areas, ruining my shoes, my beloved red pumps! Of course I was shivering by then although I was all decked out in winter gear except for my dainty red shoes. Urrrghhh!

And there we were, 3 of us, wrapped up in our gear, braving the rain and cold eager to watch a couple of jet planes (and also propeller ones as well) zooming around in the sky. But we were not alone, cos we were joined by thousands of other crazy Europeans. Their enthusiasm were only matched by those of the pilots that flew.

Despite the rain, the wind and the black clouds and the cold, the show went on and I could feel the passion these guys had for the whole event, the organizer, the pilots and the audience. The pilots definitely put out their best, as their planes disappeared now and then into clouds as they tried to find clear air to fly in. It was dangerous doing what they did so low to the ground. I must say that the Red Arrows are amazing. Not because of their display which they are well known for, but for their dedication and enthusiasm. After trying their best to put a decent display in the really bad weather, they left for UK to perform at the Farnborough Air Show. After their display at Farnborough, they actually came back again to give us another fly pass, with smoke and everything! How cool was that!The sky finally cleared up nearing the end of the show and we got to watch the Breitling Jet Team performed in considerably clear blue sky. It was our first encounter with them and we thought they were extremely impressive for a non military aerobatic team. We were so thrilled to get to watch them performed, a chance we may never have again. It was worth all the hassle that we had gone through and what best was, we got to eat hot soft belgian waffles and belgian french fries with mayonnaise under our poncho in the rain! By the way, do you know that the Beglians were the ones who invented french fries and baguette?!

So what’s next? Fly to Moscow to catch the Russian Strizhi?! Will see whether we are that crazy!

We are setting off. This time towards the North East, to Sanicole, Belgium. A slightly longer drive. Approximately 3.5 hour. To catch another airshow. This time featuring the Red Arrows and the Breitling Jet Team. Not sure what to expect, but we do know, we may never get another chance like this.
So here we go again, another last minute trip.

- I am the eldest in the family. I have 2 younger sisters and 1 brother who is 12 years my junior. For a while I was resentful towards my parents who believed that they needed a son to help carry on the family name. Having a baby in the house also meant that the sisters had to help care for him when the parents were at work and that also meant that we had less time to go out with our friends after school. Because of this, we grew up very close and we learned to take care of each other since we were young. We hang out together on weekend nights. We party together. People easily thought we were friends. I feel very lucky now that I have my family to turn to.

- I graduated with a major in Physics and I studied Maths. I used to work as an engineer and IT consultant. I loved the challenge of crunching numbers, understanding the Laws of Thermodynamics, writing the shortest code to do the most complicated tasks but I am not as technical inclined and analytical as I wished to be. I think I fare better baking muffins and doing craft with my 4 year old now.
You might find me reading a book on Albert Einstein or Adolf Hitler. I am very intrigued by these men and I am curious about what went through their heads, esp the latter when he massacred 6 millions jews.

- Being close to nature makes me happy. Being awed by the wonders of mother nature is an emotional thing. It feels good to forget myself, enjoy the openness, the freedom and the closeness between me and nature. It is a place where I find solitude.

- Music touches and inspires me. I played the organ when I was young but I always love the sound of piano. Learning the piano is something I want to do, even when I grow old.

- I don’t like to plan. I envy those who can plan a weekly meal and stick with it. I can be inspired to cook a feast for dinner JUST BEFORE my afternoon nap. However, this only works if I can find what I need in the fridge but most of the time, I tend to work around what I have in the fridge. I think life is more fun and exciting with a little unknown and surprises. I think I thrive on a bit of adrenaline. Not very healthy.

- I am lazy but I try to be discipline. I try to exercise regularly, eat more vegetables and drink more water. I am very happy that for the last 1 month, I have been eating my Rolled Oat porridge every morning! It is an achievement for me. Before this, you will never find me eating those instant oatmeal from Quaker. I have to be more diligent when it comes to exercise.

- I like to feel inspired as it makes me want to do things. People with dreams and passion inspire me. People who have the courage to pursue their dreams inspire me. People who overcome adversity to achieve their goals inspire me.

- I believe that learning is a life long process and it doesn’t stop at graduation day. My mother-in-law who is now 70 learned how to swim when she was 60. She learned to read and write although she had never attended school. My father-in-law learned how to use the internet after he had retired. I have a lot to learn from them.

- I like to think that nothing is impossible. If we want something bad enough, we can make it happens, often hard work plays a part.

- I think I lived a very sheltered life and that made me a rather gutless and unadventurous person. Through the years, I have crept out from my little shelf and learned to overcome my fear, little by little.

* I climbed the highest peak in Southeast Asia (Mount Kinabalu) when I was 20, without any prior training, how stupid! Was running a fever 3/4 up and immediately when I touched base due to over exhaustion. I swore to myself I will never do it again, at least not without training.
* first took a plane by myself when I was 21
* got my scuba diving license when I was 24. Half the time I lost my buddy when I was inside the water and had to end up holding on to the dive master. Navigation in the water was tough when I was feeling sick most of the time. I thought the fishes had a good time laughing at us as for once, we were in their territories, at their mercy. Trying to swim like them?! HA!
* traveled on my own when I was 26
* flew a glider when I was 32 with the instructor taking control of the stick while I took control of a plastic bag, ready to puke!
* learned snowboarding when I was 33 while my husband and Malcolm watched on.
* came face to face with a wild bear when I was 34 while hiking through some forest at Yellow Stone National Park. We ran for our lives, with Malcolm in the sling.

Half of these I didn’t enjoy but I am glad I tried.
I enjoy collecting ‘my first experience’. I will love to climb a live volcano and run a marathon but I think I lack the discipline to train.

- I have a little phobia of sea. I was determined to learn how to swim AFTER getting my scuba diving license and I finally did it when I was 25. I could do laps, but only in the swimming pool. I wish I can get more comfortable swimming in the sea so that I can learn surfing.

- I am a motion sickness queen. I get sick wind surfing, whale watching, flying in a seaplane and driving along Pacific Coast Highway (or Highway 1) in California. I wish my body is a bit hardier than that. I felt very proud when I rode the Top Gun in a local funfair without puking, but I ended up with ‘G-measles’ on my thighs.

- I enjoy playing pool (smaller version of billard) but I am too impatient and lack the discipline to improve my skill and I am a sore loser when I play with my husband.

After dinner, we took a stroll from our place to the nearest bridge crossing the Seine. Waited with many like-minded locals who chose to watch the fireworks from afar.
Half way into the display, my boy who was sitting comfortably on Daddy’s shoulder blurted out loud,
‘Mummy, did you fart?!’ causing some chuckles around. Kids sometime say the darndest thing!
It was a good way to end Bastille Day and I think Malcolm will remember this for a long time.

Having watched the Patrouille de France. I still love this the MOST.
For me, nothing beats the thundering noise of the jet engines cracking through the sky. A close to 6 minutes video which I did more than a year back. Check out the US F16 Thunderbirds and the small prop aerial display at the 2nd half of the video. It gives me the HIGH simply watching it! Cheap thrill. haha.
No wonder Daddy misses his ‘mistress’ SO MUCH!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn5MX2laueQ&hl=en&fs=1]

14th July was Bastille Day, National Day of France. It falls on Monday, thus a long weekend for us and since we made it back from our unplanned trip, we were woken up early by Mal who heard about the Patrouille de France fly pass at the parade. He never miss any opportunity to see planes!

We board the metro to the nearest train station. Roads were closed. Locals and tourists marched and roamed. the streets along Champs Elysees. For once, pedestrians ruled the roads, a rare opportunity in Paris. I usually had to give way to tyrannic drivers when it was clearly green man! It reminded me of Singapore Swing, those annual road parties we used to have along Orchard road. We saw more planes during the fly pass and more static display of army tanks and choppers in front of Les Invalides.My boy who had been chasing airshows for 2 consecutive days, sacrificing sleeps, showed no sign of fatigue and was clearly running on adrenaline. He squealed with delight and excitement seeing the choppers landing right in front of him. Dragged me along, eager to introduce each and every choppers we passed. Even on our way home, he continued to rambled on about the planes we saw. His passion for these flying machines sometimes really amazed me.
can you spot the landing chopper?

Daddy found out in the wee hours of the morning that there was a local airshow in a little town 270 km out of Paris. Slept 3 hours, woke up at 8 plus and decided that we should go even though the website provided very little information on the location and schedule for the show. We printed out the map, packed some snacks, 1 set change of clothes (just in case it was too late to drive back), loaded up our old ‘new’ car and set off for a very last minute and unplanned trip.

As we munched our breakfast in the car, we were greeted by gigantic yellow sunflowers beaming cheerfully, corn fields filled with maize plant taller than Malcolm, handsome trees with ruffled lush green crowns, a vast different from the neatly trimmed ones in Paris.

We drove on roads too deserted for our modern GPS and the yellow sign with the word ‘MEETING’, was about the only clue we had for navigation nearing the base. It took us almost 3 hours to reach our destination, a french airforce base tucked in the countryside.

Inside the base, we were greeted by static display of jets engine planes, choppers, propeller and historic aircrafts. The show was informal, very personal and it was clear that the show was for the people, unlike the Singapore Air Show, whose objectives are almost solely commercial. There were endless aerial displays throughout the day, nonstop, one after another, you can’t help but to think about the amount of work that was put in to make this show possible.

We saw flying displays by the Patrouille de France (acrobatic team of the French Air Force), a Mirage 2000, a Swiss F18, an Italian F16, a B1-B and many others who came from all over Europe. All morning, the sky threatened with dark clouds but the ensuing rain failed to dampen the carnival atmosphere nor Malcolm’s determination to stay and see the rest of the show. It was after all his first encounter with the European fighter jets. All in all, what was initially thought as a small scale and low key local airshow, turned out to be truly spectacular. What that started off as an ordinary Sunday, turned out to be a fully charged, adrenaline packed last minute getaway, made possible by our old ‘new’ car.

I love the freedom and convenient of owning a car, the surprise and thrill that can only come from an impromptu trip like this, and I think we should do this more often.
More pictures here

This morning my 4 year old came climbing all over me begging for some ‘Lego time’ attention. I pulled a piece of used crumpled paper from the table, flipped it around and scribbled some maths addition, thinking that he might be interested.

I introduced to him the ‘+’ sign and the ‘=’ sign, asked him to read out the numbers and showed him where to put his answers.

He sort of juggled the numbers in his head and spitted out the answers.

I was astounded, for he could barely write his 1-10, as you can see, and the furthest we had gone into numbers was probably, counting the number of muffins we had baked and the number of paper balls we could enter into the basket.

Little did I expect this. Freaky !