The first things we had to do on return was submit our vote for the federal election, see the doctor about my knee and transfer the money for the car we purchased. That done, Term 3 began with a joint meeting of branches at Kovan but we all spent more time sharing recent travel experiences than discussing the next 10 weeks I think. Apart from our trip staff had been to Japan, China, Italy and Sicily, Scotland and France and Bali and Hong Kong. We were very relieved to have one of the couples with us as we knew they were travelling home through Istanbul airport. This is the quietest term without interviews, audits and reports and we expect it will fly by though the first week was a bit of a test.
Our visitors arrived on Sunday afternoon and we came straight home to find them already in the pool or just out. Everyone was hungry so we went across the road for a local hawker meal. The last time we saw this branch of the family was Anna's wedding in Feb 2015. The kids have really had little to do with us as they lived in Mooroolbark while we have been in the NT and moved to Brisbane when we came to Singapore. They have just spent time at Batu Ferringhi on Penang and have a few days with us before heading back to school. All four of them were bedded down in the lounge room, more like camping than the luxury of the Golden Sands they've just experienced on Penang.
After a breakfast that was pretty good by our standards, but didn't match the buffets of the Golden Sands, I took Nichola and Olivia to see the branch at Kovan. Nichola is in charge of curriculum at her school so was interested to see how a tutor business operates. Then we met Eric, James and Sam at Little India where we wandered up Serangoon Rd to Mustafas. Of all the unusual things we saw, this tennis ball transfer on a car's rear window was pretty different.
We had lunch in the nearby Indian stall, then took the MRT to Chinatown. Talk about a cultural tour! We were skimming the top of the best and seeing it all through children's eyes for the first time.
As we expected, they were very impressed with the URA Gallery's models of the island. We slipped through the Buddha Tooth Temple while the monks were chanting and then did a spot of souvenir shopping before catching the train to Bayfront.
The kids were managing really well with all the walking but my knee was calling for a break so a few of us took the shuttle to the visitor centre of Gardens by the Bay. They all enjoyed the flower dome which now has a display made up predominantly of lilies depicting the 60s. Then we met up at Satays by the Bay for dinner. We were really impressed by how willing the kids were to try unfamiliar foods, especially Sam who is a little older.
Having restored the energy levels we hurried through the hotel and MBS shops to arrive just in time to watch to sound and light show which they were very impressed with. It was straight to bed when we got home from all of that.
Tuesday began with a game of tennis as Olivia has been having lessons and was quite keen to show us her stuff. Sam is up for anything that looks or sounds like sport. It was fun to have a hit and giggle. We all flagged pretty quickly in the heat though and were soon in the pool recovering.
After recharging we took the train to Dhoby Ghaut where we left Nichola to do some shopping in Plaza Singapura and the rest of us walked to the National Museum. It was lovely and cool inside both places. At the museum the kids got involved with the interactive activities they provided.
We all met up again at VivoCity, at the end of the line where the Caddy family continued on to Sentosa and we met up with Syd and Kim who came in to meet us from Lakeside. They have just had a lovely holiday in Italy. We also bumped into Kathy and June.
The Sentosa mob returned, having walked around the sights and tried out the luge. We shared dinner at Food Republic and then all walked over to watch the crane dance which was a beautiful way to finish the day.
It was then time to take the train home and help the visitors pack into a taxi for the airport. We hope they all sleep well on the flight back to Brisbane. It was lovely having family here to show around our backyard.
Our visitors arrived on Sunday afternoon and we came straight home to find them already in the pool or just out. Everyone was hungry so we went across the road for a local hawker meal. The last time we saw this branch of the family was Anna's wedding in Feb 2015. The kids have really had little to do with us as they lived in Mooroolbark while we have been in the NT and moved to Brisbane when we came to Singapore. They have just spent time at Batu Ferringhi on Penang and have a few days with us before heading back to school. All four of them were bedded down in the lounge room, more like camping than the luxury of the Golden Sands they've just experienced on Penang.
After a breakfast that was pretty good by our standards, but didn't match the buffets of the Golden Sands, I took Nichola and Olivia to see the branch at Kovan. Nichola is in charge of curriculum at her school so was interested to see how a tutor business operates. Then we met Eric, James and Sam at Little India where we wandered up Serangoon Rd to Mustafas. Of all the unusual things we saw, this tennis ball transfer on a car's rear window was pretty different.
We had lunch in the nearby Indian stall, then took the MRT to Chinatown. Talk about a cultural tour! We were skimming the top of the best and seeing it all through children's eyes for the first time.
As we expected, they were very impressed with the URA Gallery's models of the island. We slipped through the Buddha Tooth Temple while the monks were chanting and then did a spot of souvenir shopping before catching the train to Bayfront.
The kids were managing really well with all the walking but my knee was calling for a break so a few of us took the shuttle to the visitor centre of Gardens by the Bay. They all enjoyed the flower dome which now has a display made up predominantly of lilies depicting the 60s. Then we met up at Satays by the Bay for dinner. We were really impressed by how willing the kids were to try unfamiliar foods, especially Sam who is a little older.
Having restored the energy levels we hurried through the hotel and MBS shops to arrive just in time to watch to sound and light show which they were very impressed with. It was straight to bed when we got home from all of that.
Tuesday began with a game of tennis as Olivia has been having lessons and was quite keen to show us her stuff. Sam is up for anything that looks or sounds like sport. It was fun to have a hit and giggle. We all flagged pretty quickly in the heat though and were soon in the pool recovering.
After recharging we took the train to Dhoby Ghaut where we left Nichola to do some shopping in Plaza Singapura and the rest of us walked to the National Museum. It was lovely and cool inside both places. At the museum the kids got involved with the interactive activities they provided.
We all met up again at VivoCity, at the end of the line where the Caddy family continued on to Sentosa and we met up with Syd and Kim who came in to meet us from Lakeside. They have just had a lovely holiday in Italy. We also bumped into Kathy and June.
The Sentosa mob returned, having walked around the sights and tried out the luge. We shared dinner at Food Republic and then all walked over to watch the crane dance which was a beautiful way to finish the day.
It was then time to take the train home and help the visitors pack into a taxi for the airport. We hope they all sleep well on the flight back to Brisbane. It was lovely having family here to show around our backyard.
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