Friday, 18th November 2011 3.30am - Good morning Singapore, as I set my alarm clock ringing in time for our 6.25am Airasia flight to Kuala Lumpur LCCT. 4.15am - I stopped by at XW's house at AMK before picking SY at Kembangan. 5.00am - 3 of us arrived at Changi Terminal 1 while waiting for CC to arrive at 5.15 am. Check-in procedures and boarding passes were already printed way before the trip so it was final verification of the travel documents at the check-in desk before our flight. Our flight departed on schedule and 1 hour into our journey, we had landed safely at the Malaysian capital. I had used up my FINAL day of my annual leave entitlement on this 3D2N trip with 2 colleagues and CC who would be travelling with us. Arrival ... read more

Day 8: Wednesday, 26th October 2011 This morning, we bade goodbye to lovely Florence as well as to our friendly B&B owner, Casa before continuing our journey south to Rome, the capital of Italy. Even before stepping foot into the city, Casa had warned us to be extra mindful of our surroundings when taking the Metro as she herself, had been pickpocketed on several occasions when she wasn't on her guard. Arriving at the sprawling Roma Termini Station that afternoon, it took us quite a while to find our bearings, to get to our prebooked accomodation at the Chinatown area. Without a doubt, our url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g187791-d1085952-r120097997-Hotel_Filippo_Roma-Rome_Lazio.htmlhotel room was clean, comfortable and functionable. Personally, however, this was a mediocre experience (no offence though) compared to the atmospheric B&B we staye... read more

Monday, 24th October 2011 On the same afternoon we landed in Florence, we headed straight to the city of Pisa in order to free up time from the following day's packed itinerary. The local train to Pisa Centrale took a good 60 minutes from Florence passing through the charming Tuscany countryside flanked by houses on both sides of the rails. Since train announcements were never made on local trains (kind of surprise given that we were on a tourist route), we had to be extra vigilant in order not to miss our intended stop. The assistance from the Italian lady on board did serve to assure us that we were indeed on the right direction. From Pisa Centrale, the iconic Leaning Tower was another 25 minutes walk north of the station. Completed during the medieval times ... read more

Sunday, 23rd October 2011 The tourist trap of Venice was where we landed after more than 2.5 hours on the train from Milan. Coupled with another 2.5 hours for our return leg in the evening, we had accumulated a whopping 5 hours on the road during Day #5 of our European adventures! Never mind that the 5 hours might seemed long enough to have taken away the chunk of our day trip. Personally, I enjoyed the long hours we spent on the comfortable express trains as we made our way to visit the key cities in Italy by rail. I'm not speaking about the rest but this was by far one of the most memorable travel experiences during my stay in Italy. As we walked through the grounds of Venice that day, this was without a ... read more

Friday, 21st October 2011 The Eiffel Tower should easily topped a visitor's must-visit itinerary in the city of Paris. Never mind that its steep admission and endless queues had made it an obvious tourist trap. Granted that there are other options in Paris to enjoy "free, breath-taking views" of the city. After our idyllic breakfast at Hotel Du Nord, we made our way to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, a cathedral sitting on top of Montmartre Hill which offered fine views of the city. The climb to the summit wasn't too demanding given the clear October weather. Our quintessential Parisian experience continued through the afternoon to the Louvre Museum as well as a long walk down Champ Elysees. This ultimately brought us straight to the gates of Arc De Triomphe where we paused for a break from ... read more