Hand-made Wooden Coasters (6pieces)
Hand crafted 6pieces wooden coasters with wooden holder. (Green)
£17.00
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Hand made Wooden Coasters (6pieces) Green
Author: Mama Mushy
First time mommy at 36!
Animal Kiddie Chair
Animal Kiddie Chair (Dog)
Hand-made Animal Chair for kids. From 12months+ SIZE: Approx: Height ~ 47cm Width ~ 30cm Depth ~ 29cm Height (Seat to Floor) 21cm
£20.00
Road trip, Scottish Highlands
Road trip is one of my favourite thing to do. May it be just a short day trip, or a long weekend holiday get away, I find it more relaxing and fun, than doing nothing when there’s “nothing” else to do. I simply love going out.
On this blog I will be sharing my family’s short but memorable trip to the highlands and back. Based on our own experience, I will share some of our chosen stops and go areas. There are quiet a lot more places to see, than where we went. Please do more online search if you want to see more places.
I’m glad my husband loves road tripping and travelling like I do. Moving here from the Philippines, at first I wasn’t sure about things. But I let my husband know exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I arrive. I wanted to learn history and see all the beautiful places I have read on the books, and seen online.
The very first place in Scotland I felt in love bigtime was Glencoe, up in the highlands. It is simply beautiful and perfect. It made me wish that one day my parents will be able to see the beauty of my new home sweet home away from home.
Fast forward to a few years later. After my parents retired from their respective jobs, we invited them over to Scotland. First of all, is for them to be able to met our new baby, and secondly to show how beautiful the sceneries here and the rest of the United Kingdom.
One thing I was worried about was the big difference between the warm and humid weather in our home country to a cold and rainy here. I thought my parents wont be able to cope. But by surprise, the weather adjustment for them was not that complicated as we thought, both were able to adjust right away. Of course they would complain that its way colder here, but didn’t stop them from going around. The excitement of showing them places started on.
THE ROAD TRIP
We took off from Glasgow at around 7am. We kind of love coffee and tea all the time. Flask and all that are needed for a coffee break were all in. Of course, enough survival foods to eat, snacks and more snacks. I personally like to bring extra foods in every road trip just in case we get stuck up somewhere along the way. As a matter of fact, if I’m being honest, I don’t know how to travel light! I have tried many times and failed many times. High five to those who can relate!.
We went through the M8 towards The Erskine Bridge to (M898), then A82. A82 goes through the length of the beautiful Loch Lomond. Our favorite stop to have a better view of the Loch is at Luss Village. There are things to consider if you want to stop at the Village, including the pay parking and pay toilet. Maybe not a problem for most. The parking is massive actually, but if you are like me who think alot about how to spend money wisely and park for free then, take some from me. If you’re lucky enough, you may be able to park on the roadside for free, but other than that, you pay for parking. Depending on what time of the year you are travelling, these Village can really be so busy, specially during the summer and school break time. We love it here, and I love coming back here over and over again. You can either eat at the restaurant to use the toilet for free, or go and pay the public toilet for 20p (one time use only). If you dont have any 20p ready with you, no worries!, they have a machine that can change your coins into a number of wonderful 20 pence.
After a little more than an hour drive, we stopped at The Green Welly in Crianlarich. Had the much-needed toilet break, travel break, and most of all brunch break with a view.
The next destination of course was my favourite Glencoe. No matter how many times I have been there, I always want to go back. I knew my parents loves scenic views, specially my dad. Glencoe was amongst the top of the list to go. As expected, it never failed to impress my parents. They cant stop saying how beautiful the scenery was and how they would love to go back again next time. Glencoe is an ideal place for hikers, walkers, trekkers or simply nature lovers. I’m always happy everytime I see this place. I could sit there all day watching the day go by specially on a bright and sunny day.
After Glencoe we headed to the Commando Memorial in Spean Bridge. It is a monument dedicated to British Commando Forces during the war. This place also served as a training ground for the armed forces (I’m not sure if it still being used for training until now). Parking is not a problem, there is huge parking space for all travellers. Their is also a space for “private” memorial from families for their fallen soldiers. There is a clear message that by all respect “do not take pictures”, but to my surprise I have seen a lot of people mostly tourists taking photos at the said private family memorial. Please be considerate if you happen to be here. Do not take pictures when no taking pictures is allowed. On the other hand, the view of the sorroundings here is fabulous. You can take as much pictures as you want somewhere else around the area, the view looks like it was created to be pictured perfect.
If you are travelling further up North, make sure to stop by the Urquhart Castle ruins. It is one of the most iconic castle in the highlands by the Loch Ness. We waited here long enough to catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster, but that day wasn’t our lucky day. We will surely try again next time. The castle ruins and the view around it looks fabulously beautiful!, just go and have a look yourself, you wont regret it!.
We stayed overnight in Inverness. Too tired to wait and sit on a restaurant, we opted to order our dinner from a fast food restaurant. Que was long and the wait was unbeleivably even longer. The manager wasn’t so helpful too. At some point he would even argue with customers. I know customers are not always right. But the manager was not right too. People were hungry and the service was too slow. All the other staff looked grumpy and confused. Going there wasn’t a good idea, but there was no turning back. There was no much choices around the area, or we were just too tired to look around. We waited for nearly an hour if not more. After snacking on crisps, we were finally able to eat our “not” so proper foods.
The following day we went through the coastal road on our way back to Glasgow. We dropped by the Dallas Dhu Museum, along the way. Its a distillery turned museum. If you go along the coastal area there quiet a lot of distillery you can visit including the famous Chivas and Regal (Chivas Regal) distillery. Free drinks included on tour.
This trip was so tiring yet fun and memorable. I’d do it all over again!. I wish my parents would hurry up and visit us again.
So if you are planning to go on a road trip but not sure? All I could say is……Go ahead and do it!…or be squared!. It is always fun to go out and enjoy Mother Nature. My baby was only 5 months when we did this trip. He was all calm and enjoyed every moment. If youre taking a baby with you, bring everything the baby needs plus!, just be ready for poops and cuddle requirement and baby grumpiness!. Even my baby had a good time!.
Have fun travelling people! Enjoy…..
P.S
I have to post this now without double checking, so apologies for any mistake XXX.
Thank You!!!
I Havent Posted a Blog for a Long Time
Its been a while since the last time I posted a blog. The reason is simple, nothings much has been going on with my life lately.
I had a good 2017 year ender. But not really 🙂
I was partly (partly?) depressed and stressed at the end of 2017. I suspected I still had a bit of post partum depression left on my blood stream. I dont hate my myself or anything about my baby at all. I just get depressed and stressed for (i think) no valid reasons. To add the already confusing excuse, dont ask me why i suspected its kind of a postpartum depression, just figure it out yourselves :-D. I might also say I was kind of feeling like I was under the weather (a bad one). So if you are feeling the same at the moment, dont ever think its the end of the world!. Cheeerrrsss to that! Get up and boogie!
To be honest, the best reason is…… tadahhhh! I couldn’t find the time to post anything. I have got a few unfinished blog but cant seem to get that “space” to focus on what to write. Every time is now a busy time for me, with a 16 month old (now 17), running and climbing about when I’m at home after work, I just couldnt find a “me” time. Excuses…. excuses…. excuses!…. duh!.
I have to work harder to find time to post blogs. I like writing blogs, its a shame i dont have much time (motivation) of doing this. I need to learn a few from other mommy bloggers out there!. And enjoy more on blogging.
Another thing is that, I have been planning something for a year now, something I have been thinking for a long long time. I keep overthinking about the outcome, but this time i finally decided to do it and give myself a chance. Sorry I’m not saying what it is this time, because I havent got the final touches yet. Soon, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Hint: no hint! sorry :-D.
February-ish. 2018 (after half a month later)….
At the moment I’m at home having a quiet time, while my unwell baby is asleep. Yup! I stopped writing and blahhh! I finally remember, I have a blog to finish and post. My baba has been unwell for 3 days now. He is teething molars (2 coming out) but I dont think the fever has something to do with the teething. He has almost all his teeth out. His wee body is fighting some kind of virus. He goes to nursery everyday, while me and my husband are at work. One thing about having your baby at the nursery everyday is that, they babies tend to pass viruses constantly to one another. Parents who do the same knows exactly what I mean. So it has been all night mommy and daddy cuddles. Today instead of taking him to the nursery to only be picked early due to high temperatures, I decided both of us stays at home. I hope he gets well soon, I miss seeing him eat all he can. His wee appetite is down the drainage this time.
Woken up and demanded more cuddles….. Tata, mommy duties comes first!
Almost one month after………
Surprise!! I still havent posted this blog! Being LAZY! should not be an option! but I was!…. I have been wanting to post this but not getting a chance. So now, weather I like it or not I will do it.
To continue the story above. He came down with an ear infection for the second time (left ear this time). We had a trip to the emergency, and he was given an anti-infection spray for a week but it didnt work. After that we went to another check up, and antibiotic (amoxiccilin banana flavor) was given then. As expected, he loved it and always wanting for more. Ear sticky discharge/infection was gone in three days if not two, but we had to finish the 5 day medication of 5ml dosage, 3 times a day. It might sound easy but it was very tiring, a parent/s kind of “tired” (you can’t rest and say no!). Now I know the fact that, once you become a parent, you will be able to stay up watching your unwell child at night with too little sleep, and still able to work and function normally the next day!. Kudos to all mommies and daddies out there!, specially the other half who takes more parent duty times most of the time! aheeeemmm, (I had to clear my throat right thurrr!). 😀
It also seems like all his teeth are coming right through, I can’t be sure yet, as he wont let me have a good look, and when I use my fingers to check, he bites me! yes he does! (eyes roll). But i’m pretty sure most of his teeth are out now.
Me so feeling sleepy already ya’ll! I will stop from here so i can re-read then post!
Next blog is going to be a Travel Blog! because!….. I love travelling and seeing places! My favorite road trip is the Scottish Highland trip! So if you want to travel to Scotland specially if you are planning for a road trippin to the highland… maybe i can give you some pointers. Tata for now.
Until next blog people. Have a nice time all!
XX
Simple First Birthday Celebration
It’s been a year long wait for a simple first birthday celebration for our little love. I cant believe how time can fly so fast when you’re enjoying it (i know its an uverused phrase but 🤷🏻♀️ …..).
We didn’t plan a big party celebration for his big ONE, instead we booked for a birthday photoshoot, and I decorated the house for our little bundle of sweet little headache to enjoy.
Lets start the birthday blog like this 🙂
Five weeks before my baby’s birthday, he went through almost all kinds of viruses and allergies. First he caught Foot, Hand and Mouth infection. For a week we both had to stay at home. He was away from the nursery in case he spreads the infection to other babies. On top of that he had high temperatures, grumpy and wanting me all the time. Our days and nights were spent with cuddles and tears. Unforgiving cough and colds followed, yet again fever that comes and go, I had to stay out of work longer to be with him. Coughing and runny nose got worst the following week, he looked as if he was fighting some kind of virus/bacteria more than ever. I needed him to be checked, but was told to just keep him hydrated and give right dosage of calpol every 4-6 hours.
His cough and colds were too stubborn to go away, his eyes started to discharge (yellowish and greenish) sticky liquid and his temperatures came back constantly for 3 days. His appetite went downhill. I took him to the doctor once again, expecting he would be given an antibiotic, but doctor says it would be too strong for his age (11months). He wasn’t looking very well, with both eyes swollen, discharging all the time and loaded with fever. I was feeling so sorry for my baby, if only I could take everything out from him, I would. His ears were checked but at that time it didn’t look bad. He was given ibuprofen instead of anti-biotic. I was awake most of the night as he keeps waking up scared and screaming because he couldn’t open his eyes. Giving him his medication was not easy either, he hated it but we managed. I had to keep washing off his sticky eye discharges with clean cloth soaked in cooled boiled water.
After a few days of not giving him a full body bath, I finally decided to give him one before bedtime. As soon as I started to dry his hair, he screamed like there was no tomorrow. He didn’t stop crying for about 10 long minutes, the longest cry I’ve heard of him since I don’t know when. Because his hair covers his ears, I didn’t even noticed they were swollen already. I didn’t know what else to do other than taking him to the emergency!. The doctor asked me if he had any ear discharges, but I said no (I didn’t see any discharges at all), I thought the mellow swelling (seen from the outer part of his ears) was caused by a bump (he keeps bumping into things like any other babies). The doctor started pressing his ear slowly, and blah! pus, came out right away. He had to ask a nurse to help us hold the baby in place, so there was me, my husband and a nurse, holding my baby, while he was taking every pus and blood out my babies ears. What a joy to watch…. NOT!!! I cried with my baby (mum life eh?) almost the whole time. He was given an antibiotic to take for at least 5 days to stop the infection from getting worst. Again it was hard to give him his antibiotic! he hated it more than the ibuprofen.
To make the story short, he got well and all, no further ear infection…. so birthday planning again, and excitement on the photoshoot!. I bought everything I wanted for his birthday decorations, all affordable and not extravagant.
Just when we thought everything was going well!. He caught the infamous “tummy bug”. We had booked him his first birthday photoshoot beforehand, but we had to re-schedule it since he was not felling and looking well. We want him to be photogenic and looking good in pictures when it happens. Tummy bug for me was the hardest time, watching my baby threw everything out he eats and drink was heartbreaking. If you are a parent, you know how it feels. It was so upsetting because he would keep asking for food (he was hungry all the time) but everything he takes in keeps coming out. It went on for a few good days. Appetite went downhill again and he started looking pale. I took him to the doctor, but the diagnosis was, he had an upset stomach as a result from taking an antibiotic???. I was actually expecting him to be forwarded to the hospital for IV fluids since his wee tummy was not accepting any solid and liquid foods. It was hard to accept, but I had to because…….. who am I to question a doctor?. I phoned the nursery let them know my baby will be off (yet again) for I don’t know how long, and told them what the doctor’s findings was, and even them was puzzled. Nursery staff told me 3 more babies stayed at home due to having a situation like what my baby is going through (tummy bug). What I did the whole time he was not well was to stay up all night and day (well almost no sleep) to keep him hydrated. Hubby and I had one of a kind mommy and daddy duties!. I would carry him and let him sleep on my shoulders expecting him not to through up when he is being held upwards, nope!! I was catching all his puke the whole time. Me and baby had to keep changing clothes many times a day!. Even when he was asleep he would manage to throw up. I could also hear inside his tummy boiling and rumbling like there were drummers playing inside. He stopped eating solids, he would only take milk and water which nothing stays in. It wasn’t long until he started pooping while throwing up at the same time!. And Nope!!! there was no hospital advice!!!. My baby fought the bugs whole heartedly!. He kind of knew he had to get well or else….. I tried asking to get hime IV fluids, but to no avail!! I kept getting told to stay at home and give him more water for hydration! (i regret even following the advice now). I should have taken him to the emergency because he have lost a lot of weight already.
Anyways, another way to make the drama story short…. he was able to pull through, from his normal weight of 9.5 kilos at 11 months…. he went down to a heartbreaking ….. 6 kilos!!. You might have guessed it right mothers!!! I cried hard feeling sorry for my baby!. This is the reason why I regret following doctor’s order to just stay home and keep him hydrated, when his wee tummy wasn’t accepting any intakes!?. I still thought I should have done more to get him taken to the hospital for IV fluids. I’m holding on to the fact that I gave him extra TLC, to keep him well!. Sleepless nights with plenty of cuddles were all worth it!. But everytime I think of it now, I feel bad not taking him to the hospital, he could have avoided losing a lot of weight. I should have followed my mother’s instincts.
Okey now, back to the birthday planning and all!.
He finally had his photoshoot, while he was loosing weight from being sick, I remember he was about 7.5 kilos when we went on to his picture taking. His outfit was loose already, he had two outfits, and his second one, the trousers was falling off. I had to keep pulling it up! in between his shoot. Since he was okey during photoshoot, it turned out a really good one!, he enjoyed it and the photographer was really good, making him pose and smile big for the camera!! we all had fun actually! our little love never showed any signs of how he was unwell for the past few weeks!. Of course mummy, daddy and even granny joined in!. I don’t have the pictures on hand yet (my apologies, i said on previous post I would share them, but don’t have them yet). I’d love to share them as soon I get them on hand, mostly on Instagram post.
Other than the photoshoot, I also decorated the house with banners and balloons for him to enjoy his day!. For all of us, his birthday was way too special. He won’t understand it yet, but we want it to be memorable, simple and most of all inexpensive.
I bought the balloons, banners, birthday badges, and helium balloons at Poundland and Card Factory. I didn’t have to spend too much for a good decor. We bought his birthday cake from a leading supermarket, and picked his favourite Paw Patrol cartoon characters.
On the night before his birthday, he decided to stay up until 11pm (duh! baby!). So it meant I had to stay up late at night to do all the decorations!. I’ve done everything at exactly 2am. With the help of hubby I think it didn’t take that long. The reason why I wanted to do the decorations on the night before his birthday was because I want my baby to be surprised with how the house will look in the morning. I know his only one, but I just wanted to see what his reaction will be.
We sang him happy birthday song first thing in the morning when he woke up. We surprised him in his room with cake, but we didn’t light the candles, in case we scare him with fire, plus we know he would grab the cake as soon as he sees it (yes he did). My wee love looked surprised and puzzled, as a matter of fact, he cried when he heard us singing the happy birthday song (silly boy 😅). He looked too cute crying in his pyjamas though.
We took him downstairs right after, to show him the birthday decorations!. His wee face looked amused as soon as he saw the balloons!. He was wondering what the decorations was all about. He went straight to the helium balloons first, then ran back to his granny sat on her lap for a cuddle. He was still looking confused, his eyes were moving around but with a smile on his face. After pursuing him to go play with the balloons, he finally went on. Played throw and catch with his daddy, until he wanted to play with them all by himself!. He even started biting the balloons and pressing them hard when he realised it was so much fun having them around him, we were surprised none of them blow up!. Sometimes cheap balloons works better than the expensive ones (thats for sure). And Oh! he started enjoying a lot, screaming, laughing and kicking balloons came next almost instantly.
I didn’t buy him toys for gifts, he doesn’t play with his toys that much anyways!. He likes playing with empty cans, empty bottles, cardboards, remote controls, and everything else other than his own toys!. Yup! if you experience the same thing with your toddler or baby, then you’re not alone!. What I did was I wrapped his old toys then put them on display!. Guess what???? he didn’t even notice his toys were away! (duh!). It was fun to see him enjoy what we had for him though, specially the balloons. He started getting presents as well on the mail, birthday cards, birthday gifts on boxes and toys, from family and friends!.
Because he enjoyed playing way to much, he didn’t took his morning nap at all!. So by the time we were going out for birthday early dinner, he was grumpy and crying already. He fell asleep in the car on our way to the restaurant, then woke up once we were there. He stayed up a bit while we were ordering food, then went back to sleep in his pram before the food arrived (typical birthday boy) 😅.
His birthday ended well, hubby and I were both happy, and for whatever reason it was tiring like we just throw a big! birthday party! :-D. Were glad we didn’t or else we would have been flat on our face by the midday at least.
Okey folks! until next blog! here are some photos to see how it all started. Thanks for reading!. Enjoy your day.
My baby Love is Turning 1
Yup! my most awaited dream is turning one soon.
Time has been spiralling way too fast!. I remember this time last year struggling to walk due to my huge stomach. I ballooned to 11.8 stone (almost 70 kilos if not more than 70 kilos 😆) from my tiny frame of 7 stone during pregnancy. I enjoyed it a lot, I ate way too much and fulfilled every food cravings I had. My husband was very supportive too, or maybe he was just annoyed of me always asking him to buy me this, buy me that, make me this, make me that (food), so he just played along instead of controlling my food intake and arguing with me.
I never thought of how much weight I could gain. I just thought my pregnancy was the best excuse to eat whatever I want, without worrying about getting “big” and losing the waistline. My husband would always say “its okey darling you’re pregnant, eat everything you want and lose weight after” 💪🏼😅. I remember not being able to walk long distances as I was getting closer to my due date. I hated shopping because I was too heavy to walk around the shops, I was limping and struggling. Sometimes I would blame my husband for supporting me on my food cravings, but he never had it. My body, my fault, so it was!. The good thing was my baby didn’t grow big. He was a normal size, born at 6.12lb. The food greed all went to me. At my heaviest, all I wanted was for the baby to come out already so I can be back to normal (what normal am I talking about? 😅).
Because I am a first time mum, I didn’t gave myself a break when it came to foods. If only I knew I would struggle so bad later on, I would have controlled myself well. My knees were hurting too whenever I walk, I felt like I was gonna fall to the ground of pain every time I walk. My legs was not used of carrying a heavy version of me. If ever I get pregnant again, I know what to do already. Those who are first time mothers out there, who loves eating more than you should, trust me! control it!. Use a lot of stretch mark’s lotion, if you don’t want any of it showing after giving birth. I call it mama’s “love marks”. I have some of it and proud of wearing it. I wouldn’t change my stretch marks for anything else in the world!. I have always wanted a baby and ready for any marks it will cause on my skin. I’m not ashamed at all!.
Since having my baby love, October is now my favourite month, instead of May which is my birth month, 18 is now my favourite number and 2016, my favourite year (of course). I should buy a lottery ticket already :-).
My boy’s birthday is not going to be extravagant, no big party at all. For me he’s too young be have a birthday party, he will surely have a party once he understand what birthday party is all about (not sure if you’s know what I mean). This time it will only be a family affair.
But…….
Having a simple celebration doesn’t mean his birthday is going to be boring. Of course I have been planning a long time now for a very good birthday celebration for him. I have waited for him for so long so this turning one year old thing is so special to me. I will still decorate the house like there’s a proper “birthday party”. I will have balloons, birthday cakes and more. We even have a photoshoot set for him on his birthday, which I really wish will turn out right and beautiful. I want his first birthday to be simple and memorable, not just for me and his daddy but for him when he gets older. I want him to know that he is mommy and daddy’s most precious gem of all time!. And that he is loved by everyone in the family and people close to him.
A bit of a side story….. or a bit it of a rant maybe 🙄
Just like most first time mothers do, I tried to document everything on my phone as soon as I found out I was pregnant. From the very first positive PT to my growing tummy, all was well documented on my phone almost on a daily basis (if not hourly). I thought everything was going to be “okay to the highest level” because I saved all my photos/videos to “iCloud”. I would only use digital camera sometimes because phone camera was so much easier and handy, most of all, how can saving everything to iCloud ever go wrong?. Big mistake!. I accidentally dropped my phone to the toilet (yes I’m clumsy at times). It didn’t broke down right away, so I tried saving the photos to another memory stick, to my desktop and other possible external memories, to no avail. The phone cable didn’t connect to any other devices at all, including the new ones I bought just to try saving the pictures.
I had my phone replaced to the tune of £270pounds. Desperate of saving my most precious photos, I went for it!. I was promised that as long as my photos were on iCloud everything should come back!!!!. Nope it never did, not a single picture!. It might sound silly to many, but I got depressed for a good few weeks (up to this time if I’m being honest). How? and why??? why iCloud?? WHHHHYYY???
The only pictures I have now were those that I sent to my family, which I asked them to send everything back to me again. But the thing is, those pictures I sent to them was not even a quarter of the pictures I had on my f*&&$^&$c%^£$%^£$n phone!. When my contract ended, I applied for a new one, using the same phone brand still expecting my photos to come back…… Well, it never did…… and I better end my rant here…. because I could keep going and going and going on for days about this one….
I’ll just say never to that bloody phone again!! not on my next contract!!. I regret ever getting the same phone again… 😀 oh well… life goes on anyways… its just a phone they say… a good bloody expensive one!.
Lesson learned people!…. always save your photos to external memories… thats all! never trust phones….. 🙄
Back to the birthday planning…….
I have been watching youtube and reading blogs/ideas on how to decorate a simple birthday party, and I have quiet a few ideas now. See? this is not going to be boring. I will take pictures to share and give ideas to other parents who are planning a simple birthday party like I do. This is getting me excited and can’t wait to see him turn 1 year old. I know its easy to say and over used but! man! I can’t believe how time flies so fast!. I feel like I just had a few tears days ago when I found out I was pregnant (it feels like it was only yesterday.)
He is 10 months old now and goes to nursery full time from Monday to Thursday. I’ve seen so many developments on him already, nursery is doing good on keeping his developments on the go. He is walking, singing and dancing already, not to mention loves climbing and going to places/areas in the house he is not allowed to go. He loves going out to the park and play at the swing. At first he was scared of the grass, and now won’t let me take him off the grass anymore, he screams and shout 😅. He loves getting a nice bath, and loves water so much, he doesn’t want to get out from the bathroom anymore 😅. He is good to his friends too, and doesn’t mind them when they hit him on the face, lol!. I have noticed as well, that he tries his best to show other people that he is the coolest baby ever by talking, smiling, and never ending saying “heyah” and “Hiiiiiii” to them (my baby is extra friendly). But duh! once we are away tantrums kicks in (like any babies do, I think). He is such a joy to our lives now. Uummm well sometimes a sweet little headache 😅.
Anyways, here goes my baby is turning one blog. Many to go, but for now, I hope you enjoy reading this.
Next time on my blog I will share how my baby’s birthday decorations looks like and ideas. I would also love to share how everything went, including his photoshoot!. To mothers having their baby’s birthday as well. Happy birthday to them!. Have a good one, and more birthday candles to blow.
Thanks all!
Cheerrrsss! and have good week ahead!
Pisa and Milan, Italy with my Lady Friend (Last Part)
So, Finally here’s the last part of my Italy trip blog. I have been looking forward to finishing my blog, its taking so much time since I’m back to work now. My life has never been this busy, but I’m loving it.
Pisa! here we go!. Who haven’t heard about the Leaning Tower of Pisa? I suppose if you love travelling then you surely know what and where it is. As for me knowing that the tower was on our bucket list for this trip, made me super excited to fly!. My plan was of course, to do the customary “save the tower from falling” phot op (who doesn’t do that?).
The Torre pendente di Pisa, world-widely known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa was unintentionally designed to tilt. The soft foundation on the other side of the tower made it tilt the way it looks now. It went though numbers of architects and engineers to save it from falling off. Not to mention it has also survived through the hard times/wars and natural disasters. I’m feeling lucky to finally say I am one of millions who was able to see this magnificient building.
From Sta. Maria Novella train station in Florence, we took the “normal” moving train to Pisa Central station. We thought there was no point of getting the fast moving train since we have the whole day for this trip and Pisa is not that far from Florence. We didn’t book our ticket in advance, we bought it right on the train station. You can pay either cash or card and getting ticket is not a problem at all. The train wasn’t slow as expected, it was better than that. You can even charge your phones and gadgets on board, my mobile internet connection was way too slow, I wasn’t able to use my internet until we got off the train.
The train wasn’t busy on our way to Pisa, there was no ticketing staff on board either. All the tickets were validated beforehand. It was going well until a few stops later. Since there are stops where no tickets are required, a few gypsies kept coming in. For whatever reason, the train don’t have any security or staff on board. As soon as the gypsies started coming in, our worries started. These people started asking for money, and there were quiet a few of them, there were more gypsies on board than passengers I would say. To be honest, this made me want to jump out at any stops already. At one point, a guy came close to me and literally checked what was inside my bag!. Luckily all my friends were behind me looking at the guy straight in the eyes. Other passengers where quiet and looked at him as well. The guy walked away, as if knowing that all of us well give a good fight if he starts. There was no help expected from any staff, we didn’t see anybody going around the train for checking.
If you take the normal train, take extra care and be very cautious, I’m not saying that all trains are like this, I believe we were just unlucky that day. Coming back to Florence from Pisa was different, because the train was busy already and gypsies didn’t bother getting in at all. I think they know what time to distract and annoy passengers.
We arrived at Pisa Central about midday, and due to my pregnancy (again) I needed the toilet so badly. There was only one I could use, which was the Mcdonald’s, and whew!! believe me when I say, that was the most disgusting toilet I have ever been during this trip!. I won’t say it was the staff’s fault, because all they did was let people use the toilet for free. (that time anyways). I give the blame to other people who used the toilet!, customers, outsiders, tourist, ect. Because this toilet is the only one in the station people treated it like dump. It looked even worst than a dump, people didn’t care for the next users, no flushing and dirty seats like people were sitting like “FROGS” with super dirty feet!. Wet/flooded floors, scattered toilet rolls and bad smell welcomed me right at the door. If only I wasn’t desperate to empty my bladder, I wouldn’t have bothered! and yes! pregnant me had to sit like a “frog” as well. I might have annoyed an employee because I told one of them that the toilet was filthy. I hope there were more restaurant staff to control “pigs” using the toilet. Anyways, theres a toilet at the leaning tower of Pisa, clean and good for use, its right behind the tower and the church. So if you’re not desperate enough to use the, you can wait and use the one at the Leaning tower.
Other than that, we had to take a bus ride to the Leaning Tower site. The passenger bus is easy to find, its right outside the terminal, you will never miss it. There are quiet a lot of busses that go through historical and tourist areas in Pisa. Transport is easy and not a very long wait. Bus ticket can be purchased inside the train station, all day/family ticket is way cheaper than singles. Me and my friends bought the family ticket (6 of us).
I was actually expecting the tower to be outside the city, away from everything, but no, its right at the heart of Pisa!. With buildings, houses, restaurants amongst others, this place is mobbed with both tourists and locals. The tower itself is a bellower, church on the other side and baptistery on the other. Being what it is for hundreds of years, having it at the centre of the city makes a lot of sense. Churches are always built right at the heart of any town/city, so the location says it all.
There were a few restaurants around here, again you’ll never go hungry as long as you got the money, and if the restaurant is not full. There are also plenty of souvenir shops you can choose from. I found the souvenir shops here cheaper than Florence. Here’s where I bought my souvenirs for everybody.
People specially the tourist (including me) went gaga over the “save the tower from falling” photo pose. There were all of us trying to take photos at the same time as a matter of fact, funny! but who cares!, I wish I had a good one but….. never mind 😀 ~ Tip: don’t be shy, take the famous leaning tower pose, everybody does it! you should as well.
The trip went definitely well, we all enjoyed it, happy to finally see it in person. Me and my friends posted postcards in Pisa, but mine didn’t arrived to my grandmother, its okey though, better luck next time. I know some people still love receiving postcards! I’m one of them. We had a lovely meal here, pricey though (tourists price) but lovely and yummy. More and more gelato we had, Italy got me and my friends hooked with it.
Leaning Tower is definitely a must go!.
LAST DAY:
7 days wasn’t enough, Italy has so much to offer!, I would have loved to travel longer but, money was running out!. (I wish id win a lottery one day).
We all took the train to Milan Central Station for our going home day. Three of us were going back to UK already, the other 3 had their holiday extended, going to Lake Como and Lugano, in Swiss. I wish I still had time, but other than money running out, I was going back to work on the Monday.
Our flight was not until about 5 in the afternoon, and arriving in Milan at about noon time means we had a bit of spare time. We had a quick side trip to see some of Giorgio Armani’s birth city, rather than sit and wait at the airport. With our luggages on hand, off we went to see Duomo de Milano (Milan Cathedral). We passed by Giorgio Armani’s famous house turned hotel, he’s original shop and other places. It was nice to see the place where he humbly started building his now world renowned name. But seeing the Cathedral was our main point. It wasn’t that far from the Milan Central Station, I’m glad we took the risk going away there instead of going straight to the airport.
After spending about 30 minutes at Milan Cathedral, we took a taxi back to Milan Central Station. From there we took a train to Malpensa Terminal 1 and 2. We got off at terminal 1, then a shuttle bus picked us up to Malpensa airport, the journey took about 20-30 minutes, and we just got on time to catch our flight back to the UK.
This trip was a good break for me, I do travel with my family more, but having a trip with my friends was something different. I would love doing this over and over again, different place at a time.
I am so looking forward for another ladies trip!, In fact we already have a plan for another one!. Cant wait! but for now….. work, work, work!!
I hope you enjoyed my travel blog… and until next time!
Have a good day all!
This is why I started Blogging
First of all, I am now in between writing my last blog post about my Italy trip with my girlfriends and having lunch. But since I can’t find the exact words to finish my travel blog yet, I feel like posting another one in between.
Here I am on my lunch break 30 minutes away until I go back to work (I have one hour). I just finished my hot pot chicken noodle soup and sandwich with butter and smoked sweet and mild cold meat (yummms!).
Its actually moments like this why I decided to have my own blog site, I want to fill up my extra times and share my experiences in life. I’m so done with just sitting around busy doing nothing 🙂 I guess its one of many signs of aging. I don’t mind getting old though, everybody gets old, so we all do. Secondly, when I went through postpartum depression (hmmmm, not as bad as many others), I started looking for something to freshen up my mind rather than wanting to hit my head hard on to the wall (don’t do it at home). Don’t get me wrong, not all women goes through hard times at the beginning of motherhood. Mine was a little different. I love my baby so dearly, but having him colic at the beginning was exhausting.
Colic is a term used for babies who cry 3 or more hours a day 3 times a week. Their face turns red and screams like they are in pain. Mind you, mine was way way worst than that. He managed to cry all day and night long with very little sleep, seven days a week. He lost his voice at some point. It was so hard to calm him down I would end up cying myself.
I had a hard time coping with all his long hours of crying and screaming in pain. I thought I have never seen a baby who cried and screamed like him. I had no idea and never heard of the term “colic” until I had one of my own. This was the time when all I did was read blogs on how to deal with colicky babies and postpartum depression. For 6 weeks (which seemed like forever) I hardly slept at all!. The longest time I might have slept was (maybe) an hour during the day and mostly only about 40 winks at a time during the night if I was lucky. My baby was just not sleeping, he was determined to cry from 8pm until the early hours the next day, and again the whole morning after a very little sleep and again in the afternoon until night time (repeats). It was indeed the most exhausting time of my life (yet precious for having my little big dream).
I was starting to be out of my mind during the time of my postpartum depression. I think I lied to everyone when I said “I was okey”, when deep inside I was not!, I was at my worst. I was too tired, my brain wasn’t functioning the right way 🙂 I was becoming suicidal, the only thing I held on to was the thought of “who will look after my baby if I’m gone” and “if I die, I might hurt my family so bad”. I knew I needed help when I started messaging my sister and my parents that I want to die already. I felt awful, postpartum depression is a no joke!. I was lucky enough that my sister gave me her 2 entire weeks at home to help me look after my baby, just when I was getting at my worst. (FYI, paternity leave of 2 weeks is never enough, why just 2 weeks?? I needed my husband’s help a lot lot more!, but he had to go back to work).
When my hubby was on paternity leave, I had someone to rely on everything, specially caring for the baby. But once he was back to work, things got a bit too hard. He operates a machine that needs enough energy and concentration to be able to function well, or else, he might get into accident. I told him to not worry about the screaming baby at night and just think of getting enough sleep and rest for his work the next day. I didn’t want to bother him at all during the night. Parenthood is indeed a hard work. Thumbs up to all parents out there! who are going through hard times, but getting on so well. I know now how it feels.
Anyways. The night my sister arrived, I went to sleep right away. That was the first time after giving birth that I was able to feel my back on the bed, relaxed and breathing. She watched and dealt with the baby’s screaming all night. Every time I wake up in the middle of the night, I’d see her holding the baby, feeding and trying to calm him down. I would only fall back to sleep without even knowing, I was too tired and needing many winks so bad. She would sleep during the day and up all night, me, the other way round. Hubby takes his turn once he gets home from work.
When my sister was with me the whole time, all we did was search for blogs/ideas on how to deal with colicky babies. It was her most of the time who finds the best ideas, I just follow. I was still getting my energy back from all the stitching and pain I had after giving birth (normal delivery). It was indeed a lot of struggle, sad/happy and unforgettable memories.
To make the story short, my postpartum depression is now a “thing of the past!”. My baby stopped being colicky at 6 weeks, at 7/8 weeks I heard his “full” voice for the first time!. It made me so happy and my heart jumped of so much joy hearing his “real” voice for the first time. He finally screamed the loudest and got his voice back after getting enough sleep and rest. He suddenly turned into a happy baby. My parents came over to help me as well, all the way from Philippines. The support from my family helped me get through everything. If you know someone going through the same, please don’t ignore! give as much help as you can, it does makes a big difference. Don’t wait until its too late.
Since I have mentioned how we dealt with my colicky baby, here are some pointers of what we have done to help him. Most of these ideas we got online.
- White noise – play white noises close to him, you can find white noises music on youtube, it helped a lot.
- Infacol – we started giving him infacol at 2 weeks, before every feed, it helped but not as much as the white noise.
- Turn hair dryer on – yes! any white noises possible helped calm my baby. Everytime the white noise from youtube doesn’t work I turn my hair dryer on.
- Turn Vacuum on – vacuum is considered white noise, it helped!.
- Play Music that you like – I did play music from my favourite bands, it helped him, he liked listening to music, but white noises were more soothing to him.
- Gripe water – I would say this was the one that helped him deal with his colic pains, you can only give gripe water when baby is 4 weeks and older. 2 weeks after taking gripe water, he turned into a normal, sleeping, happy baby. I don’t know about other babies, but this seemed to work on ours.
- Introduce dummy/pacifier – when my baby was colic, all he wanted was milk!, he wanted to be feed, after feed after feed, he would get sick but demands more milk. We tried him with dummy, he never liked it at first, but with continued determination from my sister and I, he finally accepted it, it soothed him in the end, he would fall asleep longer when sucking his dummy.
- Bouncy (musical/vibrating) Chair – my baby got relaxed when on the bouncy chair, not that it stopped his colicky self, but it helped a lot.
- Most of all, Cuddles and TLC – keep in mind… Your Baby NEEDS you more than anyone else in the world!! Don’t give up giving love and cuddles, even if he screams and shouts infront of your face!. He’s in pain and he needs you!. They can’t talk, so please don’t give up or get mad at your baby.
- Try Love massage – my baby didn’t like it but yours might!.
So far this are all the things that I remember I have done to calm my baby down, try it and it might help your baby as well.
Now at nine months old, my baby is literally a happy bouncing, climbing, hyper baby boy, who tries to escape in every opportunity. He is too far from his colicky and screaming days. He still gets tantrums of course, as per all babies do. He likes to watch nursery songs on youtube (on big tv in the morning), and loves books, just like his daddy. He looks kind of a “cool” baby now, who started walking at his age. He gives us so much joy and happiness, We just love him so much!.
If you are going through postpartum depression right now, please seek help professionally or from family. If you get ignored by someone you thought could help you most, try someone you never think would help you, it might surprise you. And if you are somebody who knows someone going through postpartum depression, please do help in any way possible. Its not too hard to give a helping hand.
So there you go! I actually finished my blog at home while the baba is dozing of!. I have to take a zzzzzzzzzz as well!. Until my next blog people!.
Sending you all good vibes and good day/night!
yayowww!
Florence, Italy with my Lady Friends (Part 2)
continuation…… (see part 1)
To avoid missing our train to Florence, we went early to Roma Termini station. I don’t know about the other travellers, but we had quiet not good nor bad experience (somewhere in between). The busy train station don’t have enough seats for waiting passengers, so we helped ourselves on the floor, or sit on our luggages. We had to have meal at a fast-food restaurant just to give ourselves a place to have a decent seat, even at that, we had to wait for other passengers to finish eating and leave their seats. Toilet is not an easy place to find and use as well. I was pregnant during that trip so toilet was my best friend!. I once ran in desperation to empty my bladder, but the lady outside the toilet asked for a receipt from a particular shop and restaurant.? Yup! you have to purchase something to be able to use the toilet for free, or pay £0.50cents. I had to ran back to the restaurant next to where the toilet was, to get my receipt!, and nope I didn’t bring my purse or wallet, because, why would I? I was just gonna empty my super full bladder!. My friends and I had to take turns, because we only had one receipt. But other than that, the train employees were friendly and helpful. So thats one positive side.
Our train was on time. Finally we were able to sit properly. We took the fast train which left our ears popping the whole time 😅 but the journey was quick! so no complain at all!. Train was clean and non smoking so it was a smooth journey. When you are taking trains or buses, never forget to show your ticket to the train staff, and make sure to validate them before the ride. Train companies will charge you a whooping £50 euros at the least if you lost your ticket, it can be more than that depending upon the situation. So always take note of your ticket and keep it safe.
In a matter of an hour or so, we arrived in Santa Maria Novella station, Florence. At last the smell of Michelangelo and the Designer brand Gucci’s Birthplace! was in the air. Getting a taxi from there was not a problem, taxi rank is just outside the terminal. The apartment we rented was located at Via Ventisette Aprile (27 April), about 3-5 minutes taxi ride away. The owners didn’t speak English at all, they had to call someone to interpret, most of our conversation were done through gestures and mind reading, I guess. Some Italian words sounds Spanish, so that helped us understand each other for a bit. They were nice people, only they don’t speak English at all.
There were restaurants, pubs and mini shops outside the apartment we rented. Before you book an apartment make sure to read reviews online first. We already know that by night time, there will be noises coming from the streets, but it didn’t bother us, because we’ve read reviews already. Having a restaurant right downstairs was a good help, we feed our starving selves when we arrived. I found the Chinese restaurants cheaper in Florence than any other, so if you love Asian foods, you know where to go. But then again, when you’re in Italy you have to eat Italian foods, so go and get it.
After we got served with massive brunch we head our way out to explore Florence. I loved every corner we went through. The old city looks so pretty!. As we were getting close to the town centre, the smell of leather got stronger. There were plenty of souvenir shops everywhere, leather goods and other stuff you can buy as presents and for yourself. There were coffee shops and restaurants everywhere, so you’ll never go hungry as long as you’ve got money.
One of the biggest attraction in Florence is the Duomo de Firenzi (Florence Cathedral) located at Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square). It is one the most beautiful churches I have ever seen!, it looks so beautiful, my jaw just dropped. The dome of the cathedral remains the biggest brick dome ever constructed. There are coffee shops and restaurant around the square. If you feel like staring at the cathedral for as long as you like, order some hot drink/foods and sit outside, I have seen a lot of people doing it, if only I had time to sit around I would have done it. The entire cathedral won’t fit into my camera lens, but the pictures still looks stunning. The main tourist attraction includes the Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile, all in one area. Don’t dare miss checking the inside as well, once you’re there you have to get in. Going inside the church is free, but if you want to go up to the top of the dome, there is charge. By the time we were there, it cost around £8 euros, it might have changed already, but just to give you an input.
FYI: whenever you need to use the toilet/empty your bladder, you need to go to a restaurant or cafe’s. Some of the resturants charge €0.50cents just to use their toilet, others you can just sneak in and do your business for free. I haven’t seen any public toilets.
We spent the rest of the day roaming around the Florence town, markets and the shopping area. Our mini travellers were getting tired already so we decided to walk back to our apartment.
Second Day:
The plan was for all of us to go to Venice, but because I was three months pregnant that time, I decided not to go. I didn’t want to get too tired from too many train rides. The trip to Venice takes about 2 hours by train. While my friends was having so much fun in Venice, so did I in Firenze!. I wandered around the old beautiful city.
The day was scorching hot, but I had myself covered from head to toe due to bad scratching. I don’t know if it was due to my pregnancy, or the warm weather, but my skin was itching so bad. I remember not being able to sleep at night because I can’t help but scratch everywhere. So if you’re on your early pregnancy right now and experiencing itchiness like theres no tomorrow! you’re not alone. Thanks to my friend who encouraged me to stop by a pharmacy which was close to the apartment to ask for help. The pharmacist was good in speaking English, so there was no hard time explaining. He gave me the best ever anti itch lotion safe for pregnant women. The lotion was called A-Derma Exomega D.E.F. Sterile Emollient Cream (yup I had to put the name because it really helped me, but please ask chemist/pharmacist/doctors first).
I walked on the streets of Florence alone like a pro. I was enjoying my time, thought I should go and check out some of many museums. First I went to Galleria dell’ Accademia, famous for Michelangelo’s David sculpture, but it was crowded (already early morning). I moved on because I wasn’t into waiting long lines that time (blaming my pregnancy blues). As I was walking through the streets I passed by the the Medici Chapel, I decided to go in since it wasn’t loaded with people outside. The chapel itself owned by Medici family has long history. It is home to the tomb of Giuliano di Lorenzo de’ Medici and Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici. It features the very beautiful Cappella dei Principi designed by Matteo Nigetti, the Lantern, and Michelangelo’s unfinished project, Sagrestia Nuova (New Sacristy).
I’m an easy to please person, so whenever I see simple but beautiful things I do appreciate them respectfully. I do love seeing and going to historical places, I will always check out museums and galleries everywhere I go if given a chance. This museum wasn’t busy yet when I found it, maybe because I was a bit early. I enjoyed my time, plus they have loo/toilet inside, which was handy.
After Medici museum I went on strolling around the town. I passed by an authentic designer shop, along a narrow cobblestone road. Don’t get me wrong, though I’m not rich and can’t afford to buy very expensive designer bags, I love looking at them (girl thing). I moved on anyways and dropped by a high street shop to get me a nice pregnant outfit, not maternity dress but something a pregnant woman can wear. I must have looked like a local coz some tourist asked me directions, which mostly I had no idea. I sat down a restaurant to have rest, because honestly, touring and walking around is too tiring. I wasn’t too hungry. I ordered chocolate bread and a drink (hot drink) but there was a misunderstanding. I was given a bread and espresso 😅. I wanted to return the espresso, but I dint bother, I didn’t even touched it, I bought water on my way out. I used the restaurants toilet which charged me £0.50cents (how is that). I paid because I couldn’t understand what the toilet guard was talking about, the only thing I understood was, I had to pay £0.50cents.
Got back to the apartment just in time my friends arrived back from their Venice trip.
Third Day:
Our very much and most awaited “Discounted Designer Stuff Girly Shopping Day!”. Yup! if you happen to be around Tuscany area, there is a designer shopping outlet you can go with big discounts!!!. I mean authentic. The place is called “The Mall” its about 40-45 minutes away from Florence. The bus terminal is at the back of Santa Maria Novella train station. It was not easy to find because you actually have to walk round the back and cross the street to find it. Thanks to the souvinir shop worker at the corner of the train station, who showed us the right way to go.
There are loads of designer shops to find here, though i havent seen an LV shop, but most of the others are here, you name it they got it!. We went to the Prada shop first, you have to get a ticket number before you get in, and keep it safe for payment transactions. Once you pick something you like to buy, you just let any sales agent know the item and the ticket number you are given from the entrance. You will get your items once paid at the cashier with cash or card. The staff dont speak much english, but they do take time to communicate. I bought myself a Prada purse costing £280 euros, which costs about £500 euros outside.
We had lunch at the Gucci cafe. The food was so nice and the price was reasonable, knowing its a designer cafe. I loved and enjoy the food, and then after I checked out some nice sunnies. Well sunnies got sold at £95euros, with a tag price of £180euros or more outside. I could have shopped for more discounted items, but no!. Valentino shop was just at the corner, but because we got tired walking around and choosing what we like (only girls will understand) , we head home. Too many discounted items to mention too by the way.
Fourth Day:
Leaning tower of Pisa and Milan day. I’ll blog about it next.
The night before we head back home, we went to Florence’s famous Ponte Vecchio bridge. The medieval bridge served as the centre of commerce during that time. It is said the the word “Bankrupt” originated here. During the medieval times, sellers use tables to show and sell there goods. If the sellers or business owners can’t pay their debts/tax, soldiers would destroy their tables, which is known to Italian as”banco” and the other word “rotto” means physically destroyed. The event was known to be called “bancorotto” which sounded like, in Italian “Banca Rotta” which means Broken Bank. So there you go! it is so sounds a lot like Bankrupt.
If you have sweet tooth try the Italian brand’s chocolate crepe, Venchi!. its so yummy it was addicting. We treated ourselves with this yummy dessert on our way back to the apartment after the Ponte Vecchio bridge tour.
Have a nice day all!! and will be back for the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Milan blog soon!.
Cheers! See you again beautiful Italy!.
Rome, Italy with my Lady Friends (Part 1)
Because tonight I can’t stop looking at my travel photos, I decided to blog it up!.
I was three months pregnant when me and my friends went to see one of our Dream Destination country, Italy. We had a busy trip and went to different places. First things first, Rome was the first city we visited.
We had an early flight to Fiumicino Airport, and from there we hired a van to our rented flat, 35-40 minutes away. After a lot of talking and dealing with the price, the driver charged us €50 euros. Considering there were 4 adults, 2 children and loads of luggages, €50euros was such a good deal, compared to hiring 2 separate metered taxis. Other than hiring taxis to, and from the airport, we relied on public transport. Buses and train tickets are easy to get (ignore the long lines at times). For more details about the convenient public transport in Rome, you can check out Roometoolkit dot com. FYI, please read transport instruction before you go specially for first time travellers!. Every city has different instructions, so read and learn first. Never waste your money on taxis for sight seeing and going around. Personally, I would recommend using public transport or hop-on, hop-off tour buses. Expect a lot of walking as well, because tourist spots are mostly walking distance from each other, so walking and more walking is super highly likely!. Don’t be naive, wear your most convenient shoes! walking around Rome is so much fun!.
Another thing to keep in mind is to always be aware of your belongings, specially during peak season. Rome is totally jam-packed with tourists during high season. Locals have warned us to never leave our things unattended, pick pockets are pretending to be one of the tourists. So be aware all the time. Rome has so much to offer and too many good things to see, you might/will forget to watch over your shoulder.
Our rented self serving apartment was 10 minutes walk to the Vatican City, and the nearest train station. The owner was right outside the apartment waiting for our arrival. We arrived later than planned, due to a marathon happening that day (8.am-ish). He didn’t speak too much English, but definitely one of the best apartment owner I have ever encountered. The place was clean, friendly and very “homie”, in fact, we didn’t want to leave at all!. Claudio (the apartment owner) prepared us presents when we arrived! oh plus wine and nibbles! (can’t get any better than that!). We went to grocery, cooked our own food, and had unlimited of everything! (do I have to mention coffee?). We had to eat our lunch out, but breakfast and dinner were served at home (yep! so feeling at home).
FIRST DAY/ARRIVAL DAY:
After we got our things sorted, and fed our tummies, we headed to Vatican City right away. The cloudy and cold day news turned out sunny and bl👀dy warm!. I could say we almost fainted from roasting (imagine me and my friends wearing winterish outfits). See pic and feel free to laugh at our “fashion victims” moment.
We continued anyway like it was normal to wear coat under a warm sunshine. I was happy to see though that it wasn’t just us wearing the right outfit on a wrong day. The views made me forget I was roasting inside, I was definitely having fun while walking around. More of my amusement was when we reached the Via della Conciliazione street, otherwise known as the road to the St. Peters Basilica, wide and crowded, but the view of the big dome stands out!. Thanks goodness by the way!, everything went cooler as soon as we were inside the St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Vatican City, is a must see place when in Rome. It doesn’t matter if your Catholic or not, religious or not, as long you you happen to be there, don’t miss it. The architecture and sculptures around the Basilica are magnificent!. The bigger than human sculptures on top of the buildings were astonishing.
As for me who grew up in a Catholic family, my main purpose of going there was to visit Saint Pope John Paul II’s graveyard (my favourite pope). Secondly to see some of Michelangelo’s many sculptures particularly the Pieta.
The first thing I found close to the entrance of the Holy Door was Michelangelo’s Pieta. Mother Mary holding her dead child Jesus in her arms was incredible. For a good few minutes I was like imagining Michelangelo putting it to shape, what was he thinking at that very moment? and how was he able to make something that went way down in history? how can someone be able to make such a perfect creation (what a genius!). It was almost hypnotising. I was the happiest when I finally saw it. The Pieta is the only sculpture Michelangelo signed himself, the rest of his works were left unsigned (intriguing eh).
Next thing I looked for was Saint Pope John Paul II’s graveyard. I actually didn’t have to walk any further. If you are standing in front of the Pieta, Pope’s graveyard/chapel is on the left side. I can’t even describe the feelings I had as soon as I saw his name carved on the stone. It was a very touching moment, I was in tears, so as most of the visitors. Though I wasn’t able to see him alive, I’m glad at least I was able to pay tribute by visiting his grave site. Pope John Paul II will always be my favourite Pope, inspiration and a good example.
We also went to see the Vatican Grottoes where the tombs of the former popes are buried. Admission was free but taking pictures was not allowed. It is located at the basement on the right side of the Basilica. The Basilica itself is so big, we had to ask the securities where the grottoes is located.
Because we didn’t have enough time, we were not able to go inside the Sistine Chapel, I heard it has one of the best architectural designs and no one is allowed to take pictures for copyright purposes. The place was almost closing after we toured around the St. Peters grounds. Sistine Chapel is one of many reasons why I should go back to Rome/Vatican City.
SECOND DAY:
As early as 6 in the morning we all started gettingt ready for our next sight seeing. We took the train to the Colosseum first. During the holiday season, no early hours is early enough for queuing. We arrived before 8 in the morning. It was too late for us already to get in line to buy tickets at the gate. So much earlier than 8 in the morning is needed to be the first in line. You could buy tickets at a shop close by, and go for the quick entry, but the very busy and crowded lines turned us off. Even if you have the fast entry ticket, during the peak season you still have to wait until other people comes out to prevent overcrowding inside. I failed to see one the most historic place of brutal gladiator fights, execution and sometimes a simple entertainment area during the medieval times. Buying tickets online is one of the best option (only buy tickets on reliable websites). I now have 2 of many reasons why I should go back to Rome!. Although we were not able to see the inside (so as many other tourists), the outside view of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum were more than beautiful enough to see. We had photos taken here there and everywhere!.
After the Colosseum, we headed to another world famous Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). We had quiet a hard time looking for this place, and the signage that didn’t point to the right direction didn’t help either. There were beautiful sights along the way, one of which was the Sephora shop!. Girls being girls, we had a mini retail therapy. After we satisfied ourselves with girly stuff, we continued looking for the fountain!. Thanks to fellow tourists and the water sound coming from the fountain, we finally found it!. The fountain itself was surrounded by tall buildings, between the junction roads. As expected, the place was crowded but nonetheless, it still looks spectacular!. Have a go and see it yourself! it is so much prettier in person than in pictures and movies. And if you want to make a wish, they say use 3 copper coins? well theres nothing to loose (other than your coins). Don’t ask me what coin to use if you have no copper, coz I don’t know either!, I even forgot to make a wish myself when I was there. Anyways, I had so much fun looking at the fountain and loving it!. I could sit there all day watching the people go by, of course with my fave coffee in hand (I’d like to say coffee and a book, but I’m not a good reader).
After I got captivated by the beautiful fountain, were back to walking again. We walk through the streets, until our feet took us to the Spanish steps, Piazza di Spagna, and the Trinita Dei Monti church. If you’re wondering where they all at, they’re all in one area. We took our time to appreciate the beauty of the place. Our mini travellers were having fun as well. If you love designer stuff and have much money to spare on shopping, this area is the place to be. Designer shops are everywhere, but no we didn’t shop, we just let our eyes droll and mouth water. While we were there, we took the opportunity to taste Italy’s famous ice cream! gelato. My personal verdict? don’t dare not try it!. Gelato is an ice cream only Italians know how to make it taste different from any other. By the way I have sweet tooth 🙂
The day passed by so quickly, we all got tired at the same time happy and contented. There was so much to see but not enough time. We only had two days in Rome so we made the most of it. Rome will always be one of my favourite travel destination. I like how friendly and happy the people were. I found Italians approachable and charming. And not to forget, foods were so yummy, a bit pricey, but you always get what you pay for. Try seafood spaghetti! yummylicious indeed!.
ON DAY 3:
The third day was for another City to see, we booked our fast train tickets online to head our way to Florence!!. We had so much fun as much as we had in Rome, but we went to different towns/cities while based in Florence, but its gonna be up on another blog, because I don’t want this blog to be too long.
P.S I consider this trip as me and my baby’s first trip abroad together! 💪🏼
Have fun! and I will be back to Rome one day! Cheeeeerssss! until next blog!.
