Jump Jumping Jumped....

Jumping in front of Big Ben

Jumping in Prague.. Ooops.. can't remember the building's name...

Jumped in front of Sacred Heart Church in Paris

Jumped @ Vatican... and EJ refused to jump, because she said "cannot jump in Church la....."

Stylo or not? In front of a Church in Venice

Virgin Espresso Experience

Had my first espresso in Rome.

Drink Italian coffee the Italian way.

Verdict : Good! Very strong coffee indeed.

Lets the photos tell you how much I enjoyed it.

Day 18 : Home sweet home...

After traveling for almost 24-hours, am finally home. Lying on my favorite spot of the home...

Trip been great, and had burnt a big hole in my bank, but its all worth it.

Will write more soon.

For now, need to unpack....

Day 17 : Goodbye Paris.. Goodbye Europe

Its end of my weeks long vacation.
I never take such a long break away from work before.
For 10-years in the company, this is my 1st time staying away from it for so long.
Am very proud of my team for handling the clients and also operations in office during my absence.
I proved a point. The company is ready to operate without me. Am very proud of it.
Now I can have a more balance life.
Guess what, I came with 12-KG luggage, and only one bag.
Am coming back with 2 check-in luggage, totaling to 32.4KG! And one hand-carry luggage and my small back pack!
Trust me, 50% of the contents are for friends & family.
I miss them all already.....

Day 16 : Last night in Paris

Feeling heavy-hearted as I packed my bag.

Yup, coming home soon... Very very soon indeed.

Had a great night, and met up with a friend. Had good chat and it was good catch up. Bring back memories....

I don't think I will miss Paris, but will definitely miss this friend.

Day 15 : Touring Paris

Went to Lourve, Sacred Heart Church & Notre Dam.

Had nice dinner and met up with friend.

More tomorrow, dozing off now....

Day 14 : Bullet-Off to Paris

Took the bullet train to Paris from London. Realized that you do get pressure too even if you travels horizontal. Oh well, I normally only gets it when I fly or dive.., which is vertical. Am not sure what speed it was traveling at, but definitely fast. The ride was about 2-hours, and cost us about GBP36.

It was nightmare dragging our luggages around, at the tube in London.

Sigh, what to do, totally forgotten about the weight when we shopped!

We are so definitely taking cab to airport on Friday.

Day 13 : London Bridge is falling down..

Falling Down...

I remembered the song from my younger day. Of coz, I doubt they favor this song.

The nice bridge is actually Tower Bridge and not London Bridge.

Went to St Paul and catch up with another friend.

Went for Afternoon Tea @ Harrods, but don't find its nice or worth...

And end the night with nice dinner at a local pub that serves authentic simple thai food. Yummy food and very nice environment, and it doesn't hurt the wallet...

Day 12 : Act of Effection...

Mr Moore plays tour guide today, and we paid him with a cup of latte & croissant. Not sure if he is always so nice, or he is trying to make an impression. ;)

Okay okay, to be fair, he is nice, and I think its for real, and not for the "impression".

We plan to start off early, but oh well, with breakfast at home, we chat till it was a bit later than planned when we leave home.

It was Remembrance Day, hence lots of people were around Big Ben & Westminster area. It was touching to see how all of the people there were genuinely appreciating those who lost their life in wars. And there were total silence for about 10mins. Can u imagine, there were thousands of people there, but it was COMPLETE silence for 10-mins! I doubt it will ever happen in our home country.

We walked and took some photos, and took a stroll through St James Park to go to Buckmingham Palace. Due to the celebration, we were not able to go near the Palace or the Guards. So, I didn't manage to "jentik" the guard as requested by J.

Then we went for Hong Kong style Dim Sum, and EJ happily munch down her favorite fried custard bun with CONDENSE MILK. (Well, she was very convince that they do serve with milk, while LS told her she never ate the bun with milk. Oh well, EJ won, they do serve with the milk, if u request...)

And we continued shopping till all the shops closed.. Note : Its Sunday, so they were closed by 6pm....

I also learnt that Curry is the official food for UK! Weird right? I thought its Fish & Chips. So, we ordered delivery of the Indian food to LS home then.... And I didn't eat fish & chips at all in London!

Day 11 : Wickedly Wicked...

We forgotten to adjust our clock an hour back, hence ended up waking up at 5am instead of 6am.

Why we wakes up so early? Coz we want to arrive @ Bicester Village as early as possible. Ya, the kiasu-ism in us stays.

Took train for about 90-mins, and after 4 hours later and many pounds poorer.., we took the train back to London.

Ya, we on "tight schedule", coz we have a musical to catch.

Went and watched Wicked @ Victoria Theater. It was GREAT! I would say, money well spent.

Day 10 : London

Arrived @ Gatwick Airport, and didn't know that they are strict with the entrance... Lots of questions been asked, and all of us were cleared, and got the Stamp.

Took train to London Bridge, and realized interesting thing about train in London... People are allowed to eat & drink!

And guess what, there are 3 ladies drinking wine in the train.... Okay, it might be no big deal to most of u.., but for a "London-Virgin", am surprise.

Another interesting thing I found out is, there is in fact Warwick Avenue! Its not just in Duffy's song... But it exist! And my friend stays nearby....

Then went for dinner at nice cosy restaurant....

Of coz, the highlight was finally meet Mr Moore in person....

Bye bye Rome... Bye bye Parma Ham... Bye bye Gelato..

Sob sob......

Day 9 : Last Day in Roma..

Wanted to start the day early, but still ended up at about 830am...

Went for breakfast, then head out to St Pierto Basalica, then went up to the Dome for the view.

Was there about the Mass time, and witness the Service.

Walking up the Dome was not easy., about 300++ stairs in total. Panting when reached the top....

Oh well, ya, talk about the unfit me whom is ambitious about conquering ABC @ Nepal next year.....

How to be fit when I keep insisting on having another serving of Gelato before we leave Rome????

And, I can't get enough of Ham, and didn't want to pay much... So ended up buying about 100g of Prosciuto San Daniele @ Euro 3.90 and Culatello di Parma @ Euro 6.80.

We going to have that as dinner in the room...

Bon Appetite!

Day 8 : Gladiator, here I cum...

Ooops... I mean, come.

Went to the Colesseo today, and its nearby attractions such as Palatino and Roman Forum.

Weather was a bit crazy today. It was abt 18 degree in the morning, hence all of us just wore long sleeve and a jacket...

Then I think it raises to at least 20 degree at one point, and then had a sudden downpour...

And temperature drop to at least 15 or lower....

And it continue to rain then shine throughout the day...

And we complete our day with more coffee.. food and GELATO!

We found both the popular shop for coffee and gelato... And of coz, we ate / drink there...

Planning to go back for more gelato and coffee tomorrow.., before saying goodbye to Rome...

Love from Rome..

Day 7 : Vatican City, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain & Gelato

Those are places we explored today.

Started off the morning with nice breakfast, then walked for about 20mins to the meeting point to enter the "Blessed City"...

We paid premium, and got to skip the almost 1-Kilometer Q. Guess the extra was worth...

Its nice and big indeed. But was disappointed with the famous Sixteen Chapel. I was really expecting that there shall be 16-physical chapels.... But it was just paintings by Michaelangelo.

Whereas, there some of places in the museum is very nice. Am always amazed by how people from more than 2,000 years were able to built such amazing structures... And paint so beautifully.

Then, walked to Pantheon., which have this huge beautiful bronze door that was from hundreds or probably thousand years ago....

The remains of Rafael (the famous painter whom drew some major parts of Vatican) was placed here.

And, we moved on to throw a coin at Trevi's Fountain. The believe is, you shall return to Rome again if u throw the coin. We did it with good intention, coz all coins thrown into the fountain, is given to some welfare organization...

Then, we had the perfect gelato! That completes my day........

Day 6 : Ciao Venice and Hello Ancient City..

After an hour of boat ride, an hour of flight and another hour of ride in a van, we finally arrives in the Ancient City.

Its beautiful, but raining... Hope the weather gets better soon.

Ciao for now... Going for lunch., then walk around to get oriented....

Day 4 & 5 : Goodbye Prague, Hello Venice...

Left Prague early morning to fly to Venice.

I was the "appointed guide" for Venice, but failed terribly... I was supposed to do research and checked about everything of Venice, such as how to get to hotel, what to do, what to eat...

Hence, we were a bit lost, thanks to me. But we survived...

Its a nice place... With not many things to see, but lots of cafe and branded shop.... So, its relaxing....

After seeing Prague, I personally feels that the St Mark's Square is not as pretty....

Otherwise, everything else is good.

Day 3 : New Town @ Prague

Woke up @ 530am... And feeling fresh.

Had breakfast at a nice cafe called Bakeshop. Cakes were good, but not cheap.

Continue exploring the city..
Went and see the Charles' Bridge during day.., then continue walking to many other places, including Dancing Building.

The building was built by a well known architect, whom I don't recalled the name.

Took a break and had beer at Slovakia Cafe.

And continue walking and eating.....

Day 2 : Cheers Prague

Woke up @ 5am... Was totally knocked out by 930pm yesterday...

Showered and got ready to explore the breathtaking city...

Hotel serves nice ham & bread.. Ate a decent portion of it.., and moves on to our Journey for the day.

We starts at about 830am... And our target was to reach Prague Castle as early....

But with so many distractions along the way... We got there near noon.. Just in time to watch the ceremony for Change of Guards...

Spent almost 4-hours in the Castle.. And continued our journey back to hotel...

Of coz.., continue shopping and eating along the way.

Day 1: Road / Air / Airports...

And finally touched down in Prague.

After being on the road, in the air and airports (LCCT, Changi & Dubai), we finally arrived in Prague.

A bus and tram ride later, we arrives and checked into our hotel.

Small but clean room, with nice mattress & quilt.

It was 5pm Malaysian time @ 2nd Nov when I left home, and now we landed in Prague @ 2pm @ 3rd Nov, local time.

After freshen up, we took a stroll around the area and have our simple dinner in a nice bakery....

Saw amazing Astronomical Clock., crosses nice Charles' Bridge...

Very nice preserved city... All the old buildings still stood strong & proud.

Weather is about 12 Degree when we arrives, and dropped to about 6 Degree @ night...

* wrote this few days late...

Day 2 : Greetings from Prague...

Enjoying their beer...

Yummy & cheaper than a cup of coffee....

Day 0 : Leaving in a Jetplane

Inner Wear & Outer Wear : Checked
"Bubble Jacket" : Checked
Day-Pack : Checked
Camera fully-charged & charger : Checked
Passport : Checked
Monies : Checked
Credit Cards : Checked
Shopping List : Checked

Finally, a trip that had been planned for the past 4-month....is materialized now!

Signing off.... Will be back with more photos & stories soon.