Art for Heart's Sake

WE'RE HOME!

Hi there from our dining room table!  It is SO good to be home and I have to say I had the best sleep last night.  There really is nothing like your own bed!

We had a really good flight to Auckland and I managed to get about 4-5 hours sleep I think.  We had the best seats yet that folded down more or less flat, ah bliss!  My ears blocked up totally on the descent but at least they weren't too painful.  This did mean that by the time we landed in Nelson I was as deaf as a post and still am.  Ugh!

We got home here at around 2.45pm after Caroline picked us up and I have to tell you it was such a lovely feeling to see the garden, ducks, chooks and benjamin bunny again.  Bertie our rooster has a very floppy ermmmmmmmmmm thing on the top of his head (my brain is so foggy I can't remember what it's called, oh blast) which I think might be because they have been in their chook house for 7 weeks.  Apparently for the last 3 they didn't come downstairs much at all and haven't been eating a lot either.  I'm going to check their house for red mite today just in case there is an infestation.  I've let them out to free range too and just hope he perks up, I love him he is such a character.

Well I must fly, we off to go grocery shopping soon and then we get Chester later this pm.  Crikey it will be full on again then.  I hope I don't feel zombieish (is that a word?) for too long and that this blasted sinus infection goes away.  I only have 1 more antibiotic to take and SO DON'T WANT ANY MORE!!!  Happy, happy to be home, oh so happy!  Smiles...

At the airport! Yes we are sitting in the Singapore airlines lounge, nibbling on nuts and enjoying a drink. We are here for around 3 hours before we board our flight. It feels strange to be wearing warmer clothes already!

I've just realized I didn't experience a thunderstorm here which is a real shame. They are amazing and I really miss them. Thunder like you wouldn't believe!!

Ok I'll leave this here and the next time you hear from me i will be home, yiiippppeeeee... My sinuses feel very gummy - that's the only way to describe them so just hope my ears will be okay. I am a bit worried I have to admit. OOOooh if you ever get a chance to see a movie called W.E., directed by Madonna, it's brilliant. I am going to Atch it again tonight on the plane because I didn't see the ending. It's about Wallis Simpson and King Edward with a modern twist. Smiles..

Hi, well it's here, the last day of our 7 week adventure. This time tomorrow we will be almost home. I can honestly say it has been an amazing trip and even with the sickness hassles I wouldn't have changed any part of it.

I am so proud of my lovely John. He did all the bookings himself using Trip Advisor for researching accommodation etc and I honestly feel he ought to set himself up as a trip planner.

Oh we had a funny moment last night. We were in a cab coming back from dinner when the cab driver said 'are you cold?'. 'no'. 'Oh I must be coming down with something!'. We realised then that he was hugging himself and sniffing. Your should have seen us. We both looked at each other thinking 'get me out of this cab now!!'. Needless to say the driver got a good tip so we wouldn't have to touch his change. Giggle, Crikey.

Today we are packing this am and then going to an art/craft supply store and a couple of other places before heading out to the airport around 4pm to avoid peak traffic. My sinuses are still blocked and I am worried about my ears on the planes when we land but am trying not to dwell on it.

Yay so happy to be heading home. Big smiles....

Hi on our Monday morning. Most importantly, I am SO READY TO GET HOME! It's been wonderful to be here in Singapore again, seeing our old stomping grounds but this morning I am fairly desperate to get home again. I ended up at the doctor AGAIN yesterday and came away armed with more antibiotics (oh flaming UGH), nasal spray, decongestants for day and night, nasal wash out (done but made no difference). Giggle, I'm beginning to feel like a walking pharmacy! I am so hoping my ears are clear for our flights but I refuse to worry about it, life is too short and I'm sure you're tired of hearing me talk about it. So sorry, but it really does help to write these things down.

Yesterday we had a great time looking around Holland Village where we used to live. It's an old area of Singapore and thank goodness it remains basically unchanged. This is really unusual because most of the time they are really good at knocking down the only slightly old and replacing it with something new! Almost all of the restaurants and shops we used to visit are still there. I managed to get a really cheap, lovely cool bright magenta dress to wear while we are here (thank heavens as I was roasting in my 3\4 linen pants) and it will be perfect for gardening in this coming summer.

Last night we went and had dinner at our favourite Indian restaurant on Boat Quay, which is one of the most famous restaurant areas alongside the river. Kumar, the 'meet and greet' face of the restaurant was still there and it was so good to see him after 9 years. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and it was a lovely balmy night too. That's the best thing about Singapore, being able to go out at night in a very light sleeveless top and know you will be warm.

We didn't sleep well last night which isn't surprising considering we got around 14 hours sleep the night before (silly us) so we ended up watching a movie from around 2 until 4.30am (or maybe later) before we managed to get another couple of hours sleep. We set the alarm for 8am so we wouldn't sleep in again. Tonight I need to take a decongestant and it is supposed to make me drowsy so that will be perfect.

John is going to catch up with a friend of his who is also his tailor of old. He's also trying to catch up with a couple of work colleagues too. I'm going to pop over the road soon to wander around a fairly large mall complex that has amazing shoes (I must limit myself to 1 pair) and a shop that sells only hair accessories... oh my word!! I will be in heaven and it is so lovely to have long hair when I see all of these gorgeous bits and pieces! Big smiles...

Hi, on our Sunday afternoon!!! Crikey, did I say afternoon?? Yes, oh dear. We went to bed around 9pm last night after coming back after dinner. It was so hard to stay awake until then but we knew it was important because it would help to avert jetlag. Hmmm giggle, then we go and wake up at 11.40am, yes 11.40am. We both woke up earlier and I was thinking 'oh no, I need my sleep'. It was probably around 7am because the light was coming through a crack in the very black-out curtains that are in this room. Ah well, hopefully we will still sleep tonight.

Unfortunately I am suffering from a major sinus infection again and this time the glands in the left side of my neck are sore which is a sign my eustachian tubes are blocked on that side. I am going to try and see a doctor because this is exactly what happened when I got sinus in 2001 and that led to a burst eardrum. I'm trying really hard not to freak out but it does worry me when I have a 10 hour flight in two days.

I'd better go, we're off to Holland Village here in Singapore where we used to live. More later honeys. Smiles..

Hi from Singapore!!!

Hi, we are now in Singapore, sitting in the hotel foyer waiting for our room. We landed at 6am so got here a bit too early. Am longing for a long, hot shower!!

Our flight from Rome was lovely and I managed to get a few hours sleep with the aid of an antihistamine tablet and French champagne, yum!!!!

I was really sad to leave Italy, it is SUCH an amazingly beautiful country, and we had such good people experiences too which is what has made our trip so special.

Today we are going to head to one or two of our old haunts here in Singapore. It's super humid today, more so than usual because ot's meant to rain. That's the weirdest part of being here - putting on clean clothes, going outside and feeling hot and sticky instantly. Our washing machine will be working overtime when we get home!!!

Here's hoping our room won't be much longer as I'm itching to get settled in. Smiles and yay we are on our way home. We leave here on Tuesday night and arrive home Wednesday mid-pm.

Morning, yawn!!! It's 6.15am and we are awake, getting ready to be picked up at 8.15am to get to the airport for our flight to singapore. I didn't sleep all that well, too much on my mind.

our flight is 12 hours and some leave here at 11.30am rome time and arrive in singapore early Saturday morning (very early I fear!!!). How weird. Needles to say I will be gulping no jetlag tablets.

Well honeys that's it for now. I'll post from Singapore as soon as we are settled in to our hotel. We are there for 3 nights so at least we have a break between long flights. Hugs and smiles.... Yippee we are heading home!! I can't wait to see our ducks etc, ooh and Chester...!!!

Hi from Rome.. we had a lovely train ride down from Venice, 4 hours went very quickly and the scenery was amazing. The really funny part was that it as incredibly sunny and VERY hot when we left the apartment with our 2 big bags, 2 smaller trolley bags and 2 backpacks to get to the station.. over quite a few bridges with steps!!! One thing is for sure the most important thing is to keep a sense of humour, which we did. The train was a bit cramped luggage-wise and John had a few fraught moments but all was okay in the end.

We just got back from dinner at a very special simple family tratorria nearthe Vatican. We ate there when we were here in April and so lovely to go back, welcomed like family! It is so hard for me to leave Italy, I love it here so much and I could honestly live in Rome! One thing is for sure one day, at some stage I willl be back!!

I must go to bed because we are up very early to get to Rome airport to catch our flight to Singapore. Yes we are on our way home.. 12 hours to Singapore and then 3 nights there. More tomorrow with smiles..one very happy Philippa in Italy! Smiles and happy tears... just can't help it!

Hi, oh woohoo and happy place.. the sun is shining and the sky is blue! Finally!!! It feels so good to feel too warm and I never thought I would ever be saying that!

Our day started with a trip to the local pharmacy again because I can feel my chest infection coming back. I'm not coughing much but I am a bit wheezy and it feels as though I'm breathing through cotton wool. It could just be viral but I didn't want to take a chance when we are flying 12 hours from Rome to Singapore on Friday.. so yes I am taking antibiotics again which goes very much against my grain.

Yesterday was amazing. We walked around Venice from 10.30am and returned to the apartment at around 6pm after the most amazing gondola ride. We found two gondoliers on our way back in a more secluded area - none of the pomp, bustle etc of the main areas were the gondolas tend to be - such a relief. Bless John's heart, he bought a bottle of Proscecco from a local cafe and they supplied glasses too. We had a really lovely ride around small canals and then finally into the grand canal before heading back. It was very romantic and so quiet and relaxing. If you get the chance to do it, late afternoon is perfect.

I have to say the shops in Venice have to be seen to be believed. Everywhere you look there are mask shops (some very cheap and touristy and others that are just beautiful and full of works of art), glass shops (some run my asians now unfortunately) and a lot of leather handbag outlets that say 'made in Italy' but as we found out from one of our friends here today, also run by asians and 'made in China' with fake italian stamps on them. It's really sad to think even this amazing place has been inundated by people out to make a quick euro and suck tourists in! I have to say the amount of 'bling'here is incredible and I spent most of my time oohing and aaahing.

We went back along the same route to the Theatre where we will be seeing La Boheme at 7pm tonight and we ducked in to a couple of shops to buy special momentos of our trip.

One highlight was going again to a murano bead shop, run by friends Theresa (american) and Michelangelo (italian) that we met in 2003 after contacting them from Singapore. We tried to find it yesterday to no avail, but managed to get there today. Oh it is such a gorgeous shop and Theresa is delightful! I also spoke to a friend of mine, Liz, who I knew when she was a journalist in Wellington way back in the mid 1980's. She moved to Italy late 1980's, married and Italian artist, has five children and would you believe is also a friend of Theresa's. We visited her husband's art studio\shop too.

Right now we are having a rest before eating a snack, changing and heading off to the opera. The theatre we are going to is said to have the best acoustics for voices in the world.

Tomorrow we head to Rome on the train which takes around four hours. We have to trudge back to the station with our bags which neither of us is looking forward to. Okay, John has just put a very old movie on the DVD player here so I will go and glance at it. I'm not good at watching TV during the day though. Big hugs to all and big smiles... Keep your fingers crossed my chest thingo goes away pronto!! More tomorrow, probably from Rome. Ciao ciao..

Hi, just a quick update. It's now Tuesday morning and after we've had a rather late breakfast here in our apartment we are off to explore Venice on foot. We saw blue sky when we woke up, for the first time more or less on this entire trip, only to have it disappear behind cloud about 1 hour later, giggle. Just as well we're not on this trip for the weather!

I woke to find a furry tennis ball sitting a the back of my nose (figuratively that is) so I guess my sinusitis is still there. My ear still feels odd after our flight yesterday which worries me a little as it is the one I had a burst eardrum in back in 2001. I am having inhalations to see if I can clear things. Fingers crossed it clears before our long flight to Singapore on Friday. Please send strong thoughts to help that happen. More later today after our wanderings. Hugs and smiles...