1st Family Holidays

Rob had to go to Singapore for a work convention and so we decided that Luke and I should join him. His parents are living in Singapore at the moment and are staying till November for work. We all left Perth excited to start our first family holidays. Luke was very good in the plane and he was so excited by everything that he just manged to sleep when we were landing in Singapore.

So while Rob was at the convention for the first week, Luke and I enjoyed Tiiu's (Rob's mom) company and the pool facilities of the Caribbean condominium where his parents are staying. The weather was very warm and humid and sometimes it was a bit too much for Luke and I, but we managed well. Tiiu is truly a great tourist guide, she took us too all the places that one should go while in Singapore. Rob and I are just horrible tourists, if it was up to us poor Luke wouldn't have seen nothing but the pool of the condo! But Luke, Tiiu and I had a great first week together while Rob did his networking in the convention for work. Rob and I had also a chance to go out together a couple of evenings which was great while grandma and granddad took care of Luke for us.

 We took Luke to the Night Safari but forgot to take the camera!!! Luke loved it and was pointing at the animals, he didn't know where to look by the end of it. He managed to stay up till we got in the bus back to the city! Tiiu and I managed to get a few hours to explore Arab Street and buy some fabric, they also had some beautiful Persian Rugs that I would love to own. Also we all went during our first weekend to the Singapore Botanic Gardens which was the most beautiful park I have ever seen and been to in all my travels, specially their Orchid Garden. The weather didn't help us at the Botanic Gardens it was too hot and we didn't manage to stay longer and explore the gardens a little further.

 Orchard Road was a place which I was amazed by all the beautiful malls and I had never seen so many designer shops in one street but what I enjoyed most in Orchard Road was the Japanese department store (Takashimaya). I just love Japanese fashion, food and life style so that store and the 2 dollar Japanese shop in Vivo Mall in Harbor Front were both, my favorite places to go shopping. While we are in the subject of shopping I bought two very cute pair of shoes for Luke for a bargain price, both pairs are real leather. One is a pair of boots and the other a pair of trainers for $20 dollars Singapore each, if I would have bought these shoes here I would have paid around 60 dollars each. I think the shopping experience in Singapore is just amazing!!!   

One would not go all the way to Singapore and forget to have a refreshment in Raffles Hotel. So that is what Rob, Tiiu , Luke and I did, but I was shocked that three coffees cost us $35 dollars!!! But you are not paying for the coffee but for the experience, still that was a very expensive 15 minutes of my life which left me with a bit of a bitter sweet after taste. One cant ignore though what a beautiful Hotel it is, colonial in style and very well maintained so it is a must see if in Singapore even if the coffee is expensive. 

We also spend an afternoon in Sintoza Island which was very hot but very nice for Luke to swim in the sea even though it was as warm as a hot bath, still we had a wonderful time and I had the best dumpling noddle soup of my life in the food hall. Luke through out the trip was like a celebrity baby, all Asian family's wanting to take picture with him. Every where we went people would stop us and want pictures with Luke by the end of the trip Rob and I were almost charging for pictures with Luke hahaha...

On our way back to Perth Luke slept for two full hours. Everyone was amazed of how good he was but I also did bring loads of toys for him so he was busy with something for most of the time. Once we got home all three of us were popped beyond belief. We were all in bed by 8:30pm. The next day Luke didnt want to leave the cot in morning and is still doing this oday, he just stays there playing with the light on (he found out how to switch the lights  on in his bedroom). So I have had a great week waking up at 10:00 am! So life is good even though we miss Singapore maybe we need more holidays so Luke can miss his cot and I can have a sleep in every morning. 

Merry Christmas and happy New Year 2010!!!

My poor blog has been neglected for a while but with the house renovations I have been too busy to write anything. My mother has come to OZ and is staying with us till Feb which has been a wonderful Christmas gift for me. She has been a tremendous help with Luke while we are off to the house to get it all done before we move in on the 10th of Jan. We had a wonderful first Christmas together as a family and I was glad my mom was here to share this special time with us. We all went to my mother in law's house for Christmas and Luke just got so excited by all the wrapped boxes which he found out later on the day that inside the boxes there were toys too. We had a wonderful Christmas lunch and after that unwrapped all the gifts, it really was a special day. So tonight we are going to go to friends house for the passing of the New Year and enjoy our selves a bit before the big move. Slowly we are already packing and I am having a chance to get rid of some clutter on the way. Also I am going through all my wardrobes and giving away all the clothes that don't fit me anymore, which I have been clinging to with the hope that some day I will fit them again. I guess I need to be realistic and just give them to someone who can actually wear them instead of them just sitting in the closets year after year. So my new year resolutions are:

1) Get rid of clutter

2) Not buying things I don't need

3) Stop smoking again

4)Get more active and exercise

5) Eat healthy

I wish all of you a wonderful New Year and that all of you can reach your New Year resolutions! Enjoy a great Christams song!

Happy New Year!!!!

We had such a great time last night at Paul's house. It was strange but wonderful to have the passage of the New Year outside having a barbecue in a warm summer night. The memories of when we had our New Year parties in Brazil was present throughout the evening for me. I had very nice fish with some very yummy salad and lots and lots of water and soda. The picture posted on the blog is just for fun....Rob and Paul were smoking cigars and we thought it would be fun to take picture with me with the cigar and beer ... so for all of you out there I did not smoke a cigar or drank beer this New Year!!! It was great to be among friends and family and everyone really had a wonderful time. Alice was really enjoying the warm weather and the great food. It really was a perfect evening for all of us! I wish all of you a great 2009 and that this year will bring peace, joy and happiness for all of you who read my blog. Enjoy the slide show...

Honeymoon in Brazil!

There are not enough words to describe how wonderful our trip to Brazil was for Rob and I. Not only it was a great honeymoon but for me it was special because I haven't gone back home in 11 years. I had a chance to meet up with some of my old friends and also to meet with my two sisters who I had missed so much. We started our trip in Sao Paulo, (were I was born and were one of my sister's lives) we stayed there for 7 days. It was great to meet Henrique after 11 years, he hasn't changed much, just that know he works very hard and has a wonderful sweet girlfriend (soon to be wife I hope!). Carolina also went to Brazil at the same time as us so we caught up with her and her sisters, which was great! My neighbourhood has changed so much that I almost didn't recognise it. The school which I used to go to high school has been demolished and now its a car park. Although the neighbourhood has changed and grown, it has also become a very trendy area with all the best bars and nightclubs. It was very strange to be there with everyone because it was the same but at the same time very different. I felt like a tourist which made me a little sad. Also I had a chance to have some great pizza (my city really has the best pizza in the world) and great steaks. I had a chance to spend some time with Regina (my oldest sister) and it was very nice to see her and my nephew Alexandre. I was happy to find them well and it was great to catch up with them after 4 years. Rob had a chance to go fly a helicopter in Sao Paulo and he absolutely loved it! The 7 days flew by so fast and before we knew it, it was time to move on to Buzios. We took a bus to Buzios (8 hour drive) and arrived in the morning. My sister Rulla picked us up at the very small bus station of the town. It was so nice to see her because I hadn't seen her in 14 years!!! We talked over some breakfast and after I had to have a nap because I didn't sleep in the bus over the excitement of seeing her after so many years. We truly loved Buzios its such a pretty town and the beaches are just like paradise. The food was very good and everything about it was just perfect for our honeymoon. I had enough chances to meet up with my sister and catch up. We stayed in Brigitta's a bed&breakfast in the center of town. The rooms were perfect and every morning we had breakfast with a sea view (what more do you want!). We had some great pizza's also at the Pizzaria Dolce Vita where the chef/owner was a very nice and funny Italian man (who by the way was a very well known tennis instructor in his younger years in Italy). Almost every day we had some pizza or some pasta there because it was one of the only restaurants which the price was fair and the food was just amazing. We went out occasionally to some bars at night with my sister but Rob and I were always so sleepy that we weren't much fun, I think the whole wedding and move was finally catching up to us. We also did a day tour through Rio de Janeiro, were we went to the Maracana, Sambodromo and The Christ. I loved the big statue of the Christ it was just very impressive. The days flew by and before we knew it we had to go. I said sad goodbyes to my sister and promised that it would not take another 14 years for me to go visit her again. I hope you enjoy the slide show!

Short Trip to Luxenbourg

Our religious wedding was just beautiful and wonderful. Everyone we invited came to the wedding and even people who were not living in Holland. Uta, Lance and the kids came from France. Erica, the girls and Adam came from the US. Also Claire and Owen came from Irland to see us and I was very pleased because I haven't seen here since Washington. It was truly a wonderful day but a little sad because it was also a kind of farewell. Rob and I missed his mother and father who were not able to attend because it was too short notice for them to come from Australia. But we know in our hearts they were there with us in spirit. I will post the pictures when the photographer send us the pictures. I will post some pictures we managed to take on the day but the really nice ones you all have to wait. On the Monday we left in the morning to Luxenbourg. Rob had to go there for work so I thought it would be nice to join him and explore Luxembourg. We arrived there at 14:00pm, Rob went to work and I went to the city center. All shops were closed so I decided to explore the old part of town. It is truly a beautiful city and the old part is medieval which makes you wonder how many battles were won and lost. There was only one museum open, The Museum of Modern Art. It was great because they had an expo on Emily Bates photographs (Love Scenes). It was great to be able to see her photos. After I went to have some lunch in a very nice little pastry cafe, I had a wonderful grilled veggie salad and a really really yummy strawberry pie. I kept strolling at the old part of town till I met Rob in town for dinner after his work. We went to a nice restaurant and had German food. Rob had veal Schnitzel and I had Sauerkraut with very nice sausages from Luxembourg. The next day after Rob went to work I went to the city again. this time the shops and all the museums were open. I went to the City museum which is mainly the history of Luxembourg. It was a very beautiful building and I had no idea Luxembourg had so much history. When I was done I went to have another coffee with some strawberry pie which were really lovely. I did some shopping (I bought a kilo of sausages from Luxembourg haha) and before I knew it I had to meet Rob for dinner and than leave back to Holland. It was a very nice short trip. Rob and I are leaving to our honeymoon in Brasil on the 7th of June. So I will not be updating the blog next month only in July with the Brazil trip. Well everyone enjoy the slide show of the wedding and of Luxembourg.

Bachlorett's Party The Hague

Alice organised a great Hen's night for me. I was truly surprised because I had no idea what we were going to do, the only thing I knew was that we where going out for dinner. We all had a nice dinner at The Concierge and we also cracked a bubbly to mark the event. Alice, Kim, Viviane, Maya, Jessica, Mike and Rodrigo were all invited to have a good time at the hen's night. I know you are not suppose to bring boys on the Hen's night but Rodrigo and Mike are my friends for so long that to go party with out them just didn't seem right. So after dinner, Alice took everyone to the surprise which everyone knew but I had no clue what to expect. When we got there I couldn't believe it, she got for me to the Karaoke bus!! I just loved it....a Karaoke on wheels. So we all took our place in the bus, opened a couple of beers and started singing. First we sang Dutch songs than we switched to English songs. After an hour we stopped and I thought the ride was over but before I could figure what was going on, a man in a strange mask and a cape came in the bus. Yes girls, it was a male stripper!! I never laughed and had so much fun, it was the most strange 15 minutes of my life! I have added the video to the blog but please be aware that there is some indecent contents. You can't see his front bits but you can see his bum so parents please be sure the minors are not watching this with you. After the stripper was done we just enjoyed the ride in the bus singing Frank Sinatra and Madonna. When the ride was over we took some more pictures and headed to the Karaoke bar, yes we did a lot of singing that night. We stayed there and than moved again to a gay bar to have more drinks. This bar is a small bar with very nice owner who was just so happy for me that he kept filling my drinks and all the guy men were having fun with us for the happy occasion. So by the time we left the gay bar I was already very tipsy hahahaha. We moved on to a normal bar to have just a couple more drinks and dance a little. We left the bar scene at 04:30 in the morning I could barely walk and we were all laughing so much with all the pictures and the events of the day. I got home had a shower cause all these bars in Holland everyone just smokes like a chimney and there is not very good ventilation so you smell like cigarettes and sweat. Got into bed and cuddled with Rob. The next morning I had such a bad hangover that I slept till 18:00 hahahah...it was worth it though! Enjoy the video and slide show.

Miami Trip part I

When we left Frederick the weather was miserable...raining, cloudy and cold. We packed up the car (and I mean literally packed the car so much that I was scared for Rob who was going to drive!) and left Frederick around mid-day. We didn't manage to go too far and stopped in Williamsburg for lunch. It is a lovely town, mainly with old English buildings and very much in the holiday spirit. We went to the cheese shop where I could not believe my eyes, there they were, all stacked up and waiting for me. Dutch cheese!!!! So I got some Emental (Swiss) for Rob and Old Amsterdam for me!!! We ordered some sandwiches and drinks and sat outside to eat. The weather was good in Williamsburg (its about 3 hours from Frederick) not as cold as the weather back home. We left and did another 3 hour drive and stopped at a truckers stop for dinner and then stopped in a Motel by the road to sleep and have an early start the next day. The motel was not bad at all, simple and clean. The next morning we had an early start, we left the motel at 7:00 am we traveled as much as we could without stopping, we had only a long stop when we reached Florida for dinner. We traveled a total of 14 hours in one day, we were knackered, to put it mildly. We arrived in Miami at 12:30 am and the apartment we are renting is just perfect. Simon (Rob's brother) came to greet us and stayed a couple of hours. He left at 2:00 am and Rob and I went for a quick beer. We went to sleep at 3:30 am, tired but happy we managed to arrive! Miami is great, the weather has been kind, some showers but nothing that wont stop you from walking around. Rob and I managed to go the the beach for a couple of hours but the water was cold and it was not so hot to go in. Hopefully tomorrow we can go to the beach and enjoy the weather. Today I went with Jakie (Simon's wife) to Yoga, it was just great, I haven't done any Yoga since I arrived in the US so it was just great to loosen all my muscles. Jackie is in her spare time a Pilate's teacher so she took me to the fitness center were she works. Very nice place, the Yoga teacher was awesome! I was very very stiff so many of the moves I was not able to accomplish, but it made me realise how much I missed Yoga. I might start it again in Frederick. Well, will upload some more pictures of Christmas when I am back home. We are staying here till the 26th of Dec but I hope we can get home on the 27th. Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Have a happy holiday's !!!! Enjoy the slide show:

Harper's Ferry Trip II

I have been in Harper's Ferry in Summer but in Autumn is beautiful with all the warm colours. We went down only to have lunch and see some parts that Rob and I hadn't seen yet. There is a big rock on the cliff with loads of engravings and some date back to the time of the civil war! I was also attacked by loads of lady bugs hahah on my way up the hill to the rock, they were everywhere on my hair, coat, camera, etc... We had a nice lunch in one of the restaurants and kept exploring the village. We saw a house with two little kittens sitting and playing on the porch it was so cute. It was a very nice afternoon outing. I also bought a recipe book from the civil war which I already tried a recipe for pie crust which was very nice. Well everyone, hope you enjoy the pictures, I need to go cause I have my engagement dinner tonight. Will take pictures of course and put it on the blog for all of you to see. Miss all of you!

I Have a Dream

Another beautiful day in Maryland. Although its cold and crisp the sun is shinning! The weather was so nice that we decided to go down to Washington DC and do some sight seeing. We arrived at 12:00pm, we had some well deserved Starbucks to start before heading to our very long walk. Our first stop was the National Archives were you can see the original documents of the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, The Constitution, The Amendment to abolish slavery and all the letters and other info from all the other documents. All this is located at the main chamber called Rotunda -Charters of Freedom, its a big room with very little light so the old documents don't get damaged (you can take pictures but no flash). The documents are all on display in a round fashion, hence the name Rotunda. It was great to see, specially when you can see all the drafts of the Constitution before the final one was signed. I saw Benjamin's Franklin's signature he had a beautiful penmanship, it was really cool. We left after that because we still wanted to go see the Washington Monument, World War II memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

We headed to the Washington Monument and on the way passed through a nice botanical sculpture garden and walked all the way to the monument. The thing is so big that you can see it from miles and you think," Its right there after that street..." few blocks later and you're still not there yet. We finally got there and the big spear (or big phallus) is very impressive, it is huge. You cant stop thinking if the person who thought of this had something to compensate (hahaha). After taking some more pictures we decided not to go up because we needed to get tickets half a mile away where we walked before, so we thought we just carry on to the World War II memorial. Oh by the way all the museums and monuments are all free, even going up to the Washington monument or entering the archives is free of charge, I thought this was the coolest!

The World War II memorial is relatively new it was opened in 2004. It's name says it all , it honors all the people who served and died on the war. I was really impressed by the copper sculptures of different war images (sculptor Ray Kaskey). There were several with the women who were working in the factories during the war. I thought that was great to see. Also there was a quote about women and the war, I think it's great that we are finally being recognised and printed in stone to show our contribution in history! The monument has several pillars in a oval circle which represent all the states in the US. A big fountain in the middle and two pavilions in opposites sides of each other, one saying Pacific and the other Atlantic. Its really beautifully made, and there are quotes and significant dates set in stones. But the best was yet to come and you could already see him sitting there, looking from a far; almost like he is watching your every move. Like Big Brother.

We walked through this beautiful passage way with trees set one after each other. The wild geese where having their feeding break before heading again south for the winter and they were everywhere, I think at least a hundred of them eating grass. But finally we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial. Its a big white building with pillars. Its beautiful, the marmor from the steps and pillars are stunning. When you get to the top there is a huge stone sculpture of Lincoln sitting on a chair. Just to think that at the bottom of the steps in August 28, 1963, under a nearly cloudless sky, more than 250,000 people, a fifth of them white, gathered to demonstrate for "jobs and freedom." Martin Luther King gave his famous speech "I have a dream" that day. That place truly has so much history that you can almost feel it in the air.

After all this we cached a cab to go back to the parking garage so we could park the car on the street and go for dinner. By the time we got to the car it was 17:15pm, and we were really dead from all the walking, I think we walked 3 miles in total. So we parked and went to the brewery were they had very nice food and the place had great jazzy music. We ate and had some drinks and headed back home to Fredrick. I snoozed all the way home dreaming of the 1963 and how cool it would have been if I could have been there in the crowd, listening to the words of wisdom of Mr Luther! Well hope you all enjoy the slide show, all the pics are in the order of the post. If you have any questions or just something nice to say just leave a comment. Have a good one!

Thanksgiving Dinner

After so much preparation finally the day arrived. Although I didn't cook the turkey, I still needed to prepare my butternut pumpkin roast and my apple pie for the big day. Rob, his mother, father and I went to Uta and Lance's for Thanksgiving. I prepared my roast pumpkin the day before so Tiu and I could share the kitchen for the apple pie and sauerkraut. The house had all these different food smells in one day, it was lovely. We arrived at Uta's at 4:30 pm and the weather was typical for the season; lots of wind but clear and crisp. The leaves seemed to be running along the car to follow us to join us on Thanksgiving dinner. A beautiful orange pinky sun set made the setting just perfect. We arrived and greeted everyone including Lucas and Leo. Everyone was very cheery seeing its our first Thanksgiving in America. We opened a couple of beers and wine. Tiu gave the boys the top toys and they were thrilled. I also played a little with the boys and join the adults later for more drinks. The turkey was ready so we put all the food on the table and it was crowded. The smells of all the different dishes really made your mouth water. We gave a quick thanks and digged in. Silence fell upon the table expect for Luca's and Leo's chatter hahaha but after a couple of minutes everyone was talking and paying praise for Lance's culinary skills. After we were done we needed a couple of hours so we could fit the apple pie in our enlarged stomachs. We drank some shnapps to speed the digestion and later had some Kahlua cocktails with the apple pie. Leo rushed to me later that night and wanted to show me how grown up he is by using the potty...it was the sweetest thing I ever saw. The boys went to bed and we had a couple of more drinks and we had to leave because Rob had to work morning shift the next day. It was truly a wonderful evening. Frederick is already all decorated for Christmas and the day after Thanksgiving the Christmas sales start, so down town was all festive. Free hot coco, Santa arriving in his carriage, Christmas carols and all. It was really pretty but I didn't take any pics, forgot my camera =0(

Well everyone enjoy the slide show and check my post for the pumpkin recipe ok. Holiday greeting for all!

Quilt Show Houston 2007

Wow....it was truly a humbling experience. All those great quilts made me see how much I still need to learn. I got to Houston Texas on Friday with a terrible cold. My ears popped when the plane was descending. It was really painful I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of their sockets and that my brain was turning to puree hahaha. I got to the Hilton to meet up with Tiiu (Robs mom)and than go and see some of the quilt show before they closed at 19:00. These quilts are truly works of art. There was some amazing stuff that you would think it needed a special place in a museum. The convention center was huge, really, we needed to high light which sections we already walked to be sure we didn't do the same section twice. It was good that the quilt show was for three days but even so Tiiu and I did not see all the quilts and only managed to go through half of the vendors. They had more than 1000 vendor stands at the convention, seriously! The fun of it all was how many people came from all over the world for this event, I didn't know that there are so many quilters. You could see Japanese, Brazilian, Dutch, Australians, Italians...well you get the picture. Of course most of them are older but you could still spot some blue or green haired youngsters (hahaha). But even though the crowed was a little older it was so fun because quilters can be really funny when your not taking the fat quarter that they want. But you could get some cat fights in there too. This woman who was with one of these motorised wheel chairs was shoving it on peoples' feet, till one woman turned around and told her to stop being such a bitch....well the two women were really bitching at each other and than I passed by them and made like cat fight sounds...all the women around us were laughing like crazy. The woman on the wheel chair left really fast gruffing hahahaha. But the best one was when I was buying some fabric (fat quarters) in one of the stands and I commented that I had lost my mother in law yet again, this woman past behind me and said, " Gezzz, I wish I would lose my mother in law!".I was amazed by the mood in there, if you were eating something or just getting some coffee you always stopped and talked for hours with complete strangers. But its like this sisterhood that you never thought existed anymore, like a secret society. I am not kidding it really felt great to be connected with so many women from different countries and ages. The three days really flied by and before we knew it Tiiu and I were running through the quilts to try to see everything before they closed the show on Sunday. I learned loads, got great tips and bought great notions, my wallet was much lighter by the end of it. But as always good things must end and that was good too cause I dont think my wallet would manage another day! The next day we spent the day going on a tour through the underground connection between all the big building in town. My feet were killing me after so much walking all those days. But the tour was great, the guide was a retired man who new so much history of Houston and the architecture of all the buildings, it really was impressive. Than on the end of the day we went to the butterfly center in the Natural Science Museum. It was beautiful to see them all flying around you. On Tuesday we left to come back to Frederick. It was really warm in Texas so we had a shock by the cold over here in Maryland. Well that was my trip to Houston. Hope you guys like the pictures. I added also the link to the butterfly museum. Enjoy!

http://www.hmns.org/see_do/butterfly_center.asp

Vegas Baby!!!

Wow...Vegas was awesome. Its not called sin city for nothing. Rob and I arrived in Vegas and the first thing you notice at the airport is the gambling slots. So you want to do some last minute gambling no worries the airport is your place. That was my first impression of Vegas and I had seen nothing yet! We waited till Carol and Mark's plane arrived, it had a delay. When I saw Carol I couldn't believe that it felt like I had just seen her yesterday. We hugged and screamed like two loonies and everyone was looking at us. Well, we haven't seen each other in 12 years so give us a break, we were allowed to be a "little" girly. Rob and I met Mark, Carol's Husband and we all got along great! We headed to the Rio Hotel (we had to stay there seeing we are Brazilians, it fitted us well to meet there after so many years), we checked in and went strait to the bar. Had some caipirinhas (Brazilian drink) and catched up on how the flight went for both of us. Carol and Mark didn't enjoy there flight so much because of the turbulence and the women behind them puking her guts out(with no bag...yep, on the floor). So we had some drinks and headed to the rooms. We had a good room (which needs to be refurbished...70's style going on strong in the room) but we had an amazing view. We freshened up and headed to the Strip to see all the other Hotels/Casinos. Wow, Vegas is so over the top that it overwhelms you just by looking at the streets. We gambled a little at the New York casino and went for dinner at the Brazilian Grill restaurant. Carolina was disappointed by the quality of meat but I thought it was ok. I was just happy to have some pao de quijo (cheese bread) and some feijoada. It was pricey but like everything in Vegas drinks and food are really expensive. We headed back to the hotel and had some more drinks at the bar and went to our rooms, which we found out,there was no water (it really reminded me of my beach holidays in Guaruja-Brazil when water was cut off because of high demand, the hotel really lived up to its name).

The next morning we went to have breakfast at the big buffet at the Hotel. Cant stress enough how awful it was....really bad! We ate what we could and I cant remember if we went to the strip again to check out more of Vegas or not (talking about hazy holidays). I know that around 14:00 we headed to the pool. The pool was great waterfalls, salty water pools really really nice. I would only stay at the Rio again for the pool facilities which were great. We stayed at the pool drinking mojitos and having a blast. Around five they started shutting everything down at the pool because of a wedding, Carol and I were really upset and a "little" drunk so we decided to go and talk to the guest manager to get some kind of compensation. Rob and Mark went to gamble. Carol and I got a 60 dollar compensation because of the water failure the night before and the pool inconvenience, thinking about it now we should had "bitched" a little longer to get at least a day discount on our rooms. Oh well cant change it now. We met the boys and Rob lost 300 dollars but Mark won 500. So Carol and Mark were happy, Rob in the other hand was upset and said he would not gamble anymore. Both of us had no luck gambling in Vegas. We went to freshen up and met down at the bar again. The plan was to go out and see Vegas a little more but Carol and I started talking and Rob and Mark too, that we ended staying at the bar drinking most of night. We had a burger in one of the restaurants of the Hotel (it was a good burger) and went to the bowling alley in the Hotel to bowl a bit. I won (it was the only thing I won in Vegas) and Rob stayed second. We headed back to the rooms around 4:00 am!

The next morning Carol and Mark had a bad hangover so they slept in but Rob and I went early to the pool to enjoy the weather (it was extremely hot all three days we where there, very very dry heat-hey we were in the middle of the desert!). Carol and Mark joined us later in the day. We sat at the pool a little longer and went to make reservations for one of the shows of Cirque du Soleil, KA. We freshened up and headed to Cesar's Palace to have lunch/dinner. We had a very very nice meal and some great desserts. The shops in the Hotel where all designer shops...really impressive. Carol and I were having a cigarette outside after our meal and we saw mother and daughter sitting outside waiting for there car. God, the mother was plastic fantastic trying to be the same age as her daughter and both women had all these bags from Gucci to Prada. The poor husband was an ugly little bald man and both women treated him like trash. I felt sorry for the guy. But that's Vegas baby you find all kinds of people...weirdos most of time. We went also to the Vencian it has this water channel like in Venice with the boats and all. The guys who run the boats start singing really really badly its so funny and I don't think they are singing like that on purpose! Mark and I were really taking the piss out of them. We headed back to the hotel to get ready for the show KA at MGM Casino. The show was really amazing, I really recommend to anyone going to Vegas to go and watch all the shows of the Cirque du Soleil...it was just fantastic (check out the video: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/KALow/video.htm?v=3499F68D34F14DB38DC59BD5DD6D15C1MH

We headed to the Bellagio Hotel (the 5 star hotel were they shot Oceans eleven) and had some drinks at the bar. We checked the hotel out and really its the most beautiful hotel in the Strip. We waited to see if the water show was going to happen but we were too late for it. We than headed back to the hotel again at 4:00 am.

The next morning we packed and Carol , Mark , Rob and I said our goodbyes and promised to see each other again before Rob and I leave the USA. It was sad saying goodbye to Carol because we only had three days to catch up and that was not enough. We went to the airport and no we did not do any last minute gamble, after loosing 400 dollars Rob and I want to stay clear from any slots for at least another 10 years! We got back to Frederick and I needed a holiday from the Vegas trip. I think I slept for three days to be able to recover from all the booze and late nights but I had a blast. I would definitely go back to Vegas but I would like to stay in a resort away from the strip so Rob and I could go enjoy the beauty of the desert and the beautiful lagoons that they have there, which we didn't have a chance to see. I would definitely not go gambling again though! Enjoy the slide show!

New York...Neeeew Yoooork!

God, I love New York! Sorry guys for the delay on the pics. Been busy organising all the trips and all. Rob and I decided to go to New York for our Birthday as most of you already now. We stayed at the Londoner near to times square. It was a very fancy hotel 4 stars...we had a blast. We booked the modern romance pack which included a signature Martini from Gordon Ramsey and some canapes from him too!!! Also included in the pack was a massage for both of us for 60 minutes (talking about being pampered). We arrived and they put us in the wrong room which we didn't realise! But after we came back from lunch the guest manager called and explain everything and came up to greet us. He didn't stop apologising for the mistake hahahah 1st class joint! They moved us to this great suite with french doors dividing the bedroom from the living room. Huge room for a New York hotel!!! Beautiful bathroom with marmore everywhere!

We walked and walked everywhere that by the end of the trip my legs and my feet were killing me. Because it was my second visit and Rob's 5th visit, we went to specific locations this time. So the first day we went shopping and had a nice sushi dinner at this restaurant who seems to be the "it" place to go. We went back to the hotel around 11:45 pm and went to the hotel bar were we ordered champagne and exchanged gifts at 12:00 am ...very romantic but Rob and I were knackered and ozzzy by the time we went back to our suite! The next day we left early to have breakfast at Tiffanie's hahahah and from there we went to have a nice walk through Central Park. We had a look at the apartment of John Lennon were he was shot and from there walked to the Museum of Natural History. The Museum was amazing, specially all the Dino stuff....we really enjoyed it. We headed back to the hotel at 17:00 to have a nap and get ready to go for dinner. We went to this little place in Soho which had good reviews but I was not very impressed. We headed back to the hotel and I was so tired that I just jumped in bed and went to ZZZzzzzzzz. We woke up early and had breakfast in the hotel, on the house because of the room mix up earlier. We had our massages before we checked out. It really was all I needed because I was in pain from all the walking for two days! We checked out and went to catch our train back to Baltimore to pick up the car and head back home to Frederick. Oh, my flights are booked I am leaving the USA on the 15th of September and arriving at Schipol at 7:00 am on the 16th. I will be staying till the 14th of October! Well Enjoy the slide show and also you can check my web album, I added some more pics there and I fixed the link which apparently was not working before. There is also a little video check it out:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2401829504501544849&pr=goog-sl

Don Cove weekend!

When Jim and Ann told us they rented a place in Don Cove and invited us for the weekend, Rob and I were thrilled! What a beautiful peaceful place. If your looking for a busy weekend in bars and with people do not go there because this place is the opposite. Beautiful scenery and the only thing you can here is the birds. The house was over looking the bay. It had a big patio and its own dock area. We arrived and freshened up a little. We took the wine and some beers to the dock area. We stayed there the whole afternoon drinking and fishing...it was heaven. The next day we woke up early and headed to the main docks to rent a fishing boat. Ann and Jim took the boat back to the house and rob and I brought the car back. We made lunch and took off with the boat to have a ride around the bay and do some serious fishing! I caught 2 fishes and Rob also caught 2. It was great but very very hot. I forgot to bring my bikini so I had to take my shirt off and stay with my bra. The heat was almost unbearable. We went back to the house had nice cold showers and packed because Rob needed to work the next morning. We headed to the little restaurant at the docks and had a really nice dinner. We headed back home at 21:00 pm to beat the traffic but I guess everyone thought the same. We were back home at 12:00am. Life is hard over here....What a great weekend! Check out the pictures on my photo album by clicking on the title of this post or see the slide show bellow, enjoy!