It’s that time… time to head for home. Every journey has an end, and for us, that starts today. We arranged a very late checkout with the hotel (3pm), which was amazing and allowed us to do much more today than we otherwise could have. We started the morning pretty late—a good sleep for all—then headed down for breakfast before a swim. The kids have loved the pool, and this was their chance for one more swim before we go. ...
Today was a BIG day. We visited Universal Studios in Singapore—just one stop on the Monorail from our hotel on Sentosa. Initially, we were not sure if we would do it or not, given both H and I are not fans of big, fast rides (roller coasters, etc.). But after a bit of research and discussion with the kids, we decided to go for it—and we are glad we did. ...
Today we leave Milan, and Italy. We’ve packed up and headed to the train station to catch the MXP Express train out to the airport. Unfortunately, the experience at the airport this time around was not as smooth as when we arrived. The check-in process was great, but then security was chaotic. We must have hit peak hour. We waited patiently in the barely moving line for what seemed like an hour, but eventually made it through. ...
Today we headed out to explore a bit more of Milan. First up was the San Siro soccer stadium. We walked up to the M5 metro line and caught the underground train all the way to the stadium. The automatic trains drive themselves, so it was fun for the kids (and us) to sit at the front and watch out the front window—it was almost like being on a ride. The kids loved it. ...
Today is a travel day. We had an early breakfast to finish off the leftover pizza from last night, then headed out for a morning walk before the crowds and the heat arrived. A quick walk over the Ponte Vecchio one last time—spectacular without the crowds. You can actually move and see the details of the bridge. We then headed back toward the Duomo for one last look without the sea of people. It’s a truly amazing building. ...
Today we continued to explore Florence. We headed out in the morning to avoid the heat (it’s been really hot and humid 🥵) and the crowds. We walked across the Ponte Vecchio—lovely without the mass crowds—and up toward the Pitti Palace, purchased our tickets, and went inside to explore the Boboli Gardens. The gardens were amazing and massive—a beautiful space to walk and wander, which is exactly what we did. ...
Today we had a slow morning—coffee on the balcony, watching the world pass by below. We headed out around 9:30am toward the Duomo, hunting for more wine windows along the way. The Duomo is truly amazing—intricate detail in every centimetre. The Duomo doesn’t open until after 10am, yet the line to get in was already wrapping halfway around the building. Crazy. Laura and I have been inside before and have climbed the dome. While it would be good for the kids to see the inside, we sensed they were a bit over it and certainly wouldn’t have the patience to wait in the line. ...
Today we moved on from Rome and headed to Florence. Once again, we packed our bags and headed for the train station. This time, we caught the bus from just up the road from our apartment. While it felt like we could have walked in the same time, at least we were off our feet—which was a good thing after the past few days. We arrived at Roma Termini well ahead of when we needed to catch our train. Roma Termini has a fantastic food hall—Mercato Centrale. The place was clean and had heaps of very nice-looking food and drink options. It was actually surprisingly good and unlike what we remembered Roma Termini to be from our last visit. ...
Wow… we thought the last few days were big, but today the kids broke their all-time step count PBs—28k+ steps each! We didn’t plan for a big day—it just happened. We had a slowish morning as we looked into hop-on-hop-off buses, since the kids were keen to try one. After some research, we figured we would probably be best served just catching local buses as needed. Most of the stops on the hop-on-hop-off bus would take us to places we had already visited. ...
Today was a big (and hot 🥵) day in Rome. We had a busy schedule with tickets to the Colosseum at 11:45am and then the Vatican at 4pm. We had tried to get tickets as early as possible and had been looking for months. It seems they are both popular 🤷 So we took what we could get and had to roll with it—hoping the kids could battle on in the heat and the crowds. They did amazingly. ...