Boxing Day 2012

Happy Boxing Day 2012!
It's the end of our Christmas Day staycation. 
I woke up early because I wanted to catch the sunrise. However, it was yet another cloudy day. So I went back to sleep lol. The girls woke up around 9am. We went to get some bread from the bakery at Raffles City and returned to our room for our breakfast and morning tea while watching tv, Discovery channel again lol. :) 

Views from 6.40am till 7.15am

Bye bye, Grand Room 5270

We checked out at 12noon and went to have lunch at Cafe Swiss. From the kids' menu, Marieann had a Spaghetti and tomato ($14) and Juliane ordered a Chicken hotdog served with fries and vegetable sticks ($14). I tried their Steamed Norwegian Salmon with organic spelt risotto ($29).

Lovely, warm, soft bread that came before our main course (cheese in the bottle)

The organic spelt risotto was absolutely delicious and healthy too!

Juliane and her new keychain, My Neighbour Totoro

It was really nice to have a break (even if it was only for a day) with the girls before school reopens. We had time to chit and relax. I hope it has recharged them for the new school year. :)

Christmas Day Staycation

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012! :)
My girls and I went for our Christmas Day staycation at Swissotel The Stamford. We arrived just after 12pm and were promptly checked-in and given our Grand Room on the 52nd floor! :)
The girls were really excited to be so high up from the ground. Actually, Juliane was more like freaking out because of the height and kept asking me to change to a room on a lower floor haha. The Grand Room (50m2) was nice and spacious for the three of us. The views from our room were spectacular (there were two balconies). 

From the door, looking into the hallway (bathroom and closet)

Study table and the first balcony (view of Marina Bay)

From study corner, view of living area and king size bed

Living area, bed and second balcony (view of city)

View of living area from the bed

From left to right: Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade

Civilian War Memorial (and Park)

Looking down from the second balcony: swimming pools and tennis courts

Lots of flats

The green patch is Fort Canning Hill (and Park)

After having explored our room and done taking all the photos, we left for lunch at 1pm. We were spoilt for choice as Raffles City is the attached shopping mall with lots of eateries. We went to Xi Men Ding (Taiwanese cuisine) as the girls couldn't decide what to eat.

Taiwanese-style "Bai-ye" Tofu ($13.90), Taiwanese-style double-boiled soup ($18.80) and Salted Veg with Tripe Soup ($6.90)

Pork Ribs in Plum Sauce ($16.90) - Delicious!

Sweet Glazed Duck ($15.90) - Tasty!

Fried Noodle with Shrimps ($11)

Stir-fried Pig's Intestines with Ginger and Pineapple ($13.90) - I like it lol

Taiwanese-style Noodle Soup ($4.90)

After lunch at 2.30pm, we walked around Raffles City and spent most of our time in Paper Market, NBC bookshop, Precious Thots, and Marks and Spencer. We returned to our room at 4.30pm. 
As the sky looked cloudy and cool earlier in the day, I told them they couldn't swim. But the girls were lucky. The sun came out in the late afternoon and I brought them down to the swimming pool on the 8th floor. They swam for close to an hour before we went back to our room at 6pm.

Marieann looking pensive

Juliane looking cheeky

After we watched our Korean drama, Ice Adonis (7-8pm, yes we are Korean drama addicts lol), we went for dinner at Out of the Pan, Raffles City. We shared a Grilled Honey Soy Chicken crepe ($15.50), Traditional Roasted Turkey Breast crepe ($19++), Fresh Berries Waffles with custard cream, berries and vanilla ice cream ($14), and Old Style Rum and Raisin sweet crepe with caramelised apples and rum & raisin ice cream ($14).

Views at dusk

At 52nd level lift lobby waiting for the lift

Fresh Berries Waffles - Sweet!

Old style Rum and Raisin Crepe - Yummy! (the girls didnt like it because of the rum lol)

After dinner, we went back to NBC bookshop. The girls just love the shop. We returned to our spacious and cosy room close to 9.30pm. We watched Discovery channel for the rest of the night! Lol. The girls couldn't sleep. They were like "Princess and the Pea"!  They complained that the bed was so different. They turned and tossed in bed, kept going to the bathroom and even tried to sleep on the couch! Finally, they knocked out just after 12 midnight. :)

The goodies that the girls bought

Amazing night view of the Marina Bay area from the 52nd floor

Booked

Wanted to give the girls a treat before school reopens in 11 days' time. Thought a hotel staycation would be nice for them. Worried that I couldn't find anything so last minute. Surprised that I actually got a room at Swissotel The Stamford. Christmas Day staycation is booked. :)

Weekend Staycation II

While the family was fast asleep by 12.30am, I didn't sleep until much later as I was uploading the photos of our Ritz Carlton staycation onto my blog. There was a kind of serenity with the night view of Marina Bay before your eyes. It was by virtue of staying up late that I caught the light displays on the Marina Bay and on the office buildings close to 2am. It might be some sort of practice and preparation for New Year celebration.


I slept the latest but awoke the earliest. I managed to catch the sunrise, with it rays reflecting on the buildings along Marina Bay. By 9.15am, we were having our buffet breakfast at Ritz Carlton's Greenhouse restaurant. The buffet spread has both international flavours and local delights. We had a good hearty breakfast. :)



After breakfast, we lazed around in our room. I was looking up information on the Canadian Rockies while waiting for my spa appointment at 12pm. The girls were watching tv while waiting for the rain to stop so that they could go swimming. Their father was napping all these while.

At 12 noon, the rain had stopped and Marieann went to the pool for a swim. At 12 noon, my milk bath was prepared by the butler. :) Ah, it felt really nice and indulgent soaking in my milk bath for 40 minutes and overlooking the breathtaking views of Marina Bay from the 3 square metre octagonal window! :) My skin felt really smooth and moisturised after my milk bath. :) I finally know how it feels to be Cleopatra in a milk bath and I finally know how it feels to be in a bathtub in front of a huge window haha. :P


We checked out around 1.30pm. We enjoyed our staycation very much. The girls wanted to come back again next year and to stay longer the next time round lol. We shall see. :)