Post wedding blues

2 weeks after the wedding
my tourist visa is due
and i am to return to Singapore
to apply for my spouse visa

but immediately after venice
husband and i fell sick
down with flu and fever
the poor husband has to go to work daily
while i basically was lying around at home
hence; nothing much was done during the last 2 weeks
we did had drinks with his friends
and a family lunch

As we are unsure how long the spouse visa application will take
internet shows scary stories that visa can take up to 6months!
since i was going hongkong with my sister and family
i was sure i should be in singapore for minimum a month

initially we thought of me styaing in singapore
till husband can join me for our sg wedding
however, husband doesnt have much leaves to come in june
it will be crazy for me to stay for a long period in singapore
without a job and be away from husband
 
So, we decided that i will stay in singapore 
till the spouse visa approve or
after 3 months on another tourist visa for 90 days
definitely it will be better to return on spouse visa
else ill need buy an airticket to return singapore again in october

Unlike previous trip
it was really hard for me to leave this time
partly because we are newly wedded,
i have stayed for 3 months,
i dont have a job to return to in singapore,
is nice to be at home rather than my siblings homes,
and i dread the 13hours flights..argh

I do miss my family
and cant wait to return to see them..

After stocking food at home,
cleaning up,
I was finally on my flight back to singapore..
 

 

Mini Honeymoon in Venice

i always dream of visiting venice
it seems to be a romantic place
last year, husband went there with his 2 male friends
and tried to explored venice in 3hours
(Venice was a stopover)

Due to limited leaves
husband and i decided to go venice for our mini honeymoon!
We were there for 4 days 3nights
i heard that you will need to take a boat to go anywhere in venice
and after my bad experience in the hk-macau boat
i was sure that i may not handle the boat journey well
So, i was well prepared with seasick pills!

As it was the day after our wedding
we were very tired for the flight
i dont usually sleep in flight
but i was knocked out the moment i saw in the flight
we arrived venice airport at about 7pm
and thereafter we need to take the bus (which is a boat)
to go to our hotel

As usual the moment i take seasick pills
i fell asleep immediately
its strange that husband read and noticed caffeine in the pills
but i always fell asleep when i take the pills

before the trip
his grandparents told us that there was a flood in venice
so we were very worried
however, it was a minor floor and plenty of plank bridges to walk on
by day 2 there was no flood!

As we arrived about 10pm
after we settled into our beautiful room
and being a sunday evening
Most resturants were closed
we only grab a quick dinner nearby
and rest for the day

Husband's plan for venice was simple:
1) eat pizza
2) eat ice cream (gelato)
3) Eat mozarella cheese
4) Eat pasta
5) enjoy our first couple trip

The next day we were greeted with a beautiful sun and view
we realised that you can pay euro6 more
to have breakfast in room
so we did that for all the days
except for the last day
it was nice to enjoy breakfast in privacy of our room
and to chill 

Behaving like typical relaxing tourists
we didnt have much plans what to do
but to eat, relax and explore venice slowly
and of course, complete husband's plan for venice
we did managed to complete all of his plan
but i think only the gelato made him happy
and spending time with me
hehe

We took time to explore venice by foot
i wasnt too interested to take the gondolas
because it was so expensive
about euro80 for 30mins
and it must be not funny if i fell asleep 
while on gondola due to the seasick pills

Venice is really beautiful
and not too cold
i was telling husband that i finally felt i was away from paris
previously in barcelona, it looked too similar to paris
haha

venice is not really a big place
but with the rivers going through
and many small streets and lanes
it was easy to be lost
even with a map!

Things are not cheap in venice
probably more expensive than paris
but i guess its because its a tourist area
the restuarant we went even had a tourist menu!
But it also menat that most people can speak in English..

Despite being expensive
we did engaged in some tourist shopping 
not at all the branded shop
but buying gifts for our family
and a nice watch for me!

Annually there is a big carnival in venice
but we were there a week earlier
and i heard that airfares and hotels will be 2x more
during the carnival
but we did saw people dressing up

Tourists can buy all the masks and costumes from shops
we bought some masks too
but for the professionals, i think they are paid by the government
to dress up during carnival

The seafood were really fresh and cheap
compared to paris
and we spent many meals eating seafood!
And on the last evening, we wrote a card to ourselves
to remember this wonderful trip..

Oh on the last evening
we saw a beautiful cat with a clock in a shop
but it was closed
it has no price on it
but both of us loved it
and intend to return the next day before our flight
to check it out

the big one that we loved was too expensive
i think euro300
but we still bought the smaller version
at euro 100
yes, not really small and still expensive
but its the first tile we found a clock we loved
husband never liked to have a clocked at home
so is the first time we have a clock at home
as we were taking budget airline
we were worried that we need to pay extra for the cat
luckily all was fine and the cat made it home.

Our return flight was 4pm
so we had to be at the aiport at about 1.30pm
husband and i thought it will be a good idea for us to take a walk
across to another bus-stop
closer to the airport
rather than being stuck in a 50min bus

we managed to find the bus stop in time
and it was located in front of a hospital
unlike the tourist area
it was more a residential area
1 bus stop for internal buses and airport buses

we waited and was happy when the bus arrived
however, unknown to us
the driver asked the first few persons in the queue
who are waiting for internal buses
whether they are waiting for the airport bus
which they were not
so the driver just drove away!

husband and i were in shock
that the driver didnt even asked others
but i guess it is because the bus stop is normally for residents
and not tourists
since we had time to wait for the next bus
we decided to walk to the next bus stop

lucky for us,
it was a tourist area
and they had separate bus-stops for internal and airport buses
so we managed to make it onto the bus this time

The flight journey was rough
but i fell asleep again
and we made it home safely..

There were islands around venice that can be visited
but due to my fear of seasick pill sleeping
we decided to give it a missed
But i think we will return again!

Wedding Day - The final part

The husband and I made a last minute last decision 
to change the programme schedule
we are supposed to do our couple dance after dessert
but since evryone was watching us cuttingthe cake
and some were leaving
we did it after cutting the cake

despite practising and trying to make something fun
we were not the best dancers
the husband claimed that he was not drunk
but the shoes were slippery when he almost fell
hmm..

Thank god my in-laws dazzled the crowd after us
it was great to see them enjoying themselves

Thereafter was a lot of drinks, dancing and fun
through the night
intially we booked the room to 4am
but husband extended it to 5am
because he was having too much fun

and we finally left for the hotel 
and had a short rest
because check out time was 12pm!
Thank god that cousin was going to paris
so we hitched a ride home

quickly packed our bags
have a quick lunch with friends
and off to the airport
for our mini honeymoon in Venice!

Wedding day - Dinner at Dampierre part 2

After the dinner started,
the best men gave their speech.
So cousin-in-law went first
and made everyone laughed when he started his speech with
"Thank you my mum..for writing the speech.."
anyway cousin-in-law mentioned about childhood memories
with the husband
and i think husband was very happy with the speech

thereafter, it was aven turn
and he surprised me with a video of my family!
actually there was a night where the husband was texting in the middle of the night
i was suspicious that he was planning a surprise for me
but never expected that he was texting my sister to send a video of family for the wedding
the video was to be shown in the friend's video
but due to format difference 
it was only shown during aven's speech
when the video was shown, i cried..
the only moment that i cried during the wedding
i guess then it felt that my family was near
and happy for me..
all the guests and family mentioned that they were waiting for me to cry!
haha..so evil..
nevertheless it was really nice to have the gift from my family..
and it recorded in a video..haha

Shortly after, we had the bridesmaid speech by the sisters
it was really nice that they did the speech in english and french
they didnt focused too much in saying how their brother bullied them (haha)
but shared how happy they are for us
and welcomed me to the family

The next programme was the couple quiz
where we agreed to ask questions about each other and our countries
the husband was nice to ask me questions that i will know 
while aven and i really focused on questions about singapore
eg area of singapore
where we googled for answers the night before
and sure enough, my team won!
partly because we gave them difficult questions
and also, because i had a few french in my team..
im the bride, so i should win!hehe..
husband and friends were open to accept the drinks punishments..

It was getting late
and the 2kids at the wedding was tired
so the parents prepared the beds
and let them sleep!
all of us were amazed that the kids slept on
despite the noise!
cant imagine if the kids from my home can do this..

last part coming up..

The wedding day - dinner at dampierre part 1

Due to the delay in photoshoot
And a short rest at hotel
We arrived slightly late at the dinner
And was welcomed by everyone.

 











I was really happy at the table decoration
And thankful for all the help
That I need not do anything or be worried.

 








Dont really remember the start of dinner
I was busy sipping champagne
funny how I was stressed about programme schedule 
before the wedding day
But now i totally forgot about it haha
Thank goodness for all the helpers
To ensure all go well.
and the husband was still sober  
to remember everything too!

 











After mingling a little
It was time to give our speech
The husband was really sweet
To write his speech down
And read in both english and french
For me, I prepared my speech mentally
with alcohol, I didnt do a perfect job
but at least I remembered the main point
Hehe

 











Therafter was screening of our video
Which we spent many hours making it
There was a technical glitch
But husband friend quickly resolved it
Then we had a surprise video present
for husband from his friends
I knew it as I was interviewed for the video!
So with all fun and laughter 
we start the dinner...

PS we started with 3 waiters in the beginning
and somehow only 1 remain
we were worried that he will not ba able to cope 
with serving food and drinks
but to our and guests surprise
no glass was ever empty
food was served promptly
apart from getting tips from guests
the waiter earned the title "Linus"
with reference to How I meet Your Mother Series
haha
 

The wedding day - photoshoot

Since the husband believed that groom cant see the wedding dress
Before wedding as it brings bad luck
So we had a photoshoot planned 
In between the townhall ceremony and dinner
Which means a winter photoshoot
I think many tourists were taking photos of us
Because of a bride wearing so little 
Braving through harsh winter wind

We first went to castle of versailles
With the cold and heels,
It was really difficult to walk in the uneven stone path

 











And it was not helpful 
That our photographer dont really have ideas on our poses
So after i take off my coat
I was waiting for instructions
That i started the rule of 5s
Take a photo within 5s after my coat is off

Lucky for singaporean friends
Who took care of me by always fast to help me with coat
Take extra photos
And husband always holding me
And pretending is not cold
haha

Towards the end of our photoshoot

The castle security guards came to us

And inform that wedding photoshoot is not allowed 

So we left

But lucky for us we already completed our photoshoot

And they didnt confiscate the photo

When we went out there was another wedding couple

I guess they wanted to do a photoshoot too

But was stopped

So we head to castle of dampierre (wedding dinner venue)

To continue with shoot

As my feet was getting tired

From balancing on uneven stone path

I took off my heels at dampierre to run around

Since nobody was around

We got some nice photos fast

But my dress got dirty because of muddy ground

But photoshoot was completed 

We finally can return hotel at about 530pm

Initally the plan was to return dampierre by 615pm

To start decorations and preparations

Because my in law sent the stuff the day before

The castle has already set up for us

And just minor touch up

So i left it for the friends to do it

And only arrived at 7pm

We were late for our wedding dinner

But was happy to see everyone in the room

To be continued..