Maybe because it was a day flight
husband and I only slept 1hr on flight
and finally we arrived sg at 6am
since we need catch up with lost time
we took a cab back to sis place
and was glad of the cheap fare as it was a sat
and not peak hours
We were welcomed by the excited kids
left with my mum and isaac to bro home
after a good shower
then was breakfast at clementi
I settled my teh and fishball noodles craving
and husband had his first lo-mee
Aven came joined us and we went my bro home
after we dropped the wedding stuff
we went to furama riverside hotel
initially we wanted to take a cab
but bro new place is so ulu
that we only reach the hotel at 330pm by bus
husband was too tired by then
so he napped in hotel
aven and I went plaza sg for wedding shopping
The shopping took longer than Expected
and we tabao the great cny mac for dinner
it was already 930pm when we left hotel
and took a cab to sis hm
lucky sis lend us their car
and we went to bro home to set up
Everything was way past schedule
and took longer than expecting
after preparing the guests gifts,
set up the home
and decorate the car
it was near 4am!
Aven then sent husband back to hotel
and sent the car back
wouldnt know how we will complete all this
if aven didnt help!
After 30+ hours of not sleeping,
I finally had 3hours of sleep
but I have not iron my dress or wash my hair!
oh well...
I have never taken connecting flights
Because I never travelled to far countries
that requires connecting flights
My trips to paris were short
that I prefer to arrive asap
13hours flights is already long
that I dont want to spend more time in transit
and surprisingly AF direct flights
costed the same as those with connecting flight
However, this time we are travelling aS 2
and near cny
so we took the cheaper Swiss air
that include a 50m transit at zurich
The day before our flight
we received news that there is a strike
at German air at paris
which affect other flights
we were happy that our flight was not affected
but the departure was delayed
and we depart at 930 instead of 845pm
As we panic about missing our flight
the pilot announced at 1030 that our flight
is still available
after the plane touched down at 1035
We ran likE crazy with others
but was stopped by the staff before the gates
to exchange our tickets
initially we thought it was for people
whose flight left and not us
then we were told all flights left
because all flights are to depart at 1045
While queuing up
we panicked abouT when is the next flight
can we arrive before wedding
and are we sleeping in airport that night
while watching others crying and screaming
because their next flight is 24hrs later
Lucky for us,
we were given a hotel stay
with dinner and breakfast buffet
and our flight became SQ to depart at 1030am
husband said that he was glad I didnt cry etcS
is because we get a hotel stay, sq flight
and only 12hours delay
so, feels like a free upgrade!
I guess the flights had to leave on
And we get a hotel stay
because zurich airport is not 24hours!
the hotel was really nice-Big and posH
Connected to the airport
the dinner buffet was just lousy sandwiches
I guess the hotel prepared last min
By the time we settled down it was 1am
we woke up at 630aM for good breakfast
and kiasU arrive at check in by 830
as we want a seat together
we panicked again
when sq said our rebook no was wrong
but all was fine and we made it back to sg
I felt that it was husband who jinx our flight
with his constant mention about
sleeping in airport
and he never visited zurich/swiss
the day before
Well, at least we saw snow!
but I guess I will prefer direct flights
more than ever...
One year has passed...
The day has come for us to go renew my visa expiring end March
I was to make the online appointment about 4 months before my visa expired
and ended up with the appointment a day before we fly
Hoping that all will be fine and our plans will not be affected
So, we are to go the the police headquarter
long before, i had read online about this scary procedures
If you miss any documents,
If you forget to photocopy any document, etc etcs
the typical french administration will require you to take another appointment..
The infamous queue where people start queuing up at 6am even
if their appointment is at 830am....
Anyway, we prepared the documents from January
and based on the list of required documents,
it seemed that husband didnt need to provide anything except his ID
Our appointment was 9am
we arrived at 840am and there was a long queue just to get in
Lucky the security checks was fast and we were in about 10mins time
Thereafter, we were asked to go to area F
and we see a long queue of people, so we took a waiting number
we had 034 and current no was 008
After about 10mins of wait, we realised we were to go the room beside
and not followed this queue
which is to collect the visa
well, we will need to this when we come to collect in few months
In the room, we had a new waiting number 015
and current no was 010
After about 10mins, it was our turn!
We start giving our required documents and photocopies..
all was fine till:
Electricity bills
We printed the wrong electricity bills
France has the 3months old rule
and we printed the one for January 2014!!
I guess both of us were blur thinking is still 2014
lucky, husband has a copy of letter sent by the electricity company
he accidently left in his bag when he opened the mailbox a day ago
although it was not actually the correct document
but we submit it
well, they actually have a photocopy machine
Bank statements
The list didnt state what kind of bank document was required
so we only had the contract of our joint account
and the joint account statement of December 2014
Apparently they require the monthly statement for the past 12 months!
Husband's documents
Not written in the list, they request for husband's:
- Income tax reciept
- emplyment letter
- Payslips
which we never prepared...
By then, we are thinking that we will be coming back for another appointment
the staff collect whatever we have and asked us to take a seat
they will send all the documents to the office to verify
and later, she will let us know whether the documents will be accepted
or another documents will be required
so, we end up waiting for about an hour
when we returned to the staff
she just returned me an extra photo i gave
asked me to sign on 2 documents
sticking my photos on the documents
with no expression or words
and after, I received my temporary visa till June!
My visa will be ready in mid april for collection...
and she had us a collection paper which states the amount to pay on that day...
and thats it!
I officially got my visa renewed!
Husband and i were complaining a little
like the last 10 mins were like suspense
because after waiting for 1 hour, the staff didnt event say whether it was alright
or we need to come back with more documents
till the last 30s
But i was telling husband that it probably worked because im holding SG passport
I think if im holding a another passport and short of so much documents
that cant prove we have a proper salary
We surely need to return again
In any case, all is done!!
-last blog post from paris before my flight-
I cant believe that I will be in sunny singapore in 3 days!
I was really looking forward to it in January
and finally is here!
However, as the date comes closer
my excitement died down and stress took over
Main stress will be the wedding
where i tried to organize as much as possible online
with the help of my family and friends
preparing a wedding is stress
preparing a wedding being 6000km away is WTF
especially when we only have 1 day to make sure everything goes well
The perfectionist in me is so naggy now
worried about all the tiny details
added with CNY, money is a big concern too...
As much as i want a perfect wedding,
to match what we had in France,
the airtickets already burnt a big hole in our pockets..
I guess i need to lower my expectations
and convince myself that if anything goes wrong, is fine...
It will be actually 1 year ago that we got married
I cant believe we need to go through the stress again..
oh well, at least for the last time..
Strangely, my insomnia is starting by stress or excitement
reminds me of the time when i was leaving singapore a year ago
Then, i was affected by the memories and excitement to start a life anew..
Now, im just hoping im not becoming too touristy...
