A dream come true

I have always wanted to visit the Italian land since young. Legendary colosseum, unlimited flow of gelato and the scenic breath taking views of Italy have always seemed so far fetched for me. And came this Italy plan of 4 random children of God, decided to come together and invade this foreign land within 12 days!
It was of total challenge for us four because we have never travelled to anywhere as a group before. Not only that, to spend a 12 days together, 24/7 is definitely something we have to bear in mind. Us, despite coming from different backgrounds-- John and myself the medics, Aileen, the pharmacist and Tim, the lawyer, turned out to be perfect travelling buddies one could ever asked for:) 2 Singaporean boys and 2 Malaysian girls..went on ONE mission- Conquer ITALY;)
Aileen, a young gurl with very mature thinking and faithful child of God has been a great encouragement throughout this trip. I could remember vividly we shared that before the trip, we prayed individually asking God whether this trip was of God and if not, just shut the door completely in fear of any conflicts that will rise. But truely it WAS by God's willing because us four enjoyed ourselves soOoo much!
Most memorable moment: To beat the queue and were the FIRST to arrive at the Colosseum( waited an hour infront of the gate!) after we saw the crowd queueing up round and round the Colosseum the day before. Being the kiasu Chinese, we started our day early, wanting to guarantee a place to explore the majestic ruin!
Most exciting momentS:
1) Me, being the demanding 'principal', forced my fellow 'students' to pose and pose and pose for picture! After a good 12 days of training, boy they're getting BETTER! ;)

2) Karaoke-ing along the Italian streets( because we had to walk so much) with BSB classic songs, Jay's romantic hits and all time favourite praising songs to God. Despite hiding at a corner in the Roman forum because of heavy pour of rain, we were still singing 'give thanks' to our dear Lord! *Amazing*


3) 800 buddha claps( a deltoid muscle exercise) military training in our hostels. Thanks to the 2 Singaporeans Commanders..John and Tim! *i can feel my deltoid a whee bit tone now:P)


4) Good time of fellowship playing Cards- Bridge + Hearts + DaiDi..we are the PRO now after hours of training as we travel in the train from one city to another....


5) Started a trend of Video Blogging. Thanks to Aileen! 'Hey guys...we're now at xxx...' Such fun to look back all the 50+ videos we made, fooling ourselves around, thinking there are like thousand fans over the world youtubing our videos..but in reality..ZERO click or ZERO subscriber...WAkakakak...great fun though!

6) The gelato HUNT over our 12 days trip. Thanks to Lonely Planet. We tried like 7-8 different gelateria's gelato and seriously....WHY SO NAIS one? *though am not an ice cream person:P* FACT: The best gelato we had was in MILAN, in a small little corner shop called La Conne!not to forget, each other's company:) We clicked so well and indeed good time FLIES. 12 days of touring around Italy gone by so FAST! We managed to cover around 8 cities/towns..

Rome+ Vatican City - Naples - Florence - Venice+Murano+Burano - Pisa - Lake Como - Bergamo - Milan
Thanks to Interrail Pass...Travelling via train was soo convenient and of reasonable price.*pic taken in the Colosseum*

but the ULTIMATE glory belongs to God because He has made this trip possible for us! We prayed almost every night before we go to bed together for His protection, for good weather, for perfect timings and good time of fellowship. Indeed, to travel with them 4 is something I should really give thanks for. It was a total different experience travelling with God's children because we know God is in control of our trip and He will guide us where to go, who we will meet and even which train to get on! There were so many incidences throughout the trip that we could see His hands in control, as we almost missed the connecting train but faithfully, He made a way and let us got onto the right train at the right time! Never will it be so coincidence if it wasn't Him:)

finally, my lifetime chocolate love- BACI( a.k.a kisses), which origin is from Perugina, Italy~
Started loving this when I came across an author who mentioned it in her novel about her hols in Italy. During that time, she did mention that Baci is only sold in Italy (though we can buy it from Malaysia now as well) Super fascinated bout this choc since then.
Later, sis really bought it back from Italy for me to try..
why i lurve?
'Luisa', Perugina's finest choc, enveloping the heart of each Bacio was the true calling card...
each silver foil embrace the chopped hazelnut chocolate with perfection, containing a love note in each of them expressing the most captivating romantic phrases.

This, a blend of reality and myth, is how Baci became part of Italian folklore and my lurve:)


[ I.T.A.L.Y :: I will never FORGET you ]



wasSup Doc: A beautiful life does not just happen, it is built daily by prayer, humility, sacrifice and love.