The hotel held something really special for the guests. A Meet and Greet. Unfotunately it came with a fire drill. Hearing the noise and still having just woken up, we rushed around gathering purses, billfolds and phones and ran out the door. I did take the time to change from my pjs into shorts and a shirt. Of course, it started to lightly sprinkle outside. We did actually meet some other Exxon Expats from EMRE in Virginia (Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering) A couple with two young children. I can't imagine moving with little ones. About an hour after the alarm, we were allowed to go back up to the room. Apparently someone accidently or intentionally pulled an alarm. I hope they are found and punished.
Sitting on the couch watching it rain, I noticed a large white house on a hill not too far from us. I asked Ernie if he thought it might be the Presidents place. After looking it up on line, I found that I was correct and that they called it Istana which means palace. It was built by the British Government in 1869 to house its Governors here. Singapore was at one time under British rule. The big white house is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Singapore. Anyway, as I was looking at the website, I found that it was open today. It's open only 7 days a year and I found a day. So we decided that was something that we wanted to do.
Elliott of course decided that he did not want to do the touristy thing. Erna and I went by ourselves after it cleared up a bit. It was humid among the trees but it wasn't hot. The entry gate was on Orchard Road of course. Isn't everything there? I've attached some pictures of the grounds, the buildings and some of the beautiful vegetation. The big canopy tent was set up not just for this but for the 46th Singapore National Day. That's kinda like our July 4th. It was beautiful, but I still think our White House is prettier.
After Istana, we met Elliott at the MRT and walked over to Clarke Quay to eat dinner. We ate at Hooters. Sometimes there are things that the waitresses do not understand. Elliott wanted a plain glass of water and that was all. "All our water is bottled" she said, yet I saw people afterward with glasses of water at their tables. And Ice Tea. That's another story. Ice Tea around here comes in a can with lemon and a pound of sugar in it. Yuk !! I finally got a "plain glass of tea" with ice put in the glass. How hard can that be? But I did get curly fries. And Elliott got a hamburger. Yum.
After dinner, Elliott headed back and Ernie and I went to the store. Carre Four is the name. Like a really cheap WalMart. I was looking for a pitcher to make Ice Tea. $15 plastic small pitcher. But we needed it. And I bought some Famous Amos cookies. Can't wait to dive into those.
It was really crowded today going anywhere on the train. They shop more on Sundays, I guess.
It's about time for me to quit for the day. I'm worn out with all that walking around.
Good Night to all. Love and Miss you,
Trece
Having trouble getting the pictures to load up. I'll try and get them on tomorrow.
Sitting on the couch watching it rain, I noticed a large white house on a hill not too far from us. I asked Ernie if he thought it might be the Presidents place. After looking it up on line, I found that I was correct and that they called it Istana which means palace. It was built by the British Government in 1869 to house its Governors here. Singapore was at one time under British rule. The big white house is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Singapore. Anyway, as I was looking at the website, I found that it was open today. It's open only 7 days a year and I found a day. So we decided that was something that we wanted to do.
Elliott of course decided that he did not want to do the touristy thing. Erna and I went by ourselves after it cleared up a bit. It was humid among the trees but it wasn't hot. The entry gate was on Orchard Road of course. Isn't everything there? I've attached some pictures of the grounds, the buildings and some of the beautiful vegetation. The big canopy tent was set up not just for this but for the 46th Singapore National Day. That's kinda like our July 4th. It was beautiful, but I still think our White House is prettier.
After Istana, we met Elliott at the MRT and walked over to Clarke Quay to eat dinner. We ate at Hooters. Sometimes there are things that the waitresses do not understand. Elliott wanted a plain glass of water and that was all. "All our water is bottled" she said, yet I saw people afterward with glasses of water at their tables. And Ice Tea. That's another story. Ice Tea around here comes in a can with lemon and a pound of sugar in it. Yuk !! I finally got a "plain glass of tea" with ice put in the glass. How hard can that be? But I did get curly fries. And Elliott got a hamburger. Yum.
After dinner, Elliott headed back and Ernie and I went to the store. Carre Four is the name. Like a really cheap WalMart. I was looking for a pitcher to make Ice Tea. $15 plastic small pitcher. But we needed it. And I bought some Famous Amos cookies. Can't wait to dive into those.
It was really crowded today going anywhere on the train. They shop more on Sundays, I guess.
It's about time for me to quit for the day. I'm worn out with all that walking around.
Good Night to all. Love and Miss you,
Trece
Having trouble getting the pictures to load up. I'll try and get them on tomorrow.
It's funny because as I read through all of this I can imagine you and the expression on your face, as well as the comments you were probably making lol... I can just see you and Ernie all frazzled standing out in the drizzle like, "really?!?!?" Keep up the posts, I love reading about what you're doing!!!
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