Who says some films are too arty farty and pretentious for their own good? The music in them, even those used for the promotion of said films could bring tears to one’s eyes. I know it did. It happened to me.

Trailer for The Tree of Life.

Music from the beginning of the trailer – Bedřich Smetana: Má Vlast Moldau (Vltava).

Music nearing the climax of the trailer – Funeral March composed by Patrick Cassidy.

As it turns out, this next track was used in the sublime opening sequence.

Zbigniew Preisner – Lacrimosa.

Wow. I’m floored. I don’t know what else to say about this last piece. I wonder if my feelings about it were in part influenced by the memories of the Roman Catholic churches that we visited during the trip to Europe.

I feel the power of faith… although it still doesn’t make me believe in the existence of an omnipresent higher being. *shrugs*

It’s been a fantastic month in Europe! Photos and write ups soon! Am planning to do up a simple guide for some of the places that we’ve been to and to share some tips, probably. I hope I can remember all the details!

This, is a dream come true. I’ve spoken about this place for years and years and finally, we are here.

It’s lovely here, except that the sun is pretty unforgiving and it’s probably too damn cold in the night.

WOOT WOOT WOOT!

“Where are you going?”

Latte has been sitting on all of the luggages and I think she knows that we are going away, hence her grumpy face. The others would always do ok when we are away but Latte… she’s the only one who would really miss us. The first time we went on a trip, she refused to eat… much to the distress of the cat-sitter.

The second time round, she had gotten used to the idea that we’d be gone for days, but she gave us a little punishment by pooping in some plastic bags we left lying around in the kitchen. There were also stuff she did that showed us she was unhappy. I want to bring her with me… so I got this little kitty to represent my Latte.

This one has blue eyes, not yellow like Latte’s, but it will have to do for now.

This time, we are going away on an epic 25-day vacation and I’m so worried about them. So we’ve installed a Cat Cam to monitor them remotely when we are away. The camera is a Foscam which allows for remote access from an internet browser – it even has remote pan and infrared functions – great for monitoring our cats in the dark!

Laser cats!

We are going to miss them so bad.

4 silly kitties…

Have packed about 85% of our luggage apart from some toiletries and electronics… and we are ready to go soon!

Looking forward!

That said, we don’t earn tons of money like some we know. We may not even be as capable in climbing the corporate ladder, not even by a mile. And I probably should not even be looking at such expensive destinations if finances did not allow us to comfortably tackle a plan like that. I admit that.

But one can aspire… aspire to see the world, to taste the world’s wines and to inhale the air in different parts of the world, even if money has to be hard earned and trips to be planned with a thrifty approach.

We’ve got no frequent flyer miles and the corresponding special treatment. So what? Although we are no backpackers in the rough-it-out style of travel, with a bit of discerning research and smart planning… nothing can stand in the way of a comfortable vacation that does not involve bunk beds and shared bathrooms.

So TripAdvisor became my top reference point and it has been that way, trip after trip. Who needs expensive and limiting guide books if you could find everything you needed to know online from people with the same goals in mind? Things to do, places to see, restaurants to eat, routes to explore etc etc… there’s just a wealth of information to tap on, all shared by folks who want to see the world, flashpacker-style, like we do?

We booked the majority of our accommodation via AirBnB, where we get to stay in unique apartments for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room. Instead of hotel rooms, we get whole apartments for our own rest and enjoyment, we could just live there like the locals. Location, price and design of the apartment aside, I think with a big of digging it’s possible to find a place where we could bunk in for the night in relative comfort.

Most of the places that we are staying in costs around 50-70 Euros, as compared to 100 Euros and up for regular B&Bs and smaller hotels. Plus we are not limited by the size of the room, we are free to use the kitchen and fridge, if necessary.

The place that I am looking forward to staying is a farmhouse in Umbria near Tuscany. Apparently the owners live on a sprawling estate consisting of 3 swimming pools and other cool stuff. It helps that they have cats too! The place looks like it belongs to a movie location or something. We will be renting a car to drive around in the countryside, booked via the trusty and highly recommended Kemwel website.

Ahhh, I can’t wait!

I have a feeling that the intricate lace made out of fur was painstakingly woven by my lovely Latte.

Singapore FLY TO Athens
TRANSIT Athens FLY TO Santorini
Santorini FLY TO Athens
Athens FLY TO Rome
Rome TRAIN TO Tuscany (Chiusi)
Tuscany TRAIN TO Venice
Venice FLY TO Paris
Paris FLY TO Singapore

Some wondered why I chose to fly around so much instead of taking the train or even the ferry, such as from Athens to Venice or something like that. There are also the Eurail passes, so why fly? The truth is, the passes aren’t as useful as before because they are limited by “travel days” and countries… and not to mention they are pretty pricey even before you throw in the reservations and additional costs involved.

A 5-travel-day Eurail Select Saver 1st Class Pass covering only Italy and France would cost us a handsome S$528 per person. Which according to our itinerary is rather impractical since we are doing more of point-to-point journeys.

The overnight train from Venice to Paris would cost us a whopping 300 Euros per person without the Eurail Pass. Even with the Pass we’d still have to top up quite a bit for the sleeper cabin and reservation. A budget airline flight via EasyJet (one of the most reliable budget airlines in the region) for the both of us cost only 100 Euros. It’s not as luxurious as a sleeping cabin for 2 (I understand the romance of overnight trains dammit), but these 500 Euros saved could mean several nice meals and guided tours in Paris!

We are also flying to Santorini and not via a cheaper ferry ride, because I followed the advice of a friend who had a pretty unpleasant experience (involving seasickness and stuff) on the way to Santorini. Not the best way to start our Europe trip! So I booked the tickets via Aegean Air, a very reputable airline in the region. This was to be the most pricey domestic return airfare at S$450 for the both of us. Still reasonable for a full cost airline!

All in all, our estimated expenditure on all the regional connections works out to under S$1000. I still find it a good plan to fly between cities, really. Haha. Our itinerary requires us to shuttle between specific cities but there’s just isn’t enough time for us to really hop on and off trains along the way. And I don’t think I’m that flexible with finding accommodation when I reach a city that we’ve decided to drop by at the spur of the moment. I will save such a spontaneous approach for a separate trip on solely Italy or France perhaps.

We are also renting cars to drive around in Santorini and Tuscany… so it will be quite the adventure in itself – driving on the wrong side of the road! More on this in another post.

I couldn’t fit into a top properly this morning. And just last week, I wore a pair of newly-laundered jeans and it was SO TIGHT. Not the usual “I shrunk a little bit after washing” kind of tight. It’s really a “You are fat” kind of tight.

Darn it.

I have been controlling my food intake for the last couple of weeks but it doesn’t look like it’s working. *PANIC MODE*

Need to be more disciplined. Ah… something that I lack when it comes to rejecting yummy food. *SELF-LOATHING*

I’ve never gone on a vacation this long and the thought of leaving our lives behind for almost a month… is rather daunting. We have arranged for a trusty cat-sitter to take care of our 4 cats and 1 chinchilla. We have also arranged for our part-time cleaning lady to pop over for a cleaning session. Intercity trains and flights booked, car rental booked, International Driving Permit applied, accommodation booked… Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Sistine Chapel skip-the-line tickets to be purchased soon…

We have spent so much in preparation of this trip, I personally have lost count of how much we’ve coughed out so far. So, how do I pack for a pretty chilly trip, for all 25 days worth of travelling? I’ve gotten my giant 29″ 4-wheelie hard case ready; our coats were sent for dry-cleaning; warm inner wear purchased and washed; boots broken in; and… I think that’s about it.

But how many pieces of clean clothing should we bring? I have asked the permission of the farm owner in Tuscany to use their washer and dryer around the midway point of the trip… So I guess 2 weeks’ worth of fresh undies and tops should do it. I don’t think a fashion show is needed because they will add to the weight of the luggage and the suffering that will roll along with it… so I guess it’ll be a bunch of older clothes that are ok to be thrown out anytime.

I’m so excited!!!