Had some topics to blog about – half-naked females dancing on stage, doctor prescription-only sale of medicine at pharmacies, spring/well water bottled for international sale – but problems with wireless Internet connection over the past few days have meant that frustration overtook creativity.

Now that the connection problem has been solved by putting a cable from my laptop to the modem, I am busy catching up on work and emails.

Maybe the brain will be more inspired and refreshed soon to elaborate on those little notes.

By the way, only 24 days more in Italy before we arrive back in Singapore. Can hardly wait to taste Asian flavours again!

When we first told the family that we were going to spend eight days in Belgium, their reaction was the same: “What is there to see?”

Indeed, the country may seem to offer nothing interesting, especially when they have more scenic or historical neigbours such as France, Holland, Germany, and to some extent, Luxembourg too.

However, the little country at the centre of the European Union threw up some surprises. Of course it helped that friends Hettie, Peggy and Nico, whom I had met through Multiply, were present to make it a pleasant stay. While we were there, we also celebrated Hettie’s birthday, and visited an exhibition of toilet pictures, which we had contributed several pictures to!

As eight days is too long to recap over individual posts, they are summarised below:-

Antwerp: Historical architecture and sites blend well with modern buildings and uses. As the country has liberal views toward race and sexuality, the city is buzzing with loads of migrants from everywhere, and homosexuals or bisexuals are open. If Singaporeans think they are tolerant or open about race or sexuality, they are seriously mistaken.

Brussels: The capital is filled with both businessmen and tourists. After all, the European Commission as well as NATO headquarters are located here, where economic and financial decisions that affect the globe are made (makes you wonder why the terrorists bother with the States anyway, since *real* power lies in economic power…).

Brugge: Medieval town/city overrun with tourists! We suspect that all the shops operate just for tourists, as we hardly saw locals doing their daily/weekly shopping. Besides, prices of food and beverage were inflated beyond what we believe the locals could afford. Yet, we could not deny the beauty and tranquility of the place.

Amsterdam: A day trip to this famous city, which also happens to Netherlands’ capital, was slotted in, since it is only a two-hour drive from Antwerp. We walked past Anne Frank’s house; visited the flower market; had a milkshake in a coffeeshop; peeked in to the body-length windows in the red light district; browsed the products available in sex novelty shops, and had a beer in a local pub. ‘Wholesome’ family fun!

What I particularly enjoyed about Belgium is the fact that everyone speaks good English, which is a huge difference from the population of Italy. Also pleasant was that no one starred too long at me, or gave me a second look just because I am obviously not European. The only thing that I might not agree with is the weather: reminds me too much of an English day, if you know what I mean!

Would I return to Belgium again? I certainly would, as there are other spots that we have not visited, as well as to hang out with my friends again. However, I may not stay there as the weather really does need some getting used to!

~ For pictures, click on the city names above. ~

The seasonal sales in Singapore were something that I never understood.

‘New Year Sale’, ‘Hari Raya Sale’ and ‘Christmas Sale’ et cetera, were easier to understand, as they were relevant to our culture. However, what is the meaning of having ‘Spring Sale’, ‘Summer Sale’, or ‘Winter Sale’ when the weather in Singapore is summer all year?

Here in Italy, a summer sale makes sense. Many people go away for summer, taking a vacation in other countries or other parts of the country, resulting in less customers visiting retail shops. Thus, there are country-wide sales in the hope of enticing those who are not on holiday to spend a little money.

Further, the shops are allowed to hold a sale only during designated time periods unlike in Singapore where there is a sale every weekend. August is one of those times when shops try to sell their remainder stock of bikinis/swimsuits, tanning oil, beach towels, sandals, caps et et cetera as everyone has already bought what they required before leaving for their vacation.

When a shop here has a sale, one can expect that prices on the products are slashed drastically.

For example, a bikini that usually costs €24.90 (approximately S$51.85 or US$34.15) now costs between €9.90 (approximately S$20.60 or US$13.60) to €14.90 (approximately S$31 or US$20.45). Or a cotton short-sleeve knee-length dress originally priced at €29.90 (approximately S$62.25 or US$41) is now reduced to €8.50 (approximately S$17.70 or US$11.65).

As demonstrated, the sale prices in Italy are more than the minuscule 10 per-cent or 20 per cent savings given during the pseudo summer sales of Singapore. For sure when the Italians use the word ’saldi’ (sales), they really do mean it!

Of course, this means that the bargain hunter in me have found some really great buys during this period. For someone who continues to convert the prices back to Singapore dollars, this means that it is still slightly cheaper to buy here than in Singapore, especially when the quality of the item is comparable.

I also personally prefer shopping during this period as there are less people in the shops and thus there are virtually no queues at the changing rooms. This means I do not have to deal with rude Italians, who behave very much like the PRC nationals, or return hostile stares from other rude Italians.

Fear not, I have not gone berserk and ended up with too many purchases that I need another suitcase for them. I am proud to say that my most expensive purchases this summer are the tickets to Belgium, and I intend to keep them that way!

*Once again, the Italian way eludes me…*

It has come to our notice that there will be a V-day on this 8 September. No, it is not a celebration of romance, but a gathering of Italians in squares around the country to shout ‘vaffanculo’.

This event is the brainchild of Beppe Grillo, an Italian comedian who is very outspoken about the country and its politics.

What does that word mean? According to the S.O., it literally means ‘go fuck an ass’.

The reason this day even materialised is due to the fact that there has been a law passed where uttering ‘vaffanculo’ is not considered illegal, and it will no longer land you in a law suit or find you slapped with a charge of insulting a police officer.

Furthering this, Grillo has proposed this event for Italians to voice their discontent with corrupt politicians and express the people’s desire for these bad eggs/apples to resign from their posts. These are politicians that have been found guilty of corruption, in one way or another, by court judges.

I was initially tickled at the prospect of hundreds of thousands of Italians all shouting ‘vaffanculo’ at the same time throughout the country. While I applaud the bold move, I wonder how many of the targets will voluntarily resign from their posts.

Still, I hope the event goes well without any injuries or mishaps. After all, we are still talking about human lives, even if they are Italian!

We had barely returned from the weekend trip in Barcelona, Spain when the S.O. sprung another trip: to the mountains of Italy!

His lawyer was offering us a place to stay and also to be our guide if we made it up. Not knowing when we will return to Italy again, we took up the offer.

This was a chance for my to visit a part of the Alps, which had been my childhood dream. Granted it would not be the Swiss Alps of my fantasies, still it is part of the Alps and I cannot complain.

However, it would be a short trip, as there were prior appointments on the evenings of Saturday and the following Tuesday.

Departing at 7.18am on Sunday, the train ride to Calalzo di Cadore offered slight over two hours of scenic mountain and country views.

Throughout the two days that we were there, the cool temperatures of the highlands was made more chilly by overcast skies bringing light rain.

That did not stop us from visiting three wonderful eateries, one at 2000 metres above sea level and another that was close to the Austrian mountain border.

The stunningly beautiful nature more than made up for the brevity of the trip, until the next time that we return to explore more.

For pictures, click here – Calalzo di Cadore on July 29 2007, and here – Calalzo di Cadore on July 30 2007.