The Weekender

Howdy all. First things first, are you diggin' the new look? Big shout out to Jelly Design Studio and Cynthia Arevalo for helping bring my vision to life. Also, a very happy Memorial Day to everyone back in the states! Being an expat has made me even more thankful to those who serve and keep our country and its citizens safe, both at home and abroad.   

Since I was MIA last week, this post includes a recap of the past two weekends and features two very special guests. Michael's mom and sis, Elaine and Rachel, traveled all the way from the good ole' USA to come visit us. Singapore is old hat for Mrs. D, but this was Rachel's maiden voyage, as well as her victory lap post graduation and pre entering the real world. A recap below- 

We kicked off the gals' arrival in Singapore at Alkaff Mansion Ristorante - the perfect place to dine and toast our special guests. The  restaurant / event space is set within an old colonial mansion built in 1918 and located up on a beautiful, secluded hill. I would definitely categorize this place as somewhere to dine out with the parents or celebrate a special occasion. (While we were there we were privy to an a-cappella marriage proposal at the next table over).

After a lovely initiatory dinner, the rest of the weekend was spent exploring the island and patrolling the usual hot spots: Boomerang Cafe (our neighborhood favorite), biking on the East Coast and cocktails with a view, of course. 

Biking + selfie stick'ing while riding past the CBD is no easy task.

East Coast vibes. I should add to my resume, 'proficient in self-timer photography'.

One cannot visit Singapore without a stop for an infamous Sling! I wonder what is the all-time record for most Slings consumed and/or monies spent at the Long Bar by an expat. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also, one cannot pass up what we believe to be the best view in the city...

...another of our favorites, Level 33. I think it has a much more laid back and comfortable vibe, as compared to Ku De Ta (the bar/ restaurant located at the top of the Sands across the bay). 

Michael, give you me your best 'muse' look...

Cheese!

We wrapped the weekend up with a little culture - Shakespeare in the Park and a picnic dinner. The Singapore Repertory Theater is putting on a showing of The Tempest at Fort Canning Park all this month.  

I followed the story by taking cues from Michael and laughing after every time he laughed. The theater and actors put on a great show. I highly recommend checking it out. 

Come Monday, Michael and I sent our guests off to the Ceylon Tea Trails in Sri Lanka for a little R&R. The gals traveled to the same place Michael and I stayed during our honeymoon {recap here} and loved it just as much as we did. The gals made it back to Singapore just in time to ferry over to Indonesia for the much anticipated 2015 Bintan Triathlon. 

Last year the weather was about 156 degrees in the shade. This year we were treated to a full day of rain - I'm talking hour after hour of monsoonal downpours. I had brought along all my camera gear with hopes of becoming a professional sports photographer, but it was raining so hard I never took my camera out of my bag. Unfortunately, I was only able to sneak a few pics from my iPhone #Photographerproblems. Rain or shine, we had a great time swimming, biking, running and cheering on Michael during his far superior Olympic distance event.    

Go Michael go! 

He crushed the swim portion once again and beat his time from last year. We were three very proud ladies :)

The weekend was a great fun and a major success. We got our medals, got the t-shirt and had some awesome thai food and beers to celebrate our accomplishments. (We dined at Baan Aarya - the best restaurant on Bintan island IMHO).  

The Duvall gals are continuing on with their tour-de-Asia, but we will be reunited once again this coming weekend in Koh Samui, Thailand(!) Can't wait! We are most definitely feeling the love these past few weeks. Until next week... 

XO,

CD

P.S. ICYMI, I am very excited to have a small piece published in one of my favorite expat sites, Honeycombers! {link here}