The Final Stretch: From Italy to Singapore (then home)
It didn’t seem that long ago that we were learning some French phrases so we didn’t look like total idiots in Paris. But no sooner had we worked out what “sortie” meant than it was time to exit England and enter the land of pizza and gelato.
Part 5: Italy
By the time we arrived in Rome, got through the airport and caught a taxi to our hotel, it was about 11:00 in the evening, so not much time to do anything other than check into our room and go to sleep. Though actually there was still time for me to flood the bathroom when the water from my shower flowed out across the bathroom floor and under the door. Oops! Lucky we weren’t staying long.
The next morning we took a train to Venice, which was such an amazing place, like nowhere else I’d seen before. We took a map and set off to explore the canals and winding alleyways… and within half an hour were totally lost. Eventually (and with the help of a more useful map app) we found our way back and had a yummy pizza dinner beside the Grand Canal.
Everything was going great right up until the train drivers’ strike - right on the day we had booked to return to Rome. For a while it looked like we might be stuck in Venice and miss our entire day in Rome, but luckily Mum and Dad got us onto a different train and we were all good again.
Back in Rome, we had a full day to hit the historic sights, starting with the Trevi Fountain, then the Roman Forum, before visiting the awesome Colosseum, and finishing with the Baths of Caracalla. Lots and lots of walking, but such cool places. Stepping out of the underground train station to see the Colosseum right in front of us, so big and well preserved, just took our breath away.
After stuffing down one last buffet breakfast, it was time to head to the airport again, this time to leave Europe behind and start the final leg of our journey home, via another new continent: Asia.
Part 6: Singapore
We arrived in Singapore really early in the morning and got to the resort we were staying at even before the sun came up. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into a room that early so we just crashed in the lobby - literally all of us so tired we fell asleep on a couch.
The first thing we noticed about Singapore was how crazy hot it was. Like take a step outside the resort and immediately start sweating kind of hot. The resort pool and its lazy river were going to be our new best friend - every day we spent at least 90 minutes splashing about in it.
The one day we didn’t though was the day we went to Universal Studios Singapore. It was a lot smaller than the Hollywood version we visited last year, but lots of fun with some great rides and cool theming. My favourites were The Mummy ride and Jurassic Park, which we must have done five times across the day. Even the crazy Singapore heat didn’t stop us and we eventually left just before it closed at 8pm.
Another day we wandered around the Gardens by the Bay and walked across their treetop Skywalk, which stretched way above the ground between two huge trees. We also saw it at night when we went back into the city to see the light show outside Marina Bay Sands Hotel.
On our last full day of holiday we went to Fort Siloso to see some of the old tunnels and gun emplacements that had been used during wars over the years. And naturally as soon as we’d done that, it was back in the pool again.
But when the next morning came, it meant it was time to pack our suitcases one final time. When we opened them next, we’d be back home.
And that’s how our round the world holiday finished. Six weeks, five countries, three continents. One awesome adventure.
Epilogue
A week after we returned to New Zealand it was my birthday and I turned 13 - officially a teenager! Which means I’m just about grown up now and so this will be my final blog.
Across all these blogs I’ve shared my stories of growing up, with some help from Dad. Adventures and stories from all my 13 years, recorded here so I won’t ever forget them. Even the ones I might want to forget! The big and small; the good, the bad and the crazy. Thanks for sharing the journey with me.
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