Chijmes & Raffles

Today was another wonderful day! This morning was the perfect weather...sunny, but a nice breeze to cool things down. After Juliana's nap, we decided to head downtown to walk around and take in some sights. I had been to Chijmes once before with some of the wives of Jacob's coworkers and I wanted him to see the area. Chijmes was once the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, established in 1854 and provided education for several generations of Singapore girls. It took over five years to restore Chijmes and turn it into a plaza of retail stores and unique restaurants with plenty of outdoor space to enjoy. The majority of the key features of the building were restored and the hall is used for special functions such as weddings and recitals.

After perusing Chijmes, which we plan to return to at night, since it starts getting lovely late with music, entertainment and bars, we headed towards Raffles. We had been around the hotel before, but never at the front entrance. It is quite sight to see, especially decorated for the holidays. This hotel is known throughout the world for its history and impeccable facilities and services. It has made it to the list of "The 100 Best Hotels in the World" for the past couple of years in Travel & Leisure magazine. Below, you can see that Juliana simply enjoyed the freedom to run around in the courtyard!

Finally, after a pretty long day, we stopped for dinner at a place we discovered a couple of weeks ago that is known for its mussels. They're called Oosters, in Suntec City and they also specialize in Belgium beers, which Jacob was thrilled about! Dinner was fantastic and Juliana even got to enjoy some quality time with waitress while we finished out meals. People continue to amaze me out here with their generosity and adoration for our daughter. People just seem to melt around her and she loves the attention.

The picture to the left was during our walk to Suntec City and I just love the smile she is giving her daddy. She's also learned how to give us kisses (below)! She's doing something new all the time now and growing so fast. We're looking forward to the holidays with my mom and lots of new experiences to share with her and for me to blog about, so stay posted!!