What my son tagged as a "stupid Sunday" yesterday; because he was almost bumped head on by a car coming towards him on a one-way thoroughfare; turned out to be a wonderful day of bonding.
We had mass at St Bernadette at 11, where they usually go on Sundays. In the car on the way to church, my son was telling us that the congregation of locals here are Catholics by choice, and therefore they are really devoted. They are active in church-related activities and they really look after the church itself; its cleanliness, the floral offerings and seminars. The mass was very solemn, the sermon short and in keeping with the Sunday's gospel: "the temptation". The communion was very orderly and the hymns well sang by the choir and the congregation.
We had lunch at Sentosa Cove, an upscale oasis of the rich. It has a long restaurant row along the water front; including Hotel W. We made reservations at "Pomodoro" anticipating a croud since we got there at lunchtime, the peak hour; and to ensure that we will have a place to eat. We ended up at "Sabio's", a Spanish restaurant, and had tapas instead of pizza and pasta at Pomodoro .
The "cove" accommodated numerous yachts in the water surrounding the restaurants, giving a glamorous view of the place. I noticed a lot of babies and small kids being tended by their parents, it was Sunday after all, a family day. While their parents; mostly white and probably expats from America, Australia, UK ate and chatted with friends; their kids played around, oblivious of the crowds passing by. It was somewhat difficult to imagine that these parents in their very casual clothes would be working in their coat-and-tie in the confines of their high rise plush offices the next day. Well, that's what they call "expat living".
The previous day, a Saturday, my son and his wife were also free, so they brought us to Shangrila for high tea. As we entered the lobby, my daughter-in-law said that you can always tell if you are in a Shangrila Hotel because of the lay-out and the ambiance. My son invited the sister of our son-in-law and her husband who both worked in London for almost three years earlier and opted to come to work in Singapore to be closer to home.
Here's what we had, a couple of this 3-tier tray of goodies with our tea. High tea in Shangrila Manila includes Filipino delicacies which they didn't have here.
Dinner last Saturday was at another glamourous waterfront, at the Fullerton Bay Hotel. We were seated under one of these arches on the boardwalk. While we were waiting for our dinner to be served, we watched the fireworks from the Skypark that takes place every night at 8 and if I heard it right, the subsequent one was to follow in another hour.
The view was breath-taking that I didn't want to pass up on it without posing for a picture at the boardwalk.
After lunch yesterday in the car going home, my son was asking us where else we wanted to go; what we wanted to eat and what more we need to see or buy. We said we were fine and he said, there's one more meal, where would you like to go for dinner? We said wherever they can relax to prepare them for their next day's work. They had entertained us enough and if it was not a hassle to eat at home, that was fine with us. And we ended up at their condo, just relaxing, listening to his choice of music in companionable silence.
When I went to sleep last night, I did not count sheep, I counted my blessings.
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