It’s amazing that we are still experiencing many first times though we are here for more than 3 years 🙂
Our first picnic
Our first road trip with friends to Portland over Memorial Day weekend
Our first baby’s birthday party
I’m feel so blessed~~
20 April 2012
I am not into Prada .. but I don’t mind MiuMiu 😀
Since we are in Florence, we decided to visit the outlet. I didn’t do any research on the bags/wallets before the trip.. so I was not sure how cheap/expensive things were…
We only had like 1 hour to shop because we needed to get back to Florence for our train to Rome , departing at 1pm. It was a very short trip – we kinda speed shopped. Not a good idea :/
—–
BH and I took public transport to space outlet (train then share cab) Once you reach Montevarchi station, you will see a no. of people running towards the taxi stand – all going to the same place. Sharing a cab to the outlet cost 3euros/person while taking a cab entirely to yourselves cost 12euros
We left Florence at 9am and reached the outlet at 10am. The outlet only opens at 10.30am ( we went on Friday morning) BUT there was already a line. Do take a number ( we were top 30) as you will need it when you pay at the cashier
Maybe we were the earlybirds – I personally feel that the selection of items were WOW!! There were many items which were still selling in US stores and it is in this outlet already! Amazing! the prices of some items were more than 50% cheaper than US price ( after 12.5% tax refund)!
There were also a huge selection of MiuMiu accessories like wallets, card holders. However, there were only a handful of MiuMiu bags – Grab them fast!
Some items I bought – styles are still on the US website!
1) Prada Shopping Tessuto (This bag is commonly seen in Singapore! I only saw this colour and there was only 1 pc left… so I grabbed!!! you shld have seen how ‘jealous’ the other ladies were when they saw that I found this GOLD)
There’s no defects on this bag.. I think it’s just an off season colour!
Price tag: 550 euros
Price paid: 440 euros
After tax refund: 388 euros = US$496 (see how much i saved!!)
2) Miu Miu Bauletto Vitello
This bag have some minor scratches BUT I am cool with it. I got it and it’s my first MiuMiu bag!
Price tag: 370 euros
Price paid: 296 euros
After tax refund: 260 euros = US$334 (Look at the difference in the cost on the website!)
3) Prada Nappa wallet
This buy is probably my BIGGEST regret.. The wallet looks perfect outside BUT inside it has some glue stains which had been removed, leaving a stain 🙁 It’s not obvious unless i point it out to you.. would love a more perfect wallet though. It also didn’t come with the authenticity card ( I know it’s authentic BUT no proof) This is an example of a type 4 defect by the way
Price tag: 215 euros
Price paid: 150 euros
After tax refund: 132 euros = US$169
The men section was also packed with great deals! wallets and belts are much cheaper than boutique price!
The wallet BH bought –
Price tag: 140 euros
Price paid: 140 euros ( no additional discount)
After tax refund: 123 euros = US$158
BH also bought a belt which cost 60 Euros
Our loots –
I love the MiuMiu passport holder which I found in the outlet (68 Euros) to match with my MiuMiu wallet 🙂
[IMPORTANT]
1) Some bags/wallets come with some minor defects/scratches. They will be priced differently – this means the REAL price could be lesser than the price on the price tag. The no. on the price tag will indicate if the item is on additional discount or not. The no. range from 3 -5. ‘5’ being the worst. The SAs are more than willing to point out the defects to you.
2) After you decide on the items, the SA will hold it at the counter for you – That’s when the no. which you took earlier comes to use. Rem your no. else you may create a lot of confusion when you pay!
3) If you are rushing off to the train station, do get the cab company’s no. to call a cab! We were panicking when we didn’t see any cab in sight after we shopped. Fortunately, a cab came in the last minute – else we would have missed the trains
All in all, it’s a great place to shop if you are into Prada + MiuMiu! Would love to go again! 😀
Every city we go to there’s a story 🙂
Rome April 20-23
It’s unbelievable that we were FINALLY in ROME! I looked at my surrounding.. breathe in the air (not very fresh.. alot of smokers)… and can’t help but to give a little ‘scream’ inside me… wah… I have been waiting to come here for soooo long… and finally… not in June or December.. we are here! I must have said this countless times but it’s such a blessing!
We stayed at this Airbnb It was a modern apartment with great furnishing! wished that was our home! ( The place was generally nice and clean. However, i found the comforter dirty as I saw blood stains on it! )
Believe or not.. BUT the first place we went in ROME was CHANEL – The SA in Paris checked that the bag I wanted is in ROME! wah.. and I can’t reserve it :/ We put down our belongings in the apartment and ‘chiong’ to Chanel. Chanel is sooo crowded… OMG.. u got to wait for someone to serve you…. As I was waiting, i saw another lady who came into the store with the picture of the very bag I wanted. I panicked! BH too! haha.. so BH approached a SA and told her firmly that we had waited for a very long time and was still not helped ( This was one the rare times that BH is not passive! haha) Yayness… we were served shortly… and the lady.. who saw that we were both asking for the same bag panicked! haha… fortunately the store had 2!!! It was ‘hidden’ at the back and not displayed in store!!! Love love!
I bought it immediately!!! Finally putting my hard saved money into something i really wanted! Happy girl!!! 😀 I finally acquired what I pined for w/o burning/perishing
Reveal~~
Petite Shopping Tote (PST)
For records –
Cost: 1300 euros OR US$1712.04 (as reflected on credit card)
Tax refund in cash: US$219
Total cost in USD: US$1493.04
Cost of buying in US: US$2000
Amt saved: US$506.96+tax!! (25% cheaper)
PS: My WOC which BH bought cost US$1595+tax .. look at how much I saved for a bigger bag! That’s why the PST is HOT! AND it is going to be discontinued soon… BUY IT IF YOU CAN! Btw.. my WOC had increased price by US$100!! By the time PST becomes extinct…. I will be holding an antique!! 😀
Enough Chanel talk… heh… other placed we visited..
Very crowded.. we didn’t get to sit on these steps
well.. I rem watching a movie, When in Rome and I told myself that I must go there and mk a wish at the Trevi Fountain! I’m so glad.. I have the chance to.. haha… and my wish is….. *not telling you*
Very crowded too! we were lucky that this man volunteered to take this picture for us 🙂 Don’t u love helpful strangers?
Next.. Vatican City! Do you know that VC is a independent country?! It has its own guards + postal service + radio station!
Everyone was taking water was the fountain.. so we assumed that it was Holy water? haha… BH was coming down with a running nose – I could have spread it to him.. so I told him to drink the Holy water… and guess what?!! The running nose went away! Amazing!
ok.. we can’t take pictures at Sistine Chapel BUT it was a TRUE highlight.. luckily we got Rick’s book from our host – it was a 2001 guide BUT it explained the paintings! Sistine Chapel is a HUGE WOW! DO BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE IN ADVANCED 38 euros for 2 person – the line to buy tickets is extremely LONG! we are glad that we can skip the queuing and go straight to security checks then enter the museum
It was another huge WOW for me! It’s hard to believe that we are looking/standing on such a famous historical landmark!
Roman forum was kinda boring… maybe I’ve got overload of roman stuff… geez… even Rick’s guide can’t excite me.. haha
For the Colosseum + Forum, 2 day admission fee $11euros/person. Opens from 9am-7pm
We got to see this parade!! How cool to see gladiators marching towards the Colosseum.. even cooler that I managed to take a pic with one! hahaha
last but not least…
Overall… It was a great vacation!!! Oh… tax refund in Rome airport T5 was extra easy for me ( no long lines + the lady at the customs was only interested to look at my Chanel.. haha) I mean.. I read many horror stories about how long the lines are and how people nearly miss their flights.. I guess… flights in T5 are US-bound + fewer asians.. so.. the refund was very fast and easy – make me so kanchiong go airport early.. haha..
Alina + Jo picked us up from the airport!! It was so nice to see both of them after 2 weeks!!! It was already late at night and Jo made Salted duck soup for us!!! ooo… such a sweet gesture… we were very touched… It’s great to have friends like them 🙂
Venice ( 16 – 18 April)
The closest BH and I ever got to Venice was The Venetian at Las Vegas and Macau.. haha.. I clearly rem that the skies at The Venetian were clear blue – I thought that it was just the artists’ impression of the place. I was so wrong.. the real Venice is indeed v pretty! The skies are blue and every picture you take is nice!
From Paris, we took Easyjet to Marco polo Airport. We only reached at night, 8pm. We took the booked the Water Taxi on Viator to bring us to our hotel. It’s a pity that it’s late and dark, we didn’t take any pictures on the water taxi. In fact, when we reached Venice it was quiet .. like a ghost town
we checked into our hotel and rested early that night – I was still feeling horrible because of my cold :/
Our hotel is The Westin, Europa and Regina We paid US$100/night as we managed to claim our SPG points for it. We were hoping to get a free upgrade to a room facing the waters BUT we didn’t. We only got upgraded to a suite.. oh well.. better than nothing
The next day, we woke up bright and early… it was a beautiful day!
We had a hard time looking for food which is affordable. I mean.. Venice is VERY touristy and it’s an island! Price of food/drink is high! We walked around and settled for food at a cafe (where there’s a lot of locals) Order your food BUT DON’T find a place to SIT The price of coffee when u sit and stand is different! We paid 2X more coz we sat. eeks!
So Venice is about walking around and getting lost… a map doesn’t help much
We spent the day walking around and chilling out at a cafe when we are tired.. it was really relaxing.. nah.. we didn’t take a gondola ride as it was kinda ex
We only spent a short time in Venice… after about 2 days, we left for Florence via Train. You can reach Venice train station easily by taking the Water bus ( it’s the last stop) and a stone throw away from the pier (literally)
Oh yes.. our FREE mask from the hotel
How scary! Got it free because the hotel forgot to give us a welcome gift as SPG members. In the end, we got the extra points + the mask! Yes, it’s so bulky but we lagged it back home in 1 piece
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Florence (18-20 April)
This is the 1st time we are taking the train in italy. There’s no need to go thru’ security checks or check in your luggage. It was really ez and convenient + the trains are v punctual and well maintained
After a few games of Hangman with BH – we reached Florence
We stayed at an Airbnb apartment This place is super cool and nice! Love the kitchen! Just that the climb up the flight of stairs (6 floors!) with luggage is a HUGE turn-off!
I personally feel that Florence was a little boring.. the weather was really wet too.. and it makes travelling v sianz..
Below shows the 3 BEST things in Florence (in my opinion)
Beautiful view of Florence.. it was a HUGE wow~~~~ The journey to this place was painful and tedious… we took a bus and it took v long… the traffic is extremely bad. We were really lucky because the rain stopped for the 30-45mins when we were there 🙂
Trattoria il Contadino is the BEST place we have eaten at! The price is affordable and the food is good! This restaurant does not have a fixed menu, the menu changes everyday! The server will tell you what they are serving for the day and you choose 3 courses + drink for $12euros! (Yes, the server repeats the menu to EVERYBODY) We ate here 2X. Thanks to our host who told us about this place! I only found out much later that this place was highly rave about on tripadvsior. We have our dinner around 6pm – it was still empty… The line gets super long when its around 7!
Space is the Prada + Mui Mui outlet! How can I miss that! haha.. I am not the only one who shopped, BH also bought wallet and belt. I am truly blessed to have a husband who likes shopping! well.. we reached Space at 10am, the place opens at 10.30am! Our no. is 23 and 24. You need to take numbers to go into the outlet for payment purposes. Read more about Space outlet here 😀
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Pisa ( 19 April)
We used Florence as a base to make a Day Trip to Pisa.
The weather was really bad – it was drizzling… we didn’t go up to the tower :/ Pisa pretty much have nothing besides the leaning tower… we snapped a few pics and headed back…
At some angles, the tower don’t look slanted.. haha..
ok.. next (and last stop) ROMA!
In 2004, my family joined a Europe tour and visited Paris.
At that time, BH and I only dated for 2 years. I remembered that in the tour group there was this newly wedded couple and the husband bought the wife a Gucci bag! haha.. I was quite envious.. I don’t even own any branded bag!I told myself tt if I ever get married, I not only wanna go to Europe for honeymoon BUT I want my husband to buy branded bags for me! heh.. what childish thoughts! besides buying branded bags, I’m just glad that BH did more things for me 🙂
Who would have known that after 8 years, I re-visited Paris with my husband and had a totally different experience!! I feel so blessed and I thank God wholeheartedly for all these things I don’t deserve
From BCN, we flew to Paris via Easyjet We choose Easyjet instead of Ryanair because we feel that Ryanair is kind of shady? haha… that’s our opinions.. anyway, Easyjet’s price is about the same as Ryanair, so we booked it.
We were pleasantly surprised by how NEW Easyjet was.. the aircraft was WAY NEWER than the rubbish AA flight we took.. It was so much more comfy than our long haul flight. The air steward is sooooo good looking!! OMG! I wanna take a pic of him BUT didn’t get a chance to! wasted.. We later discovered that Easyjet was only 4 years old! heh.. so…. take Easyjet!!
At Paris, we choose to stay at an Airbnb apartment It was relatively cheap at US$97 at a good location! I was really glad that we stayed in an apartment because we saved $ on breakfast and water since we have a mini kitchen. There were also supermarket nearby to buy food should you be sick of eating hard and often cold baugette :/ I have no idea why Parisians enjoyed it
First, we went to –
Sorry for the bad reflection on the pictures. This is a pest control shop which was mentioned in the Pixar movie, Ratatouille. I wondered if those rats were ONCE REAL because they are seriously HUGE!
We purchased a 2 days Museum pass $39 euros/pax which allows us to enter MOST of the museums and we could bypass the LONG lines for buying tickets! How cool!
Of course… we went to…
Most of descriptions/explanations of the exhibits are in french. Yes, there are some boards with English translations BUT you got to wait to get your hands on the board. We didn’t rent the audio guide, so most of the time we were quite lost. I mean.. we are not exactly artsy people .. so we just zoom to the more popular exhibits like the Mona lisa ( which is ALWAYS crowded , bottom left pic)
IF Spain loves Antoni Gaudi.. I think France’s fave is Leonardo Da Vinci …EVERYTHING Leonardo is ‘wah’!! haha.. u get the picture. Yes, I agree that you can spend days in the museum BUT you need to
1) read/understand french OR
2) rent the audio guide OR
3) do your homework/research beforehand
…..to fully enjoy the museum.
Unfortunately, we didn’t do any of the above… BUT we have Rick Steves’ guide!!! OMG!!! Our host from Airbnb actually have a Rick Steves!!! I tell u that book saved our life!!! We followed his guide – we not only saw the IMPORTANT exhibits BUT we also understood the history/story behind it! 😀 Phew… A must buy – Rick Steves’ guide for your Europe holiday!!
With the museum pass, we also went to
Pictures are not allowed here BUT I was really lucky to take this clear picture ( without anyone inside !!) before I realised it! 😀 Ok.. this museum is less crowded than the Lourve.. Good to go IF you have the museum pass!
what about the food??
If you are thinking of saving money on food in Paris… DON’T!! I mean.. the food is really expensive.. McDonald is also expensive… so.. I suggest just eat at any cafe. It’s a lose lose situation because no matter how, no matter what THERE ARE TOO MANY TOURIST in Paris… so you will be served the tourist menu ( usually set meals) – It’s better than eating bread/pastries all day long… believe it or not BUT the ice-cream was the softest thing I ate in Paris.. haha… before i forget.. Do try Nutella Crepes..
It’s sold in stores like this and it’s quite tasty!
At this point… I was so stuffed with bread… and really wanted American or Asian or best still… a REAL kitchen so I can cook!!! OMG!
This attraction is covered in the museum pass too BUT the line to go up to the top is awfully LONG! I will strongly recommend that you wait in line ( we waited for 1 h) because you will NOT be disappointed!
It is a long climb up BUT worth every single step or breathe! It’s better than the top of Eiffel. I think we spent a pretty long time there.. and loved it! I feel that Notre dame is the Best attraction on the Museum pass (better than Lourve Museum)
NOW… the icon of Paris …
We didn’t go up the tower because we felt that it’s pointless. When we are on Eiffel Tower, we can’t see it anymore.. what’s the point?? right? [That’s y we feel that it’s better to go up to Top of The Rock in NYC than Empire state Building] Anyhow, BH really wanted to stay until the lights were up (8pm) It was extremely cold and chilly at night and I was kinda under-dressed. I caught a cold the next day! booo!
On the same chilly night.. we also went to .. Triumphal Arch
The background picture was taken on top of the Arch.. the view was great! You got to climb more stairs to reach it ( about 200 steps one way) I think we climbed alot of stairs in our trip.. luckily we went to Paris YOUNG!
AND…It was super cold (as usual) BUT Bh really wanted to capture more pictures… so… I not only caught a cold the next day BUT a very BAD cold.. BOO BOO!!
The next day… we went to the Pharmacy to get cold medicine ( sigh.. i have no idea how I forgot to pack my medicine pouch in my bag!!) Anyway, there’s tonnes of Pharmacy around. One more thing… DO NOT GO TO PARIS ON SUNDAY! everything is closed (think shopping mall) except for museums..
We planned for Versailles Day trip ( Train cost $6.50 euros/pax RT)
Ok.. it was super crowded… we read all about it on Steves’ guide… so we kinda know the more popular things to look at.
We didn’t go inside the palace’s garden as we need to pay ( not covered in museum pass)+it was drizzling+I was down with cold+we had no umbrella. In fact, the Versailles trip only took 1/2 a day! I feel that the outside was really stunning… its interior was just as stunning… a pity that it was just too crowded :/
We spent the other 1/2 of the day going into random museum covered in the pass and called it a day early
The last day in Paris, we went to the biggest shopping complex (I won’t even call in a mall) – This place was bursting with tourist from China. I was even approached by a Chinese national to help her to buy Chanel bag because her passport had been maxed out ( there is a limit on the no. of bags one can buy)
Anyhow.. I was super disapted that I didn’t find the bag I had been yearning for… so I just splurge on a MiuMiu wallet (bad idea.. because MiuMiu is cheaper in Italy) I felt happier after spending money though
We discovered that there’s a GOOD viewpoint of the Eiffel Tower on the top level of Lafayette. Admission is free!!! There’s also a food court in Lafayette which you can eat for slightly cheaper and enjoy the view of the Effiel Tower!
Last but not least… a picture just to remind BH (if he ever reads this blog) that he owe me something… wahahah..
Overall, Paris is just a ok place for us. I mean.. there’s just too many people + tourists. It reminds me of NYC! The place is not exactly clean and people smoke a lot.. and they smoke as they walk!!! I feel that it’s quite inconsiderate!! If I live in Paris, I think I’ll die a passive smoker. eeks! If and only if I ever go to Paris again, I am going to bring a lock and put it on the Alexandre III Bridge…haha.. “Lock u up!” I told BH
Next stop… Venice~~~
Finally down to blogging about our trip 🙂
Our 1st destination was Barcelona.. I ALWAYS wanted to go to Barcelona.. I saw many amazing pictures of this place and I wanted to put these pictures in my head into reality
well, our flight was at 7am so we need to reach the airport at about 5am. That’s very early BUT we are extremely thankful to Julius who sent us to the airport on a MONDAY w/o complains!! Thank you!!
We checked in and the lady at the counter was like ” You guys are going to Barcelona! ” haha.. I don’t know why BUT I felt like I was in a dream!! OMG!!! Are we really really going to Barcelona??!! I mean.. the name itself sounds so exotic already!! I know I know.. alot of people had been to Barcelona… BUT it’s finally me turn!!! I was ecstatic!! I tried not to think about the million things which will mk me upset… I’m just gonna be really happy.. and very happy!! I looked over to BH and smiled.. I am not going on this adventure alone.. I am going with my fave person! A sudden joy and bliss filled me/us – we are gonna enjoy these beautiful sights together!
The flight (American Airlines) was really really uncomfortable. The food was really bad. The whole time.. I can’t wait to just land at BCN and enjoy our trip! I was also thankful that we didn’t pay full fare for the air tix, in fact (and I am very proud of it) WE ONLY PAID US$50/pax! 😀 It’s really cheap for a long haul flight!
When we land, the first thing we saw was FCBarcelona store… haha.. then we left the airport via Aerobus
We stayed at a hotel Hesperia Carlit – You can read my review on tripadvisor here
The first place we went –
Admission fee: FREE!!!! (If you want to visit museums inside the park, you need to pay)
This is one of the BEST attraction ever because the view is stunning and it is FREE ADMISSION! We went there 2X during our stay 🙂 love it so much! IF you don’t wanna take a ‘group picture’ with a whole bunch of strangers, GO EARLY!! We stood at a good ‘spot’ and took a zillion pics to get the above pic of us with the lizard.. haha.. this lizard is super popular!
And yes… I feel that Barcelona is ALL ABOUT GAUDI! If you see something nice… It gotta be Gaudi! No doubt about it!!! hehe
Next –
Admission fee: $15 euros/pax ( able to get discount if you buy the tourist pass, which we didn’t)
We didn’t plan to go into La Pedrera.. Just that we had nothing better to do..haha.. so we decided that since we are here, might as well go up. You know what??In my humble opinion, THIS IS THE BEST PAID ATTRACTION! Once you enter the rooftop, it’s like you are in another world, Gaudi’s world… and the rooftop is something which you can’t see on the street level. No wonder it’s part of UNESCO World Hertiage Site. The weather was super nice too… it’s such a perfect day.. The pictures really don’t do justice to this place.. It’s really cool!!! well, there’s other exhibits below this rooftop and it’s pretty interesting!
Example:
Don’t think that this is just a’twin’ chair BUT much thought had been put into the design. It’s meant to mk conversations easier w/o turning the head much! How cool!!! I want this chair can! No surprise who designed it right? hahaha…
Like all other attractions, GO EARLY! We are glad we did because after we left, there’s a LONG line to buy tickets… and the pretty place was flooded with people! *gasps*
A MUST-SEE in Barcelona –
Admission fee: $16 euros/pax (includes the climb up to tower – lots of stairs!!)
This place is a BIG WOW! I mean… It’s sooo HUGE… the designs are so intricate and precious! As usual, it’s VERY CROWDED. We reached at 9am BUT lined up for about 1/2 hr to get tickets
A dinner treat at Restaurant 7 Portes–
This is a posh restaurant. Let’s just say super posh! Do dress up! we went there because of August’s recommendation. Prior to that, we saw the menu and the prices were affordable + great reviews on tripadvsior! why not!
The thing about me is.. I always want to save $ so BH got quite upset with me as he felt that we should just enjoy ourselves when we are on a holiday ‘Money is not an issue’ in his words. Ok, at first I ordered only 1 entree (Paella w seafood) BUT after the server gave us a weird look, we ordered another entree (Cod fish) Right.. we also ordered 2 glasses of muscat.
Let me show you the restaurant’s super cool toilet! Wave your hand to bring the toilet seat out!
haha.. I later realised that this is a handicap’s toilet.. :X
Back to where I stopped ~~~
While we happily wait for the food… the server brought us a bottle of wine. We were like ‘did we order this?’ BUT we kept quiet because BH did ask the server about wine, so we thought he misunderstood us
Anyhow, we finish the food… BUT the bottle of wine was VERY HARD to stomach.. I mean.. at home, we need to finish a bottle in 2 occasions. To finish 1 bottle of wine for dinner by the 2 of us… was near impossible. We took our time.. and finally finished it… The bill came and……
They did not charge the wine! The server managed the orders wrongly! If I knew, I won’t have finish the wine!! grrr.. BH still paid for the wine by giving the cost of it as tips. Luckily, the wine only cost $10 euros! ( We felt that it’s cheap for a bottle of wine in a restaurant! It would have cost more in the states)
If you are wondering… because of the wine.. (I didn’t get drunk) I got a BAD hangover.. OMG.. the next day, we were flying to Paris early and I have a bad headache + I felt like vomiting!!! sigh..and we forgot to bring the medicine pouch which I packed!!! gosh… after a long while….I finally vomited at Barcelona airport before boarding the plane (thank God!) and felt better after… phew…
—-
Overall, Barcelona is a GREAT place.. Public transport is VERY convenient! The trains are like the MRT in Singapore. No.. THEY ARE THE MRTs in Singapore.. the kind you take in NE lines… clean and new! OMG!! So who followed who?? haha… At the end of 3 days, I was tired of not understanding spanish and eating pastries ( I love pastries… but it’s too much!!)… I was really craving American food!!! hahaha….
The next post… PARIS~~~
THE PANS ARE HERE!! 😀
Date ordered: 2 May 2012
Date received: 8 May 2012
It reached Singapore slightly less than a week! Amazing! Pictures courtesy of my sister 🙂
Pic 1: The HUGE box delivered by the postman. Just to let u know, once Gmarket ship out your package, you will receive tracking information which could be seen when u log into your a/c. It will look something like this –
IF you are staying in Singapore, you can check the status of your parcel using the tracking no. on Speedpost Usually, delivery by EMS is very fast and reliable. However, if you miss the delivery, you can contact Speedpost directly for redelivery or for transfer to post office for pick up
Pic 2: This is how individual box packing looks like! Neat and nice! Fit snugly in the bigger box
Pic 3: The pan inside each smaller box and extra silicon seals (which i added) for my order
Pic 4: Interior of the pan – comes with a Korean Manual. However, the English and Chinese manual can be found here and here respectively
FAQ
1) How much did you pay for shipping?
The shipping cost seen above is for 3 pans (about 8kg!) The excess amount paid for shipping will be deposited into your Gcash [Read How to use your Gcash here]
2) How much does each pan cost when I buy direct from Gmarket Korea?
I paid SG$175.69 ( EMS shipping+ 3 ocher deep pans+ 3 sealers) Each set only cost SG$58.56!! Personally, I think it is cheaper than joining sprees or buying from department stores 😀
3) Have you tried cooking with the pans?
Not yet 🙁 I’ll blog about it when I did!
4) How to buy HCP on Gmarket?
Read here
Enjoy!! Happy shopping! 😀
*These are solely my opinions. Do give me credit if my guide helped you OR share your thoughts in my comment box. Tanks everybody Tanks!! 😀 *
Who should read this?
1) Asian living in USA who wants to get a Happycall pan
2) Singaporeans who want to buy a Happycall pan
3) Anyone who want to buy a Happycall pan
Ok, fine. Basically… everyone!
Have you caught the Happycall pans (HCP) craze yet? I know.. it is so popular now and I see a lot of people talking about it on Facebook and on various cooking blogs!
I thought it was just a so-so pan BUT J (my Singaporean bachelor friend living in Seattle) is talking about it! haha.. he was boosting about how he cooked delicious medium rare steak.. the kind of steak which is cooked to perfection and not ‘hard like rock’ heh.. I giggled in disbelief… Still, I wanted to try out the pan for myself. I was also hoping that BH will cook more (for me, or when I’m not around) if we get the pan
Living in a US apartment, most of our stove is ‘electrical coil’ (electrical coil is NOT induction) I was worried that even if I buy the pan, it may not work. However, since Julius could cook steak in his HCP on the electrical coil stove, the pan should work! I also emailed a food blogger, H L, just to confirm and she assured me that it works! Yay! So now.. where should I buy?
Amazon and Ebay are selling these pans BUT they are quite expensive compared to my favorite and trusty website, Gmarket! I know there are many versions of Gmarket now BUT I am talking about Gmarket Korea (English site)
Personally, I feel that the prices of HCP on Gmarket Singapore are not as cheap as I could get it from Gmarket Korea directly. The last time I checked , merchants on Gmarket Singapore are giving freebies with the pan (for slightly higher price) – I didn’t go for those as freebies are not important to me. I just want to buy the pan cheap! In the end, I choose Gmarket Korea (English site) Nothing beats buying HCP direct from Korea
I do not read/speak the Korean language. I depend on Google translate to help me with my shopping on Gmarket Korea. On Gmarket Korea , though it is a English site, most of the words are still in Korean language. IF you can’t read Korean, Google translate is your best friend.
Another thing, DO NOT use your mobile phone to load/shop Gmarket. Gmarket is picture intensive. Sometimes pictures may not load or takes too long to load. To have a better shopping experience, use a computer preferably with IE browser – Firefox works fine too!
I apologise for my bad sizing of images. Please click on image to see clearly 🙂
Step-by-step guide
1) Go ahead and open a new window for our best friend Google translate
2) In another new window, go to http://english.gmarket.co.kr/ To search for the pans, type ‘Happycall’ in the search box
3) There you go! The results! Choose the merchants which offers ‘worldwide shipping’ + good rating. Usually, I buy from the ‘Power’ seller
4) Click on the link and it will bring you to the store. The price indicated on the store is the base price
Different type of pans will have different top-up/option price. Another thing to note is the picture may only show 1 type of pan but do scroll down, the store have other pans to offer
5) Look at the images below to be familiar with the store details
6) Ready? The pans! Option 1 shows the different pans (scroll down to see pictures of the pans). For your convenience, I listed down the pans with its Korean name below (Warning: Please DO NOT fault me IF I indicated the pan images and names wrongly. Double check on your part and let me know if I made a mistake)
Items are listed from 1st item on the drop box to the last
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
7) Option 2 – To select if you want the pan to be individually wrapped(Top up of 900 won). I choose to have the pans wrapped individually as I ordered 3
8 ) Select add on (optional)
9) Click add to cart and check out!
10) Before paying, click on ‘Coupon Box’ to make sure that the best discount coupon had been applied. Discounts are allocated by member’s level OR if you won lucky draw for coupons. Double check that the items purchased is correct.
I actually ship my items to Singapore since the pans are meant for my mum, my mother in law and me. Since there was a promotion for shipping fee to Asia, the shipping cost to Singapore is much cheaper than shipping to US. I can only collect my HCP when I’m back
11) I checked out and select ‘Foreign Credit card’. Enter your credit card details and you are set!
12) To view order, go to ‘My Gmarket and click on ‘Overseas order’ > ‘View all’. Your order no. and details should be there! Confirmation email may take up to 15mins to reach your inbox
Warning: Since I am residing in the US and shipping to Singapore, my credit cards were declined. Sigh! I guess it’s our US credit card’s way of detecting faud – cancelling the transaction. Anyhow, I tried 2X with different cards and orders didn’t go through. In the end, I got my sister to pay with her Singapore credit card and it went through flawlessly
Tip: For Singapore Credit cards, you just need to enter the OTP sent to your phone and the order will go through. For US credit cards, do call and inform the credit card company BEFORE you make a purchase from Gmarket, so that the order will go through.
Hope this helps! Happy Gmarketing!
I’m back from our Europe trip! 😀 It had been a wonderful adventure and we are thinking of the NEXT trip!
It’s nice when strangers think that we are on our Honeymoon.. I kinda like that misunderstanding.. hahaha… we must be doing something ‘right’! Then again, my wedding band became loose and it slipped out of my finger on the 1st day! *gasps* It rolled and rolled BUT i stopped it in time… so scary!!!
Anyhow, just got to blog about this really small gesture which touched me 🙂 BH bought some chocolates for his colleagues ( we didn’t buy any for ourselves). I filled it up in a container and he brought it to work. Bh brought the container home last night with just a few chocolates left… OMG! He actually kept aside some for me to try before it all finished!!! I was soooo happy and touched ( I didn’t even remind him can!) I mean… it’s something small but I’m just so glad he did it… haha.. it made me happy that I was remembered… I dunno y.. it’s just chocolates but it made me feel so loved!
I was like “wah… you is love me one lor… you brought back some chocolates for me to try…” BH replied (while playing with his damn phone) ” I really love you one lor… ”
yeah right!!! but i’m happy 🙂
Shall blog about my trip once I settled the pics!
BH and I celebrated our birthdays on 23 and 26 March respectively. You know how most people include their birthdays on facebook? I decided to remove it.. I am not sure if it’s a windowsphone thing BUT I had been receiving alerts of birthdays on my phone ( my phone’s calendar is somehow synced with the dates on facebook!) It just felt weird to know that my birthday will pop up on ‘Hi-bye’ friends’ calender – so I removed it. I was really glad that a handful of friends remembered w/o facebook reminding them. haha.. it felt good to be remembered for 1 day. I feel special and that’s priceless!
Anyway, the only thing I really like about birthdays is the CAKE!! I cannot tell you how much I enjoy a good cake! Alina told me about Regent Bakery recently and I told BH to get me my birthday cake from there 😀 He did!!
He came home early and we ate the cake first. The strawberry cake was sooooo nice…it’s so soft.. and the cream was really light! I mean… we finished almost 1/2 a 8-inch cake before dinner!! (If u think that I put on weight, it’s the cake and all the good food!!!)
More pics of us!
1 thing to note about bakeries in US is they don’t provide candles for bday cakes :/ Those in SG, don’t take the candles for granted!
After which, we headed to I love Sushi by Lake Bellevue for dinner. Authentic Jap food by a small lake surrounded by town houses. The view was pretty. I thought the food was quite ex BUT that’s the only place I know in WA that had Lychee Martini!!! Yumm!!
We had a filling dinner! haha.. and I seriously enjoyed my cake!!! Nothing special happened on my bday.. I was just delighted that BH and I spent it together – That’s the best gift!
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As BH’s birthday falls on a Monday, I treated BH to dinner at Bai Tong Thai on Sunday. We really like the food there! Affordable and delicious! The greeters were all v pretty!
Anyhow, we reached there at 5.15pm and it was still Happy Hour (ends at 6pm) We ordered a whole lot of food + I ordered their special alcohol for the day ( some vodka w longan), super nice! Good alternative for Lychee martini. Bh ordered Thai Milk tea
Look at the pic above – Don’t BH look like a mosquito drinking muddy water? haha
Here’s dinner!
Since it’s BH’s bday, I didn’t interfere when he ordered the food. I almost fainted when he ordered the omelet. I mean.. it’s such a small omelet and it cost almost $9!!! erm.. It taste ordinary.. i didn’t taste anything special. I am just hoping that they used organic eggs man! Besides that, he also ordered Bai Tong Special rice. To me, it taste too ‘Thai’ , so ‘Thai’ that it has a weird plastic taste (not to our liking) Pls don’t get me wrong, I really like Bai Tong BUT BH just ordered weird things :/ oh well… birthday boy/girls are always right. hahaha
AND… as though we haven’t had enough of Regent’s cake.. I bought a Bday cake for BH too! hehe…
The next morning…
This time, it’s a Black Forest cake. It’s supposed to be their specialty BUT I like the strawberry cake better. hehe
okok… if u think our bday celebration ended here… u r so wrong!!! hahaha… at 8.30pm there a knock on our door.. I mean.. before that BH and I had a ‘loud discussion’ about DBS ibanking. I thought the knock was from our neighbours complaining about the noise level…. BUT…….
OUR FRIENDS CAME OVER WITH A CAKE!!!!! OMG!!!! (Justin, Alina, Dave and Jo) we were shocker than shocked! hahaha.. it was a HUGE surprise!!! Our aptment is secured, means there’s no way they can get in of they don’t have a fob! It turns out that they used the callbox to ask our neighbour for help to open the door!!! hahaha
No pictures! Silly us! we forgot to take picture! the priceless video is with Alina though! Very happy and very surprised… and there we have the 3rd cake from Regent bakery! It’s a Mocha cake this time!! hahahaha… ok.. this is the birthday that we have 3 8 inch cakes from the same bakery! hahaha.. btw…we finished it in no time… So did we have cake overload??? NO!!!! I was still thinking of asking BH to get a cake from Regent for our 10 year anniversary!!! hahaha…
Okok…. so…. did the surprise just end there???? NO!!! Our friends have ALOT of ideas up their sleeves!!! SERIOUSLY!!!
On wed, I met Jo and Alina for lunch ( Sam was suppose to come along but she’s not feeling well.. hope she’s better now) … and they surprised me with a gift!!! 😀 Rem how I was saying I need a real Madeline pan??!! They bought 1 for me!! I was elated!!!Jo also got me a flour spoon !! so happy!! I mean.. I wasn’t expecting anything… and I didn’t even want them to know that it’s my birthday!!! 😀 Thank you so v much!! U gals made me soooooo happy!!!
Of course, last but not least…Caryn and Zhihui sent me a grill via amazon way before my birthday(end of Jan)!! At first, I thought it was delivered to the wrong address ( since we didn’t buy anything ) It was a huge surprise that it’s from them!!! How thoughtful!!!
My friends are so into surprises!!! 😀 Thank you Thank you X1000000000!! *touched*
Oh.. the pretty daffodils are fresh from Alina’s garden! They smell so good… every morning we wake up to the nice scent of flowers.. and Alina came to our minds. hahaha so sweet~~~
See the pillow at the bottom left? haha.. That’s my gift to BH.. heh.. Personalized it on Inkgarden and it turned out very well… Why Pingu?? hahaha.. that’s our private joke 🙂
Such a long entry today! Hope to blog soon before our BIG trip in… 10 days time! *gasps*
