Gardens by the Bay
We left early in the morning to visit the Gardens by the Bay. This was important because we wanted to be ahead of the crowd as well as the heat. We visited Floral Fantasy, the Cloud Forest, the Flower Dome and the Supertree Grove. We did not do the walkway in the treetops because we preferred to leave that for the evening. The cloud forest was very special and the orchids there were definitely in the spotlight. In the Flower Dome, many persons wanted to have their pictures taken with the flowers. So it was at times very difficult to advance without ruining the photo’s.
The huge trees in the Supertree Grove were constructed with all kinds of flowers and plants attached to them. I counted myself lucky that I was not the gardener at this complex. I am afraid of heights and it would just be impossible for me to decide where to start the gardening day.
High Tea @ Raffles
The hotel
Highlight of the day was definitely the afternoon tea in the iconic Raffles Hotel. We wanted to celebrate our 50th birthdays in a special environment that we would never forget. OK it was already the second time this year, but you can never have enough reasons to celebrate :-).
The hotel just reopened on 1st of August after a complete makeover. Wowww, it was so beautiful inside! We had seen a programme on tv where they showed the renovation process. Impressive work ! With the re-opening of the hotel they had one of their most valued clients present. The old lady, that visited the Raffles every year, was still there when we arrived. This was so funny because it felt like we knew her.
We decided that in 50 years’ time, we would come here to celebrate our 100th birthdays :-). At least if we were still in good shape! It was clear that this was the place to be if you wanted to be pampered.
The high tea
The high tea came with three plates stacked one above the other containing sweet and salty treats. We were supposed to eat them from the bottom to the top. There was a choice between different teas and at the end we received an extra hazelnut pie, because we had ordered a glass of bubbles. We decided to share one because we were just not able to finish everything, even if it was super delicious. We did not dare to ask for a doggy bag, since we thought this would not be the place for it :-). It seems that before the renovations, a buffet complemented the high tea… this was not available when we were there.
After the tea, we walked out through the courtyard and did a little tour of the hotel. The rooms were simply amazing. We then went to their outside bar for a last drink and then we headed back to our hotel.
Such a delightful day !
