A funny sort of day - or two? — An Elegant Sufficiency

We didn't leave home until early afternoon, having created an odd lunch from the contents of the fridge before checking everything one more time. We were there at Heathrow in oodles of time, of course.

It was a good - if rather lengthy - flight so rather than settle down straight away, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner including a starter of somewhat familiar ingredients. I watched Three Billboards before deciding to settle down and get some sleep. Some seven hours later, I woke, got myself and my Hero mugs of tea and got my knitting out!

I managed to watch 80% of The Shape of Water before all the landing announcements began, feeling irritated that I'll have to wait till we fly home to watch the last half hour. Just over thirteen hours after take off, we were in Changi Terminal 4 awaiting our luggage.

Thankfully, Mr Kim was there to meet us and as we drove into the city, he noticed my Hero struggling to establish contact with our friends, whom we were meeting for dinner.

"Why not log into my car's wifi?" he asked. Oh Singapore!

Though it was an overcast afternoon, it was hot and steamy as always. The landscape seems very familiar these days, though the building work everywhere continues.

We made a quick turnaround and went straight out again, to walk just a couple of blocks along North Bridge Road and past St Andrews Cathedral to the National Gallery.

Here was where we were meeting Jane and Allan, not to look at the art, but to eat dinner at Violet Oon's National Kitchen.

From our spacious corner table, we spotted our friends as soon as they stepped inside the restaurant and from that moment on there followed two and a half hours of pretty much non-stop talking and eating. Deliciously spicy, the food here is traditional Singaporean, served in a warm and traditional setting by knowledgeable staff. Needless to say, we ordered way too much but strangely we managed to eat most of it!

Yes, of course, Singapore Slings were ordered as well,

What a lovely evening. How delightful to be in the company of friends and to get our adventure off to such a great start. They're going off on a different little jolly tomorrow and we're going to explore the city. Right now, we haven't decided what we'll do or where we will begin, but I do know where I want to spend a few hours first.