Singapore (March 15)

We spent most of the morning disembarking the ship and moving to our room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel from which we had a nice view of the center of the city.

Happily, our room was ready when we got there, so we were able to dump our bags and head out to a special luncheon at Ce La Vi at the top of the Marine Bay Sands.

From the Skypark we looked down an the incredible Singapore Botanic Gardens. 

A highlight of our trip was having lunch and spending the afternoon with Kristin Partridge Shields and her sons Ryan and Braedon.  (We did not get to see the whole family because husband Matt was in Houston, TX and their daughter Kate was on  a field trip.)

After a wonderful lunch and a terrible squinting-into-the-sun picture taken by our well-intentioned waitress, Kristin took us to her house.  From there we walked to Singapore American School which all three children attend.

We watched Ryan play rugby while chatting with Braedon about a computer app he was creating.  The five of us walked back to their home, where to boys did a quick turnaround in order to get to their Scouts meeting.  And it was time for us to return to our hotel.

After weeks of travel with shipboard acquaintances, today was a welcome slice of family life half a world away from home.  We enjoyed being stand-in parents/grandparents for the day.  We look forward to Kristin and her family returning to Rhode Island in a few months.

We had leisurely, delicious dinner at the hotel's terrace restaurant Dolce Vita. 

Well fed and ready for bed, walking back to our room, we admired the interior of the hotel.