LOGINAt that time, Ludwina actually already regretted her words. Why was she so honest on their first date? Andrea clearly indicated that he was a family man who wanted to get married and have children.
He did not even hesitate to marry Adeline 4 years ago when he was only 23 years old. While Ludwina, who was still childish and spoiled, could not imagine herself stop traveling to stay somewhere for a long time and get married, let alone have children.
She was so fond of Andrea but was a bit dejected when knowing he didn't share her view on marriage and kids. Why did the man have to be so conservative and wanted to get married? Wasn't he too young to think about such stuff?
Why wasn't he like other young men his age who were still seeking thrills and wanted to travel and see the world? Ludwina imagined that traveling with Andrea must be very pleasant.
"You are a wonderful person," Ludwina said. "I hope you will find the happiness you deserve".
"Thank you, Wina."
Ludwina finished the wine in her glass, refilled it, and gulped it down. She really liked Andrea.
Why didn't she pretend to be like a normal girl who wanted to settle down and get married and have kids? At least they wouldn't need to stop seeing each other after this first date ... They would still find an excuse to meet again.
Maybe later, over time, Andrea would change his mind. If he met many divorced couples and or unhappy married couples who lived in misery, maybe he could see for himself that marriage was not as beautiful as many people thought it would be.
"Are you guys both okay?" asked Kevin, who appeared suddenly.
Andrea and Ludwina answered in unison, "Yes, we are fine."
"We are fine, thank you..."
"The food is very good."
"And everything is perfect."
Both of them looked at each other and smiled. It almost felt like they were finishing each other's sentences.
"Want me to call you a taxi?"
"I stayed at the Raffles Hotel. It's not too far from here. I can just walk and digest my food. I think I want to enjoy the fresh air before going to bed," said Ludwina.
"I'll walk you there. I also feel like getting some fresh air," Andrea added.
"You do?" Ludwina smiled broadly and rose from her seat. She embraced Kevin and said goodbye, then gave a signal for Andrea to follow her. "Bye, Kevin. I'll come back again. Andrea, let's go home."
Andrea also said goodbye to Kevin and followed Ludwina. They walked side by side out of Moccasin Restaurant and along the clean Singaporean sidewalks to the West.
"Where do you live?" Ludwina asked as she walked.
"On Beach Road," Andrea answered.
"Oh ..." Ludwina remembered that her family had a house in the area. "Do you like living in Singapore?"
"I do. There are many people from various nationalities live together here. It's very international The city is well-organized and clean. Everything is reliable. What do you think after taking a long break from traveling to this city? Are you going to come to Singapore again or is this going to be the last?"
"Hmm ... maybe I'll come again."
"I'm happy to hear that."
They said nothing more and enjoyed walking in silence. Ludwina actually wished they could walk so much slower and never arrived at the Raffles Hotel.
Finally, they arrived in front of the Raffles Hotel, and Ludwina had to say goodbye.
"Where are you going tomorrow?" Andrea asked her before leaving.
"Hmmm ... maybe I'll be looking for inspiration to write in Chijmes, or in the park somewhere ..."
"Tomorrow I can work from outside the office. Do you want me to keep you company while looking for inspiration? You can type your novel or read a book, I can do some application testing with my laptop."
Ludwina did not believe in her own hearing. She looked at Andrea with a beaming face.
"Really? I would love that!"
"All right. See you tomorrow then." Andrea grinned and walked towards his apartment on Beach Road. He turned and waved when he saw Ludwina still standing where she was, waiting for him to walk away until he was completely out of her sight.
Three days in Italy passed like a dream. Andrea and Ludwina enjoyed their visit to Rome, Firenze, which was also known as Florence, and Sienna. Everything showcased the charm of old cities from hundreds of years ago, which made them feel as though they had entered a time machine.Finally, the sad moment arrived when they had to pack and go home.After saying goodbye to Beth and Hans as well as Angela, Andrea and Ludwina drove back to Rome's airport and returned the rental car. From Rome, they flew to Amsterdam, and from there, they took the SQ back to Singapore.***"I've never gone home from vacation feeling this sad..." Andrea told Ludwina as he sat on his seat by the aisle."We'll go again sometime," Ludwina smiled reassuringly. "if you can take another leave. We'll make plans again. You've been an amazing travel mate.""Thank you. You too!"Ludwina was relieved that they managed to travel together without encountering any problems
"This afternoon, we'll be going to the small town of Pitigliano to shop for groceries, as well as have a look. We'll be going to Rome tomorrow, Firenze the next day, and we can go to Sienna on the last day," Ludwina spread the map on the table and pointed to several locations."Okay." Andrea agreed on whatever the girl suggested. He loved the fact that Ludwina knew Italy like the back of her hand.As they got out to the car, they saw a German couple in the apartment next door sitting, playing cards on their terraces while enjoying their wine. Both of them were probably in their 70s and looked very relaxed.All the way from Rome's airport to here, Ludwina and Andrea saw numerous camper vans containing retired couples who were on vacation like they were, which amazed Andrea, since it was rare for him to see elderly people in Asia going on vacation together like that."Hello, how are you? We're guests in the apartment next door. I'm Ludwina, and this is Andr
They woke up when the sun was up, and they both shyly made up the bed before taking turns to take a shower. Today's schedule was just to visit the Louvre Museum, and Ludwina had already booked tickets online, so they didn't have to queue for long.This was the fourth time Ludwina had visited the museum. But, it was the first time for Andrea. Ludwina helped explain what was in each section, so they didn't need to use a museum guide.In the Louvre, various prehistoric objects were stored, such as tools used by ancient humans, various mummies from Egypt, jewelry from the Egyptian and Roman times, ancient armor, and hundreds of legendary unique paintings.Andrea was surprised to find out that the infamous Monalisa painting was actually small in size, and that area was always crowded with hundreds of tourists. It was quite underwhelming.Ludwina and Andrea were more interested in seeing the other paintings, which were enormous and filled the display walls. Som
The sun rose outside their open window. In summer like this, it was nice to leave the window open and enjoy the warmth outside. Ludwina woke up because of the incoming light, and she felt her body was aching. When she looked around, the girl was shocked beyond belief.As it turned out, she was no longer sleeping on the bed, but on the floor, right next to Andrea, and even her head was lying on the man's chest."Oh, God...."Ludwina cursed her own sinful body. Last night, she fell out of bed because before she could sleep, she had been restless all night.Ugh, fortunately, there was Andrea underneath her when she fell. Otherwise, her body might have immediately hit the floor and had a lump on her head."I-I'm...sorry, I usually sleep like a princess, you know... I don't have a bad sleeping habit. I don't know why last night I fell out of bed..." she muttered apologetically.Ludwina complained, trying to sit up. 'Ouch... my feet and hands are
"What do you think about Paris so far?" Ludwina asked as they arrived at the Pullman hotel lobby."Graceful," Andrea said, not hiding his admiration. "My favorite city so far.""Good to hear that."'My favorite city, too,' thought Ludwina to herself.They went to the receptionist and immediately checked in. The staff checked the booking under Andrea's name on the list, and his expression abruptly changed."I am very sorry... I mistook your booking and prepared a deluxe room with a double bed." The staff shook his head, looking guilty. "Will that be alright with you?"Ludwina and Andrea looked at each other. The check-in staff incorrectly inputted the room they booked as a room with one large bed instead of two twin beds."Don't you have other rooms with twin beds?" Ludwina asked.The staff shook his head with an apologetic face."I am sorry, the last one was booked already, and the guests already checked in. Why don't we give yo
The next day Andrea kept his promise to carry Ludwina around the Rembrandtplein. It was some sort of plaza opposite the king's palace. It was quite large and filled with many tourists.They came in the summer, and there were lots of visitors flocking Amsterdam. The weather was quite friendly too, perfect for a stroll and sightsee.Ludwina told Andrea that if they came in spring, the chill of the wind would be quite annoying, although the scenery would be breathtaking with flowers.Many other tourists noticed the two when Andrea gave Ludwina a piggyback ride, but the girl just ignored it. She remembered that during the first month she met Andrea, almost every week, the young man carried her to the hospital for 'physiotherapy'."Ah... good times, ' She thought."You don't feel embarrassed being carried like this?" asked Andrea, looking back.Ludwina just laughed, "Why? Are you embarrassed? So, next time, don't lose the bet. Listen to what Ludw