AROUND THE WORLD
WITH ALESSANDRA ALWI
massages, and enjoyed the beautiful blue ocean and all it had to offer. I’m more of a city girl, but sometimes when the going gets tough, I head to my happy place – the pool! Water calms me and as a true-blue water baby I could spend all day and night floating in the deep end.
I guess travelling is very much embedded in my DNA. As the months passed, I grew to appreciate the wonders of the world. My parents, with me in tow, embarked on other oh-sochic adventures. Next up was the city of love and fashion – Paris. Mummy, Daddy, and I bathed in the lovely sights and sounds of the famed French city, which included a little retail therapy on Rue SaintHonoré and lots and lots of croissants. What a marvellous trip that was!
After that we hit the States, where we strolled the carefree streets of Los Angeles, Florida, and San Diego, as part of my introduction to “Globetrotting 101”. Heading to Florida only meant one thing in my dictionary: Disneyland! A magical place where dreams come true. We had the time of our lives on rides such as “It’s A Small World” (my alltime favourite), the magnificent carousels, and many others. The weather was perfect, I was not too fussy, and my parents were in their element. Disneyland l db brings out the h child in every adult, don’t you think?
The adrenaline-rush was continued with us shimmying down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Boy, was that an adventure! The women were chic, the shops filled with fabulous fashion, and tiny me felt very much part of the fashion scene. I think we even saw Taylor Swift and a Kardashian, or two.
We kept on racking up travel miles with a visit to London, to attend my famous fairy godparents’ wedding at Kensington Palace. It was a glorious gala and I felt really stylish in my glamorous little Gucci jacket. (Eat my fashion dust, temperamental London weather!)
After gallivanting around that part of the world, we decided to explore a fascinating location a little bit closer to home – the kawaii city of Tokyo. The bustling streets and people of this incredible place was completely mesmerising. Even their food was adorable. Everything had an element of quirk in it. And for an impressionable baby like me, Tokyo was a whole new world. Indeed, the Japanese turn everything into an art and I for one absolutely love the way they take fashion into their own hands. Trends are never followed blindly but gone against.
I’m turning into quite the intrepid traveller, and yet, as much as I love travelling, its endless moments of fun and merriment, home is still home, and there’s simply no place like it.
Good news! I will be turning two this June and a little birdy sung to me about a possible birthday fiesta in Istanbul. Wouldn’t that be lovely? But one thing is for sure, this will be my last birthday as an only child.
In September this year, Mummy, Daddy, and I will be welcoming a baby brother or sister. I can’t wait. Imagine all the wildly fun things I could teach my sibling, showing him or her the ropes – around the world, of course. We must immediately start planning where my brother or sister’s first adventure away f from h home should h take place. An exhilarating ski voyage in Gstaad? Cruising through the sunny Greek Isles indulging in tantalising moussaka, kleftiko, and toasted pita with taramasalata? A trip to Iceland to see the caribou, seals, and polar bears, and maybe even catch a glimpse of the wonderful Aurora Borealis? Oh, the list could go on and on.
Well, I’ll be off to Paris next month, that city where fashion lives and breathes. Through all the fun we have had, my parents have always instilled in me that one must live righteously. I know I have not even turned two yet but I am lucky to have two grownups who love me so much, and soon a little brother or sister for me to dote on and introduce the whole wide world to.
“Front-row baby coming through!”
Mount Soledad