It's been a week since Munchie has had a decent coffee and it's starting to show, so I nip out before breakfast and buy us and O&C a latte from Bali Deli directly opposite the entrance to Peneeda (OK, a teensy bit to the left). The staff here are lovely, the coffee is the second best in Sanur, but they open at 7am so they get the worm so to speak. They have a lovely selection of cakes, and I have the presence of mind to order one for Munchie's birthday to share with the kids during the day, as the 'special' cake from Ixora is intended for the 'party' instead. Decisions decisions!
I settle on the rather impressive 'Rainbow Cake', ignoring the possible homosexual connotations and deciding that the kids will love it and it's really about them anyway. On discussing the order with the bakery lady she informs me that this one is only available in 8 inch, which is bigger than I'd hoped for but I know it probably won't go to waste, so I order and pay for it and arrange to pick it up from their Seminyak store on the morning of Munchie's birthday.
By the time I get back to the room Munchie is positively sweating with caffeine withdrawal symptoms, and swipes the latte from my hands like a pathetic junkie. Mookie is teetering around muttering 'eat!' 'eat!' so I detach Snubs from his dinosaur book and bundle everyone down to breakfast where we meet O&C.
A word on the Peneeda View breakfast if anyone is interested... The standard breakfast consists of the following;
- Juice - Mixed or Pineapple (fresh), Orange Juice (more like Tang - showing my age here!)
- Fruit Platter, normally papaya, pineapple and watermelon
- Eggs any way you like them accompanied by a small sausage, slice of tomato and small square of cheese about the size of a matchbox (on request). Ham is also available on request, but not bacon.
- Toast - brown or white, served with obligatory strawberry Banner Jam which has Snubs buzzing for at least three hours afterwards. I probably don't want to know what's in it.
- Waffles - Served with sugar syrup and a wedge of lime
- Basket of small pastries and bread served with a lemon butter
- Coffee or tea (help yourself)
OR you can order a fruit pancake (banana or pineapple) off the ala carte menu.
Really there's not a lot to complain about - although we did take great joy at giggling away every morning at one lady who insisted every morning that her toast wasn't 'toasted' enough. On one occasion she sent it back three times, finally asking if they could 'cook' it for her. It was delivered with a triumphant smile by the head waiter about 7 minutes later after being pan fried and garnished with some parsley and a carrot rosette. I was laughing mixed juice out of my nose and I still chuckle when I think of it now! She never bothered asking again.
Once Mookie is sufficiently lathered in scrambled egg, O&C head off down the beach path to check out the surrounds (watch for bikes!), Munchie heads back to the room with boys and I pack the 'So Clean' laundry into a bag and set out to find somewhere else that might actually clean it. I turn right coming out of the Peneeda driveway and after a short walk I see a sign in the distance that says 'laundry' - right next to the croc shop. It is essentially a regular 'market' type store, so I'm not sure who actually does the laundry, but I hit gold! They are also a 'by the kilo' model, slightly more expensive (25k per kilo vs 22k) but they do an awesome job! I highly recommend them. Everything was spotless, ironed, smelling lovely, on time, and they handled whites very well.
If any newbies are wondering what the significance and attraction of the 'by the kilo' model is - let me explain. The old model is 'per piece' where when you bring your laundry to them, they unceremoniously upturn the bag, scatter your smalls and stains (it's chocolate! I swear!) on the floor for all to see, and one by one make an inventory and individually price each item. The per kilo model simply gets weighed in the bag and off you go. You choose, but I know which way I prefer it!
I nip into Hardy's for nappies and snacks for the boys, and head back to the room to get ready for Ririn's arrival. I have absolutely no idea what to expect, so I get everything in the room as ordered and easy to find as I can, and I must admit I was getting a little nervous.
It was still only 9.30 and Snubs and Mookie were climbing the walls so Munch and I decide to take them for a swim in the front pool. Just as we get there O&C are coming back from their walk so they join us for a splash. O&C are Snub's godparents, and luckily they have no objections to being covered in kids, being able to hand them back and all.
At a few minutes to ten I head back to the room to meet Ririn - while she doesn't evoke either Mary Poppins or Mrs Doubtfire, she has a perfectly kind face and is very smiley and I'm immediately a little more comfortable. After a quick look orientation which consists of the nappies are here, snacks are here, they don't like baths (prefer the shower), nap time is 2pm etc... I take Ririn down to the pool to meet the boys. A quick introduction and *splash* in she goes right away - VERY IMPRESSIVE. Within three minutes she's covered in Mookie from the front and has a Snubs hunchback and in that instant, the sun gets a little brighter :)
The rest of the day she played with the boys, showered them after swimming, changed, fed and put them to bed for their nap, gave them a snack when they woke up, made sure they drank enough water during the day and then showered them again before she left us at 6pm - all without asking what to do. I can imagine it must be very difficult for her - every family must want a different level of 'control' or visibility, but I was more than happy to let her do her thing - I figure she's been doing this for a long time now, and she doesn't need me watching over her shoulder every five seconds, besides, Mookie can sense evil and will scream like a child possessed if he's even slightly suspicious of someone. This includes Santa Claus, our local Maternal Child Health Nurse and my mother in law.
Dinner was at the Izakaya on the beach next just down from La Playa - the band had very thoughtfully left a song list on everyone's table, so we played 'song roulette'. Whoever guesses the next song on the playlist correctly doesn't have to mix drinks when we get back. O won and Munch is crowned the new Drink Monkey, which turns out to be a non-event anyway because C and I retire early in readiness for our sortee tomorrow to finish The Event planning.
Sampai nanti...
dutchnat