TRAVEL DIARY BARCELONA 2: It is not unusual to walk down the streets of Barcelona and not see art in whichever way or form. From Casa Batllo we walked about 10 minutes and we reached another of Gaudi’s masterpieces, Casa Mila, more popularly known as La Pedrera (meaning stone quarry in Catalan). We didn’t go…
Tag: Jo’s Monday Walk
A walk through Casa Batllo
TRAVEL DIARY BARCELONA 1: After tiring our legs out in Paris for four days, hubby and I opted for a more leisurely pace in Barcelona. Our plan: two key attractions at the most daily, with the rest of the time dedicated to leisurely strolls around the city. Walked approximately 25 minutes from our hotel to…
Parisian Art Exploration
TRAVEL DIARY: PARIS 3 On our final day in Paris, October 11th, we aimed to explore as many Art attractions as we could before leaving. Initially, our plan was to visit Sainte Chapelle, but without a prebooking, the lengthy queue stalled our progress for 30 minutes. We opted to change course and explore another destination…
Strolling Through the City: A Parisian Adventure
TRAVEL DIARY: PARIS 2 On October 10th, we embarked on the Batobus, eager to explore multiple stops with the flexibility of hopping on and off. Linked to Jo’s Monday Walk First stop: Jardin des Plantes. Walked by without going in—hubby and I weren’t too interested. Went past the Botanical Gardens… This is the stop where…
A day in Montmartre
TRAVEL DIARY: MONTMARTRE 9th of October, our day started off early with breakfast at our hotel at 8 am. It wasn’t the usual buffet breakfast but wow was it so yum and healthy-ish. Great start of the day. Went on the metro just a 1 minute walk from our hotel. Emerged from this Metro station…
Paris, here we come…
TRAVEL DIARY: PARIS 1 We took the Eurostar from London to Paris on the 8th of October. The moment we emerged from the bustling Gare du Nord station in Paris we were greeted by a spectacular view and sunshine. The hotel we reserved on Belleville turned out to be small, but it wasn’t as tiny…
Lightscape in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens
It is that time of the year again… when the companies make a fortune promoting the chilly weather. They’re saying “C’mon lazy people get out and have fun”. So last Saturday that is what we did. Gave our precious $120 (for 3 people) of hard earned money to watch a winter light show at the…
Country town of Yarragon
The Queen celebrated two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April and her official birthday on the second Saturday in June. But now, for the first time, we are celebrating the King’s Birthday Long Weekend which takes place from Saturday 10th June to Monday 12th June 2023. It is a public holiday today,…
Sunday walk under the blue skies
A leisurely walk at our local Wilson Botanic Gardens. The sun’s so beautiful today that I had to share this with all of you. Inspired by Hammad’s Weekend Sky But first coffee with some friendly people and pets. I thought I would not be able to post any walk for Jo’s Monday Walk but fortunately…
An afternoon in Tooradin
We strolled along the jetty and watched the sky as the sun sets. This was in Tooradin, a quaint fishing village in the bayside township, southeast of Melbourne. Inspired by Jo’s Monday Walk But first, I had an ice cream cone to quench my cravings. Sometimes there’s a scenic cruise operating here in the area….
A walk in Abbotsford Convent
After having a hearty lunch for Mother’s Day, fam and I went to the Abbotsford Convent to spend the rest of the day walking and talking about what has gone by during the past weeks that we didn’t see each other. With lush gardens, the Abbotsford Convent is a slice of the country, an art…
A Moody Walk
When I first saw the theme of the challenge for this week, I was confused as to what direction I was going to take. There were so many different ways of tackling the subject. But it was a Sunday and my hubby and I decided to go for a weekend walk to relax. So there…
Autumn in Emerald Lake
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”-ALBERT CAMUS Autumn … how lovely it is to sit under its lovely coloured foliage … from yellow to orange to red to maroon to amber and brown. I am sharing with you some lovely scenes of autumn in my part of the world. For…
Back in Ilocos Sur
(Road Trip Part 4) TRAVEL DIARY: VIGAN The last time we were here was in October of 2016. This is the UNESCO World Heritage City of Vigan, Established in the 16th century, this is the best-preserved Spanish colonial town in Asia. Calle Crisologo, the main street that is only open to pedestrians and horse drawn…
Last Day in Santiago
(Road Trip Part 3) TRAVEL DIARY: SANTIAGO 3 It is our last day in Santiago, Ilocos Sur so I wanted to have a time all to myself for a change. I wandered off around the grounds of Vitalis Villas before breakfast and savoured the sun, the wind and the sky. I didn’t realise it but…
Santorini of the North
(Road Trip part 1) TRAVEL DIARY: SANTIAGO 1 I haven’t been to Greece so when my sister and nephew suggested that we go for a few days in this place said to be the Santorini of the North, then I didn’t hesitate on agreeing to go. This is quite a new experience for all of…
BGC Mural Walk
TRAVEL DIARY: BGC Bonifacio Global City also known as BGC is known for its stunning skyscrapers, its many restaurants catering to all types if cuisines, its colourful surroundings, and now for its many instagrammable murals dotting the city. BGC is a financial district in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located 11 km south-east of…
Museum Street in Angono
TRAVEL DIARY: ANGONO 2 Our Art road trip to Angono continues to Doña Aurora Street in Barangay Poblacion Itaas. It is home to the late National Artist Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco.. As a tribute, murals made of cement were installed on the walls that lined the street. These concrete murals were based on the actual…
Road Trip to Angono
TRAVEL DIARY: ANGONO 1 Angono, Rizal is said to be the art capital of the Philippines. It is about an hours drive from Makati CBD (depending on the traffic… which I know is very unpredictable). The town traces its artistic roots to Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, the oldest rock art in the Philippines, with over…
Philippines Diary
And as a Filipino OPM (Original Pilipino Music) by Hotdog song goes: ManilaI keep coming back to ManilaSimply no place like ManilaManila I’m coming home TRAVEL DIARY: PHILIPPINES I should say that there are things that I don’t miss in the Philippines… the corrupt government is on top of my list. The sticky feeling that…
A walk at the Blue Lotus Water Garden
It was only 23 degrees but it was quite warm as it is summer. So a spray of mist at the start of our walk kept us going. This is called the Bridge of Mist. Inspired by Jo’s Monday Walk Jez’s Water Water Everywhere At first we didn’t know how big the place was… until…
A walk in the Montalto Winery
We went on a short getaway last April to Rye and on our way home we had lunch at the Montalto Winery in Red Hill. This is a late post and I just didn’t get the chance to write about this. Anyway, the winery is located in Red Hill, a small town on the Mornington…
Over the Merri Creek Bridge
It was Christmas Day and as the little kids were all excited to play with their new toys and the young adults were happily exchanging gifts…. the adults with their tummies full decided to walk and burn a few calories down. Had a short walk around the Northcote area, an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria,…
Before the year ends…
I know I was supposed to have my last post last Thursday…but I can’t stop myself, especially when I visited all the Christmas decor in the city. Caught up with my daughter for late lunch last Monday and Jack and I walked the town til dark. I love taking the train…one because it is cheaper…
A rainy day in Budapest
“I told them they’d see me walking in the rain in Budapest.” – Mary Chapin Carpenter’ TRAVEL DIARY: BUDAPEST 2 Our fifth and last day in Budapest was very cold and wet but that didn’t stop hubby and I to make the most of our day. We decided to go back to those places that…
A walk on the PEST side of Budapest
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson The following day, the 16th of November 2018, took us to the opposite side of the Danube River, the PEST side of Budapest. From our hotel we crossed the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to get to the other side….
A day in BUDApest
“Europe’s most underrated big city, Budapest can be as challenging as it is enchanting.” – Rick Steves TRAVEL DIARY: BUDAPEST 1 It was a wonderful morning in November of 2018 and this was the view from the hotel where we stayed. Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is divided into two parts by the River Danube. The 19th-century…
Sightseeing in Vienna
“Adventure is allowing the unexpected to happen to you. Exploration is experiencing what you have not experienced before.” – Richard Aldington It was the 13th of November 2018 and it was foggy, cold and raining when we went for our first breakfast in Vienna. Beautiful and calming scenery from the Hilton Vienna Danube Waterfront First…
Last Day in Prague (Part 2)
“Prague never lets you go. This dear little mother has sharp claws.” – Franz Kafka After our amazing pre breakfast walk, we went back to our hotel to have breakfast and to freshen up. Next in our itinerary was to go to Petrin Hill My husband and I went to Petrin Hill and that’s when…