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…

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…

Esztergom

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu Our Trafalgar tour was on its way to Budapest and we stopped by this lovely city on a hill…Esztergom! We just stayed there for a few hours to look at the scenery but oh my gosh…the view was astounding. You just…

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…

Day 2 in Prague

“No matter how many countries you’ve travelled to or where you’re going, Prague will sweep you off your feet.” – unknown From our hotel, hubby and I decided walk to the Old Town Square. It is said that Prague is very walkable… so that’s exactly what we did. We may be using the tram in…

Tour of Imperial Europe

“Prague changes like a precious stone to reflect the weather, the time of day and the season of the year.” – Christian Norberg – Schulz ”We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” –…

The Cally

“I’m not lost, I’m exploring.” Tim, my son, used to live in Islington, a district in Greater London in 2018 … so best place to go for coffee is in Caledonian Road or The Cally (as locals call it). This is a long stretch of road running for a mile on the western side of…

Stopover in London

“When exploring London, you will come across lots of excitement by chance, so try to take everything in rather than just rushing around to all of the major tourist haunts.” – Richard Branson 2018 was the last time we left Melbourne to go overseas because plans were stopped by “you know what”. Took this Royal Brunei flight…

The journey continues …

“Roads were made for journeys not destinations.” – Confucius After an overnight stay and 2 days on the road in Vigan, we were off again. before it was Pam, my niece, who was driving, and now it was Ram’s turn, my nephew. Sharing this for Jo’s Monday Walk And so, the adventure continues… Next stop…the…

Roadtrip

“Discover how beautiful our country is and how wonderful our people are. Time to fall in love with the Philippines.” – Tony Meloto A few years ago, my husband and I went with my family on a road trip to the northern part of the Philippines. And that was the last time I have visited…

Laguna

My brother in law, Honorio, took us to this wide expanse of land that was a golf course. There we had a bit of a stroll and had lunch, where we ordered these amazing cold drinks which was just right for the Philippine weather. Next, we parked our car near the highway and then we…

Edinburgh to Glasgow and back

A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can.” — Maira Kalman This was our last day in Scotland and we spent it mostly on walking and looking at some museums and public art and a castle. But because of…

The Scottish Highlands

“The best dreams happen when you’re awake.” – Cherie Gilderbloom One of the places that was high in my bucket list is Scotland and more specifically, the Scottish Highlands. Whenever I look at Instagram photos, I can almost feel the calmness of the place. And here we were, hubby and I and also with my…

Walking the Royal Mile

“Always follow your dreams, even if they lead you down a few dark alleys.” – Teresa Mummert What better way to have a taste of Edinburgh than to walk through its most famous main street…the Royal Mile. This street runs through the heart of Edinburgh connecting the Edinburgh Castle with the Palace of Holyroodhouse. So…

Around Paris

With an early morning wake up call, we got ready for a city tour aboard the Cosmos tourist bus Still some awesome view from inside the coach window around the main city. Next, we went down for a guided city walk On the left hand side is the Palais de Justice, a beautiful building, which…

Poitiers

“A breeze, a forgotten summer, a smile, all can fit into a storefront window.” – Dejan Stojanovic The city of Poitiers is a French city located west of France. We passed this city on our way to Paris. Here are some narrow and almost empty streets with old houses when we ventured further from the…

Amboise

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci Amboise is a town in central France’s Loire Valley. It’s known for the Château d’Amboise, the grand 15th-century residence of King Charles VIII featuring Leonardo da Vinci’s tomb, as well as royal chambers, gardens and underground passageways, old towns, villages and views of the river. Here…

Bordeaux

From Bilbao we were off to Bordeaux. Bordeaux is a small port city in southwest France. It is not the cheapest city but it is still worth to visit, as it is said to be France’s most elegant city. This was the view when our coach was just approaching this glamorous city in France. For…

Burgos

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta As we continued on with out European tour, we arrived in Burgos, which is a town in northern Spain and is about three and a half hour drive from Toledo. The first that we saw upon arriving was this… isn’t…