The Algarve Baby!

abangan din ito!

Buda or Pest or Both???

...abangan! ...

Little Venice, London...

It was one of those lovely Sunday mornings when we woke up to a bright, sunny day and the summer morning was screaming for Dave and myself to get out of bed and do something in the sun.

So with the sun inspiring me to go out, I got hold of my London Walks guide book and flipped through the pages to where it says - Little Venice. A place I've heard so many good things about but I've never ever been to. So Little Venice it is.

Little Venice is specially famous to be explored during the summer or on a weekend as this is the time when the waterway - Regent's Canal is at its busiest.

We got off at the Warwick Avenue tube stop and walked towards Clifton Villas. The first order of the day was to find a good spot to sit and enjoy our cup of tea and bacon sarnies which we packed before heading out. Yes we love picnics!

Exploring Little Venice offers a gentle walk along Regent's Canal whilst admiring colourful narrowboats and white stucco-clad houses which line the canal. If you are happy to walk for a good 45 minutes to an hour, this would be a better choice than taking the tourist boats that ferry people from Little Venice to Camden. On the way keep an eye out for the hyenas at the London Zoo, people in canoes, the lovely restaurant on the bridge overlooking the canal and you may even have a quick peek of what's inside the many houseboats along the canal.

From Little Venice, we headed up to Camden where we sat by the Camden Lock and watched people go by. July 2011.

My Weekend in Zagreb

11 February 2011. As the plane was approaching Zagreb, the pilot announced that we were on the first Easyjet flight to Zagreb. And I thought, so that was why the flight was on time! Kidding aside, it was actually a blast! We were met by airport officials and mobbed by media on arrival. Cameras were clicking as passengers walked down the steps. My fellow passengers had this wide grin on their faces. We all seemed to have enjoyed the welcome! But I don't really want to talk about my flight :-) I want to say I had a great time in Zagreb! If there was one thing that made it really special, my friend Tina made all the difference, from picking me up at the airport, hosting me in her apartment, driving me around the city, tagging me along to this private party (wow that was fun!), preparing my breakfasts, cooking my dinners, taking me site seeing, to making sure I got on my flight back to London on time! The works! Tina, thank you so much for a wonderful weekend! Highlights: Mirogoj Cemetery; Stone Gate; Museum of Broken Relationships; Cathedral of Zagreb; Flea Market; Tina's mom's home-made baklavas and; Croatian wines (red:rich and bold, white: refreshing, love it!).

Split, Croatia

Spent a lovely holiday in Split from the 19th to the 24th of September 2010.

Split is a stunning city along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. A few paces from the city centre led us to Bacvice beach where we spent lots of swimming and watching locals play picigin - a game of passing a ball and keeping it in the air away from the water for as long as possible! Walked back towards the centre of the city and found ourselves inside a massive Roman palace known as Diocletian's Palace. It is so massive that inside the palace is a city on its own: shops, antiques, restaurants, hotels, and residents occupying every nook and cranny of this palace. One day, we got on our bikes and headed out to Marjan Hills where we enjoyed a panoramic view of the Dalmatian coast... headed down to the sea for more crystal clear beaches. On our last night, we dined at what is in the day a fish market converted to an open air restaurant at night where we feasted on fresh seafood grilled right in front of us!

Getting there: Easyjet (from London is a bargain)

Where to stay: Dream Split Apartments (50 Euros/night for a 2-bedroom apartment, great value for the location, cleanliness and amenities - it's fully furnished!)

Highlights: Diocletian's Palace, fresh seafood and other Croatian food! local wine (cheap and very good quality!), Marjan Hills, Dalmatian coast, jet skiing at Makarska

Season: September is a good month to visit (not too hot and the beaches are not packed with tourists!) you and your beach towel will have a good space on the shore

Pinay traveler goes Scandinavian

May 2010. So, with my Schengen visa having 4 more weeks of validity, I had to see another Schengen State. I chose Sweden! My first Scandinavian country to visit and I truly loved it!

Dave and I visited Malin in her university town - Linkoping then spent a touristy weekend in Stockholm. Friendly people, great food, expensive alcohol (not sold in all shops, you're better off bringing your own bottle when you go to Sweden :-)

Highlight: Gamla Stan, or old town, is a perfect way to discover Stockholm. Established in the 13th century (yes 1300), you will find yourself walking through medieval streets and as you wander around this old city, try and find one of those viking pubs - we found one called Tunnan. Great interior depicting a viking decor and even the waiting staff are dressed like one! May 14-17, 2010.

A few traveller's tips:

ACCESS. There is a travel card called 'access' which you can purchase for a period of say 3 days, 7 days, etc. Great value to take you around the city of Stockholm. For the equivalent of 20 pounds, you can use this travel card for the metro, buses and ferries! Unlike the oyster card in London, this travel card covers all stops within the metro map of Stockholm. Great value indeed!

ALCOHOL. It is worth buying your own alcohol from the duty free shops where you are flying from or even pay for a check in bag to load your alcohol. You can only buy alcohol from special shops in Sweden. If you think you can just walk in to any shop or any 24 hour shop and buy a can of beer or a bottle of wine, hmmmn NOT! Don't be disappointed and take my advise!

ACCOMMODATION. If you are having doubts about booking a hotel which is not in the centre, don't fret, as long as you book a hotel which is near a train station, then you are safe. We stayed in a hotel outside the city centre and the commute to the city was within 15 minutes! Place is a lot cheaper and you are not far from the city.

Berlin and its Walls

Have just come back from a brief visit to Berlin where we had a taste of Berlin's underground art, shops, music, culture and history. Spent a good deal walking around the city seeing Berlin icons and viewing a vast display of arts in what remains of the Berlin wall.

What to drink: dunkel, wheat bear...

What to eat: Schnitzel, currywurst...

What to see: Reichstag - brilliant work of architecture; Jewish Museum Berlin; Berlin Wall...

Where to stay: The Circus Hostel, slap bang in the center, clean, newly refurbished, very friendly and helpful staff, cool bar, cafe, free wifi, comfortable beds and quiet bedrooms, very reasonably priced.

Where to eat: Deponie # 3, Fabische

Where to head for music: Schokolada, great live music and nice relaxed atmosphere

Beer garden: Prater

Sheila at 50

Keswick, Lake District, England. 26-28 February 2010.

Dave's sister Sheila turned 50 last week. She organised a walking weekend in the Lake District to celebrate. It was a fantastic weekend! We had a bright sunny day to complement our walk. To my fellow adventure seekers, look out for High Spy; locally brewed Keswick ale; and of course a walk by the lakes!

Where we stayed: Newlands Adventure Centre. 25/pax inc breakfast.

More photos can be viewed on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=149867&l=29cd3a16e1&id=568127498

2009 in Brief

It has been another exciting year for me.

I started off by getting what would make a Filipino's life in the UK much easier - a permanent UK residence visa (or what we call in the UK as indefinite leave to remain). Mind you, being a keen traveler and having a Philippine passport are not the best of combinations, because half of your life seem to be going to embassies applying for visas so you can travel! So acquiring a permanent UK residency is like saving yourself a quarter of your embassy trips (if not more)!

The first quarter of the year was what I would call a lull in my travels as I had to remain in the UK to wait for my UK visa renewal. After what seemed to be an endless wait due to my exasperation of not being able to travel out of the UK, I finally got my passport back and was over the moon when I saw the stamp on my passport... an indefinite leave to remain! Hurrah!

I celebrated my new residence status by going home to the Philippines in May. It was a splendid visit albeit being short. Had a lovely time with my family in Baguio and a sunny holiday in Boracay with Dave. In this Bora trip, it was Dave who suggested we stay in Diniwid, which is the quiet and very idyllic part of Boracay, away from the loud disco music and screaming videoke bars of the long beach.

Went back to London feeling refreshed and ready to go back to work. But of course, the summer holidays in the UK were just starting, but due to June and July being our peak months at work, I had to be around London. Which wasn't that bad at all, because this year, summer in London was fantastic!

Went to see Wimbledon for the first time and saw Andy Rodick in Court 2 and saw a few exciting matches in the smaller courts. Even got the chance to watch Andy Murray from "the Hill" along with the rest of British spectators cheering for Murray.

With summer at its best and music festivals happening all over the country, Dave and I took the opportunity to spend a camping weekend in Kent for the Hop Farm Music Festival. Saw the Fratellis, Paul Weller, Doves, Editors, etc.

In late July, we went to Belgium to see one of my best friends - Dada! The last time Dave, Dada and I were all together in one country was probably 6 years ago in the Philippines! It was indeed a good time to catch up. And of course spent a great deal of time enjoying Belgian beers and eating mussels! Jan was very sweet to drive us around Brussels and drove us to Bruges. Also met up with my friend Angelo who showed us around Ghent. We even had a taste of the Ghent music festival as it was happening when we went to visit the city.

In September, Dave and I did a local touristy trip by going for a cycling weekend at Shakespeare Country - Stratford-Upon-Avon. Went around the historical houses including Ann Hathaway's House, Shakespeare's birthplace, Nash's house and Hall's Croft. Our second day was spent cycling some 30-mile distance towards the town of Ilmington bordering the Cotswolds where a wide variety of berries along our cycling paths were a constant attraction along with the different cottage houses and tudor houses that were lining the villages we cycled through.

In October, had week long holiday in the beautiful Cyprus. Discovered the most amazing Cypriot food in Kouppas Stone Tavern in Neo Chorio, swam in the Blue Flag awarded beaches of the country, played chess in the most stunning locations, crossed the border in Nicosia towards the Turkish part of the country, enjoyed sipping Cypriot coffee whilst waiting for the sun to come down. Ahhh would go back there!

Finally, in December, I took the Christmas holidays off, first time after having worked the last two Christmases. For the 12-day break I got, I spent two days in Paris (courtesy of my friend Dominique who went through all the lenghty process of sending me an invite to support my tourist visa to France! I told you, being a Filipino who wants to travel is not that easy). Domi lives right next to the Eiffel tower so that after the dinner she cooked for Dave and I, she made us all jump out of our seats, put on our boots and made us run to go see the Eiffel. We got there just in time when the flickering lights covered the tower and then followed by a show of various flashing lights within the tower.

On this Paris visit, I had to make sure I would get inside The Louvre (which I missed the first time I visited) and of course saw Monalisa and the famous Venus de Milo.

On my second day in Paris, woke up to see the city covered in snow! It was then another day for Dave and I to visit museums and we chose to see Musee d' Orsay.

Our trip to Paris had to be extended by another 2 days as we got stranded due to the extreme weather condition. This eventually shortened our week-long holiday in Gran Canarias. As a result, we ran out of flights for Canarias so I booked tickets to fly to Tenerife. With the holiday cut short, it wasn't as enjoyable as I had expected it to be. I also got disappointed to see layers and layers of apartment blocks covering the island. I had immediately thought of the environmental implication of tourism due to the overwhelming hotels and apartments I saw in the island.

Flew in to Manchester on Christmas eve and spent a lovely Christmas with Dave's family. I enjoyed it so much that I almost didn't want to board the train back to London. It didn't help that Dave was staying behind in Manchester for a few more days whilst I headed back to London on my own.

I shall now post this blog before the year is over. 2009 has been another great year indeed and I hope that 2010 will even be better! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Brockwell Park 2009

Dave fondly calls Brockwell Park his back garden... and naturally I have done the same. Brockwell is just round the corner from where we live. Lovely park for so many reasons... for the adrenaline it gives you after running the 3.5 km perimeter, for the comforting full English breakfast at the cafe on top of the hill, for a relaxing moment when you sit on the bench (inside the walled garden) which Dave has dedicated to his brother Mike. I took a few snapshots of our recent visit in our "back garden" as I have enjoyed looking at the dramatic change of colours inside the park...

Guanabana Charity Gig 2009, PG!

On 10 November 2009, a charity gig organised by Philippine Generations (& Malcolm Conlan) to raise funds in support of typhoon victims in the Philippines was successfully had! Great food prepared by Omar Shah and his team, very entertaining live music from Filipino artists in London - Mark Villarosa, Ima Castro, Clencha, etc. Myleene Klass pitched in her support and Mutya Buena (of Sugababes) was there all night in solidarity with the Filipino community. Well done Pinoys in the UK!

So many things...

...have happened since I last wrote an entry.

And here is an attempt to go over what has been happening in the last 8 months! Wow that's a long time for not writing a single entry! Well, what with all these facebook stuff and blogging has become a thing of the past for me! No, i shouldn't say that. I do like blogs, i am not just one of those prolific bloggers.

Right, I think the best way to start writing again is just to share you all an idea where I have been traveling to in the last 8 months.

To...

... Paris (in August 2008) where I fulfilled my dream of seeing and climbing The Eiffel Tower and was loving every moment of walking around the city and saying, "merci", "oui" and "s'il vous plait".

... Amsterdam (in August 2008) where I found myself in awe with the architecture, the canals, and became so enthralled by the works of Rembrandt and Van Gogh and thought it would be fun to live in this city!

... Rome (in September 2008), where I agreed to millions of travelers that Rome has got to be The favourite city in the world. I couldn't get over how beautiful this city is!

... Florence, where I had intensified my love of art and had to trade the time to go on a quick trip to see the leaning tower of Pisa to que to the museum to see 'David', the greatest sculpture of all time.

... Venice, where the moment I saw the gondolas and crossed the Rialto Bridge that I thought, this has got to be the most romantic city I've ever been to.

... Marrakech and Zagora (in November), where gastronomic experience at the Djamaa El Fna and riding a camel to cross the Zagora desert were the highlights of this sub-Saharan Africa holiday.

... Philippines in December!

I will be filling you in with more details on my upcoming blog entries.

Talawa

"If there's a word to describe you, it would be talawa..."

I asked what it meant. It's being feisty.

I like that.

Race for Life 2008

For the people who really know me, they will be surprised and I think happy for me for knowing that I've enlisted to join a run for a cause here in London! They know I couldn't even run a one-kilometer distance without stopping! So how the hell could I even finish a 5K course??? I was telling my friend Dada last week that the closest I've ever got myself to a running activity is an "alay lakad" (walk for a cause) which I've done many times in my country. And those weren't even running!

This coming July, I will be running with thousands of other ladies for the Race for Life of Cancer Research UK. My race will be held in Blackheath. With the invitation of my friend Opalyn, I have joined her and three other ladies to raise funds for our race to support Cancer Research UK. To date, we have already gone beyond our target amount to raise so we are all very thankful to all our friends who donated for this cause.

I've started my jogging last weekend and as expected, my legs were achy for the next couple of days. Sign of an unfit Ava! Not even the everyday running for the bus were enough to keep me fit! The training is doing me really good because the aches in my body are telling me to "run Ava run, be fit and keep exercising!"

If you are reading this blog and want to have a look at my team's website, please visit: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/1sttimers

Of course you are very welcome to support our cause!

Dasol Mangrove Rehabilitation Project

Here's a more scholarly me =)

Not a travel entry this time but here's a paper I've co-written with Tom Byers (of Washington State University) about our mangrove rehabilitation project in Dasol, Pangasinan, Philippines. This project was one of my highlights during my work in Tanggol Kalikasan in the last three years. This has been made successful with the co-management of the local government unit of Dasol then headed by Mayor Angelita Jimenez and her very reliable municipal agriculture officer Ms Vilma Nifas.

I presented this paper during an international conference of small-scale forest managers last year in Leyte, Philippines. Please follow the link below for the paper:

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:108321

Maxine By The Sea

When in Alaminos, don't miss the gastronomic experience which is to my knowledge best had at Maxine By The Sea! Try their antipasto (my new favourite!) next to their famous calamares and pinakbet! mmmn yummy!

I must say that my craving for Filipino dishes particularly authentic ones have all been satisfied to my heart's content with the meals i had at Maxine!

I was asked by the lovely Liwy (owner of Maxine) and her equally lovely cousin and my very good friend Bulgee to extend my stay in Alaminos so I can have dinner with them at Maxine. How can i pass such a lovely offer! And to add to their treat to me, we had breakfast the following day again at Maxine and tried for the first time Fr. Uly's favourite - Maxine's pancakes! I must say I have signed up as one of the fans of these lovely pancakes as soon as my first slice of pancake started melting in my mouth. of course, the gastronomic experience is not complete without having Alaminos longganisa, my all-time favourite!

For lunch, I had bangus and sinigang sa miso. Try also Maxine's pancit, as it is one of their best sellers! Ah, but what is not, I think everything in the menu is truly a treat!

For more info on Maxine By The Sea, visit their website on http://www.maxinebythesea.com/. or call them on (075) 5512537 and ask for Liwy (owner and manager) and feel free to name drop me! No, don't ask for any discounts please, you'll find the price to be reasonable for the quality of the food, the freshness (we are talking about fresh catch of local fisherman here!) the way it's presented and not to mention for eating in a place where you have a fantastic view of Hundred Islands!

Of course, you've not been to Alaminos if you've not been to Hundred Islands! So pack those bikinis, goggles, flip flops and sun cream and head out to the beach before the rainy season begins!

Oh yeah, back to me in London, if I don't reply to your text messages or don't pick up my phone, that's probably because i may be at work and can only access my work mobile phone which is: +447826938758, but do keep my other mobile number: 07525720477.

White sand of Cabalitian

a travel tip for those who haven't been to the beach this (Philippine) summer yet, try frolicking in the beach of Cabalitian, Sual, Pangasinan. this is my latest discovery of white-sand and unspoilt beach, courtesy of my very good friend Bulgee and Fr. Ed who invited me to their beach party!

the place is accessible by boat from this small docking area in the mainland Sual to the beach of Cabalitian. the boat ride takes around 20 minutes.

just wear your bikinis underneath and top it with a sundress or pair of shorts and shirt. don't even bother bringing any clothes for changing! you'll see what i mean as soon as you get close to the beach.

when we got to the beach i literally stripped off my top clothing and ran straight to the water. the clear and unspoilt water of Cabalitian was one of the most irresistible things i've encountered in the last 9 months! talk about being deprived of warm beaches when in the UK! hehe

after taking a dip in Cabalitian's pristine waters, grab a bottle of water, wear a hat and perhaps consider putting another layer of sun cream and take a nice stroll towards the cove hidden behind the rocks west-ward of the beach.

the cove is one of Cabalitian's hidden gems waiting for nature lovers out there to sample its relaxing waters and zen-like atmosphere.

Asin Hot Springs!

This entry is not for Baguio and Benguet residents who may well better be the ones writing this blog entry as they know better than I do about Asin hot springs!

The photos speak for themselves... So if you are looking for a nice rest and recreation place within Benguet, Asin hot springs is the place to go!

There are a number of new resorts now in Asin and far so much better from what we used to have when we used to frequent Asin during the old days. (Naks para akong matanda dito a!) My family highly recommends Riverview resort!

It costs Php70-80 per adult for an entrance fee. Our entrance fee included a use of a hut which was situated on the hill, so we had a good view of the swimming pools.

Be sure to take a dip in their hot springs located just near the swimming pools... There's nothing better than a soothing and a relaxing dip on those hot spring tubs.

There's no Place Like Home

I've been stuck in London for a long 9 months, and after a couple of unpleasant incidents that prevented me from traveling out of the UK, the thought of going home to the Philippines for a three-week holiday thrilled me to death!!!


I hadn't felt so happy being in the Philippines until I went home this April and felt at home the moment...


... the airport cab driver asked me for pasalubong! (oh my god)

... i ate rice for breakfast

... i stepped into SM and managed to shop for clothes and shoes less than half of the price of the goods I would've paid when in the UK

... my dad and brothers prepared pinikpikan for dinner!

... i was seeing the sunrise at Hundred Islands!

... i was swimming in the pristine waters of Western Pangasinan

... i was eating fresh seafoods and indulging in Pinoy food such as pinakbet, crispy pata, kare-kare, daing na bangus, longganisa! yummy!

... i was voraciously eating mangoes!


Home is indeed a litany of beautiful things life has to offer and as I write this entry from my desk in London, away from home... it is always nice to say, "there's no place like home..."

New lessons in life :-)

This is really strange... Sleepless Sunday nights is becoming a very bad habit! It's 3 in the morning and I am still awake! Drat! I need to be at work at 9am, but before that, wake up at 7am... that means I should be asleep by now to get at least 4 hours of sleep... but that's the problem, I went to bed at 12midnight and told myself, "hey i will be getting 7 hours of sleep tonight" but now I'm down to four! So now am tapping my laptop writing a boring blog entry in the hope that I will lull myself to sleep.

I just sent an email to my sisters Dada and Grasya and shared them my new lessons in life and they are:

* the test of a perfect pair of high-heeled shoes is when you can run in them
* the test of a working scream alarm is it emits the shrieking sound when you press the button
* the test of someone who likes and truly cares for you is when that someone rings you on your landline phone because your mobile phone was stolen