Art in the Island

What's more fun than imagining another world? Being part of it on photo! 

This is exactly what we did at Art in the Island in Cubao.  Adults have to pay 500php but small kids could get in for free. Here are some of our favorite photos:

1. Under the Sea

Leji loves Sebastian from the Little Mermaid.  Here she was thrilled to act like a lobster! 

2. Small animals go large

Here we met some remarkable furry friends. Can't wait to visit Bohol with Leji so I can show her how small Tarsiers are in real life.

3. Chavit's Pet Tiger

 I've experienced bottle feeding baby Tigers in Subic but this looks way cooler than that! I remembered meeting Chavit Singson's tiger in Boracay years back. My youngest sister was the only one who dared ask for a selfie.

4. Captain Hook's Alligator

Here, Leji shrieked "Oh mai gad!!!" Too bad I didn't get that on video. Tsk.

5. Pail of Surprises

We weren't really sure what we were doing here. haha

6. Magical Falls

I'm such a damsel in distress when I climb mountains (yeah, at least I tried climbing mountains before despite knowing my level of physical fitness). This photo made it seem like I could sashay in Sport's Unlimited's next episode.

7. Let me be your angel

Here my little one fell asleep as if on cue. Aww.

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First time swimmer

Leji got to try wading in the kiddie pool out of town for the first time. I wasn't too scared because the water wasn't chlorinated (Oldwoods by the Sea in Pangasinan sources its poolwater from the mineral-rich mountain stream). She has always been fascinated with water; she loves splashing in the tub at home. She didn't even cry during her baptism five months ago!:)

When we arrived, we just relished the glorious sunset. Leji loves warm colors but she hates the icky heat. We didn't get to go to the beach as we were forced to take her indoors where they had aircon. Leji didn't like insects too.  Thank God, her insect repellant patch was effective and shooed them away somehow.

Leji's fave room was Gmelina. It has predominantly white interiors and lovely lace curtains.

It features a daybed where the little cruiser showed off how she can manage to stand on her own.

The next day, we slathered on some Dermax Milk Sunblock before heading out to the pool.

Even if she got weirded out by the bubbles, overall we had a fun time. The pool floors were slippery though (damsel in distress mode :/) It was fortunate that Leji was in the pool when I slipped.

She had more fun playing with her aqua toys inside our room! haha

Til our next out of town adventure!

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Take me back to paradise

My little girl is now a crafty crawler & I'm fantasizing where it would be fun to take her with me in the near future. Dear Universe, please be kind to us dreamers. 

1. Pompeii

In the movie, everyone just dies in the end.  Devastating, I know. But it would be super exciting to take her on a bullet train ride from Rome (kids ride free!), eat pizza and oranges at Naples (I'll make her wear a face mask; it smells icky in that station--it reeks of pee), and we'll have so much fun cruisin' the remains of the glorious city vanquished by Visuvius.  Hopefully this Unesco Heritage site could spark her interest in world history, theater, and anthropology.

2. Versailles

Leji adores Sophia the First on Disney Junior.  It would be amazing to take her to a real castle! We would wear nice dresses and stroll along the garden, admire the carvings, paintings, and the gold and attempt to speak French when asking for directions. We'll visit Louvre and the Eiffel and souffle and ice cream after.

3. Mt. Fuji

I've never seen real snow fall from the sky.  I would want to share that first time with my daughter. We'll drive up to the highest point accessible by car to Mt Fuji.  Or if that's too hard for her, we'll just try the cable car at Mt Takao. We'll head to Hogwarts Wizarding World to drink butterbeer and Disney Sea after to watch the fountain show and hunt for Sebastian (she loves red).

4. Ilocondia Mini Zoo

We have Melby the (stuffed) Rabbit as one of our bedmates.  It would be cool to see her play with real ones.  But I don't intend to keep rabbits as pets so we'll just visit them in a nice clean zoo.  I'll make her interact with other animals too.

 5. Autumn Garden

I don't know where the best autumn garden in the world is...but I'd like to take her there.  Leji loves warm colors and it would be truly delightful to see her face light up once she gets to see all the fire-coloured trees.

The world is just more exciting to explore now that she's around. Thank you, Lord.

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Take me back to Vatican

When Duterte mentioned of his plans to head over to Vatican and seek the Pope's forgiveness once he's proclaimed president, an experience of a lifetime all started coming back to me. Part of me wants to head over there too.  

Rome has a special place in my heart. Even as a little girl, I've dreamed of wandering all over the ancient city.  History just comes alive from each corner.

Before Pope Francis even visited the country, I sought to be part of the Papal audience one cold rainy Wednesday morning.  Shivering under my red and black umbrella, I was one of the few Filipinos present in the square that day.  One was based in Spain, the other in the US; and they conversed with some of the old Latinas in fluent Spanish.

I sat on an old paper bag from McDonalds (yeah, I tried American fastfood in Europe while waiting for the next train; do not judge me!:p). It was a vain attempt to protect my skirt, hose & undies from getting wet (tsk, I didn't know my sister's leather skirt would have been useful). I chomped on some apples from my bag to comfort myself.

Alas, when Pope Francis arrived, the senior citizen Latinas suddenly became like giddy teenagers in an Elvis Presley concert. They were just WILD. They pushed and shoved like there's no tomorrow. 

But just one glimpse of the Pope and the remarkable energy of the crowd when we prayed in multiple languages made it all worth the effort.  And when you're there seated in the square, you can't help but study in detail the statues of the angels and saints up above.

I noticed that those in bridal gowns that day were free to come forward and ask for the Pope's special blessing.  Too bad I didn't know that that was possible.

The next day, the weather improved and my cousin dared me to don a wedding gown. He borrowed a dress from a friend and voila! I had my instant bridal pictorial in Rome! People kept saying "Auguri!"-- best wishes in Italian.  Some even took pictures with me pretending they were guests/family.  It was cute. They were all supportive.

I crossed the street, fed pigeons, and even rode a bus wearing that dress! Thank God I had my boots and leggings underneath.  I have Kuya Rey and the rest of his family to thank for forcing me to do this once-in-a-life pictorial.

Needless to say, it was really fun.  I really wish I could go back and eat all the pizza and cheese at Piazza Navona..

I pray all the best for our country now that we've just elected a new set of leaders.  I hope our new president could hug Pope Francis for us.

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Venice in a Flash

I prayed for a sister for seven years. A few days ago, we had to let her go. She went off to happily chase after her dreams in a desert country.  I still can't sleep properly knowing that she's far far away.

She wanted to take a photo of Venice before she left. We didn't have the luxury to all go to Europe, so we headed off to McKinley at the Fort!  The establishment closes at 11pm; we were too late for the gondola. But my sister was happy with the photo and the short hike from the distant parking lot was worth it. 

Venice Grand Canal, McKinley 2016

Close enough, right? :) I hope someday we could all travel together (it wouldn't hurt if we could get discounted tickets to Europe! :p) and have a cozy photo taken on the Bridge of Sighs. Who knows, by then we might be able to splurge on a gondola and feed pigeons after.

Venice, 2014

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Enjoying the Summer Heat in the City

Over the weekend, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius, it was tempting to just lounge around at home or in the mall and turn the AC to its lowest setting.

Surprisingly, athletes and sports enthusiasts heartfully managed to gather at Bonifacio High Street to have fun under the sweltering heat of the sun. 

They had art, rock climbing, camping and rock climbing all in one Outdoor Festival!

Even damsels in distress like me happen to get inspired with R.O.X. (Recreational Outdoor Exchange). It's a multi-storey building that houses brands that will prepare you to take on adventures outside of your comfort zone. R.O.X. has everything an apprehensive beginner or a hard-core pro would need to run, bike, camp, swim, surf or even climb! It really "lets you in so you can get outside!"

Meantime, last Sunday evening, the lovely candidates of Bb Pilipinas 2016 also celebrated the joys of summer at the Araneta Coliseum. With implements of the beach and the great outdoors, the stage was filled with bright lights as the  girls sashayed across the stage. 

PMAP model Maria Mika Maxine Medina bagged the Ms Universe Philippines crown.

Crowd favorite Kylie Versoza won the Bb Pilipinas International crown. It was interesting to note that her mom competed against former Bb Pilipinas Universe and TV personality Joyce Burton-Titular.

Last but not the least, the youngest of the Manalo sisters, Nichole Manalo, took home the Bb Pilipinas Globe award.

The judges obviously had a hard time deciding on who they would want to win this year. There were forty candidates and six crowns at stake including Ms Grand International and Ms Supranational; whereas years back they would only allow less than 30 candidates for coronation night and we only had three titles: Universe, World, and International.

Queen Pia's 2nd runner-up in Ms Universe, Olivia Jordan, served as one of the judges and helped in selecting winners who are as sweet as she is!

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Madrid Fusion Manila 2016

East meets West in the 2nd edition of Madrid Fusion Manila at SM Supermalls. Members of the media were given a taste of the Galleon Trade recently at Sarsa Bar+Kitchen at SM MOA as we traced our connection in history and integrated ingredients from different parts of the globe to modernize local dishes.

Chef Jayps of Sarsa Kitchen+ Bar taught us how to make Adobong Pusit Arroz Caldo. It was like the comforting soup version of Paella Negra. He added a touch of lemongrass to make it refreshing and crunchy squid that has the nice texture of lechon :) He topped it with more squid ink and achete oil.

Meantime, Chef Ed Bugia turned a rice dish into something more Chinoy.. Paellang Pancit! He said Pancit should be our national dish because there are so many versions of it.

He made it less intimidating over the stove without compromising the enticing colors and textures.

Sail away with Madrid Fusion at SM Supermalls til April 15

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