Friday, June 6, 2008
our new driving companion
i am officially retiring from one of my duties... i'm taking off my nav-girl hat now, so, meet tomtom one europe t, my replacement. it's about time! advanced happy father's day! :) we have high expectations. an out of the blue purchase, it better be worth every franc! here's to a more relaxed and practical trip road trips ahead... and that includes avoiding traffic! :) cheers to our newest travel companion! |
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
WW#5: My Boys
 In My Life (Lennon/McCartney) There are places I'll remember All my life though some have changed Some forever not for better Some have gone and some remain All these places have their moments With lovers and friends I still can recall Some are dead and some are living In my life I've loved them all But of all these friends and lovers There is no one compares with you And these memories lose their meaning When I think of love as something new Though I know I'll never lose affection For people and things that went before I know I'll often stop and think about them In my life I love you more Though I know I'll never lose affection For people and things that went before I know I'll often stop and think about them In my life I love you more In my life I love you more In My Life... I love you most! |
Monday, May 12, 2008
a very last minute trip to Prague, Czech Republic
this is one feat for the books. last weekend was ascension holiday and we had no plans for the long weekend. our family friends were set to go on a trip to prague - two families and a single - together. we, on the other hand, didn't quite plan on anything - we were home bound. well, we do want to join them, but the airfare was quite high and the overnight train trip was expensive, as well. so, we decided to just have a go to prague another time, under a more reasonable price ;)... but i have a mole on the sole of my feet, and if you know our pinoy pamahiins, people w/ that are lakwatsera's. and i guess, being lakwatsera by nature, the long weekend was too tempting to just stay home or within the country. so friday came and we still had nothing planned, i surfed the net, and looked at the airline websites again (as i've been doing for the past week). out of the blue i decided to check the flights from a different airport... and what do you know! i found the best flight schedule i could think of. i was actually looking for a latter date trip, but the dates weren't just right, so i consulted hubby, asked him if he could squeeze in two days of leave... he said he couldn't, i was sad. it was the perfect schedule for us, low-priced airfare, the little one was still free, the eldest was at a reduced airfare rate and the days and time were just right... although the weather forecast mild showers, still it was just perfect! i was still asking him the same questions until he finally thought maybe he can give it a shot. so he filed his leave and we're set to go! i booked the flights and the accomodation in a blink of an eye and told our friends who were already there that we're on our way to join them in the excursion, and we'll be staying for 4 days! yipeee! :)  prague is just a beautiful city, #1 in our list right now. you see, we went to paris, and was really really impressed, and then we went to barcelona and barcelona topped paris for us. and now, prague is just at the top of our charts! the city is so rich in history, charm and is just amazing. from the old town, to prague castle, the vtlava river, the charles bridge and the entire city itself... is just full of history! it is indeed a gem of europe, one of the most beautiful cities, indeed and it was especially enchanting at night. and the food was great, too! :)     we were truly blessed to be able to go and hear mass in the Church of Our Lady Victorious – where the miraculous Prague Infant Jesus is. it was the coronation feastday of the sto. nino, so many pinoys mostly from cebu were on a pilgrimage there and we even had free lunch because of the occasion. :)   so if you're planning on touring europe, i highly recommend paying a visit to prague for at least 3 days. and if you're up for more photos, just click here for some images of the old town, the prague castle, the vtlava river, the charles bridge and much more! enjoy! it's one of my dream destinations come true, indeed! :) |
Friday, May 2, 2008
public holiday thursday
Yesterday was Ascension Day and Labor Day holiday here . We spent our afternoon in Chateau de Prangins that housed the Swiss National Museum for Western Switzerland. No picture taking was allowed inside so we only got to pose outside and only 3 photos were "postable" :). After the trip to the museum we went to the beautiful Tulip Festival in Morges, where the tulips are now in full bloom... below is MY shot, click here for more postcard-perfect photos :). Labels: holidays, swiss life, trips |
Thursday, April 24, 2008
In Barcelona
| we celebrated my birthday with a 3-day trip to barcelona. one of the perks of living in switzerland is it's so central european that you can practically have daytrips to neighboring countries. of course, the country itself is beautiful and full of interesting sites that you don't really need to go far - unless you've already exhausted all the must-see places and would like to go on a road trip. :) so this year, my birthday trip is to barcelona. last year it was paris, sounds bongga 'no?, but financial-wise, it's just like going to boracay in pinas - well, i am a bargain hunter so others would have it more expensive! we spent 3-whole days bonding, walking, sight seeing, eating, picture taking and more walking! all i can say is, barcelona is a beautiful city, i liked it better than paris, actually! we had low expectations before we went so we were pleasantly surprised at the beauty the city had to offer. when we arrived in barcelona, it was raining so we were a little bit disappointed, but we didn't want to waste our time and our trip, so after we left our luggages in the office of the apartment we were staying in, we started walking around the old town. check out photos here from day 1. there were already lots of interesting sites within the old town and all were walking distance and then went to the casa mila and other nearby attractions. we ended the day at about 11pm, from a paella dinner by the bay in barcelonetta.  day 2, we woke up at around 8am but didn't go out until 11am, we started slow, had breakfast in our apartment and then went out. and guess what? it rained again! but again, there's no stopping us from touring, so off we went to park guell which was just impressive! the rain was on and off when we were at the park but finally and thankfully when we were about to leave at around 2pm, it was all sunny and shiny for the rest of the day. we then went to very popular tourist attraction - the sagrada familia, still under construction since 1882 and they're looking at at least 30 more years for it's completion. we also went to the placa espanya, mont juic, and in poble espanyol where we had tapas dinner and pizza for franco. we got to our apartment at around 11pm, again!  we were finally granted a beautiful day on our last day, my birthday. we had our lunch at the moll d'espanya in port vell - it's not a mall but a park beside the port, went to torre agbar, walked along barcelonetta and finally proceeded to the train station to take us to the airport. oh, i must say, i did a bit of shopping in barcelona, too! where shopping is just heaven! so many shops... so little time! :)  so... until our next adventure... we have another long weekend coming up but looks like we're going to take it easy this time... where to? i don't know yet! :) |
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
last weekend's outing
here's a glimpse of annecy, france where we went to last sunday afternoon. DH went ahead of us to serve in choir at the mass so we took the train and he picked us up at the station. i even met a french guy in the train and we spoke for the whole 15 minutes of the ride in french... NOT! :p we spoke about life here, why he's here, how we were here, family.... and then our conversation ended up him giving me his contact details so i can "refer" him to friends... he looks like a decent guy, maybe around early 40's... any one up for the challenge? just say "I". hehehe. :) anyways, the town of annecy is very charming, a 1h40m drive away from home. they have a big park, a castle and small canals that gives you the ambiance of venice sans the gondola's. the old town is full of character, and there were ice cream shops in every corner of the old town... but much to our disappointment, the ice cream didn't meet our expectations. while waiting in line for our turn, an embarrassing mommy moment transpired. here's how it went: Me: Franco you ok there? Stay close, ok? Franco: Yes, mommy. (the little boy stayed in line, as well, patiently waiting. then he suddenly approached me looking very excited...) F: Mommy, I see the biggest, biggest, biggest... PWET! M: Huh??!! F: Mommy, look (pointing to the lady in front of him, blocking his view). See, that's the biggest pwet! M: Sshhh... Franco, wag ka maingay. Don't say that, that's not nice. F: But mommy, I can't see the ice cream because the big girl is there with her big... (still pointing!) M: Stay here na lang on the table and chair ok? Just wait for me, and don't point and be quiet! F: Ok. (smiling innocently) (i was trying very hard not to laugh, but it was very funny so a little smile escaped and i had to look away) I felt a warm rush to my face, even though they were french and probably don't know what pwet mean... but the finger pointing to that direction and if they heard "the biggest, biggest" would most likely give them THE clue. kids say the darndest things, indeed! whew! :D Labels: kids say the darndest things, over the border, photos, the boys, trips, weekend |
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
a trip to the zoo
we spent out saturday on a visit to a zoo about 1h 20m away from home. the boys had fun, there were a fair number of animals including a kalaw and a kangaroo! it was a nice place to spend a day. there were lots of chairs all over the place so parents can rest while the little ones are either busy playing or petting the animals. here are some of the animals we saw... for more photos, click here. hope you had a relaxing weekend! :) |
Monday, April 7, 2008
PH#4: glass
Photo taken a year-and-a-half ago in a "mirror house" in Luzern, i can't remember what the name of the place is, but it's some kind of a mirror labyrinth :). our friends' daughter in the picture. more photo hunters here. Labels: museum, photo hunter, photos, trips |
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
bad headache
| i have a bad headache right now, and it's because we still have not yet decided whether we'll be going on a long drive for the easter weekend. well actually, we've already decided that we'll go out of town from tomorrow, but... we received an email a few hours ago saying that the new tv we ordered has already been sent. meaning, there's a big chance it will be delivered tomorrow. question is, what time? yes, we've already called the company we bought the tv from (we bought it online), but there was no ringing but an automated answer saying the number is unavailable at the moment, just great! when i tried calling again around after 5pm, there was finally a ring... but, of course, it was after office hours already and the answering machine said to call from 9-5. grrr!!!! so now, i have a really bad headache, no hotel |
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Weekend Snapshots :)
 last weekend, at avenches and a few weekends back in chateau d'oex, vaud
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Friday, October 26, 2007
an open air museum
 sometimes, last minute trips are the best way to go. last friday, friends who had nothing planned on the weekend gamely agreed to join us on a day trip to ballenberg - an open air museum that featured switzerland as it once was, more than 100 years ago - the houses, mostly. it's amazing how different the architecture of buildings each canton had. it also featured "men at work", making lumber - trimming the trunks to make planks, among others. the day was great except for one factor - it was freezing cold and we were not-so dressed up for the occasion. i think temperature was around 3 degrees, it would have been fine if it wasn't so windy! but all in all, it was fun! we spent the whole day at the exhibit and took shelter inside the charming houses. we then capped the day with a very hot and spicy indian dinner in Interlaken. you can check out our photos here  the whole day was not enough for a by-foot expedition and freezing weather, so by 4pm we decided to leave - the place was just huge at 660,000sqm, we missed the alpine region of the exposition, which i think is really nice. maybe we can go there another day, but that will probably be next year already since the museum is closed from 1st november until 31st of march every year - necessarily, at wintertime. here's the map of the place, so the next time we come there we will be going thru the East Entrance Brienzwiler to see the Alpine, The Valais, Bernese Oberland and Ticino regions.   Labels: friends, swiss life, trips |
Sunday, September 30, 2007
new photos
 i've uploaded new photos in our multiply site. so click here to see our Milan trip and Kuya Franco's birthday celebration. enjoy! :) |
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
can you keep a secret?
  ... don't worry, it was just for a few seconds and on a virtually empty road - no speed cameras, hopefully! just imagine how it feels like on the serves of roger federer or rafael nadal! hindi na po uulit!  Labels: trips |