When In Amsterdam...

take a canal cruise.

Straightest area of the canal. You can see right through to the 4th bridge.

walk along the Red Light District.

No photos of the girls can be taken unless you want trouble.

visit the Flower Market.

visit the Anne Frank House.

Really blurry shot of the AF door

The Anne Frank House from afar

kill time at the Sex Museum.

wander inside the Hemp Museum.

rent a bike...

Bikes everywhere!

...and go sightseeing.

Royal Palace on Dam Square

Madame Tussaud's

Munttoren Tower on Muntplein Square

An old castle-looking building turned into a restaurant

Church by the Flower Market

watch out for the train.

The train passes right in front of our hotel on Raadhuisstraat

admire the cute little canal houses and boathouses.

Canal house with nice pink windows

One of the many boathouses along the canal

hang out at a coffeeshop.

The Bulldog is a popular hotel and cafe among tourists

Abraxas is a popular coffee shop among locals

people watch while having an Amstel.

and do what the locals do.

See what the guy has in his left hand? :P

Midweek Angst

Everyone's going out-of-town or somewhere else...except me. Haven't gone anywhere since November. Boo.

Thinking of Bali

I want to go back. It's been almost two years since I traveled there. Didn't do much but party for a week, take surfing lessons and attend the awesome wedding of a good friend.

Legian Beach
Photo courtesy of  Gab G.

We took a PAL flight to Jakarta and then an Air Asia flight to Denpasar since there's no direct flight to Bali from Manila. Do not make the mistake of arriving at the JAK International airport around midnight as it's not a very nice airport. When we arrived, everything was closed except for the McDonald's right at the airport's exit and some money changers. No lounge, no nothing. No tourist desk where you can inquire on how to go to the domestic airport for your flight to Denpasar (Bali). You will be at the mercy of the cab drivers, a lot of which, will give you a ridiculous price for a short ride to the domestic airport. There is a shuttle bus but it doesn't operate round the clock. A friend paid around 60,000-70,000 IDR which is still a bit too much considering that it's only a few minutes away.

View of the pool from our room

Finally arrived in Bali and proceeded to our hotel. For a couple of nights, we stayed at the All Seasons Legian which is a nice, modern hotel. After breakfast, our next order of business was to find a money changer. Money changers are a dime a dozen in Bali. You just have to be careful where you go to. Look for one that doesn't have hidden charges (tax?) and one that won't cheat you. I chose one that offered higher exchange rates than the one a couple of stalls down and I got ripped off. 50 SGD worth. Never make the mistake of putting your money on the table. Count it first in front of the person before you give it to him/her. Never look away. Apparently, a lot of people have been scammed this way.

Anyway, despite all things mentioned, I still had a rocking time in Bali. I took an introductory course at the Quiksilver surf school. It costs USD40, includes board and rash guard rental and lasts around 2 hours. Successfully stood on the dang board after a million wipe outs and gallons of water swallowed.

Wiped out right after this photo was taken

Good-sized waves

Also did a bar crawl with friends, who like me, arrived in Bali a few days before the wedding. Most of the bars we went to were located in Kuta which is the most happening area in Bali. This is also where you'll find the Bali Bombing Monument which was built to commemorate the 202 people who died in the 2002 bombing.

Bali Bombing Monument

Bintang Beer of Indonesia
Photo courtesy of Gab G.

Last but not the least, took part in the lovely wedding of a friend..

Friend's wedding in Seminyak

Good times. 

Shu Shopping

Went to the Shu Uemura Fanatic Membership Launch and returned home with these babies.


Face Architect Liquid Foundation # 734
PhP2150, 50ml

Excited to try this one out

High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil 

Original Price PhP1700, 150 ml

Got this at 40% off. Limited stocks available and on sale only until April 30. 

Cleansing Oil-Aya Takano Collection

Depsea Hydrability Lotion and Moisturizer

Lotion: PhP1600, 150ml

Moisturizer: PhP2400, 50ml

Gift to mom for Mother's Day 

Brightening Cleansing Oil Advanced Formula

50 ml

Answer one of their trivia questions correctly and you get to pick a prize.

My trivia prize

Skincare Travel Kit

Be one of the first five (5) new members daily to get this nice set.

Skincare Travel Kit

The travel kit I got contained some products from their Phyto Black Line.

Lots of freebies!!!

Me let loose in a mall. Not a good idea. Now it's time for me to starve until the next payday.

Shu Fanatic Membership Launch

Happening on April 29 - May 7, 2011 at the Shu Uemura boutique at the Powerplant Mall.
Purchase any product on these dates and be an instant member.

Visit their Facebook page for more details.

I now have 15 followers. How awesome is that? :)

It's like I also did Visita Iglesia because of a Facebook contact's status messages.

I "Heart" Barcelona

I have a friend who is going all the way to Spain for her Nadal-fix. She's gone to China two years ago to watch him play. And to Bangkok last year to drool over him court-side. She's a stalker. She's crazy. Anyway, I digress.

Spent 6 days in Barcelona in the Summer of 2009. Weather was around 30-34 degrees but then I come from a tropical country so it wasn't really that bad.

Decided to stay in a hotel in the La Rambla area called Hostal Opera Ramblas. It's a budget hotel located along an alley a few meters away from the Opera and the Liceu metro station. A night's stay cost us around 55-63 euros. The hotel is located right smack in La Rambla which is a 1.2km-long street in central Barcelona that's very popular with both tourists and locals.

Walking up La Rambla

Everything is walking distance from this area--the city beaches, the Boqueria, Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila (by Antoni Gaudi), countless bars, restaurants, hotels and even the shopping district.

Entrance to the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria

La Boqueria bursting with colors

Sagrada Familia ceiling (taken while waiting for the lift)

View from one of the towers of Sagrada Familia

Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi

Since my travel companion and I aren't the artsy-fartsy kind, we only spent 2 days doing the normal touristy stuff and decided to spend the rest of stay hanging out at the beach, both inside and outside the city. Beaches outside the city are a mere 10 to 15-minute train ride away with Castelldefels and Sitges being the two closest and most popular. If going to Sitges, the right beach is where gays mostly  hang out and the left beach, right behind the pink church, is where families and straight couples mostly go.

Cool cafe at one of the city beaches

Sitges Beach

Lunch at a Restaurant by Sitges Beach

La Rambla is littered with restaurants so foodies need not fret. On our first day, we decided to eat at Pinotxo, a really tiny stall inside La Boqueria, which I've read so much about. The place doesn't have a printed/set menu so whatever they feel like cooking that day are the only ones available. Would do you good to know the Spanish words for chicken, pork, beef and seafood. Food was good, ingredients fresh and the caña cold.

Estofado and a Caña

While some of the restos along La Rambla are tourist traps, I strongly recommend having a bite at Cafe Viena which is just past La Boqueria. Order their Flauta d'Iberico d.o Jabugo. It only has 3 ingredients: jamon iberico, flauta (like baguette) and a juicy tomato that's rubbed on the bread to give it a bit of moisture and flavor (no tomato slices included in the sandwich!). So simple yet tastes so divine!
The.Best.Sandwich.Ever. Mark Bittman totally got it right on his article.

Flauta D'Iberico d.o. Jabugo
Photo from here

Another thing not to be missed in Barcelona is the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. It truly is a spectacular display of color, light, motion, music and water acrobatics. It's not open the whole year so better check out their site for opening schedules. Highly recommended.

Watched the Magic Fountain of Montjuic show...

one Summer night. AWESOME!!!

My feet are itching to go back!

Cafe Viena

C/ La Rambla, 115
08002 Barcelona, Spain
+34 933 171 492

Pinotxo

Mercat de la Boqueria, La Rambla
Barcelona, Spain 
+34 933 171 731

Hostal Opera Ramblas

C/ Sant Pau 20
08001 Barcelona, Spain
+34 933 188 201
www.operaramblas.com

Sagrada Familia

Plaça de la Sagrada Família, Mallorca, 401, 
08013 Barcelona
+34 932 073 031
For ticket info and opening hours, visit the Sacred Destinations page.