TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Time goes so fast and tonight at 19:45 (7:45pm) I am flying! I have NOT finished the dreaded packing because being a busy lady like me haha *smirks* I should have done it last week! Though ironic isn’t it, I almost update my blog everyday, but well, not this week. I am blogging late, hehe. I remember someone asking me how I manage to juggle everything. The answer is easy: " I make time for things I like! " Well let's see what I did... Monday evening was school, it is impossible to pack when you get home at past 22:30 (10:30pm+), hungry, tired and brain dead. You know with clothes packing, you need your brains in motion to be able to pick the right mix ´n match of every outfit! Would have wanted to pack on Tuesday, but the company had a nice dinner together that left me drinking a couple glasses of wine. So by the time I arrive home, I can’t function that much. Wednesday… what did I do Wednesday? Oh my god I forgot! Then Thursday evening I had again the Dutch class and had...

It’s Sunday morning right now. I still don’t know what our plans will be for the day, though tonight I will be on the laptop working. I need to send a really pensive email to my customer and they need to read this first thing in the morning. I guess I have succumb to being numb in this business. As they say, if you are in sales, you must be makapal (thick-faced)! So, let’s talk about what went yesterday…. I again, good heavens, shopped. I think I have become a true-blue shop-aholic. Forgive me if I sound too boring with this shopping litany, this is still my blog anyway. The thing is, I badly need to change some of my wardrobe. They look quite outdated already like I am left behind inspired in the early 1990's vogue. It’s time to feed my narcissistic fashion logic. So I bought…. 3 Skirts: chocolate brown suede, grey mini flip skirt, and crème leather skirt. 2 Blazers: chocolate brown suede and black blazer. 3 Tops: light caramel turtleneck, grey cardigan and chocolate brown vest. ...

My colleague, who incidentally looks like Frans Bauer (a famous mass type singer here in NL) threw a little drinking party after work at his new flat in Bloemendaal. The activity was in fact quite refreshing after that rough twisted day. So I called the Dutchman and told him that he better feed himself, alone hehe. Bloemendaal is one of the chic places where the moneyed in the Netherlands live. But unfortunately the houses in this area pales in major comparison with the abodes of the rich and famous in other countries. The distinct Dutch characteristic must as usual triumph. The cheese-heads don’t like showing off too much of their wealth nor they like to talk about it (they say it has something to do with their Calvinistic background). They are a rebel lot when it comes to snobs, but take that as a grain of salt because there are always exceptions breathing and walking around. A quick glimpse on how these so-called affluent ones live... Mansion manor worth € 1.25M (US$ 1.5M) Vill...

I am well alright and back to my shopping mode *Grin*. Bizarre but V&D is open today! Why on earth are they suddenly open on Sundays? Could it be finally, Dutch capitalism? Becoming Americanized perhaps? Haha. Well they actually have this Circus something sale going on, maybe that was the case. I bought new silk cushions for our black leather sofa. They come in soft earth colors: Cream , Toffee , Light Rust , Light Lime Green . Actually, they match perfectly with my cream wool carpet and walls, and the exotic and period inspired fixtures giving major enchantment to the already eclectic-cosmopolitan living room. Dutchman was very well pleased. He should as it was my own money. But there is one dinner ware item (well actually a set) that I really would love to buy to satiate my home-dining carnality, its this Metropolitan Villeroy-Boch porcelain set. They also have this new Japanese inspired porcelain in black, which really made me want to take out my wallet and buy. I'm glad it...

I have fever and colds. Must be because of the weather? In Dutch its called koorts (fever) and verkoudheid (colds)... pronounced in English as " fer-cowed-hide ". I have the damn thing since Thursday. Yeah, don’t ridicule me for going out on a shopping blitz *lol* the other night, it was only a mere sickly feeling that I thought I could handle. Though I knew already that I will be really blown out sick the next day Friday, so I gathered enough strength and energy and shopped Thursday night, I mean I will be locked up in the weekend anyway! Smarty pants eh? Well I didn’t go to work yesterday and Friday either. The fever was running high and my throat was so terrible, couldn’t even swallow my own saliva without causing pain! I only woke up about 30 minutes during lunch to eat, call in quick on Dutchman at work and checked my laptop. The next thing that woke me up was Dutchman opening the bedroom door when he arrived home at 7:45pm. Oh dear, I slept the whole freaking day away...

The €uro currency was introduced in 1 January 2002 and have since been in circulation within the 12 Euro countries in Europe. Google them if you want to know which countries. The implementation is supposed to make life and business easier for many Europeans, but does it really? Its entrance created a raucous cry from the many agitated consumers resulting to a much needless expensive European life. Ooops, knowing the frugal Dutch, they are the ones suffering and clamoring the most! In the past a cup of coffee in a cafe costs around hfl. 2,80 (Dutch Guilder). Now it is about € 2,00 (could be more depending on how upscale the place is). Ack, that’s about hfl. 4,40 ! Can you spot the difference? Inflated prices… and there have been a lot of musings going on that the €uro is so much inflated in value. How true? Anyhow, here’s the currency of the new millennium. Enjoy, they are very colorful but they pale in comparison to the Dutch Guilder, click this Dutch Guilder link and you will see ...

Its Thursday so it’s Koop Avond meaning extended sales, extended opening hours. I am also in the mood to pick up where I left off, from my shopping spree that was cut last Sunday. I have been meaning to shop last weekend at Bijenkorf but time didn’t permit me at all. Dutchman and I woke up late, as usual. We have turn into night owls prowling the kingdom of cyberspace till the wee hours of dawn. Unquestionably. No weekend breakfasts for us, instead weekend brunches. Nicer though. Alright, let's do some explanation here... Bijenkorf is analogous to Rustans in the Philippines, the only difference is that, Bijenkorf doesn't have a grocery department. It’s caters to the high end market BUT not as high end as you may think. PC Hooftstraat in Amsterdam must not be forgotten, the street where top signature and designer shops are located. A reminder though, Holland is not even close to comparison with other European counterparts when it comes to fashion and shopping. You will not see ...

Well it turns out that I like them both and I am relieved they don’t fall on the same time slot because they air it at the same night! Tuesday nights. If that happens, I probably will storm my butt in at the TV station in Hilversum (Media City of NL) and demand it to be moved! But what would I choose really, if I had no choice? --- I would bet on " C.S.I. " " Sex & the City " is a great show…. great with fashion, career and the independent lifestyle but it doesn’t feed your inner mental thirst. In fact, I am so shallow and vain because I mainly watch the show to check out what they are wearing! Yup, the clothes, the shoes, the bags, the accessories, their hair, make-up… all that jazz and enchilada a woman wants. I like the fact that they are career women, sporting a frivolous independent lifestyle without a man helping them pay their bills. Girl power as Spice Girls and Destiny Childs would say. But sometimes, the storyline of SATC can suck and be damn CORNY. ...

Its past 9PM, Dutchman and I are now lazily reclining in the sofa, well he is in the opposite fauteuil ( this is actually his spot at home where you can find him at least 80% of the time ) and me in the big sofa while we both enjoy our customary after dinner routine: coffee + TV + fiddling our laptops + internet + chatting with each other. Its some kind of unadulterated multi-tasking hehe. As a matter of fact, I’m just done with the everyday after work home grind – kitchen keeping, a new term I invented, as a subpart of housekeeping. Reality is, I am wishing I am back in Manila. I am having nightmares with this housekeeping chores. I have never been good with this, argh! Back home, I have a call-in help that comes in every weekend. She does almost everything, from the cleaning to laundry and ironing. I fix her lunch though. See, I also have a conscience. But here in NL, I am the desolate help, I am the MAID! Well at least not an all-around one. I have to give credit to the Dutchman al...

... in ENGLISH ! I received last Friday a letter (actually a big sized envelope) from ABN Amro, but which I only opened just a few hours ago. I don't skip and get excited when they send me statements or any of those usual marketing garbage, so I rarely open anything from them quickly. The first thing that caught my eye was the brochure inside. It says, Internet Banking for Expats . Ooohhwie, this is cool! I heard in the past that they had an English Software version of the Internet Banking but it came in a CD pack, which was manually installed in your computer. Later on, ABN stopped this program and asked everyone to settle with the online Dutch version of Internet Banking. Well, I am glad that ABN has retracked the English version of Internet Banking. Though, a bit too late for me, I am quite comfortable with the Dutch version already. Thanks anyway! Dutchman interrupted my reverie with a hearty laugh and said: " Haha, they thought you're an Expat ". He went on his m...

Canal Bridge in Oude Gracht (Old Canal) Utrecht is typically rich with canals, just like the capital sister city, Amsterdam. Fact is, many people say that its just like a mini Amsterdam, but ssshhhh Utrechters do not really like to hear that, hehe. History also pointed that the Utrechters traded spices (spice trade with Indonesia) here during the medieval ages. Trading boats unload their cargos in the basement cellars which were used as warehouses. Above these were supposedly merchandising shops now transformed into commercial retail stores and expensive residentials.

Vismarkt (Fish Market) Check the small bridge in the picture, that is the centuries old fish market of Utrecht where people back in the olden times buy and sell fresh fish. It is presently an area full of charming cafe terraces enjoyed by a lot of Dutchies, especially during summer when they bask under the sun. And see that green dakkapel (extended roof) also? On the left side of the street? That's a specialty kitchen shop selling all sorts of kitchen wares and gadgets. I love visiting that place when I am in the center. Ah well.... Why is it that it is always different when you are looking at foto's? Pictures give us that awe-some feeling, or I guess nostalgic tendencies, compared to actually walking through the streets and canal bridges of where we live, totally unaware of its wonderment, simply because we have grown to become too familiar with it. I sometimes think that on elected moments, it is healthy to be detached from our surroundings. But... in as much as w...