TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

I love thunderstorms . I love it when it’s raining hard , but only at “ night ”. Last night I couldn’t sleep because I was listening to the heavy deluge of rain. With the melodious taps and splashes on the roof and on the windows, I kept still, under the sheet covers... all senses alert and relished this wonderful act of nature. But my favorite of all is hearing the rumbling sound of the rain coming. It brings me fresh memories of my childhood days during monsoon season in the Philippines. I can only take pleasure from those memories now as I drink a warm cup of coffee, at night, whilst watching the heavy downpour outside. Next time I better send a message to the gods of Dutch weather that if they plan of sending heavy rain along our way, that they better make it before bed time! Leaves have also started to fall today and it’s the first time I noticed that some of the trees have changed its colors to yellow and orange. My favorite season has come: Autumn

SAIL 2005 happens every 5 years in the IJ harbor of Amsterdam, strategically situated right at the back of the Amsterdam Central station. The big event was opened last 17 August with a dramatic “ sail in ” of the participating ships led by the city’s flagship, the Clipper Stad Amsterdam , with the prince of the Netherlands [ Prince Willem Alexander ] enthusiastically navigating on its wheels. The parade was received by tens of thousands of eager spectators along the coast harbor and by a myriad of striking boats floating in the IJ haven. An equally impressive gun salute with the use of an old canon was executed to welcome the boats into the haven. So full on a Sunday, the last day of the event… and this is even before reaching the IJ Harbor! (IJ is pronounced as “eye”) The SAIL 2005 is a 5 day event in Amsterdam and is known to be the city’s 2nd largest event after the yearly Queens Day on the 30th of April. During the 5 day affair, one can expect an array of multicultural, youth a...

An international multi-cultural city, Brussels in a nutshell is luxurious, historic, alluring and warm. Situated in the most central of all locations in Belgium, the city enjoys being the capital of the country, but it is also regarded as the capital of the Flanders region [the Flemish Belgians, the Dutch speaking part in the north]. The CENTRUM With my hot pot of mussels, a must when in Brussels and foto’s of the amazingly beautiful historic buildings in the “ Grand Market Square ” [Grand Place/Grote Markt]. Dating back to the 16th century, this square is a MUST SEE when visiting Brussels. They say its the loveliest square in the whole of Europe, if not in the whole world. The ancient mansions like a protective cluster surrounding the square grounds are accented with gold color giving the place an air of opulent ambience. Tourists flock and hang out here and the cafes offer exorbitant prices than anywhere else in Brussels. More pictures of Brussels in My EUROPE TRAVEL Photo Album . L...

There is no turning back! I am going to “ Winter Sport ” this January! Thinking about that makes my knees wobble and my heart palpitate. This will be my first time!!! Darn, I don’t even know how to ski! I know it’s not the best of all ideas to start learning how to ski at 35. Like they say: “ It’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks ” The winter holiday was finalized last weekend when we were at Friesland. Dutchman’s friends, the couple who owned the farm; let’s call them PI couple; initially mentioned their plan to go to winter sport in January, without the kids[!]. It was also our plan but there was nothing concrete, no schedule and the Dutchman kept throwing doubts about my physical condition. He thinks I have no place in the sports world and is not fit to ski! (Uh-huh, say that again? I have trekked the mountains and rivers of Banaue , climbed up to the 3rd level (top most) of Kawasan Falls in Badian , Cebu , and did spelunking in big Sumaguing Cave in Sagada , well full of bats!) ...

Last weekend was a nice, yet, quite a gloomy one (I cheated and re-touched the photo’s to give extra light). We visited two of Dutchman’s friends up north in the province of Friesland [in Lippenhuizen and Sneek respectively], bordering the North Sea and the north of Germany. The capital of the province is Leeuwarden. I haven’t been there yet but in the near future, why not! The Netherlands has two official languages: Nederlands [Dutch] and Fries [pronounced as ‘ Frees ’]. The language Fries which is also how locals are called in Friesland, is as they say a mix between Dutch and English. Many Dutch people actually do not understand Fries [the language] but all Fries [the people] understand Dutch, since they study this in school. I hope you didn’t get confused there, he-he. Heerlijk appel taart! [Delicious apple pie!] We were welcomed in Lippenhuizen with a home-baked delicious apple pie, freshly made from apples picked in the backyard. It smelled so sinfully glorious and the crust ...

The medieval city of Haarlem , located by the river Spaarne, was once one of the 2 most powerful cities [the other is Dordrecht] in the Netherlands during the 16th and early 17th centuries. This is the home of the great tulipmania trade in the 1600’s, and so with the tulip crash... The city was also known for beer brewing, ship building and textile manufacturing. In the late 17th century towards the 18th century, Amsterdam stole Haarlem’s crown of power and influence. Amsterdam became Holland’s capital. But since this charming city is roughly 15 minutes away (20KM) to the northwest from the capital (about an hour from Utrecht), many tourists drop by to sample the Haarlem experience. So did I, last week! Here are some of the few pictures of interesting places and buildings that I took in Haarlem: The Saint Bavo Cathedral by the Grote Markt square The church is right on the corner of the Grote Markt square where lots of open air cafés are sited. Built in the early 1500’s in gothic style...

A food store that sells exotic provisions here in the flatlands; well doesn’t always have to be Asian edibles but could also be coming from other cultures of color, other than of the Caucasian twist; is called a TOKO . An exotic food shop in Utrecht City selling mostly Asian food adapts the term TOKO as a conspicuous sign for its store. How the term was adapted and popularized by these exotic food barns is somewhat vague to the nosy me. For all its simple glory; that I only know of, TOKO in the Dutch dictionary just means winkle , a STORE . But that isn’t really that simple. It doesn’t sound virtually right when locals here say, “ I am going to the bicycle TOKO [umm…] , a flower TOKO [eh try again?] , a laundry TOKO [lacks the ‘it’]”. True, they are examples of stores thus indisputably they should be or are TOKOS, but it’s kind of like hearing someone you do not fancy, whisper I love you to you on your ears. It’s cheesy and it just doesn’t fit. So when someone says, “ I am going to...

It’s almost over! And even if you hurry up to the store stands, there won’t be much left anyway. The nice items on sale were sold weeks ago. The left over clothes on the display racks looked despicable, like they were donated by leger des heils (salvation army). During any sale season, this is what you normally see plastered or hanging on the store windows of Holland: “ Uitverkoop ” which means Sale and another popular one, “ Opruiming ” which means Clearance. I delighted myself and bought a few items on sale but I am extremely annoyed and I want to frantically pull my hairs apart for not checking the stores early. Since I’m giving my wardrobe a total face lift (that means my 4 to 5 year old clothes must go), I planned on buying matching suits on sale, such as blazers + pants or skirts. But ho, the women in this country are freaking fast. Anything on sale didn’t go to waste but went under the microscopic scrutiny of my fellow Dutch shoppers. They are quick, and oh well, I was not. An...

For the girls (and well for the boys too): Where to go when shopping in Amsterdam? Bijenkorf (means Beehive), an upscale department store in Amsterdam located by the Damrak. The building was built in 1911 with neo style design, a cross between baroque and classicism. Bijenkorf in the Netherlands is synonymous to Harrods in the UK, Bloomingdales/Neiman Marcus in the USA, and Rustans in the Philippines. But compared to the British and the Americans, the Dutch have simpler tastes and shopping habits. Many would veer away from swiping their credit cards regularly and buying ridiculously priced goods. So if you are here on a visit and happen to drop by at our Bijenkorf showcase, do not ever commit the mistake of comparing or expecting to find a widespread variety of the same pompous items back home, because as I have said, the Dutch live simpler lives. Fact is, I am extremely disappointed... we have more designer brands and bigger shops back home in Manila! Magnificent Magna Plaza shoppin...