TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

It was a great surprise when MadamE told me that Missy Balot, fresh from Cebu, will arrive in Amsterdam from Paris via the fast French TGV train. Like MadamE, I knew Missy Balot [although she’s younger than us, MadamE and I are both 35] back home in Cebu, Philippines for a good 15 years already. My, my, my, time sure does fly so fast! She’s in Europe now for a couple of weeks to attend a conference exhibition in Paris, as part of her job back in Cebu. I didn’t expect that she will push through with the plan because bookings were done on the last minute, and considering that December is high peak travel month, I would have guessed that she will just encounter problems. Well I’m so glad she made it and even visited us here in damp Netherlands. The tres marias, MadamE, me and Missy Balot in Rembrandtplein Amsterdam with the famous individuals depicted in the Nachtwacht [Nightwatch] painting, the most celebrated one of Rembrandt’s collection. The friendly Dutch Police took this picture....

Kerst [also Kerstmis ] means Christmas. It snowed today, 26th, the second day of Christmas... but jammer the snow didn’t stay that long to make the country white, even for the whole day. Christmas Today in NL Unlike most [or once] Christian countries, where the 24th, the eve of Christmas, is the most anticipated and important moment that people celebrate, here in the Netherlands it is not the case. In fact people here commemorate Christmas for two days, the 25th and the 26th of December. Both are equally significant days and are spent with family having afternoon tea and partaking with the popular and lavish Christmas dinner. The latter is usually observed on the 25th, the first day of Christmas. So yesterday, the 25th, the Dutchman and I had afternoon tea and dinner with the whole family in my sister in laws home. My sister in laws Christmas tree, a real spruce tree from the north adorned with red balls and trinkets. And voila, the grand dessert [thats a pear in the middle coated wi...

December is the best month to buy shoes in the Netherlands because it’s that time of the year when the shoe shops slashes 30% to 50% on the prices of their normal shoe collections. There are also 70% discounted items but these are usually the ones you wouldn’t take a second glance. By the way, most of these shoes along the 30% to 50% discounts were, where else... made in Italy. Well, I made a big mistake of buying a pair of black leather high heel ankle boots a few months ago. I couldn’t wait because I used it for business. I paid the full price. [stoo-pid] TIPS to the ladies: This type of low-cut high heeled boots is a must when pairing them with business-cut pants. Get a type that doesn’t have too much design in front, or rather make it plain, so the continuous flow from your pants to the shoes is smooth. Great with dark colored pants, best with black. The pointy snout gives class and femininity. I’ll have to say that a lot of women here have the Imelda Marcos chronic disease, althou...

It has been some time since I developed a love relationship with red wine. It started back home in the Philippines but it grew stronger when I came to live here in Europe, where wine is treated like water, stocked up in crates in every supermarket aisle. For many people, drinking any sort of [preferred] alcohol is an acquired taste, which I quite agree. I remember when I was young, soft drinks, in the guise and makers of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola were the Philippines’ number one drink. And much to my parents chagrin at that time, my brother and I would kick each others elbows in the dinner table, fighting on who gets the most from the 1 litter bottle ordered. I was a slave of the super and mighty soft drink. When I was in my late 20’s, around the 1990’s moving towards the year 2000; my body metabolism rate slowed down. I understood that it was a typical body development for certain types of women approaching their 30’s. But to add insult to injury, my mother has the full blown apple sha...

Being a licensed Interior Designer in my previous life, which is not anymore a secret to the IT world that I now belong and which I also admit, is a big waste [that I gave up this career], is something that I look into during my free time as a value add in my home-making activities. As a designer, I delight on the purest of things: Simplicity and Structure . And although I prefer the earth colors leading to the monochromatic representation and veering away from littered curios, I do make an exception when it comes to rendering an accent and emphasizing a focal point. This is when the exotic items I fell in love with comes into play and where the theme of simplicity and eclecticism achieves a culmination of harmonious co-existence. Aside from that, we as Interior Designers have this relentless habit of creating something worthwhile from scrap materials or any used items. It does somewhat demonstrates a sense of cheapness, right? But the main idea is about --- ingenuity. For many of us,...

Finally, my fake Christmas tree is up! Well, the truth of the matter is... I would have loved to have a real alpine, spruce or fir tree towering in my living room. The idea that once I prick its needles will give off that fresh citrus-y heavenly fragrance was very tempting. But after weighing its pros and cons, I finally came to terms with the fact, that I am just one of those 21st century practical women. First, I want my money’s worth [this tree was bought inclusive of lights]; second, I want to use it for years; and third, I hate cleaning the floor when the leaves start to fall off. To me, the debris it brings forth is just additional housework that I hate. I made a promise to myself though that at least once, I shall put up a real tree at home ;-) And voila, the glamorous tree in Holland! The color theme is none other than glamorous gold … brown with a touch of gold, porcelain off white with a touch of gold, silver with a touch of gold. Everything is a glam of gold. Click to enlarg...

The other night’s news on TV was quite shocking to the comfortable Dutch. The bad news that hit the land was one of those ugly truths out there that many citizens of first world countries are afraid to come into terms with. 1 resident out of 10 in the Netherlands sits in dire poverty. In the Philippines, the politicians and their cronies only benefit from the tax money. The poor will remain miserable, the middle class will always struggle, the rich will be richer and the politicians sustain corruption and are the gods of the land. But what actually is poverty in the Netherlands? How difficult is it? Alright, let’s put this into proper perspective and lay down the basic bricks of information on the table. There are about 16 million residents in the Netherlands. The income poverty index is € 1,103.84 NET income per month, that’s after taxes inclusive of holiday pay. That is roughly, Php 70,645.10 NET or US$ 1,304.68 NET monthly income [as of 1/12 forex] but take note, the Netherlands or ...