TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

There’s an interesting article on BBC about Facebook -- Bosses should ‘embrace’ Facebook , and why companies should welcome social networking at work. It’s a good read that talks about the pros and cons of using social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Friendster and many more. This topic touches a sensitive nerve on me. I have to admit that up to now, one of my biggest fear is being googled and searched on social networking sites and searchers ultimately landing in this blog. I know, it sounds like this blog is a sort of clandestine operation, haha, but my real name is quite unique in the world and will definitely stand out in any online search. Moreover, I feel awkward if people from my workplace, my boss, and my business associates read what I write here. I want my work and my personal lives separate. I want them to stay away from this blog! LOL! This is the reason why my Friendster account is on Dutched Pinay registration (which I am thinking of deleting soon), so a...

This is a long overdue post because I am lazy as can be! I actually like writing as this type of activity help my thoughts wander into relaxing mode territory. I am hyperactive and energetic so this hushed way of channeling my energy open up new dimensions in soothing and destressing my senses. That is why I can never stop blogging! The Texel trip seemed so far away now but the experience is still very vivid to me. Cockersdorp The red lighthouse in Cockersdorp, Texel and 2 girls doing power walk. We stayed in a B&B in Cockersdorp, a small rural village up north in Texel Island. It was Dutchman’s idea as he wanted something different from what we normally take. He did not fancy staying in De Koog or Den Burg where many tourists opt to stay, which is fine with me. So there, I am pleased to report that our first B&B accommodation was a success! There was a lighthouse nearby the village and a white sand beach filled with kite flyers. I read on Texel tourist website that there will...

It is a cold early autumn evening (yup, there is still light!) waiting for the IJtram in Rietlandpark tram stop to Amsterdam Centraal Station and then change over to an intercity train going to Utrecht Centraal Station. Rietlandpark Tram Stop corner Piet Heintunnel and Piet Heinkade near Llyods Hotel. I just recently learned to appreciate this tram stop. It is my first time to take the tram here although I pass by the area many times going to work, to the gym and to nearby shops and cafes. It is pretty, modern, and minimalist. Definitely my style. That noticeable transparent glass vestibule is the lift (elevator). I just arrived from a trip abroad and it is not always easy to lug a large suitcase in public, especially on cobbled streets, inside trams and trains and crossing tram railways. But thank heavens, in the Netherlands there is always a ramp, an escalator or a lift (translated as elevator, someone actually asked me what a lift is and realized the term is so European) avail...

Belgium compared to the Netherlands is a shopper’s sanctuary. There are more choices, better of course, and many popular designer shops abound. Moreover, the women in Belgium are better dressed than their counterparts in the Netherlands. The petite Belgians as compared to the gigantic Dutch women are in my opinion classier, elegant, and feminine. Of course, it is not complete visiting Ghent without a souvenir foto, there must be! This is taken in Veldstraat shopping street and if I am not mistaken that is the Sint Bavo Cathedral at my back. Thanks Rich for taking this foto! In Holland, I only see stylish women in moneyed suburbs, posh little villages, PC Hooftstraat in Amsterdam and in Maastricht, but in Belgium these women with the élan touch are everywhere. They strut the busy streets of Ghent from 9 to 5 and till later. I just love to see well dressed women around me and I can’t help but admire these Belgian women, they absolutely have finer tastes in fashion. Ghent (Gent) as ...

Some good news. I’ve been going to the gym since July, directly after Dutchman and I came back from our Santorini holiday. My routine schedule used to be 3x a week but a few weeks ago I changed it to 2x a week because (a) we are entering autumn and it’s getting darker (b) its getting colder as well. I hate going home when it’s already dark and cold, but I’m committed to improving my condition, so I’ve decided to compromise a day in my schedule. I like to spend half an hour on the cross trainer after I have done my exercises. The bald guy in white tee usually spends an hour on the cross trainer. He sweats like crazy; the sweat would be flowing from his groins dripping like tears on the floor. I am not exaggerating ok. My trainer told me emphatically that inorder for me to get the desired results I would need a 3x a week schedule. Well, let me put it this way. I don’t want to end up like her with those icky masculine muscles. But being almost 40 years old, with age taking its toll on...

This week has been so slow for me. I have been weighed down by a cold, and still am (yet I worked all week), and my wireless internet at home has been acting up! So I am really looking forward to this weekend where I can unwind. Do nothing, blog, and maybe go out for a long relaxing nature walk. Back to blogging programming – I wanted to share a few fotos I took in Budapest recently when I was there for a quick visit a few weeks ago. A random foto of a horse carriage with tourists in the Buda Castle District and on the right is a building with clearly Turkish influence, remnants of the Ottoman occupation in Hungary. I had the opportunity to visit the Buda side, which I wasn’t able to during my last visit early this year. Buda is very pretty, green, hush, aristocratic, and boasts a brilliant cultural Hungarian heritage. It has splendid nature parks and houses many magnificent old structures such as the Buda Castle for example in the popular Castle District where many visitors come to v...

In Athens I met up with a good friend, Herr Philippe. He is on holiday here together with Stan. We had coffee at a cafe restaurant in a park at the back of the Greek Parliament. We watched the changing of guards earlier and had to stand for an hour or so under the heat of the sun. Thus time for some cold refreshments. If I am notorious with taking pictures, I lag behind Philippe. The evidence below. He was non-stop taking pictures of Stan and me! And here we are again goofing around on the high street of Athens. Travel Period: September 2008 Destination: Athens, Greece Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)

Kermis! Kermis in Maliebaan, Utrecht sometime in the summer, mid-July 2008. Traveling funfairs or carnivals (kermis) are all over the Netherlands. They are usually not that big in size, but are not also that small. Some ask for an entrance fee of €1,00 while others, like the one we have been to in Maliebaan, Utrecht, did not. My nieces and nephew (whom I refer to before as little ones, apparently are not little anymore, they have now outgrown me!) visited the kermis also, just the other week in the village where they lived. Its very popular with the children. The candy shop. I would be ecstatic if I was a kid looking at this, but I had my own share of cotton candy ;-) I still remember my childhood days with these events. In the Philippines we call these funfairs, carnivals and my favorite ride back then was the ferris wheel. My parents won’t let us kids alone out for the evening and they are also too lazy to go out with us to the carnival so I beg to go out with our maids. Unfortunat...

For some, rather many people, they have got to lose. Just yesterday the second largest bank of Iceland, Landsbanki was declared insolvent and nationalized. Landsbanki is the owner of the online bank called IceSave that has branches in the UK and the Netherlands. IceSave has been very popular and attractive to people like me who wants to diversify as they guarantee up to 5.25% interest rate on normal deposits. Not even on term deposits! Of course, with that very high interest rate, I grabbed the opportunity to open an account online. Unfortunately, just yesterday the bank has suspended operations. In panic, I tried to log in online to retrieve my money but the website was so damn SLOW (about 120,000 account holders in the Netherlands probably had the same idea as me) and secondly, the withdrawal transaction was not approved. All transactions were denied. I found out about the tragic news yesterday when I went to check BBCWorld for my daily dose of news at past 2 in the afternoon at home...

Greece as we all know is beautiful. It’s actually one of my favourite countries to holiday, mainly in the Greek Islands – an oasis of beauty, culture and relaxation. The difference though from Athens and “the Islands” is worlds apart. So I am talking about “the Islands” when I said favourite to holiday ;-) A hazy foto of us in Pireaus train station. The station was quite nice, it reminds me of Antwerp train station and some of the older train stations in the Netherlands. In this post I will be writing about all things typically Greek and some observations I found interesting and familiar. I’m also going to plug in a brief summary of Pireaus, the biggest harbour of Greece. Our train ride from Athens to Pireaus took about half an hour. One thing that stands out with Athens is its great public transport. S told me the infrastructure was laid out to meet the Olympic deadline 4 years ago. It is indeed the soundest investment the government invested but she said many Greeks were against it. ...