It's my 3rd visit to Bohol and this time it was extra special because I have my family with me. It was just me, DJ and Kiel, without the yaya. The main agenda actually was to attend my college classmate's wedding. She lives in Bohol, thus the venue. It also became sort of a reunion for us but unfortunately, others were not able to come due to conflict in work.

When one thinks of a quick escape from the busy and fast-paced life brought out by living in Manila, Tagaytay usually comes to mind first. Just around 1.5 hours away, this fave hang out place became much easier to reach now because of SLEX. Local and tourists alike flock Tagaytay because it offers outstanding views of Taal Lake and Volcano. Add to that is its cool climate due to its high altitude. No wonder this place became the nearest go-to destination during the summer season.

On one of my trips to the US, we once had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in California. If you happen to watch the TV series 'The Big Bang Theory', this is the restaurant where Penny works as a waitress. It's a chain restaurant in the US with branches in different states and is famous for serving large portion of high calories meals and of course a wide selection of cheesecakes and other desserts.

For Valentine's Day this year, we celebrated it as a family by going down south and spending it on a staycation at Azure Urban Resort Residences. Azure is a property of Century Properties located in Paranaque. This place is highly associated with Paris Hilton's name because she designed the amenities of its beach club, which was eventually named Paris Beach Club.

Summer is definitely just around the corner. The unusual chilly early mornings and cold breezy nights that we've been experiencing these past few weeks are now slowly waving us goodbye. And before we even know it, we are back to our usual hot and humid summer, very typical of our beloved Philippines.

Straight from a long haul flight from NAIA to LAX (with an hour stopover at HongKong), we were picked up at the airport and proceeded to Venice Beach for brunch that lasted until afternoon. I've been to Santa Monica Beach before but never been to its adjacent beach -- Venice Beach. It was summer of 2014 then, ideally perfect for a day worth spending at the beach. But if not for that very long and tiring flight with matching jetlag, I could have enjoyed this beach more.


If you're into people watching, Venice Beach is the place for you. If Santa Monica seems like a laid back and calm surrounding, Venice is the other way. It is teeming with different types of people from normal to crazy ones, haha! For sure you will be entertained. While walking along the world famous Venice Beach Boardwalk, you could be encountering mimes, break dancers, pianist, singers, painter, someone clad in a crazy outfit, snake charmer, body builders with very huge biceps, preachers, man walking on broken glass and other peculiar, unique individuals who likes entertaining other people. It would be a good idea to grab a beer or coffee and just sit on a sidewalk and have fun watching these people passing by.

 

Opened in July 1934. Located at the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles.

 

Our second out of the country company outing was in Vietnam. This happened late 2015 when I just discovered that I was a few weeks pregnant. What I did was to immediately advise my boss of my condition prior to the trip since I'm fully aware of his booze plans in every outing we had and this trip is not an exemption.


Since this trip is shorter than our Taiwan or Bangkok trip (we arrived Friday and went back early Sunday) we just stayed on the city proper of Ho Chi Minh and explored what it has to offer. Friday was spent on a company dinner and on Saturday, we were on our own. Listed below are some of the places we visited and some of the things we did that day.

To feel the holiday spirit last December, I invited my sisters to join me and Kiel in a park visit at the Liwanag Park on Meralco compound located in Ortigas Ave. Eversince I started working in Ortigas, I can't help but notice the Meralco Theatre every Christmas because of its beautiful building facade full of Christmas lights and its infamous 'M' logo. I pass this park daily going to work and has been interested on what it offers. They set up Christmas lights on the park grounds and it becomes open to the public every Christmas season.

So off we went to this park one Saturday evening. We took an Uber ride but was dropped off at the wrong gate (Meralco compund is such a wide place with many gates) so we had to walk to the correct visitor's gate located in front of Shell station at Ortigas Avenue corner F. Ortigas Jr Road. I immediately noticed upon entering the compound that most of the visitors were groups of families with little children, just like us. The place was bright because of the trees and plants covered with different colored lights. 'Travelling the World' seemed to be the theme they chose for this year. Although not evident on the pictures I took, there are mini structures like the Burj Khalifa, Petrona Twin Towers, Pyramid of Egypt, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Big Ben of London, Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco and many more famous tourist spots which were scattered around the park. Haha, what a clever idea noh? Imagine travelling the world in just a single night, for free! 👍🏼

Kiel clearly had a great time being makulit. He didn't want to be carried and just wanted to linger on his own. I just realized upon writing this that this is the first park he has ever been. Surely, he was dead tired and was already asleep before we reached home.😂

Before 2016 ended, I made sure to fulfill my mom's request to go to Kamay ni Hesus in Lucban, Quezon and buy some miracle healing oil for her. This shrine and healing center that we visited (this is my 2nd time to visit actually) is located on the slopes of Mt. Banahaw and is now a pilgrimage site famous for people who wish to attend the healing mass of Fr. Faller. Aside from attending the said mass, visitors could also do the approximately 300 steps climb to the top of the hill where a 50ft statue of the Ascending Christ awaits at the top. (They also call this the Via Dolorosa Grotto and is considered the 3rd tallest Christ statue in the world.) There is also the Garden of Eden which serves as a park and has life-sized images depicting scenes from the Bible.



Before going to Lucban, I made sure to inquire the schedule of masses held there every Sunday so we would know how to maximize our time. We drove to Lucban passing a zigzagging road (very much similar to the Iloilo-Antique route) which was kinda scary because of very steep curves and deadly cliffs just inches from where our car is passing. There's not much vehicles passing by this road either which made us all alert and wonder if we were passing the right road.


We intended to catch the 11am mass and good thing we arrived with some time to rest before is started (the 11am mass by the way is not a healing mass). Our main purpose actually was to buy some stuff and have it blessed. After learning that there's a 2pm schedule for the blessing, we decided to climb the grotto after attending the mass.

The Ascending Christ was undergoing renovation by the time we visited. Below is the unobstructed picture of the grotto taken during my first visit to Kamay Ni Hesus.

The climb was tiring but was rewarding once we've reached the top. Going uphill, you will be passing life-sized statues depicting the different Stations of the Cross where you could spend some time reflecting and contemplating. Upon reaching the top, a very nice view overlooking the province greeted us as well as the cool breeze of fresh air. We offered some prayers and rested our tired feet before descending the hill.





After the climb, we proceeded to the Garden of Eden to check out its grounds. The park has a life-sized Noah's Ark. As depicted on the Bible, also found scattered on the garden's grounds are pairs of animals which boarded the ark. Adam and Eve can also be found somewhere. There's also a playground for the kids and a small pond where koi fishes can he fed.


By 2pm we were already waiting for the priest to bless our purchased healing oil and other stuff. We also found out that cars can be blessed so we also had ours blessed. (Our car is not brand new but its fairly new 😄) Before saying his blessings, the priest first made sure that we attended the mass that day by personally asking us.

Heading back to Manila, we made sure not to pass the same road we used going there. It was already getting dark and there are no lights on that route so we made sure to use the national highway on our way back. There's traffic but at least it was safer. 👍🏼

"I fell in love with Taiwan." These were the words I was saying to myself when we were already heading out to Taoyuan Airport for our flight back to Manila. Four days of fun in Taiwan was not enough -- admittedly this is always the feeling I get for every vacation I had, HAHA. I mean, there's still so much to do but its already time to go home.

My trip to the Griffith Observatory was one of the most picturesque activity I had while in L.A.. I was with Joanne that time. She's my only friend there by the way and I feel sorry for her if she has no choice but to make 'tiis' of my face whenever I invite her to meet up, HAHA!

Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles, sitting on a slope of Mt. Hollywood. I say picturesque because of the amazing view it offers of Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. It also has an excellent view of the Hollywood Sign. Just see my pictures below to really appreciate what this place offers and why tourists are flocking to this spot whenever in L.A.

Admission to the observatory is free of charge :) If you are interested in watching the shows at the Planetarium, a nominal fee will be paid. After touring the space related displays and exhibits, we decided to watch a really interesting show on the Planetarium. We were seated in a reclining chair with images like constellations being projected on the ceiling of a dark lit room while a live presenter is explaining the topic. Just imagine lying on your back on an open field watching the night sky as if a movie is being shown in front of your very eyes. I thought it was really cool!

Parking by the way is very limited. We have no choice but to park at the side of a steep hill with a very limited space and then hike our way up the hill to the observatory. The effort was worth it though after I saw the views. So here are my favorite pictures. Hope you enjoy!