Turistang Barat

Best Dishes Around The World

2012-02-09T06:56:00.001-08:00

Valentines is just around the corner and one of the best gifts that you can give to your loved ones is to bring them to the best restaurant that serves your favorite food.

If money is no object and you don't really mind spending or travelling around the world to partake of the best tasting food, here are some of the best tasting dishes that you can have to celebrate the Love month.

1) Sweet Lips Fish and Chips, Fremantle,Australia
Address:47/8 Mews Road Fremantle WA 6160, Australia

2) Schwartz Smoked Meat, Montreal Canada
Address:3895 Saint-Laurent Blvd (North of rue Prince-Arthur), Montreal, Quebec H2W 1X9, Canada

3) Diwal in Iloilo- best seafood ever- Enjoy it at Tatoys Manukan and Seafood Restaurant
Address:Villa Beach, Iloilo City, Philippines

4) Lord Stow's Portuguese Egg Tarts,Macau China
Address:1 Rua Da Tassara | Coloane Town Square, Macau, China

5) Grilled Stingray, Chomp Chomp,Singapore
Address: 20 Kensington Park Rd, Singapore 557269

6)Luz Kinilaw's Inihaw na Panga (Grilled Tuna Jaw)_,Davao City -This is even good for Pasalubong
Address:Sta. Ana Wharf | Salmonan, Davao, Mindanao, Philippines

7) Cebu, Best Lechon(Roast Pork) in the World
Address:CnT,1377 V. Rama Avenue | Guadalupe, Cebu City, Philippines

8) Loy Kee Chicken Rice,Singapore
Address:342 Balestier Rd, Singapore, Singapore

9) Chili Crabs, Singapore
Address: No Signboard,1 Harbourfront Walk, #03-02 VivoCity, Singapore

10) Peking Duck,Beijing,China
Address: Da Dong Roast Duck,1-2 Nanxincang Guoji Dasha, 22A Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng district, Beijing 100007, China

Bon Appetit! Enjoy Your Meal! Buon appetito! Douzo Meshiagare!Makan makan! Kain na!

The World Famous Schwartz Smoked Beef

2012-02-07T17:10:00.001-08:00

We can't leave Montreal without trying out the World Famous Schwartz Smoked Meat (particularly Beef) of Montreal.

The world famous restaurant is located at Boulevard St Laurent the whole stretch that starts at Montreals Chinatown.

Its actually a non descript hole in the wall eating place that you can't imagine movie stars and celebrities dining in this place. But because of its reputation, you won't find any vacant seat and most oftentimes you even have to queue up just to get in.

We ordered a medium Smoked Beef sandwhich ,a pickle and french fries.

I wasn't expecting a whole mound of delicious soft mouth watering beef and it came even with a big pickle that reminded me of a pickled green mango which we call "paho".

The restaurant has photos of its most famous visitors and clients among them is Celine Dion and her husband who yesterday was reported to be interested in buying the place.

A "medium"(cooked) smoked beef costs $6.15 which was cheap since you would get a generous serving of the beef that you can even have it wrapped for your next meal . The filling is enough for serving of 3 sandwhiches.

The Schwartz has been operating in this same place since 1928 which is the year my father was born. It really is an institution and one of the worthy famous landmarks of this wonderful city of Montreal(see, I told you I'm getting to like Montreal already).

The only ingredient missing? Our waiter didn' say " Bon Appetit"!

Oh Gee, Hope to Drink OJ

2012-02-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Its an iconic symbol and landmark in Montreal, the restaurant that sells the OJ (Orange Julep).

Shaped like an enormous orange (three stories high and 40 feet in diameter, to be exact), its the first thing you would see when you are about to land in Montreal.

I hope to see it on Monday and taste their OJ(Orange Julep), Montreals finest Orange juice.

Making the Rounds of Montreal Airport Hotels

2012-02-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

Next week we will be off again to Montreal due to hubbys work.

It will be my 10th visit to Montreal and so far I have stayed in 6 airport hotels in Montreal.

Below are my Tripadvisor reviews of these hotels:

1) Residence Inn Marriot Montreal Airport
“Its like staying in your own condo”,Reviewed September 11, 2011

We stayed in a Suite room for one day while my husband was having a business trip in the nearby business park.

Positive:

Nice beds,kitchen with utensils, spacious suite, Free Internet,No Smoking hotel, Free Airport shuttle and Thursday Barbeque for guests

Negatives:

Breakfast is quite early 6am-9am every weekdays and 6:30-10 am weekends which doesnt cater to late sleepers,far from
downtown Montreal(20 minutes drive)

2) Courtyard by Marriot,Montreal Airport
“Near to airport and Mall”
Reviewed September 21, 2011

The advantage of staying in this hotel is that its near the airport and near to a mall as well as to a business park.

Average hotel. Breakfast is nothing fancy. Since I have stayed in numerous Marriot hotels, I would say this is a typical Marriot Courtyard room.

Internet and parking is free.This is a no smoking hotel.

Its located just beside another Marriot property, Residence Inn and they share some facilities like the pool. Its also near the highway.

3) Fairfield Inn and Suites,Montreal Airport
Nice Airport Hotel”
Reviewed August 9, 2010
1 person found this review helpful

My husband was doing business near the airport so we chose this hotel when Courtyard Marriot was not available.

Positive:

-Room has very good (big)size ,near the airport, bed was comfortable,we requested and got additional feather pillows. I always love Marriot beds, Free coffee at the reception anytime 24 hrs,Free internet

Negative

-Not much choices for breakfast, far from downtown,Parking is not free

4) Chateau Vaudreuil,Montreal
“Reminds me of Old Las Vegas Hotels”
Reviewed September 12, 2011

The rooms are furnished in traditional old style decor.It looks nice but I would prefer more streamlined modern minimalist furnishings .

The room has a mustard coloured carpet and the room smells a bit musty(I dont know if that is a perfume) .

The rooms however are quite large since all rooms are suites.

The room was furnished with two flat screen TVs and wifi was free. It is located at the lakeside so its usually a venue for weddings.If you want a lakeside view room you would have to pay an extra $10.

5) Holiday Inn Montreal Airport
“Nice Hotel Restaurant”
Reviewed January 23, 2012

Positive:
Near my husband client office,Free internet and airport shuttle,Love the food and ambience of the restaurant, free business centre
Negative:
Toilet floor was sticky(not properly cleaned),Hotel driveway was so icy

Room Tip: Ask for a room near the indoor pool

6)Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites
Reviewed February 28,2012

Positive:
Clean big suite room, nice bed, has a small kitchen, has an ante room with another LCD TV,Free wifi,shuttle bus and breakfast
Negative:
I would prefer carpet versus the laminate floors(since it is cold)

The only airport hotel we have stayed in more than once is the Fairfield Inn and Suites where we stayed thrice.

This coming Monday, we will stay at Crowne Plaza Montreal airport Hotel. Its like we are doing the rounds of the Montreal airport hotel area.

Snow Village of Montreal

2012-01-23T19:57:00.001-08:00

Village Des Neiges / Snow Village,Montreal

This is the very first Snow Village in North America. We have heard of the Ice Hotel in Quebec City but this year, we heard and saw on TV about this SNow Village only a few days before hubby went for his business trip in Montreal.

The Chapel

The Snow Village in Montreal is the first time the concept has been tried in North America — it's also the first time such a "village" has been built just minutes from a major metropolitan area.It sits just inside the Jean Drapeau Park which has for its major attraction, the Biosphere that we visited only last summer.

The Chapel Altar Scuplture

The European versions(FInland) are in remote areas accessible by plane and they often involve an extended stay. Montreal's village, by comparison, is accessible by public transit.

Four Seasons Room,Ice Hotel

Montreal's winter wonderland village includes a 30-room ice hotel, a mix of standard rooms, suites and igloos. The hotel isn't the first of its kind; there's also an ice hotel just outside Quebec City.

The village has a collection of dome-like igloos from the outside, highlighted with blue lights on the sides and down the entrance hall.

Ice Chandelier

Replicas of local landmarks like Saint Joseph's Oratory, the Olympic Stadium and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts are still being built when we visited.

The long hallways connecting to the rooms are dotted with more red and blue lights and each room has a number that reinforces the winter theme, such as -5 and the really chilly sounding -30.

One can reserve a room for overnight or visit the place .The Snow Village is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. (midnight), Sunday through Wednesday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., Thursday through Saturday.

Rooms in one of the igloos starts at $175 per person*

This package includes :

A room in one of our Polar Igloos in the Snow Village and a high-tech thermal sleeping bag for the night .
Complete access to the Snow Village
A welcoming cocktail in an ice glass
Access to the spa under the stars with a magnificent view of Montreal
Continental Breakfast
Access to a locker room for your luggage and personal belongings as well as showers for men and women
A welcoming kit
Service charges

The entrance fees to visit on the other hand is quite reasonable:

Rates – Winter 2012
Weekly Rates Weekend Rates
Adults (18 years old and over) $13.00 $17.00
Seniors (age 55 +) $11.50 $15.00
Students (age 13 to 30 ) $11.50 $15.00
Children (age 6 to 12) $6.50 $8.50
Family (2 adults and 3 children $35.00 $40.00
Children (5 years old and under) Free Free

The Snow Village is a 3-minute walk from the Jean-Drapeau metro station. Its a once in a lifetime experience to see a place like this much more if you can sleep overnight.

The Snow Village officially opened January 19 and will be open till March 31,2012

Want to Ride with Harry Potter?

2012-01-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

I would say The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the jewel of the Universal Islands of Adventure park. I was mesmerized by the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey Ride.(waited for 70 minutes during lunch time which is the least busiest hour allegedly in the park).

Aside from that there are two roller coaster rides in the Harry Potter attraction and several cute curio stores where a lot of Harry Potter souvenirs ,clothes, wands etc are for sale. Definitely the most popular items at the stores are the wands that sell for $35, Harry Potter Scarves $35++ and the yummy butter beer.

Devote at least half of the day to Harry Potter and the other half to other attractions in the park:

Spider Man- 4 D ride, you will get a bit wet in the ride but this is one of the better attractions in the park

Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges- a somewhat tame and not so popular ride but you will definitely find this better and you will get more soaked in this ride compared to the Jurassic Park ride.

Jurassic Park River Adventure- One of the more popular rides in the park probably because of the movie and the fun drop at the end.

Incredible Hulk Coaster and Dr Dooms Free Fall- Teenagers would love these rides

Storm Force Accelatron- if you are prone to dizzyness or you have just had a heavy breakfast or lunch,dont take this ride.

Walk Thru Attractions;

Poseidon's Fury- recommended,theres a hologram show
The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad Stunt Show-recommended
Beetle Juice Graveyard Revue- pass or maybe watch this while having a break or lunch
Blues Brothers-Give this a pass or maybe just take photos
Fear Factor Live-May give it a pass, there is audience participation
Twister- very short show

NEVER FAIL TO GO TO HARRY POTTER. This attraction gives the Mouse a Ran for your money.

Tips: Be Early and give the kids an allowance to buy stuff and food since most attractions exit open up to stores. Don't worry, food prices inside the park and mostly outside are almost the same except of course if you can pack a lunch or snack. Food and drinks are allowed inside the park. There are no restrictions on that.

Expense Planning for an Orlando Vacation

2012-01-14T11:35:00.001-08:00

I am normally the vacation planner for the family. I have sourced for cheap flights, cheap but comfortable hotels and planned itineraries.

This time, this vacation or let me say Birthday Celebration for my husband and my sister was totally an unplanned trip.

But despite that, we still managed to keep our budgets down, thanks to my husbands airline mileage and his hotel points.

For a summary of our expenses:

Airtickets : $62.50 each (just paid taxes) courtesy of United Mileage ; $187.5 (hubbys airticket is paid by his company)
Rentacar : Free courtesy of hubby
Hotel : Just booked one night at Best Western Plus Universal : $ 7.24(courtesy of hubbys hotel points)
One night free at Courtyard Marriot courtesy of hubby
Universal tickets: One Day pass for hubby
and 3 two day passes for us :$469.72
TOTAL $664.46

We would definitely be spending more for food and other stuff like shopping and souvenirs.

This time we were lucky to have sourced a saver award(redeem travel at lower mileage points) and get free hotel stays.

The Historic Crowne Plaza Niagara Hotel

2012-01-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

In 1952, the 20th Century-Fox film Niagara was shot in Niagara Falls. Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, and Jean Peters all stayed at the Brocke now known as the Crowne Plaza Niagara Hotel, with Marilyn staying in room 801.

Niagara introduced the full-blown sultry Marilyn Monroe “look” and established her as the era’s biggest screen sex symbol. Niagara also let the world know she was a major actress — even though Marilyn had to fight for recognition of her acting ability her entire life.

Marilyn Monroe occupied room 801 for much of June 1952 while she was in Niagara Falls filming the movie that made her a certified major-league star.

Room 801, Marilyn’s bedroom where she read her scripts

The Old Brockes Plaza, now Crowne Plaza Hotel
The newly refurbished Crowne Plaza Hotel Niagara Falls

Since this hotel was built in 1929, aside from Marilyn Monroe, famous personalities who have been notable guests includes Walt Disney, Shirley Temple, Jimmy Stewart, Princess Margaret, and Queen Elizabeth.

The hotel joined the InterContinental Hotels chain in 2008 and was again renamed the Crowne Plaza Niagara Falls-Fallsview Hotel.Guests in the more recent years included Sylvester Stallone, Matt Dillon, Bruce Willis, and Jackie Chan.

So imagine my excitement for spending an overnight winter escapade with hubby and my kids on the 28th of December in this hotel.

Although the design of the hotel is a bit old, it looks charming since it reminds me of 50s-60s hotels that I see in the movies.

There are several of these chandeliers at the lobby, I think I counted about 8 of them on the main floor

and this is the lobby sitting area which is really reminiscent of the 50s lobbies of elegant hotels.

Even the elevators are designed to look like they were from the 50s.

When I checked in, the front desk guy told me that they upgraded us to a 9th floor room with a view of the falls and near the elevator.

Our room has a good view of both the Canadian and the US Falls and the Clifton Hills Ferris Wheel.

The room although quite small compared to other hotels we have stayed in is just comfortable. We have two double beds and very comfortable pillows.

The bathroom also contains fixtures whose style is what you would see in old houses but its clean and looks well planned.

The main advantage of this hotel is that its a walk away from the falls.It is interconnected to a Water park and a Casino. Theres also a Starbucks Cafe at the lobby and the Hard Rock Cafe is a door away. Likewise restaurants like Pizza Hut and Kentucky are just a building away and its just at the corner of Clifton Hills.

And finally I was able to take a photo of Marilyn Monroes room, its actually located at the corner and probably would have a limited view of the falls.

Hoping for More Travel in 2012

2011-12-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

There are still more places to visit and more journeys to experience.

Here's hoping for a healthy and more prosperous 2012!

Flavier Family reunions

2011-12-30T06:14:00.000-08:00

Flavier Family Reunions

What we miss in celebrating the holiday seasons in the Philippines is our FLAVIER family reunion.We usually hold it every 30th of December to enable all clan members to join.

We have been celebrating these reunions since we were in High School .Every year one family from my mothers side would host the reunion so each of the 6 siblings take turns in hosting.

There are 6 siblings in my mothers Flavier family: Tita Belen Ranieses(the eldest), Tito Eling Flavier(the only son), my mother Fe Tenmatay,Tita Carol Javalera, Tita Minnie Sian and the youngest Tita Baby Flavier.

This year my cousins of the Ranieses family are our hosts.

Our HOSTS

My cousins Genette,Richard Olalia and family (in the US)

Rolly and Gerrylen Ranieses Seveses , Joey and Marissa Ranieses

My brother just shared the photos of our 2012 family reunion on facebook:

These are the younger children of my siblings and cousins,

and these are the younger generation,most of them are already working

and this is our usual papasko

There are also

GAMES

RAFFLE

DANCING

and Good Food

To My FLAVIER CLAN: We miss all of you!!!

Fantastic Light Display in Niagara

2011-12-28T18:10:00.001-08:00

Every Winter, head off to Niagara for its Festival of Lights, a display of lights to commemorate the yuletide season. This runs from November 5, 2011 to January 31, 2012.

Although it was freezing cold, we didn't pass up the chance to see some of the beautiful lights along the falls.

The five kilometer route along the Niagara Parkway — known as the Niagara Parks Winter Wonderland — includes nearly two million sparkling tree and ground lights and over 100 lighting displays.

LED lights are used for many of the displays, consuming less energy than their incandescent counterparts.

A lot of visitors were still strolling along the road and taking snap shots of the colorful display of lights.

Other Visitors just drive around in their cars or minivan with the family and it makes for a delightful evening drive.

My son Nygel was only willing to pose as my model.

There is no admission fee to see the many displays, but donations are accepted. A donation of $5 to $10 per car is suggested.
The proceeds go back into the festival to purchase lights and design new displays.

Montreal in 2 Minutes

2011-12-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

I have been to Montreal 7 times. They say 7 times you strike you get lucky. But instead I caught the colds yesterday right after leaving Montreal for Toronto.

i don't really like to visit places that have horrific roads which describes Montreal but since hubby is always there for work, I manage to tag along.

Dreaming in a Marriot and The Ritz Hotel Bed

2011-12-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

A great hotel bed can make a lot of difference for a person liking a hotel. There's something so exciting about hotel beds: They feel like a luxury and lying in them feels like a tremendous bonus for anyone who is fortunate to spend all of their time in bed doing nothing or even ordinary things like catching up on old movie reruns.

In these hotel beds, you'll kick up your feet, rest your travel-weary self, and stare at much more than just the ceiling. These beds are what dreams are really made of.

For most of my travels I realized I have stayed in so many Marriot hotels all over the world.You could say I am an expert in knowing the difference between a typical Marriot/Ritz hotel bed compared to other hotel beds.The Ritz, Renaissance,Residence Inn ,Fairfield @Marriot and Courtyard Hotels are all part of the Marriot group of Hotels

I just love staying in Marriot.

Check out the various hotels of Marriot I have stayed in.Click on the hotel name to check out my reviews.

The Ritz Bali(Ayana Resort and Spa)Bali

Courtyard by Marriot Downtown Toronto

Renaissance Munich Hotel

Paris Marriot Rive Gauche

Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon

Paris Marriot Charles De Gaulle Airport Hotel

Courtyard by Marriot, Beijing Downtown

Courtyard by Marriot,Fishkill New York

Courtyard by Marriot at Kamala Beach,Phuket,Thailand

Marriot Grand Chateau Las Vegas

Marriot Residence Inn,Montreal

Residence Inn Carlsbad California

Cebu Marriot Hotel,Cebu CIty,Philippines

Courtyard Montreal Airport

So tonight I am hoping I will get a good night sleep which I havent had for the last few weeks.

We are staying at Fairfield Suites again.
Fairfield Suites,Montreal Airport

Toronto Christmas Market

2011-12-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

The air is cold, the sky is bright as crowds make their way through rows of little wooden structures that look like storybook houses with sloping roofs each one offering some treasure that’s beautiful, fun or delicious.

Chatter and music waft through the air, mixing with the smells of grilled sausages,brewed coffee, ginger bread and cookies as shoppers browse among the different stalls that line up this years Lowe's Toronto Christmas Market.

Lowe's Toronto Christmas Market was inspired by the annual Christmas markets in Europe. The event captures all of the tradition, heritage and charm of a European Christmas Market, while showcasing hundreds of unique and local handcrafted products.

There are several entertainers which includes musicians, carolers and children's choirs, stage presentations, Rudolph's Reindeer Zoo and Santa and his roaming elves!

There are also a lot of craft and food shopping, specialty beer and mulled wine gardens, sweets and treats, and all the fine restaurants of The Distillery Historic District.

It was a freezing -9C when we went there on December 17 but it didn't deter the crowds which flocked the place to sample the goodies that are everywhere and to listen to carollers and live entertainers.

There is a 45 feet Christmas tree and a Ferris Wheel at the centre of the Distillery and at night it glitters with 18000 lights and ornaments.

For those who can't stand the bitter cold, there are numerous museums,restaurants and cafe to pass the time while waiting for the performances which are held outdoors at the centre of the district.

This year the Toronto Christmas Market was held December 2-18,2011.If you are in Toronto every year in December, don't miss this event.

Making Your Own Photo Travel Book

2011-12-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

Making your own Family Photo book is the best way of treasuring and keeping shared memories of family experiences like Travels.

If you take as many digital photos as I do, you end up with lots of photos that sometimes a lot gets forgotten. But for those special photos and favorites memories... there's nothing like having them on paper ready for you to share with your loved ones.

Why create a Photo Book?

When you create a photo book, you are creating a permanent record of something really special and unique. A photobook is essentially your own memories... memories that you get to hold and enjoy over and over again.

One of the best things about putting travel photos in a personalised photo book is the way it can tell a story. Whether its a story of how you got lost or where you bought your souvenirs, it would surely remind you of special people,places and experiences you have encountered.

Trip Advisor gave me a chance to save our travel memories through a gift of a free hard cover 20 page photo book from Shutterfly.

Its Easy to Do your Own Photobook

There are several sites that you can use to do a Photobook. Apple has its iPhoto which comes in handy in doing the layout. Books would costs as little as $15 for a 20 page book.

Before I show you some pages of our Family Travel Book, let me show you a brief background on how easy it is to do your own through Shutterfly.

Where Do you Get your Photos?

The collection of travel photos that I kept through my facebook,multiply and blog accounts gave me a selection of photos to choose from to include in the 20 page book.I simply downloaded them to the Shutterfly layout.

Our Family Photo Travel Book

Photos of Canada.

The photos above are a collection of our photos in different places in Canada:Toronto, Montreal,Niagara and Quebec City.

I devoted a page for Indonesia such as our trips to the temples of Borobodur in Yogyakarta, our favorite week end get away of Bintan which is an hour ferry ride from Singapore and our fabulous stay at the Ritz Hotel in Bali Indonesia which features a Cliffside bar.

Australia is one country quite far from Canada so we made sure we visited it before moving to Canada. Our trip in Perth was another bonding moment for our family. It was springtime in Perth and the wildflowers were blooming at the Kings Park.

I placed travel related quotes in some of the pages; here its
"Travelling in a country you've never been in is an adventure.Everything is going to be new and vivid. Let it be an experience."

"Experience ,Travel, these are an education in themselves".

I surely won't forget our first trip as a couple to Europe.

Our book won't be complete without two pages of some of the photos that will remind us of Singapore.

Singapore is our second home. My kids practically grew up in Singapore imbibing much of the culture and even Singlish.

They love hot stuff(curry and chili padi) and the warm temperature.

Photos of orchids(below) at the Singapore Botanical Garden.

And so being "kiasu", a Singaporean trait meaning "Being Eager Beavers,not being left out", we were at the Universal Studios and Hard Rock Singapore as soon as it opened.

The temples of Siem Reap in Cambodia is worth visiting once in your lifetime and was in our wishlist of places to visit.

and surely the Philippines, my native land will be in the book

"All travel has its advantages.If the passenger visits better counries, he may learn to improve his own".

Photos(above) of our kids with their grandfather in Baguio and with their cousins in Subic accompanied by our trips to Palawan and Cebu makes us reminisce about the Philippines.

"If people are truly ,deeply and madly in love with each other,they will find a way."

We surely found time in visiting China even if we had to sleep on the floor of the Kuala Lumpur Budget Terminal.Our trip to Beijing,China, a trip filled with so much laughter and wise tips not to be fooled again by free massages.

Groups of photos of our China trip to HK Disneyland , a week after it opened, our trip to Beijing and to Macau.

A most enlightening trip to Saigon.We loved the Pho noodles,shopping at the Ben Thanh market and finding another Eiffel architecture at the Saigon Post Office.

"You can travel all over the world,but unless you have a receptive mind, you might as well save your fares and stay at home."

Our memories of the beaches of Krabi and Phuket,Thailand. "Travelling gave us time to create shared memories as a family."

Malaysia afforded us to go to the beaches of Langkawi and visit some temples in Penang .

and our latest travel to the City that never sleeps, New York.

The back cover of the book has the best quote I can sum up our trips, "Never go on trips with anyone you donot love."

Our Family Travel Blog

2011-12-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

Let me share with you our new Family Travel Blog, a collation of our trips.

The blog is TWO FOR THE ROAD.

Dreaming of Palawan

2011-12-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

When it snows, I can't help dreaming about the beach and the warm clear waters of Palawan.

A place worth visiting.I have never seen such a beautiful place like this...Phuket,Krabi ,Bali...no place will match the scenery in Palawan...simply breath taking.

Kayangan Lake reminded me of Blue Lagoon and "On Golden Pond" both movies having beautiful lakeside scenery. One reminder though for those going to this place, you have to trek up the hill, our boatman said its about 100 steps up but I guess its more since I was able to trek up about 300 steps in Chiangmai and the temples of Angkor Wat but trekking up Kayangan Lake hill was really hard even my youngest son was complaining about it.

However when you descend down the other side which they called the Blue Lagoon you will be rewarded by the cleanest of water, you can swim, snorkel or simple dip your feet (which I did) in the water while enjoying the fishes swimming near you. I thought I was going to have a fish spa theraphy but the fishes in this lake wont go near you if you dont feed them.

If u want to see schools of fishes, the marine park is the place to go to.Not only fishes but also corals are at the marine park. My husband wants to come back next time fully geared up to enjoy the sights underwater.

And the piece de resistance

This beautiful view. (Sigh)

Bonjour Montreal

2011-12-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is my fifth visit to Montreal.

We spent the weekend at the popular Atwater Market of Montreal. Its a much smaller market compared to the Jean Talon market which we visited during our first trip last year. But the Atwater has a yuppier vibe since most of the stores there are for the upmarket crowd.

Basically this market has only two floors with the first floor filled with fruit,flower and a specialty food outlet.The second floor has the Premier Moisson bakery , a sushi shop and several meat,poultry and cheese stores.

On the first floor you wont miss the Les Douceurs du Marché which carries a huge assortment of hard-to-find gourmet and ethnic items.

It even has an entire wall of hot sauces and incredible oils from all over the world .

It also has a side room with shelves upon shelves of pastas and other ethnic foods.

On the second floor is the famous Premiere Moisson bakery , a great spot for a quick, traditional Montreal breakfast. Grab some fresh made bread,and order some turkey rillette ( similar to a pate) and assortment of cheese cakes,pies and yummy tarts.

But we were lucky enough to be there during the CHristmas season and find the outside Christmas Tree market.

Despite Atwater being known for an upscale market where people probably rarely haggle for prices, we bought our very first real Fraser Christmas Tree from the Atwater Market in Montreal.

We bought our tree for $75 after a bit of haggling.I only realized it was a bit pricey when I reached Toronto and saw some trees being sold for $40 at Home Depot. My only consolation was my tree came from Montreal ,ha ha!

Ho Ho Ho, Its Yuletide Season Again!

2011-11-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

This is the second year that we have watched the Santa Claus Parade. The annual Toronto Santa Claus parade which kicks of the start of the yuletide season was held last weekend to the very eager crowd of spectators majority of whom are veterans(have watched the parade more than once) of this yearly Toronto tradition.

Just like last year, the parade route goes through all the major streets in Downtown Toronto

I can't really compare the difference between the previous Santa Claus Parades and this years parade, but based on last year alone, there were many recycled floats.

Here are some of them

The swans came from last years Swarovksi float

(2010 Swarovski float)

The Barbie Doll float was also in last years parade (above 2011 float, below is the 2010 float)

and just like last year, some floats advertised for movies that are shown during the holidays

THE SMURFS

ICE AGE

HAPPY FEET

But there were also new additions,

This year is th very first time that Mrs Claus has her own float

And Santa also has a new float

But despite some shortcomings,(I am comparing it to the fun and perky SInulog parade of Cebu) the best part of the parade are the crowds...specially the young children who line up the streets of the parade. Hope to be there again next year.

When to watch? Every third Sunday of November
Best spot to watch: University Avenue since it has wide streets

Farms in Ontario

2011-10-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

Above:Kati Holmes and daughter Suri at Whittamore Farms

Its nice staying in Canada where you can just hop on your car and visit any farm to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Here are some of the favorite fruit/vegetable picking seasons in Canada:

PUMPKIN PICKING-- Late September till Halloween (early November)

Pumpkin Picking is a favorite Autumn activity.

My family is no exception, we always go to the farm to pick our pumpkins for the kids to carve for Halloween

Where to Go

Downeys Farm and Whittamore Farm- They have huge display of pumpkins yearly from late September til Halloween day.

APPLE PICKING -usually starts in September. The apple picking season runs right into pumpkin season.

Where to Go

Al Ferri Farms -Al Ferri is one of the oldest apple farms in Brampton. There is no entrance and minimum picking fee.

CHERRY AND PEACH PICKING- Late June to early August. Be sure to call the farm before visiting.In order to produce good local peaches and cherries, producers depend on ideal spring and early summer weather conditions, and no late frosts

See how popular Cherry Picking is to families in this video

My son and husband enjoy cherry picking

Where to Go

Hildreth Farm or Cherry Avenue Farms- Most of the cherry farms near Toronto are located in the Niagara region.

BERRY PICKING- First come the strawberries, they start in the beginning of June and end in mid-July.

Strawberry planting is using new farm techonology. See the video below

Raspberries are next, their season starts around July 1st and lasts for about one month.
Blueberries have the same season as raspberries.

Where to go

Whittamore Farm- Even celebrities like Katie Holmes can't help but bringing little Suri to Whittamore for strawberry picking

FARM ADDRESSES- Most of the farms are 30 minutes to an hours ride from Downtown Toronto.

Al Ferri Farms- 8605 Heritage Road,Brampton,Ontario
Whittamore Farm-8100 Steeles Ave. East,Markham,Ontario
Downeys Farm- 13682 Heart Lake Road,Caledon, Ontario
Hildreth Farm-5529 Green Lane Rd RR 3,Beamsville, Ontario
Cherry Avenue Farm- 4303 Cherry Avenue,Lincoln, Ontario

Miracles @St Joseph Oratory

2011-09-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Not to be missed when you travel to Montreal,Canada is the St Joseph Oratory @Mount Royale.

In 1904 a humble Montreal monk named Brother André realized a dream: to build a shrine to St. Joseph. Pilgrims flocked there, seeking not just a place of prayer but the touch of Brother André — a man his followers believed could work miracles.

A century later the shrine, St. Joseph's Oratory, was attracting two million visitors every year and in 2010 Brother André was declared a saint.

On Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI made it official, with the canonization of Canada's first native-born male saint, now known as Saint Brother André.

A pious, humble man who never considered himself a healer, Brother André is nonetheless credited with performing 125,000 cures by those who have prayed for his intercession.

These ranged from longed-for pregnancies to the healing of a man with cancer, an act officially recognized as a miracle by the Vatican and which led to Brother Andre's beatification in 1982.

Also inside is a Votive Chapel dedicated to St Joseph, the patron Saint of Quebec.

The votive chapel contains mementos that are fastened to the walls, which represent numerous favours and cures that Saint Brother André is said to have obtained by praying to God and interceding with Saint Joseph. All these signs of gratitude date from the time of Saint Brother André. Although more items have been received since his death, none have been added to this display. The Votive Chapel contains over 10,000 vigil lamps—a symbol of the constant prayer of pilgrims. The chapel also contains the entrance to Saint Brother André’s tomb.

The Central Lamp-stand
In the middle of the chapel is a massive lamp-stand with over 3500 vigil lamps. At its summit stands an imposing marble statue of Saint Joseph receiving the prayers of the faithful.

Completed long after his death from donations, small and large, that continued to pour in, today St. Joseph's Oratory is among the largest basilicas in the world — its dome visible from far beyond Montreal's city limits.

Two million visitors a year make the pilgrimage to the oratory, some climbing the 283 steps on their knees.

Inside, an elevator whisks people to the floor where Brother André's heart is on permanent display. One storey below, thousands of well-worn crutches and grimy, well-handled canes hang outside his crypt, testament to those who claim to have been cured by him during his lifetime.

Even today, more than 70 years after his death, hundreds of letters and emails arrive each week from people claiming to have been healed through their faith in Brother André.

Take time to visit the Gardens at the Oratory which has the Stations of the Cross

Main Altar and Stations of the Cross inside the Basilica

View from the top of the Basilica

and there are lovely flowers in the garden infront of the Basilica

How to Get to the Oratory?

Nearest Metro Station
Snowdon or Côte-des-Neiges

By Bus or Car
# 51 Queen Mary
# 166 Queen Mary
#165 Côte-des-Neiges/Queen Mary
The Oratory is asking for a contribution of $ 5 for each vehicle using the parking lot for the upkeep and security of this area.

No contribution is asked of those people who indicate that they are coming to participate in the Mass or simply to pray.

Free parking on Sundays.

Free Vegas Attractions Baby

2011-08-31T08:26:00.000-07:00

My kids were too old for Disneyland so off to Vegas we went...the first time my two boys visited the Disneyland for adults.

Here are some of the free attractions we went to during our first day in Vegas

The Fountains of Planet Hollywood

The Fountains of Bellagio

The Conservatory (Gardens ) of Bellagio

The Sirens of Treasure Island

The Atlantis Show at Caesars Palace

Photo with a Las Vegas SHowgirl

The Thunderstorms of Planet Hollywood

Free Shows at St Marks Square, The Venetian Hotel

The Mirage Volcano Show

and if ever, you are in Vegas dont miss Fremont Street. I had been to Vegas 4 times but it was only during my las trip that I dropped by Fremont Street. From the strip you can take the Ace bus for shorter and faster trip since they have fewer stops or the Deuce bus which has more stops. A 2 hour pass is $5 and a 24 hour pass is $7 which will allow you to visit all the hotels on the strip or the Factory outlets.

Montreal,Quebec

2011-08-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is our third visit to Montreal. Everytime we go to Montreal, we see something new.

This time we were able to go inside the Basilica De Notre Dame De Montreal.

The church's Gothic Revival architecture is among the most dramatic in the world; its interior is grand and colourful, its ceiling is coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars.

It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal.

It also has a pipe organ, which comprises four keyboards, 97 stops, over 9000 individual pipes and a pedal board.

Don't miss the Light Show of the Notre Dame Basilica.

We also visited the Montreal Biosphere which used to be the United States Pavilion during Expo 1967.

When the Expo was complete, instead of dismantling the building, the U.S. donated it to the city of Montreal. For several years, it served as an exhibition area for plants and birds.

Old Town,Quebec

2011-08-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Quebec City is 9 hours drive from Toronto or 3 hours drive from Montreal. But its always worth a visit.They said that visiting Old Town, Quebec City is just like going to Europe. Let these photos speak for itself.

A shopwindow in lower Old Quebec

The Funicular connecting Upper and Lower Old Quebec

Frontenac which is the most photographed place in QUebec

A Mural in lower Old Quebec

The street dotted with fabulous curio shops

Part of the charm of Old Quebec are these shophouses

The interiors of Notre Dame church Quebec

The mural depicting the history of Quebec City

Beautiful Niagara

2011-08-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Niagara Falls is always beautiful but more so at night.

Camping in Niagara also makes Clifton Hills accessible to our teenagers if they want to experience rides and attractions.

Last weekend, we had a wonderful time camping near the Niagara Falls. It was my first time to experience a thunderstorm while camping.

We camped out at the King Waldorf Park which was beside Marineland a few kilometres away from the Falls.

The kids set up a fire to roast marshmallows and hotdogs.

The King Waldorf has two swimming pools and is located beside the Niagara River so you can actually set up tents beside the river.

Its nice to spend a weekend away from home and let your children experience nature.At least for a weekend they wont be infront of their laptops or using their ipods.

Are We Der (in New York) Yet?

2011-08-14T10:08:00.001-07:00

There are two lessons that we learned from our recent trip to New York;

First, research about your destination
Second, which is important ...DO NOT ALWAYS TRUST YOUR GPS(Global Positioning System).

One Good Thing, our two boys loved NEW YORK CITY! At least sulit ang lakad.

We started our trip from Brampton. When we initially googled the driving distance from Brampton to Fish Kill New York, the distance was about 790 kms which would require driving 8-9 hours.

We were anticipating a long stretch of highway on the way to New York but instead we went through roads of fruit orchards and sleepy uninhabited towns. We were even joking if there was anyone else taking a vacation in New York City since we were the only car along the deserted roads.

Occasionally there were interesting towns filled with antique shops and stalls selling fruits and vegetables grown in backyard farms. It was what I have read about in books about small sleepy US towns. I was even expecting an old man sitting in a rocking chair smoking his pipe just like what I have seen in old american movies. There was hardly anyone in the streets .

Finally after almost 9 hours of driving, we reached Fish Kill . We havent even checked in yet, the rains already started pouring heavily.

FishKill is a small New York hamlet.There were cute pastel colored houses in the center of town. Our hotel was located near other hotels like Hilton and Ramada and infront of a small shopping mall which hardly provided any shopping for visitors.

Our hotel was being renovated so we had to locate the reception check in counter. We were thankful that there was a chinese buffet restaurant at the mall infront of the hotel since we were all hungry from the long trip.

The following day, after hubby finished his business call with his client we headed for some sight seeing. Our first stop was WEST POINT ,the United States Military Academy.

West Point is situated on higher ground in the town of Highland Falls.

It is reachable from Fish Kill within a short 20 minute drive. The picturesque scenery of trees, rocks and the Hudson River can be seen along the way to the West Point Thayer gate.
Since we didnt have enough time to do the campus tour, we immediately proceeded to the West Point Museum, a three story edifice that boasts of being the oldest and largest diversified public collection of miltaria in the Western Hemisphere.

My two boys and hubby enjoyed browsing through all the old military artillery used by the US army. If not for our plan to visit New York City before going home we would have stayed longer and even toured the campus.

After about an hour in West Point, we proceeded to New York City.

Visiting NY City from other parts of New York would usually bring you to New Jersey, the adjacent US state. This is when our GPS started giving us problems.One reason probably is that some roads along the way to NY City were being repaired so we had to be diverted to other roads and the GPS took so much time to redirect us to the new route. So even if we can already see the NY Brooklyn Bridge from a distance, we had to take a long circuitous route that took us almost an hour to enter New York City.

After an hour of practically going around the different sections of New Jersey we finally entered New York City from one of the NY bridges.

My first impression of New York is that is is just like any other city...with tall skyscrapers and a number of bridges. However, the atmosphere of being in New York is pulpable in the noise and chatter of the crowds near Time Square.

Time Square at night becomes like a huge party place complete with the strums from the Naked Cowgirl and people having dinner right infront of the huge square fronting huge screens that is the symbol of Times Square.

After taking our photos and having our NY Italian Pizza dinner just a few streets away from Times Square, we set our GPS to GO HOME mode. This is where our trouble began....and we didnt anticipate that our return trip would be a long long journey.

FIrst when we entered the return HOME mode with our GPS the arrival time was a good 14 hours. We were debating (since this was our first road trip to New York) whether it was the fastest route going back to Canada.

So even if we were all sleepy we stayed awake for the entire 14 hour trip. After almost 8 hours into our trip,we were suddenly surprised when upon entering a small hill, we were immediately directed to a small office with a Canadian Flag.

We all jumped in anticipation of immigration clearance formalities.At the same time we were scratching our heads why the immigration check point was so small(there was only one Officer who was even sleeping).

The officer looked at our passports and asked hubby what our business was in going to the US and where we are staying in Canada. When we said Brampton, the officer quipped"Where's that". When he said that we knew we were in trouble. When we said in Ontario, he asked whether we want to turn back since this checkpoint where we entered was in Quebec.

If it wasnt bad enough that it was 4:30 in the morning and it was so cold, we would have turned back. We had to take a long stretch of road that was in the middle of cornfields .

When hubby and I started laughing at the predicament that our GPS got us in, our two boys started shouting at us saying that we have reached a road block. Our GPS was now not responding and was directing us to go to a dirt road. Hubby didnt want to take a road without a street name so we searched for the nearest gas station.... and lo and behold we were directed back to the Immigration check point.

When the Officer saw us ,he was very sympathetic that we cant find our way out using the GPS so he gave us instructions on how to get to the main high way. I guess this checkpoint was the least used checkpoint in the whole of Canada since we didnt see any other cars entering through that point.

So using the instructions provided by the officer we were finally able to get to the main road and that was when we used our GPS again.

When I saw the fields of Ontario with the fog blanketing the fields of grass I knew we would still have a long 6 hour drive home.

I was already dreaming of curling up in bed and having my first shut eye in more than 14 hours of road trip. Poor hubby who was at the drivers seat deserves a massage after this ordeal.

THE BEACHES I WOULD RECOMMEND U VISIT

2011-07-19T19:27:00.001-07:00

Fruit Picking in Ontario

2011-07-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

One word of caution: Picking fruits in the farms is not really cheaper than buying fruits from the grocery store. Most people who go fruitpicking are there for the experience itself.

Fruit Picking is a popular spring and autumn activity in the US and Canada(particularly in Southern Ontario). Its an activity that everyone loves doing during weekends and is an enjoyable outing for families . You will not only enjoy the freshest of harvest but its a good outdoor activity that refreshes ones mind and body.

We are lucky that we live in Brampton which is a city surrounded by fruit and vegetable farms. The nearest apple ,raspberry and strawberry farms are mere 10 minutes away.

Strawberry Picking

Last July 1st, Canada day, we went strawberry picking at Downey Farms in Caledon, a 12 minutes drive from our house. Last year shortly after arriving in Canada our very first outing as a family was also during Canada Day and we went strawberry picking in Whittamore Farm in Markham.

Large fruit farms in Ontario not only grow fruits and vegetables but also flowers like these white beauties.

My two sons normally have this contest of picking the best berries at the shortest time.

Riding the wagon to the picking area is another fun activity in the farm. Some farms also have activities for young children and teeners like pony rides, animal feeding areas ,swings and some even offer rock climbing lessons.

Most farms would charge an admission fee of $2 per person which can be deducted from your purchases after they have weighed your strawberries. I was told that years ago the farms didn't charge admission fees but because pickers normally just eat in the orchards and dont but anything, the farm owners wisened up and decided to charge a minimal fee.

Raspberry Picking

A week after our strawberry picking visit we again visited Downey Farms this time to bring our guest there.

Lenny who is my sister's sister in law visited us in Toronto and we thought of giving her the experience of picking raspberries straight from the farm.

After picking her up from her hotel we went straight to Downeys Farm in Caledon. She enjoyed picking raspberries and eating them straight from the bushes.

So if you are in Toronto during spring,summer and fall ,don't fail to experience this activity of fruit picking. In September, its apple picking season and the golden pumpkins will be on display in the farms during the autumn/fall season just in time for Halloween.

Traipsing Around Europe with My Love

2011-07-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

In 1986 I travelled to Europe on a grant but it was not as memorable as when I travelled with my husband this year.

When we were at the Eiffel Tower I told him my story that during that time I told my travelling companion( a friend) that the next time I visit Paris it will be with the one I love.

Corny as it seem...it came true...25 years after.

Who said dreams dont come true.

photo slideshows

Our Day trip to Forcheim Germany

2011-06-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

Forcheim is a small town in Germany which is the gateway to the Franconian Switzerland region.

The good thing with touring Germany is that there are not as many tourists here compared to such cities as Paris and Rome. One would only encounter groups of German school children on their annual spring field trips or groups of German retirees who have enough time in their hands to tour the countrysides.

Here are some of the photos we took of Forcheim.

MySpace photo slideshow

Sound of Music in Austria

2011-06-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Above:The Mirabell Gardens where the last scene in Sound of Music "Do Re Mi" was filmed

Austria is the nearest country to Germany and we decided not to give it a miss during our European trip.For most people, Austria depicts photos of snow capped mountains with frozen lakes, clean surroundings, Mozart, art, palaces and Sound of Music.

Oh Yes, The Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg Austria and we visited two of the palaces where the film was shot: Hellbrunn which still has a Sound of Music Pavilion as an attraction and Mirabell Palace.

From Nuremberg we visited Munich, a 2 hour and a half drive. Munich is normally the jumping off point to travel in Austria.

A lot of people (even Germans) don't really know which is nearer to Munich(by car), Innsbruck or Salzburg. Now to set the record and based on facts(based on our GPS), Salzburg is nearer to Munich by car. It is 115 kms and if you drive like the Germans do(180 km.hour) you will get there in about 2 hours .

Above: The Golden Roof(at the Centre) of downtown Innsbruck.Note the snow capped mountains even if its already summer weather in Europe.

Trains between Munich and Salzburg depart from the very early mornings until late evenings essentially on an hourly basis (or even more regularly than that during rush hours). Since both Munich and Salzburg are important transportation hubs, trains pass through the two cities essentially around the clock.If you take the train between 7am-9am you can reach Salzburg also in less than 2 hours since trains follow a much shorter route.

Innsbruck on the other hand would need about 2 hours and 30 minutes drive by car.

If you want to visit both cities, Innsbruck to Salburg is another 2 hours and 15 minutes since both cities have a different direction(there is a fork at a certain point in the road when you enter Austria).

Swarovski Crystal World in Watten,Austria

We also visited the Swarovski Crystal World located in Watten just 10 minutes before reaching Innsbruck. It is much cheaper to buy Swarokvski crystals in Watten since it is the factory outlet.

Now another debate among Germans and even Austrians, which one is nicer to visit, Salzburg or Innsbruck?

It really depends, Innsbruck is a skiing city and has been and will be the venue of several Winter Olympics(1964,1976 and 2012). We loved Innsbruck because of the scenery of mountains and the river.It reminded me so much of Baguio(a cleaner Baguio).

Salzburg on the otherhand has more art and culture to offer the visitor. You can spend days in Salzburg just visiting the palaces and the different museums.Unfortunately we only had a day to spend there.

Innsbruck And Salzburg Austria Slideshow: Betty’s trip from Brampton, Ontario, Canada to 2 cities Salzburg and Innsbruck was created by TripAdvisor. See another Austria slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

How did we get there?
By the Germans pride: good old Mercedes Benz at a speed of 150 km/hour.Hubby was loving it driving in the smoothest road he had ever drove in and also one of the safest one. Imagine all the trucks were lined up on the right side of the hiway.They never veered away to go to the centre or left lane...that is what you call discipline.

This is the Sound of Music(for the younger generation who have not seen the film). Look at the last scene where you can see the children running around the fountains and garden of Mirabell Castle in Salburg.

The Best Way To See Paris in Two Days

2011-05-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

flash slideshow

When we booked our flight to Germany with Paris as a stop over, I sourced for the best way to see all the sights of Paris in the two days that we will be there.

This might not be the cheapest plan but it sure brings you to all the famous attractions

The Hop On and Off Bus.The good thing with touring using the bus is that you can choose to go around for 2 and a half hours first seeing all the tourist attractions and then choose where you want to get off or on. The ticket is valid for 2 days. We bought our tickets at US$33/each with Globus Tours.

I've tried doing the cheap way of seeing Paris years before, like buying the Metro Tickets and going on and off each Metro stop. It is very time consuming and very difficult specially for first time Paris visitors.

The itinerary includes stops that are close and infront of famous Paris attractions like

The Eiffel

The Paris Opera House
Paris prettiest bridge,Pont ALexandre III

Grand Palais

Notre Dame De Paris

The Ritz Paris at Place Vendome

Madeleine Church

Arc De Triomphe at the end of Champs Elysee

The Louvre

Invalides

Place dela Concorde

Tuilleries Gardens

Musee' D Orsay

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Hotel Des Invalides

Ponts Des Arts

Things to Remember When Driving in Germany

2011-05-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

It is a delight driving in Germany where the roads are one of the best in the world. So for those planning to have a road trip instead of the much cheaper train travel here are some tips:

1) Get a rentacar with a low fuel consumption since you would be driving long distances;

2) It would be advisable to also rent a GPS so that you wont have a hard time looking for your destination.However you must also research on your destination. We got stuck on top of a mountain in Salzburg not knowing that the best way to go to the castle was through a lift located in the downtown area;

3) The advisory speed limit in Germany's autobahns(high speed hiways) is 130 but you would see that most drivers are driving at top speed of 180 km/hr .Make sure that if you cant drive as fast as the locals use the right inner lane.

4) The GPS in Germany will always say turn "slight"Right or "Slight" left.This is because most roads in Germany are not straight, they are usually circular or curved.Also make sure that you know what a "round about" means (Going around a circle).

5) Most streets have pay street parking machines which costs about 0.50 euros for 20-30 minutes parking. Be sure to carry enough coins with you.

What a Marriot Gold Card can Get U For Free

2011-05-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

This is what a Marriot Gold Card can get you,

A welcome note which came with milk and a bottle of oats;

Free room upgrade to a Suite at Renaissance Marriot Munich, free breakfast, internet and free stay....Nice

Your very own powder and dressing room

A spacious separate bedroom

and a spacious receiving and dining room with free internet connection, and breakfast

Using our Marriot points we also stayed for free in Marriot Paris (CDG and Rive Gauche)but we were upgraded to a suite room(thanks to hubbys Marriot Gold Card again) with free use of the internet, access to the Executive Lounge and free breakfast. It is really handy travelling with hubby, he he!

Planning our European Trip

2011-05-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

I pride myself in being very savvy in planning my vacations in Asia since I know most of the budget airlines and budget hotels there but I have never planned a European trip.The last time I travelled to Europe was 25 years ago and I remembered booking my weekend trips thru travel agencies in Hamburg. I always look at the papers for Reisen which my Pinoy friends told me means tours and book for week end trips.

SInce hubby was going for a business trip in Germany, I pleaded(wink wink) to tag along.

Hubby is never really hard to persuade to bring me as a travel companion since he knows he will get free massages(LOL) and companion when he travels.

SOURCING CHEAP AIRLINE TICKETS

I started our European trip planning by consulting the prices from the travel agency that my sister referred to me.Flight Centre.com advertises that they have unbeatable prices. Since we were planning a stop over in Paris, I consulted them since I know a travel agent can give me a good deal when we have one stop over.

However the prices they quoted me was $1752 via KLM and $1898 via Air France. So I went directly to the airlines sites of KLM, Lufthansa and Air France, the 3 airlines that go direct to Erlangen,Germany and Paris and found that multi city trips are more expensive through the airline sites.

Since I found the price too high, i tried surfing online and found Kayak and Cheaptickets.com. The initial price that was quoted by cheaptickets which was the cheapest site I found was $1550, I tried surfing further in their site and saw last minute trips and found a much cheaper flight

A tip: In buying cheap tickets, go to Cheaptickets.com and click on last minute trips, you will get further discounted tickets, a savings of about $50/person.

HOTELS

I had no problem with sourcing our hotel since we still have Marriot rewards points to use for our Paris trip. To compare the 9 Marriot Hotels in Paris, I knew exactly were to go. Trip Advisor.com gave me the best source of real travellers experience in staying in hotels.

Since I didnt want to use up all our points at hotels that we will just use only for sleeping, I made sure I got best value for our points.

We are therefore staying at Paris Marriot Rive GaucheHotel for going around the city and at the Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport Hotel on our last day. So our hotels in Paris will be free courtesy of our Marriot points.

DAY TRIPS
Now I am sourcing my day trips in Germany(Southern part) and I was told that the best and cheapest way to travel is by train.

I found a German travel site and Karen who advised me that the cities Erlangen, Nürnberg and Bamberg can be reached by train.

The timetable for the train (S-Bahn: S1) to Nürnberg, Bamberg can be seen at vgn.de (you can choose the language english). Nürnberg and Bamberg offers guided city tours, information: nueremberg.com and bamberg.com.

From Karen I learned that Erlangen to Munich takes 2 hours by train. The train system offers different tickets, for example the "Bayern Ticket". With this ticket you travel around bavaria for one day. Information www.bahn.de

There are Travel agencies in Erlangen (in the city centre) for example: Tui Reise Center, Tel.: 09131/781490, tui-reisecenter24.de

Now my only problem is the Paris leg. I have decided to just buy us a ticket on the Hop on Bus Tour.

So now in a weeks time, oh la la we are off...

Canadian Tulip Festival

2011-05-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Tulip Festival is an annual display of tulips in the beds along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa.This year it is from May 6-23,2011

It is not only a festival for tulip displays, the festival also includes music performances, speakers and exhibits of international cuisine.

We visited the Canadina Tulip Festival grounds at the Commissioners Park in Ottawa one day before its kick off on May 6,2011.

The Canadian Tulip Festival is a tulip festival, held annually in May in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada. The festival claims to be the world's largest tulip festival, displaying over one million tulips,

Large displays of tulips are planted throughout the city, and the largest display of tulips is found in Commissioners Park on the shores of Dow's Lake, and along the Rideau Canal with 300,000 tulips planted there alone.

However when we visited the tulips have not yet bloomed, another two to three weeks is needed to fully appreciate the beautiful blooms.

History of the Festival
In 1945, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa in gratitude for Canadians having sheltered Princess Juliana and her daughters for the preceding three years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, in the Second World War.

Venue
There are two venues of the Tulip Festival which starts May 6-23, the Majors Hill Park and the Commissioners Park in Ottawa

Commissioner’s Park
Commissioner’s Park is located at Dow’s Lake along the Rideau Canal, between the Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Carling Avenue, east of Preston Street, across from the Dow’s Lake Pavilion. There is a pay parking lot located across the street from the park, at the corner of Prince of Wales and Preston (the Queen Elizabeth Driveway becomes Prince of Wales Drive south of Preston Street) near the archway of Little Italy.
When you use your GPS just search for Dows Lake Pavilion

More photos of the Festival here.

Major’s Hill Park
Major’s Hill Park is located along the length of Mackenzie Avenue, just a short walking distance from the ByWard Market, bounded by the Fairmont Château Laurier to the South, the American embassy to the East, the National Gallery of Canada to the North, and the Ottawa River to the West.

Its located at 1 Rideau Avenue,Ottawa near Parliament Hill

Bargain Hunting at Dixie Outlet Mall

2011-04-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

There are a few Outlet Malls in Toronto and the Dixie Outlet Mall located in Mississauga is just one of them

It was opened in 1956 as the Dixie Value Mall and as such is one of the oldest malls in Ontario. Most Toronto residents go to this mall to pick up bargains.

Some of its famous tenants are :

BOMBAY COMPANY- Lifestyle store

TOMMY HILFIGER-Clothing Store

GARAGE-Montreal based casual fashion store for teen girls

LAURA SECORD-- CANADIAN CHOCOLATE SHOP(CHOCOLATIER)

AEROPOSTALE-Male and Female clothing Shop

Revisiting my WIsh List of 2006 (10/20) 50% DONE

2011-03-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

20 Things I Want to Do in My Lifetime

JULY 31, 2006

Today is the last day of July and tomorrow is the first day of my birthmonth. When I was still young, I wanted to get old faster so that I can do more things that only adults can do. But as the years past by I dreaded each year I turn a year older. Is it because I havent accomplish some of the things I subconsciously wish I could have or would have done?

I stumbled on the website of " My Fifty Things To Do in My Lifetime". I dont want to have that long list .Its like the long list of Earl in "My Name is Earl"

What are the twenty(20) top things I want to accomplish(really really want to doand achieve):Here they are:

1) Loose weight the natural way(no Nip Tuck or Surgery or pills). Its not for appearance but more for health reasons. (Ongoing)

2) Stay healthy and not get Sick . This is related to number one. (ALMOST OK)

3) Eat anything without Gaining Weight.This is again related to number 1 & 2. But somehow this is a little bit of wishful thinking.Ilove eating and somehow controlling the urge to eat is quite hard to accomplish;

4) Retire in a farm somewhere in the Mountains. I really have to work hard for the next ten or twenty years more to be able to afford a place like that in the "Golden Pond". But I just wish to have a peaceful surrounding, with a nice garden that someone else is tending for me .I would love to wake up with the birds chirping and butterflies going in and out of my bedroom.

5) Go to Europe with my husband- My husband has never been to Europe and I want to visit Paris again with him. Paris is a place for lovers so I want to experience the city of lights with my husband.Maybe we can even ride the Gondola in Venice(not the Gondola in Venetia in Las Vegas which we visited twice). (About to be fulfilled by May 2011 when hubby goes to Germany)

6) Go To Lake Tahoe with the kids for some ski lessons.(that is if Nygel can stand the 19 hour flight without getting sick).

7) Have our Canadian Immigration Papers Approved- This is because I want to see whether I did all the paperwork correctly like a true professional. (ACCOMPLISHED)

8) Have our House in the Philippines Renovated- ALthough we only go back once a year, I still wish I can have the place redesigned. (BOUGHT A CONDO INSTEAD,JUST HAD THE OLD HOUSE PAINTED)

9) Have a "Quarrel-Less" Marriage- This might not be possible.But at my age, I dont want to fight anymore about small things that gets blown up to become bigger. (SO FAR SO GOOD)

10) To grow my business- My business is like a Mom and Pop store except that I am both the Mom and the Pop. I hope I can expand it to be able to afford to pay some staff to do the work for me.

11) To See my two kids finish University and Get Good Jobs that they Love to Do(what every mother dreams of)

12) To See My Kids Having A Happy Marriage - my husband always teases me that I have a tendency of choosing the girlfriends of my two sons.

13) To Have Healthy and Lovely grandchildren- I hope I can still see them before I pass on to the next life

14) Bring my two kids and husband to my hometown in Quezon and let my kids ride the kalesa

15) Go camping with my family in Lake Caliraya or in Yosemite Park.

16) Revisit Baguio Again and I hope I wont get disappointed with the view (ACCOMPLISHED)

17) Go to Boracay(Ive heard so much about it) or El Nido or Maldives. (ACCOMPLISHED)

18) Be Rich Enough to be able to Afford to Give Away Money(maybe not in my lifetime but this is wishful thinking)

19) Have no enemies . Enemies make our life miserable.(ALMOST)

20) To See and Talk to Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood, my two favorite stars.( ang babaw ano?) (NOW THAT I AM IN TORONTO CHANCES ARE HIGH WITH THE TIFF)

Snooping Around the Worlds Number One Spa in Bali

2011-03-05T16:31:00.000-08:00

I had the luxury of staying at the World famous Ritz Carlton Bali (rebranded in 2009 as Ayana Resort)in December 2009 and the Ritz property has the most gorgeous grounds I have ever seen.

The Ayana Resort and Spa,was voted as 2011 Number one Resort Hotel in Asia by the famous Conde Nast Travelers Magazine, this accolade in itself shows the resorts reputation among travellers.

Early in the morning of our second day I jogged around the property which was surrounded by gardens of hibiscus, frangipani,water lilies, gardenia and other tropical flowers.

I also went snooping around the World's Number one spa, the Thermes Marin Spa voted the Best Spa in the world by Conde Nast.

The Spa exudes the luxury of Ritz. The spa is specially known for thallasotheraphy which makes use of sea water for theraphy. The thallasotherapjy pools were located at the highest point of the resort overlooking the sea.

The reception people of the spa were very courteous and pleasant.They were happy to entertain me even if I was just going around to take pictures and ask about the treatments.

Here are photos of the very calm and envigorating morning I had just walking around the spa.

The entrance and reception areas:
The 22,000sqm facility incorporates spa villas, treatment rooms, beauty salon, reflexology and relaxation lounge, and the Spa on the Rocks treatment villas anchored on rocks amidst the ocean.

The treatment rooms are decorated with vibrant hues of lilac and pink.
The spa menu offers ancient Eastern healing and modern European treatments including Thalassotherapy, massage, facials, hair, nail care, anti-aging and slimming treatments. The highest quality products are used including La Mer, Thermes Marins, Guinot and Decleor.

The Thallasotheraphy pools
The spa is home to one of the world’s largest Aquatonic® Seawater Jet Pools, supplied direct from the underlying ocean .

The aquatonic pool at the spa contains 700 million liters of water from the Indian Ocean, warmed to optimum temperatures to provide curative and preventative properties of seawater. It has floating effects, to enable effortless exercise through 12 hydromassage stations using the pool's therapeutic jet streams.

I would surely want to come back!

Riding Like the Wind in China

2011-02-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

Its an experience of a lifetime, riding in the fastest train in the world and yet not feeling anything.The experience is as if you are just in an airplane without air pockets - a smooth and silky way of travel.

This is certainly one of the things that one must not miss in visiting China.

We had the chance of taking the Tianjin-Beijing train during our last trip to Beijing . The trainline was built to accommodate trains traveling at a maximum speed of 350 km/h (217 mph).

When hubby and I stepped inside the train from Tianjin railway station, we were met by a snappily dressed train stewardess who immediately gave us a bottle of mineral water.

The train has two sections, normal economy and business class. We settled into our normal economy seats and I started taking photos of the screen displaying the miles travelled at our compartment.

This new service from Tianjin to Beijing that costs approximately RMB70 opened before the Beijing Olympics and reduced the travel time from 70 minutes to 30 minutes between these two cities.

When the line opened on August 1, 2008, it set the record for the fastest conventional train service in the world

Another sight to behold is the spanking new Beijing Railway Station.It looks like an international airport with departure gates manned by uniformed train stewards.

The railway station in Beijing is quite massive. There are four railway stations in Beijing, North,South,East and West Railway stations.Fortunately due to the Olympics it is now easier to converse and inform the taxi drivers where you want to go to just by telling them your destination.Of course it would help if you bring a guidebook with the directions written in Chinese characters.

The Tianjin-Beijing trains are located at the new South Beijing Train Station in downtown Beijing.

Best Hotels I have stayed In

2011-01-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

These are the five best hotels I have stayed in. I am saying its the best since I can still remember the best service,food and accomodations I have enjoyed while staying with them. Four of these five hotels have won awards from Travellers and Travel Industry experts.

1) Ruma Mertua (Indonesia)- Rated number 3 of 62 hotels in Yogyakarta by Trip Advisor travellers is a small boutique hotel tucked away in a small neigborhood in Yogyakarta. What I like about the hotel is that they treat you like a house guest with enough pampering that will make you feel right at home amidst chirping birds and fluttering butterflies in its Javanese inspired garden.

They offer good Indonesian food and personalized but cheap massage service.

2) Royal Macau Hotel(Macau)- This was a discovery,Winner of Hotel Club’s 2010 Outstanding Value Hotel Award only means you get the best value for your stay in this hotel.

It is located in a hilly place at the foot of the city’s legendary landmark, the 174-metre-high hill, Colina da Guia and walking distance from several Macau tourist spots. We were taken cared of by Filipino hotel staff who made us feel at home.
The hotel was newly renovated and due to its location (in a neighborhood close to schools )it gave us a look at the typical life in downtown Macau .

3)Cebu Plantation Bay- This is a resort far away from the city and has a very short beachside but the different pools in the resort more than made up for the lack of sea view. It has very courteous hotel staff and they even have a butler at your beck and call 24 hours a day.One of the best breakfast buffets I have ever tasted. This is a Conde Nast Traveller Top 20 Resorts in Asia Winner 3 years in a row which defines the hotels excellent customer service.

4) Ritz Carlton,Bali(Indonesia)-Now rebranded as Ayana Resort has won Conde Nast Travellers Choice 2010 Number 1 Spa in the World award. and 2011 Number 1 Resort Hotel in Asia by the prestigous Conde Nast Travelers Magazine.

The hotel staff here are the best in providing service and making you feel so special.The view in the hotel is just beyond words. It also notched the best beach resort award in Hotel Clubs Awards 2010.
They even have a bar perched on top of a rock overlooking the sea. You can just swim in the numerous pools while viewing the sun melt into the water casting the sky in brilliant colours of yellow, ochre and orange.

and

5) Disney Hollywood Hotel(HK) - It is a Tripadvisor Top 25 Travellers Choice Award Winner for Family hotels .

This is a hotel located near HK Disneyland. My kids will never forget and totally loved the experience of swimming with Goofy and posing with various Disney characters who were roaming around the hotel to entertain child guests.

My other reviews of hotels are in the Trip Advisor website.

VAUGHAN MILLS SHOPPING CENTRE

2011-01-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

Having come from Manila where 3 of the largest shopping malls in the world is located, no mall for me is big enough as SM Mall of Asia.

However, Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre which is located in Vaughan about 30 kms from downtown Toronto is a unique place since it contains a Sports Store Bass Pro Shops that looks like a mall in itself due to its huge space.This is an amazing shop specially for people who love the outdoors since it contains all the things you would love to buy for camping, hunting,fishing...everything for the outdoors.It is one shop that one should not miss when visiting Toronto.

It also has a Speedway Park which is an ultra modern arcade and has motor speedway simulators.

It is one of the largest (the 13th) malls in Canada next only to Eaton Shopping Centre in Toronto, Square One in Missisuaga and Yorkdale in Toronto.Part of what makes Vaughan Mills so big is the size of the stores themselves.

Well-known names like Winners and Homesense, Toys R Us, Old Navy, and Urban Behaviour take up a good bit of real estate as is, then when you add the massive shopping/entertainment crossovers like Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World you've got a lot of browsing to do!

Another added attraction is that it is just across Canada Wonderland, a Paramount theme park, the largest in Canada.

Happy New Year from Canada

2010-12-30T13:08:00.001-08:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Our Journeys in 2010

2010-12-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

2010 Slideshow: Betty’s trip from Singapore, Singapore to 12 cities Ontario, Beijing, Toronto, Montreal, Dubai, Ottawa, Phuket, Pulau Penang, Brampton, Langkawi, Yogyakarta and Milton was created by TripAdvisor. See another China slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.

Merry Christmas from my Family to Everyone!

2010-12-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

CHIANGMAI-COOLEST THAI PROVINCE

2010-12-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

IN 2009 I took a half day tour in Chiangmai,Thailand with a group of tourist 4 family members from Malaysia, a Canadian lady travelling all over Asia for the last 2 months and an American couple from Chicago.

Our tourist guide was telling us that there are fewer tourist in 2009 compared to 2008 visiting Chiangmai.Chiangmai is a mountainous area which makes it the coolest place in Thailand.

We visited the Doi Suthep Temple which you can only reached by climbing up a steep 306 steps. Half way through I was already tired and had to take a rest to catch my breathe(lack of exercise).

I cant stop and back out since I saw some other tourists including grandmothers also going up the steps with me.Our other guide "Frog"(funny name) was taking my photos and even she was out of breathe and almost dizzy when she reached the top.

When we finally reached the top it was a sight to see the golden temples and Buddhas that was in every nook and cranny of the site. Our guide May said that if you have not gone to Doi Suthep you have not visited Chiangmai since it is the symbol of Chiangmai.

We also visited a tribal village which is located about an hour from the city.

It was the highest point in the mountain an hour from Chiangmai downtown which somehow reminded me of Baguio since the villagers wore almost the same tribal wear as the igorots. The climate was also similar with Baguio and the pine trees and flowers were reminiscent of Baguio of bygone days since except for John Hay most pine trees in Baguio are now gone.

Truly Photo Perfect Niagara

2010-11-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

It never seizes to amaze me...... the beautiful photogenic Niagara Falls.

No matter what season whether winter,summer or fall you will always find Niagara Falls beautiful and breath taking. See these photos I took on a beautiful autumn day in November,2010.

Its nice during autumn when the leaves are gone,you will still see birds nesting on the branches of trees.

and here's a bonus ...a rainbow at the falls.

See that rainbow! Nature is always beautiful.

The Sexiest Building in the World

2010-11-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

The “Marilyn Monroe” condominium tower rising in downtown Mississauga is at least a year late, but one can forgive the builders for the delay. The tower has something in common with many beautiful women: it is complicated.

Even if simplified from the original design by Yansong Ma, the Chinese architect who won a design competition in 2006, the building still involves 56 storeys -- not one of which is directly above the one below it.

Imagine you have a stack of oval serving platters. Place one on the table. Place a few square building blocks on it. Then place the next platter on the blocks, turned it slightly clockwise from the bottom platter. Repeat 56 times.

Soon to become a major landmark in downtown Missisauga, the Marilyn Monroe Towers which is part of the Absolut condo tower(5 tower condos) in downtown Missisauga is a sight to behold.

Designed by a Beijing based architectural firm it boasts of 56 towers that is situated right infront of Square One Mall.

A view of the condo is below

If Toronto has the CN Tower, Missisauga will have one of the sexiest buildings in the world

The Toronto Sta Claus Parade 2010

2010-11-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

The oldest Sta Claus Parade in the world was held in freezing weather. It snowed in the morning maybe in preparation for Santa's coming. McDonalds and President's Choice provided free breakfast to everyone who watches the parade provided you go to Dundas Square to pick up your breakfast.

At least, now I can say I have watched the Parade. Its different watching it live...you can see the excitement of the crowd specially the young children who positioned themselves along the route of the parade .

And one of the best spots to watch the parade...along University Avenue infront of the Sick Children hospital or Princess Margaret Hospital(due to the wide streets). Yonge and Dundas is best due to freebies and all the activities there but it is the most crowded spot in the parade route.

Sta Claus Parade Slideshow: Betty’s trip from Brampton, Ontario, Canada to Toronto was created by TripAdvisor. See another Toronto slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

Its Almost Christmas Time in Toronto

2010-11-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

Visit Toronto during the last weekend of November and you will see the downtown area abuzz with activities.

St Lawrence Market
Toronto's famous landmark St Lawrence Market is filled with early Xmas shoppers who drop by to sample fresh farm produce from Ontario's farmers who open their shops as early as 6 am every Saturday.

Walk into St Lawrence Market and you will not come out without buying anything from antiques, christmas decors,fresh fruits and vegetables to freshly baked bread, and piping hot meat dishes.

Dundas and Yonge Square

Its already Christmas in Toronto's equivalent of NY's Time Square -The Dundas Square. Located just beside the famous Eaton Centre, it will be holding week end shows and fireworks for the entire month of November till January to celebrate the yuletide season.

November 21st is the Sta Claus Parade day, the oldest(1905) Xmas parade in North America which has inspired such parades as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the US.

and dont forget to take your photos at Eaton Centres Swarovski Christmas Tree display at the Eaton Centre atrium

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas in downtown Toronto.Advance Xmas greetings to all!

Annual Toronto Sta Claus Parade is on Sunday

2010-11-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

The Sta Claus Parade is scheduled on Sunday November 21st. It has been started as a promotional gimmick of Eaton Department Store wayback in 1905. It has been a favorite pre Xmas parade of Canadians.

The 2010 parade starts at 12.45 pm at Bloor and Christie St's and go east on Bloor to Avenue Rd., then south and around Queen's Park, continuing down University Ave to Dundas St. It then goes east to Yonge St, and south on Yonge to Front St., where it continues east on Front St. to end at Church St. by St. Lawrence Market.

This is the very first time we will be watching this Parade. For my sister Bambi and her family, this is just the second time they will be watching it live(the first time was when they had just arrived in Canada).

We want to be early so we booked hotel rooms at Courtyard Marriot in downtown Toronto. We will be hitting the nearby Eaton Centre for early Xmas shopping and Kensington market for gourmet treats.

The Post's Rebecca Tucker gives parents an early Christmas present: a survival guide for Sunday’s Santa Claus parade:

Where to park
Simple solution: Don’t drive. But if you must, avoid parking lots near the end of the route as those near Toronto’s biggest attractions (CN Tower, Rogers Centre, etc.) tend to hike rates during events. Try the Green P lot at 40 Larch St., which will drop you and your family at Dundas and Spadina — travel north to Bloor (10 minutes by streetcar or 25 on foot) to the parade route.

When to start
While the parade begins at 12:30, many parents (and enthusiastic kiddies) stake out their seats hours in advance. Be early — but not too early, so as to avoid restless youngsters. Hit the route by around 11:30, with lawnchairs, blankets and activities to keep everyone occupied.

Where to stand
The parade route provides roughly six kilometres of vantage points, and not all are created equal. The downtown core — University and Dundas to Yonge and King — will be the busiest, and is better suited to those looking to get on TV than those looking to have a good time. It’s best to hit the parade close to it’s start- and end-points. Best bet: Bloor and Spadina, at the intersection’s southeast corner (two words: wide sidewalk). Hospital row on University Avenue is a good alternative.

What to eat/drink
Perching your brood on the edge of the Annex almost eliminates the need to pack snacks. Pick up walnut cake in Little Korea, a cup of Green Beanery coffee at Bloor and Bathurst, hot cinnamon buns at Cob’s Bakery (370 Bloor St. W.) or a smoothie at Fresh (326 Bloor St. W.) before taking your place in the crowd. And with two Second Cups and a Tim Hortons within view at Bloor and Spadina, there’s no shortage of hot chocolate options or restrooms.

Where to end
Once Santa has passed, grab a late lunch or early dinner in Kensington Market before braving traffic. Try Wanda’s Pie in the Sky (287 Augusta Ave.) for hot drinks and baked goods; The Hibiscus Cafe (238 Augusta Ave.) for vegetarian fare; or the Burger Bar (319 Augusta Ave.) for, well, burgers .

Photos will follow on Sunday after we watch the Parade.

This is the parade route from the Sta Claus website

Halloween in Canada

2010-10-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one holiday that most kids are very excited to celebrate not only because of the candies and goodies they will receive but also because of the costumes that their parents take time and effort to choose for them.

As early as 6pm our neighbor already has the sound of Thriller resonating in our neighborhood to jumpstart the Halloween celebration this year in our street.

The weather was a crisp and chilly 4C but it didn't deter small children with their parents and teenagers to go around trick or treating.

I was lucky enough to be allowed to take photos of the kids coming for trick or treat.I ask permission first before I take their pictures otherwise I might be mistaken for using it for illegal purpose specially with regards to taking photos of little kids.

Its good that most children who came were wearing costumes and mask so they don't really mind having their photos taken.

Its one celebration that one must experience when you are either in the US or in Canada.

APPLE PICKING & THANKSGIVING DAY IN CANADA

2010-10-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

If you are in Canada on the second Monday of October, you will be caught in the mad rush of Canadians going to the US(for cheap bargain hunting) or going Apple and Pumpkin picking.

Since it is a long weekend(Saturday October 8-10)most people who are spending it at home are preparing for turkey dinners or simply going out of the city for an enjoyable weekend holiday in the farms,lake or nearby US cities.

Today we went shopping at the outlet store,garage saling(imagine we even went to one selling 2 cars in the garage sale) and later to two farms in Milton for our very first apple and pumpkin picking.

SpringRidge Farm is one of the bigger family farms in Milton. We went here because there was no entrance fee since we just wanted to see the place and look at the farm store.

You could see just entering the farm how popular it is with the locals since the parking lot was filled with cars. It has the following attractions: FUN FARM YARD, NEW Spider Web Climber, NEW Big Pipe Slides, Tractor drawn Wagon Rides, Fall Decor, Gift Shop, Gourmet Foods, Preserves, Scratch Bakery and Cafe.

You can just sit down in their bakery and cafe enjoying your cup of coffee while your children are enjoying the Wagon Rides or imbibing the gorgeous Fall Scenery.

Springridge is located on the hills of Milton so you get a good view of the town proper when you come down from the farm.

Willis Farm
This is a small family farm that grows corn, pumpkin and apples. There is a small stall just when you enter the farm that sells 19 varieties of the apples that it grows . They even have a 2 and half acre corn maze.

Most of the apple farms in Toronto are in the region near Niagara which are in the city of Brampton(where we live) and Milton.If you want to see bigger apple trees you must be willing to pay as much as $7 entrance fee per person. So be sure you look up the place before visiting. The apple farms in Brampton are mostly along Heritage Road while Milton being a small town,apple farms are just within 5-6 minute distance from each other.

Happy Thanks Giving to all!!!

Autumn in Canada

2010-09-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Its officially Autumn in Canada. The leaves on the trees are starting to turn to different colours of red, yellow and brown. A few more months and the trees will all shed their leaves in preparation for a winter wonderland of white.

It will be our first Autumn which has Thanks Giving (Oct 11 in Canada) and Halloween as holidays and Christmas in Canada.

We are excited to wear cold mittens and to snuggle up in bed with thick blankets and to watch snow falling down infront of our window sills.

Amazing Ottawa

2010-08-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

On our way back to Toronto from Montreal, I requested hubby to drop by Ottawa, Canada's capital city. Since it is already on the way to Toronto, it was a waste if we didnt even get a glimpse of this city.

And what a visit it was. We were charmed by Parliament Hill. Composed of Gothic inspired architecture, Parliament Hill is worth the visit. No wonder a lot of tourist flock to this site every year.

A Slice of Paris in Old Montreal

2010-08-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

Going to Montreal from Toronto was so far the longest road trip we took since arriving in Canada on June 7. It was a 6 hour trip which we could have taken for 5 hours if there was no 100 km/hour hiway speed limit.

There was no spectacular views from the long stretch of hiway all the way to Montreal. Three and a half hours from Toronto was the first interconnecting bridge to the US and after 4 hours we reached the first town in Quebec.

Montreal at first glance looks very old to me.Even the flyovers and underground tunnels are ancient and looks unkempt. My first impression however changed when I saw the Old part of Montreal.

Old Montreal is near the port and is a kilometre of ancient buildings and cobblestone streets. Most buildings are occupied by small inns and boutique stores.This part of the city looks so much like a part of Europe maybe even certain parts of Paris. In fact ,its well known Basilica is even named Basilica of Notre Dame just like the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral.

It was good that we were using a GPS which helped tremendously in locating places to visit

Montreal is a walking city meaning its best to explore its old part by walking or riding a bike which can be rented at a nominal fee. Parking is expensive at $14/hour in open parking lots in certain corners in the area although one can also use street parking using the parking metres.

Below is a map of the buildings and streets that could be seen in Old Montreal.

1 Champ-de-Mars 11 Place d’Youville
2 Rue Notre-Dame East 12 Rue Saint-Paul, near Place d’Youville
3 From Bonsecours to Berri 13 Around Rue de l’Hôpital
4 Bonsecours 14 Des Récollets
5 Eastern end of the Old Port 15 Rue Saint-Jacques
6 Place Jacques-Cartier 16 Place d’Armes
7 From Saint-Amable to Saint-Gabriel 17 The Old Seminary and Notre-Dame
8 Saint-Paul and de la Commune 18 Rue Notre-Dame West
9 Pointe-à-Callière and Place Royale 19Boulevard Saint-Laurent
10Western end of the Old Port 20Back to Notre-Dame East

Our thanks to our GPS for this road trip

ST LAWRENCE MARKET ON SUNDAYS

2010-07-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

Ask any Toronto resident about markets and surely they will mention,China town, Kensington market and St Lawrence Market.

St.Lawrence market is one of the two(Kensington is the other) biggest markets in Toronto.

Situated three blocks from the Union Station Subway, you wont miss it since you just have to exit at Front Station and head towards East.As a landmark, when you see the CN Tower from Front Street that is the western part of Front Street so you go on the opposite side of CN Tower.

You would then pass by the Sony Centre and the Hockey Hall of Fame Museum and further a bit would be St Lawrence Market.

Its an old brick building that used to be the City Hall of Toronto. The South Market is occupied by several stores selling fruits and vegetables and restaurants. On the second floor are shops selling art, painting and other knick knacks.

The market is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays.

On Sundays, just cross the street to the Northern part of the market and you will see a lively gathering of curio and antique sellers.You can practically spend the whole day just looking at collectibles in this Sunday market.

The Sunday market is open from dawn till 5pm.

Toronto Island Park

2010-07-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, my sisters' friend invited us to join her family in their company's picnic at the CentreVille Amusement Park.

We decided to take up the offer since we only have to pay the ferry fare and an entrance and ride all you can fee of $5 (compared to a family pass of $80)for the Centre Ville Park and $3 for lunch and snacks .

Getting to the park was a mere 7 minutes ferry ride from downtown Toronto. ALong the way you can see a good view of the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre, famous Toronto landmarks.

I wasn't expecting much from the park but when we entered there were a lot of rides and attractions that can make any teenager and kid engaged for the whole day.Amazing, I thought the rides were even better than Universal Studios SIngapore(specially the Sky Ride).

Here are some of the rides and attractions:

LEAPIN LILY PAD

SKY RIDE

ROCKIN FERRY RIDE
SWAN RIDE
LOG FLUME RIDE

Wading Pool
Arcade
Antique Carousel Ride
Barrels of Fun
Centreville Train
Scrub a Tub Boat Ride
Bump Car
Antique Cars
Windmill Ferris Wheel

and even a FARM

More photos here.

If you are not interested in the amusement park, you can just take a picnic basket with you and have a picnic or stroll around the huge park. You can also bring a bike with you to explore the entire island or ride a boat to enjoy the beautiful lakeside views.

How to Get to Toronto Island:

Exit at Union Station subway, you can walk or take the tram(1 stop).
Take the ferry going to Centre Island (7 minutes)

Expenses:

Ferry -$6.50 for adults, $4 for teenagers and $3 for kids 13 and below
Ride all you can with entrance fee-$5/person; Regular fees are $80 for a family of 4 or $20/person(discounted fee)
Lunch and snacks -$3 (lunch was one big pizza,drinks and potato chips plus free snacks of ice cream and drinks)
(PS It was a company sponsored event so the price was very cheap)

Free Tourist Attractions in Toronto

2010-07-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

I never realized that there are several tourist sites in Toronto that one can visit for free.

Here are some of the attractions that we had visited lately for free:

The Black Creek Pioneer Village- we got the tickets for this village from the Toronto Library. Getting free tickets needs patience since you must be willing to queue up as early as 5:30 am if you want to get coveted tickets like the Toronto Zoo, Royal Ontario Museum and Casa Loma.

When we arrived at the library at 7 am there were already about 14 people queueing up and the library was only opening at 9 am.

Getting the free tickets for Black Creek Pioneer Village was a surprise for us since it turned out to be a very refreshing and interesting trip.

The Black Creek "pioneer" village consists of over forty historic 19th century buildings, decorated in the style of the 1860s with period furnishings. Besides the Historical Interpreters and Craftspeople housed in the restored buildings, the site also features historical re-enactments and visiting artisans.

Here are some of our Photos at the Village taken last Sunday,July 11:
More photos can be found in this page

More photos here.

The Distillery District- After our trip to Black Creek, we decided to visit the DIstillery DIstrict,an internationally acclaimed village of brick-lined streets and dozens of vibrantly restored Victorian Industrial buildings. It’s one of Ontario’s hottest tourist attractions and home to live theatres, galleries, fashion, design and jewelry boutiques, unique cafes and award-winning restaurants. It’s all completely closed to traffic and just a few minutes walk from downtown Toronto.

We didnt want to waste our all day $10 pass for 4 people for the subway and bus so we decided to pass by this downtown attraction.

Here are some of our photos:

During the 1800's the Gooderham and Worts Distillery was a huge manufacturing district in the city of Toronto and the largest distillery in the British Empire. Today the Distillery district is not only Toronto's only heritage district; it is also Canada's largest centre for arts and culture.

Throughout the year, the Distillery hosts celebrations and special events such as the Distillery Jazz Festival, Partigras, Roots Music Festival, Antique Festival, Art exhibitions and much more.

During the nineties the empty distillery buildings became the number one film location in Canada and continue to be used for that purpose. Past productions include Chicago, X-Men, Cinderella Man, Against The Ropes and The Hurricane

You can view more photos of Distillery DIstrict on this site.

HOW TO GET FREE TICKETS:

The Toronto Library offers free tickets to such attractions as Toronto Zoo, Royal Ontario Museum,Art Gallery of Toronto,Ontario Science Centre,Gardiner Museum,Casa Loma,Bata Museum and several historic museums. Visit the website here.

Other free attractions are:

Kensington Market,Chinatown,Path(the longest underground shopping Centre in the world) and the St Lawrence Market.

Spring and summer months (April-September )are the best times of visiting Toronto.