bluerain

Whenever I travel, I would always make it a point to do some
research about the city or the country that I would go to. Most of the time, I would try to familiarize
myself with the map of the greater city centre (even days before the travel),
because that would be where most of the activities of our stay will be. I would memorize where the rail and bus
stations are, the commercial centre, the tourist office, how to go to/from the
airport and where the police headquarters and hospitals are (most of my friends
who travel with me would not know this, but yes, I would mark the last two institutions on my
map), and since I always end up the ‘tour guide/purser/organizer’ for reasons
beyond my understanding, I needed to know all these by heart – not to mention that
by default, I also do our itinerary for the trip. It gets frustrating sometimes because people
expect you to know where to go or what to do when they start getting bored;
they never realize that it is also my first time to be in such a place. To make matter worst, nobody speaks
comprehensible English in Europe (except for the Irish and the British) – I got lost in Paris CDG airport because
nobody can give me proper directions in English, we took the wrong train in
Amsterdam because the departure sign was in Dutch, I was declined from an
electronic shop (I needed to buy a memory card for my digcam) in Rome because
the salesperson couldn’t understand any English. It’s not my host country’s fault that they
don’t speak any English, I don’t blame them. Sometimes tourists are so stupid to think that English should be the
only requirement for communication- well, maybe in your country – but in their
country, try to learn as much basic phrases as you can, just enough to get you
by. That’s why I decided to take up
beginners French this fall, and maybe German next year. Hell, I know Spanish so I’m so there babey!

The best thing to happen to any backpackers (or any tourists
for that matter) is to be surprised by what the visited place has to
offer. In as much as I have a pretty
basic idea of what to expect in the places I go, I always keep a childlike
perspective and try not to keep my expectations too high, and viola! I would
always end up exhilarated by the experience. I never knew what awaited us in Florence,
yet it was the most memorable place I’ve been to; nobody’s paying attention on Zurich,
yet by a mile, the best cosmopolitan ambiance I have ever come across on. No wonder, the Mercer Human Resource
Consulting and other world surveys have ranked Zurich as the city with the highest quality of life for three consecutive years; I
would not be able to do justice in describing the city alone, you need to be
there to experience it.

There are times when I think that I’m too gullible, too
simple and too easy that almost everything and anything amazes me. Most of my companions ransack tourist gift
shops; stuffed themselves in fancy tourist restaurants, or get wasted in
pubs/clubs; I on the other hand, would love an afternoon in a museum or a boat
trip on lakes, or a cultural show in the evening – right, I should be getting
laid a lot more often, but for freakin’ sake, I can do all these back home -
why not immerse yourself in the experience, let yourself get lost and be lost
in the moment, laugh and cry uninhibitedly. Most people dream of going to these places and only a few do, why would
I care what I would wear or what I would eat, or where I would sleep (and my
friends wonder how I travel cheap, LOL!). It still amazes me whenever I think about it. Places that I only read in books and saw in
movies, and here I was. These European
cities are bigger than life – places where the old meets the new, where the city sky
is bluer, where the sun sets at  midnight, and where sunrises are dreamy and mesmerising.

- bluerain

An emotional win for Roger Federer last Sunday in Wimbledon,
definitely a hard earned win against the only player in the open era who can
unsettle the Fed’s precision play. Nadal
surely made him worked for this win. This is
the only time that Federer was pushed to a five set tie-breaker in Wimbledon. 

To make the win sweeter, Bjorn Borg, the only
player to have achieved a five-consecutive Wimbledon Grandslam (1976-1980), has graced the
competition and witnessed Roger Federer pull off the same feat.

not quite yet for nadal - almost. young and powerful, a legend in the making. for now he remains the king of clay.

tears of joy, a feat only a few legends can make. the 5th consecutive cup almost slipped from his grasp when contending against nadal.

Can’t wait for next year.  Will  the FED go on to try to break Sampras’s seven Wimbledon titles or will RAFA  finally be the first Spanish player (since 1966) to win the gentlemen’s cup?  Theirs is a rivalry that legends are made of.

manolo santana, the first spanish wimbledon cup champion (1966), rooting for nadal.

bjorn borg, one of the greatest tennis players in history (master of all surface), watching intently as his record was equalled by federer.

- bluerain

for the past few days, i was hooked to the tournament, knowing for a fact (well according to the press) that roger federer is out to grab the title from rafael nadal.  this is the only major tournament that the swiss pro has never won.  a great match in the finals in deed, as the world’s highest rank tennis pros are battling it out for the cup.  but nadal is truly the master of the clay surface.  federer, seeded 1st, made a couple of unforced errors  early in the game. eventually, the second seeded spaniard again took the cup for the third consecutive year, putting him on the records as one of the seven tennis legends who won the french open (now roland garros cup) three times, although a long way still to grab the record from bjorn borg who won the title six times in the 1970’s.

i may be biased because i am a huge federer fan, but i have to give it to nadal,  he is truly unbeatable on clay. it’s 1-1, federer having won the australian open this year, so we will need to look out for the US open and wimbledon this year.  the fiesty nadal versus the serene federer, what a delight to watch this two play. there’s always next year for federer, i hope he will win the french open even just once before he retire.

- bluerain

Ok, I hate answering questionnaires.  These so called survey questions that you read in people’s blogs/bulletin posts are so dull and people who finds time to even answer them are so wretched! So I won’t fall to the same trap of answering some silly questions emailed to me by a friend.

Just imagine me answering these 20 inane questions:

1. What is you favourite colour?
If I’m answering this question I would have answered blue, but since one research showed that blue is the favourite colour of the intellectually challenged, I changed my mind, I’ll say green, as it is the colour chosen by most individuals with high IQ (that is according to research).

2.  What have you been watching on youtube over and over again?
You know that manny pookiao guy in wowowee, he is so funny that I can’t get enough of his clip on youtube.  I wet my pants every time (only when I‘m wearing one).  Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYFuaWWsmVI

3.  What are you pigging out on at the moment?
Dried California raisins washed with Dr Pepper.

4.  What is in your idiot box?
Hollyaoks.  Hollyoaks.  Hollyoaks.

5.  What is your pet peeve?
If I will be given the power to do anything, I will wipe out tobacco on the face of the earth!  Burn tobacco companies!  Kill all the tobacco company CEO’s!  (ok, breathe… I’m cool… I’m cool… I just got carried away…)

6.  When is  your most happiest time of the day?
The night before my day-off.

7.  Are you in love/Have you ever been in love?
Corny naman…. Duhh!

8.  What is your ideal date?
My ideal date is June 21, 2007, because this is the longest day of the year and I’m off from work.  (Tama ba ang answer ko? Parang may mali eh —- June 22 ata ang longest day?)

9.  Where is the best place you have ever been?
Sa may Divisoria, lahat ng kailangan ko para mabuhay ay nasa Divisoria, from porn DVD (pirated), Chinese food (rich with food colourings and meat additives like pusa and daga), disposable brief, signature clothes (peke), imported shoes (peke), signature sunglasses (peke), and plenty of fokfok plying their wares —- ahh, paradise!

10.  Which part of the world would you like to live in if given the chance?
Seriously, I would say Paris, I would like to see myself grow old in that city (and maybe the provinces of France), but since it’s not plausible (not yet!), I would say balik na lang ako sa pinas pero kailangan may movie offers and recording contracts na naghihintay sa akin, or else….

11.  Are you a virgin?
I refuse to answer this question!  This is not what I signed up for! Where is my agent?!

12.  What is your most embarrassing moment?
Like when somebody found out the answer to that previous question… where the f—k is my agent, I will not endure this abuse anymore!?

13.  Are you addicted to anything (drugs, food, alcohol, person, etc.)?
My VAIO laptop (vgn-sz2vp/x model, eherm!), I sleep with it, and it knows all of my intimate secrets, and it never complains even if it‘s overused .

14.  Did you ever almost die?
(Surfer’s accent):  Yeah, like five times!  There was this once in band camp….

15.  Do you ever eat left over takeaways the morning after?
Hell, I’ll still eat it even after three days!

16.  Have you ever worn your underwear for two consecutive days?
I don’t wear one at the moment, cause I’ve been wearing them like for a week and I can’t stand the stench already — my washing machine is broken.

17.  Have you got special talents?
I can make people reach orgasm without using my hands.  Does that count?

18.  Have you ever threw up in public?
Will throwing up in planes and other public transports count?

19.  Have you ever snogged somebody you don‘t even know?
There’s no denying that I did, once, ok maybe a couple of times.  It’s just a kiss, you know, well, with a little bit of tongue….

20.  Have you ever had sex in public?
You’ll be surprised.

OMG! These questions are so juvenile, and who would seriously think that I will answer them, not in a million years.  I have got loads of better things to do, like picking up on my reading, and of course there are some stuffs in the world that I’d rather worry about like global warming, George Bush, Paris Hilton, world peace, and those voices that I hear when nobody can….

-bluerain

I believe that every season has a scent, that every place
and time has a complement odour. I
remember the first time I came to Manila,
there was this odd trail that resembled that of a concoction of musk, algae,
burning paper, petrol, and pork barbeque as I stepped out of a ferry in one of Manila’s harbours. Just like when I
first came to Dublin.  It smelled of mountain spring, dusty carpet,
mud, sea breeze, Danish pastry, and freshly-cut grass. It’s always a concoction, never a one single odour. Every memory that I have, be it an event,
music, a person, or a book, all seemed to register a particular smell, a scent
that defines each moment, each object or each person. 

In humans, the sense of smell is always considered the least
important among all the senses. Some
people with an affliction that affects the olfactory nerves can even live
without it. Unknowingly though, the
sense of smell contributes to the finer experiences of our being. We are able to taste and make distinctions of
flavours, not because of the power of the tongue, but because the nose
distinguishes them for us. Studies showed that we have about 900 receptor genes
in our genomes, and only about a third is functional. Some mammals have like a thousand functioning
receptor genes. Bloodhounds for example
have a remarkable sense of smell that they can follow a scent trail left several
days in the past.  Still for humans, we
seemed to have outgrown this frail sense, typical of humans; we have become too
sophisticated for such primal instinct that we gradually “out-evolved” it.  

Sometimes we get used to a certain smell, like when we use
an aftershave or a perfume for longer period of time than usual; we sort of get
too familiar with the scent that we couldn’t smell it anymore. We are too accustomed with our bodily smell
that only other people can smell us, and most of the time our smell leaves
lasting impressions. So there go the
pheromones, some innate bodily chemicals that cause intrinsic behavioural
responses on animals of same species, humans included, and thus, the
commercialization of perfumes and signature scents. 

Nowadays I could smell Dublin no more; it has become too familiar, just like Manila’s scent has become too familiar to be recognizable after staying there for almost
a decade. Maybe a few more years of
absence and then maybe the scent will come back to me. Ironically, I have the faintest thought of
what my little hometown of Zamboanga smelled like. Maybe because I was born there that I have
outgrown it too. Maybe when I go back, I
might remember; the way I still remember my father’s scent, or my mother’s
kitchen, or my aunt’s scarf, or the smell of a pond on my way to my granny’s
house. Most often than not, I would long
for that familiar scent. They remind me of the pain I felt in the past, but they
also bring comfort, and they heal; they make me cry yet they make me feel safe; for
these concoction of scents are what made me. Sweet scents, repulsive scents, dreamy scents, like the memories they
hold, and some scents new, that they never go away.

- bluerain

(06.03.07/22.00)

"nothing is simpler than to lose oneself in venice; and nothing is more fun than to be in this labyrinth without a minatour, as a theseus without an aradne’s thread." - jean-louis vaudoyer.

arriving in venice

the french poet and novelist, vaudoyer, was quite exact when he wrote those words in describing how intricate and intriguing the alleys, nooks and deserted piazzas are in venice. forget about  the gondolas and about the lagoons and canals and  gothic architectures, the maze that is venice has caught my imagination and fascination. 

we arrived in venice yesterday afternoon at two.  after leaving our luggage in our hotel,  we decided to venture into the famous piazza di san marco.  it was almost dusk, and the lights were playing with our cameras and we decided to take advantage of the bright golden colours of dusk to capture the plaza, the basilica, the palace, and the gothic architectures that go with them.  we walked around a bit, the breeze getting cooler and cooler.  the plaza and the nooks and corners were still busy with ristorantes and venetians selling souvenirs, etc., we were forewarned - venice  is not the cheapest city around, everything is around 25% more expensive.

today, we started early as always and had our breakfast in our hotel, and went for the 9.30 mass in one of the ancient churches of venice. the priest officiating the mass in english was, i think, as old as the church itself. then went to the piazza di san marco.  lea, being obsessed with the birds in the plaza started feeding them, i tried a hand in throwing pieces of seeds for them and they started attacking me (not really, i was just so terrified with birds - thinking that they might nibble my eyes off!) - much to the delight of lea. crazy birds!

gondola ride with nasuko

then walked around for a bit while, taking pictures of bridges and the lovely sights. of course, the gondola ride will never be missed.  the gondoliers charge 80 euro for a 40-minute ride and 100 euro for a longer ride to floating palaces, etc., - and off we went venturing venice in a gondola and it was all worth it. but i wouldn’t do it next time though, aside from being too expensive, the best way to discover venice is by foot.

piazza di san marco at night

after doing the walking rounds around san marco, ponte di rialto, crossing over to sao paolo, to  piazza roma  and back to ferrova (train station), into alley ways, small markets, little piazzas, small bridges and canals, we finally said farewell to our new found japanese friend, nasuko.  we parted ways with nasuko, it was a teary-eyed farewell for us.  nasuko was going to the lido island in venice and we wouldn’t be able to go as we had other plans.  very early the next day, nasuko was to take the train to munich and then will proceed to prague, into the final stretch of her european journey, all these, by herself.

lea and i decided to do our own things.  so we went our own separate ways.  i decided to walk around the heart of venice, getting lost literally within the venice maze, pretending to know where i was going and following people’s trails in stone pathways and across bridges, took peeks into old building, taking pictures of some crowded piazzas and some deserted ones, of old ladies sitting in park benches, went into two old churches, and admiring the frescoes and gothic sculptures. and finally had my last full venetian meal, the full course, an antipasti, primi, secondi and something dolce to end it. i ended the day by strolling the waterfront of san marco, admiring the night views, the people passing by, the families on vacation, of student-excursionists acting daft around the piazza. the best way to end the day, the best way to end the italian trip

lost in venice

- bluerain

(05.03.07/22.30)

it’s crunch time for us.  the plan was to take the intercity train from florence to pisa at around six in the morning and be at pisa at around eight.  spend around three hours to see pisa and then head back to florence to catch the two p.m. train to venice. we got everything sorted out or so we thought. tickets, maps and determination in hand, we ventured to pisa.

we were never disappointed - pisa, the duomo and the leaning bell tower are a sight to behold. we unfortunately were not able to see most of the city treasures of pisa due to time constraints.  we were left a little bit in want for some more - maybe, a good enough reason to go back someday.

leaning tower of pisa

together with our new found japanese friend, nasuko, tagging along, we went back to florence. at 12 noon, we arrived at florence train station and we realized that we can actually catch the 1237 train to venice - throwing all cares in the world, we rushed to our hotel to get our luggage with only around 20 minutes before boarding time.  we were in a mad rush, as if we were part of amazing race trying to make it to the train and make the most of what was left of our time to see venice. we made it, with some bloopers along the way, we ended up paying additional fee for taking the early train and not the one we previously booked.  we didn’t care, we were so excited to be in venice and that was all we can think of.

the statue of david

and we did arrive in venice.  and it is a place that stands all by itself in beauty and character. venice is a whole different world and will need another entry in this blog. for now, it’s ciao!

- bluerain

(04.03.07/21.15)

at half nine in the morning, together with three americans, two swiss girls, and our japanese companion, our italian tour guide (sam) picked us up from our meeting point and thus, started our trip to the ‘chianti’ region into the heart of tuscany were some of the most famous wines are produced.

me on horseback

we arrived at the horse stable an hour later.  after about half an hour, we started mounting our horses - then a fifteen-minute lesson on horseback riding, and ‘walking’ the horses around the fence.  i got gustava, a feisty, red-haired mare.  then started our trek into the tuscan countryside on horseback.   more than an hour and a half of priceless adventure.  tuscany is beautiful and can rival ireland’s picturesque landscapes. 

after the thrill of horseback riding, we went up to the hills of tuscany, to have our lunch in the mediaval walled town of monteriggione castle.  it is actually an ancient fortress which presently houses a few ristorantes, shops, apartments and a romanesque church.  it is very quaint and lovely that you would like to stay there and be lost in a medieval walled town - with the colorful tuscan hills surrounding the castle. the italian ‘chianti’ lunch that we had was heavenly, from cheese, salami, gnochhi to wines, we were pampered endlessly by our tour facilitator (sam).

with tour guide sam and ‘honey’ the most beautiful horse in the stable.

after our lunch, we went to another famous city in italy, sienna.  what can i say about this italian cities, they are lovely.  sienna, built on three hills and surrounded by well preserved walls, is filled with fine examples of Gothic architecture and has one of the world’s most unique piazzas - il Campo - (shaped like a shell with scalloped edges).  i don’t think i’m ever well-equipped in finding words to describe this walled city.  sienna houses the most ancient bank in the world the monte dei paschi di siena, founded in 1472, and also the first hospital in europe. st catherine of sienna, the patron saint for nurses, has her thumb and head displayed in the dominican church in the city - quite gothic, if you ask me.

the tuscany tourists

the day was exhausting, but very enjoyable - met interesting travellers - we talked and we listened to each other’s travel exploits, etc., very enriching experience indeed.

tomorrow we’re heading off pisa to see the leaning tower then straight up to the north to venice.  we’re into our last stretch. i’m feeling the weariness but at the same time i’m starting to miss florence, and i haven’t even left the place yet.  ciao!

- bluerain

(03.03.07/2200)

the truth is, i never know what to expect of florence, of course i know that it is the birthplace of renaissance, other than that i don’t know much about the place.  and boy was i in on some surprises, first, we’re lucky to get a good accommodation - would definitely recommend LUNA ROSSI hostel for those of you guys planning a trip to florence; second, the city is so compact that everything is accessible by foot - i don’t think you’ll ever get lost here; if you are a lover of the arts and romance, this is the place to be, plenty of museums, galleries, churches (there’s the famous duomo), and piazzas (plaza) to be and to see; lastly, and the single greatest reason to be here (my personal opinion) , is michaelangelo’s DAVID (the original marble sculpture).  the famous 5.7-meter work of art is housed in the academia galeria, it is sculpture no. 1076 - located in the heart of the building, and the sole reason why the queue remains very long until closing time at 1830 hrs.  i maybe an ‘intontito’ when it comes to appreciation of the arts, but i can honestly say that michaelangelo is a genius ‘par excellence’ -  he has converted me - from what i have seen in rome, his pieta, the sistine chapel and now the statue of david.  i can’t help but be moved after seeing the famous statue up close. incredible.

pizza and pasta in florence

from the previous hostel in rome, we met a japanese girl traveling on her own (with just an electronic english-japanese word translator and a bag of fearless adventurism with her), she decided to go with us to florence - she definitely is very gutsy.  she even climbed the 414 steps of the duomo tower with us - just to catch a glimpse of florence from up the tower.

sightseeing in sienna, just a train-ride away from florence

the challenge for tomorrow is - trip to tuscany on horse back. now, that’s one thing i wouldn’t want to miss. ciao!

at luna rossi hostel in florence

- bluerain

(03.03.07/05.50)

now that we have finally mastered (or so it seemed) the lay out of the city (or what looks like a scattered pieces of a puzzle that is rome), we ventured around on foot.  initially taking the metro B to the south of the city, we went to see the coloseo.  magnificent ancient structure built to amuse the people of rome with gladiator fights and beasts fights.  physically ravaged by time, but not it’s beauty and splendor, the coloseo showed how advanced the romans were even in putting up shows, with lifts and underground rooms, etc., they put an E to entertainment, that’s it!

the coloseo

then the long walk from the ruins of the roman forum, and of course, what i believe could be the most beautiful structure i have ever seen - the vitorrio monument/museum in almost the heart of the city.  not considering the amazing sistine chapel and michaelangelo’s paintings, the vittorio museum is the most majestic structure (or building or piece of architecture, etc.,) i have ever seen - a large, imposing roman architecture, built in the 1800’s and continued on until the early 1900, houses the altar and tomb of unknown soldiers (guarded by two fully-uniformed roman soldiers), with the huge sculpted image of their hero vittorio emmanuel at the top most part of the building.  the building (which is a museum, a monument, a tomb for unknown soldiers, and a sacred roman altar) is so huge, with ornaments of marbles and stones and roman columns, that it made me think of the movie benhur - and of roman gladiators and emperor, etc., - you just can’t get enough of its splendor, and that is for loss of words to describe it’s beauty.

vittorio emmanuel museum in rome

next stop was the piazza navona, where interesting mix of people can be seen lounging around, it has a warm feel of a town plaza with fountains and people doing some paintings, buskings, and selling fake prada and armani items, and also there’s a terrible mime actor (?).

we’ve met some filipinos along the way and they’re always kind enough to remind us to keep away from crowds, as there were some incidents of pickpockets in the metro and buses.  also, i noticed how graffiti flourish around the city - i think, even in the high streets, walls are blemished with too much graffiti (something i have not seen in high street dublin).  the metro B is airsprayed with grafitti, that it made me wonder whether they were done intentionally or  were they the works of vandals - whatever, i think it has become the charm of the city itself - i even bought a t-shirt with graffiti design with rome sprayed in big bold letters.

everywhere we go, just by walking around, eventually ends up in interesting nooks and corners - an ancient ruin, a magnificent basilica, a crowded piazza, majestic fountains - no time is lost in rome, there is always something to see, to hear and to smell.  truly, it is aptly called the eternal city.

the pantheon at night

next pit stop is - florence.  we will be taking the train to firenze (florence) at around 9 this morning, don’t know what to expect, but here goes.  ciao!

- bluerain