The Van Gogh Museum is an experience worth trying to get in three times for. Our first attempt was supposedly where my husband and I met for the first time, only that it was closed for renovation and we ended up meeting at the next closest landmark called the Rijksmuseum. The second was when we […]
It’s my first time to run in autumn. Crisp red-orange fallen leaves lie under my feet; my legs won’t stop moving; church bells ring nearby; all is music that pulls me closer and closer to where the sun shines, gently, complementing the cool breeze, all of nature that makes autumn autumn. I run on fallen […]
What a fine day to be out. The sun is up, almost winking, teasing the earth that it’s been hiding from almost this entire winter. This is the sky over Holland, blue, similar to the sky in Manila, blue, but not this type of blue. And the clouds, their bubbly waves, sun peeking through as […]
Today, 1st of January in the year of our Lord, 2013, a sister in the US gives birth, a friend in Manila dies. And just like that, life ends and life begins. *This is part of a 68-Day Travel Diary called Reflections of a Nearly Thirty. Read the full Reflections Series here.
As if taunting me that my days here are numbered, I find myself alone on the train today, for the first time since I got to Holland last year. My sister never lets me “go astray” at any time during my stay here, maybe trying to be the mother bear that she is. This entire […]
Day 1 Today started my road trip of a lifetime. We plan to cross five borders in 10 days. I’ve once done a seven-city trip in 12 days around the Philippines. Now, we’re doing five countries in a little over a week. Let’s see how things work out. The eight of us — my sister, […]
We went to a wedding today. It’s my first time to attend a wedding outside the Philippines. It’s the wedding of friends of my sister’s, whose love story is very not-so-love-at-first-sight. They were colleagues in Manila (at SGV, to be exact), became friends, each moved to the Netherlands, became really good friends, then a couple, then […]
My now 11-month old nephew is so cute I call him several names–Kung Fu Panda, Garfield, any Japanese-looking cartoon character, Mr. Shooli, Gangnam…. One time, I called him a piggy bank. I know these are nasty comments but he’s just too adorable to let pass the chance for my mind to think of who else looks […]
My aunt, my mum’s youngest sister, and other yaya of my nephew‘s (as you know, I hold the first Yaya title), arrived today. She’s one aunt who’s fun to have around. We probably hit it off because we’re both the youngest, but I can never be sure. All I know is that my heart goes […]
Sinterklaas is real! Legend has it that a man named Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands each year in mid-November by steamboat from Spain, moving from town to town, delivering candies to nice children. Much like our Santa Claus, which, wiki says, is derived from Sinterklaas. Today, coming out of the bathroom, I saw two boxes […]
PenVille 