May Gibb's Home, Nutcote

When my sister Lita asked me if I wanted to see Nutcote, the home of May Gibbs, Australia's famous and iconic children's book author and illustrator, I said yes right away.  Never mind that we didn't grow up with May Gibbs' books or characters, and I never really heard of her until that day, but we both love seeing homes of artists to see how their home and surroundings inspired their work.

Hotel Londres in San Sebastian

There were two hotel options for our short two-night stay in San Sebastian during our Spain road trip. The first one, Hotel Maria Cristina, and the other, Hotel Londres y Inglaterra by the water.  My dentist friend Teresa recommended we stay at Maria Cristina since her family recently stayed there. She gave it a glowing review saying that it was centrally located and beautifully interior-designed. I looked at the hotel website and loved the traditional design.  But Beng, savvy traveler and the person in our group in charge of booking our accommodations for the road trip, had found Hotel Londres.  Beng has this knack of finding unique lodgings and amazing deals without sacrificing style and quality.

Paris in August?

 Freezing in March

That's always a big question. Half the people I ask, including my cousin who lives there, says "No" (That's also because she won't be there!) Then there's the other half that say, "Yes! It's still Paris!"

Most Parisians leave the city in August to take their annual vacation.  A few years ago, our July trip in Paris went into the first week of August and I didn't notice anything different. But a few recent emails back and forth to a respected dealer at the Clignancourt flea market revealed that she and other dealer friends will be out of town from the "second week of August til the 29th", and that the flea market will of course be open, but will be "quieter" in August. 

Climbing Diamond Head

 

 

Nothing is as iconic of Honolulu as Diamond Head.  Looming over the southeastern part of the island of Oahu, Diamond Head is also popularly used by the locals as a reference point for giving or receiving directions. North, south, east, west are hardly mentioned, but "you go Diamond Head", or "you go Ewa (e-vah)",  meaning you go 'away from Diamond Head' are common. There are also the terms "mauka" for "towards the mountains" and "makai" for "towards the water".  Interesting ya? Read more about local directions here.

Design Details at Fuchun Resort, Hangzhou

 

I was pleasantly surprised with the understated elegance of the Fuchun Resort in Hangzhou, China. The place is relaxed and tasteful. It is obvious that a lot of attention went into the details which are designed to create a serene atmosphere. It's very different from the Chinese design I know. And no, I haven't been around China extensively, but the little that I've been exposed to? Even the high end types are usually shiny, extravagant, colorful.

A Living Museum

The villages of Bungamati and Kokhana are only 8 km from city of Kathmandu, but they look like they belong to another era. These rural villages lie right next to each other and date back to the 16th century.

The Windows of Nepal

One of the first things that jumped out at me as I rode through the streets of Kathmandu was the intricate carved windows that adorned the facades of even the most impoverished homes. I've always been fascinated by the cast iron window treatments in France, as well as the wrought iron windows/balconies in Spain, but I've never seen carved wood windows like these before.

Rendezvous with Everest

  Kongde Ri

This was definitely the highlight of our Nepal trip. I wish I could sound like an extreme mountaineer and say I trekked to get to Kongde. But our hosts, EO Nepal, wanted to give us an experience of a lifetime the safest and most comfortable way. Trekking? Hmmm.. maybe not. After all, we were a group of entrepreneurs, not mountaineers.

Normally it would take 5 trekking days just to get to Kongde. This was not "base camp". This was an area lower than base camp, but the closest and highest one could get to have a magnificent view of those glorious Himalayan peaks.

Mudejar Architecture in Zaragoza, Spain

 

 The Aljaferia in Zaragoza

Zaragoza was our first overnight stop in our Spain road trip itinerary. We had just left Barcelona that morning and stopped in Lerida for lunch at the Celler de Rosier restaurant.  After a heavy but delicious late lunch of paella and pork ribs (among many other things) we walked around Lerida for an hour or so before continuing on our way to Zaragoza where we were going to spend the night. 

Cochinillo in Segovia

 

We were on the last leg of our Spain Roadtrip. From Burgos we were driving into Madrid with a stop at the city of Segovia for lunch at  Meson de Candido for their world-famous cochinillo (roast suckling pig). 

Roman aqueduct in Segovia, right beside the Meson de Candido restaurant

The Meson de Candido has a fantabulous location, right beside the still-functioning aqueduct that was built by the Romans in 50 AD.  The aqueduct was declared a world heritage site in 1985 and is considered an engineering feat because it was built without any mortar--the stones were just stacked on top of each other. Read more about the aqueduct here.

Wiener Chriskindlmarkt--The Vienna Christmas Market

A few years ago, we found ourselves in Vienna during the first week of December. Despite the freezing weather, I think this is one of the best times to visit Vienna because the streets are filled with holiday cheer. It is quite an experience specially for us who live on the other side of the globe.

Spain Roadtrip

Our itinerary: Start in Barcelona and finish in Madrid

One of the highlights of 2010 for us was a 6-day road trip of Northern Spain with 5 other couples 

right after a conference in Barcelona. 

What's great about traveling in a group of savvy travelers is the shared responsibility of arranging the trip. Our "couple assignment" was to arrange transportation for 12 people. The foodie couple was in charge of researching the restaurants, another couple in charge of booking them, and  the-most-particular-about-hotel-couple was choosing and booking the hotels.

I Am Love

I've been so busy with local-ongoings that I've been keeping in touch with the world out there through the internet and blogs. One of my favorite local blogs, Chuvaness, keeps me abreast with the latest that's happening in the local scene.  The author of the blog, Cecile, is smart and witty, and she has about 20,000 to 30,000 readers a day--approximately 29,980 more than mine!

10 Fun Things for Kids to do in Honolulu!

My friend Anna is in Honolulu with her family and three little daughters 

so I'm listing the ten things my girls like to do when we're there. 

My girls are now 8 and 9.  

Honolulu is not about flash and theme park glitz. 

I love Honolulu because it has that relaxed "retro" feel of simpler days when all one needed 

to soothe the soul was great weather, nature, and fresh air. 

But while the adults are soaking up the "relax" vibe, kids might be getting antsy. 

Here is a list of ten unplugged things for them to do in Honolulu.

Lunch in St. Francis' town, Italy

We arrived in Assisi at lunch time, and headed straight to Ristorante San Francesco right in front of the church. With its fabulous location, it's probably a very touristy restaurant.

The Peninsula, Shanghai vs. the World Expo

Luxurious was the word.  The air-conditioned lobby was a welcome intermission  between the events of the day, a perfect break from the heat and humidity outside. And even if you can't really compare it to the bigger and more impressive lobbies of its sister properties in Hong Kong or Manila, it was quite sufficient. In the evening, the public areas are all nicely lit. Whoever designed this hotel has a thing for low key lighting and I believe it makes all the difference.

No Blogspot from Shanghai

We just got back from Shanghai.  Perhaps it's because of the Shanghai World Expo that just opened in May, but it seemed like everyone and their grandmother was in Shanghai!

 

 At Xin Tian Di, after dinner stroll

We had dinner on a Thursday evening at a restaurant in a mall beside Xin Tian Di, the famous leisure street. It was quite crowded for a Thursday night-- but it was nothing compared to the crowd the next day at Nanjing road, the pedestrian shopping street. It didn't help that it was also extremely hot at 38 degrees, so it wasn't very comfortable to be walking the streets with the crowd. The only other time I was in Shanghai was in March some 8 years ago, and the weather was much more pleasant than it was now.

The Floors at the Vatican Museums

I'd been to the Vatican Museum a couple of times in the past: once as a teenager when my parents took the whole family to Europe, and then again when I was in college, on a month-long art course to Italy.

Sitio Remedios, Ilocos Norte

Last summer the family drove up north from Manila to Ilocos. A ten-hour drive. We prepared the kids by saying the trip was as long as a plane ride to Hawaii, but easier since we could stop along the way. They were happy with that, brought a ton of books in the car with us,  and behaved all throughout the trip! We stayed in Vigan, but also visited Laoag all the way up to Pagudpud stopping by all the little towns in between.

How to Get to the Paris Flea Market

When I first started researching on how to get to Les Puces de Saint-Ouen (the flea markets at St. Ouen) I came across a few online stories  and one in particular that went  "we didn't see any antiques, just a lot of leather jackets, junky sneakers, clothing from China, so we turned back"!  If I wasn't prepared, I would've also gotten disappointed. I'll show you what you'll see before you get to the "pot of gold" at the end of all the stalls.

Get on the number 4 train--magenta line on the Metro map--towards Clignancourt. No need to worry which stop to get off  because you want to get to the END of the line. So sit down, make yourself comfortable and try not to look too much like a tourist. ( Check out how to use the Paris Metro)

 Your view as you emerge from the Metro Stop. Cross the street!

When you get out of the Metro stop, you will have to cross a street to get to where the stalls are. This is already part of the flea market, but NOT the flea market you're expecting.  Walk through all these stalls selling knock-off sneakers, sweatshirts, gloves, etc. Walk straight on, one loong block.

You'll have to walk through stalls like this. Resist the urge to even take a peek, it will be a waste of precious time.

 Photo from here.

Then you will come to this, an elevated highway. Cross under it and you're almost there.   (A regular poster on the Fodor's online travel boards  posted up a whole bunch of photos of his day at the flea market. Check it out here.)

Finally you will reach Rue des Rosier. Turn left.

You are now in the main artery of the flea market, from which all the individual markets branch out. There are over 2000 vendors in 12 markets here. To your right you will see an  entrance  to the Vernaison market. Vernaison is only one of twelve markets, but this is the place you will probably pick up bric-a-brac or smaller souvenirs. Paul Bert and Serpette are favorites of interior designers--bigger furniture, chandeliers, etc.

Voila, you are at Vernaison! Lot of vendors with amazing stuff.

Stay the course, you will be richly rewarded!

Each of the markets has it's own map, displayed somewhere near the entrance of the market. You can also get a copy of the flea market map from any vendor. They will be more than happy to hand one to you.

You would have walked from the bottom right of this map, up until Rue des Rosiers.  Vernaison is the first antique market you'll see, it's the triangle in the map. Photo from here.

When I first saw this map, it didn't mean anything to me. I couldn't imagine how huge the flea market was. You really have to be there in person to get your bearings and relate it to the map. Now I look at the map above and know exactly where to go next time!

Check out Theadora Brack's flea market tips. She also recommends visiting Port de Vanves in the morning, and then taking a cross city bus all the way to Clignancourt in the afternoon, a wonderful full day at the fleas. Make sure to start early!