I've been watching a lot of Rion Ishida's Youtube videos about Japan lately. He's the perfect local tourist guide in Japan, and I enjoy all his videos like a virtual tourist albeit I cannot smell, taste and touch the interesting food that he's been sharing with us through his videos. His day trips to Kyoto and Osaka were my favorites, and I was really fortunate to have ... READ MORE
A Cat’s Tale
Exactly 2 months ago today, I woke up to AJ's very excited voice saying that there's a cat outside our door and drinking from the water that I will use for the house plants. You see, AJ is what I call a cat whisperer and you have probably seen in our travel photos that a cat almost always find itself in the picture, being pet by AJ who else? Although I'm a big fan of ... READ MORE
Looking for the Perfect Face Mask
Like most of you here, I have bought numerous types of face masks to protect myself and others from #covid19. Wearing of face mask is mandatory here in our city, and while I am very comfortable wearing the 3-ply surgical masks, they cannot be reused and have to be disposed of immediately after wearing. At the start of #ECQ lockdown here in Manila, the supply of these ... READ MORE
Our British Food Adventure
To begin with, British food is not complicated. So drawing up our "foodie list" was the last thing we did when we were planning our UK trip in June last year. It helped too that Netflix was streaming British cooking shows such as "The Big Family Cooking Showdown" and "Million Pound Menu", and watching them gave me a good idea of what to expect in British local food. Truth ... READ MORE
Online Shopping in the Time of Pandemic
I have stopped doing online shopping for a while not because of bad experiences with sellers, but because I like to be able to actually see, hold, smell or taste the thing I'm going to buy. The multi-sensory engagement with a retail or bookstore is what makes shopping a fun thing, isn't it? I mean, who among you here doesn't enjoy stopping by a Jo Malone or Body Shop store ... READ MORE
UK Adventure Days 7 to 9: Back in London
Hello all! I hope everyone's safe and well in this pandemic time. I finally found the time and motivation to finish my UK travel diary. How time flies so quickly! Just last year we were busy touring London and Scotland, and then 9 months later this beautiful country, along with all others, closed their borders and put all stops at tourism - for people to just stay home ... READ MORE
Daddy’s Last Act of Love
It has been exactly a week since we lost Daddy. I still could not believe that he is gone. My memories of his last 21 days are still so vivid and fresh, that I still wake up confused sometimes because I knew I was with him at the hospital. For 17 days, Daddy and I stayed at the hospital as his calcium serum was found to be abnormally high. Prior to his confinement, ... READ MORE
My Birthday Week in Japan
I'm back, people! Please allow me to do a little detour from my UK travel diary (haven't started with Day 7 yet, but don't worry, matatapos na ang kwento ko dun hehe!) and write about our very recent trip to Japan - where I celebrated my 4_th birthday! That's right. I decided to celebrate my birthday abroad for a change. The idea came about after reading countless ... READ MORE
