Christmas with Family in the Philippines (2)

To continue the Christmas celebration,

my sister and sister-in-law were busy preparing food for lunch...

Most of us can't wait to try these home-made goodies :)

All set, family pictorial first...

Home-made ham, roast beef, corned beef, and ground meat (embutido)

Pork finely chopped (sisig), Koren Barbecue, Shrimp, and Sweet and sour fish

Fruit salad, macaroni salad, mix of brocolli and cauliflower salad,

and best of all my favorite cheese cake

After the blessings and champaigne, here we are - munch, munch...

Then, gift giving and receiving...

we have lots of Santa Claus in our family :)

The most awaited part, raining of coins ...

followed by paper bills, I can no longer run that fast and still I got almost

a thousand pesos :)... tiring but most of all it's fun!

Late in the afternoon, time to visit dads...
 He left us 9 years ago today (January 8).

We love you daddy!

Another memorable Christmas for everyone!

Luscious Saturday

Our Weekend Memoirs
Ruby Tuesday
My World Tuesday

Three Days Visit to Madrid, Spain

July 13, Sunday

We arrived in Madrid Barajas Airport @ 13:30 (2 hours flight from Paris). As soon as we arrived, (being a Filipino)I immediately grasped the signs around...

The place is full of churches (like every corner has one!). Aside from churches, there’s nothing much to see, except their plazas and museums. Maybe out of Madrid, like Santiago or Barcelona, we even thought of watching bull fight, but tickets were sold ahead of time (for at least a month)!

see the churches' steeple

plaza del sol and plaza de espana

the famous plaza mayor

with classmates Melinda (Romania) and Sophia (Taiwan)

@ Centro de Arte Reina Sofia

looking at these "still act", life, indeed, is hard...

need to be talented in order to earn...

What I enjoyed most was their food…hmmm….

Think of “paella” (the authentic taste), churos dip in cocoa (chocolate)…

and the like!

yum... yum...yum...

ham museum and restaurant

The only thing I didn’t try is “creo diaz”… since there’s a story about this, I will never, never look for it next time…( I already told the story to some of you he-he-he).

More of Madrid

♥My World Tuesday♥

Some Sweet Goodies

Actually, we tried some of the chocolates displayed here in Harrods... well, they're good but I won't spend much money for expensive chocolates :) I bought some fruit teas, and I think the prices are reasonable.

 Here's the place, we're only allowed to take photos in this area:

Cake collection...

Chocolates...

More chocolates...

more fancy chocolates

Just a glimpse of Harrods...

♥My World Tuesday♥
Window Views and Doors too

Exploring London in Few Days

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, For there is in London all that life can afford.”
– Dr. Samuel Johnson 1707-1784

First Day
We left Newry County, Northern Ireland by 1pm for Heathrow London. We stayed  in the newly opened Travelodge in Terminal 5.

Terminal 5 just opened, it was a mess,
it's in the news all over London!

The first thing we did, we visited and studied the London Underground, known as the “tube”. It’s the oldest metro system in the world, built in 1863. It will connect to 270 stations in greater London. We often get the off peak ticket, cheaper and can use for a day, no matter how many times you take the tube.

We had dinner at one of the Chinese Restaurant, no choice! hahaha!

Second Day

We went to Taiwan Representative Office for Mister's visa (back in Taiwan), near Buckingham Palace. Just right in front of their office is Victoria Train Station, it's one of the starting point of "Hop on Hop off Tour" for city sightseeing. It's also included Thames River Cruise. Ticket is also valid 24 hours.It was sunny, windy, and chilly! Here are some photos taken on that day:

St. Paul's Cathedral

Westminster Abbey

St. Margaret's Church

Big Ben - sign post for the Houses of Parliament

Tower of London

Tower Bridge (known as London Bridge)

British Airways London Eye

@ Travalgar Square

Third Day

It was raining, we hop around in some places like Buckingham Palace, Leicester Square, British Museum (closed that day!), and just went to Harrods (one of the famous stores). We bought snacks, chocolates, and some fruit teas. Yes, it's very expensive place!

We  wanted to watch Lion King or Wicked ( tickets were sold out!) Anyways, we just booked our trip for Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath for the following day.

My World Tuesday
Outdoor Wednesday