Cologne Cathedral, Germany

I miss Germany! I mean I miss Cologne! Just kidding folks.. I had the pleasure to visit one of the most liberal cities in Germany and that is Cologne (Köln in German). In fact, I was there twice already. This is the fourth largest city in Germany. Berlin, Germany's capital city is the largest one, followed by Hamburg, then Munich.

There are a lot to see and experience in Cologne. You must visit Cologne Cathedral when you are there. It is the most famous sight of the city. When you go out from Cologne's Haupbahnhof (main train station), you can immediately take a sight of Cologne Cathedral. It is just a few steps from there.

Cologne Cathedral is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture. It is also included in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is considered to be Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day. You can find inside The Shrine of the Three Kings.

This is the interior of the Medieval east end, showing the extreme height. Such and amazing architecture. I took these images during my second visit last August 2010.

The Cologne Cathedral, known in German as Kölner Dom. Its official name is Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria, called in English s High Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Mary.

Beautiful Day!

How was your first day of the month of March? Yes, we are now in the third month of the leap year 2012. It was indeed a beautiful day for me today. You know why? I was quite busy with a lot of things offline. I did some cooking today and I also cleaned the house plus a little organizing. I need to do it before I will be away to Spain in over a week from now. Besides it makes me feel good when I accomplish a lot of things in a day.

I also attended a goodbye party and it was quite a wonderful time meeting old and new friends. The restaurant where we went to was good. The menus were cheap. That is probably the reason why there are always a lot of people there. I just cannot see a music wire and I never heard a music playing on the radio or on Television. Most of the restaurants I went to have music or TV inside. I guess we really don't need it tonight because the noises of over a hundred of people who were inside there tonight were already too loud. The most important is, everybody had a great time and they enjoyed the party and the food.

Today was just a lovely and beautiful day. I hope you had a great one too! Off to bed earlier tonight. I need to wake-up early tomorrow for another escapade. Take care folks!

Today is a Leap Day

Don't you know that today is called a Leap Day? I believed most of you know that February 29, 2012 is a leap day. It is simply because 2012 is a leap year. Before I forgot, let me take the chance to greet all birthday celebrants for today since their birthday only happens every four years. I believed this day is very special for those who are celebrating their natal day. Of course they can still celebrate their birthdays even when it is not a leap year. The only thing is, they have to choose either February 28 or March 1 or any day they wish to celebrate their birthdays.

Special birthday greetings to my former bank colleague, Nelrose. I can still remember that day in 1994 when I first started to work in one of the biggest bank in the Philippines and met awesome colleagues including Nelrose. There was a birthday party at the bank because it was her birthday. I wish all birthday celebrants today a happy and blessed one. All the best to all of you and may God showered all His blessings to you all!

Back to the main topic..In Gregorian calendar, February 29 is known as a leap day. It is a date that occurs only every four year like in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. You have to know that years that are evenly divisible by 100 do not contain a leap day, with the exception of years that are evenly divisible by 400, which do contain a leap day; thus 1900 did not contain a leap day while 2000 did.

I hope you are all having a wonderful month of February. Lastly, I want to wish everyone a more bountiful and blessed month of March!

A Day of Sightseeing in Vernazza, Italy

It is almost a year now since our last visit to this town. It was only a day sightseeing in villages of Cinque Terre and Vernazza is one of those charming villages we visited that time. Vernazza is a village in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northwestern Italy. From our hotel in Pietra Liguria, it took us over two hours with the bus going to this area in La Spezia. It was quite a long trip but it was worth it seeing the beauty of this place in Italy.

we were on our way to the train station in Vernazza to go back to Levanto where our bus was waiting for us.

The Church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia, circa 1318. Unique for its east facing entryway. It has a nave and two aisles, with an octagonal bell tower rising from the apse area, and is located in the town's main square Piazza Marconi.

Countdown to Spain

It seems that the last weekend of February is about to end. I hope you are having a lovely one and currently enjoying the last hours of the weekend. I believed I do despite being so busy with a lot of things especially doing offline jobs. It is challenging for me.

I was reminded today of my countdown to Spain when I received an email from Iberia airlines reminding me that there are changes in my flight schedule. After checking it and confirming of the new schedule, I guess I am good with it now. In fact I already started to pack my luggage today. There are still some things I need and I am good to go.

14 days more and I will be visiting Spain again. There are a lot of things I miss in that country...the food, the travel experiences, the fun, etcetera. I hope this time, I have more chance to explore especially Madrid, its capital city. This is not really a full travel but at the same time I will be working for sometime to partially finance my trip. I am quite excited with it. I know I will be learning some things in this trip. I also agree that I will have the chance to know more about the the culture, customs and traditions of the Spaniards since I will be staying there for 6 long weeks. Let's see what life would bring me there. I am quite sure I will be gaining more experiences not only with the country itself but the people as well.

I am wishing myself a good luck! Have a nice week in advance to everyone!

The Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain during our trip last December 2011.

Watching Live Bands in Fremont Street, Las Vegas

I can still remember those nights when we watched live band concerts and other shows in Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was really awesome. The sound system they used and the microphones of the lead singers of the bands were so powerful. It made their voices more amazing. I thought I was only dreaming but I was truly there.

You can watch the performances of the live bands at the LED display canopy in Fremont Street Experience. It was so far the biggest LED canopy I ever saw. You can also watch some shows at FSE for free and I am quite sure you will surely enjoy it. Fremont Street is the second famous street after Las Vegas Strip. Never miss visiting this area when you are in Vegas.

The Binion's hotelin my background in Fremont Street Experience. You can also see that big LED display canopy in this snapshot. It is better to visit here at night. I got a bag full of souvenirs from Las Vegas. I truly had a great time during my vacation there.

The Louvre Pyramid and Museum in Paris

Paris! Paris! The dream city of many. I thought I can only see it in postcards, in television or in the internet. The dream and wish of visiting one of the fabulous and megacities in the world came into reality. I was in Paris twice already and I always love it there.

One of the sights we visited was the Louvre museum, one of the most largest museums in the world. It is also considered as the most visited art museum in the world. I was inside this museum but some hours of visit inside is still not enough to see everything. I am happy and contented to see the painting of Monalisa inside this museum.

The glass pyramid which is one of the entrances in the Louvre Museum. This was taken during my second visit last August 2010.

Visit To Disneyland, California

It's been almost four years now since my first vacation to the United States of America. It was a long two months holiday. One of the places we visited was Disneyland, California. It was quite a long drive from Las Vegas to California but it was worth it. I can't exactly remember which of the disney hotels we stayed that time but I can only remember that it is located near Disneyland. We also had a big room in that hotel. I enjoyed a lot our visit to Disneyland. I felt like going back to my childhood days when I was there. It is over now but the memories and the wonderful experience I had in Disneyland, California always remains.

Here is one of the snapshots I took during our visit last 2008. I hope to be backed there again this year....in God's will!

Night Walk in El Albayzin, Spain

It was so far a very memorable night walking in El Albayzin. This is a district in Granada in Andalusia, Spain. After our whole day of sightseeing in Granada including the famous Alhambra, we also took the chance to have a night sightseeing in this village.

We walked to the narrow winding streets of this Medieval Moorish past. I remembered some orange trees along the streets and I was fascinated with it. As we stopped under one of the orange trees, I asked one of our tour guides named Lothar if we can eat the fruits of the trees. He picked-up three oranges and gave it to us but he said that we cannot eat it because those were wild ones and taste very bitter and sour.

El Albayzin is located on a hill facing the Alhambra. From the Church of Nicolas, you can have a spectacular view of the palace of Alhambra. It is quite romantic when your loveone or a special someone go walking with you in this part of Granada while watching the lighted Alhambra during the night. At the same time breathing the fresh Spanish air on this hill while chit-chatting with each other. I just remember the beautiful book written by Washington Irving, due to his love for Alhambra. It is entitled The Tales of Alhambra. I love that book.

I am quite sad because I cannot get good images of the lighted Alhambra that night because I don't still have a zoom lens for my Canon SLR camera. Probably in my next visit I can already take some good pictures because I finally have a zoom lens.

After that night sightseeing, we also had the chance to witness some Flamenco dances in this village. While watching the dancers, we were sipping the wine served to us which was included in that trip. It was overall a very wonderful day and night in Granada. I love this city and I am glad that I will be visiting Spain again very soon. It will be a 6-weeks trip and most of the time I will be staying in Madrid. Anyone wants to have a coffee with me? Just kidding folks. I am actually glad to see some college schoolmates and friends who live and work in Spain's capital city.

The countdown begin. See you soon Spain! I am truly missing you!

Among the sights to visit here are Granada's archeological museum, the Arab bath complex and the church of San Salvador, built on the remains of a Moorish mosque.

some houses in El Albayzin. from afar you can see spectacular view of the lighted palace of Alhambra.
El Albayzin was declared a world heritage site in 1984, along with the more famous Alhambra.

We were there last Thursday, December 8, 2011. I love Granada!

Bali Holiday Packages

Are you still searching for a place to spend your holiday this year? Do you want to stay in one of the best islands in the world that is also considered as a paradise by many? If you want to spend a somewhat-like exotic vacation, the answer to your question might be getting one of those Bali holiday packages at great and affordable prices. The best thing for you to do is to simply move your mouse and browse to the different travel sites online that offers the best deals on the internet. I am quite sure you can find a good deal that best fit your budget.

Depending on the type of vacation you want, you can always spend it in Bali. Whether it is a family vacation, relaxation on the beach, sightseeing tour, shopping, sports and adventure, water activities or maybe partying or nightclubbing, you can have everything in Bali.

Sunset in Bali, Indonesia.

Visiting Kuta for example will give you the chance to go shopping or enjoy a night life. It is the most famous tourist resort area on the island of Bali in Indonesia. If you love scuba diving, the perfect sites for you to go are the Crystal Bay, Ped and Manta Point. If you want to experience a unique sightseeing tour, you can go for a Bali Marine Walk where you can experience the underwater world. The Elephant Safari which is best-known of all the tours in Bali can also be a great experience. If you love to visit museums, an Ubud tour might be the perfect one for you.

For those who are looking for a vacation with the whole family, Bali is a perfect place to holiday with the kids. There are a lot of family resorts located in the southern tourist regions like in the beach area from Kuta up to Legian and Seminyak.

Start planning your holiday to Bali now. I am quite sure, you will have a memorable and wonderful one in this part of Asia!