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Posts Tagged ‘travel’

The Palace of Sleeping Beauty!

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Did you know that the palace you see in Disneyland was patterned after a real castle? I did not know that! Well, we visited the castle that inspired Mr. Disney in my recent trip to Germany and it is called Neuschwanstein castle, around an hour and half out of Munich. The castle was created by King Ludwig II, otherwise known as the mad king. He was mad because he kept on creating these palaces all over Germany. One of the most distinguished castles he ever built was the Neuschwanstein castle.

I tested my agility by walking up to the castle. It was not easy but not that difficult. I was just happy to sneak in a bit of a work out because I knew that I would be indulging myself on this trip. At the base of the castle was a pretty tiny town that housed several stores and restaurants. There were also horse drawn carriages that had some of the heftiest horses I have ever seen! LOL!

We were having such beautiful weather.

There were sky divers jumping off the mountain. Can you see them? I wanted to do that?! It is one of my must do list!

Horse drawn carriages that would carry people up to the castle.

Nix in front of the carriages.

We found a house with a familiar name on it! The name brought a smile to my face.

Nix and Cla-Cla had to pose in front of it. LOL!

Because of the lack of time, we decided to just view the palace from the outside, we hiked some more to get a better advantage and got the best view on a hanging bridge. I was really proud of Nix because he has a bit of Vertigo and he was able to overcome his fears and get ourselves a really good photo of the castle. We did eventually get inside the castle but it was really more impressive outside. It was a beautiful clear day with brilliant sunshine so spending a day outdoors was really welcome. I wish I could spend more days like this in Manila? Enjoy the photos.

After a 40 minute trek we got close to the palace.

We trekked some more and spotted this man playing a really old string instrument.

Another angle of the castle.

It was absolutely breathtaking once we got to the peak.

Best views of the castle were on a hanging bridge.

It was like a post card! No wonder Mr. Disney was inspired.

Had to take a photo!

The German countryside.

Views from the inner courtyard. Too bad we really did not have time to go inside.

Views on the way down our walk.

It was so peaceful.

So lush and green!

HUGS!

RAJO!

Tags: Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle, travel
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OH MY MUNCHEN!

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

I have not been to Germany for what seems to be like two decades! I was really very excited for this trip! I read our host’s itinerary and it seemed so full of adventure. Good thing that flying with Singapore Airlines is luxury defined and I arrived in Munich at 6am fully rested.

I woke up and had freshly made pancakes with loads off yummy berries! Said my prayers and in a few hours landed in Munich. Our hosts were already waiting for us at the airport and had a huge bus to take us around Munich! I was so glad that I got a good night’s rest because we were hitting the ground running. First stop was an early city tour of Munich. This lovely city was heavily inspired by Italian architecture and culture. King Ludwig was so enthralled by Italy that he patterned this city around it.

Fresh Pancakes and berries for breakfast thousands of miles up in the sky!

Arrived in Munich at dawn. Liking the spare and minimal design of the airport.

I always get inspired by architecture.

Love the font!

We were almost a 40-person strong contingent from Manila!

Happy to be traveling with one of my loves Sarah Meier.

Our groovy bus!

Munich's beautiful sunrise.

Another shot! I love seeing the sunrise! I wish I had more opportunities to do so! I love sleeping in so much that I forget how beautiful the day begins. Note to self! WAKE UP EARLIER! LOL!

Passed by this amazing stadium! I wish I got to see it closer.

Zipped by the city outskirts.

Found the city trams really cool!

Found an early morning bakery and saw this baker taking a break! I LOVE THIS PHOTO!

Nix and I at the main shopping street! Happy that all the stores were closed! LOL!

Spotted this really cool building! I failed to find out what it was but I loved it!

Had to take a photo in front of it.

Wish I had the time to go inside.

Most of the city was being restored.

See the Italian influence?

Love the cobble stones textured streets.

It was such a great idea to start the tour early in the morning as there were far less people and the temperature was just amazing! I really love the cold weather and although it was already early fall, Germany was having a late summer. Take a look at my first day in Germany.

Traveling with friends Cla-Cla and our Chesa!

I have to get my hands on one of these outfits! LOL! I want one!

Munich streets!

Germany, like most of Europe, has really beautiful churches.

Had to rub this for good luck.

Had to have a photo in the main square.

Inside the church! I loved the fact that it was all white.

Passed by a gummy bear art work! LOL! Germany invented gummy bears and I had my share of it during my trip! OH DEAR!

Look a giant SIPA! LOL!

I thought this was an ingenious idea! Hanging plants like this makes the air much cleaner and better. Plus it adds a super chic ambience.

Liking the textured steel dividers.

More gothic style buildings.

So excited that Chanterelle mushrooms are in season! There were so many and the price for it was quite good!

Spotted this cool gargoyle!

Hung out in the Marienplatz area and fell in love with the facade of their City Hall.

Such a beautiful square.

This is my new friend Tomo!

Liking the side detail of this church.

The inside of another church had a more rococo/baroque feel.

I love this shot!

More Munich views.

Germany loves their Pork! Freaked out about this one but had to take a photo!

I like how clean their butcher shops are.

More pig faces! LOL!

See how clean the butcher shop is! Happy that I got to visit their market. You can really tell a whole lot about a place through their markets.

Nix and I happy to be in Munich.

Beautiful plants!

HUGS!

RAJO!

Tags: Germany, Munich, travel
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

OFF I GO!

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

I love my job! I always say this because I think it really is the best job in the world! One of the greatest perks of this job is I get to travel! If you have been following my blog, travel is a huge part of my life! I actually work so that I can travel. It is something that my parents instilled in me. Mom worked for PAL for many years, allowing us to travel at a discount and this created an insatiable desire to explore and see the world.

This trip is taking me back to Europe where I will be mainly in Germany and a few days in Paris. I am excited about this trip because the last time I was in Germany I was like 19 years old! LOL! We started our trip with a super amazing flight on Singapore Airlines! It is truly one of the best carriers in the world! I love their service and the fact that we were on Business class was indeed a blessing! Here are a few images of my recent adventure!

Our flight out of Manila was on an older plane but still had so much space.

View of NAIA! I won't dwell on the negatives of our airport but I am glad that Kenneth Cobonpue will be taking charge of giving NAIA a much needed facelift! PRO BONO! Bravo Kenneth! You're really such a STAR!

Manila views!

Manila Bay!

A nice salad to start! YUM!

Main course was shrimp and scallops! I LOVED IT!

Enjoyed my little booties!

Had a stop over in Singapore and hung out at the lounge! It was super chic!

I like the space! It was so big!

Nix was happy that the internet was strong!

I like the warm tones.

Then we took our flight! We had so much space it was heavenly!

They had all the best magazines!

I love the well designed ergonomic pods!

Happy to be here!

Had a light meal and then I just dozed off to sleep!

HUGS!

RAJO!

Tags: Singapore Airlines, travel
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Sweet Singapore Sundays and half a monday.

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

My gang and I decided that we were done with shopping and all we wanted to do was just chill out and veg. My friend Scho had the most brilliant sunday schedule.( Which apparently is her normal Sunday gig) She invited us to a delicious lunch at the Singapore Yacht Club!

: The day started out with some clouds but by mid afternoon the sun was shining! This was taken in the yacht club!

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Tags: fashion, house of laurel, rajo alurel, singapore yacht club, Tanjong Beach club, travel
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How they party in Singapore?

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

I always love to visit friends in Singapore as they really know how to have FUN! When our friends found out that we were in town they decided to throw us a party! LOL! There are so many super successful Filipino expats now living in Sing and making it their home! I mean living in Sing is a dream! Everything works and it is really how the Philippines should aspire to be.

SIngapore friends Yuen, NIx, Robby, Kiko and Scho.

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Tags: fashion, house of laurel, Kiko Dimalanta', Marc Gueco, Newton Circus, rajo laurel, Singapore, travel
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Birthday Dinner!

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

We met up with my Korean friend Justin Chul for dinner! Since it was my birthday I wanted it to be kind of special. Since we had already Korean for Lunch I was in the mood for something western. Earlier in the day I was enthralled by this beautiful store called ELBON.

This is ELBON. The address system in Korea is kind messed up so I suggest that you check their website out for more details. www.elbon.co.kr

The concept of the store was that it was divided into 3 parts. The Style which concentrated on beautiful shoes and bags. The Garden which was a roof top cocktail area and The Table which was a restaurant. The whole place oozed with chic and elan! I wanted to have dinner there.

The entrance.

ELBON=NOBLE spelled backwards, Their tagline is "for the noble in you" NAKS!

The experience was really lovely as the place was so elegant and beautifully designed. The food too looked really good but it lacked flavor and punch. My friend Justin Chul said that the Chef and the team were so young and fresh from culinary school. Meaning the food looked good and was done pretty well but it tasted very technical and boxed in. It lacked a certain kind of soul to it. None the less I had a really great time.

The open kitchen with a very young team!

The chef's uniform was looking pretty cool!

The breads were really yummy, I also liked the oil decanters.

NIx and I loving the lighting in the restaurant.

We started with an octopus and potato pancake. It was promising but it was just ok, not a home run for me.

The soup course was just plain weird It was so sweet that it tasted more like a dessert to me.

We had a beautiful looking sea food pasta that came next.

Our server presented us with a variety of salts that would enliven our main dish. there was mustard salt, rose salt, truffle salt, green tea salt and one more that I forgot. Honestly thought they kinda tasted all the same! LOL! Maybe my palette is not that sensitive?

I had a nice steak which was very tender. It was a good thing that I liked my main course. LOL!

NIx had the baby lamb and chicken combination.

This is my friend Justin Chul! He was so nice to take me and Nix out on our first night in Seoul.

Wire floral decorations in the hall way of ELBON.

The young chef who was kind of cute! LOL!

Famous pala sha?

We headed out for some drinks after in a very hip bar called MIX. There were so many cool looking people that I could not help but people watch, I adore observing people in new places and soaking up how they dress and how they put things together. This process is really inspiring for me. I cannot wait to see more of this exciting city.

We headed out for some drinks after.

Ended in this cool bar called MIX, it was nice!

Chul & Nix. Matching hair style!

The interiors of MIX.

It was a great way to celebrate my birthday! Here I am making Chul try my apple martini which was so yummy!

HUGS!
RAJO!

Tags: elbon, fashion, justin chul, korea, Nix Alanon, rajo laurel, travel
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Conquering Korea!

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Greetings from Seoul, Korea! The weather here is glorious and it is a nice break from the suffocating heat of Manila! I am happy to be here of my birthday and getting a few days of respite from Manila! I took the red-eye flight to Seoul on Korean Air.

It was my very first time to fly the carrier and I must say I am impressed! The service was really good and the attendants were so gracious! Even though I took Coach class I was still quite satisfied with the journey. Although the lines at NAIA was dreadful bordering on INSANITY! I am proud that I kept my composure!

Bored in the NAIA airport! We were lining up for like 2 hours! JEESH!

This is the view from my seat!

I love the uniform of the flight attendants! I wonder how they get the scarf to stay up that stiff! The hair pieces are also so cute! Actually the uniforms are one of the reasons why I took Korean air, I wanted to see them up close! LOL!

I loved the in-flight meal on Korean air as they had express BIBIMBAP! It is like a DIY mixed rice dish with minced meat, sprouts and a yummy chili paste. I loved it!

MY BIBIMBAP in-flight meal!

I found it amusing that they had instructions on how to eat BIBIMBAP! LOL!

The entertainment was superb! I got the chance to catch up pn my movies. The downside was I got zero sleep! Normally turning me into a ZOMBIE-like state in the next few hours!

Our Economy seats were quite comfortable! Glad that we had the bulk head seats. Korean air has one of the best In-flight entertainment ever!

The flight was effortless, I felt like in no time we were in Korea na! We zipped out of the Incheon airport in like 15 minutes and drove up to Seoul. The drive up was like an hour and 15 minutes.

Got in Korea on a cloudy day! Love the modern architecture!

The airport is so clean and efficient! SIGH!!! Kaingit!

Since we arrived at like 6 am our room was not ready yet! Meaning we had 4 hours to kill before our room would me ready! MAJOR BUMMER! Nix and I tried to have the slowest breakfast but we still had 2 and a half hours to go! We decided to head up to the Gym and find a lounge to doze off!

Walked around the Grand Intercontinental Hotel trying to kill time before our room would be ready.

A photo of the lobby! It is quite big.

By 9:30 our room was ready. However we were so tired from the journey that we took a MAJOR NAP! LOL! Got up at 2pm! By then I said to myself I gotta make a move! I do not want to spend the rest of my Birthday in BED! LOL!

FInally we got our room!

It reminded me of the rooms that I get to experience in Japan. I love the beds! It was so comfortable!

The bathroom! It was basic but cant complain as it was super malinis!

HUGS
RAJO!

Tags: fashion, korea, rajo laurel, seoul, travel
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Randomness in LA!

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

My troupe and I had a “breather” in Los Angeles before coming home! It was going to be unhealthy if we headed home straight to Manila! Imagine traveling for more than 30 hours? Hence we happily made a pit stop to LALALAND!!!! We only had one thing on our mind when we were there and that was SHOPPING!!!!! LOL! America is really a haven for shopping! They have the best priced items anywhere in the world and so we headed to favorite shopping haunts. Topping that list is COSTCO! LOL!

: The Tropa with our friend Grace Llamanzares in front of COSTCO! had to pose here because everyone wanted to go here first! LOL!

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Tags: chopping, costco, LA, rajo laurel, travel
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Last day in LIMA!

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Our whirlwind marathon across South America was coming to a close and we were determined to squeeze out more juice from our trip in our last day. Our flight home was scheduled at around 10pm leaving us with quite a number of activities to do. It was incredible how we were able to do so much in our last day. This entry is an account of our last day in South America. We could not have ended it better because we had a walking and living encyclopedia as our host/guide. His name is John Davis and the man is literally related to everyone in Peru! He is the perfect guide because he knows everyone. I loved our last day because he took us on an insiders guide to Lima.

Our fist visit was the hotel Maury where the famous Pisco sour was created! It was a nice little hotel with amazing mirrors.

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Tags: aracari, lima, Peru, rajo laurel, travel
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Incan Gold!

Monday, April 26th, 2010

After Cusco we fly back to Lima for more sightseeing and information on this amazing country called Peru! I have always been interested in Incan art and often felt a similarity with our own Philippine tribal art. We visited the Museo Numismatico del Peru which is free to the public and was so amazed by the beauty of the Incan gold!