Luca's Cucina Italiana & Lodge

I’m fully aware I’m one of the last to know of this Italian-owned resort at the edge of Puerto Galera known for its good food and hospitality. I heard about it in 2007 but didn’t get to visit until 2013. It’s fairly easy to get there: drive to or board a bus to Batangas Port, take a ferry to Talipanan then walk to the resort or take a ferry to Puerto Galera proper (Sabang) or White Beach then take a multi-cab or tricycle to Talipanan. It all depends on the schedule of the ferry and its destination. The boats are very frequent.

Just like most of the resorts in Puerto Galera, Luca’s is very rustic with wooden or bamboo furniture inside and the bedsheet is often the floral type coming in spring or ice cream colors. The rooms though are far from basic. Each has cable TV, refrigerator, en suite shower with hot water, and air condition that we actually kept on during the entire duration of our stay even if there were windows to let the sea breeze in. During our first visit, our room had about 4 double beds but during the recent visit, we had a double and a single one inside the room. While we always had a beachfront room, rooms at the end of the hall are also available.

With logistics out of the way, what appeals to me about Luca’s is the fact that it is a seclude place to chill. My two visits were in November, on a long weekend, but it was not crowded at all. It’s at the edge of a cove so there are no passersby and it’s quiet. The beach is very clean and there are chairs to lounge at  and also enough space to just lay out your mat and bake under the sun. If you’re into water activities, resort staff can always arrange snorkeling or paragliding. As for me, I was there to relax instead of be active.

Locks at Pont de l'Archevêché in Paris

The Archbishop's bridge or Pont de l'Archevêché is one of the bridges that tourists have latched love locks onto in Paris for years.  Of recent times, moves to prohibit love-locking on Parisian bridges on grounds that they might collapse and are harming the environment from the rust that goes to the wire mesh and the keys thrown into the Seine have become louder. 

Luckily, on our trip to Paris last year, we were able to do our own cliche gesture at the Pont de l'Archevêché. It's more picturesque for me with the Notre Dame behind and a few blocks away, we were already perusing books at Shakespeare and Company. I'm not proud to be a possible pollutant or to be as common as a typical tourist but hey, it's not common to be in Paris with your partner too. 

Comfortably single or coupled or even undecided, I hope you're spending this Valentine's weekend just the way you want. In my case, I will be happy not to be stuck in traffic! 

Solitude in San Sebastian, Spain

It was a time in my life where I was always in Spain and enjoyed promoting Spanish tourism. A long, complicated and arduous project concluded that week and I was in dire need of a holiday. I thought why not go to Madrid and hang out with my friend Olivia? Visit Seville and see the hometown of my spiritual adviser. It would be a good idea to meet the family of our business partners in Salamanca too. But for me? Truly, the trip for myself was visiting the Basque country, specifically San Sebastian and Bilbao. 

Then and now, I still have a split personality of being torn between food and development (I thought it was called government and politics when I was younger). Pais Vasco appealed to me on two fronts. First, my curiosity about its autonomous government and concerns about ETA - an armed nationalist separatist organization that then sought independence from Spain aside from its earlier function of just promoting Basque culture. Second, related to culture, is the food. There's tapas and then there's pintxos - the cornerstone of northern Spain's culture - differentiated from tapas because everything is held together on a spike with the bread opposed to just small plates as it is with tapas. 

So there I was after Prague, Madrid, Seville, and Salamanca, on a train by myself to Donostia-San Sebastian. It was a trip without plans except to rest and enjoy. I only had a hotel booked and didn't even arrange for transfers. Travelling solo was not novelty or cool to me. It was simply no big deal. I used to believe that if I wait for a companion to do something, I'll never get around to doing it. 

To get our geographical bearings in order, San Sebastian is a coastal city in the Basque country of Spain, about 12 miles to the French border around the Atlantic ocean. In several occasions, it took turns with Gipuzkoa as the capital.  Its iconic landmark is La Concha bay (shaped like a shell) and my hotel was right before you reached Igueldo, which was a great place to see the rest of the bay. 

I was aware San Sebastian is one of the cities with the highest concentration of Michelin stars per capita but I didn't make reservations for any. After my walking and bus tours, I just moved from one bar to another, having a pintxo or two, leaving trails of table napkins and toothpicks on the floor as it is done in Spain. Unlike Madrid, I also saw a lot of shops and bars selling bacalao (dried cod) in so many ways too. Such a pity I couldn't bring home slabs of bacalao that my mom could cook so well!

VVG Bistro in Taipei

Right across VVG Something is VVG Bistro which Grace Wang opened much earlier. Despite confessing that she's got no restaurant experience prior to opening the bistro, she has certainly succeeded in creating an inviting space that meld the outdoors in. 

Upon entry, you'll see the mixed furniture inside the sunroom surrounded by plants. Inside, you'll discover that you can choose from couches, long wooden tables for groups, and smaller round tables. VVG Bistro is much bigger than the bookstore and more bright and airy. It easily is a space to hang out with friends over a meal or dessert or just get lost in solitude reading a book. The interiors give a rustic shabby chic vibe in the French countryside. (Apparently Grace Wang was inspired by French Laundry's Thomas Keller too.) 

VVG Something in Taipei

I like to read and write but definitely not as much as my friends K and J. I went to Taipei on holiday for the food but not for the bookstores. But my friends were keen to feed both the belly and the mind. And so it wasn't enough just to visit Eslite (the 24 hour bookstore)  and have truffle fries with a view of Taipei 101. We also went to VVG Something. 

Located at the area of Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT station, it's easy to get lost on the way to VVG Something. The entire neighborhood is surrounded by other little shops and residences that make you so curious you'd make a sudden turn to an alley and you're lost. But it was also how we realized that the people of Taipei are truly kind. While asking for directions, one immediately took out his smart phone, got the website and called the shop and walked us right to where we needed to be. 

Owned by Grace Wang, VVG simply means very, very good.  Her philosophy is to find what is good in life and find products that embody it. Once you get over the colorful plants and flowers outside and the pretty red doors, it's easy to feel helplessly drawn in and way harder to get out. 

At the center of the shop, which really just looks like a medium-sized L-shaped room is a massive table full of books. On sale are books on art, travel, design, and culinary that would make anyone go crazy with the hard-to-find English titles. Seeing the spread forces you to immediately wonder if you can afford it and if you still have enough weight allowance to bring it all home. Thinking back, they remind me of shops in Berlin and Hamburg too.

Choose to Go

choose to go
go where no one has gone before
where no one else will go today
you can go in search of answers
only to find more questions
you might discover something unfamiliar
half way around the world
or uncover something unexpected
far closer to home
sometimes you might need to look back
to see how you got here
and where you might be headed
and just when you think your journey's reached an end
you'd be surprised to find it's only just beginning
but you'll keep going
because it's your journey
wherever it goes

La Relais de Chambesy in Geneva

A compatriot invited me for lunch today and despite my strict penchant for observing the usual one hour lunch, R suggested we dine at a bistro 3-5 minutes away from Palais des Nations, which took longer than average (but still within the typical P-staff lunch duration).

Boarding the V bus right in front of ICRC, we got off right in front of La Relais de Chambesy. Reservations were made (as is customary in Geneva for peak hours) indoors thanks to the silver morning sky but as the sun came out, a table was offered at the veranda.

Talking about Philippine politics and wondering why the poor are not reaping the benefits of the supposedly growing Asian tiger, R suggests that Filipinos who have lived abroad, who are exposed and appreciate the efficient and effective ways of the developing world should lead and be the ones in office. R said people like me, educated abroad, young and still capable to do something.

I retorted, "what about your type?" That means you should come home now instead of waiting for retirement. Come home when you're able-bodied and can still act on your ideas.

Fete de la Musique in Geneva

Geneva often gives the impression that it is boring and quiet. I actually quite agree but not when you know where to go and when summer is here. Geneva completely shows its other face. 

June 21 marks the summer solstice and the start of summer, and there's no better way to celebrate it than with three days of Fete de la Musique! Yes, three days!!!

Fete de la Musique started in 1982 when then French Cultural Minister Jack Lang heeded the suggestion of his Director for Dance and Music to bring people to the streets. Quoted as saying, "the music everywhere, the concert nowhere," the Fete was officially conceived. 

Happening all over the world, the Philippines is no stranger to the Fete. I grew up enjoying the various kinds of music when it used to be held at different stages around El Pueblo. I remember it to be just one evening but would last until dawn. Then all of a sudden, it stopped. I think the last time I went was when the French Embassy brought in a French gypsy trio to perform at the tent in Sofitel. But I heard it's been back in some form or another in recent years. 

But back to Geneva.

Croix Rousse Market in Lyon

If you've been reading  earlier entries from this blog, you would know my unrealized aspiration to take up culinary school. In an effort to test the waters, I enrolled for a class at Plum Lyon last month. The course started with a walk up to Croix Rousse and Lucy Vanel telling us the rich history of the area from its silk roots to how instrumental it was in changing the Lyonnaise cuisine but also how the neighborhood adapted through the decades. For more of Lucy's stories, also check out her blog. 

From reading this blog, you'd also notice I love farmer's markets - the real farmer's markets. Mind you, I always thought that only artisan products were sold in real markets but I was wrong. Lucy said there are three types of market sellers. First, are those that sell one product alone. Let's say they just sell apples that they grow themselves and perhaps add a few other products made from the apples like jam and such. The second type would be selling specific kinds such as vegetables, fruits, meat or whatever except that they are still all from the region's farms and also are products of the season. Then the third category are those that sell imported products from elsewhere. That's why you see pineapples on fruit stands too.

The Balcony of Geneva: Mont Saleve

Geneva's local mountain called Mt. Saleve is actually in France.

It's what you see that resembles the Table Mountain when you're at the Vieille Ville. You get more than just the world's longest bench. You get a view of Mt. Saleve too. 

But don't fret. It's not that far. 

It's actually just about 20 minutes by bus from Geneva's city center on a few of TPG's buses (8,34, 41, 44). From the last stop, which is Veyrier Douane, you need to walk about 15-20 minutes through the village until you reach the customs border. Landmarks include a little square with a few cafes and a church. The way is marked with arrows towards "Telepherique du Saleve." It's bit of a maze crossing a railway and a parking lot but with good weather, the walk would be a leisurely one, with the cable car wires always in sight like the star in Bethlehem. 

5 Things to do in Annecy, France

Annecy and the lake named after it are located in Southeastern France, strategically situated in the Haute-Savoie department of the Rhone-Alps region. That means you get Alpine views, revel in nature's wonders gliding over its spectacular landscape, swim or do sports you fancy by the lake, hike til your legs hurt, and enjoy the pleasures of a little French town and all its former glory. 

It has its character not just because of its location but because of its rich history. It used to be the capital of the county of Geneva (no wonder Geneva still feels like a village!!!)  until it became part of the House of Savoy. Catholic bishops moved their seat to Annecy after Geneva became taken over by Calvinism too. 

I've been to France a couple of times before but it was always just Paris. Yup, yes, I wrote it. Just Paris. And I never became fond of Paris. But visiting Annecy made me realize and appreciate that there's more to France than Paris. To experience France, you must see its different regions, to taste the local cuisine, learn its history, and experience what you see in the movies - the way of life - a quality way of life. 

We visited Annecy at a time it wasn't sure whether summer was taking over or spring just wanted to stay a few weeks longer. But despite the weather, I finally understood why Genevois always say, go to Annecy. So here are my few suggestions on what to do:

Salon du Livre 2014, Geneva

I love books but I haven't really given it much attention through the years. Perhaps it's because I often live in different places and I do not want to carry hard copies together with all my other stuff. I am also a bit of a cheapskate because I do not even buy e-books and there's plenty of reading material online. But most of the time, there is nothing better than leafing through the pages of a book. Even better if it's one of those hardbound versions.

So it was with so much delight  in my transient life that a couple of weeks ago, Geneva had its Book and Press Fair at Palexpo. Thankfully, I got in for free when I presented my student card. Gotta love Europe for student perks! (I'm done with school but had an ISIC issued. It's very useful!)

Kaempff-Kohler in Luxembourg

We had the pleasure to be hosted by the National Tourist Board of Luxembourg right before Easter. After the pleasantries at the city tourist office, we were whisked away to the closest and apparently highly recommended cafe, Kaempff-Kohler along Rue du Cure for the initial meeting for more discussions. Apparently, Luxembourgish both love their pastries and their cheese, especially with their own wine. So we were made to choose: we chose cheese and wine.

So there we were at the fromagerie- bar a vin, with our cheese board and local white wine. Unlike a true food connoisseur, I couldn't note all the types. All I knew we were in cheese heaven. But two actually stood out, the cheese stuffed with truffle (you see the striped one on the edge of the board) and a local cheese soft cheese called Kochkaese, literally cook's cheese in the tiny bowl. It wasn't one of the fancier ones in the spread but I truly enjoyed it (aside from the truffle) because it was my first time to try it and because I rarely saw it in the German parts I lived at and here in Geneva. Must really check out specialty cheese chops here too. 

Max Hostel, Bonn

I had to be in Bonn over a week ago for a meeting and opted to arrive early because there seemed to be no way to appreciate the former German capital just arriving lunchtime on day 1 and leaving right after lunch the next day. After several searches, it seemed it was either upscale proper hotels for moneyed professionals or absolute student standard housing.  

With my current situation, staying at a hostel was my best option. I think the reason why I am open to hostels is because I have generally had a good time at a number of hostels. Some of them even went beyond my expectations! That's where Max Hostel in Bonn comes in. 

Bonn in Pink

I was in Bonn for a quick meeting last week and was pleasantly surprised. I arrived a day earlier than my meeting and just chose extra accommodation close to the center - walking distance from the Hauptbahnhof. Little did I know it was in Altstadt lined with cherry blossom trees in full bloom!

Absolutely "when the ordinary has been extraordinary all along" moment!

A Winter Walk in Volksdorf

Yesterday, 16cm of snow fell over Hamburg. Here are a few of my pictures of my morning and afternoon walk around Volksdorf. These pictures do not do it justice - it was just so beautiful! The sun shining high, the snow against tree branches. Walking through all of it felt like I was in a Disney movie with my hood and all! There were times I was the only one around, sometimes, there were dogs, sometimes, there were kids.

Last weekend in Hamburg

Here are some snaps from my walk around the surroundings of Hamburg's Rathaus.

I began my walk with fish and chips from Daniel Wischer - just 5 euros! 

It always melts my heart when old people have to work or even beg for money. 

One can always count on Vero Moda 

Oh yes I was! 

I've been going LEFT and it's been so good! 

Wall to wall

Hamburg is <3 p="">

Alessi was on sale! Thank God I don't have luggage space. Or maybe I come back for something tiny?

Black and white

Naval theme everywhere

Reeperbaaaaahn!

My last stop. Streit's is an experience. 

Little Ethiopia, Cape Town

Personal collection as usual

One Friday evening, my friend S and I opted to have dinner at Little Ethiopia. It was recommended by our Ethiopian classmate as the better restaurant than the other one nearby. After a few turns from Long Street, we found the hole-in-the-wall eatery along Shortmarket street. One wouldn't even notice it as it was small and narrow. On a good day, one could dine al fresco too.

It wasn't full yet so our food arrived quickly. We opted to share a big platter with a little of everything. My dear friend from Botswana was equally to hungry to remember and figure out each viand in our big, big platter. All I remember was that everything seemed so delicious with the ingera, the white sticky bread (like pita but gooey) that we ate with the stewed meat and vegetables. There was a wash basin within the restaurant and enough tissue paper, which was very helpful because one would inevitably use one's fingers. 

My advice: come with an appetite and an open mind. If I were to return to Cape Town, I'm definitely eating there again and will bring more friends! 

Little Ethiopia, 76 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town. Tel: 021 424 8254

Wochenmarkt Volksdorf

I moved to Volksforf a few weeks ago. It's a district in the Wandsbek neighborhood in the northeast of Hamburg. Literally means "people's village" and it has a very lived-in feel where families thrive in a community. It's common to see teens in bikes to and from school, elderly carrying groceries, the middle aged folks sipping coffee at a cafe with a book or an iPad.

But last Saturday, people were on the streets, specifically all over the Wochenmarkt.  As a deprived foodie, I was just thrilled to know that a lot of the food I like is sold in Volksdorf either at supermarkets (more on that on a next post) or at the weekend market. 

This is where all the thundercats are at! 

The closest to fresh fish I can ever have unless I go to the infamous fish market of Hamburg at 5am.

Top Inspiration Links

Entrance of VVG Something in Taipei - another inspiring space

Personal collection

When I need to be inspired and have a glimpse of the rest of the world, I visit a few websites that never fail. A few for travel, food, music, and some in between.  Enjoy browsing!