Tag: Backpacking ballerina

Christmas in Salzburg

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Here’s a short vlog above (If you’re too lazy to read, but the blog has more input) and this blog about my experience in Salzburg on Christmas. Oh boy do I have a lot of things to talk about Salzburg. First off, this is and was my first time in Austria. I really had so much fun because of the friends that I got to meet again and the friends I was finally able to meet. After having such an honest to god very difficult year past me, I was happy to finally have this vacation with my friends and family.

So i decided to finally do this again (Which is blogging), not for any reason or to get much attention. I think when I first started the blog It had different intentions of reaching a specific audience, and now that I am much older and hopefully also wiser? (HAHA) I would like to think that my intentions to write are purely for sharing purposes of my thoughts and to help you get an idea of how one place is based on my personal experiences.

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CHRISTMAS IN SALZBURG: 

  1. Don’t forget to visit the Christmas markets and the Glühwein, also have some of the Christmas treats, sweets and the sausages (Try everything) 
    I must warn you however that the Glühwein upset my moms tummy because they used some cheap wine. Its nothing special but its definitely nice to have with your friends if you are feeling cold. But if it gives you any sign of discomfort or an upset tummy its best not to drink it.
  2. Do the Sound of Music tour even if its the cheesiest thing 
    Salzburg is definitely known for this tour, People from all over the world literally except the Austrians would do this tour. But I really wanted to do it, even if the weather was below zero and it was raining. I really enjoyed the time I had and learning about the real Von Trap family and how the escaped austria was really nice. Its pretty shocking to find out though that Austrians have never watched this movie, I take it from my 2 friends from Austria who have never even watched the sound of music. I guess its really just a tourist thing.
  3. Go to Mozart’s birthplace and the Mozart residence
    I believe that this was the best thing that I experienced in Austria. It was about learning so much about Mozart. They really do love Mozart so much and Strauss. (But still more of Mozart) I really enjoyed the history of Mozart and seeing how and where he was. I learned more about mozart on this trip, more than any book I read about him.

  4. Enjoy a stroll around the Mirabell gardens and palace
    Although I did not enjoy the history of this place, it being built for a wife of a priest or something of the sort. I did enjoy the concert that we watched here at the palace. Also most of the sound of music videos were shot here at the Mirabell gardens and it was nice to see those statues and the gardens, to walk all around the area reminds you of the ending of the video of the DO RE MI song. This is also known as a UNESCO heritage sight. Even in the winter it was quite a sight.
  5. Hear Mass at the Dom ( CHURCH)
    I wish I could tell you which Church it was, It definitely was a really big Church and I am Catholic. So on Christmas day we went to mass, my mom and I. It was a mass with a full orchestra playing all of these wonderful songs and I just never experienced anything like that. I guess when in Austria, you really get the full experience of the culture. I felt like I time slipped back into the past and fell into the time Austria was still at the peak of its music culture.

GETTING TO SALZBURG FROM VIENNA:

My best advice, just because its Christmas time, its best that you get the tickets early. We did experience a few other people coming into the trains randomly but they didn’t have any seats left for them. If you get into the train, you will see a sign on the top of each seat, the signs with the dots on them will mean that they are reserved and those without the note on the sign will mean that they are free to be seated on or used. The conductor or a conductor will check on that and you can actually also just show them that you paid for the trip even if you didn’t have that reserved seat and they will let you sit on that chair.

Lastly, take a walk around the old town! Whats terrible about Salzburg is that all the shops close so early around 5-6pm to be exact. Its really a town where tourists just visit but not stay at. We were really there for 5 days and so it was such a long time to be just in Salzburg. I would recommend around 2-3 days if you really just want to see most of everything and to do the tours around the area and you don’t have time to stay for long.

Hope you enjoyed this short blog!
Much Love,

Lina

Mission Rome

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It took a long time for me to write this, I actually travelled to Rome last October and I still remember all of my favourite sights. What surprised me though was the rich history and culture that it had. Also the secret tours and tunnels that we were able to experience, thanks to my mom. Rome has a lot to offer for those who are really interested in its rich history, its aqueducts and the cool excavation tours.

I was finally able to summarise the first half of my experience through my Vlog, I will probably just write down in my next blog, about the ballet classes I was able to take and experience in Rome. It was a really good vacation for me, and I hope to do something like this again, if my budget permits.

Its been so long since I’ve actually written on my blog, because of my crazy schedule. Compared to last year, I have a lot more pressure riding on me. Such as my soon to come board exam on October, which has been putting a lot of stress on me. I hope I find the strength and the will to keep on going and studying. While trying to keep my spirit alive by dancing.

Hoping to find time to write more again,
CIAO!

Bohol Island, Philippines

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Bohol was a hidden gem to me, home to one of my favourite Filipino actors Cesar Montano, The last time I came to Bohol i never did any of the snorkelling and dolphin watching that I was just so surprised to see the beauty of this island. We stayed at Panglao island which is what our driver said is the place where all the tourists are at. They are currently builing an international airport here to provide more jobs to the locals of the area.

Bohol was very very clean and their people are one of the nicest I have met. Their seas are very clean as well and the sights very beautiful. Here are some of the things I will suggest you do, skip the party places and learn to see the beauty of Bohol.

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1. Man made forest

This forest is called the man made forest because each graduate of Bohol is required to plant 5 trees after they graduate. Now that the forest is big they are required to plant those 5 trees anywhere around Bohol or even in their backyard.

2. Balicasag Island

I never went on the island itself but we passed by this island to snorkel on the way back to our resort after dolphin watching. The reef was great and the waters were crystal clear! Its something you’d want to do while you are in Bohol. I never expected Bohol to have some place as beautiful as this. It was almost as if we were in Palawan or Apo island and we even got to swim with 3 sea turtles. It was wonderful.

3. Chocolate Hills

Im not sure if it was as Beautiful as the last time I was here, and the tourists are AWFUL just horrible. Most especially the Korean tourists who would smoke and spit on the viewing deck. Still worth the 214 steps to climb up and see the view but nothing more than just a few moments to appreciate the hills. They turn brown during the summer when its hot and green when its the rainy season.

4. Dolphin watching

Something you should not miss! It was worth waking up at 5am to see the dolphins, even if we waited 2 hours before actually finding these dolphins it was magical and I almost wanted to jump in the sea myself to swim with the dolphins.

5. Tarsier Conservation

I didn’t like this place which was filled with Tourists, but I guess it should be your list if you would like to see a tarsier and of course each contribution helps the tarsiers and the efforts to keep them from endangerment. There is a Php 60 entrance fee for this attraction. 14281538_10210423606097386_279344192_n.jpg

I never expected Bohol to be this beautiful and it is now one of my favourite places in the Philippines next to Palawan. With a reef that beautiful in Balicasag, I was really impressed.  I was able to swim with 3 sea turtles and thats more than what I was in Dumaguete while we were at Apo Island. Also it is not as congested as Dumaguete, Bohol is really still like a province. Very quiet and a very easy going place.

The Clean Plate, UP Town center

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Thankfully UP town was open today even if it was holy week here in Manila. The Clean Plate had been on the list of my “want to try” restaurants for a few months already, but with my exams happening I couldn’t squeeze a lunch break for this blog entry. Finally today I got to try this!

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Inside where you could buy organic goods and other cute plates and things

Clean Plates displayed on a wall

The exterior of the restaurant was very fresh, there was fake grass on the ground under the cute yellow chairs and brown tables. Inside was a cute shop filled with many plates and organic bottles of things you could buy and the continuation of their restaurant. Because it is always so unusually hot every holy week here in Manila, we opted to eat inside rather than outside.

Their menu had about 7 plates average per section, and it was easy to pick what to eat. We tried the Wonton Chorizo Taquitos Php 240, Rustic Grilled Cheese Php 220, Ratatouille Pizza Plate for Php 303 and the Panna Cotta Sweet Plate for Php 100. I just found it odd that they used different designs of plates per dish they served and we all had different cup sizes. I wonder what kind of theme they were going for with the place? But I guess the owner really wanted to feature all the pretty plates that they had, hence the wall with all their plates and the name “the clean plate”.

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Wonton Chorizo Taquitos Php 240. I loved the Wonton and the Chorizo, this was pretty good considering that it was just Wonton, Chorizo, Tomatoes and cheese. (Free Range Naked Chorizo, Salsa Fresca and Bacolod Caciocavallo)

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Ratatouille Pizza Plate for Php 303, I liked this because of the many mushrooms and eggplants it had. However the lady told me that this was for single serving and I couldn’t finish the whole thing.

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Panna Cotta Php 100. I loved the taste of the panna cotta mixed with the honey and grapes. I never really tasted panna cotta with grapes, a plus for the flavor because it was made of goats milk

I wanted to try a lot of other things such as the main plates the Black Rice Valenciana, Bacon Lechon Kawali, Honey Belly Roast and the Twist Kebab. They had a lot of things on their menu which were not necessarily healthy but definitely sounded very good. On their menu it said that their beef, pork and chickens were mostly free-range or grass fed. Its definitely a place I would like to come back to despite the disappointing Rustic Grilled Cheese which looked like a pandesal which you inserted bega flat cheese into.

The Clean Plate

Facebook: The Clean Plate
UP Town Center, 2nd floor

Wing Stop, Katipunan Regis Center

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I expected too much from Wing Stop, based on its reviews. 3.5-5? Really? I could rate this place a 2 if not for the good ambiance maybe a 2.5. I could get a lot of better wings at a better price from my friends restaurant Burger Company Ph or at my favorite Sunrise buckets. You’d think that a place that only specializes in wings would have great wings right? I mean thats the only thing they serve plus some sides. So its the thing that they are expected to perfect, not to mess up.
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When we went here they had 8 people in the kitchen area and 4 people at the counter.  So I was expecting really quick service, but it still took them 20 mins to cook our food and there were only 3 tables filled. The staff though were friendly so thats a plus and another plus for the nice use of space. Since they could accommodate a lot of people.

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Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

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Lemon Pepper and Louisiana Rub, Chicken Wings

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Texas style fries, Side

So back to the food. Of course I was expecting beautiful and delicious wings. They did look good, but the flavors were just too salty for me. We got the Louisiana Rub, Garlic Parmesan and the Lemon Pepper. Chicken wings are priced at 5pcs 235php, 7pcs 325php for 2 flavors, 11pcs at 495 for 2 flavors as well and 20pcs at 875 for 2 flavors. I’m sorry but after eating at sunrise buckets where it is a lot cheaper to eat. I just have to compare the size of their wings and the flavoring. The flavor here was too salty, the lemon pepper was so oily. I got the flavor on top of the chicken cooked beautifully but very bland inside.

We also got the fries for the side the Texas style flavor. I was also expecting good fries, instead I needed more flavor and just opted to use ketchup. I also found it funny that they have ice by the counter but they don’t have water by the counter? So If you get Ice you’d give a confused look like… “Where’s the water?” This place still has a lot of room to improve. It already does have good ratings, so I guess people seem to like it. There’s no competition for good wings around   Katipunan so all they have to do now is improve their wings and service.

WINGSTOP

2/F Regis Center, Katipunan,
Open Daily 10am-10pm10743796_10205059243111664_229369025_n

Half day trips from Manila, Daranak falls Tanay Rizal

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candid moment

It was the birthday of one of my closest friends and we wanted to celebrate it outside of Manila. Somewhere new and fresh, not like Tagaytay or Subic where everyone seems to go to when they celebrate something. We left Katipunan at10383005_10204102597276116_5321219528265016163_n around 1pm and arrived there at exactly 2:15pm. We weren’t aware of where to pass so at     first we took the long way around up the mountains. Not bad since we got to see tons of beautiful scenery up the winding roads! We went straight to Marcos highway and then just followed the road. It was easy since the road was just straight and when you get to barangay Sampaloc you will see tons of signs leading you to the falls.10402972_10204102597596124_5470486164472533293_n10478226_10204102599076161_4565834178477385195_n

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New Adventures!

A small paradise near Manila. I would definitely refer anyone to try to go here since Tagaytay and all those other places are overrated. Here you could dive into clear cool waters and enjoy the scenery and the beautiful waterfalls. Mostly locals and foreigners visit Daranak falls, and it would be nice if you could try it as well. Only an hour outside of the busy city and you would only spend for the gas and the 50 pesos entrance fee and 30 pesos parking fee! Just bring your own sandwiches or snacks. The locals here are very friendly and the lifeguards kept our things safe! Definitely something you should tick off your to-go-to list. Enough with the city! Immerse yourself into nature!