“Life Is Beautiful “…by Miles ……

Hi and hello to all, “The secret of life isn’t just to live, but to have something worthwhile to live for. We only live once, but if we live it right, one lifetime is enough… Like birds, lets leave behind what we don’t need to carry, worries, sadness, pain, fear and regrets. Fly light..Life is beautiful… be happy all the time…… Have a happy day with my travel notes…I dont usually make or take down notes, personal journal or traveloque during my previous vacation travels in the past…. but when I retired in 2005, since I now have a stress free and relax life, I seems to have the interest in making the traveloque…I was able to create my first traveloque, with my one month USA travel last year ….. basta na-tripan ko lang to make the travel notes and sent it via email to former officemates, friends, family and relatives, while I was on the road or on my actual trip (ala reality show baga!!) with the intention of sharing my travel experiences/ information learned lessons and life’s wisdom. Hope you will enjoy the vicarious experiences and learn from it. Sana matawa at maaliw kayo !!! God Bless Miles Bernal ===================================== Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2007 13:09:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Chika Part 1 To: Hi and Cheers to all, I am back on line and keeping in touch… My dream of coming back to Europe was fulfilled, after several years, I came, I visited, and conquered Europe again, while I had a very smooth, hazzle free trip during my first visit to Europe many years ago….. this time our trip was super exciting with " ala eXtra challenge style…. here is my travel update for you…read on…… After encountering so much difficulty in our booking and reservations for our Europe tour since February of this year, my friends Mrs Mila Ciocson and Ms Fely Mendoza, (Ms Fely was my travel companion in my travels to China and USA last year…) finally made it to Europe. we availed of the Insight Vacation Package tour called " European Discovery" its a whirlwind guided tour to Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Vatican City, Spain, France and UK. We arrived the city of London safely inspite of the terror attacks and bombings in the area… When we arrived London via Amsterdam, (after more or less 20 hours on the plane) and while on air nearing London, we were unaware that there was on going terror attacks and bombings at heathrow airport in London. When we landed, we were so puzzled, irritated and annoyed of the long long line at the immigration, yon pala ang reason bakit haba pila, eh..for tighter control and security reasons because of the terror attacks. As it was already late in the evening we were so tired, exhausted and so hungry at that time, when we finally came out of the immigration. We proceeded to the airport exit lobby to look for the Insight representative who was supposed to fetch us and drive us to our Holiday Inn hotel in London (airport transfer was part of our tour package agreement). Outside the terminal 4 airport exit lobby, we saw many hotel agents with placards trying to fetch their clients, at first, we were sure then that our airport transfer facility would be ok…we had looked around…but we were sad and upset that no Insight Vacations representative was on hand to help us and to give us directions on what to do… as part of our tour process we needed to go and ask for our ride from the airport Hotelink desk, we were so surprised to hear from the lady officer in charge that time that we dont have available ride, the airport was under strict security cordon and restrictions, because of terror attacks and bombings in the area, no transport can come in and come out of the airport area, she said there was no transport available, no taxi, no bus, no private transport available exiting airport area except the "Underground", we were trapped at the airport,… parang sine na " Die Hard 4” , baga, or yong sine na "The Transformer".,,very thrilling and chaotic scene…..so naturally we were very nervous and worried about our safety… we also worry that if we cant reach our London hotel that evening, we cant catch and travel with our tour group which will commence early the following morning. All tour participants will assemble and meet our tour director at the Holiday Inn hotel kaya dapat punctual at nandoon kami sa hotel… We were enveloped with fear, stress and anxiety on how to get out of the airport and how to reach our London hotel alive… and also if we cant get to our hotel that nite, we will need then to catch our tour in Amsterdam at our own expense !!! aba masakit sa bulsa yon ha !!!!….We have asked and re confirmed several people on information about the "underground" process and how we can go about it…..ang "Underground" pala is similar to our LRT, MRT kaya lang sa Pinas nasa ibabaw ng lupa ang train sa atin, the "Underground" in London, is about 4 floors below the ground, it is also called " The tube" in London or " Subway" in New York, " Metro" in Spain, Paris and Beijing, China, "MRT" in Hongkong. The London "Underground" is a very confusing and complicated process to stranger to the place…it got several general lines going to different directions outskirt of London, kaya kung mali masakyan mo at malabasan mo… patay kang bata ka !!!…lalo kaming mededelay at mawawala. Since we have tons and tons of luggage, (even if we traveled light, we brought clothes which we can re-use or recyle for one month use…) carrying them to the " Underground" was a problem to us. ..(you know what…me Tshirt nga na may tatak at mapa ng "Underground" London souvenir na mabibili sa London airport, pero di me bili kasi mahal eh….) Everyone else was in hurry to get out of the airport then…with our frail senior bodies we did master really great courage and strength to carry our luggages, to achieve our mission on how to go out of that airport and reach our hotel that nite safely. . We did pray a lot…..we thanked God…we found a lift going down the "Underground" which helped us handled with ease our luggages. We did hurry up handling our luggages, lakad.. takbo.. kami…, hila hila namin aming luggages, buti na lang may gulong lahat ang luggages namin kaya madaling hilahin… When we reached the "Underground" ticket booth, we encountered another problem, we found out we dont have money to pay for our train tickets, at that time we have not yet xchange money for pounds the currency in UK, Ms Fely has brought along a 100 euro money but it is not accepted at the ticket booth, ( Euro money is the currency in European Union member countries….) we were told only coins pounds was accepted even Euro coins is not accepted…we were so worried and in panic na at that time, we dont have the means to buy train tickets….suddenly an angel came and helped us in our way… out of the blue, an "Underground" porter or cleaner who was still present in the area even that late nite, came to know of our predicament, he said if we have a credit card we can use it in buying our tickets, and because I always travel with my Citibank Visa and Mastercard International credit cards, ( hindi ito advertisement ha!!!)… I at once put out my visa credit card, the porter helped and showed us how to use and swiped the credit card in the machine. Initially, he said …your card is not working…. I was a bit worried why the card was not working, when I have used it before in my travels abroad,….so I asked him to swipe the card again….and presto…this time my card worked, the machine gave us 3 tickets costing 4 pounds each up to KingsCross Station..my visa card served as our hero and our lifeline…. we were sooooo thankful to the porter….As we ride the " Underground" I learned, we will be passing about 20 stations pa… and it will take about an hour before we reach our destination the KingsCross Station. Per Info and directions we gathered, to reach our Holiday Inn Hotel along KingsCross road, which is situated in Bloomsbury district in central London, we needed to alight at KingsCross Station ( eto yong famous KingsCross station mentioned in Harry Potter story) then we can either walk or ride a bus ( Bus no. 63) to our hotel…. but, since we have tons of heavy luggage we have no choice, from KingsCross station we needed to ride the bus in going to our hotel…. When we reached KingsCross station, we take turns in keeping watch of our luggages while Mai and I asked information on how to get to KingsCross road. Most of the time, naiiwan si Ms Fely sa “underground” to keep watch of our luggages. We were able to come out of the "UnderGround" after asking help from people and reading directions and riding miles of escalators and lifts carrying our tons of luggages,…… para kaming si superman !!! Another Angel came our way…what was nice in our adventure was that the nephew of Mai, named Ronnel, who was supposed to meet us at the hotel because me dala si Mai na pasalubong para sa kanila. Mai requested his nephew to meet us at the KingsCross station instead. So me angel na naman na tumulong sa amin sa pagdala at pagsakay ng bus patungo sa hotel namin….we thanked God for the heaven sent angels…. We finally reached the Holiday Inn hotel in London very very late in the evening extremely exhausted and hungry. Wala kaming makainan, all the restaurants, even the hotel dining facility was closed… we content ourselves in eating biscuits and hopia ( which we brought along from Pinas) and drinking coffee… buti na lang may complimentary tea, coffee and pitcther water heater sa hotel… When we were in Pinas pa lang we agreed to bring along" foods" which we call "pantawid gutom", kaya me dala kaming candies, choco bites, biscuits, crackers, si Ms Fely dala niya eh " Holland hopia"… at dahil na rin sa sobrang mahal ang bilihin sa Europe, takot kami na gumastos ng 1000 pesos para lang sa isang inom ng cape o kain ng cookies or biscuits…..and we found value in what we did.. hindi kami nagutom… We spent the nite debriefing and retelling our nitemare stories with jokes and laughters. Mai and I were able to catch a 2 hours sleep while Mr. Fely unable to sleep the whole nite kasi baka daw hindi kami magising at mahuli kami sa tour the following day…Ms Fely served and acted as our alarm clock. Inspite of loss of sleep, we were on time at the hotel lobby the next morning, we met our tour director na " look alike" ni Richard Gere, good and nice looking actor, starring sa "Unfathful", "Chicago" "Sommerby" " Run away Bride" " Autumn in new York" "Pretty Woman" etc., that is what is common with me and famous actress Vilma Santos, pareho namin favorite si Richard Gere… Pero sabi naman ni Mai look alike daw ng tour director namin eh yong bida sa " Schindler List" na si Liam Neeson… Mr. Gary Junge is the name of our tour director. Kasama namin during the entire duration of our tour, the tour participants, tour director, coach driver, we stayed in same hotel, coach rides, para kaming pinagsama-sama sa isang bahay ala… Big Brother house… baga… I expressed to our tour director our concerns, problems and the unreliability of airport transfer facility of Insight Vacations in London, I demanded explanations and asserted our rights to the tour package agreement…. Initially, he seemed unmindful and unsympathetic to us that time, so when we were in Amsterdam, I sent text message to travel agent in Manila and London, and I tried to look for internet facility and sent email to our Manila travel agent and Insight travel agent in London and related our harrowing experience at the London airport…. see below my email… Learned lessons: Alertness…Mindfulness is the art of seeing that every moment has a value of its own, even the experience of that moment does connect us in any way to someone with good hearts…The beauty of life includes the gift and element of surprises… Till next mail, abangan ang susunod na kabanata…. God Bless, Miles ============================== Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2007 23:01:43 -0700 (PDT) From: "Miles Bernal" mileslbernal@yahoo.com.ph Subject: Travel Problems To: "Rajah Travel Corp. Makati - Tours Department Leisure Travel" Subject: Our Europe Chika Part 2 To: Hi, pleasant day to all, Hope you all learned from our travel experiences and enjoyed the thrilling and riveting account of Europe Chika Part 1… Here is my travel update Europe Chika Part 2. Still in our Holiday Inn hotel in London, the birthplace of David Beckam, the handsome and famous football player on the planet, former England player now with Los Angeles sports group, the wife of another famous star Victoria (aka. Posh Spice) Beckam, alam ko yon ha !!! ang ibig lang sabihin non eh hindi ako nahuhuli sa chika……he he he….. The next day, the start of our "Tour Proper" we were not able to eat our continental breakfast at the hotel because of time constraint, since we will start the tour very early, we needed to be at the hotel lobby early, and needed a "take away" or packed breakfast which we can eat along the way when we are hungry… The tour director gave us luggage and name tags, and initially gave us very brief tour orientation, on the tour process, what to do and expect during the tour, gave tips on what to do during port entry to countries, etc. He also gave us information of the tour amenities and facility, for a more nice sounding name he coded for us "comfortroom or toilet" as " Smiley". I was thinking loud… may be, based on experience, he already knew that ladies needed the " Smiley" most of the time….he he he…. Initially, I got the first impression that our tour director seems to be a typical British or English na me " aire" , "aristocrat" and "conceited" kc per history, nasa genes na raw nila ito eh….parang mahirap maabot ba !!! He got a list of tour participants and accounted everyone…( kaya kung wala ka doon sa roll call niya…humabol ka sa tour either at Dover Port England or in Amsterdam at your own expense !!! ) Very early in the morning, our luggages were handled by the hotel porters, they got it from our hotel rooms and loaded them to a tour coach….(ang sabi nila this is the good selling point of Insight Vacations as tour operator in Europe, they handled the luggages of tour participants, while the rest of tour operators like Globus, Cosmos, Trafalgar, Contiki, etc., do not have this kind of service which is very important and of really great help to customers esp for the elderly ??… will verify and research on this later… The London coach will bring us to the Dover port, where we will cross the English Channel via ferry boat going to France..( dito sa English Channel meron underground sea train from City of London that can bring you to City of Paris in just 2 hours time, uhum….ang dali marating ang Paris ano !!! siguro mahal ang bayad doon…. I have not yet experienced riding the Euro Rail system which connects to all European countries….I have yet to experience that in the future!!! …what I have experienced tho is the train from Beijing to Shanghai, China… it got sleeping facility, we got on the train at about 5pm in Beijing and reached Shanghai at about six in the morning, parang isang tulungan lang nandoon ka na..) Our coach ride took us about less than 2 hours travel to the Dover port…. while it took us about an hour ship ride from Dover port, England to Callais, Northen France, which is our port of entry to (EU) European Union member countries. At the Dover port we rode the " Pride of Kent" ferry, it is a big ship that you will lost your way inside, it ferry people, cargoes and vehicles, it got international restaurants, executive lounge, snack bars, drinks vendo machines, kids playroom, Mini theatre, money/currency xchange corner, view decks, and most important the big space for vehicles at lower level. They classify passengers as "foot passengers" and "vehicle passengers", with different entrance and exit passages…we are called "foot passengers" kc wala kaming dalang sasakyan….sad to say, walang sinabi ang "RORO" sa Visaya and Mindanao ni GMA dito !!!! While on the ship, I asked Mai and Ms. Fely to xchange our US dollars to Euro currency, kahit na mababa ang xchange rate, for facility as we will be needing euro money on every stops in our way to Amsterdam, we needed loose euro coins for our snacks, vendo drinks or coffee and most importantly fee for our " smiley". in other words… me bayad ang use ng "smiley"sa Europe … although not all the time…. During coach stops at gas station, AGIP, Auto Grill or other restaurants…if you eat in their facility, you can use their comfortroom free of charge,.. . but other " smileys " are run personally at me "ale" or "mama" na tagabantay sa labas, kaya walang kang ligtas!!!! other "smiley" is machine operated, ala ATM, or " hole in the wall" system, you needed to place the correct euro coins before you can enter……the "smileys" along the way are all equiped with tissue, lots of water, soap and clean facility naman… . Si Ms. Fely favorite niyang hanapin ang "smiley", for every coach stops namin she will go to the "smiley" at once…kc haba pila otherwise you will fall in line for a long time….ang lament ko lang walang pila sa "Mensroom" kaya kung minsan gusto ko doon na lang magpunta eh…. Do you know, travellers now a days are fortunate, because they needed few currencies to prepare when they got to travel in Europe, for this trip we needed only pounds, euro and swiss franks. When I traveled to Europe many years ago, I prepared so many currencies kc wala pang European Union or euro money noon. Imagine I needed to prepare and learn currencies for at least nine countries noon, at bawat stops iba iba na rin ang currencies na gagamitin mo !!!! looking back papano ko kaya nagawa yon !!! and to think I was alone in my travel group tour that time….I thought my secret was lots of faith, prayers and lots of courage and determination !!! … When we reached the port of Callais, Northern France, we boarded another tour coach that will take us to our 22 days tour of Europe, our TD named or coded our coach as our "Chariot" . Here we met our very skillful Italian driver named Antonio Bendetti, muy quapito siya, kaya lang mahina siya sa English, he lives outshirt of Rome, Italy.. Tingin ko kaya nyang magdrive sa Pinas!!! kc, magaling magmane-obra ng malaking bus kahit sa masikip at ga-buhok na pagitan eh…… napapalakpakan kaming lahat everytime he demonstrated this skillful stints….what a talent ha !!! Our tour group composed of 40 people, majority were mostly families from Australia, we got one family from Canada, one family from New Zealand and 3 of us from the Philippines. There was a Vietnamese family with Australian passport and a Filipino couple who are holder of Australian passports, kaya at least 5 na kaming pinoy in the group. We talked and told stories about the Philippines, they said they have been living in Australia for 25 years, that their trip was a gift from their daughter who organized and arranged their travel itinerary in Sidney…. Aside from seeing great places, socialising or meeting people is one of the essence of travelling, understanding and learning behaviours and other cultures as well. Being in the tour with people of different nationalities, synergy and cooperation is very important to make the tour fruitful and successful. Most of the tour participants were first timers in Europe, they know the tour process…and thanks God… walang pasaway sa grupo… all of us were on time for breakfast, coach rides and every schedule of activities. When you are travelling with a tour group, it is imperative to know the tour process and procedures… Learned Lessons: -You only pass this world once so make the most out of it, be nice to people you meet along the way, they will be of help in your journey - patience is a wonderful means of encouragement - without determination, you cant reach your goal, it is a backbone and anchor that will keep every situation or things together. This is all for now, till next mail… next chapter I will discuss how we were able to know better our tour director…. my warm regards and God bless. Miles ========================= Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 09:30:05 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika 3 To: Hi and cheers to all, Here is my travel update… Part 3 When we were on the "Kent of Pride" ship, with a nice view in tow and all the exciting things around, we forgot all about our London arrival agony. We felt relieved that we made it to the Port of Dover, altho, in my mind, I was puzzled and was asking why we didn’t receive any feedback about our airport transfer problem from our tour director. Hence, the 3 of us Pinays, were sort of aloof to the tour director, dinedma namin siya, hindi namin siya pansin…we got the feeling of animosity towards him, we even thought he got the prejudice syndrome then… However, at some point and time, the tour director approached us and asked us questions, and offered apology about our problems at the airport. I learned Insight Vacations has a process, for every complaints they received they needed to investigate and file a report. They will assess the veracity of the report before they will act on the complaints. He showed us and made us fill up the " Transfer Investigation Report" form that got passengers information and questions like: ===== What time did the pax arrive through to the arrival hall? Were pax holding arrival info leaflet? Did they page insight/representative at airport? Was TDC contacted? Were pax holding an arrival transfer voucher? What time did the passengers keave the airport and what method of transport was used to hotel? We were also asked to give our comments: This is the comments given by Mai : “It would have been a relief if someone or an Insight representative was around to meet us at the airport and waited for our arrival and showed us the way out of the airport “ While Mai gave a short comments, sabi ko hindi ko tatantanan ang Insight !!! isang page ang ibinigay ko na madrama with detailed comments that says like this… Title: Arrival: Airport Transport Incident Report: Arriving London airport without the airport transfer assistance was a very stressful and traumatic experience for us. Arriving Heathrow airport being under terror attacks and security control was a very scary condition for us. Being new and stranger in the place, we were so afraid. We were advised by Hotelnk desk that there were no taxi, no bus, no transport available at the airport except the " Underground". Under this security and chaotic scenario, the Insight Vacation should have been more pro active to care for their incoming tour participants. All the more that they should have been there at the airport to provide directions and assistance on what to do to reach our hotel. Since our airport transfer was a pre arranged and requested in advance ( 3 months in advance booking ) Insight Vacation should have been more considerate and protective of their clients. We were travelling in an unsafe conditions with great risk factors such as, we are 3 senior ladies, it was nite time, we do not know our way in London, we are unaware of the " Underground" process, we got tons of luggage to carry, we got no help and assistance to carry our luggages, no other mode of transport available, we were so confused, we were on panic, anxiety and fear mode. We have arranged and linked our airline, hotel, airport transfers and package Europe tour via Insight Vacations to avoid stress and travel hazzles but your negligence made us suffered and underwent so much fears, anxiety and stress. ======== I felt happy after we submitted our report, at least I have expressed my sentiments……after that, I noticed our tour director often called us by our nick names, greeted us with tagalog words such as " Magandang Umaga" … he took the time to engage us in short conversations and asked questions like, if we are relatives, what do we do, how did we came to join the tour, etc…and of course we did asked him some questions also…. Our tour director has a very good modulated voice, he speaks in a very clear manner and in International English. He is very observant of protocol, very English, being a resident and based in London….He has a super and excellent knowledge of history. He can correlate history, events, Trivia, stories about each and every place and country where we will go, as well as with nationality or country of the tour participants, ex. he told story about European history, the battles during that time, where it took place, how the Philippines got its name thru King Philips the second, the battles in Europe participated by Canadian and Australians soldiers, the battle of the bulge, the battle of the waterloo, etc etc. etc. He got a very photographic memory, he always relate historical facts and other informative talks while on board the coach over a microphone ( without notes or kodiko ha.!!!, we learned a vast of history and information in such a short time of our tour) .)…sabi ni Mai, the voice and stories of the tour director was music to her ears daw, kaya madalas nakakatulog siya…. I find the tour director as a man who loves and enjoys his job, he is quite serious about his job, he is a smart, very competent and well experienced TD, (he said he as been working as TD for 22 years na !!!! ) When I showed him the picture of our tour director during my first visit to Europe, he said he knows the guy and he is a friend of his….. As a tour director, in order to organize and accomplish well your job, you got to be multi lingual. He speaks fluently in German, Italian, Swiss, French and Spanish….. kaya ako hindi ako qualified maging tourist guide kc Tagalog, little of Ilonggo, Pangasinanse and Ilokano lang alam me, eh !!! hehehehe… As TD, he got lots of planning and work to do, it is also a multi tasks and multi skilled job…. In every country where we will stay he will call the hotel and organize our check-in process, arrange with the hotel our breakfast and dinner and he has to counter check and keep watch of those participants with food restrictions….(so far we got about 16 hotel stops, 21 breakfasts, 15 three course evening meals) to top it all.. there were times, when he got to carry tons of luggages himself into the coach to save time, so you got to have big muscles as well.. he also got to guide, help and provide assistance in the confirmation of onward tour, airline and hotel bookings of tour participants…… I realized, being a tour director is a big big responsibility, you are the father to a big family, you will take care and handle the needs/likes and dislikes of 40 people of different nationalities and cultures, you need a geography, history, psychology, convincing and influencing skills to satisfy your tour participants. As a tour director, to accomplish your job well you will need the virtue of humility, patience, tolerance, gentleness and tirelessness. So for those who would like to change career to being a tour director, take note of the skills that you will develop….ngayon palang mag aral na kayo !!! After several days, we received a response/report re our airport transfer concerns from Insight London Transfers Department saying: ================================================ They have queried the matter with their subcontractor the Hotelink, and they can only apologize to guests on Hotelink and Insight behalf. As you know the police has severely restricted access into Heathrow airport, during that time due to the critical alert state, which cause a complete gridlock. The last Hotellink bus that was able to get to the terminals was at 8pm and the driver had left the coach park on the perimeter road at 6:30 pm. No other vehicles were being allowed near the terminals not even cabs. The Hotelink staff could only advise passengers to make their way to the underground station, which was the only means of transport between the airport and central London. ====================================================== Mr. Gary Junge, our tour director offered apology again for what happened and to compensate our discomfort and the inconvenience we experienced at the Heathrow airport, he offered us the optional tour free of charge, the St Paul de Vince and Cannes excursion valued at 50 dollars each, and the Gondola serenade and magical Venice excursion valued at 85 dollars for each of us..(will tell you later whats the optional excursion is all about…) And we were more than happy about the apology and the excursion offered to us… We just hope that Insight Vacations and their partner Hotelink learned lessons from the incident, that during critical alert and emergency situations like that, they should develop and create "emergency preparedness plan " to protect their customers and tour participants… The incident gave us a happy ending, as the saying goes " all is well that ends well"……..will send pictures later…. Learned Lessons: - Relationship with people is a very important aspect of life’s journey - Life is already rich, nothing has to be bought - a humble person never stops learning - dont be judgemental of people, put yourself in their shoes and learn from them to be able to understand them till next mail… my warm regards and God bless, Miles ================================================= Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 07:53:41 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 4 To: Hi, good day to all, I hope, you are not yet tired in reading my traveloque…ako pagod na… sa akala nyo lang !!! Pagod na pero masaya… Thank you for all your acknowledgements and messages…The experience was worth the money we spent…it was a lifetime experience !!!! Here is my Europe Tour Chika Part 4… Being in Europe is like being in a magical place, in a wonderland, the cinematic, fantastic, scenic and panoramic view is just such awesome and breathtaking…naisip ko maraming ibinagsak na magaganda sa Europe ang Dios !!! Guys, please take note I am not a walking advertiser of Insight Vacations or other Europe Tour operator. ha !!! ….but what is good in taking a "guided and package tour" in Europe is that we were able to avail of services of a professional tour director, a safe, comfortable and moderate first class hotel in each country where we stop specially selected by the tour operator. A luxury airconditioned touring coach with reclining seats, hotel service charges, taxes and porterage fees and more meals. We were able to " beat the queues" or long lines in tickets for museums, Planetaruims, Tower of London, Eiffel Tower entrance, Cruise and other tour attractions. We were also given travel bags, document wallet, map, book journal and information book pack. I noticed the tour process now is more updated with the following improvements: - they give more information of places where you will go - they give map where we you can monitor where you are going, or follow your journey from start to finish, distance of places and estimated European driving times - they give travel journal where you can write down notes or your thoughts and details of your adventures, write down the names of your travelling companions or new found friends in the tour, etc. - the journal also contain useful phrases in various languages which we can use in transacting business in each countries, with category of greetings and civilities, signs, taxi, at the post office, at the bank, sightseeing, food and drinks, shopping, emergencies such as..ex. greetings: English - Hello! French - Bonjour! German - Gutan Tag! Italian - Buon Giorno! or Ciao! and Spanish - Hola! - there is always an information bulletin posted by the tour director in the hotel where we stay for our guidance and reference - there is Insight Vacations Information Bulletin posted in hotel lobby to refer to by tour participants - An Insight Vacations Information Book is issued by insight prior the tour However, I noticed some of the tour schedule which was part of the standard tour schedule before (during my first trip to Europe), has become part of optional tour which simply means, if you are interested you will need to enroll and register for the optional tour and pay additional fees or you got the option not to take it… There were about 22 optional excursions offerred. To make our trip more exciting adventure we have chosen or availed of about 12 excursions, (dahil mahal, pikit mata kami… dahil life time experience eh..) such as: - Guided tour to City of Pompeii Excursion Ancient City - 40 US dollars per person - Guided tour - Rome by night, Trevi Fountain and Plaza Navona - 55 US dlrs - Guided tour to Classical Rome - Vatican Museum with Sistine Chapel & Colosseum visit - 72 US dlrs - Guided Tour of Medieval Assi and Basilica - 40 dlrs - Monte Carlo, Cornishes & Provencal Dinner - 75 dlrs - Guided tour in Plaza Mayor and Madrid Dinner - 50 dlrs - Paris sightseeing Cruise and Illuminations - 70 dlrs - Paris guided tour in Louvre Museum and Eiffel Tower - 60 dlrs - Paris Farewell Parisian Cabaret dinner Show - 113 dlrs - Walking tour " David by Michelangelo" in Florence - 45 dlrs - Guided tour in St Paul de Vince and Cannes - 50 dlrs - Gondola serenade and Magical Venice - 85 dlrs We got long tiring trip everyday, but we enjoyed the sights all day long…as per our tour process, our seats on the " chariot" was on rotation basis, every day we needed to move two seats either forward or backward, to give chance to others for better viewing and for more interactions with other tour participants…. Its supposed to be summer in Europe at this time of the year….that is the reason why we choosed and picked this time schedule to travel in Europe, because the 3 of us eh…" takot sa lamig"…We expected a sunny weather then, but it was cloudy, showery, wet and rainy in London, Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. I guess it is due to warming of the earth, the weather changes in all parts of the globe… buti na lang we were ready and equipped with coats, hats and umbrella…also at this time of the year Europe got longer daytime, hence tirik at mataas pa araw kahit na 9 PM na ng gabi !!! It was so amazing to see and experience it, di kami sanay matulog na may araw pa, kc sanay tayong mga pinoy kung matulog yong walang araw….diba !!! …… I had a very difficult time adjusting to the climate and Europe time, my biorhythm is still attached to Philippine time…dahil siguro sa aging process na rin at gurang na ako !!!!.he he he…. When we got to Italy, I like the warm weather in Italy, however I have difficulty in adopting to change of weather, I developed and got severe allergy, I got severe blisters on my lips, it developed into a crack popcorn lips…parang me dala along popcorm sa nguso ko….hindi na kissable yong lips ko dahil sa blisters he he he.. naconscious nga ako ng todo eh… !!! Kung ang allergy ko eh sa lips ang allergy naman nila Ms. Mai and ni Ms. Fely eh.. sa lalamunan, they got bad cough…… Kc we got a cough syndrome inside the our chariot….. marami na ang inuubo sa mga tour participants… due probably to weak resistance, exhaustion, tiredness and lack of sleep… grabe ang mga ubo nila !!! we even fear na magkaroon na ng epidemic sa group namin… When we reached Rome, an old couple from Australia, aside from touring Europe they intended to visit sana some relatives in Sicily, Italy, (the wife got really bad cough, sobra, we can hear her severe bad cough inside the coach..) was down and got sick with Pneumonia, she was assisted to be admitted to a hospital in Rome by our tour director. And finally the couple quit the tour schedule and stayed behind in Rome hospital. This is where the travel Insurance benefits comes in, it is imperative that elderly travellers should carry a comprehensive travel insurance as protection. Before leaving the Philippines, we made sure meron kaming insurance, the 3 of us were equipped with AIG and Card Assisted Insurance in this travel…Kaming tatlong gurang, eh very cautious of our health, we drink a lot of water, juices, supplement vitamins, we apply body ointments sa gabi as our protection for fear of getting sick… In the beginning of the tour, noong hindi pa hectic ang schedule namin and hindi pa kami exhausted masyado, I applied and gave sample of my massage skills to Ms. Mai and Ms. Fely…. wow na wow ang feeling nila !!! sabi nila pueda daw akong magtayo ng massage and spa clinic…. Europe has also been invaded by China products, you can see all around, china products with cheap price but of poor quality. Its so hard to look for European made products, aside from being too expensive. Wow…Lumuwa ang mga mata namin sa mga signature brand clothings, shoes, and bags. kaya lang di ko kaya bumili, sobra mahal…binusog ko na lang mga mata ko !! Most of the shops, malls, restaurants in Europe closes at 5 PM everyday, even on Saturdays and Sundays they are all closed, hence if you come to shop in Europe, schedule to come during week days and ensure to finish your shopping before 5 PM. When we arrived in Madrid, Spain, it was on a Friday afternoon, we saw all the shopping mall full of merchandise, many assorted things to buy, we thought we can shop the following day…. but when we went around the following day which was on a Saturday, all the shops were closed….we learned all shops closed on Saturdays and Sundays so we were not able to shop…this is a reverse situation in Philippine setting, on Saturdays and Sundays all our shops, malls, cinemas, restaurants are open and packed full of people. We regarded Saturdays and Sunday as opportunity for family bonding activities and get together, hence many people and their families all go to malls, cinemas, restaurants and shops… thats probably the reasons why we have strong family ties and family support system in the Philippines, we have more time together… During my first travel in Australia in 1984, I was wondering why there were many people, who were so in a rush and in a hurry to buy their foods, groceries or pharmacy needs in the afternoon about 4 PM pa lang, its was like beating the red light ba !! yon pala all shops closed at 5PM and there will no shops to buy what you need after 5 pm… (Ganoon din ba sa Canada? I am not sure ??…) . but these practice has changed, when I was in Melborne and Sydney in 2005, I noticed, there are now shops open until about 10 PM and these shops are owned mostly by Asians entreprenueurs. I think they make good business, profits and money out this, so many more shops and business establishments began opening their shops until late in the evening… maybe in the future, more shops in European countries will follow suit. We noticed, mas grabe sa Spain, hindi lang Saturday and Sundays closed ang mga shops nila… they also have the habit of siesta time, they will close thier shop during lunch break for about 2 -3 hours, then open again after the siesta time and closed at 5 PM…so if your favorite shop is on siesta time, you needed to wait till it opens, if they get to open again!!!…..kung sisipagin silang mag-open pa !!! they said it is part of the spanish "siesta and manana" habit daw….tila na-mana natin yon ah…. So long for now, till next mail.. All the best and God bless, Miles. ================================================ Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2007 04:31:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our EuropeTour Chika Part 5 Hi and Gutan Tag to all !! Glad to share my travel update part 5. The sightseeing and highlights of our Europe tour are as follows: In our way to Amsterdam, we crossed Belgium’s Flanders field, a very long and wide very green landscape with many trees ( a war memorial, the Flanders field is the name of the first world war battlefields in the medieval country of Flanders, which span southern Belgium and Northwest of France. Per our tour director the bloodiest battles of World War I took place in this area, the British front line were determined to keep the Germans from traversing Flanders to reach the Port of Callais… . In Amsterdam we saw the Royal Place in Dam Square and we visited a diamond cutting and polishing factory…. we were so dead tired in the evening, we were not able to see the the " Prosty " avenue, …our supposed tour excursion that evening, I just explained to Mai and Mrs Fely what was it all about…….. (I saw this place during my first visit to Amsterdam many years ago…), as we all know Holland or Netherlands is a country known for its too liberated ideas on sex….actually the “Prosty Avenue” is a long street of men and women (of different colors) on display for sale for quickie sex, you can view their small sex quarters while walking on the street, they are all dressed up to induce and entice customers,… sabi nila there were Filipinos in the sex trade in the area and there were many sailors availing of their services… In Cologne, Germany, we visited the magnificent Cologne Dome, a Gothic cathedral, a century old, oldest church in Germany, where we met a Filipina who was so eager to talk to us and who helped us took our pictures. We had a long cruise along the Rhine river where we saw the legendary big Lonely Rock and viewed the Heidelberg castle on mountain top, we saw many vineyards on top of mountains and series and lines of old Castles along the Rhine river (which are now considered either a museum or first class resorts area offer for rent). The Rhine river is a very long river that stretch up to Switzerland, we passed thru the Black forest, which was full of vineyards, trees and wide green landscape. We viewed the spectacular Rhine falls, which is part of Swiss border. We stayed in a huge hotel in Rhine, Germany, the Ramada Micador Hotel, where we got a huge bathtub/toilet and a sala and we got complimentary tea, coffee with water heater pitcher. For Ms. Fely, being a coffee lover, she like best this hotel best kc me coffee sila !!! (unlike the hotels in the United States where they all have complimentary coffee, tea and equipped with coffee maker, not all hotels in Europe got this kind of services..) When we reached the city of Lucerne, Switzerland, we visited the famous landmark the "Lion Monument" (it is a lion sculptured on the stone mountain, it is a memorial constructed in 1908 to commemorate the Swiss guards who died while depending Marie Antoinette in the French revolution) Lucerne is a touristy city and quintessential Swiss city., it got its unique and abundant charms. We walked thru chapel wooden bridge, also famous landmark in Lucerne, per our tour director, the chapel bridge was built in 1333 and 200 meters in length and features about 120 captioned triangular paintings from the early 1500s that chronicle the city’s history. The bridge was nearly destroyed in a 1993 fire but has been restored…. There were many Japanese, Chinese and Korean tourists in Lucerne buying Swiss watches…..here, we also came to see the breathtaking and spectacular view of the alps…we stayed in a cute, old but well maintained hotel called "Hotel Postillon". The hotel was situated outside the city, near a lake and a mountain…what a super wonderful and beautiful view we got !!! ala postcard view..!!!!. in the hotel, we met a good looking Filipina, working as a hotel waitress or attendant.. we engaged in short tagalog conversation, she was so delighted to know and to serve us… In going to Austria, we passed by a small Independent state called Liechtenstein, here we saw the 700 years old but big Vadus castle on top of mountain which was under renovation…. we also passed by the " Austrian mountain" the very serene mountain, setting of the " The sound of music" story…here we saw the Innsbruck Imperial Palace and Golden Roof. There are many "tiangge" small shops here…. ala Divisoria or Baclaran style but very orderly and very neat and clean surroundings…kahit anong gawin namin sa paghahanap ng murang bilihin di kami makakita, kc one euro is 65 pesos.. sakit sa bulsa ha…. Going to Venice (the city under water or the Floating City,,,) ..from Austria was a tiring, long ride. We passed and crossed the Europa Bridge and the Brenner Pass ( we usually see this bridge in poster and thrilling scenes in movies )…we also passed thru Adige Valley which was full of lines and lines of vineyards…. What fascinated me most were the unique cobblestones covered streets in most cities in Europe, (esp in France and Italy). many older villages and cities in Europe still are paved with cobble¬stones. Per our tour director, the cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets, taken from riverbeds and roughly assembled, bound together with mortar. Paving with cobble¬stones allows a road to be heavily used all year long, it prevents the buildup of ruts often found in dirt roads. It has the additional beneficial advantage of not getting muddy in wet weather or dusty in dry weather. (kaya lang mahirap maglakad sa cobblestone streets, lalo na yong high heeled shoes, naku matitipalok ka.!!!. noisy rin pag dadaan ang mga vehicles or horses ..matunog ba !!! kaya daw noong unang panahon dinig nila and alam agad nila kung me darating na kaaway….) I was thinking loud, sabi ko dito siguro ginaya ni dating Mayor Atienza ang installation of tiled streets in Manila !!! ) The cobbled streets are also highlights in several cycling competitions such as the final Tour de France road race as they are technically more challenging to ride on than asphalt. Speaking of Tour de France, this is a big thing, of national interest and a national event in France, they built long long lines and rows and rows of chairs (along the main road of the city esp Champ De Elysee) to be used during the event. Sad to say… the recent Tour of France was full of scandal and controversy…. We reached the City of Venice very early in the morning, ( according to our tour director to better appreciate Venice we need to arrive early, otherwise the place will be full and packed with people). here we visited and attended demonstration of Venetian glass blowing, we had a walking tour to St. Mark’s Square, the bridge of Sighs, Doges" Place and Basilica, etc… As per our guide, bridge of “sigh” in Venice, spanning the narrow canal between the Doge’s Place and the prisons. It was built about in1600, the enclosed passage was so called from the " sighs" of the prisoners who passed over it. While the Palazzo Ducale, or the Doge’s Palace, was the seat of the government of Venice for centuries, it was also the home of the elected ruler of Venice, it was the venue of its law courts, its civil administration and bureaucracy until its relocation across the bridge of "sigh" - the City jail… All of us enjoyed so much riding the gondola and the priviate cruise around the city of Venice via the canals…we even have a cocktail party at the St Mark’s Square with a serenading band singing most of our favorite songs… siempre ka-contemporary songs namin yon… ang big lang sabihin eh matanda na rin yong mga kanta nila.!!!!. After the magical and captivating Venice experience, we proceeded to Assisi, Italy, where we passed by the Apennine mountains up to the St Francis’ hilltop Assisi. With a local guide, named Ms. Precilla, who got a very clear English speaking voice, we had a walking tour to the St Francis Basilica, and the village, which was situated on top of the mountain… We were able to view the relics of St Francis of Assisi and St Claire, we attended the afternoon mass at the Basilica…. (I noticed my nephew with named Daniel (who got a brother named Francis), is a look alike of St Francis of Assisi !!!… wow ha… blessed si Daniel) On our way to Naples, we passed by the Abbey of Monte Carlo, the bay of Naples, viewed the isle of the famous enchanting Capri island, the great Mount Vesuvius, and the ancient City of Pompeii. Here we availed of the services of a local tourist guide who told us various information about the eruption of the mount Vesuvius, we had a walking tour of the area, viewed many archeological ruins, relics, excavations and diggings..(I can relate to the info narrated by the tourist guide because, I saw the documentary story in the Discovery Channel on the eruption of this great volcano Vesuvius, how it swiped out the City of Pompeii ) According to our tourist guide, Mount Vesuvius, a volcano east of Naples, Italy, it is on the coast of Bay of Naples, about 6 Km, short distance from the shore. Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities and cities of Pompeii. It has erupted many times since and is today regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people now living close to it and its tendency towards explosive eruptions. Mount Vesuvius was regarded by the Greeks and Romans as being sacred to the hero and demigod Hercules…. As we approached the City of Naples, I noticed and was puzzled there were so many dirty cars, they got dirt/ashes on their wind shields and car bodies…( I thought the people were all lazy to clean their cars or the volcano was still emitting some ashes and pyroplastic materials !!! and we also saw some people along the road/street arm with cleaning materials ready to clean cars for a certain fee… dito sa Manila…there are some children armed with a piece of cloth or rugs ready to clean cars wind shield for a fee too……meron din pala sa Naples, Italy…. hindi pala nag iisa ang Pinas !!! Till my next mail about " Eternal City" and the City of Lights and Romance" All the best and God bless, Miles ====================================================== Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 06:09:33 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 6 Boun Giorno, Ciao to all, Glad to share our travel update Part 6… alam ko para na rin kayong kasama sa travel na ito…at hinihingal na rin sa sobrang mga lakaran.!!!! While traversing the streets of the City of Naples, we took notice of the nature of driving here which is also " pasa todo" or " mga walang paki-alam sa mundo" like in Manila, many drivers here are reckless and they lack road courtesies, kahit masikip ang daan "urong sulung" sila….I noticed people here dont mind having dents on their Lamborgini, Fiat, Ferrari cars,…. unlike in Manila, me talukbong at damit pa ang mga kotse at pinagkaka-ingatan natin ang ating mga kotse….di ba..!!! We were all excited to see Rome as they say "all roads leads to the city of Rome" the “Eternal City”.. All roads lead to Rome," is an expression the origin of which lays in the Romans’ well-deserved reputation for their construction skills on building roads that all lead to the city… I find Rome today full of commercialism, and you certainly cannot see all of Rome even in 30 days. But, whatever little time we got, exploring this most fascinating city was worth it… Rome is the capital of Italy and its largest city.The Vatican City (an independent state ), the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, is the home of the Pope. Rome got more or less a population of 2 million in the city limits, and almost 4 million live in the general area of Rome. . Rome is so filled with Christian art and architecture, wonderful sights, cultural exhibits and so much more that the city will astound you. It is fascinating no matter where you look…. We started our tour in Rome with a guided tour (with a local tourist guide named Ms. Franca whom I find very knowledgeable about the history and facts about Rome, we began our walking tour to Vatican City, St Peter’s Basilica and Sistine Chapel. Since we got reservations to the musuem at 7:30AM, we were instructed to be early, otherwise we can only get in very late in the afternoon due to the very very very long queue…. The center of the Roman Catholic faith, St. Peter’s Basilica has remained a sacred site and draws pilgrims from all over the world. The Basilica is located in Vatican state, all the great architects of the Roman Renaissance and Baroque had a hand in its design. The building itself is truly super impressive and is the largest church in the world. The interior is decorated by works of many famous artists such as the Pietà by Michelangelo, the Papal Altar and the Throne of St. Peter by Bernini, and the Monument to the Stuarts by Canova. The Dome of St. Peter’s was designed by Michelangelo who died in 1624, two years before its completion. The Pieta, the famous marble sculpture was finished in 1499 when Michelangelo was only 25 years old…… The Basilica can be visited daily and a strict dress code is enforced…….bawal ang “short” and escotada or spaghetti na damit dito, … you will not be permitted to enter… kaya kaming lahat maayos ang damit namin….yong kasama namin na mahilig at parati nakasando and escotada ang damit eh…napilitin din maging mag-desente ng damit… Sistine Chapel, the papal chapel in the Vatican Palace was erected in 1400, It contained distinguished wall paintings, and is famous for its Renaissance frescoes by Michelangelo. It got most renowned and priceless artworks such as the “Last Judgement” by Michelangelo, sets of large tapestries by Raphael, wall paintings by several other artists, illustrating much of the doctrine of the “Catholic Church”. Central to the ceiling decoration were nine scence from the “ Book of Genesis of” which the “ Creation of Adam is the best known. It was said that Michelangelo painted the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome on a scaffold 60 feet (18 meters) above the floor and covered 10,000 square feet (930 square meters) of surface. Most of the time he painted while he lay on his back in a tight, cramped space…so super tiis sa hirap pala ang ginawa ni Michelangelo sa pagpinta sa ceiling ng Sistine Chapel !!!! Sistine Chapel had great symbolic meaning for the papacy as the chief consecrated space in the Vatican, and it is used for great ceremonies such as electing and inaugurating new pope. Today the Vatican Palace is a collection of buildings of different periods that cover some 13 acres (5.5 hectares) and contain more than 1,400 rooms. Much of the surrounding area consists of formal gardens…. The Roman Colosseum is the greatest amphitheatre of the gladiator games of the antiquity, which can accommodate 50,000 spectators. It was constructed between 70-72 AD. Public events such as gladiator fights, mock naval battles and wild animal hunts were held at the Coliseum. During the staged fights as many as 10,000 people were killed. Fighters were slaves, prisoners or volunteers. Spectators saw persecuted Christians killed by lions. Although it survives only as a ruin, it is one of its most famous landmarks and tourist attractions and remains as a standing proof of both the grandeur and the cruelty of the Roman, it still rates as one of the finest examples of Roman architecture and engineering. Today, the Colosseum serve as a challenge for the archaeologists and a scenario for events and shows…. Outside the Colesseum, there are so many souvenir shops in the area, I saw people clad in gladiator’s costume, na nagpapapicture for a fee… Trevi Fountain in Rome is without doubt the most famous and most spectacular fountain in Rome. It is known the world over as the fountain setting of famous films entitled "La Dolce Vita." and "Three Coins in a Fountain." According to legend, on your visit to the fountain, it is lucky to throw coins with one’s right hand over one’s right shoulder into the Trevi Fountain. Throwing one coin in will ensure that the thrower will return to Rome. Throwing two coins ensures that the thrower will fall in love with a beautiful Roman girl (or handsome boy), and throwing three coins ensures that the thrower will marry that girl or boy in Rome. Today the fountain is filled with thousands of coins…… I was able to return to the City of Rome after many years….Ms. Mai did throw 4 pieces of coins, I wonder kung ano ang lucky charms niya !!! itanong nyo na lang sa kanya kung ano yong sabi ng tour director ukol doon…he he he….The three of us, Mai, Ms Fely and I, did wish and pray for our safe travel, good life, good health for us and our families and peace to the world…. The Roman Forum was the main marketplace and business center, where the ancient Romans went to do their banking, trading, shopping, marketing, and the administration of justice. It was also a place for public speaking, where the ancient Romans were great orators loved to talk, People thronging the Forum would stop and listen, then wander away to do their shopping, and perhaps leave a gift at a temple for one of their gods. Festivals and religious ceremonies were also held in the Forum. … this is ala our Plaza Miranda or our Plaza Lawton, area of protests and demonstrations !!!. While in this area, we noticed the posted big pictures of Father Giancario Bossi, the Italian priest who was kidnapped for ramson in the Philipines and Aung San Sui kij, a noted activist, freedom fighter, on house arrest in Burma, human rights depender and recipient of Nobel Peace prize. Apparently the poster pictures were signs of protests by the Italians… Spanish Steps leads you to an unparalleled view of the entirety of Rome, as well as the Piazza and Franciscan Church of the Trinità dei Monti. It is always thronged with young people and foreigners, with paintings on display and the flower stall. At the bottom of the Spanish Steps is the baroque fountain made in the shape of a large barge that spouts water. They say this area is the most exquisite, and expensive, shopping centers in the world. The spanish steps is a popular location for shooting movie films, place to sit, write postcards, take photos, flirt, perform or just watch the passers-by. … dito me scene ang actress na si Claudene Barreto and actor Piolo Pascual sa pinoy film na “Milan” …. The Piazza Navona is an extremely lively place with open air cafes around, there are numerous artists who draw or paint portraits for a fee. The place is crowded and there are buskers and mimes to entertain you. The Piazza is a popular gathering place for Romans and tourists alike. It is here that one can take time to relax on one of the stone benches, pay top prices to enjoy a drink at one of the outdoor cafés, or watch the artists who gather in the piazza to do their work…. Dito kami nag-lunch and naghanap ng Asian restaurant para kumain ng kanin… since we have not eaten rice for many days na… sobra ang sabik namin sa rice…..… Ms. Mai was able to buy one rice menu, ….. But sad to say…..…hindi raw masarap ang lasa and it cost 9 euros or about seven hundred pesos…… wahhhh !!! Speaking of European kitchen or cuisine, I have not adapted to their bread sandwich or pasta meals. Our tour buffet breakfast consist mostly of cereals, juice, milk, fruits, suasages, eggs, bacon, ham, and different kinds of cheese and bread. Bread is the staple food in Europe which we find " nakakasawa"… so we always crave and longed for rice meals….na mahirap nahapin doon, because we were always on the go and on the road……once when we were in French Reviera, sa Cannes… nakahanap kami ng Chinese Restaurant that serves noodles and rice meals… kain agad kami ng rice meals, and wow…yong aming craving for rice was napunan !!! …it was heavenly feeling!!! Rome is more or less the mid way of our travel itinerary….will send pictures later… Our learned Lessons: - Make the best of what you have - It seeing the drabness of life that makes life beautiful - there is tremendous happiness in making others happy - count and be appreciative of your blessings all the time - Today is a gift, so dont wait for tomorrow - If you want to be rich, just count all the things you have which money cant buy…. my warm regards to all and God bless, Miles ================================================= Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 06:20:16 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 7 To: Buon Giorno, Ciao to all…. Glad to share you my traveloque Part 7 …. I know you enjoy reading my traveloque, I was enjoying and laughing while writing it myself,… but it would be extremely enjoyable and exciting if you were actually there travelling with me……Its really hard to travel when you are older…hence I suggest plan and do your travel now while you are young !!! Lets begin the story… Arrivederci Roma na kami !!!! Due to time constraint, while in Rome, we were not able to go to the “Cupola” the top of St Peter’s Basilica, they said view from the top is breathtaking, this is another great place to explore next time… while in Rome, I also found out that there are scrupulous drivers who extort money from passengers mostly near the subway area, there are gypsies who duped people, smart thieves who can run away with your wallet so easily…there is automated public toilets (with euro coins as payment) in the subway area which accepts one customer only at a time, it can detect if there are more than one customer inside and will lock automatically, will signal and give a very loud alarm sound, so that local police can hear and come to unlock it for the peace of the public… in other words hindi puede ang “harimunan attitude” dito,babayad ka ng isa pero dalawa papasok sa toilet, “ no can do” yon dito he he he !!!! By the way, at the very start of our tour, our tour director constantly reminded us to be alert and keep watch of our things, bags, and money esp. in crowded places. He said bad people, smart thieves usually attack when you are not focused, when you are too engrossed and overwhelmed of the sights and views…he also forewarned us not to be irritated by some “habits of the Italian” so as not to spoil our mood or have a bad day, we have to understand daw, that some Italians are “sneakers” or “singitero” daw !!! hindi pala nag-iisa ang pinoy??? sa pagka “singitero” !!! During our stay in hotels in Europe, I inquired for hotel internet facility so that we can send messages, however we find the cost too expensive. When I inquired the internet facility in our hotel in Switzerland, it was on a “ hole in the wall “ system or phone booth ATM style… you need to put coins in the machine, before you can use it…when I finally decided to use the internet, I was surprise kc keyboard nila kakaiba, their key board was hard to use, you have to choose English, German, French, Spanish or Swiss format, the location of the letters is different, usage of lower and upper shift keys is hard, I have to ask how to use it and look for the letters before I can type…. habang umaander yong metro…kaya ayun mahal internet bayad ko !! After our Rome exploration, we traveled north to Renaissance Florence… Prior going to the city proper of Florence, we went to the Piazzale Micheangelo, a very strategic place where we can have a fantastic view of the City of Florence… here we had our group tour photo session for prosperity and remembrance of our Europe group tour…. The professional photograher who took our picture had a good business out of it…. the pictures were sold for 10 euros each,…. para makatipid… we bought one copy and intended to scan it for more copies later in Manila… The best way to experience and get orientation about Florence is thru self discovery walking tour which we did. Florence (is the capital city of the region of Tuscany , Italy , it is near Arno River. We learned that the name Florence, in Italian “ Firenze “, came from the God “Flora”, the flowers’ Ancient Romans God. They used to remember “Flora” God in spring, and the new colonies were usually built up in that season, so the city was named Florence . Florence is one of the world’s great historic cities. It is a commercial, industrial, and tourist center. Tourism is the main industry, which is supported by the manufacture of glassware, precious metalware, leatherwork, ceramics, clothing, shoes, and art reproductions. Florence is also famous for its magnificent art and architecture. It is said that, of the 1,000 most important European artists of the second millennium, 350 lived or worked in Florence. . The city has also been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. The historic Center of Florence was declared a World Heritage Unesco. …… Florence has been the setting for numerous works of fiction movies and novels such as “Hannibal”, “a room with a view”, and others….. Among the point of interest in Florence are: the Piazza della Signoria where there are sculptures by Michelangelo, The old bridge, Ponte Vecchio, the Gothic cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, or better known as the “Duomo”. the large Franciscan Church of Santa Croce, the Church of Santa Maria Novella , the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, the Church of San Lorenzo and many other churches which I failed to get the names… I call Florence the “city of churches” Kc, dikit dikit ang mga churches dito, sabi ko papano kaya nagsisimba ang mga tao dito? … nag popompeyang kaya sila para malaman kung saan sila mag-sisimba? Sa dami ng nga simbahan !! I find church commercialsm in Italy, kc me bayad ang pagpasok sa lahat halos ng mga simbahan dito, churches has became sort of museum na rin because of if its architectural designs, its beauty and many magnificent paintings inside the churches…. While walking along the narrow cobblestone covered streets of Florence which are full of arrays of shops, souvenir shops, eateries and snack bars, we paused for break, went to a pizza parlor, we sampled the famous, “Italian pizza pie” which are of various flavors and in so big slices, we ordered and tasted, 3 flavors, mixed vegetable, mushroom and ham and sausage pizza pies….para sa akin sobra ang ginamit nilang oil in cooking the pizza pie, mamantika ang pie nila !!!! …. Italy got so many grape and olive plantations, they are great producer and exporter of olive oil and wine…….kaya ordinary na and super mura ang olive oil sa kanila… kaya they indulge in usage of olive oil and drinking wine is a way of life….masakit sa bulsa ang Olive oil sa Pinas … diba !!!! Our next stop was Pisa, a city of Tuscany, Central Italy, where the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa is situated…. We arrived in this city very early in the morning, kaya wala pang tao, we had all the time in taking pictures of the city’s main attraction… that early, shops were already open and ready, hence many of us in the tour group were able to buy souvenirs…. at least nakabili kami ng murang key chains dito…..imagine they also got leaning cups and glasses designs (talagang nakatagilid ha !!…) as souvenirs… Learned Lessons: - Discipline comes from within - Beauty means to keep growing - always - Everyone will cooperate in something that they care about - cheerfulness in its true form is earned… So long for now, till next mail… All the best and God Bless, Miles ============================================== Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 08:36:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 8 To: Bonjour to all Welcome to France !!!… malapit na kami sa finish line … From Pisa, Italy, we proceeded to our way to the French Riviera, we passed the spectacular road high above the Italian Riviera…..from Italy, to reach the French border, we needed to pass grand tunnels which I considered magnificent in structural engineering designs, almost all the tunnels were cut through the mountains, complete with lightings, traffic lights and water drainage. .. While travelling on board the coach, our tour director initiated a contest, to count all the tunnels in our way from Italy to French border… initially many of us, participated and started counting, however… what we did not know was that it would take about 2 hours travel before we would reached the French border… hence many of us had fallen asleep….two gentlemen from Australia painstakingly counted the tunnels and won the contest..…it was a total of 108 tunnels in all… for the winners, I gave our tour director tokens items (inexpensive Philippine souvenir which I brought from Pinas) to be given to winners… he thanked me for the contribution and in addition he also bought bottles of wine for the winners…. the winners were so happy of course..… On our way to French Riviera, we saw so many beautiful houses built on high mountain slopes, on top of hills and mountain cliffs, it was beautiful sight.. but, I thought that was dangerous for the residents !!!! eh.. kc uso ngayon ang mga landslides….di ba !!!! We visited a French Perfumery factory called “ Fragonard Perfumes ” kahit na number one ang France sa perfume… hindi pa rin ako nakabili ng perfume doon… kc ang mahal at saka…. Kc loyal ako sa perfume ko….ang walang kamatayang “ Pleasures” ng Este Lauder… The French Riviera, part of France’s southern coast, is the most famous resort areas in the planet, sabi nila the “hang outs” daw of the rich, popular and famous… Our French Riviera drive gave us a elegant view of Monaco, an independent state in the heart of Europe, some of the places on the French Riviera includes Saint Tropez, Saint Paul de Vince, Saint Raphael, Nice, Cannes, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Menton, etc. We had a walking tour at Saint Paul de Vince, this is a little village on top of a mountain, they got small but elegant shops and breathtaking view of the place… In this place, I took notice of a café with a big parking space, full of beautiful vintage cars, which I thought were on display only….however, I learned all the vintage cars are for rent. All the cars are offered for rent for one day use in the village, or even for hours use only… We had a walking tour at Cannes, we got to see where the film festival is being held.. at nagpapicture siempre kami, the area around Cannes has developed into a high tech cluster, the technopolis of Sophia Antiplis lies at the Cannes hills. The Film festival in Cannes which attracts movie stars and film producers held annually, is a major event for the world film industry… “Naku kung malapit lang ito sa Pinas, pupuntahan ko ito.. kc mahilig ako sa mga film festivals.. I usually attend the Japanese, Spanish, French, CineMalaya Indie films festivals, I like films with unique stories you know….” I am also a film buff.. to while away boring hours on the KLM plane, I watched lot of movies, like “ After the wedding, “Holiday”, “Lavie En Rose”, “Disturbia” “ Fracture”. Letters from Iwojima, “ Heavenly Mission” etc. etc… Monte Carlo, a principality of Monaco, is a tourist center noted for its world-famous gambling casino, for its scenery, fine villas, and luxurious hotels, (like the Grand Hotel de Paris, sabi nila the most expensive hotel in the world..) sporting events such as famous Monte Carlo car rally, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Monte Carlo Open tennis tournament, dito nakita namin the crash accident site, where Grace Kelly, the Princess of Monaco died,…. sobra pala sa “ kitid” at paikot- ikot na road ng grand prix road site…drivers must really be that very skillful ha !! tingin ko sa grand prix road nakakatakot dahil sa “kipot”…. Among the famous residents of Monte Monte-Carlo are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joan Collins, Tina Turner, Sir Elton John, David and Victoria Beckam, Brigitte Bardot, Shirley Bassey, Roman Polanski, Michael Jackson etc. In Monte Carlo, since hindi pueding sabihing kami ay rich, popular and famous, ….. kaya feeling rich na lang kami… rich (in hearts) and beautiful (in soul) kami, …. we availed of the optional excursion “ Spectacular” Monte Carlo, 3 Corniches and Provencal Dinner” that cost 75 dollars per person…… The excursion was a wonderful drive along three corniches, traversing the most scenic routes and spot in Monaco, we ended up in an old cozy restaurant with fine dining facility, on top of a mountain with a great view overlooking the majestic sea… we had a 3 course dinner, a starter which is salad, main course and a dessert, (of course with coffee and tea) and with flowing wine, drink all wine you can ……. wow feeling rich talaga kami… sa wakas naging rich ako sa Monaco !!!…. Most of the Australian and New Zealanders in our group got drunk when we went back to the hotel….they were all singing, laughing and dancing inside the coach…nawala yong mga inhibitions ba nila…. Kung dati eh kimi at halos hindi makausap … after that dinner, lahat halos… nagsasalita na…. thats the power of French wine….ha !!! Learned Lessons: - our tongue is the ambassador of our heart - thoughts are but dreams till their effects be tried - truth needs no flowers of speech - wine is a turncoat, first a friend and then an enemy till next mail, my warm regards, Miles Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 06:32:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 9 To: Hola ! Hola ! to all Que tal ? Que disfrutes el viaje ! Glad to share you my traveloque Part 9 We are approaching the hilights of our tour….. From French Riviera we continued our tour to the country of bull figthers..…we travelled across the Camargue which is famous for its wild horses, bulls ang flamengos….. Our first stop in Spain was Barcelona…we had a walking tour with our local guide named Mr. Santiago, or Santy in Short…. “moreno and good looking and maraming bukol ang katawan niya, and ibig lang sabihin eh..magbobody building siya…..he got a good English clear diction….kaya lang mabilis siyang magsalita…katulad ko !!….we toured the many interesting places in Barcelona…. We spent two days in Barcelona…. If we stay 2 days in a hotel, heaven sa amin yon !!…. kc it means more rest time as well as our “laundry time”, during this time, our bathroom will be full of clothes lines and other “sabit sabit” in our hotel room, its also our time to unpack and re packed our clothes and bags….” According to our tourist guide, Barcelona is the capital and most populous city of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain. It is a major economic centre, with one of Europe’s principal Mediterranean ports, and its airport is the second largest in Spain. Barcelona, the former 1992 Olympic games site, is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Madrid has rich designated Unesco cultural World heritage sites such as the works of Luis Domenech Montaner, Palau de la Musica Catalana, and Hospital de Sant Pau, and the works of Antoni Gaudi, including Park Guell, and Sagrada Familia, the world-famous church which is still under construction and renovations… per our guide, this church has been undergoing a lot of reconstructions and renovations for a long long time na… they would like to make it as the largest and tallest church pa…. and it is being built solely on donations of people… Our next stop was Madrid, Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain, with a population of about 5 million, it is a great cultural and political center of Spain, Residents are called Madrileños. It hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, as well as the headquarters of three of the world’s 100 largest companies. Per our tour guide, Spain has attracted many immigrants from around the world coming from Latin America, North and West Africa, Ecuador, Moroco, China, Colombia, Peru , Philippines and other countries…although there are many Catholics in Madrid, the past years, muslims has tremendously increased in number in Spain esp in city of Madrid …. The points of interest and landmarks in Madrid include the huge Royal Palace of Madrid, The Plaza Mayor, the Almudena Cathedral, Puerta del Sol, Royal Gardens, Teatro Real, 19th century old National Library , many big wide Museums, Barajas International Airport, and the list goes on… The Royal Palace of Madrid, also called the Real de Madrid, is supposed to be the official residence of King of Spain, King Juan Carlos, but the King live outskirt of Madrid….The Palace is used for state functions and occasions, and Prince Felipe of Spain’s wedding banquet took place in this palace.. It is a towering structure in Madrid with 250 years of history, considered one of the best in Europe. The palace has 870 windows, 240 balconies, 44 sets of stairs and 110 doors, and the building occupies a square area of 135,000 meters. ( wow….super laki, very huge ang palace na ito…. luma ang Malakanyang Palace dito… sa tingin ko parang isang parte or garahe lang ng Royal Palace ang malakanyang sa laki !!!!….I took picture of this palace…) Madrid is a thriving city for shoppers, because of its many shops, as we explored its main streets, such as the Gran Via, it was bustling with people and too much traffic…. we had a walking tour with our local guide at the Plaza Mayor where we also had our dinner…we had sampled the flavors of the Spanish cuisine, their specialty menu called “ tapas” . Per our guide, “tapas” have become an important part of the gastronomic scene in Spain. Tapa is the Spanish word for lid and it is thought to describe the old custom of serving a slice of ham covering the mouth of a wineglass. In doing so, the wine was protected from the air and the ham or other tidbits made a tasty appetizer. She added that “Tapas” are not just a casual way of eating but also and above all, a question of having a good time, the opportunity of meeting other people and, at the same time, to indulge oneself with good food and wine. A way of life common to all Spaniards…. Like London, Madrid was the center of terror and bombing attacks, in 2004 Islamic terrorists placed a series of bombs on multiple trains during the rush hour. In 2006, Madrid suffered another terrorist attack, explosion took place at their Barajas International Airport. There were many reported caualties in these incidents….their Barajas International airport is very big and got a very nice unique achitectural designs… According to reports, Spain had been a candidate for 2012 Olympic games site, for which were awarded to London. Spain will again present itself as a candidate to host the 2016 Olympic games. We were unable to visit Monserrat and the Black Madonna, see a bull fight show or… visit Toledo City in Spain, …which they say is another exciting city… we also missed a excursion called “ Catalan Dinner and Flamenco” . Perhaps that would be great things to experience and explore next time…… Learned Lessons: - Any man that can write, may answer a letter -Work like a man, but dont be worked to death -there is no substitute for thorough going, and sincere earnestness. - Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home….. Till next mail…abangan ang ending…. My warm regards, Miles Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 00:26:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 10 To: Hi and Hello to all, Glad to share my traveloque…. Part 10 Game na ba kayo !!!! This is another hilights of our tour…. After Madrid, our next stop was Lourdes in France…. Lourdes is actually a small town in Southwestern of France, it is a pilgrimage town and has a population of around 15,000 inhabitants but is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists every season. Lourdes has the second greatest number of hotels in France after Paris with about 270 establishments. Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is the place of mass pilgrimages from Europe and other parts of the world. The spring water from the grotto is believed to possess healing properties, and majority of pilgrims come and visit the place as part of their Christian faith, personal intention and petitions… According to reports, an estimated 200 million people have visited the shrine since 1800. Especially impressive are candlelight and sacrament processions. Tours from all over the world are organized to visit the Sanctuary. Connected with this pilgrimage is often the consumption of or bathing in the Lourdes water which wells out of the Grotto. Our tour guide said, that some people are surprised and repelled by the blatant commercialism practised in the area, with many Inns, hotels, restaurants, neon-emblazoned gift shops overflowing with tacky souvenirs and many holy artifacts. It was so awesome and amazing to see here in Lourdes so many people (bata, matanda, may sakit o wala..marami naka-wheel chair na may sakit) expressing their faiths and beliefs…..this reminded me of my travel to the Holy Land many years ago..I was in a tour group also (with different nationalities ) when we reached the river of Jordan, (this was the place where Jesus was baptized by St John de Babtist ) I find the water of Jordan river that time as very dirty, it was murky… parang “coffee with milk”….or “ capé con late” as known in Europe, ang itsura ng tubig sa river….and while the tour guide was giving us orientation about the place, one of the tour participants who got an empty bottle, immediately went to the river, got the river water and drunk it…she got some bottle containers, she got water from the river and brought it home to Africa…..what an amazing belief and faith ha !!!! There were so many church laymen volunteers, paramedic volunteers, school children volunteers assisting the sick, the church goers, arranging the flow of traffic in the place. Lourdes got about four churches and many chapels where pilgrims can hold their mass, they got schedule of masses which are hold in different languages too. We visited the grotto of our Lady of Lourdes, participated in the candlelight procession till about 8:30 PM, attended an English mass sponsored by a foreign pilgrim group, it was a very solemn and very orderly mass. we also got water from the flowing faucet coming from the grotto and bought some souvenir items too… it seems that our tour guide knew that many people usually come to Lourdes to get as much water from the Grotto to bring to their own countries or home to be shared with families, relatives and friends, he offered space for the water in the “chariot” just in case we would like to bring water..… We stayed in an antique hotel near the church compound where so many nuns, and priests (from other parts of the globe) were also staying…I find Lourdes as a busy place anytime of the day…until about 12midnite….we saw people who were begging for money along the road….mayroon pang “magbebeg” na “mama” whom I find “musculado” and very big man para magpalimos !!! at may kasamang aso na pagkalaki-laki at pagka-taba-taba…and yet he was begging ha !!!…we had our lunch in a neaby café near our hotel, I noticed the café establishment got a big poster in their wall that says… Beware of Pickpockets!!! Do not leave your things Unattended…Beware of Women of loose morals! From Lourdes our next stop was Bordeaux, France…. Bordeaux is a port city in the south-west of France. It is home to one of Europe’s biggest 18th century architectural urban areas making it a sought-after destination for tourists and cinema production crews. Bordeaux is classified "City of Art and History". The city has been inscribed on Unesco World Heritage list as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble. Bordeaux has an abundant vineyards, producing large quantities of expensive wine in the world. Among the attractions in this city are the century old buildings, plaza, esplanade, rail way station, arches, museums and the list goes on…there are many music venues of varying capacity. It boasts plenty of options for shopping. In the heart of Bordeaux is Rue Sainte-Catherine avenue, which is a pedestrian only shopping street, a 1.2 kilometers of shops, restaurants and cafes. It is also the longest shopping street in Europe.. We strolled in this shopping area and we found out many of the items sold in this street were made in China and by other Asian countries…… hence mura para sa kanila…. Pero para sa amin mahal pa rin…… actually mura lang yon sa DV and BC … ang ibig lang sabihin mura ang mga yon sa Divisoria or Baclaran… Mai and I, was (duped and challenged by Ms. Fely) to buy a shopping bag in the area…..at nakabili naman kami… kc napaka-laking mukha ng boy friend and favorite actor ko na si Johnny Depp ang nakaprint sa bag !!! kaya bili na agad ako……at kay Ms. Mai naman eh….mukha ni Brad Pitt ang naka-print sa bag niya…!!! Ayyy naku ang mga gurang kinilig… bumalik sa pagiging bata……..we were so happy about our bag acquisition that we were all happy and laughing….the sales clerk attending to us was also too glad to see us giggling and laughing……sa tuwa niya sa amin she gave us discount for the bags !!! Since we stayed in Bordeaux for a short time only, we missed the opportunity to see and experience its wine making exhibitions, wine tasting, traditional music, dance performances, local cuisine and best of all the wine flowing culture of the place…. Tourism is a fast growing industry in Bordeaux, it attracts 3 million visitors each year… After Bordeaux, on our way to Paris, we passed through the Dordogne river up to the lovely Loire Valley where we viewed the monumental castle of Blois and Cheateu of Amboise where the Leornardo Da Vince was buried…we also saw the scupltured work “ David” of Leonardo Da Vince in this place… Learned Lessons: - an able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions - the difference between a rich and a poor man is this…the former eats when he pleases and the latter when can gets it… - good humor is the health of the soul, sadness its poison Abangan our “city of lights” and “City of Romance” adventures…, My warm regards and God bless, Miles ======================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 19:07:03 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 11 To: "Bernal, Miles" Hi and Hello to all, Glad to share my traveloque…. Part 11 This is the hilights of our tour…. On to Paris… the “city of Lights and the “City of love letters and Romance” … We were too overwhelmed in Paris, there were so many things to see and to do but we got very little time… Here is what I learned about Paris…it is the capital of France, situated on the River Seine in Northern France, with population of about 12 million in its metropolitan areas. Paris is known for being an expensive city.. Paris is today one of the world’s leading business and cultural centres, and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science and arts all contribute to its status as one of the world’s major global cities. With over 30 million foreign visitors per year, Paris is the most popular tourist destination on the planet. The city hosts numerous iconic landmarks such as the twelfth century Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, nineteenth century Eiffel Tower, The Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe, Tour Montparnasse skyscraper, The Basilica of the Sacre Coeur, the Louvre Museum, the Tuileris Gardens, The Opera Garnier, The Champ Elysees, The Pantheon and many more on the list…. Oh yes they also have the Paris Disneyland Resort ……. We explored the Louvre Museum with a local tourist guide, and because of its vast area and tons of art works, one cant see and explore the museum even in one week, the tourist guide just gave us a brief and hilighted art works orientation… “It was really amazing how they were able to preserve all of these priceless art works and artifacts… according to a way of thinking, cultivation, preservation and appreciation of arts, music and theatre is the highiest form of “ culture “…….no wonder Europeans are often called the “high cultured society”, many people have the idea that “ culture” was developed in Europe then.. Our tourist guide said, per history, French or Parisians has been involved in many many wars, civil unrest, country disputes, many riots, human rights depender activities, they are now called the rioters of the world…thats the reason most of the violent, radical advocacies and activism protests are evident and held in the city of Paris up to now…”rioting is in their genes daw”…. On the other hand… ang mga Romans or Italians naman daw they got the evolution of their fondness for “ fun games” in the past they were so fond of the “chariot race”…then they were more fond of the “bloody animal and gladiator entertainment games ” … and now they have the fondness, they are all crazy and all fanatics of “football games” …they got all tickets sold out and their stadium full packed during football games, would you believe they said selling and buying tickets for football game is one year in advance…”. I love the Louvre Museum because of its vast and awesome priceless treasures… it is located in the heart of Paris, is the world’s greatest museum with around 30000 work of arts. It was established by the French Republic in 1793. It was previously a royal palace, it holds some of the world’s most famous works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Liza, The Virgin and Child with St Anne, Madonna of the Rocks, Jacques Louis Davids, Oath of the Horati, Alexandros of Antioch’s Venus de Milo and many other great work of arts. The Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world, with 9 million visitors in 2006. The Louvre is also the setting of the Dan Brown’s novel, the very controversial film, “the Da Vinci Code” the louvre museum is the homecide crime scene where Jaque Sauniere is murdered by an Opus Dei member…… “I read an article that there is a Louvre Museum currently being constructed in Abu Dhabi and would be completed in 2012… I wonder how true is this? “ We explored the Arc de Triomphe via the underground passsage which is a safe way for pedestrians, the Arc de Triomphe was erected to commemorate military truimphs of Napoleon Bonaparte, it also served as magnificent war memorial to all the soldiers killed in World War 1… we ate our lunch along this area, which is filled with fine dining facilities, I realized Parisians love fine dining and eating outdoor or in Bistro’s, they always have a starter or appetizer… samantalang tayo naman, isang ulam at kanin lang…”ayos na ang buto-buto” We had a walking tour to the famous twelfth century Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, this church is the setting of the famous story "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" I have seen this movie 3 times yata, a beautiful movie, meron din itong animated cartoon movie for the kids….since Vietnam had been a colony of France many years ago, the french built a replika of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in the city of Saigon, now called City of Ho Chi Minh, pag-nagpunta kayo sa Vietnam makikita nyo ito doon, this is also a famous landmark in Vietman, a symbol of colonizaton !!! The Champ Elysee in Paris, is the most prestigoius, famous and expensive streets in the world, home to the popular, rich and famous, ala New Yorks City Fifth Avenue area… dahil ang mahal ng mga tinda dito… tinitigan at binu-sisi na lang namin ang mga tinda nila !!! ……. we were just happy and contented sa murang souvenir items we purchased from a famous department store in Madrid, Spain, called “ El Corte Ingles” this is chain of dept. stores around the city of Madrid… tipong ala “SM Malls” sa Pinas….. If not for our local tour guide (..aabutin kami ng siyam siyam pag-akyat sa Eiffel tower !!!)…we could not enter the Eiffel Tower that fast and easy, otherwise we will fall in line and wait for hours and hours before we can make our entry…… Our guide gave us orientation on the Eiffel tower, and other landmarks in Paris. We went up to the third floor of the Eiffel Tower and saw the breathtaking view of the whole city of Paris. We availed of the excursion of River Seine Cruise and Illuminations, costing 70 dollars per person. On the cruise we passed and saw all the magnificent century old landarks, buildings and other structures along the river Siene in Paris, by about 10 PM we saw the illumination of Eiffel tower, where thousands of bulbs is needed to illuminate it,…To save energy, everyday for purpose of tourist attraction the illumination of the Eiffel tower is scheduled at 10 PM and 11Pm for about 30 minutes only… The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built beside the river Seine in the ciy of Paris. Named after its architech designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, was completed in 1889. About 6 milliom people visited the tower in 2006, and more than 200 million since its construction. This makes the tower the most visited paid monument on the planet per year. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 324 m (1,063 ft) high, roof 300.65 m (986 ft)) which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building. The tower is now being used as observation tower, radio Broadcasting and advertising space. The tower has two restaurants, one on first floor and another restaurant on the second floor, a very expensive eating place, with a private lift. On New year’s Eve 2000, the Eiffel Tower played host to Paris’ Millennium Celebration, fireworks exploded from the whole length of the tower in a spectacular display. Flashing lights and four high-power searlights were installed on the tower. Since then the light show has become a nightly “illuminations” event in Paris night sky….City of Paris, with its so many beautiful buildings and structures well lighted with shades of red, orange, pink and blue colors by nite time. ….hence, Paris is called the " City of Lights….with the wide range of attractions, and the ambiance as its greatest asset, Paris creates images of romance… hence it is called the "City of Love letters and Romance"…… there is always the “ romance is in the air feelings” … we saw many couples in Paris display their affections in public, we saw couples fondling, kissing, embracing in parks, in street corners, and even in the middle of the road… wala silang pakialam sa mundo… believe it or not !!! As a globally recognizable landmark, the Eiffel Tower has been featured in many films setting such as “ Superman II, Team America, World Police, Sex and the City, View to Kill, 28 Weeks later” and countless other movies, including Korean telenovelas…. According to report, the tower was met with resistance from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. Today, it is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art. “ Ginagaya na ang Eiffel tower structure “all over the world, although not as big as that in Paris, I saw same structures in Sidney Australia, in Tokyo Japan, Shenzchen, China, and in Macau, me mga picture nga ako dito eh…….altho per reports, they have also similar structures in Toronto Canada, Russia, Brazil, Guangzhou China and other countries as well … We ended our stay in Paris by availing an excursion, to the Farewell Extravaganza “ Parisian Cabaret Dinner Show” costing us 113 US dollars per person,…pikit mata…kahit sobra mahal… go na kami… lifetime experience eh… we were requested by our tour director to come in leather shoes and at least with collar shirt for this activity….and we found out later that almost all of the attendees were in their best or formal attire …..it was a sort of formal dinner with a show… Sulit ang gastos namin… because we did enjoy the show very much, the show was with ala “ Moulin Rouge” theatre show presentation…and it was held at the restaurant- theater called Eternal Eve, very near and almost infront of the old ” Moulin Rouge theater” in Paris…(I like the musical movie “Moulin Rouge” starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan Mcgregor, it was a relevation for me na magaling silang kumanta !! they said some parts of the movie scenes were taken at Moulin Rouge theatre…) Our dinner show was very entertaining…a combination of spectacular dance numbers, acrobats and comedy show… and we had a ball, we all got a good laugh… we had a 3 course dinner and free flowing wine… the show was tipong ala “vaudeville show” sa the old Manila “Clover Theater” or the “Grand Opera House !! It was more or less a 2 hour show…the show’s theme is comparable to our “Club Mwah show” in Mandaluyong City or the “ Amazing Philippine Show”at Manila Film Center in Roxas Blvd. I am not promoting “Club Mwah” ha !!!… but here some trivia about the club, it is a cutting edge in the clubbing industry, focusing not only in the extravagant and lavish interiors to suit the tastes of the rich and famous,…kaya mahal ang bayad dito !! karamihan mga tourists ang kanilang guests dito.. it also boast original and elaborate dance musical sex comedy show. The show features outstanding artists in the various field of entertainment industry. We consider our Paris experience as “ beautiful, wonderful and unforgetable". Learned Lessons: -The fewer our wants ,the nearer we resemble God - by work you get money, by talk you get knowledge - Contentment is like an underground river whose course just cannot be daunted - the desire of knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it. Abangan last leg of our tour, in London, UK… my warm regards and God bless, Miles Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2007 09:48:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Tour Chika Part 12 To: Hi and Hello to all Glad to share my traveloque Part 12 … We are now on our last leg of our Europe tour……”our London adventures” Since I have not explored the City of London in-depth during my first visit years ago, I suggested to Ms. Mai and Ms. Fely to have additional days in London before coming back to Manila, hence, we booked in advance in Manila for additional 2 days stay and sightseeing tours in London… There were about 10 tour participants in our group who stayed behind in Paris for additional city exploring activities, others went to Greece and Prague while the rest of us continued our tour journey to the city of London…. We were all very sad to bid good bye to each other, many were teary eyed, were unhappy to part from the group… the nite before we depart Paris, as part of our adieu or farewell spiel, we had a get together, beer and coffee drinking at the bar of the hotel … since we have to wake up early the next morning…we didn’t stay long with the group, however, I did give the tour members, Philippine souvenir key chains and blessing book marks as remembrance of our Europe Tour experience… From Paris we traveled back to southern France, Callais for our ferry ride back to Dover Port and up to the city of London… When we reached our hotel in London and after we unloaded all our bags from the tour coach, it was a very sad moment when we bid good bye and part with our Tour director… all of us line up and gave him a goodbye kiss and a sealed card envelope bearing our gratuities in appreciation of his services… ..By the way, gratuities or tipping is widespread and a standard tradition in Europe in service industry..it is reflective of ones satisfaction of the services rendered…gratuity is customary on escorted tours throughout the world ….for our guidance we were advised on the recommended average gratuity to be given…..since our tour director and coach driver took care of us very well and they gave us very satisfying services we gave gratuities more than the recommended amount….huag nyo ng itanong kung magkano !!! On the nite we arrived in London, Ronnel (and his girl girlfriend) the nephew of Ms. Mai came to our hotel and gave us gifts and mga “pasalubongs” to Pinas.. we had a dinner at the hotel very late in the evening (kc galing pa sila sa Oxford another district in London which is about 2 hours travel to our hotel,.. for curiosity sake we tasted some of the dishes on the menu….we were so thankful for their visit and gifts )…nadagdagan ng laman ang aming mga maleta !! “pansin ko lang, inadequate..kulang ang mga workers in most of the hotels in Europe, and most of the hotel workers are on multi skill and multi task jobs.. kc the one who served us at the dining room, also worked as bus boy…we also saw him working at the reception area, …when we called up housekeeping dept for celphone charging problem, the one who came in to our room to help us was also the one incharge of the reception and concierge work..…kaya iba na talaga ang maraming alam, maraming mapupuntahan… do your best …and be a multi- skilled worker !!! Speaking of celphone charging, when you are in Europe you should always bring a universal “ three prong or three pin ” adoptor for your celphone use…..kung hindi mapipilitan kang bumili doon…mahal…ang isa is about seven hundred pesos !!! On our first day in London, right after our breakfast, we were picked up at our Holiday Inn hotel lobby very early in the morning, by the Evan Evans Tours, our designated tour operator… I noticed all the tour operators in London are always on time…very punctual silang lahat.. kung wala ka doon sa designated place and scheduled time for pick up… iiwanan ka nila !! mabuti na lang parati kami on time… inspite of our exhautions, inspite that we were tired, loopy and delirious with fatique,….we were always on time.. and punctual pa rin kami… Our tour was called “Discovering London tour,” it was a full day guided tour to the city of London, which brought us to pageantry of London. We had walking tour, to the following landmarks, the Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and Crown jewels, cruise on the River Thames and saw the changing of guards at the Buckingham Palace…lunch was included in the tour, and we ate at a fine dining restaurant near the city….. at the end of our tour, we were surprised that the tour coach would not drop us off in our hotel,… instead all tour participants were dropped off at the city, at a “convenient place “ to get our ride back to our hotels…..at first we didn’t welcome this news… but since we were already knowledgeable of the “underground” process we did find our way to our hotel…..it was a piece of cake…!! I observed London walking tour is not yet updated in terms of tour communications, they do not have the “ear phone communication gadgets” for tour participants, they just talk and talk while walking…..hence you can hardly hear the tourist guide lectures… unlike in Paris and Italy esp. in Rome, the “ear phone gadget” is commonly used… Per our tourist guide, London is the most populous city in Europe with population of 7 million in city limits, it got a diverse range of peoples, cultures and religions, speaking over 300 different languages. In terms of religion, London is historically dominated by Christianity, and has a large number of churches, particularly in the city. London is also home to sizeable Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish communities. The city of London serves as the largest aviation hub in the world, it got five international airports, its principal airport, Heathrow, carries most of the international passengers. Tourism is one of London’s prime industries , it is a popular destination for tourists, attracting 27 million overnight-stay visitors every year, second only to Paris…. London is sometimes dubbed as the ‘coolest city on the planet’ with the huge variety of attractions it has to offer…and probably because of its chilly and changing weather, you can see the sun in the morning for few hours only and the rest of the day would be either cloudy, showery or rainy. London is a major tourist destination in the world, counting iconic landmarks including the House of the Parliament, the Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, The Tower Bridge, a suspension bridge over the River Thames, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery, the British Airways London Eye Ferris Wheel, the London Millennium Footbridge, a pedestrian-only steel suspension bridge crossing the River thames, Westminster Abbey, which is one of London’s oldest and most important building, it is also a living Church, part of the Church of England, the House of Kings, where the coronation of Kings and Queens has taken place. . London also boasts some of the greatest museums and art galleries and more parkland than any other world capital…. We learned that the Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns; it is the Queen’s official residence. Although in use for the many official events and receptions held by the Queen, areas of Buckingham Palace are opened to visitors on a regular basis. They are lavishly furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection - paintings by famous painters and sculptures, it also got some of the finest English and French furniture in the world…. The changing of guard takes place at the Buckingham Place..changing of guard is of special interest to all tourists, many people wait and line up to witness this activity….changing of the Guard or Guard mounting is one of the oldest and most familiar ceremonies associated with Buckingham Palace…a new guard exchanges duty with the old guard… the guards handover is accompanied by a guard band.. during that time when we were there, they got the Jamaica band as guest band…the bands played traditional military marches, musical shows songs and familiar pop songs… The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is an observation wheel, it is the largest observation wheel in the world. The London Eye has become the most popular paid for UK visitor attraction, visited by over 3.5 million people a year. The London Eye stands 135 metres (443 ft) hig… “Pero sabi nila natalo na daw ang London eye for being the largest Ferris wheel in the world, because there are other largest Ferris Wheel, such as “The Star of Nanchang” in China which stands at 160 meters (525 ft) and another contender for the title “ Singapore Flyer” due for completion in 2008, its stand 165 meters (541 ft)….. The Tower of London, is a historic monument in central London. The Tower’s primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison for high status and royal prisoners. It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armory, a treasury, a public records office, an observatory and home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. We boarded the River Thames Cruise, which is the best way to see the splendour and sights of London… as the river Thames weaves its way through the capital there is history round every bend…..we also saw private cruise (complete with dining facility, band and singers on board ) the people probably celebrating a birthday, an anniversary…or just enjoying a romantic evening on the river boat ,… me ikinasal pa nga eh..….wow na wow !!! what an ideal and stylist way to celebrate ha !!. I thought, I like better the “River Seine Cruise” in the City of Paris than the “River Thames Cruise” in London, because the river Seine is more clean, the shore of the river is more in order, it got better and beautiful view and surroundings as well…for info the Thames river in London and Seine river in Paris, is ala “ Ilog Pasig” sa Manila… sa Ilog Pasig wa ako say !!! Learned Lessons - Gratitude is the hearts memory - Don’t forget until too late that the business of life is not business, but living. …so live life to the fullest… - The cost of living is going up and the chance of living is going down… - The sweetest of all sounds is praise… So much for today, London adventure to be continued, Warm regards and God Bless, Miles ========================================= Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 08:43:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Our Europe Travel Chika Part 13 To: Hi and Hello to all Glad to share my traveloque Part 13 Here is the continuation of ”our London adventures”…. On our second day in city of London , we had a whole day walking tour and saw the following landmarks, famous Winchester Cathedral, the statue of King Alfred The Great, situated in Oxford shire in a county in Southeast of England, The Stonehenge and the Gregorian Bath … Initially, when we were issued the tour brochure, ang pagkakaintindi ko sa word na Bath eh literal .. a bath house ..akala ko ang pupuntahan namin.. eh just to see ruins of old bath houses lang.. yon bang ala “Los Banos” hot spring bath house..yon pala.. ang BATH… is a beautiful CITY in North East Somerset, England, at dito sa city na ito marami silang tourist attractions with Gregorian architecture designs buildings that includes old Roman baths … please…read more below…. The amazing “Stonehenge” is not as big as it is being reflected in movies, or in print media…maliit lang pala ito..I like its big wide green landscape background… it is so serene…. As per our tour guide, the "Stonehenge" which means “ the hanging stone” is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wilshire. Stonehenge is a "henge monument" meaning that it consists of large rocks in a circular formation. It is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, the site and its surroundings is in the list of the Unesco of World Heritage… . Many believe that the rock formation “Stonehenge” used to be a “instrument of torture“ during the Medieval time…another theory stated that it was a spaceship work of the “Extra terrestials ” who tried to invade the earth during the early times…and many more related stories/legends about this rock formation….the "Stonehence" has been the setting of popular movies, many tourists flock to this tourists archeological ruins everyday…. Per our tour guide, King Alfred the Great was known was one of the best kings ever to rule mankind. He defended Anglo-Saxon England from Viking raids, formulated a code of laws, and fostered a rebirth of religious, and scholarly activities in England… Winchester Cathedral , in Winchester, Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England. It is about 17th century old and now a days draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen, famous English Novelist, who died in the city and is buried in the cathedral’s north aisle… “ I remember very well, Jane Austen is the author of the famous novel “ Pride and Prejuidice” and “Sense Sensibility” this is our main readings in our literature subject noong high school ako, also terror yong teacher namin dito kaya dapat basa mo lahat “…. Another attraction associated with Winchester Cathedral, is that its building was used as a film-set for the “The Da Vince Code”, as the Vatican in the movie…In addition Winchester Cathedral is the only cathedral to have had popular songs written about it. “ Winchester Cathedral “ song was a UK top ten hit and a US number one song in 1966….naala-ala nyo ba yong kantang yon !!!! I forget na kung sino ang kumanta ..eh…. We continued our tour to Bath, a marvelous Gregorian city famous for its curative mineral water since Roman times. The city is founded around the only occuring hot springs in UK. The water from the spring were believed to be a cure for many aflictions, and in the olden times, Bath was a resort for the weathy, it is now a World Heritage Site … … Bath swarms with tourists in the summer, many entertainer performs in front of Bath Abbey, near the Roman Baths… Bath’s principal industry is tourism, with its main attractions such as, the Roman Baths, (The best preserved Roman religious spa in ancient World. It contains one of the best examples of a Roman bath complex in Europe ) Bath Abbey, (built in 1400, this is the last great gothic church in England, a cathedral and now the most visited "parish church" in England. The present church, built on the ruins of an earlier abbey in the early 1500s is in white Bath stone.)….The Royal Cresecent , (a residential road of about 30 magnificent houses with Georgian architectural design laid out in a crescent form), and the Thermae Bath Spa, a modern spa in the city of Bath in England, the main spa has natural thermal baths, most of the faciliies are in ultra modern building designs…. After our Bath tour, and prior going back to our hotel that day….we did our last minute shopping along Bromptons Road where the Famous” Harrods dept store” is situated. Because Harrods dept store is a famous landmark and the largest dept stores in London, …katulad ng marami..nag-osioso kami dito… this is a very huge store, it got about million square feet of selling space…it got many many departments such as chocolate restaurant, food hall, opulent styles Ladies and Mens wear dept, world famous toys, Garden shop, carpentry Shop, Perfumery, snack bar, household and kitchen wares and a lot lot more,…… we went to their comfort room, which they called Luxury Washroom, malayo ka pa lang … wow na wow na ang amoy ….super bango!!! meron humahalimuyak na perfume doon sa "smiley" nila, … kaya pala Luxury Washroom… because you will be pampered and endulged in a very sweet scent smell in the place, equiped with beautiful towels, hand lotions, sweet smelling soap and perfume for your use….. … I have seen the documentary film of Harrods dept. store made by National Geographic..aside from describing the Harrods dept store,…. the documentary also deals with a story about the very loyal messenger of Mr. Mohamed Al-Fayed who has worked at the store for many years, about more than fifty years…he worked at Harrods store and has has been a diligent worker, and served as janitor, bus boy, sales clerk, and as information personnel who welcomes customers to the store, until he became the most trusted messenger of Mr. Al-Fayed…. napanood nyo ba ito!!! Since the owner, Mr. Mohamed Al-Fayed, of Harrods dept store is of Egyptian origin, the store is full of Egyptian designs and artifacts.. ala museum ang dating and staircase dito ….they also got a Pincess Diana and Dodie (who is the son of Mohamed Al-Fayed) Memorial in the store….let me refresh your memory, Dodie is the boyfriend of Princess Diana, they were killed in crash accident in a tunnel in the city of Paris….incidentally we saw the crash site in Paris and it is always part of the tell tale of the tourist guides in the city….. We bid goodbye to London with a wonderful, exciting and unforgetble memories, we promised… " We shall return"…. Learned Lessons - Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of vigorous intellect - A wise man turns chance into good fortune - Fun is like insurance, the older you get, the more it costs. - Blessings never come in pairs, misfortune never come alone. So much for today…..abangan, the conclusion of my traveloque….. Warm regards and God Bless, Miles ============================ Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:46:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Miles Bernal Subject: Europe Tour Conclusion.. To: Europe Tour Conclusion.. Hi and hello to all… Glad to share you the conclusion of our Europe Tour …We thanked God we arrived Pinas safely. Ms. Mai Ciocson, Ms Fely Mendoza and I are back to reality !!!.. We arrived Manila safely but extremely tired and exhausted that we needed a week to rest and get plenty of sleep…. I am happy and thankful to all of you for taking the time to read our telenovela, Europe Traveloque Part 1 - 14 (kahit na sobra sa haba..) I hope I have perked up your imagination, enhance your reading habits and most important your travel interest. I hope our Europe travel experiences has inspired and touched your lives, and given you insights and travel information for your future use… From the heart, I enjoyed writing this traveloque for you… kahit na hindi na daw uso ngayon ang pagbabasa…kc ang uso daw ngayon eh mga visuals na in other words mga video and pictures na ang uso…the habit of reading is no longer in existence daw !!…but somehow sana napagalaw ko ang inyong imaginations.. sana napatawa at naaliw ko kayo …for your viewing pleasure, I will send you our travel pictures in my next email… For others who missed parts of my traveloque, please advise I will gladly re send it to you.. .For your reference, I have attached the Insight Vacations “European Discovery Tour’ Map, itinerary, schedule and tour cost…. I strongly suggest that you attend and visit the “Travel Tour Trade Fair” usually held every second week of February at Megamall Trade Hall, there are cheap and discounted airfares and tour packages (both International and domestic) in this fair….kita kits tayo doon…!! Big thanks for all your inspiring notes, questions, comments, and feedback re this traveloque….my nephew, Mark said….“ Ante, haba and dami na ng story nyu ha.. pede na kayo gumawa ng libro, try nyo print out story nyo my book na kyo he he.he….. ( I told my nephew, siya ang taga benta ng book !!!! ) - Nakakatuwa naman itong story mo …but that adds excitement to it. At least you came in safe and back alive. Kailan kaya ako makakapagtravel sa EuropE! - Miles – na iintriga na ako dyan sa tour director ninyo. Anyways, good to hear that in spite of the hassles, you were able to enjoy your tour and you were all back in one piece! - Keep the story coming – It’s enjoyable to hear your “anecdotes”! - Hi Miles , yah at the time you were in London while the air bombing was going on - I was a bit worried about you guys but I know everything will be fine as it turned out to be - sanay ka naman sa exciting, suspenseful travel - kaya no worry really how is ms Mai? sabi ko nga… sana ma reroute kayo sa Vancouver so I can see u, yah the bombing incident was kind of fearful moment …anyway more kwentos…and pixs plss. - Hi! Tita MILES, Nice to hear from you again. I agree with you about your INSIGHT/ AIG insurance. My family subscribe to that. we enjoy cool weather/snowy sights. That is heavenly to us. You may be interested to watch THE PASSION play in OBERAMERGAU,GERMANY come 2010. That one is so beautiful It comes only every 10 yrs. We were there 1990.Travelling is also our vice. It is very exhilirating to know other places/culture & people. Happy travelling. - Hi Miles Of course we are envious but we know that it is a well deserved vacation… - Wow, Miles, glad you had a good time. Europe is so expensive now with the decline value of the dollar. How much for the whole trip? - How much is the package tour per head Tita, I have read the 5th part of your trip and looks great. I may plan in the future, who knows……. - Thanks for including me in your update. I’m glad you are enjoying yourself. Safe trip always. - I love your recount or travelogue… kung alam mo lang as I was reading, miss ma miss ko na ang Europe..the camaraderie, si Kumareng Vietcong na panay snub snub ang dating, lalo ng ang daughter nya, ang mag asawang Balmaceda, na ma health-conscious, lalo na si General at ang kanyang dominant voice, his convincing skills with a touch of sarcasm but you cant refuse the offer… what a powerful leader! BTW, naka album na ako ng photos pls continue the travelogue… I will show them to ex PGI s they are scheduling a visit to my house… for my kuentos y chicas..ok hope to hear from you again and again. regards to ms fely.. -Hey! I’ve been reading on the travelogues you’ve been sending. I’m having vicarious experience out of them. So happy for you guys and am wishing that your travel will be fun-filled, educational and a great experience. Take care, keep on massaging each other by the end of the day. Keeps the photos intact for our viewing. Regards and God bless. - We had the opportunity to go to Monserrat and line up to go to the Black Madonna. Just like Toledo City , Monserrat was a place to visit & appreciate . The buffet dinner and flamenco dance was also worth our time. Siempre masarap ang paella and all the tapas. It was my first chance to watch flamenco dancing. Ang galling mong gumawa ng travelogue… - Thanks. Para na kc itong novel..may surprise, anger, excitement, etc. Bihira lang po kasi ang katulad nyo…kc you focus more on details, every single move naka-detalye kaya ang sarap basahin … -Please send po ng part 1, 2, and 3. Gusto ko basahin kasi parang nagtravel na din ako. Tnx. - Sana nag kita kita tayo sa Rome last month with my family. We were in Rome and Tuscanny in mid-July 2007 for 2 weeks for our annual family vacation in Europe. Let me know if you are in New York City. Ako ang taya. Bert Gimenez visited me in NYC in late June. Are you still in Europe? - hanep ate miles talagang super duper enjoy ka, i am very happy for you, you really deserve it, to enjoy the fruits of your labor, dapat lang ‘no. well kame dito ayos lang by the grace of god, thank you lord. We love lots from you. - Napagod nako pagbabasa parang kasama mo akong naglalakad habang nagkukwento ka…hiningal din ako eh….. -Thanks for keeping me in your mailing list. I find your travelogue very interesting. Am compiling them for future reference if and when I have the chance to travel to these places. Enjoy your trip! -I really envy that you have always been able to travel- something I would also love to do. Hope to see you sometime when you are in town. -Enjoy your trip and thanks for sending me the back issues. - I’m lucky I’ve already included in your series of travel experiences, feeling ko nung binabasa ko ito, parang kasama mo ako (how I wish, hehehehe) anyway, parang kulang lang kasi pang-8 na ito and I’ve missed the previous ones… mas feel ko sana kung gets ko rin yung iyong traveloque from the start hehehhe… Siya, til your next adventure…Ingat ka lang palagi… - Good I got your PART 8 tour diary! So what does Part 8 mean – 8th time you’ve traveled Europe ? Hmm feeling rich nga talaga kayo. So you are with a tour group pala. Sana you can send 1-2 pictures. Bitin ang kwento without pictures, although I get to practice my imagination with your description. - You should send me your itinerary and summary of expenditures when you are done. My husband and I plan to take a short and not too expensive Europe tour in 2009. Sana we can push through with not spending too much and picking only 2-3 cities we really like to learn about. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your trip. - Thanks Miles. Are the shops El Corte Ingles still around? Were you able to see “Corrida de Toro” or some cultural shows in Plaza Mayor. Have your great days in Europe. - how’s ur travel? When are you going to go back here. Pasalubong ko ha! kahit murang relo lang (di joke lang)…hehe. Take care always sa travel nyo. Hope ur travel back here in the Philippines free from any hazard and filled of blessings. -Hi Miles, How much ur Package Tour. Except ur allowance. Ingat n Be happy always n Enjoy ur Tour. - Naku ang sarap naman basahin nitong tour mo. Gusto ko rin makapunta ng Europe. Magkano umabot ng tour na ito? Anong agency ang ginamit ninyo? Gusto ko rin mag tour yayain ko si husband para naman makapunta din ako ng Europe. Please advise naman, ano ba ang mga requirements at anong agency ang kukontakin ko. Thank you for sharing with me your wonderful experiences sa Europe. Auf Wiedersehen!!! - Naku ms. Miles feeling ko kasama niyo ako sa tour, hehehehehe. Keep going. Thank you. - MILES, YOU’RE HAVING A GOOD TIME…I AM JEALOUS!! GIVE MY REGARDS TO MAI AND MS. FELY. - Hi Miles! I enjoyed reading your travel experiences. Please continue sharing! - Hello Miles, I really enjoy reading your experiences in your Europe Tour. Para na rin ako naka punta sa Europe.So where’s your next trip again, hope I can go with you. I know I will enjoy kung ikaw ang kasama sa tour. Yan si Miles Bernal, full of happenings, experiences and knowledge. Regards. God Bless. - Hi Miles. As you can see your good travel news travel fast. upon reading it brought back memories of the same tour that my daughter & I took last year. As you said it was fun (except that your extra experience probably added more thrill ) and memorable. There were only 22 of us in this trip (all from Philippines & Australia), we all were like family including our tour director Tim Pendelbury (pogi pa) and our driver, Francois (he was also the driver when my sister & niece took the trip a year earlier)…. My daughter really enjoyed the sites, culture & food. We plan to go back (likely Eastern Europe ) next year or in two years. Keep on sharing your travels. I enjoy reading them. - Hi Tita Miles, Am so happy for you. Truly enjoying the prime of your life. .- I’m happy to know that you enjoyed your trip. Hay, naku, ako kaya kelan makakasama sa inyo…Kita-kits tayo when you’re in Manila … -Wow, wala talaga akong masabi sa inyong dalawa ni Mai, BIG TIME! While reading your e-mail, I could feel what you’ve gone through. Iba talaga yung sanay na sanay mag travel, you know what to do next pag me problema at yung presence of mind talagang kailangan iyan. At syempre malaking bagay yung dasal, dahil si Lord ang bilis umaction nyan, iniisip mo pa lang ang problem, may sugo na sya to help you. I had fun reading your escapades in Europe. Thanks for always keeping me in the loop about your travel. I always learn something from your travel experiences. I’m so happy for you and Mai, kasi talagang you’re enjoying life to the fullest, ika nga. Ayos yan malaking bagay yan sa buhay ng isang tao and it adds life to revitalize your looks and feeling. Kaya baka pagnakita tayo in the future baka mas mukhang older pa kong tignan kesa inyo….he.he..he..Best regards sa inyong dalawa ni Mai and take care. Tuloy nyo lang yan. God bless you both. - so much fun! you deserve it Miles - Miles, You spin such a fascinating tale of your experience in the Old World. I was riveted to my seat, anxiously scrolling down the screen not wanting to miss even one word of your acccount, at umpisa pa lang ‘yon, ha? Can’t wait for the next chapters. ‘Kakainggit naman kayo ni Mai, puro pasyal (at gastos! but who cares, huh?), by this time you should be considered jet setters na! I’m so happy for the two of you and I pray that the Good Lord will continue to shower you with His graces and blessings for the years to come (para tuloy pa rin ang mga kuwento ni Miles). Keep in touch, as I will. - DEAR MILES, THANK YOU FOR THIS TOUR UPDATE OF YOURS. FROM HERE WE LEARNED ALREADY A LOT. ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR TOUR AND REGARDS TO MAI. I MISS YOU. - Hello Tita Miles, Thanks for sharing your stories and your wisdom. I felt like seeing those places and I enjoyed reading it, too. May God bless you more with happy moments and life’s best offerings. Take care. - Hi Tita Miles Salamat po and I’m so happy for you….God bless. - Good am! How are you? nakakainggit naman po kayo you’ve visited many and beautiful places not only attractive but it has also good historical background. Anyway, It seems that when i was reading your travelogue parang kasa-kasama nyo na rin ako. Basta pasalubong ko ha pag-uwi… para akong bata beging for chocolate or whatever pasalubong. He..he…Tita Miles sana when go back here in the Philippines magkakwentohan tayo personally. Although, reading your stories through email is quite good but talking /conversation face to face is more meaningful. Ingat po lagi sa travel…May you have a meaningful and unforgetable experiences there. Yours in prayer - Hi Miles: It has been a long time since i enter to internet. First of all I want to thank you for your mails and I was reading about your trip to Europe, it was a great experience! Per study, vacations enhance productivity, it is an indicator of healthier lifestyles and can cause better health. It does have physical and mental benefits, records showed that those who take vacations more frequently are less likely to become tense or depressed. Those people who goes on vacations are reported being more satisfied with their lives. …So, always have a vacation, and travel,… travel while you are still young, (mahirap magbiyahe kung me rayuma na kayo !!) if you can afford it and have the means to travel, don’t postpone travelling for tomorrow, (or till you retire) tomorrow may never come!!!, spent not on material things, it will perish, but spent your money on travels it serves as bonding moments and happy memories with your family, it is your legacy which no amount of money can buy… My warm and best wishes to all…

May God bless you all.

Miles

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