Sommar i Gröna Lund*

I was sifting through mementos in my travel shoebox when I saw this:

Gröna Lund Ticket

It reminded me of that summer four years ago when a mixed bunch of us (I, together with Philippine Embassy kids CPM and JPM, fellow exchange student RGI and DLSU exchange professors TG and AN) welcomed the sunshine and warm bright day after several grey, chilly and snowy months in Stockholm. So off we went to Gröna Lund, Stockholm's oldest theme park (built in the 1880s) by the sea located on Djurgarden island.

All Blogging Roads Lead to Cebu Blog Camp 2011

In a week's time, bloggers in Cebu and maybe even across the country will be converging at the Cebu Blog Camp 2011 and I am thrilled as I count the days to the event. Here's my take on why I am excited to be one of the happy blogging campers.

5. The Emily Post in Blogging

In the past three years or so, we've seen the blog as a new form of media, and bloggers have utilized this platform either as an avenue of expression, a source of information or for profit. With the changing media landscape and all that buzz about the big bad blogger, it is high time for the blogging community to display some sense of decorum not just in media events but in carrying out day-to-day activities.

A Dose of Spanish Jazz on a Friday Night

My friend CM and I spent our Friday night listening to una cuarteto español at the Fernan Press Center in Cebu City. The small auditorium was packed with diplomats, expats, Cebu's who's who, students and those (like us) who just wanted to unwind and enjoy some beautiful music after a long workweek. Plus it was for free thanks to Arts Council of Cebu, the Spanish Embassy in the Philippines, Agencia Español de Cooperación Internacional and Amigas de España en Cebu.

Windy and Rainy Fiesta in Tapilon (Daanbantayan, Cebu)

It was a rainy Saturday morning. Several CLAWees and I answered an invitation for an overnight stay in the north. We headed to the Cebu North Bus Terminal and by 10:00 A.M. we were already embarking on a four-hour trip to Daanbantayan, in the northernmost part of Cebu island.

Jo-Ed's + The Pantry = Birthday Treat for a Friend

Yesterday was CM's birthday so I treated her to a dinner this evening at JOED's Lutong Hapon, a hole-in-the-wall Japanese carinderia in Mabolo which she has long wanted to try out ever since I mentioned it to her.

We both had beef teriyakidon, kani salad and sushi mix. 

Beef Teriyakidon

Holiness, Highness and Majesty

Today, the world witnessed the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Two days ago, the world swooned as Prince William and Catherine Middleton took each other as husband and wife and were declared Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

I wasn't anywhere near Vatican City nor the Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace the past two days. But I had my share of paying homage to the Pope and getting a glimpse of the royalty (the Swedish monarchs, not the British royals).

At St. Peter's Square in Vatican (December 2005)