Sunday, July 31, 2011

game of thrones in Gozo, Malta

i finally got to watching my copy of the Game of Thrones and yet another nostalgic scene presented itself to me! the venue for the wedding of Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen was by the Azure window in the Island of Gozo in Malta! They probably just used the background and didnt film there at all though. While watching before this scene came up, I was wondering where they filmed or what places they used because they all seemed so nice to visit and boom! they used Malta! Isn't it cool? i guess not so much for you, but it is for me! :)

anyway, here's a screenshot of the scene in the series and a pic of me in Gozo, Malta in May 2010 taken by mr and mrs potatohead. :) Also, as much as the series sounds geeky and dungeons-and-dragons-y (what really prevented me to watch it from the get-go), it really is quite addicting to watch. highly recommended!
goes and wanders

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

a masochistic nostalgia or a nostalgic masochism

the other day, when i was procrastinating, very much like what i am doing today, i chanced upon the street view feature of google maps. i was trying to remember a place in Padova and how it was oriented in my mind.
and so i went trigger happy with my snipping tool. i went to town with it. literally, no digitally.
i was dying of nostalgia as i roamed the streets of Padova just like it was a closed door away.
a few clicks and i was back in Piazza dell'Erbe buying fruits and vegetables for tonight's feast, a few more and i'm at Owen's doorstep, too early for movie night and yet a few more i'm at franny's place, ready to trade files from our hard drives.

Monday, July 25, 2011

no pain, no gain

no. actually, i wish i was there;)

i've been popping pills to relieve me of my back pain for months now! for some reason though, yesterday and today have been soooooo painful. it even reaches my knees! im  too old for this.

i wonder if it needs exercise or the other way around and not do any sports at all.

goes and wanders

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Tom Parker Bowles of Esquire writes about his gastronomic tour in Manila

"We seem to lack a decent marketing of our food. And we don't show off our own food, rather we keep it to ourselves. Upscale Filipino restaurants have never worked. They're expensive and Filipino people will say, "They're not authentic, they're geared for foreigners and we can cook better at home so why bother?""

click on the pictures to read





read more from the site

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though, he really didn't paint a real pretty picture of Manila with his descriptions, i like how he fell in love with the Philippine cuisine.but then again, he did have some topnotch guides by his side so really, who wouldn't fall in love with food by Margarita Fores or a descendant of the Sisig pioneer.

goes and wanders

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

finalmente

finally, after months of being in this country, we found a date to surf!
didnt get to ride my board which was by the way, safe and sound under luke's stairway but got good rides with marla's 9ft NSP and the 7.6ftNSP i rented. my board, as i was told is meant for bigger waves so the first session was just me paddling around trying to catch rides with itty-bitty waves. it was tiring but really really worth it.

also got to take underwater pics but bringing around sabs' camera turned out to be more of a hassle as we couldnt really surf with it. we had to pass it around. although it would've been nice to catch a wave with it and film the ride! :)

ive also been meaning to post my screen caps of google maps but thats for another post! :)




goes and wanders

Monday, July 4, 2011

wanted: good news

to the universe,
more than any other day, i am in need of good news today.
if possible, a really good one. i haven't really had one since this
goes and wanders

Sunday, July 3, 2011

are you a true traveler?

i saw this on a tumblr im following and thought id share it!

40 Signs You’re a True Traveler

You won’t find many people in the world that downright dislike traveling, but there are many of us that can admit that we are “travel obsessed”. We spend our entire days thinking about travel, traveling, and travel-related things. Travel is our life, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Here is a list of 40 signs that you too, might be travel obsessed, or a True Traveler.


1. Instead of spending all of your money on that new phone, clothes, or big screen TV, you save it all for a plane ticket.

2. You wonder why people are always saying that they want to travel, but never do.

3. You get really irritated when friends “travel” to all inclusive resort hotels, and post hundreds of photos of themselves on the beach.

4. When you’re at home you include the currency in your prices, even though it’s obvious. Example: “I paid $40 Canadian for…”

5. You are always counting down to your next trip. Otherwise you are planning another one.

6. You often plan trips that you never take.

7. You’ve slept in more hostels than you can count on your fingers. And toes.

8. Your passport is scruffy and has stamps on every page. Renewed passports look too clean to touch.

9. You suffer reverse-culture shock. You feel more out of place when you return home, than you did while traveling.

10. When someone asks how many countries you’ve been to, you actually have to take a moment to count.

11. You refer to cities by their airport codes.

12. You hardly ever get lost, and when you do, you have no problem asking a local for help.

13. You use a beach towel for showering.

14. You spend all day reading travels blogs, and probably have one of your own.

15. You feel obligated to be friends with the other Canadian (or whatever your nationality) while traveling, even though you might not be while at home.

16. Your phone is full of geography and travel apps.

17. You have a subscription to both National Geographic, and National Geographic Traveler.

18. When you meet someone new, your first question is “where are you from?”

19. When you’re actually at home, most of your belongings spend their time in suitcases or boxes, because you never really unpack.

20. You can make take-out last for days.

21. You’ve spent more than one month in a foreign country. Alone.

22. You know about global disasters within minutes of the incident.

23. You have spent at least one night sleeping outdoors, somewhere.

24. When you ask someone for their address, you don’t mean e-mail. Postcards are the best.

25. Your New Year’s Resolutions always resemble a bucket list; listing off countries that you want to visit.

26. You commonly start sentences with, “My friend from ________ [insert country]…”

27. You commonly start sentences with. “This one time in ________ [insert city]…”

28. Your friends from home roll their eyes each time you come up with new travel plans.

29. Your permanent address is still your parents’ house, because you’re never in one place for long enough.

30. Your walls are covered in maps and photos of places that you’ve been, or would love to go.

31. You have a box full of souvenirs, trinkets, memories and random items from abroad. You keep everything from seashells to bus tickets, and beer caps to candy wrappers.

32. You have a map of the world tattooed somewhere on your body.

33. You have multiple currencies in your wallet right now.

34. You know that couch surfing has nothing to do with the ocean. Usually.

35. Your unborn children already have a bucket list.

36. You’ve taken a plane, followed by a bus, before a train, and then another bus, before a long walk and a second train and a cab.

37. You only watch TV for the travel channel.

38. If you haven’t traveled in too long, you get anxious.

39. When someone asks what your biggest passion is, you answer “travel”, without a second thought.

40. You’re named after a city :p

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9, i guess im in a really prolonged version of this reverse-culture-shock right now.
10, i actually try to keep count but sometimes, i do forget. haha
18, hey, i actually do that!
19, this is very true. even though id really want to rid my place of all the clutter, there's this need to keep an emergency bag for those random trips
21, try, a year.
23, too many to count. airports, train stations, dilapidated and under construction houses, etc.
25,26,27,28, all true in my case
30, been planning to do that. just too expensive to print out my pics!
32, id get that tattoo if i did decide to get one
34, yeah, ive gotten a lot of quizzical looks because of the mention of that
35, this made me laugh. maybe i will make one for them now.
36, i mostly walk though. matter of preference. :)
38 and 39...very true for me

link to where i got this

goes and wanders