Flowers, fruits and more

One of the highlights from our recent trip to France is the trip to the garden/plant shop. They had various kinds of plants from blooms to fruit bearing to ornamental, they also have indoor, outdoor, hanging and water plants, name it they have it. Honey and I have always wanted to visit gardens here in the Netherlands coz we know they’d be really good, it is the home of the beautiful tulips after all, but we never get to go.

I love all the flowers, in different shapes, sizes, colour and scent, it was simply wonderful. Going to this garden also bolstered my desire to grow my own fruit bearing plants in our back garden. The look of lemon hanging from the branches was priceless, and beneficial too, if I may add.

I had to stop honey from buying all the tall trees, telling him that we’ll just buy them from here. We ended up with a pot of roses, several pots of strawberries, two pots of tiger lilies and a pot of parsley. These plants were immediately replanted on our back garden the moment we arrived home. That’s how excited we were about these beauties.



Good thing we didn’t buy much from France though, after talking to my colleague, who’s half French and half Dutch, he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the plants we bought we’re actually imported from the Netherlands and that his parents (specially his mom who is French) buys loads of plants from here whenever their going back to France coz its much cheaper here. He also recommended a garden where it’s really good to buy plants. We’ll definitely drop by and buy all the plants that I want to grow myself.




I’m really looking forward to this coming Spring, more than ever, coz I’m excited to see all my plants mature to their fullest beauty.

Our girl is now a Big Girl

Cute!!!! Imagine me shrieking this word with a decibel that hurt my brother in law’s pet cats’ ear. Sorry, I can’t help it. The moment I entered my sister’s kitchen and saw her feeding her little angel, I just yelped out the word.




Now that I’m thinking about it though, cute doesn’t begin to describe our little Alex’ big hazel eyes, her dark brown curly hair and her hypnotic smile. Indeed she does. No wonder all my sisters in the Philippines went gaga over her during her one month visit to Manila. She’s simply captivating. She started to cry the moment honey and I entered because she doesn’t recognize us anymore. It figures, the last time we saw her was six months ago. However, after just half an hour of trying to woo her, she gave in. She’s much bigger now than the last time I saw her and she is starting to become prettier as opposed to just being cute the last time we were together. Her plump pink cheeks are now more defined, our Michelin girl is now gone, in her place is this big pretty girl.






She loves to turn and twirl and tumble in the bed, when I carry her around she turns around as well. She is very curious about anything and everything around her. And when you ask her to give you a kiss, she sticks out her tongue and touches your lips or cheeks with it. Honey quipped by saying “she gives you an authentic French kiss.” Hehe. Indeed she does. She doesn’t like to sit long on her stool and would look at you with pleading eyes to take her from the stool, which of course I can’t ignore. Honey and I enjoyed Alex’ company over the entire weekend, we can’t seem to get enough of her.



As they say, all things must come to an end, with heavy hearts we had to say goodbye to Alex on Sunday morning to embark on another seven-hour drive back home. I sure hope to see her again very soon. I do hope and pray that Alex grows up to be a good, loving, God-fearing kid.

Sunshine and meadows

Apart from seeing my family, especially my angel of a niece, Alex, one of the things that I enjoy immensely each time we go to France is the long drive, that is, when the weather is nice. Such was the case last Friday. When we got in the car to start our long haul journey, it was raining a bit (which is very typical Dutch weather) so my hopes were not that high. What do you know? Less than an hour later, the sun decided to show himself and shone majestically on the fields and meadows that we passed through, the sight was breathtaking.



The change in landscape between Netherlands and France is quite dramatic. I can readily tell that I’ve entered French territory the moment we saw up hills and down hills on the road. We see mountains and cliffs as we drive through the express way of France, whereas, the land is as flat as a ruler in the Netherlands.



My favourite site in France is this towering bridge and a viaduct. I don’t know why but this viaduct reminds me so much of the one in Ilocos.



It was a pleasant seven-hour drive. I had picturesque views to entertain me as we go through the long trip.

One night in Paris

Third time’s a charm, this is an adage that can very well describe our visit to the city of lights, Paris. You see, on our second visit to Paris, my impression of the city was tainted by the memory of some less than pleasant (more aptly, rude) people that we have come across. So when L, a friend of ours who is visiting from Dubai, requested that we take her there, I was less than thrilled but since she has gone a long way to visit us, Honey and I decided to give in to her request.

We started our road trip at about ten in the morning and passed by Ghent and then finally arriving at our hotel around 8pm. We wasted no time, just left our bags in the hotel and started our trek towards the Eiffel tower. Now this is where the enchanting beauty of Paris caught my eye. I have noticed how romantic the streets of Paris are at night, sans the chaotic running of the souvenir vendors near the tower trying to get away from the police. The display of lights in the Eiffel tower was no less than breathtaking.
Statues that stood on every street added more to the city’s charm. It was a perfect night in Paris, with the weather just warm enough to enjoy a lazy stroll around parks while a refreshing breeze blows occasionally. We capped the night off with a dinner at a Chinese restaurant that was close to our hotel. I know, I know, we were in a place well renowned for its food and we gobble down good old Chinese food. What can we do we were so hungry and we enjoyed our stroll immensely that we lost track of time and we couldn’t find any other restaurant close to the hotel.


The following morning was another glorious opportunity that we grabbed to explore other jewels in the city. We dropped by the Louvre, we loved the park right in front of the museum where a lot of statues are up on display.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame is also fascinating, the paintings on display were so intricate as well as the effigy on display in every corner.
It was too crowded though and I didn’t appreciate the fact that tourists roam around the church and snapped pictures to their heart’s content while a mass was being celebrated. We also passed by the Arc of Triumph and Champs Elysees.

One word stuck with me as we waved Paris goodbye…. Charming. A city that fascinates and captivates tourist and would make them keep coming back. I definitely am looking forward to our next visit.