Throwback: Bruges

(While going through my old blog posts, I realized that some of the most interesting things I've written about are my travel experiences. There are a few places I got to visit before I launched this blog back in 2005 and I thought it would be good if I write about those trips as well.)

Bruges is an enchanting city with a quaint, small-town vibe. It boasts of beautiful architecture set amidst lovely canals, giving it a medieval charm that attracts multitudes of tourists each year. It is not surprising then that the Historic Centre of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the many canals around Bruges

One of the best places to see in this city's historic centre is the Markt or Market Square. It's pretty big as central squares go and it is surrounded by buildings whose medieval architecture has been preserved over the centuries.

Colorful houses along the Markt that feature medieval architecture

One of the most important buildings around this square is the Provinciaal Hof, or Province Court. Rebuilt in the 19th century with a neo-gothic architectural style. this building is where the provincial government of West Flanders used to meet.

Provinciaal Hof or Province Court

A statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck stands at the center of the Markt. In 1302, Breydel and de Coninck led the Bruges Matins or massacre of the French garrison. This led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs, a revolution of the Flemish against the occupation of King Philip IV of France.

Statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck in the middle of the Markt

The main monument in the Markt is the Belfry of Bruges. This structure stands 83 metres tall and the bell tower houses 47 bells that are still in use.

The Belfry of Bruges

Visitors can pay an entrance fee (€8 for adults, according to their website) to enjoy the museum and climb the 366 steps to the top where you can enjoy breathtaking views of the city. (I certainly did.)

Beautiful view of Bruges from atop the Belfry of Bruges

A liesurely walk from the Markt is the Begijnhof or Béguinage of Bruges. It's a very tranquil spot in the city and walking through the tall trees and beautiful houses was an almost meditative experience.

Begijnhof or Beguinage of Bruges

Next to the Begijnhof is the picturesque Minnewater Lake.

Minnewater Lake

Another place to see in Bruges is the Church of Our Lady of Bruges. At 122.3 metres, it is the tallest structure in the city and the second tallest brickwork tower in the world.

View of the Church of Our Lady of Bruges from the Belfry

One of Michelangelo's artworks has found a permanent home in this church. His Madonna and Child sculpture stands right in the middle of the transept. It is said that this piece is the only sculpture created by Michelangelo to have left Italy while he was still alive.

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child

Transept where the Madonna and Child can be seen

I visited Bruges twice. The first time I was with Daday and Brian (Interesting experience: I parked my car along the street, paid the parking meter, then rushed frantically back to my car make sure I didn't exceed the time I paid for) and the second time was with Duncan and Amy. Both times I visited Bruges, I just spent the day walking around the city with my friends.

A large part of the wonderful experience I had here came from just meandering through the cobblestone streets and waiting to see what's around the corner. However, there are some sights in Bruges that I would have loved to see, such as Burg Square and its Town Hall, the Basilica of Holy Blood, Loppem Castle, and the Bruges Windmills.

Writing these throwback posts about Belgium and remembering my wonderful experiences in this beautiful country makes me want visit it again. I already have a thought in my head for that. Hopefully, I can make it a reality.

Throwback: Ghent

(While going through my old blog posts, I realized that some of the most interesting things I've written about are my travel experiences. There are a few places I got to visit before I launched this blog back in 2005 and I thought it would be good if I write about those trips as well.)

Ghent is a Flemish city located 55 kilometers from Brussels. It was hailed as "Europe's best kept secret" and a must-see destination by Lonely Planet and National Geographic listed it as the third most historic site in the world. I learned about Ghent from friends who highly recommended a visit here and I was able to see it twice: first when I took my friend Omar there and again when I took Duncan and Amy to see it a week later.

This city is known for its three towers: St. Nicholas' Church, the Belfort, and St. Bavo's Cathedral. One of the most popular spots in the city to have your photo taken is on the St. Michael's Bridge where you have a full view of the three towers. I didn't know about this at the time but I didn't need anyone to tell me to have my photo taken there. :)

View of the three towers from the edge of St. Michael's Bridge

St. Nicholas' Church (Sint-Niklaaskerk) is one of the oldest landmarks in the city, dating back to 13th century. This Gothic structure was built using blue-gray stone from the Tournai area.

Photo taken from the back of St. Nicholas' Church

The interior of the church is just as striking as the outside, with its stunning altar flanked by beautiful columns.

The Belfort stands at 91 meters, making it the tallest of Ghent's three towers and also the tallest belfry in Belgium. You can see spectacular panoramic views of the city from the top but unfortunately, I didn't go inside.

The 91-meter tall Belfort

Just a couple of meters shy of the Belfort is St. Bavo's Cathedral (Sint-Baafskathedraal). This church is known for housing the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. This 12-panel altarpiece was created by Hubert and Jan van Eyck and it is considered to be one of the greatest Belgian masterpieces and one of the most significant works of the Northern Renaissance. (I realize that I didn't take a photo of this piece - I'm guessing people aren't allowed to take photos inside? - but you can view it here).

The 89-meter tall tower of St. Bavo's Cathedral

Apart from the Ghent Altarpiece, one of the most interesting things inside the church is the impressively intricate truth pulpit.

Truth puplit in St. Bavo's Cathedral

The beautiful St. Michael's Bridge crosses over one of the city's many elegant canals. While I didn't experience it myself, boat trips along these canals are a popular and recommended way to explore Ghent.

St. Michael's Bridge

Gravensteen Castle was rebuilt in 1180 by Count Philip of Alsace. It name actually means "castle of the counts" although this structure has served other purposes over the centuries, such as a prison and even a factory.

Gravesteen Castle

Gravensteen houses a museum that contains, among many other historical artifacts, a collection of medieval weapons and armor. Apparently, you can actually run into a knight (or, well, someone in a knight costume) while in the castle but I don't know if this is a new attraction or if I just didn't run into one when I was there.

I also got to visit Het Groot Vleeshuis. This restaurant is located in the Great Butcher's Hall that has been in Ghent since the middle ages and it promotes local East Flemish food and produce. It is notable for the hams that hang from the ceiling.

Het Groot Vleeshuis

Beyond the many places of historical significance and interest, what makes Ghent worth visiting is its charm. Just walking around the cobblestone streets of the city, with its abundance of great architecture, is a satisfying experience all by itself. A plethora of quaint and elegant cafes and dining options make it very comfortable to spend time here.

I've read that Ghent is the city where most Belgians would like to travel to within their country. After having a chance to see it for myself, I can understand why.

Next up: Bruges.

Throwback: Living in Brussels Part 2

(While going through my old blog posts, I realized that some of the most interesting things I've written about are my travel experiences. There are a few places I got to visit before I launched this blog back in 2005 and I thought it would be good if I write about those trips as well.)

Instead of heading back home for Christmas during my 3-month stint in Brussels, I asked my mom if she wanted to visit me instead. That way, we could go around Europe without my mom having to take too many days off. She agreed and we got to visit Rome, Athens, Paris, and Lourdes over the Christmas holidays. We finally returned to Brussels on December 31. I do regret not heading to the Grand Place to experience the New Year countdown and celebration there but I was really tired from all the traveling so at I didn't feel like getting dressed and walking 30-45 minutes in the cold. That was the first, and so far only, time I spent Christmas and New Year's Day outside of the Philippines.

Christmas trees adorned the Grand Place during the Yuletide season.

My mom wasn't the only person who visited me. I had a few friends and colleagues who were based in the UK the time - Brian, Kuki, Omar, and Amy and Duncan - and they all visited Brussels at different times. I naturally met up with them and in most cases, I performed tour guide duties by bringing them to Bruges and Ghent.

One of the things I loved about working in Brussels was our great office. It was campus-style with really nice buildings and lots of open space. The cafeteria is also one of the best I've been to. After lunch, my colleagues would normally walk around the office grounds and I would always join them.

When my Belgium assignment was finalized, a colleague in Manila introduced me virtually to Daday, another Filipino who had been working in our Belgian office for many years already. I think he knew her because they worked together before. I first met up with Daday face-to-face for coffee in the office and we've been friends ever since; 12 years later and we still make it a point to see each other every so often.

It was through Daday that I got to meet a lot of other Filipinos based in Belgium. I got to meet many of them during a Filipino gathering in Leuven and as it turns out, there are a lot of Filipino priests living in this city. Of course, it wouldn't be a Pinoy event if there was no karaoke LOL. I still remember one of the songs I sang - "I don't have the heart" by James Ingram.

The magnificently elaborate Leuven Town Hall

On my second to the last weekend in Europe, I decided to spend a weekend in Paris. While my mom and I went to Paris during her visit, we were essentially only passing through because our intent was to go to Lourdes. As such, I decided to take another trip to get to see more of the French capital while I still had the chance.

I revisited Paris on my second to the last weekend in Belgium.

The downside to taking a few trips to other countries and bringing my friends to Bruges and Ghent during the weekends is that I ended up not finding the time to see a few places in Brussels that I would have loved to visit, such as the Atomium and Cinquantenaire. I also didn't get to go inside any of the museums at the Grand Place. The biggest shame, however, was me not getting to try a Belgian waffle. They cost only 1-2 Euros and there were a lot of Belgian waffle shops scattered near the Grand Place and all over the city. I guess I need to visit Belgium again so I can do a few of the things I missed out doing while I was there. :)

More beautiful buildings at the Grand Place

My final weekend in Brussels was spent with the Filipino community again. Daday was celebrating her birthday and she decided that her party would serve as my despedida as well. The celebration lasted the whole day and apart from the karaoke singing, what I distinctly remember was the abundance of food. We were there for lunch and a lot of us stayed until dinner and even then there was still so much food left over. Daday actually had me take some food home with me.

In my last few days in Belgium, I invited my colleagues for a round of drinks in a bar not far from the office. On my last day, I got a few small boxes of Leonidas which I gave as parting tokens for the apartment building staff. Since my cleaning lady wasn't there, I asked the receptionist (who of course also received a box) to give it on my behalf and she told me that the cleaning lady would be very happy to receive a 'thank you' gift.

I will be writing about my trips to Ghent and Bruges next.

Throwback: Living in Brussels Part 1

(While going through my old blog posts, I realized that some of the most interesting things I've written about are my travel experiences. There are a few places I got to visit before I launched this blog back in 2005 and I thought it would be good if I write about those trips as well.)

I had the great fortune to be assigned to a project in Brussels for three months back in late 2002 to early 2003. During my stay there, I lived in a pretty decent serviced apartment that was a liesurely 30-45 minute walk away from the Grand Place.

I took this photo while walking from the Grand Place to my apartment.

While I had a fully furnished kitchen, I barely used it. There was a Hector Chicken near my place where I would often buy my dinner. The alley where I lived, Rue Jourdan, also had a few good restaurants and I frequented the Chinese restaurant and the Brick-oven pizza place there.

Rue Jourdan at night

It was during this stay in Brussels that I discovered Hoegaarden wheat beer. I would sometimes buy a six-pack and drink the beer over a few days. I would also often buy a box of Leonidas chocolates to enjoy after dinner. I normally told myself that I would have only three pieces but I would somehow keep saying 'one more' to myself until I eventually consumed half the box LOL. Suffice it to say that I gained a bit of weight during my Belgian stay. :) This weight gain triggered me to start running regularly when I got back home.

The living room of my serviced apartment

There was a Catholic church very close to where I lived and I would normally hear mass there at around 6pm on Sundays, even if it was celebrated in French. There are churches in Brussels where masses are celebrated in English but those were not very near where I lived and the masses were held earlier in the day. As such, I stuck with the French version, even if I didn't understand what was being said. It was here that I learned that in other countries, the way that people offer peace to other mass-goers is to shake their hand (in the Philippines, we just nod to each other.

I still remember the day that I arrived. As it was winter, the skies were dark and gray. My relocation agent took me to my apartment and she also drove me from there to the office and back. I didn't need to work that day but I requested her to drive me so that I could figure out the driving directions to work (this, of course, was back when GPS wasn't readily available as it is now). My car (rented from Hertz) was ready upon my arrival. This was the first time I experienced driving in another country.

My car

Despite my relocation agent showing me the way to the office, I got massively lost driving to work the next day. It was still dark when I headed out and the roads and landmarks looked very different so I ended up taking the wrong exit. I drove aimlessly around the city trying to figure out how to get back but by sheer luck, I accidentally found my way to the office. But not after being lost for about 1 1/2 hours! Thankfully, there were no more untoward incidents driving to and from work after that.

I did have a few more memorable driving moments in Brussels. I experienced driving from one country to another for the first time in my life. My Filipino friend Brian visited Belgium and while he was there, we decided to drive to Luxembourg, which was about 2 hours away by car. We had no issues getting there but we got terribly lost in Brussels on our way home. We had to ask for directions many times before eventually finding our way. The same thing happened to me when my mom visited. On her last day, I drove her to the airport and I got massively lost heading back. I later discovered that the reason I kept getting lost was that I was following taking the wrong exit from the expressway. Apparently, when driving back from the airport or the expressway to the Brussels City Center (which is where I lived), the easiest route is to follow the signs to Leuven and not to Brussels.

Me in Luxembourg

I also discovered that during rush hour, traffic can be pretty brutal in Brussels as well, especially in the inner ring. On one particularly strange day, the traffic was backed up and I actually saw about five minor collisions. Wow! Many of my Belgian colleagues told me that they try to avoid driving in Brussels as they themselves have experienced getting a bit lost or being stuck in traffic.

I also experienced driving in snow for the first time. As I headed out the garage to go to work one morning, I saw that it was snowing a lot! Despite driving really carefully, I was still very anxious. The most heart-pounding moment was when light changed at an intersection. I stepped lightly on my brakes so that I would slowly draw to a halt but my car felt like it was slipping. I was so worried that my car would go all the way to the middle of the intersection but thankfully my car stopped in time. That still rates as one of the scariest driving experiences I've had in my life.

A snow-covered car (not mine)

Because of the weather, I did get to experience my first "Winter Wonderland" as the ground was covered under a blanket of snow.

I also experienced my coldest temperature at -13 Celsius, and that hasn't taken into account the windchill factor. To make things worse, during that period of tremendous cold, I had to attend a 3-day training in our production plant. Unfortunately, the training room was in the opposite end of the plant and you had to walk outdoors to get there; you couldn't walk inside the plant. It was about a five minute walk outdoors in below zero temperatures. As if that wasn't enough, the cafeteria was right next to the plant entrance. So everyday, through the frigid weather, we had to walk 5 minutes to the training room at the start of the day, 5 minutes to the cafeteria for lunch break, 5 minutes to the training room again after lunch, then 5 (or more) minutes back to the parking lot to head home. Even my European colleagues were having major difficulties with the cold!

More memorable moments during my stint in Belgium in my next post.

Throwback: Belgium

(While going through my old blog posts, I realized that some of the most interesting things I've written about are my travel experiences. There are a few places I got to visit before I launched this blog back in 2005 and I thought it would be good if I write about those trips as well.)

Belgium was the second country I visited outside the Philippines. When I started work at my second company, I was told that I needed to fly to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Talk about a pleasant surprise! A few weeks later and I was in Europe for the first time in my life.

The Museum of the City of Brussels at the Grand Place

I had always wanted to visit Europe and walking through the cobblestone streets while braving the winter cold (it was mid-March so spring hadn't arrived yet) was a truly amazing experience.

At the Grand Place

This trip could very well have started out as a major embarrassment for me. I remember looking at my itinerary and thinking my flight was at 10:40pm. I arrived at the airport at around 8:20pm and there was no line at the check-in counter. Strange! I tell the person at the counter that I am checking into the 10:40pm flight and I was told there was no such flight. There was, however, an 8:40pm flight. I panic a bit and look at my ticket. Damn! It said 2040H, meaning 8:40pm! How on earth could I have read that incorrectly as 10:40pm? Given the situation, I was checked in very quickly and someone from the airline helped me through immigration and customs (I was prioritized). Thankfully, our flight was also delayed so I made it. Major embarrassment averted!

The best place to visit in Brussels, in my opinion, is Grote Markt, or the Grand Place. It is a large square in the center of the city that is surrounded by magnificent European architecture. It's actually a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Horse-drawn carriage passing through the Grand Place

Fortunately for me, my hotel was only a short walking distance from the Grand Place so I visited this square almost every night as well as on the Saturday before I left (there are a lot of chocolate stores, souvenir shops, and restaurants around this area). I have gotten to see quite a few European city squares over the years and I do think the Grand Place is definitely one of the best city squares I've seen.

The Brussels Town Hall. I took this photo a few years later, during my

3-month assignment in Belgium, using my first digital camera.

Just a few blocks away from the Grand Place is another famous tourist spot in the city: the Manneken Pis. This landmark is a two-foot-tall bronze statue of a little boy pissing water into the fountain below. There are several legends about this statue but the one I am most familiar with is that the Manneken Pis was built after a young boy who saved the city by peeing onto the burning fuse of explosives, thus preventing Brussels from being blown up.

The Manneken Pis dressed in costume

The Manneken Pis is often dressed in costume, as it was the first time I saw it. But as I had the opportunity to visit Brussels a few more times and even live there for a few months, I also saw the statue in its original bare state too.

Manneken Pis, unadorned

In my first trip to Brussels, my flight back to Manila was on Saturday evening so I decided to take a train ride from Brussels to Antwerp. I didn't really get to see much of the city that is known as the diamond capital of the world. I only got to see Antwerp's Grote Markt or Market Square, where I had my photo taken with a couple of the amazing buildings there, including the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, or Cathedral of our Lady,

The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, or Cathedral of our Lady, at the Antwerp Grote Markt

and the Antwerp City Hall.

Antwerp City Hall

In November of that same year, I had my second business trip to Belgium. Interestingly enough, it was scheduled in winter once again, and this time I saw snow for the first time. The purpose of this trip was to attend the first (and as it turned out, only) meeting of all employees working in that same global team I was. People from many different countries were there, including the US, Venezuela, Thailand, and even other parts of Europe.

My colleagues from Belgium, US, Thailand, and Venezuela

While having dinner with my global teammates one night, I had a realization as everyone was laughing at a joke that someone cracked: as different as we all were culturally, we were all also still the same. Everyone was interested in listening to each other's stories and experiences, we all enjoyed the same food, and we got excited about the same things (my Venezuelan counterpart was just as excited about his first snow experience as I was). It was also over this particular dinner that I discovered that I have a taste for green olives as I actually consumed a bowlful of them all by myself.

Other food-and-drink experiences: I discovered Leonidas chocolates. When they were eventually released in the Philippines, they naturally cost a lot more here (about 3-4 times more). I was always the most popular guy whenever I returned from Brussels with boxes of these Belgian chocolates for my friends and colleagues to enjoy. :) I also got to try many different beers such as Leffe and Chimay. I was told by my colleague that different beers have different glasses because apparently, the shape of the beer glass directly impacts the taste and aroma of the beer that is poured into it. I also learned that French fries may have actually originated from Belgium. I also got to try Moules et frites, or mussels and fries, the national dish of Belgium.

I did mention that I had an opportunity to live in Belgium for three months so I will write about that next.

Family day

My brother turned a year older recently so of course my family headed out to celebrate. The day started with my other brother and my mom taking my nephews to their school family day. Their event ended shortly after 12 noon so we, including my grandmother, all had lunch at Pinac Heirloom Kapampangan Cuisine in UP Town Center. I had eaten there before but this was my family's first visit. We ordered a lot of dishes, including the Baby Back Braised Beef Humba, Beef Caldereta Eggplant Pargmigiano, Tortang Balasenas, and Ensaladang Pako with Fried Itik Floss, and everything was tremendously good! The dishes here are also very affordable as most of the menu items are in the P150-300 range. I will certainly be visiting this place again.

Since my grandmother had already gone to the cemetery earlier in the day (i.e. I didn't need to take her anymore), I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie instead. She said she wanted to see Crazy Beautiful You starring Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo. I was going to take her to see it but my brother volunteered to watch the film with her instead. So while they were at the cinema, I went shopping LOL. I now have a new sports shirt (been meaning to get one for a while now) and a Big Hero 6 DVD which I have already watched. :)

To make it an official birthday celebration, I brought home an 8-inch Red Velvet Cake from Karen's Kitchen for my family and the smaller, 3-inch solo version for my grandmother. I only discovered this dessert place recently and I love their red velvet cake! When my family tried it, they really enjoyed it too. I got home quite late in the evening and I was really tired after driving around the city all day but it was all worth it as I had an absolutely fantastic and blissful time with my family.

Japanese Precision Walking

I saw this video a while back and I was really impressed. The most incredible part however happens quite early, at around 1:47 to 2:15. That segment just blows my mind!


video uploaded in youtube by YoshikawaTakeshi

Apparently, this precision walking is called Shuudan Koudou (which means 'Collection Action'). Read more about Shuudan Koudou here.

Rafa wins in Argentina

Congratulations to Rafa Nadal for winning the Argentina Open! This tournament was a minor one but it is an important win nonetheless. Not only is this Nadal's first title of the year but it is also his first in nearly nine months. His last win before this? The French Open in June last year.

photo courtesy of AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano (source: http://espn.go.com/tennis)

This is Rafa's 65th title, allowing him to move past Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg to take solo fifth spot in the all-time men's list of most Open Era titles won. Hopefully, this gives Nadal the confidence he needs to regain his top form and maybe even win another trophy at Roland Garros.

A handful of reunions

I had a pretty good week last week as I got to meet up with a few sets of friends over the course of a few days.

Reunion #1
I met up with some of my college friends during the week while Nem and his family were in town. Actually, I almost didn't make it since I had several issues at work. However, since I was unable to join the 1st birthday celebration of Nem's daughter a few days before, I felt I needed to meet up with them that night while Nem was still here. Dinner was supposed to be at 7PM in SM North Edsa so I decided to schedule my meetings that day in our QC office so that it would be relatively easy for me to join them. As it turned out, I only made it to SM North by 9pm so I just got to join my friends for ice cream and coffee at the Magnolia Flavor House at the SM North Sky Garden. The last time I recall visiting SM North was maybe around 10 years ago so it was my first time back in ages. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay too long because I had another important meeting at 10:30pm so I said goodbye to everyone. Not the best t

Reunion #2
I had dinner in Balboa in Shangri-La Mall with a few of my Yaminoy friends last Saturday: Eliza, Marie, Beck and Meg. It's amazing how we all initially became friends because we were crazy fans of AI 5 contestant Elliott Yamin but our friendship has grown over the years. We had dinner at Balboa and we talked about a whole lot of stuff; after all, we hadn't seen each other in a while. In fact, I think the last time I saw Beck was during the concert of The Killers back in September 2013. We left Balboa at around 9:30 pm because I wanted to pass by Happy Cream Puff before the mall closed. I tried this place once and I really like their cream puffs so I bought one for myself and almost everyone else got at least one either for themselves or their families. (Eliza ate hers almost immediately and said that it was indeed really good.) At that point, there were a lot more stories to share so we moved to Poetry & Prose Patisserie (it was my first time there) where we had coffee and dessert until the shop closed at midnight.

Reunion #3
As if my Saturday night wasn't long enough, I headed to the surprise birthday party of Jam, who was part of the first team that I led. When I arrived at around half past midnight, the gang, including Jeoff, Case, Migs, and of course Jam and her husband, were just about to start playing Avalon so I joined in. This game is actually just a variant of Resistance which I had played before. The key difference is the addition of two roles: Merlin and the Assassin. Cool! We played four rounds and I actually won three times, once as a spy and twice as the resistance. Afterwards, we played One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I feel that this game involves some strategy and a lot of luck; I was a bit annoyed when I was supposed to be a villager and I successfully killed the werewolf but as I flipped my card, apparently, the troublemaker swapped my card with someone and I ended up being one of the werewolves as well so I lost haha. However, the variety of roles, the interesting night actions, the cool tribal-war music of the app (the link I provided above uses the cricket sounds; the tribal war music is much better), and the fact that one round is completed in under 10 minutes does make it a fun game to play with friends. I ended up hanging out until past 4am before deciding to call it a night. Learn more about Avalon and One Night Ultimate Werewolf.