[Throwback] Athens, Greece

We wanted to visit Athens because of its historic significance. While most of the important places to see in this capital city of Greece are ruins, these landmarks tell the story of why Athens is, to quote wikipedia, "referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy." The great thing about Athens is that there are so many places of interest all within walking distance of each other.

The Parthenon

The first place we visited was the Acropolis. History.com describes tells us that this UNESCO world heritage site has been "a home to kings, a citadel, a mythical home of the gods, a religious center and a tourist attraction."

The Acropolis

Several ancient monuments can be found here including the Parthenon, which was a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena.

Me at the Parthenon

The Erechtheion is also quite memorable for its caryatids, which are female sculptures that serve as columns.

Caryatids at the Erechtheion

The Acropolis provides visitors with excellent views of the city.

View of Athens from the Acropolis

On the southwest slope of the hill on which the Acropolis stands, you can find the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which was an ancient Roman theater. It continues to be used for concerts and theater productions. (Yanni's Live at the Acropolis was performed here.)

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The Theater of Dionysus sits on the southeast slope of the Acropolis. According to Vision Roma, "the first row of seats was reserved for those spectators who, by decree of the assembly, enjoyed the right of proedria, i.e. the right to sit in the front row during the contests of tragedies."

Theater of Dionysus

Our next stop was the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It was named as such because it was dedicated to the Greek God Zeus who was the king of the Olympian gods. In ancient times, this was the largest temple in Greece. Only a few of its original 104 columns remain, but they were still quite a sight to behold.

Columns at the Temple of Olympian Zeus

We then visited the Panathenaic Stadium. It is important for two main reasons. First, it continues to be the only stadium in the world that is built entirely out of marble. Second, this is where the first modern Olympic games were held back in 1896. Despite my inappropriate attire, I couldn't help but do this lame but fun pose for a photo op inside the stadium hahaha.

Me at the Panathenaic Stadium

Finally, we made our way to the Ancient Agora of Athens. An agora is a public space for community assemblies and markets. There are many ancient buildings and ruins here, including the remains of the Odeon of Agrippa...

Odeon of Agrippa

...and the Temple of Hephaestus.

Temple of Hephaestus

Next: Experiences and Memories in Athens

[Throwback] Rome Experiences and Memories

Our trip to Rome could have started out as a bit of a disaster. Right next to the Trevi Fountain was a small church - Santa Maria in Trivio - that we decided to enter. After some prayers, we stepped out to see more of the city when I realized that my camera wasn't with me anymore. I instantly knew that I left it inside the church so we hurriedly went back. It wasn't at the spot where I sat down so I asked someone from the church if they had seen a camera and they did! We made a small donation to the church as a token of our gratitude and said another prayer.

Santa Maria In Trivio Church

I still didn't have as much financial freedom back then as I do now so most of the meals we had were fast food. I actually don't remember having any pasta or pizza during this trip. However, I did make sure to get some gelato that I purchased from a gelato stand along the streets of Rome. I don't remember what flavor I got but I do remember that it was really good!

Fontana del Nettuno or the Fountain of Nepture, in Piazza Navona

While we didn't get to go inside the Colosseum, we saw many people in gladiators costumes outside and we decided to have a photo op with them.

Photo op outside the Colosseum

I also bought a tripod. We passed by a camera shop on our way back to the hotel on our first day there and I decided to go in. I saw this lightweight 3-foot-tall travel tripod that could be collapsed into a pretty small size when it needed to be kept. I used it a couple of times during that trip but more than that, I used it for many more trips after, especially whenever I was a solo traveler. I can't seem to find it anymore but it really did serve its purpose many times.

I took this photo of me at the Arch of Constantine using my tripod

Next: Athens, Greece

[Throwback] Vatican City

The highlight of our trip to Rome was visiting St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Day.

Pope John Paul II at the Vatican

I was still an inexperienced traveler back then so I didn't think of checking mass schedules online before planning our visit. Despite this, we still headed to the St. Peter's Basilica because even if we weren't able to hear mass, it would still be an incredible spiritual experience to be there for Christmas.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

We got there in the late morning and when we went inside the church, there was no mass. We said some prayers and then spent our time going around the basilica, enjoying the resplendent interior. Standing majestically inside is Baldacchino di San Pietro, or St. Peter's Baldachin. Designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, it marks the tomb of St. Peter which lies beneath it.

St. Peter's Baldachin

As grand and marvelous as the baldachin is, it was Michelangelo's Pieta that absolutely took my breath away. I can't imagine how a very hard piece material such as marble can be manipulated to look so soft and delicate. This sculpture is truly a masterpiece!

Michelangelo's Pieta

We stepped out of the church before 1pm and when we got out, we were surprised to see a huge crowd. Something was about to happen so we decided to stay.

St. Peter's Square on Christmas Day

As it turned out, this was the annual Christmas message from the Pope. I wrote about this in greater detail before (you can read it here). It's amazing how we didn't plan for this and yet my mom and I got to see the Pope from just a few meters away. We wouldn't have been this close to the Pope if we didn't step out of the church when we did. And we wouldn't have gotten out of the church when we did if we arrived in St. Peter's Basilica much earlier in the day. I'm just really happy we got to have this fantastic and very spiritual experience.

Next: More Rome Experiences and Memories

[Throwback] Rome Landmarks

I can't quite recall what time we arrived in Rome but it must have been after lunch. We checked into our hotel and it was only in the late afternoon that we had a chance to go around. Since it was already quite late, we decided to visit the Trevi Fountain. I didn't know what it looked like but I remember being completely astonished the moment I saw it. It was massive and a lot more magnificent than I had expected! The statues were so beautifully and expertly sculpted.

Trevi Fountain

The tradition here is to throw a coin into the fountain over your right shoulder using your left hand. If you do this, it is said that you would find your way back to Rome. I didn't quite know what the details were so while I tossed a coin into the fountain, I don't think I did it the right way. Maybe that's why I haven't been back haha. (That said, I have been planning for a return trip for a while now so hopefully that plan comes to fruition soon!)

Our first stop the next day was the Vatican Museums which includes the Sistine Chapel. While we planned to go to St. Peter's Basilica the next day for Christmas, I think the Vatican Museums wouldn't be open that day. I was very happy I got to see the Sistine Chapel, including its well-renowned ceiling painted by Michelangelo. Unfortunately, photos inside aren't allowed (although I know some people still sneak in a shot or even a video). The only photo I was able to take in the Vatican museum was this beautiful stained glass panel (my research now tells me it might be Madonna Enthroned by Giuseppe Bertini).

Stained Glass Panel inside the Vatican Museums

Next up was the Pantheon. This structure used to be a Roman temple before being turned into a Catholic church. It is supposed to have the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.

Pantheon

We then made a quick stop at the Victor Emmanuel II Monument to take photos. This structure has also been called "The Typewriter" because of its supposed resemblance to a typewriter. (I can kind of see it haha.)

Victor Emmanuel II Monument

We then headed to the Colosseum. Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there. I think there mmay have been renovations or repairs being done at the time. Because of this, we were only able to take photos from the outside.

Colosseum

Beside the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, which was built in honor of Emperor Constantine the Great.

Arch of Constantine

On our final day, we got to see a few more places. First was Castel Sant'Angelo, which is just a short walk from the Vatican. We didn't go inside but we did take a couple of photos outside.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Our next stop was Piazza Navona. The most significant point of interest here is the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. While not as grand as the Trevi Fountain, it was still very awe-inspiring.

Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona

The last place we visited in Rome was the Spanish Steps. It seems that this landmark gets its name from the Spanish Embassy which is located there. These steps became famous when they were featured in the film Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.

Spanish Steps

Next: Vatican City

[Throwback] Rome, Italy

I wanted to visit Rome for two reasons. First, because it is a historically significant city with many incredible sights and tourist attractions. Second, because of the Vatican. Visiting Rome during the holidays meant that we could visit St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas day which felt like it would be an incredible experience.

In St. Peter's Square at the Vatican

I had a Lonely Planet book of Europe that I bought before I flew to Belgium and I used it to identify which sights we would visit. The film Angels and Demons hadn't come out yet when we visited Rome but it turns out we visited a lot of the places that were featured in the movie, including the Pantheon, Castel Sant'Angelo, and Piazza Navona.

Inside the Pantheon

We visited most of the Roman landmarks on our first full day there.

The Colosseum

While we did see a couple more places on our last day there, the focus was spending time at St. Peter's Basilica for the Christmas celebrations led by Pope John Paul II.

Christmas at the Vatican

Next post: Rome Landmarks

[Throwback] Europe Trip: Italy, Greece, and France

I had the great fortune to have a work assignment in Belgium over the winter months many years ago. I had an opportunity to go back home for the Christmas break but I asked my mom if she wanted to go around Europe during the holidays instead and she thought it would be a good idea. It was the first time I took my mom on an international trip (and many years later, I'm happy to say that it was certainly not the last). My mom had been to Europe before that so I decided to take her to some cities that she hadn't seen yet. This included Rome in Italy,

The Colosseum in Rome

Athens in Greece,

The Parthenon in Athens

and Lourdes in France.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes

The logical way to visit Lourdes would be to go through Paris so we spent some time here as well.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

My mom flew to Brussels first since that was where I was assigned. Our itinerary:

Day 1: Travel from Brussels to Rome
Day 2: Rome
Day 3: Vatican
Day 4: Travel from Rome to Athens
Day 5: Athens
Day 6: Travel from Athens to Paris
Day 7: Paris, overnight train to Lourdes
Day 8: Lourdes, overnight train to Paris
Day 9: Return to Brussels via High Speed Train

Pope John Paul II at the Vatican

This trip lasted a little more than a week and we spent around 2-3 days in each city. I will be writing in greater detail about this amazing holiday in Europe over the next several posts.

Quarantine Stories Part 15

I finally bought a Smart TV. There were a few reasons why I decided to get one. First, my old one was already having problems. Which made sense since I've had it for almost 16 years and it would be on for several hours a day (especially during the pandemic). Second, while I had subscribed to HBO Go earlier this year and to Netflix more recently, I haven't been able to maximize these subscriptions because I don't really like watching shows on my laptop or on my phone. After some recommendations from friends, I decided to get an LG smart TV from Anson's. The cool thing about it is that it already has both the Netflix and the HBO Go apps so I just needed to log in.

The problem was that while my new TV had the same screen size as my old TV, it was a lot shorter (in terms of height). My old LCD TV had a tall stand while my new one doesn't. As such, when I would watch TV from my bed, I would have to kinda look down. That certainly wasn't ideal nor ergonomic. I felt I needed a riser on which to put my TV. The problem is that the legs of the TV were so far apart from each other and I couldn't find a TV or monitor riser long enough for it. I ended up getting two TV risers - one per leg of my TV. Since the two risers would go over the edge of my TV table if I put them side by side, I oriented them to be parallel with each other. It doesn't look all that great but at least the TV is at the right height now. (These monitor risers also had to be assembled. It was the first time in years that I had to do some handyman-type work, which I thought was cool.)

I still haven't quite gone through movies and series that I haven't seen yet because I want to be fully focused when I watch something new and I've been terribly busy and distracted lately. As such, I keep playing shows and movies I've watched before. I just finished my Suits marathon since I never got to finish this series. It was pretty nice getting reacquainted with Harvey, Mike, and the rest of the characters and I got reminded why I really loved this show during its nine-year run. I am taking some time off during the Christmas break so I hope I can go through my to-watch list then.

*****

In other news:

My new BPI credit card was compromised! Someone tried to make a purchase at a luxury store in in Europe worth around P31,000 but thankfully, that transaction was declined. I called BPI immediately after and they will now replace my card at no cost. It's a bit of a hassle but I'd rather have a more secure card.

The bad news: my washer-dryer, or specifically its drying functionality, broke down. I had to do quite a few laundry cycles without being able to dry my clothes (I had to hang them while damp inside my pad). The good news: the technician was able to fix it during his visit. I was worried that he would need to pull my washer-dryer out, leaving me with no good option to do my laundry for a week or so but thankfully, that wasn't the case. I'm really happy that the dryer is working properly now.

Hungarian Czardas

My grandfather (on my mom's side) was an amazingly talented violinist and pianist. When he was still alive, one of the pieces that he played the most was Hungarian Czardas by Vittorio Monti. My grandmother would sometimes wistfully tell me that she wished that we recorded my grandfather playing music when he was still alive. When she got a smartphone - her first one ever - and started understanding how to use social media and YouTube, I shared this video of German musician David Garrett playing Hungarian Czardas. I felt she would enjoy listening to a piece she was very familiar with. As it turned out, she did.

 

video uploaded in youtube by Picastrussa 

I'm glad I got to share this video with my grandmother because she has listened to this many times since. She has also become a fan of David Garrett and she has listened to many of his other recordings and performances online.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I finished reading my second book of the year, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. And what a great book it is!

It tells the story of Alexander Rostov, a Russian count who, in the early 1920s, is accused of writing a poem with anti-Russian sentiment. As a result, he is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow for the rest of his life. He is told that if he steps out of the Metropol, he will be shot on sight.

This beautifully written novel is filled with fascinating characters that the count meets throughout his forced stay in the hotel. These interactions result in a lot of intriguing and unexpected twists and turns. The scenes are described very vividly and I felt like I was transported to Russia and the Metropol hotel as I continued to read. I guess it helped that I had been to some of the places being described, such as the Kremlin, Red Square, and Arbat Street. I actually remember seeing the Metropol Hotel when I visited the Bolshoi Theatre.

I also loved the tone of the book. Despite the fact that a very politically-charged time and environment resulted in the count's house arrest, the story was (mostly) light and engaging, making the book very engaging yet easy to read (I found it easy to pick things up from where I left off whenever I stopped reading for a while). The ending of the book was especially riveting since I didn't see it coming at all!

This novel was given to me as a gift by my friends a few years ago for my birthday. They asked me for my wish list and I chose it because I had been to Russia and to Moscow so I felt I would end up connecting well with it (I did). It also seems to be pretty popular because when I posted about it on social media, I discovered that some of my friends have read it and they all agree that it's really good. In fact, one of them said it was one of her favorites! A Gentleman in Moscow is really highly recommended, even if you haven't been to Moscow or to Russia.

*****

EDITED: I can't believe it! I posted about this book on Instagram and Amor Towles, the author, liked my post! I'm so happy!

Travel Shows and Remembering Russia

A couple of weeks ago, my mom switched the channel to watch Executive Class and as luck would have it, the show was featuring Russia. In fact, when my mom switched the channel, host David Celdran was in Komsomolskaya station and I recognized it immediately (I even knew the name!). This episode focused on Moscow so naturally, we watched it because it reminded us of our trip to Russia many years ago. It was really interesting and nostalgic to see all these places my mom and I visited. My grandmother was watching with us and I would show her pictures I took of the places we were seeing on TV.

Komsomolskaya Metro Station in Moscow

Interestingly enough, two episodes of Executive Class were shown one after the other, and the second one featured on St. Petersburg. My mom would share things she remembered, like how the Amber Room in Catherine's Palace was looted and rebuilt and how someone was assassinated at the spot where the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built (it was Emperor Alexander II). David Celdran even went into the Eliseyev Emporium and I reminded my mom that we actually went into this place and that she bought a small bottle of vodka here. (She remembered it too!)

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg

Executive Class was followed by another travel-related show. My grandmother said she wanted to watch it but after several minutes, this show turned started to focused a lot more on the geology of the are and we became less interested. I decided to search for travel shows on Netflix so my grandmother could see something more to her liking. We ended up watching an episode of Magical Andes that featured Peru and Ecuador. We then watched the first episode of Joanna Lumley's Japan and it was really good.

Last weekend, we ended up doing the same thing. Executive Class featured Israel and once it was over, we watched a couple of episodes of Joanna Lumley's Trans-Siberian Adventure. Episode 1 featured Hong Kong and China and episode 2 featured Mongolia and Siberia.

It's really interesting that we ended up watching a few travel shows on Russia in the last few weeks while I am reading A Gentleman in Moscow. As I am almost done reading it, I will be writing about it next.

Sugar Rush

Over the last couple of months, I got to try some different cakes and desserts. Quite possibly the most fanciful one I had is this Celebrate Cake from BBakery, which was given to me as a gift by my board gaming friends. It's a light cake (possibly chiffon?) with cream and a very generous amount of different fruits. Most of the cake is are covered in gelatin, making it quite unique. It's like a posh version of crema de fruta and I certainly enjoyed it. Plus it looks amazing!

The Celebration Cake from BBakery

I also tried the Ube Chiffon Cake with Ube Halaya Filling from Butternut Bakery. I saw a stall of Butternut Bakery in SM Megamall a while back and it's been coming up in my social media ads for a while so I finally decided to order it. Thankfully, it tastes as good as it looks. Many people at home are big ube fans so this cake was a hit.

Ube Chiffon Cake from Butternut Bakery

I had been craving some kind of lemon or lime-based cake or pie (such as key lime or lemon meringue pie) since the pandemic started. I saw that Mary Grace now offers Limoni Santi, which is frozen lemon curd filling cream topping over a graham cracker crust. I really like this dessert. It's just the right amount of tartness and sweetness that makes you want to eat just one more forkful. I do think they changed the design of this dessert (the photo in the Mary Grace website looks different from the one I bought).

Limoni Santi from Mary Grace

I also tried cookies from Moloko Handcrafted Cookies. I decided to get a box of Brown Butter Choco Chip, a box of Cafe Con Dulcey, and a Limited Edition box which included two Madagascar and Macadamia cookies and two Pistachio Obsession cookies. I think I got to try the Madagascar and Macadamia and the Cafe Con Dulcey, both of which were pretty good. My mom tried the Pistachio Obsession and she said she really liked it. I do think these cookies are a bit on the expensive side - I think they in the Mo' Cookies price range but are smaller - but they do carry some unique flavors so I do think they are worth trying.

Moloko Cookies

Carlos Yulo, World Champion!

Congratulations, Carlos Yulo, for winning a gold and a silver at the Gymnastics World Championships!

Medal-winning performances from Carlos Yulo! 🏅🤸🏻‍♂️🇵🇭

Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo won a gold and silver medal in the Vault and Parallel Bars, respectively, at the 50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

📷: AFP/Philip Fong, Charly Triballeau pic.twitter.com/Ujf3qbprqS

— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) October 24, 2021

Carlos actually made it to the finals of three events: floor exercise, vault, and parallel bars. The floor exercise final was the first event and the entire Philippines had high hopes because he was the defending champion after winning this event in 2019. Unfortunately, lost a bit of control in one tumbling pass and he stepped out of bounds, incurring a significant penalty. The sad thing was that without that -0.3 penalty, he would have gotten the gold. Everyone was hoping that this miss wouldn't affect Yulo's mental state going into the finals of the other two events the next day. Thankfully, it didn't.

Carlos took gold on the vault with an average score of 14.916. The vault is also where he got his best result - 4th place - at the Tokyo Olympics. He got a 15.033 on his second vault, the highest score awarded to any fault during the finals.

WATCH: Carlos Yulo magnificently executes the Dragulescu vault in his second vault to put him in FIRST place with a score of 14.916 after four gymnasts @cnnphilippines

🎥 FIG/YouTube pic.twitter.com/Q2g9dcqmE6

— Pauline Verzosa (@PaulineVerzosa) October 24, 2021

He then followed it up with a silver medal at the parallel bars, where he achieved a score of 15.300. I know that Carlos was strong on the floor exercise and the vault because of his past successes there so it's pretty awesome to know that he is also a major contender on the parallel bars.

WATCH: Carlos Yulo’s masterful performance during the men’s parallel bars final where he earned a leading score of 15.300! 👏🏻🇵🇭 @cnnphilippines

🎥FIG/YouTube pic.twitter.com/gEpYmYdVmx

— Pauline Verzosa (@PaulineVerzosa) October 24, 2021

After the amazing results the Philippines achieved at the Tokyo Olympics, it's awesome that we continue to make a global mark in sports. Congratulations and thank you, Carlos!

An Incredible Performance for the Paralympics Hand-off from Tokyo to Paris

A friend of mine sent me this video and I was so captivated by it that I decided to share it here. Choreographed by Sadeck Waff, it was created and performed for the Paralympic hand-off from Tokyo 2020 to Paris 2024.

 

video uploaded on YouTube by Paris 2024

The video description indicates that this routine is performed by Sadeck Waff, Oxandre Peckeu, and 126 professional and amateur dancers who were cast by the Neodance Academy. Oxandre Peckeu is the young man who we see as the video opens and according to Openbionics, he is "the very first person in France to receive a 3D-printed multi-grip bionic Hero Arm." Also, in case you are interested in the music, it is Prologue by Woodkid.

Quarantine Stories Part 14

Major milestone: My family and I are now all fully vaccinated! Half of my family got vaccinated a while back but the other half were still unable to secure schedules with the LGU. Thankfully, my company provided vaccines for all employees. On top of that, they also gave all employees the opportunity to purchase vaccines for our families. We all just completed our second doses and while I had to bring my family all the way to Makati (that's where the vaccination center was located), I now feel a great sense of relief. We won't be complacent but it's such a blessing to be significantly more protected against Covid-19. This has to be the highlight of my year so far.

I also got to plant another GCash tree. I didn't really have a lot of green energy but an avocado tree became available and it required "only" 8,520g so I had enough energy to plant it. I have now planted three trees. Cool!

I also just noticed that the main screen of the GForest actually shows all the trees you've planted. Looks really cool!

Another thing I'm really happy about is that I now have an ergonomic chair at home. I've been working from home since Metro Manila was first placed under quarantine in March last year and my chair at home was not ideal to sit on for long periods of time. I was desperately in need of a better seat so when my company decided to sell some of our old but working furniture to employees, I decided to get an ergonomic chair. I got it earlier this week and I can really feel a difference. Since my chair has wheels, I purchased a floor mat from Lazada so that my chair wouldn't scratch the floor (I didn't want to wait for the 10/10 sale to get it haha).

I'm really late but I finally subscribed to Netflix. Part of the reason was because my grandmother was running out of things to watch on TV. Another reason is that sadly, Fox and Disney channels are no longer available on Skycable. I got a premium account and I set up my Netflix account on our Smart TV at home. My grandmother and I watched Unforgettable starring Sarah Geronimo. I really enjoyed this film. It was light and easy to watch. Since the lead characters were a young woman (Sarah) and her grandmother (Gina Pareno), it was quite appropriate because I was watching it with my own grandma. I also think dog lovers will appreciate this movie.

It's sad to lose the Fox Channels on Skycable because I watch them the most (including coverage of the tennis Grand Slam events on Fox Sports). Some consolation: Rock Entertainment is now showing the latest season of Law and Order SVU. This show has been one of my favorites for years now, and when I say years, I really do mean it since this show is now on its 23rd season. What makes it even more special is that Elliot Stabler (portrayed by Christopher Meloni) returned for some episodes in S22 and he's also a recurring character in the current season. I really love his partnership with Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay) so seeing them interact with each other after after a decade makes the show even more enjoyable.