We spent most of the afternoon during this day in Musée du Louvre. No need for introduction or further description on the Louvre because this is one of the very famous spots in Paris. I highly recommend that you buy tickets online (skip-the-line, if possible) as the lines can be really long.
MAY 2, 2019
We spent most of the afternoon during this day in MUSÉE DU LOUVRE. No need for introduction or further description on the Louvre because this is one of the very famous spots in Paris. I highly recommend that you buy tickets online (skip-the-line, if possible) as the lines can be really long.
It was very crowded when we visited that we had to strategically choose the sections we wanted to visit. Of course, Mona Lisa was part of our mission. Here are the highlights from our visit:
We also went to the exhibit showing off sculptures of Greek icons:
M also led us to see the Code of Hammurabi…
…an actual base of a fortress…
…and a sphinx!
I wanted to try the famous hot chocolate from ANGELINA but instead of getting this from the branch near the Louvre (where it was so crowded!!!), we went to a different branch. I loved how the chocolate was not sweet – leaning more towards dark chocolate.
For dinner, we met M’s friend and he served us really delicious homemade pasta.
Hands down! Musée D’Orsay was the best museum we visited especially with their collection of Monet and Renoir paintings. But first, we started off our trip with sculptures and paintings in the second floor – some were by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.
MAY 2, 2019
Hands down! MUSÉE D’ORSAY was the best museum we visited especially with their collection of Monet and Renoir paintings. But first, we started off our trip with sculptures and paintings in the second floor – some were by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.
The museum is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay…
Some more art we passed by before we reached the topmost floor with most works from Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet. Below were my favorites… I even bought a postcard with Monet’s “Essai De Figure En Plein Air Vers La Gauche” (Woman With A Parasol, Facing Left).
We had lunch afterwards at LE PROCOPE, which is the oldest café in Paris (1686). Famous icons visited this café during their lifetime such as Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. All of us ordered the Procope Menu for lunch which was a 3-course meal (starter, main course, dessert).
There was not much in our itinerary so we decided to wake up late and start with a Curry 36 brunch. The place is famous for its currywurst, which is my sister’s favorite. I ordered one serving but ended up ordering another one because it was good and I was really hungry.
APRIL 26, 2019
There was not much in our itinerary so we decided to wake up late and start with a CURRY 36 brunch. The place is famous for its currywurst, which is my sister’s favorite. I ordered one serving but ended up ordering another one because it was good and I was really hungry.
First stop was CHECKPOINT CHARLIE, a former border crossing during the Cold War and division of Berlin.
Next stop was EAST SIDE GALLERY, a more than 1-km remnant of the Berlin Wall with series of murals painted on it. One of the prominent themes in the murals is the call for peace.
We still had time before leaving for Cologne so we went to DER EISLADEN IN BERLIN MITTE. My sister got her favorite coffee drink in Germany, Eiskaffee while I got the Apfelstrudel.
Last month, I celebrated my birthday and I decided to finally check out the National Museum of Natural History. It is one of the three national museums found in Luneta Park, and its doors only opened last May 18 after a major renovation.
Back to travel posts! Last month, I celebrated my birthday and I decided to finally check out the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. It is one of the three national museums found in Luneta Park, and its doors only opened last May 18 after a major renovation.
We were expecting the crowd to be just small but lo and behold, there was a field trip even if it was on a Saturday. Also, the free entrance may have enticed more citizens to visit the place so there was a looooong line when we arrived before lunch. (Quick amusing story — a guy asked me about the long wait in line… and turned out that the lady with her is my colleague from our NCL office. Hello Ila!)
If you’re bringing a bag with you, take note that bags bigger than the size of a short bond paper is required to be deposited in their baggage counter.
Upon entering the museum, you will immediately see this iconic DNA Tree of Life structure in the courtyard. It houses an elevator which takes you directly from ground floor to 5th floor and vice-versa.
Capturing the top structure
While inside the elevator
Before I continue with telling what you can see inside the museum, I was lucky enough that in the conference I attended last Sept 13, the organizer invited Architect Dominic Galicia and he gave a talk on “Reinventing the Museum Experience”.
During the whole talk, you can feel his passion for his craft. Some of the things he shared is how they had to search and see the old blueprints such as Toledo “drawings” dating back to 1930s. Even if part of the building may be old or damaged, he firmly believes that it can be reborn. He also mentioned how he wants to be faithful to the story that is why he wants to know the background of the building/s to be renovated.
He suggested to us to do the processional route of taking the elevator all the way to 5th floor then from there, visit each exhibit and go down each level until you return to ground floor… And that’s what my friends and I did!
All 5th floor exhibits were still under construction, but pretty interesting because these will be about biodiversity, geology, and life through time. We went down to 4th floor which showcased different types of forests in PH as well as the types of animals that one can find there.
I think it was on the 4th floor where we encountered these familiar names from one of our high school classes:
After going down the ramp that led us to 3rd floor, couldn’t help but capture these awesome details by the arch and one of the front doors of the museum:
In the same corridor where I took the photos above, Tomas Bernardo’s orchid paintings were mounted as a gallery.
A common orchid found throughout PH
A rare endemic orchid found only in parts of NE Mindanao
Theme for 3rd floor seems to be aquatic / marine life — mangroves, beaches, life thousands of meters under the sea (or ocean).
Mangrove Crab
Horseshoe Crab
Collared Kingfisher
Crown of Thorns — sea star with pungent, poisonous thorns
When we returned to the courtyard area, near the ramp, we noticed recreation of dinosaur bones!
One of the highlights for us is seeing the skeleton of Lolong, the world’s largest crocodile in captivity.
When we finished touring the last floor, we headed for lunch at Bugis Singapore Street Food. Sharing the food pics I took before closing this entry:
Chicken Satay with PB sauce
Numnums (fish tofu, prawn roll, lobster cheese)
Roti with Condensed Milk
Beef Rendang
Aaand, that’s it. A geeky way to celebrate my birthday but I had fun anyway. Cheers to my late 20s time! 🙂
We visited LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR as our 2nd stop and this site is located in Bagac, Bataan. The literal translation for the name of the place is “Acuzar’s Filipino/Philippines Houses”, which is accurate as the restored Spanish-Filipino houses found in this area are Jose Acuzar’s property. It is amazing to learn that the houses here were carefully dismantled and meticulously re-assembled to preserve everything.
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
We visited LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR as our 2nd stop and this site is located in Bagac, Bataan. The literal translation for the name of the place is “Acuzar’s Filipino/Philippines Houses”, which is accurate as the restored Spanish-Filipino houses found in this area are Jose Acuzar’s property. It is amazing to learn that the houses here were carefully dismantled and meticulously re-assembled to preserve everything.
For the admission fee, we paid Php 1,500 which includes access to the site, free guided tours, and towel + refreshments at the end of the tour.
Jeepneys inside the site are free of charge so it is easy to go from one place to another. The houses though are quite near to each other so we just walked. We only rode the jeepney to and from the entrance building.
Since we were there at past 12NN and the next walking tour would only start at 1:30PM, T and I decided to roam around the area first.
We went inside the open building near the walking tour area. We saw religious relics inside as well as exhibits with photos of historical churches and accompanying information about them.
Found a few nice spots to take own portrait pictures before the free tour started…
T and I took turns taking pictures in this vintage-looking vehicle. We initially thought it was a resting area because it was situated under a lot of trees, providing cool shade for tired visitors.
But one of the staff approached us and told us if we would be going to the beach area… Apparently this vehicle actually moves but follows a schedule, which is every 30 minutes. Since the free walking tour was about to start, we politely declined.
The free walking tour started on time so yay. It was really hot and humid during our visit but our tour guide, despite wearing long sleeves top and long skirt, carried on with the whole tour with a big smile. It was as if the scorching heat didn’t affect her! She told us the stories, origin, and controversies related to each casa we visited.
Aside from the informative tour, another advantage of joining is gaining access to casas that are not open to the public such as Casa Biñan and Casa Baliuag.
[Fun fact on the last two pictures: Shooting location for Gen. Luna’s Spoliarium-like death scene in “Heneral Luna” movie]
We were also lucky to chance upon a wedding that day. We only saw it from a distance though… Their wedding reception was already set up earlier that afternoon.
If we weren’t in a hurry to visit the next location, we would have done other activities in this area such as strolling along the beach area, doing the river cruise or kalesa ride, and visiting Hotel de Oriente.
All in all, I’d say this is one of the must visits in Bataan. T and I enjoyed our short trip here. 😊
T and I went to DAMBANA NG KAGITINGAN (Shrine of Valor), a historical shrine built on Mount Samat to honor the Filipinos and Americans who fought during World War II.
Before seeing the iconic 92-meter cross, we encountered the colonnade which houses sculptures made by National Artist Napoleon Abueva and stained glass murals designed by Cenon Rivera.
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Because of the ASEAN holidays back in Nov 2017, T and I spontaneously thought of going out of town for the long weekend. She suggested Bataan and since I haven’t been there, I agreed to go there.
From Cubao, we rode an air-conditioned Genesis bus bound for Mariveles. We overestimated our travel time and reached the area of our Airbnb at 5AM. There were no street lights and we hopped off the bus at the wrong drop off… Good thing we were already near the Airbnb and I was able to contact the host before our phone’s signal turned to nil.
After catching some sleep, T and I went to DAMBANA NG KAGITINGAN (Shrine of Valor), a historical shrine built on Mount Samat to honor the Filipinos and Americans who fought during World War II.
Before seeing the iconic 92-meter cross, we encountered the colonnade which houses sculptures made by National Artist Napoleon Abueva and stained glass murals designed by Cenon Rivera.
Near the colonnade is the entrance to the underground museum, where war memorabilia are displayed – weaponry, uniforms, photos from the war, path of the Death March, and miniature display of mountains and their use during the war.
Our final stop was the cross but to get there, we had to climb hundreds of steps that zigzagged the area.
Upon reaching the cross, I was in awe of how huge it was. The sculptures found at the base of the cross were also works of Abueva.
The staff said that we would have a better panoramic view of Bataan if we go to the viewing gallery inside the cross. Unfortunately, during our visit, the elevator was under maintenance so we didn’t get to see it.
Still, there are other spots around the area where you can get a scenic view of Bataan. Our tricycle driver showed us one location and it was just breath-taking.
Next location we visited was Las Casas – stay tuned for the next post under Bataan 2017 trip.
Being the geeks that we are, K and I went to the ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM where we had a lot of fun thanks to the Future World exhibit (teamLab).
The opening exhibit was called Nature. We went inside a small room for the first part, which depicted birds from Japanese mythology that are believed to be the embodiment of the sun. The digital technology and accompanying music were both captivating, that we decided to watch it for the 2nd time.
APRIL 23, 2017
Being the geeks that we are, K and I went to the ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM where we had a lot of fun thanks to the Future World exhibit (teamLab).
The opening exhibit was called Nature. We went inside a small room for the first part, which depicted birds from Japanese mythology that are believed to be the embodiment of the sun. The digital technology and accompanying music were both captivating, that we decided to watch it for the 2nd time.
The second gallery featured seascape “drawn” in Japanese traditional art. There were bean bags scattered in this area where one could lie down and just watch the moving waves.
The last part was more for kids because it had this interactive slide wherein the path you passed would light up. Can’t remember the names of the other exhibits but they had a lot of interesting activities.
Black Waves depicted the sea in traditional Japanese painting style and the lines were moving to give the effect that the sea was alive.
Light Ball Orchestra occupied a huge space in the exhibit – lots of big balls on the ground wherein touching a ball would change the color and sound. You can push, toss, bounce, or roll the balls to create a unique composition. We weren’t able to try this interactive activity because all the balls were being used by kids. (/ω＼)
We had fun instead in stacking colored cubes…
…and with this digital game which seems to be heat-sensitive? We weren’t sure how this one worked so hula na lang.
The last part of the exhibit was called Space, which featured teamLab’s “monumental installation” called Crystal Universe. The artwork used 178,200 LED lights to mimic starts moving in space. We would walk a short path that allowed us to experience the “universe” as we were surrounded by the thousands of lights blinking and changing colors.
The only thing we did not like here is that the staff kept on asking visitors who would stop to keep on walking. That would be okay if the walking path was long but since this was the last part, a lot of people were reluctant to follow. Anyway, I still managed to take some of these photos…
Thanks propphi! Blurred nga lang, haha!
Before we left the museum, we took photos of these quotes:
We went for one of the popular hotpot restaurants where we waited for about an hour before we got to eat. All I could say is it was worth the wait but I didn’t bring my camera so no photos to share.
HAJI LANE was our next stop after all the food we ate for our last day in SG.
The weather was good but it was really humid that day so there was a point where we entered a random shop to cool down – LIMAA which offers fresh fruit slices and cold fruit juices. We just went around and took pictures here before heading to our last stop.
APRIL 23, 2017
HAJI LANE was our next stop after all the food we ate for our last day in SG.
The weather was good but it was really humid that day so there was a point where we entered a random shop to cool down – LIMAA which offers fresh fruit slices and cold fruit juices. We just went around and took pictures here before heading to our last stop.
ArtScience Museum is up next — which is another SG highlight for me. #geekalert
First stop was the FLOWER DOME and when we saw that it was an enclosed space, we were not quite excited because we initially thought it would be hotter and more humid inside. But to our surprise, the place was cool!
This is the largest greenhouse in the world and it showcases hundreds of flower types from different regions. Here are my favorites from the first portion of the Flower Dome:
APRIL 21, 2017
Our mission after DTF lunch was to pick up the orders we placed from Irvin’s then went to GARDENS BY THE BAY with our big plastic bags of pasalubong. Haha!
First stop was the FLOWER DOME and when we saw that it was an enclosed space, we were not quite excited because we initially thought it would be hotter and more humid inside. But to our surprise, the place was cool!
Here’s me excited to go around 🙂
This is the largest greenhouse in the world and it showcases hundreds of flower types from different regions. Here are my favorites from the first portion of the Flower Dome:
While I was trying to find a good angle for the yellow flower below, a fellow photographer nearby approached me and told me how to find the best flower from the bunch. She said that all the outer petals should be open while the inner petals are upright. So I took the picture below and she complimented it. Yay!
Here is a picture of our group while inside the Flower Dome:
Still high energy level even after walking around NGS for 3 hours
An interesting portion in the greenhouse was the placement of flowers of different colors to mimic some of Vincent Van Gogh’s artworks. It was difficult though to take good pictures because of the volume of the crowd…
Last batch of favorite flowers (including tulips!) before we left the place:
Next stop was CLOUD FOREST which was sort of surrounded by mist and a colder place than the Flower Dome. Upon entering, this indoor waterfall welcomed us…
Just in pure awe of the architecture and planning that went into building this place. We went to the topmost “floor” then started making our way downwards (to the exit). Definitely not for acrophobic people.
I met with my ninang and her family for dinner and they treated me to a buffet in RISE RESTAURANT (Marina Bay Sands). I stuffed myself with all the food I could eat and I kind of regret not getting a lot of duck meat in the cold cuts section because they did not refill it anymore.
Since all of us got too full after dinner, we decided to walk around the area before heading home.
Marina Bay Sands at night
Bridge that looks like DNA (helix shape-ish)
Mission for the next day is USS with J, K, and my best friend who also had work training in SG!
We decided to go to NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE based on C’s recommendation. The place was absolutely huge and we most likely saw thousands of artworks.
We spent the whole morning going around the whole gallery. My friends know that I am not a big fan of art but here are some of the artworks that I really liked:
APRIL 20-21, 2017
Last April, I was one of the people in our team who got the opportunity to attend a training in SG for a new proprietary tool. It was just a one-day event so my teammates and I decided to extend our stay.
Not gonna narrate anymore what happened during the training but the highlight that day was our dinner in JUMBO SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. We all wanted to try the famous chili crab and C helped us get a reservation in the Dempsey Hill branch.
The staff attending to us informed us that the crabs they had that night were just “small” so we decided to order 1 chili crab per person. She looked in disbelief but we were not sure if we just imagined it…
Since the crab would take about 30 minutes to cook, we ordered cereal prawns and fried rice because we were already hungry.
After a lot of kwento, our chili crab finally arrived… Lo and behold! We were not imagining the look of disbelief in the staff who took our order. Their “small” crab turned out to be good for 2 people. LOL! Good thing we were still quite hungry so we were able to finish everything. We even paired the chili crab with fried mantou and what made it really yummy was when we dipped the bread in the chili crab sauce. YUM!!! Super busog dinner!
Included the spoon for reference, LOL
Next day was our free day and we decided to go to NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE based on C’s recommendation. The place was absolutely huge and we most likely saw thousands of artworks.
We spent the whole morning going around the whole gallery. My friends know that I am not a big fan of art but here are some of the artworks that I really liked:
Expense of Spirit in a Waste of Shame by Suzanne Victor – artwork made after SG government decided to stop funding performance art in 1994
Flowers on Four Panels by Ju Lian – 1903
Merapi, Eruption by Day / Night by Raden Saleh
Espana y Filipinas by Juan Luna – 1884
Boschbrand (Forest Fire) by Raden Saleh – 1849
Port Scene by Mori Kinsen
Fishpond in Malabon by Fernando Cueto Amorsolo – 1942
Some more pictures I took during our trip in the gallery:
We had lunch at Din Tai Fung afterwards – menu is somewhat similar to PH branches but a few of the unique items were the century egg and roasted duck in wrapper.
We enjoyed everything we ordered in DTF. Good timing to be busog because our next stop was Gardens By The Bay.
Anne Goes to Places 