Venice

back to the recap of our trip to Italy!

after spending a day at my aunt's office in milan, we headed to venice the following day. 

have i mentioned here that venice is my favorite city in the world?  really.  it's beautiful!  if you like the old world beauty, rustic, and mysterious...venice is the place for you.  i can still vividly remember my first time in venice 10 years ago (yikes! ang tanda ko na!) and my jaw dropping at just how beautiful it was.  i am not easily impressed...not because i'm maarte (sometimes i am, tho) but because there's so much beauty in the world that something has to really standout for me to be impressed.  well, venice did that to me 10 years ago and it continues to do so each time i visit.  there is no other place like it in the world! maybe that's why i love it so much. 

anyway, after a 2.5 hour train ride from milan's centrale (pronounce chen-tra-le), we arrived at our hotel in venice.  we found a nice little hotel online that was reasonably priced and within walking distance from the train station.  they had free breakfast and free wifi (pang facebook syempre!), the hotel capri.  note:  out of the 3 hotels we stayed in italy, this is the only one worth mentioning!  the rooms are small (most hotel rooms in europe are small) but well kept and clean; breakfast was delicious, and the staff very friendly and helpful! if i were to go back to venice, i would stay here again in a heartbeat! 

after we dropped of our bags, we found a little restaurant not far from the hotel (it wasn't that good).  we went to the murano to watch the master glassblowers at work. after the demo, i was suckered into buying more murano glass pendants and earrings and a glass christmas ornament.

i forgot to mention, during this trip, we gave michelle a budget to spend on things like souvenirs or toys...of course we still held the money but setting aside an amount she can spend helped her make better choices when came to buying things she wanted.  she wasn't asking for every cute things she saw...she knew that if she blew all of her money on one item, she wasn't going to get anymore.  so with that, in venice, she bought a family of murano glass lady bugs, and a murano glass pendant.  (i will update this post with photos).

after murano, we went back to our hotel for a quick nap and then we went to st. mark's square.  i haven't been here at night...my past trips have all been day trips so this was a new perspective of the city for me.  it was cold and the ferry from the hotel to st. mark's took longer than we expected.  after a few quick photo sessions in the dark, we headed to hard rock cafe for dinner.  i know!  i know!  why hard rock cafe when we're in italy!?  for the same reason we went to mcdonald's for the kids...we needed the familiar american food for the adults.  plus, my aunt and my cousin don't really know much about american food so it was a good introduction for them.  we had them try the bbq ribs (yummy) plus all the good for the soul [bad for the arteries] fried food!  we all left full and satisfied with our meal. 

the next day, everyone else wanted to sleep in but i was determined to have paul and michelle see st. mark's square during the day so after a yummy breakfast at the hotel, we took the ferry (the faster one with less stops!) and we were at st. mark's in 20 minutes.  pictures here, pictures there...michelle wasn't convinced that it was worth it to leave her cousin gabri (4 years old) behind at the hotel just to be at st. mark's again. 

all that changed after one good natured lady, captivated by my daugher's charm, handed her a piece of bread to feed the pigeons.  yes, the vermin of the bird world!  ha!  as paul and michelle excitedly fed the birds, i was saying a silent prayer, 'please don't let the birds poop on us!' michelle's excitement went over the top when a pigeon rested on her head!  all the more i prayed, 'please don't let the bird poop on her!'  michelle left st. mark's square beaming with joy!  i think this was the highlight of the trip for her and i was so thankful the birds didn't poop on us! 

it was another great venice visit for me, made all the more special because now my husband knows why i love this city so much.  we headed back to the hotel and proceeded to the train station for another 2.5 hour train ride to florence. 

american idol - jessica sanchez

i have been watching this show ever since it began here in the states.  i remember sitting on the couch with my roommates at our apartment in davis (where i went to college, go UC Davis Aggies!) and voting for our favorite idol(s).  

there has been several filipinos or half filipinos or contestant with the "filipino connection" on the show over the years but none of them impressed me the way jessica sanchez does each and every week.  this girl can sing!   oh my goodness!  and she's only 16!

if she doesn't win american idol, then americans are tone deaf.  =D

dream BIG!

in case you haven't heard, the MEGA MILLIONS lottery jackpot is at $500 million.  we have been buying lottery tickets since last week when the pot was at around $200 million.

so in the spirit of dreaming BIG, here's a few of the things i'd do if i win friday's mega lotto:

1.  find a really good and trustworthy financial advisor. having that much money, i wouldn't know what to do with it so my first task is to find a financial advisor that will help me manage the money. 
2.  give 10% of my tithes to church + several million more as an offering.  this comes second on my list but it's the first thing i would do once i actually get the money. 
3.  quit my job. 
4.  create trusts for my family (my brothers and their families)
5.  buy a house for my parents and my siblings (paul would do the exact same thing for his side of the family).
6.  take my extended family on a vacation (whereever they want).
7.  buy my dream house - i do not want a house that's too big, 5,000 sq feet in living space is good + a swimming pool (somewhere in hillsborough is where i want to live).
8.  buy a car for my closest friends.
9.  start a foundation for kids.
10. go to law school - i wouldn't have to worry about paying for tuition.  why go back to school when i have that much money?  i really want to be an immigration lawyer so i can help folks that need legal advice.  once a lawyer, most of my work will be pro bono.
11. spend more time with family and do work for God's kingdom.

Milan/Lugano, Switzerland/Milan

"nakita mo ba si coco martin at dawn zulueta sa milan?" ;-)

hindi!  

other than the usual, 'how was your vacation?', this was the most asked question after we got back from our trip.  halatang halata ang mga nakatutok sa teleserye!  haha!


anyway, milan was 'home' for us in italy.  this is where my tita malou (and her family) and my tito norman (and his family) live.  we didn't explore the city until our last full day in italy but we got together with family and went to an italian [christian] church that sunday.  there was a translator so we didn't have any problems understanding the word that day.  God's word is truly amazing - it transcends time, space, language, culture.  the word that day was seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord (Exodus 33:13-14, Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”). 

paul, me, mom, tito tony, tita malou, chel, tita riza, tito norman

after service, we made a quick stop at...guess where!  mcdonald's!  my goodness!  we ate at mcdonald's twice in the 8 days we were there.  if you are traveling with a child, there is no escaping it.  we then headed to Lugano, Switzerland which is a 45 minute drive from Milan where we met with one of my aunt's dearest friends.  Lugano is beautiful.  i've been there once before and although our trip this time was shrouded in fog, it didn't diminish it's beauty but added a sense of mystique to the place. 

lugano, switzerland

us with my nephew, gabri

 second cousins

the following day (monday), i spent the entire day at my aunt's office and observed how she operates her business.  i pray to one day open an office like hers here in the states...all by faith and according to God's will.  =D


not too much excitement the first few days. michelle and paul were sooo bored that monday but i promised them that the beauty of the next cities we'll visit will make up for monday's boredom. 

John 14:1-3

“Let not your heart be troubled . . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And . . . I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

I’ve always just read this verse and thought about death and about heaven…but today, this word spoke to me in a different way.

How many times have we made decisions without first asking God what his will for us is? How many times in this life have we disregarded the godly counsel of others to follow our own will?

Many times, when we become stubborn and do as we please, we end up in trouble. Our decisions are often born out of the intensity of our emotions and not the truth.

When the Lord said, "I go to prepare a place for you.." he wasn't just talking about heaven but everywhere we go, if we let him take the lead, he will prepare that place for us.  He will make sure that everything is as it should be because of his perfect love for us.  He does not want us to fall, to falter, and be discouraged.  He will lead the way and make everything good because he is a good God. 

Do you have an important decision to make? Let your heart not be troubled, the Lord said. If we listen to Him and let him lead our way and prepare the place for us, he will receive us to himself. Mauuna sya upang pagandahin ang sitwasyon para sa atin at susunduin pa nya tayo…may pagibig at pagiingat. God doesn’t want us to make hasty decisions. He wants to be involved in the many decisions we make in our lives so that he can prepare it for us.


So whatever situation you are in today...if you need to make a decision on what college course to take, what job to take, whether to quit your job and take a new one...pray and ask the Lord to go and prepare the place for you.  Put your complete faith in him because he is the good and perfect God and he will make your paths straight. 

and we're back!

we are back from our very short trip to italy. 

i have not had the chance to blog, let alone unpack, since we arrived on Sunday and we were back at work the following day.  it doesn't help that we have been sleeping at 7 pm every night.  michelle slept from 4 pm on Monday afternoon and didn't wake up until 6 am the following day.  ah, jetlag!  =)

a lot of things happened during our trip.  the most important thing we learned from this trip is that God is really not limited by space nor time and that when He wants something done...if He wants to bless you and open doors of opportunity for you, He will do so no matter where you are and no one can stop it.  it was a wonderful trip for the mind, body, soul, and spirit.  we all had a grand time!

we had a friday evening flight out of sfo to heathrow airport in london and a 4.5 hour lay over before our flight from heathrow to milan's linate airport.  the flight from sfo to london took about 10.5 hours.  i was asleep through most of it and only watched 1 of the movies on british airways' movies on demand (i saw crazy, stupid love.  it was cute.)  British airways is now one of my favorite airlines.  the service was great, the seat on coach had these head support things that actually worked and it allowed me to sleep through most of the flight.  the videos/music on demand was a cool feature too because you can watch any of the available movies when you are awake.  they had a good number of movies for kids, too.  they feed you well during the flight, although i am really not a fan of airplane food.  i hardly ate anything during the flight so by the time our plane landed, i was famished! 

heathrow's terminal five which is exclusive to british airways is one giant shopping center masquerading as an airport terminal.  =D  it was huge!  we took the tram to get from our arrival gate to the departure gate for our connecting flight.  i wonder how confusing it would be for travelers if they needed to go to a different terminal?  anyway, we had to go through security again before our flight to milan and they confiscated michelle's medicines because they were over a certain size.  i tried to argue and said, 'but that's my daughter's medicine.' i was told, 'there's a pharmacy...' hindi ko na siya inintindi.  hmp! in my head, 'let's hope my daughter doesn't catch anything during this trip or i will be pissed!'

we ate at a restaurant called giraffe.  if you are going there, do not order the yakitori!  it was terrible!  boiled skewered chicken with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce (yes, boiled!).  their pot stickers were pretty good and so were the quesadillas.  if a restaurant screws up a quesadilla, they shouldn't even be open at all.  anyway, it was decent, it was clean, they gave michelle a plastic little giraffe thing with her drink so she's happy.  when you fly with kids for 16 hours, you welcome anything that makes and keeps them happy!

michelle's a really good traveler though.  i wonder if the people seated around us cringe at the sight of a little girl sitting next to them in an airplane.  they're probably thinking, 'oh boy! i better prepare for lots of kicking, crying and temper tantrums.'  michelle's not that kind of traveler, thank God!  a few rows behind us though, i could hear when our plane landed at heathrow, a little girl, about 2 years old got air sick all over her seat and her parents.  poor family!  =(  i've been in their shoes before.  i traveled alone with michelle when she was about 1 year old from portland to san francisco and was so happy i was upgraded to first class when all of a sudden, she throws up all over herself and all over my jacket at the very beginning of the flight.  naawa ako sa aming dalawa! haaay!  that was the first and last time she did that.  that was also the first and last time i was ever bumped to the next class on a flight.  hmmm...

so back to our flight.  terminal 5 is supposed to have free wifi but that's not true!  nahilo na ako kakahanap, kakarefresh to get a free wifi signal but was unsuccessful.  you have to pay around 3 pounds to get wifi or if you have British airways lounge access, you get free wifi. 

the flight from london to milan took a little over two hours.  we arrived in milan to the welcoming arms of our family at approximately 930 pm local time.  i was so happy to see them!

we ate at my aunt's house and did not sleep until about 4 am.  and this was the first day of our week in italy.  more to stories to come...soon!