On the other side.

Little Rock

Hi loves.  It's me again... blogging from the other side of the world.  It's been more than 3 weeks since I arrived here in the US and my oh my has time flown by so quickly without me noticing...  Having been here for the time that I have has made me realize that I've been living under a "little rock" my whole life.  There's just too many things to see and experience elsewhere that I feel the need to be set free from the place I call home.  Macau has always been my comfort zone.  However, the need to grow has been haunting me ever since I started working two years ago.   "Time for change, time to get out of here" are words that would constantly pop up in my head, but how does one do it?  

New Orleans Photo Diary -- Part 2

New Orleans Photo Diary -- Part 1

New Orleans, home of jazz music, Mardi Gras and the warmest people  you'll ever meet.  Also, their food is just too darn good!!!  My taste buds just couldn't get enough of the spices they used in their dishes.  I was really excited to spend Christmas in the city because I've never really gone anywhere before besides Macau.  Moreover, it was the first time my siblings and I have spent Christmas together, so it was pretty special.

The drive to New Orleans was exciting even though I wasn't able to stay awake the entire time.  The weather was definitely not in our favour and I was not expecting dense fog, rain, humidity or a hot Christmas, but it was still a fun trip.  For the most part, we spent our time shopping and of course, eating!  I shall return with Carlos or my parents for more "noms".  Mmmm mmm!

Bangkok Photo Diary

Temple Runnin'

Empire State of Mind -- I wish!

Seeing the replica of the Statue of Liberty reminded me of NYC in an instant.  Made me reminisce about the big apple all over again and the adventures I had last year.  Here's wishing that Carlos and I will travel to farther places sometime soon! For now, we can only dream. 

Tokyo Tower

The Tokyo Tower, stands proud as it shows off its yellow glow.  Seeing it put a big smile on our faces as we've been wanting to see it for as long as we can remember.  Despite the drizzle and the cost of going there, I'm glad we saw it.  Definitely a wonderful representation of the capital of Japan.

Universal Studios Japan -- Day 2

I've been slacking on my blog posts again and I must apologize because I've been enjoying life to the fullest!  With that being said, I just got back from Bangkok with my childhood friends and I can't wait to share our photos here.  I'll try to blog about it as soon as I'm done with Japan.

Land of the morning star

Greetings from the Philippines sweeties! :)  I've been here for two whole days and a half only and I've spent a lot of moolah on food already.  No kidding! :D  But I've bought other stuff as well too!

The book "Stupid Forever" was given to me by Ate Beth and the rest are from PowerBooks! :)

Bali -- Day 3

Aston Ungasan Hotel

Bali -- Day 1

Our first day in Bali got us all really excited and ready to explore the island.  The day seemed very promising from the moment we woke up.  Everything was perfect!  Of course my definition of perfect would be clear, blue skies and Mr. Sun coming out to play.  We didn't get to have breakfast in the morning since we woke up a tad bit late just in time for brunch.  Little did we know that we were headed to one of Bali's popular restaurants.  

New York City -- Day 4

This is the last set of photos that I'll be sharing with you regarding my adventure in the Big Apple.  Time flew by oh-so-quickly and I'm so glad I decided to travel to NYC even if I was alone at that time.  It did not only teach me to be independent, but it taught me to be wise and most importantly, it taught me to get out of my comfort zone.

New York City -- Day 3

I have once again been slacking up on blog posts, but I've a pretty good reason which is that I've got a new job!  Yay!  Now I know the new job doesn't require me to work on weekends and stuff, but I've just been so caught up in "living in the moment" and hanging out with friends and family.  Okaay, enough with the excuses.  So here's a new post/photo diary about my third day in the Big Apple.

St. Louis -- Cathedral Basilica & Gateway Arch

The next day was a Sunday so we attended mass at the lovely Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.  I was impressed by how it looked from the outside as it had that sort of medieval look, what with the arches and somewhat pointy towers.

The inside looked stunning as well, the art that were painted on the ceilings were very detailed and colourful.  The church was well lit and huge.  This cathedral is worth visiting because you can get the feeling that you're in Europe.  And maybe it's just me, but I tend to think of European cathedrals or churches in general whenever I see or go to one.  Of course the ones in Macau aren't as detailed in terms of the art and sculptures as the one below, but it still gives me that vibe, considering that it was once a Portuguese colony.

Our agenda for that day was to check out of the hotel, shop for food at Trader Joe's and visit the famous monument of Missouri which is known as the Gateway Arch.  Missouri is a wonderful city by the way, what with all their tall buildings and stuff.  I'm not sure if they can be compared to those skyscrapers in New York, but nonetheless, it's a great city!  I would definitely live there if I get the chance to do so.

We were only able to take pictures from the outside, due to the fact that there was a really long queue to go up and see the whole city from the arch.  I didn't think it mattered though because I know I'll be able to come back if ever my sister decides to move there. :)  I knew both my sister and aunt wanted to get back home asap since they had to work the next day and we didn't want to be on the road after sunset.

I definitely enjoyed my sister's company and I was a bit saddened by the fact that this was our last road trip for this year because I had to go back to Macau in two weeks (I'm back in Macau now, btw, in case any of you are wondering... I haven't really been in the mood to blog about my travels when I got back, until recently...so I'm trying my best to do them now).

Anyway, I do hope you like the pictures taken by my sister and yours truly.  Have a great week ahead everyone and hopefully someday, you can Meet me in St. Louis. :)

 

St. Louis -- The Botanical Gardens

We left for St. Louis, Missouri the day after the wedding which was about five or six hours away.  Again, I had no idea what I could do as I remember being unable to sleep in the car because I was so excited about where we would go next and what was in store for us in our next destination.

I know I remember seeing pictures of my mom, sister and my aunt in St. Louis and I thought the places they went to were really pretty.  I just never expected we'd be going to the same places they went to so I'm really glad we stopped by this city before going back home to Little Rock.

We stayed at the Drury Inn & Suites and I was pretty amazed by how nice and lovely their lobby was.  We were greeted by their friendly staff and immediately issued a key.  Now, I don't know how much my sister paid for our room but the one we got was really spacious and it had a wonderful view.

I would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone who's visiting Missouri.  Breakfast is free for guests by the way so this is a yay for breakfast lovers.  They also offer a kind of mini tea time buffet where they had a variety of food such as mac & cheese, sausages, chili con carne and a bunch of other desserts.  We arrived at around noon time so we got to enjoy their yummy mini buffet.  Moreover, guests could have two cocktails for free if I can remember correctly.

At night, guests can get free popcorn and sodas while watching the game near the lobby.  It was nice and very relaxing!

 

Wisconsin -- Cheese Factory/The Art Museum/The Wedding

The weather in Madison wasn't very promising.  It would've been nice if it was only chilly, but noooo it had to rain!  And I believe everyone knows that the cold + the rain won't please anyone.  However, I really can't complain though because I like cold weather!  I love wearing sweaters and jumpers and long sleeved clothing in general.  And I got to do all that in September so hoooraaay!!  If I were in Macau then, I'd be complaining about the heat.

Anyway, I'd say I'm pretty lucky to have a sister who is not one who would like her time to be wasted which is why we got to do a bunch of stuff before her friend's wedding (which was the main purpose of this whole trip).  I would just like to let you know that this blog post will probably be the longest among any of my other posts since I am reluctant to separate them. :P

Our first stop was the Cedar Grove Cheese where we got to see their little factory and got a tour out of it.  Basically, the tour enabled people to read what was on their walls including its history, how they're made and so on, so forth.  I honestly do not remember what was written on those walls because I was too mesmerized by the people behind the glass and pretty much intrigued by how they make the cheese... not to mention, I was also only interested in tasting/buying/eating the cheese.  We ended up buying some of their cheese curds which are to die for!  They were really, really good and those are what I would recommend you to get if ever you're in town or if ever you get the chance to visit them.  You can munch on them while watching a movie and it just makes a really good snack.  It also makes that squeaky sound as you chew on them which totally reminds me of the mice in cartoons. :)

We also passed by the store where we could get some sausages because my sister said they were good.  I think I've only had a few bites and they were alright, but I probably wouldn't come back for more... not unless I crave for them.

Wisconsin -- The Long drive

The weekend after Eureka Springs was followed by our trip to Madison in Wisconsin.  The drive there was just oh-so-long, it can't even be compared to our previous road trips.  We had to wake up really early just so we can be right on schedule.  That didn't happen, of course.  That's what people get for planning ahead... so lesson learnt, don't plan ahead!  Just kidding! :)

We left home at around 3:50 am and during those few hours before the break of dawn, I fell asleep even though I wanted to keep my sister company.  However, to stay awake the entire trip was just impossible.  I'm actually amazed at how my sister managed to stay awake during the entire trip... not that she was given a choice.  I honestly thought that my sister would be switching with our aunt at some point, but they didn't so she had to drive all the way there with a couple of stops.

We had to stop at a bunch of gas stations to get something to eat and drink and use the bathroom.  It's not easy being on the road for a couple of hours, let alone being on the road for 12-13 hours.  The only things I could do was take photos, listen to music, take naps, read my book and of course chat with my sister about stuff while our aunt was asleep because we had a bunch of stuff to talk about.  :)

Eureka Springs -- Activities Parte Deux

So, our agenda for the next day was to go horseback riding which again, was something new for me because the only horses I've ever been on are the ones you can find in amusement parks.  Hahaha

At first, I was really excited and just because I was able to go through the ziplining activity did not mean that I wasn't terrified of getting on a live animal.  The fee to go horseback riding was 35 bucks if I can remember correctly, so it wasn't that expensive.  I was asked to get on the first horse which I honestly made me feel a little nervous because I had no idea what our guide was telling me to do.  She told me to "kick the horse" and I had no idea how to kick it, it's not like she showed me how to do so and I was all like "I can't wait for this to be over".

Behind me was Shannon, then Caitlin, Steph and then Naomi.  I honestly believed that our guide should've been in front of me because even if the horses knew where they were going, I honestly had no clue as to how to lead the horse.  I felt like it was leading me instead, so in a way, I felt pretty lucky.  It was definitely a bumpy ride and I only risked getting my phone out like once or twice because I didn't want it to fall during the 45 minute track.

We had breakfast afterwards and I could tell that I wasn't the only one who was hungry because as you can see from the photo above (Photo # 7), we all had two plates each.  Haha!  Talk about starving.

They asked me where else I wanted to go to or if there was anything else I wanted to see and my answer was I wanted to see the "Christ of the Ozarks" because I just had to see it again.  I can say that it still looks the same after more than a decade and once again, I'm so thankful that I got to go to Eureka Springs again and this time, it was with my friends!  Therefore, this town will always be special to me. :)  I would like to thank my friends for coming to Arkansas and making it possible for us to meet once again and see you on the other side of the globe again my loves! <3

I hope you all have a great week ahead loves!