A Not-So-Ordinary EB in Athens

Yes, I finally set an EB with a longtime online friend Shalimar Orlanes. But what's extraordinary about our EB is that - we didn't personally met! Go figure! She was basking under the sun of Florida when I visited Athens - but that didn't keep her from welcoming us in her appartment. Bonnie, a family friend welcomed us and made us feel like we already knew each other for years!

Frenchguy still couldn't digest how Filipinos open their doors to strangers. And how strangers could be considered friends just after reading their blogs, after chatting and after being friends through Facebook. Well, I really can't find the right words to explain to him when here in Dijon, befriending someone is not an easy task. He's still culture-shocked!

Ate Bonnie and Shasha, thanks for the experience. I think our meeting is the highlight of this getaway - more than the visit of Athens itself. You showed Frenchguy another bright side of true Filipino hospitality and I thank you for that.

The Getaway

Did I tell you our favorite motto at home? When the kids are away, the parents will play.

We had a 3-day weekend to spend without the kids, Frenchguy and I looked at each other and *ding* (lightbulb ON), quick getaway starting to materialize in our head. I started to eye on great travel deals - I hesitated between Marrakech (Morocco), Istanbul (Turkey) and Athens (Greece) - but my resident card limited me inside the Schengen zone.

I started to check what flight could suit best our schedule and Olympic Air was just perfect. Leaving Paris at 7:30pm and leaving Athens at 4:30pm. That would give us ample time to enjoy Greek capital to the max.

Since Ate Bonnie was at that time on a short getaway in London and arriving 2 hours after our arrival in Athens, we decided we'd stay in a hotel for a night. Since it was just for a night, I decided I would try the hotel top secret promotion from lastminute.com and yes, we stayed in a 5-star hotel situated at the heart of Athens at 50% off.

Couch Surfing - My Way

Have you heard about this concept? If not, then google it, lol. The first time I've heard about this idea, I thought it was for me. I love the idea. Tourism for me is not only visiting tourist spots and taking my pictures infront of them. I want to go beyond that. I want to penetrate one's culture. I want to observe the way locals spend their daily lives. Curious-me wants to get a closer look.

But since couch surfing isn't ideal for a family of four, I content myself with different solutions like when we spent 3 days in an Agriturismo in the Tuscany Region of Italy or when we visited the Nubian Village in Egypt.

Staying at Shasha's place is my way of penetrating to how Filipinos live their lives outside of the Philippines. Dijon's Filipino community is limited to probably 10 members that you could hardly call it a community. Athens count thousands of Filipinos apparently, and their Filipinoness is still there. Ate Bonnie has spent more than 20 years in Athens but according to Frenchguy - she's still Filipino. Why? Because she prepares more than one type of breakfast everyday! For Frenchguy, a cup of coffee, a slice of bread and butter should be enough.And kulit ni Frenchguy, ganun talaga Pinoy. Kandaugaga palagi to please our visitors, right?

Athens - The Visit

I was expecting an old city, not like France or Italy - but older than that. Not that I was expecting columns and sculptures on each building - that's too much asking - but, well, I don't really know. I was probably expecting to see something different but disappointed to realize that yes, I was still in Europe!

I would describe Athens as an old city with distinct monuments here and there, surrounded by new and modern buildings and decorated by bitter orange trees everywhere. Though stray dogs were quite everywhere (which was not common in Europe), I was agreably surprised to see how clean the city was.

We started the visit by walking through the Plaka District then continued through Anafiotika District (which I found more exotic than the rest of Athens). From there we saw this sign going up the Acropolis so we followed suit (for info, all monuments of Athens open their doors to public free of charge every Sunday).

For future visitors, I would recommend to visit the Acropolis Museum first before visiting the monuments, especially if you already forgot the history of Athens.
We spent the whole afternoon roaming around the city and waited for sunset at the Lycabettus Hill. From there, we had a spectacular view of Athens - changing color as the sun sets. We then dined at the Exarchia District which by the way offered better Tavernas (restaurants) compared to the touristic Plaka District.

After an intensive Athens overload, we decided to take the bus the next day which took a scenic route by the sea. Direction - Sounion. There, another monument dedicated to Poseidon was dominating the area.
After that quick escapade, we again took the bus which took us back to Athens. We continued our visit in different districts of Athens and decided we needed to wait to see the Acropolis at night.
It was worth the wait. It was a Saturday night and Athens was all the more lively. We whiled away our time on top of a hill nearby the Acropolis Rock then continued our walk to find ourselves in a cozy restaurant near the cathedral. Did I say that Greek food is great?

Our last day was spent re-visiting the Acropolis. Yes, we're never tired. In fact, we visited the museum and we realized that we didn't see anything, lol. So up we went again to check the details that we missed from our first visit.

To sum up, it was a great weekend getaway. I'll probably go back when the girls are bigger.. or probably earlier, but to visit the islands this time.

Camping

Sunny at 27°C. That was the weather report last weekend. How would you organize your weekend with that almost-perfect weather? Would you spend the whole day inside the mall? Or stay at home doing nothing? I had another idea in mind.

I've always wanted to bring Louna at the Parc de l'Auxois and I thought last weekend was the perfect occasion. I checked for a camping site around the area and off I pursued to the reservation and all. I then announced to Frenchguy my plan and he enthousiastically agreed to my idea. He started to check the tent (which we bought 3 years ago but never used), duvets, camping gaz, chairs, beers (hehe), etc..

The plan was to mount the tent Friday night (the site was just 40 min away from Dijon) then watch the fireworks display at the nearby village (to celebrate Ascension Day), spend the whole day Saturday at the Parc de l'Auxois, pack the tent up Sunday morning and spend the rest of the day swimming, fishing, etc.

So off we went Friday night. The camping site was up to our expectations - shady, clean and not too big.
*Aperitif with the girls (*In France, the “apéritif” or “apéro” is an informal social ritual. It is quite usual to invite people for before-dinner drinks without actually providing dinner, or to arrange to meet someone in a café “pour l'apéritif” before going out for a meal.)

The first night was great. After the fireworks display and after counting the stars, we read the night-time story using a flashlight inside our tent. Louna then slept with her Papa and Kyla with her Mom (it's still too early to put the girls inside one room, more so inside one room in a tent!)

We spent the whole Saturday at the park. It's a zoo, kiddy pool and illimited rides rolled into one. Louna particularly loved riding a horse (not a poney this time!) and taking care of the baby goat. She even cried when we left the goat to its Mom. I was too close to adopting a baby goat, really.

The day at the park made the two girls tired and exhausted but that didn't stop us from enjoying local gastronomy. As usual, the girls were behaved inside the restaurant.

Sunday started with a short hike around the lake near the camping site. There were a lot of blackberries along the trail which spiced up our little sortie. And since the temperature rocketed to 30°C in the afternoon, the hike ended up with a dip in the water. Even Kyla enjoyed the refreshing break.

We then spent the afternoon fishing. Louna was overwhelmed. It was her first time!

That little weekend getaway was a relaxing treat. It was like we were still on vacation. This experience won't surely be the last one.

Sa uulitin!

Chateau-Queyras Weekend

It's been almost a month now since we spent this outdoor-y getaway at the south of France - Queyras National Park. This site is one of my most favorite places here in France. Too beautiful, too wild, too much diversity and too much activities to offer. Frenchguy's friend celebrated his birthday there, and as always, we had activities à la carte to indulge to - hike, bike, via ferrata, kayak, raft, canoë... I won't focus on the menu since it's a man's party, we had sausages, barbeques, beers, wines.. and a lot more wine.

We started our adventure with a hike - which the girls adored.

Then I did via ferrata.. Frenchguy did the same with another group (because we need a babysitter while the other one does an activity).

And did rafting .. while the girls and Frenchguy were doing siesta.

Now, I can't wait for the next adventure.. next stop - Gorge du Verdon, still at the south of France.

Bisita Iglesia

My love for adventure and photography incites me to explore the world around me. What's good about travelling is that you open your eyes to another culture, lifestyle and tradition. I feel more grown up after each travel. I learn something new when I visit another place and Rome wasn't an exception. I learned that by throwing a coin in the Fontana de Trevi, I could guarantee another visit to this lovely place. True enough, last weekend was the 3rd time. And still, I couldn't get enough of what this lively city could offer. One of my favorite activity is to church hop - bisita iglesia. Among the cities I've visited, it's the only place where I saw 3 churches in one piazza. And mind you, even the smallest capella are well decorated and painted - I even saw one painted by Michelangelo himself!

I've posted some church pictures below. If you could name each of them, you'll win a free ticket to Rome (o naniwala ka naman, lol). Bonus: the last picture is the Pieta, the masterpiece of Michelangelo in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

He Did It

Frenchguy finally hit the start button. He officially debuted his triathlon dream last Saturday at the Lac des Settons (~100 km from Dijon). An hour, 29 minutes and 28 seconds was the time he took to finish a total of 500 m swim, 21 km bike and 5 km run - pause to change accessories in each step included. Not bad for a debutant. Well, at least he wasn’t the last one to arrive and Louna was overly proud of his Papa.

Swim - At the starting block, Frenchguy lost among the participants.

Bike - Frenchguy aiming for the dangerous curve at the last uphill slope before the finish line – bike category.

Run - Arriving at the finish line with Louna (notice the cumulated time on the right side of the finish line). She joined her Papa around 5 meters away from the finish line. She was then interviewed by the announcer to which she willingly replied.

Next destination: Hawaii, USA for the Ironman Triathlon Challenge (just dreaming, lol).

More pictures below (click on the icon to access the album):

Triathlon Lac de Settons

Sunday Getaway

Summer is timidly starting here in Dijon and it starts to be tiring. Though I already arranged our winter clothes, a pull-over each morning is still a necessity. So each time a sunny weekend is announced, we make sure that an outdoor activity is planned.

Arnay-le-Duc was the chosen destination this weekend (~45 km from Dijon). The initial plan was for Frenchguy to debute his career as a triathlete. In fact, he just bought a road racing bike which he wanted to test but unfortunately not delivered this weekend. The seller lent him another one which evidently was not customized to his size. So he half-heartedly abandoned the plan and contented himself in watching the participants.

To those who, like me, are not into sports at all and have no idea what triathlon means, it's simply a ...swim, bike and run kind of sport. Easy for me to say but imagine this: you swim 700 meters in a lake at a temperature around 21°C, then bike a total of 24 km with of course an up and down slope, then run 5 km up to the finish line - with a quick halte at a common platform where participants change, take or leave their bike and other accessories related to the activity.

It was an interesting triathlon watch as we were able to observe the experts. In fact, after swimming, they just remove their overalls and caps, then slip on their bike shoes and off they go. Just before arriving at the platform, they already removed their shoes (right picture) so they just wear on their running shoes (most of them without socks!) without changing to their running clothes (right picture shows the champion that weekend. He's in fact France's champion - junior category). A stop at the platform only takes them a few seconds!

Loads of professional racing bikes at the platform, each probably averaging to 2000€! Frenchguy suddenly felt tiny with his undelivered bike, lol. But he's a neophyte afterall and not seeking for national competition.

I was teasing Frenchguy because he planned to swim without the overalls (meaning he would consume all his energy just by swimming alone), then change from swimwear to his biking clothes (which he bought the day before!) and finally, change from biking clothes to his running shirt and short! And why not add the Ipod to the package while we're there, don't you think so?

Well, he learned a lot of tactic and he would surely be more prepared when he finally debute his triathlete career. In the meantime, he still needs to wait for his bike, lol.

During those time, Louna had only one objective in mind - play with the water. She was able to persuade me to dip his feet into the lake (swimming wasn't in the initial plan so I didn't bring anything). Then seeing that she would eventually soak her skirt, we removed it before any accident happens. But the playful kid finally end up wearing but her undies.. so she went home with her skirts.. without her panty!

The Little Mermaid

I have been boasting about our little girl's love for water - how she jumps without fear. She's been learning more and more tricks each passing week - without us teaching her.

Find out her new tricks at Ma Crèche Privée.

Spring Tease

A teaser. We had a taste of spring this weekend. Sunny at 23°C. The lawn mowers around the neighborhood were out Friday night perfuming the atmosphere with this cool spring breeze. Plants and trees, despite the sudden decrease in temperature early April were displaying their flowers and leaves with pride.

Days like these don't pass unnoticed. We had our weekend fully booked. We invited some friends over for lunch Saturday afternoon.

Louna enjoying the afternoon sun with new-found friend lil K.

Frenchguy did a 10-km run Sunday morning.

Louna waiting for her Papa then showing the flowers she picked afterwards.

Then we attended a birthday party in the afternoon.

Louna learning to blow her new toy.

Today. Inside my office. Looking outside my window. Gray and raining outside. 12°C. End of Spring.

So before I get depressed with this uncomprehensible Dijon weather, I'll go pack my stuffs and enjoy the Italian sun this weekend. Leaving on Thursday morning. On the itinerary: picnic at the park viewing the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we indulge ourselves with arts and culture (and pastas, and gelatos, and limoncillos (with moderation, svp..) in Florence and Rome. We will end our escapade enjoying rural life under the Tuscan sun.

PS: Mahirap ng ma-depress si buntis.