so what makes you happy? for me...

Happiness is…

1) Traveling, talking to locals, getting lost then finding your way after a few hours but while on it you find a surprise destination that makes you want to say, good thing i did not follow the guide book
2) reading mails from long time friends
3) taking photos all day, all night
4) exchanging ILY’s with someone, romantic or not
5) crossing the pedestrian lane just in time before the man turns red
6) eating Vietnamese food, and Japanese food, too!
7) waking up on Sunday morning. I love Sundays. It’s like you were able to rest from the wild and hectic Saturday, and you can always turn it into a good day to start the following week right
8) listening to the songs you used to love from years back on the radio
9) having bbq with the family
10) doing a joyride with e and c, then stopping for zagu along the road
11) watching a very nice movie that you think about it for at least a week more
12) being on top of a mountain after a long hike
13) snorkeling
14) reading a good book by favorite author on a quiet night
15) dancing, singing along and/or just banging your head while on a concert of your favorite band
16) hugging people you care about
17) going downhill when riding a bike and the wind just blows through your face
18) reading a note from the government that you don’t pay much tax
19) seeing old couples still with love in their eyes
20) solving a Sudoku puzzle

BS 48-52

so im back in hk. i really had a marvelous trip, until i lost my hk id and credit card today.. fuuuuckk! anyway, let's get over it. they are gone for good and it should not impede my story telling about my madrid trip.

so the story continues...

i showed you the night shots of the palacio real and catedral de nuestra señora de almudena. i did the whole tour of palacio real which officially kicked off my madrid sightseeing journey. i was lost for an hour until i found my way to the main route. and boy it was so grand it's unbelievable! every room is filled with very rich designs and they are filled with luxurious stuff that it could intimidate anyone. i've never been to any palace before and i must tell you that what you see in the movies are not an exaggeration. when you leave the palace you'd feel that life is unfair that you live in a tiny room when the royalties lived in such elegance and richness... but somehow you'd feel proud that at least once in your life you were able to witness such a beauty.




infront of it is the biggest cathedral in madrid. i did a whole tour of it on my last day but photo taking was not allowed. it's just big on its size but i've seen better churches in this trip. it's just big and perhaps it is lucky to have been facing the palacio real the whole time that the association with a grand place gives it more credit than it deserves.



i woke up the next day very early to go to toledo, spain's former capital. i'll post more photos of toledo on my future posts, but meanwhile i share these photos that i took while waiting for the train. one is the madrid-atocha renfe station, then the agriculture ministry building. don't you just love madrid?!? it's so european as we imagined it to be. hihihi..

BS 46-47

i never thought i'd see them for real.. the real works of salvador dali! it's like having your textbooks alive! aaahhh thank you papa jesus for reina sofia museum! it's really such an experience to finally see the works of picasso, dali, miro, et al. im not an art enthusiast but to finally see the famous paintings that we studied when i was in UP...aahhh, the feeling of bliss is just incomparable! so here you go, the star of the museum: picasso's guernica, and im including dali's face of the great masturbator. high five! one more high five!

BS 45

happy hearts' day! i may not have someone to greet and mean it with lovely eyes, but i still hope that you had a good valentines' day. it's not just for lovers, there are other forms of love, ya know.

so here's my photo for today, taken at the parque del retiro this afternoon. cherry blossoms i deserve to be named after you! blooming tayo ever! hahahaha

BS 43-44

this is it! i think spain is full of surprises. i thought i knew it.. but as the cliche goes, i have no idea!

ill tell my stories when im back. ill give you two photos anyhow. from the royal palace, and the cathedral next to it. they're just outside my serviced apartment.

BS 42

this is it! my hands are shaking from much excitement! aaahhh! it's so cool that my bff and family called me a while ago, and my PM friends have gathered for dinner last night and kept wishing me an enjoyable trip until today. they all know how important this trip is for me and im so lucky to have friends who are happy that im happy. im writing this while outside the boarding gate to doha. oh thank you papa jesus!

here i am using my webcam for the first time outside ym, with my boarding pass from the world's 5 star airline. hihihi! it will be my first dateless heart's day in a long time, but i feel all the love. im in spain, goddamnit! woopee!

BS 41

this is the apalit church and my most favorite church when we did the church hopping joyride trip when i went home last christmas. it's really out of the way from the other churches but it was worth the long drive. the inside is also a must see! this is one of the times when i was proud that i came from the province of pampanga.