TravelswithCharie

Sorry to disappoint you but there are no aswang in Capiz. If there were, the airlines would lose money since we could probably get promo fares more frequently on the back of an aswang. Seriously though, release your fear. Come to Capiz. Wear a garlic bracelet, if you must. But do come and experience our world.  1. Life is simpler in flip flops Baybay Beach and Mantalinga Island Baybay Beach in Roxas City is the choice of denizens for its proximity to the city center and its seafood restaurants. It's easy to slough off the calories gained from an indulgent lunch with a walk on the beach. If you crave variety, we have more beaches for you to comb in Ivisan, Olot ayan, Pan-ay and Pilar.  http://www.travelswithcharie.blogspot.com/2006/05/hello-baybay-beach.html 2.  Baby let's cruise  Palina Greenbelt Ecotour The Palina Greenbelt ecotour is a good introduction toward understanding the negative effects of fish pens in our waters. It wasn't long ago w

"I've traveled far and wide to explore new horizons only to find that there's so much to see right here in my own backyard." TravelswithCharie Basiao beach A view of the islands from our cottage on Basiao beach. We ate a simple lunch of bangus (milkfish) and rice with the  balut we bought in Dao and assorted pastries from Roxas City. Islands of Pulo Gamay and Pulo Maba-ay There's something to be said about heading to the beach on a weekday. We have this beautiful stretch of white sand to ourselves. All throughout lunch the siren song of the islands beckoned and we wanted to go island hopping but alas the rain caught up with us. All the more reason to come back.  Oyster Farm We managed a trip to the talaba (oyster) farm before the downpour. It was nice to see up close how they breed oysters. The old method is to suspend them from bamboo poles as you see here. The new method is to raise them in barrels which are partially sunk

Walang Iwanan, Elmer Borlongan, 1999 The Pinto Art Museum has a vast collection of Philippine contemporary art and it requires more than a single visit to appreciate all that it has offer.

Myeong-dong If LA is a great big freeway, then Seoul is a great big market. Above ground or underground, there is no dearth of choices. The only limit is how deep your pocket is. 

Blast Furnaces of Vizcaya, Juan Luna, 1893 I love small museums where I don't have to rush from painting to painting so I can see everything in a few hours. I like to linger, take a photo if it's allowed, leisurely read the attribution card or the brochure and check out the works of art as meticulously as possible. The Yuchengco Museum in Makati is an ideal place to visit and learn about Philippine art in an intimate setting. It wows with its collection of paintings by the masters of Philippine art including Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo, Carlos "Botong" Francisco and a host of other artists, some of whom I've included below. During my visit in July, I was lucky to have seen the Benedicto Cabrera Tribute Exhibition, BenCab in Two Movements . Juan Luna (1857-1899) made a name for himself in 19th century Europe where he was nurtured in the classical style of painting. This education gave birth to such works as the Spoliarium which won him the first gold med

Lunch at Arirang Folk Restaurant Any visit to Seoul easily turns into a food trip.  As soon as we checked into our hotel at the Seoul Plaza, we were prowling the streets checking out the various restaurants in the neighborhood. And as it happened, we chose Arirang Restaurant for our first meal in Seoul. That was a great pick because we had a very good lunch at Arirang. I ordered the Korean style seafood pancake and it looked and tasted like it spent just the right amount of time in the pan. My brother cleaned up his bibimbap hot pot. The japchae was a rich mix of sweet potato noodles, stir fried vegetables and shredded beef. The black cod boiled down in soy sauce was the amazing reveal.  It was both flavorful and moist. It was the very first time in my life that I really appreciated cod. And the service was commendable. Address: 23, Namdaemun-ro 7-gil, Jung-gu (behind the Westin Chosun Hotel) Bibimbap My favorite dish is bibimbap but I couldn't fin

Altarpiece of our Lady of Life. c1580 This altarpiece was partially destroyed during the 1755 earthquake. It is composed of 1,498 tiles in a multitude of hues. The top section with missing pieces is the Annunciation. The Adoration panel in the center is flanked by the images of St. Luke on the left and St. John on the right. The arrangement of this altarpiece resembles that of a retablo. It is attributed to Marçal de Matos, one of the masters of Portuguese azulejo painting. Franciscan scenes, Manueline Hall Tiles were introduced to Portugal from Southern Spain by King Manuel I after his visit to Seville in 1503. The Portuguese imported tiles until the 17th century when they started to produce their own. Churches, palaces, houses were decorated with blue tiles. A fine example of these adorn the walls of the Manueline Hall in the Madre de Deus, the church within the Museu Nacional do Azulejo. This tile composition depicting St. Francis with the crucified Christ and angels