TravelswithCharie

Louvre Museum, Paris Here are Frommer's picks of top destinations for 2010: Tunisia, Copenhagen, Hanoi, Santiago de Cuba, Abu Dhabi, Big Island Hawaii, Salta Province Argentina, Isles of Scilly, Melbourne, Florida Panhandle Beaches, Mexico City, Kerala in India. Frommer's readers voted Paris as their Reader Favorite for 2010. For more on this check the link below: http://www.frommers.com/trip_ideas/arts_and_culture/article.cfm?ideaID=ARTCULTURE&articleID=6469&t=Frommer%27s%20Top%20Destinations%202010 Happy New Year and may you have many fun travels in 2010! *    *    * Photos by Charie

The Philippines has the longest Christmas season in the world. It begins the end of September and lasts through January 6 (the feast of the Three Kings in the old calendar). Christmas songs are played over the airwaves and in malls and restaurants. Television shows remind viewers how many days are left till Christmas. On December 16 "simbang gabi" starts. People would rise in the early hours to attend mass at five in the morning. While it's warm in the Philippines, it gets slightly cooler in December. Outside the church vendors sell freshly made bibingka and puto bumbong *, perfect handwarmers unless you can't wait to eat these till you get home. Two of the most enduring symbols of Christmas in the islands are the nativity crèche and the parol (Christmas lantern). Many homes display their colorful parols outside their windows so passersby can admire the play of lights. In the old days, the parol was lighted by a candle. Churches have beautiful nativity scenes b

This video is all about a food journey in the Philippines. There are delicacies like diwal, lato and balut. There's an abundance of fresh seafoods like sweet prawns, talaba, pusit and bangus. And there are a number of local dishes like kare kare, pinakbet, pancit canton or bihon or malabon or sotanghon. I just love sweet mangoes and I'm lucky to have guavas, papayas, coconuts, and tiny bananas fluorish in my garden. For more on Philippine cuisine check out http://www.youtube.com/user/easypinoyfood. * * *

San Francisco is all decked out for the holidays. Under the tree at Nieman Marcus Victoria Secret "Give Her Sexy" Outdoor florist Macy's window Macy's window On Union Square * * * Photos by Charie

At Greenhills indoor flea market, you will find santos (religious statues), costume jewelry, authentic South Seas pearls, clothes, shoes, knock off branded handbags, Oriental furnishings, Christmas decorations, paintings, souvenirs and linens. There are stalls upon stalls of goods and you walk down narrow aisles teeming with shoppers who are at this moment doing their Christmas shopping. I was particulary interested in new costume jewelry trends and there are a variety of stones and glass beads on display. The latest is a headband made of shiny glass beads, a unique party accessory. I was pleased to find wood carvings and paintings at much more reasonable prices than elsewhere in the city, except in Divisoria which I have yet to check out. Weekends and holidays are the worst times to come though you can shop their night market during the holidays. Crowds notwithstanding, I plan to spend more time shopping for home furnishings at Greenhills after the holidays. * * * Photos by Charie

Lonely Planet's list of destinations for 2010 is for the traveler seeking to get more for his hard earned money. This list includes Iceland, Thailand, London, South Africa, Malaysia, Mexico, India, Kenya, Bulgaria and Las Vegas. For more on the story, check the link below. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/iceland/travel-tips-and-articles/42/18862?affil=fb-fan * * *

On Thursday, November 5, 2009, we distributed school supplies to 92 children at the Manuel Arnaldo Memorial School in Milibili, Roxas City. Three sections of the third grade and one section of the fourth grade were the recipients of pens, pencils, erasers, and pad paper. Some students who won in the informal math contests we held received children's books, crayons, notebooks, pencil cases and other prizes. It was a great day to help the kids in Milibili. Many thanks to Leda Albar, Bock Loo, Terri Smith, Monique AlbarJen, Diane Acas, Anthony Albar for their generous support. For more on Balay ni Charie, follow this link:  http://www.balaynicharie.blogspot.com/ . *  *  * Image by Charie