TravelswithCharie

The Duomo, Milan In the next few weeks I'll be writing in detail about my trip to Italy this June. For the moment, I'd like to share some highlights of our visit to this country that calls you, like a siren, to come back for more. It took more than four centuries to complete the construction of Milan's Duomo. Napoleon Bonaparte demanded it be ready for his coronation as King of Italy. This photo was taken on a Sunday, sunny day and family day. A short train ride from Milan to Lake Como and a total change of pace. Far from the madding crowd, Lake Como is naturally beautiful and peaceful in late spring. It might be quite a different scene in summer.  Bellagio, Lake Como We made a pilgrimage to Padua in the Veneto region to pray at the tomb of St. Anthony. The feast of St. Anthony is on June 13 and we we were lucky to have participated in one of the masses during the 13-day long festivities. Basilica del Santo, Padua Venice is such a fragile p

Image by Charie

I was listening to the radio recently and was completely caught up with the lyrics to Lonestar's hit song, " I'm already there ". It's so visually beautiful and I didn't want to forget it .  Here's a little bit of it: I'm already there Take a look around I'm the sunshine in your hair I'm the shadow on the ground I'm the whisper in the wind I'm your imaginary friend And I know I'm in your prayers Oh I'm already there. And I thought of the special lady who raised me with so much love. She's all the song croons about. I just know it. *  *  *

Earlier this year, I had an unscheduled visit to Singapore. With about 3 hours to explore the city, I decided to check out Chinatown which is a short walk from the Clarke Quay neighborhood where I was ensconced at the Novotel. It was a week before Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, so Chinatown was festooned with colorful lanterns and streamers to welcome the arrival of the lunar new year.  Painted Ladies The shophouses that line the streets of Chinatown were built in the style of the painted ladies (Victorian architecture painted in three or more colors) and restored in recent years. These buildings are painted predominantly in pastel and the windows are highlighted in darker hues providing a rich contrast of colors. Beef jerky Nowhere is food more celebrated than in Chinatown especially during the new year. I couldn’t help but stop and stare at these neatly arranged, paper thin beef jerkys and be satisfied with the come hither aroma that pervaded the air.

Ni ō mon Gate (1830) An unplanned layover at Narita Airport yielded a pleasant surprise. With a whole morning free before returning to Narita Airport for an early evening flight, we took the shuttle bus from our hotel to Narita City. We walked to Narita-san Shinsh ō -ji Buddhist temple from the drop off point. The temple is located at the end of a busy, shop-lined street called Omotesando . It was the Setsubun Festival (in late January) and the streets in and around the temple were packed with visitors and pilgrims who, like us, were distracted by the many food stalls and enticing curio shops along the way. Setsubun is the celebration of the beginning of spring (according to the lunisolar calendar). Three Storied Pagoda Narita-san was founded in the year 940. It is a lead temple of the Chisan branch of the New Shingon sect of Buddhism. Some of the buildings in the complex are designated National Important Cultural Properties including the Three Storied Pagoda that dates b

Garcia Elementary School students in Tapaz, Capiz Balay ni Charie Foundation is a grassroots organization I created in 2006 that provides school supplies to children in Capiz , Philippines . On its first year, 20 children from Conrado Barrios Elementary School in Roxas City received school supplies. With the support of family, friends, and another charitable group, Balay ni Charie now distributes school provisions to several hundred grade school children in various towns in Capiz. Students at San Antonio Elementary School in Cuartero, Capiz This year, we visited the schools of Garcia Elementary in Tapaz, Capiz where 146 children received notebooks, pens and pencils. We also gave school supplies to 220 students at San Antonio Elementary School in Cuartero, Capiz.  The road to San Antonio Elementary School It is not easy to get to some of these schools. We needed a 4 x 4 to take us to the hinterlands of Cuartero because the roads were deeply potholed

Touring can be both fun and educational. And so it is with the Palina Greenbelt Ecotour that takes students and visitors out into the waters off of Barangay Cagay in Roxas City to appreciate the reclamation of the Palina River after it was silted up from the excessive number of fish pens in the area. This tour is conducted by the fisherfolk who sacrificed their own fish pens and livelihood in order to save the river. And now they are our guides on this barge trip as they unravel the story of the rehabilitation of this river and the rich mangroves that were planted to stem floodwaters and nurture fish, bird and plant life. Bamboo Raft We were towed by an outrigger to the open waters while two able bodied men navigated our bamboo barge with their bamboo poles, steering us forward or sideways with their muscles and then turning the barge into the narrow passage leading to the Panay River where a huge surambaw commandeered a big slice of the corridor and we had to gingerly