TravelswithCharie

It's not often I watch a movie but on a long flight home late last year, I had the chance to watch Midnight in Paris and was totally captivated by its plot. Can you imagine time traveling to the era of Fitzgerald and Hemingway, Picasso and Dali, Gauguin and Toulouse Lautrec? It was therefore such a treat to be in Paris and be able to see a couple of the locations from the movie. Had so much fun figuring out where the Peugeot came from to pick up Gil (Owen Wilson) and take him back to the Jazz Age. Rue Galande Rue Galande is a narrow street lined with boutiques with engaging window displays. Notice the giant flea sculpture above one of the shops. This location was shown at the beginning of the film. Interestingly enough, Rue Galande is a stone's throw from the bouquinistes along the Seine and across from the Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris. The Steps of St. Etienne du Mont This is where Gil was sitting, a little disoriented, when the Peugeot drove up and one of its passen

La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre It's been awhile since I visited Montmartre so after seeing the "wall", I went up to the Basilica of Sacré Coeur for a view of the city of Paris. Many years ago I took the stairs to the Basilica but this time around I opted for the easy way up which is by funicular. The fare is similar to the metro. So it's best to buy a carnet of metro tickets if you're staying a few days in Paris. In front of the Sacré Coeur a crowd of people spilled down the long flight of stairs. Street entertainers were having a field day, in particular, a young man who climbed up the lamp post and played with a soccer ball, oblivious of his precarious position as the crowd cheered him on. Across the horizon Paris lay in a haze. It was a gorgeous day to be outdoors. Walking through narrow streets I passed cafés buzzing with activity. I thought I'd go down Rue Lepic to the Café des Deux Moulins and try their crême brûlée which is now called Am

I didn't see the elevator at the Abbesses metro stop so I unwittingly went up the stairs which winds up 118 feet (or 200 steps according to Wikipedia). Abbesses is one of the deep stations in the Paris metropolitan system. I had to stop twice on the way up to catch my breath and rest my leg muscles. It was quite a climb! I heard the people behind me panting and moaning. We were definitely in Montmartre, high above the rest of Paris. And I came for a specific reason - to see the "I love you" wall or Le Mur de Je t'aime at Place des Abbesses. I had read an article about it on Valentine's day and I was intrigued. How serendipitous that I had this chance to be in Paris! The wall is just behind the entrance to the metro station. Le mur is made of blue tile and scrawled across it are over 300 greetings of love in 250 languages. I recognized a few like Iniibig Kita and Te quiero . I did a search to find out about Ljubim te and learned that this is a Slovenian/Serbi

My flight itinerary from Siem Reap to Manila required an overnight stopover in Singapore . I had only enough time to explore one area of the city so I decided to check out Little India because I can still remember a temple we visited several years ago that had hundreds of figures covering its façade and I wanted to see more. Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple Sri Veeramakaliamman is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kali. It's on Serangoon Road, a main thoroughfare lined with shops and a few flower stalls.   Bright orange and yellow leis hang from one of the stalls across from the temple. Worshippers wash their feet first before they enter the temple. Although I did see a couple of men who washed their feet after they came out of the temple. Could it be because they had to walk on bare feet inside the temple? Here's where you wash your feet I arrived in Singapore days after the Diwali Festival or the Festival of Lights so many of the streets in Little India still ported

It was late evening when I arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore and all I wanted to do was go to the hotel and rest, rest, rest. I found the taxi line and waited for my turn to hail one. A young woman behind me asked me if I wanted to take the waiting black car on the parking lot and I told her I couldn’t because there were two people ahead of me. She argued with me that those people didn’t want the taxi so if I wasn’t interested, she would take it. That got me going to the waving and liveried driver. Sanctuary area at Changi Airport I had earlier asked the tourist information office what it would cost to travel by taxi from the airport to my hotel and they told me that it would be around $20 ( Singapore dollars). When we got to the hotel, I checked the meter and it was around $21.00. But to my surprise the driver charged me $34 which is $13 over the metered price. I asked him why and he showed me the chart for the surcharge. I was anticipating a surcharge for arrival after mid

Palitaw How I miss merienda time in the Philippines! For me merienda starts at breakfast with puto from Goldilocks. After lunch I eat a pulvoron or one of those sweets wrapped in colorful cellophane. At 4 p.m. the entire household stops for afternoon break with boiled saba (plantains) or fried bananas dipped in sugar. Sometimes we're lucky to pick our bananas from one of our own trees.  There's an incredible array of tempting desserts to choose from in the Philippines and I have a few favorites. One is palitaw which is a flat rice cake coated with sesame seeds, sugar and shredded coconut. I usually order this when I'm meeting with friends at Via Mare in Makati.  Here's the link to the recipe for palitaw: http://panlasangpinoy.com/2010/01/24/flat-rice-cake-palitaw-recipe/ Turon/Fried Banana Rolls Turon is a deep fried banana roll. It's best eaten fresh off the pan, otherwise the wrap gets soggy and spoils the taste. It's perfect when it's crunchy. If y

Cinderella went to the ball in a pumpkin coach. Laurence of Arabia rode across the desert in a camel. Mushers and their teams race from Anchorage to Nome with sled dogs. Getting there is surely more than half the fun? In Siem Reap you have the option to ride an elephant around the Angkor complex for what could be an elevated experience. I also love the orange throw over the back of the elephant for that royal touch! The procession of tuk tuks above bodes well for independent travelers to Cambodia who wish to move about without the restraining expense of a chauffeur driven limo. The jeepney was fabricated from used jeeps left by the Americans in the Philippines at the end of World War II.  The most colorful and extravagantly decorated jeepneys ply the roads in Metro Manila. What I like about riding the jeepney is the flexibility of getting off where I please by just asking the driver, "mama, para po dito" (Mister, please stop here). The tricycle is what I call th

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. Elizabeth Barrett Browning Happy Valentine's Day!

Vanna was my tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap. Some days he was also my guide.   I met him at the hotel where I was staying which employs him to stand by and be available for the hotel’s guests for a minimum wage. He speaks some English. I thought we understood each other well. He drove me all over Siem Reap and all the way to the port at Chong Kneas. There had been heavy flooding in the villages and rice paddies near Tonlé Sap Lake and the roads were washed out in many places. Our tuk tuk was jumping up and down as it crossed potholes along the way. At one point we got stuck in the red mud. Vanna had to wade in the mud to free the tuk tuk. On our way back to town it rained heavily. The driver’s seat is up front and it has no overhead cover so Vanna was drenched but for the raincoat he had thoughtfully bought from one of the stalls at the foot of Phnom Krohm. Vanna and his tuk tuk One day I asked him to come and pick me up before dawn so I could see the famous sunrise at Angkor Wat. W

My first impression of Angkor Wat was one of total disappointment. I happened to visit the site when it was undergoing restoration work on the front terrace. I could have cried. But there wasn't much I could do about it. So I concentrated on the other features of the temple and there was much to see and learn. This is one of the long galleries that wrap around the temple. It faces west with a view of the library and causeway. Behind these columns is a wall decorated with bas reliefs. There are some beautifully carved vignettes like the mother playing with her child. It's best to spend a little more time here with a guide who can point out some of the most interesting bas reliefs and give you background information about them to better appreciate this incredible visual library. We wound up at the back of the temple where we had a full view of the two rear towers. Ankor Wat, like all other temples in Cambodia, were built up (on a height) to emulate Mount Meru, the legendar

There are an estimated 6 million landmines in Cambodia. These are for the most part concentrated in the Thai-Cambodian border. Aki Ra, a former child soldier in the Khmer Rouge and later on in the Vietnamese army (which captured and conscripted him), founded this museum to instill awareness of the danger and dire consequences brought about by these landmines and to help street children, some of whom are victims of landmines. These children are now housed in the museum complex. As a child soldier in the Khmer Rouge, Aki Ra planted landmines. In this little glass pavilion are hand grenades, grenade launchers, rifles, which are just a handful of weaponry gathered by Aki Ra since he started his self help demining mission. All told, he's cleared around 50,000 landmines. In the image above, bombs line the walkway leading to the museum. The Landmine Museum is located in the Angkor Wat National Park, about 30 minutes from the center of Siem Reap. If you're visiting Banteay Srei,

Where to stay:  Prince d'Angkor Hotel and Spa Sivatha Blv, Mondul II, Sangkat Svay Dangkom, Siem Reap 93136 Tel: +855 63 763 888 Fax: +855 63 963 334 http://princedangkor.com/ Buffet breakfast and wifi in room included Convenient location in center of town. I had a spacious room and it was quiet although the hotel is on the bustling Sivatha Boulevard. I also appreciated the fact that my room was very clean. The hotel is a minute's walk to the supermarket at Lucky Mall where I could buy beverage and snacks for my sightseeing trips (It's important to take water and/or beverage of your preference wherever you go because it's so hot, you'll need to hydrate). The buffet breakfast was generous. There was something different for me to eat everyday and the staff were attentive to my needs. The hotel also employs tuk tuk drivers so I could easily and safely go around town. Where to eat:  Lucky Shabu House Lucky Mall, 2nd Floor Sivatha Street Lunch: 11:00 a.m. t