Breakfast in Paris

Today is my second day in Paris. I just had breakfast at Starbucks. I ordered pain au chocolat + hot caramel macchiato. Ahhh, what a good way to kickstart another day in the City of Lights!

A Quieter Christmas

It is now the second year in a row that I didn't spend the traditional Christmas festivities in my hometown. Last year, my entire family was in the U.S. for the very first time. As for this year, I will be spending a quieter Christmas in Paris while my family is vacationing in South Korea.

What I always look forward to during Christmas is opening presents with my parents and siblings on the night of the 24th. This year, I opened my presents as early as the 21st because I will be leaving later today for a two-week vacation in France, Italy and Switzerland. Usually, I get money or clothes from my aunts and uncles. But this year, I got simpler presents, which is totally okay because I didn't expect to receive any present at all.

The Bible and religious CD is from our sweet secretary, Andrea.

The White Wine is from my director, Mr. Skopal.

The Nivea body soap and scrub is from my other director,  Ms. Florkova.

The Christmas card, keychain, and chocolate is from my Columbian friend, Karly.

Chatting With Mommy

I've been away from the Philippines for more than three months, so my parents and I merely communicate through Yahoo Messenger. My mom is not yet so comfortable with this whole long distance thing. This is a printscreen photo of us earlier today. She was having a hard time using her Iphone. She didn't even know where's the camera! Haha!

Height of Winter

Isn't winter just so pretty? These days, I am wearing three layers of clothing plus an ultra thick coat, but still my ass is freezing to death! I took a set of wintery photos at Lázně Darkov Park in Karvina a couple of days ago. Everyday, I see cars like these all covered in snow.

The little wooden house, the trees and everything else is winter wonderland.

I wish it is like this everyday!

I have to button up until my neck.

This photo is super panoramic. Blows my breath away!

Christmas Splurge

As my Christmas gift to myself, I indulged in a little shopping spree yesterday at H&M. It has been a very good year for me, so I wanted to reward myself. Here are some of the stuff I got.

Pumpkin Kitchen

I found a photo of a really cozy kitchen from one of my favorite blogs, Chuvaness. The orange-white color combination reminds me so much of the Mode Publishing office in the now defunct TV Series, Ugly Betty.

Panda Fever

I got these ultra cute panda socks from Tesco today. I love shopping in Tesco because everything's so cheap!

Missing My Shoes

Apart from my family and friends, there is one more thing that I badly miss back home...MY SHOES. I badly miss my shoes. Before I left the Philippines, I neatly arranged some of my shoes in my closet. I had to put the other pairs in their boxes and stuff them in the attic because I didn't have enough space.

Nevo Dead Sea Spa

I was lured by a curly-haired shop assistant from Nevo Dead Spa to try out some of their products while shopping in Palladium Mall in Prague. I got so curious with their Nail Buffer. Everybody seemed to be trying it out, so I joined the bandwagon. In less than three minutes, my nails were already so shiny. I was so tempted to buy it, if only it was cheap. Then I saw their Mineral Shampoo, which according to the guy, helps in reducing hair-fall. I bought it at once because my hair-fall hasn't stopped yet. When the guy saw my pimples, he offered me the Salt & Mud Soap. He was very insistent so I ended up buying it as well. 

Prague: Day 3

Day 3.

We woke up close to noon time on our last day in Prague because of our hangover from the party the night before. Marek, the housemate of Katerina's boyfriend, offered to give us a last tour of the city. We met up with him at Wenceslas Square, which is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. We grabbed some coffee before starting our private walking tour around Prague that chilly day. 

This is a picture of Charles Bridge as we were walking along the Vltava River banks. Our guide shared that some parts of the bridge are no longer original due to several flooding incidents a couple of years ago. 

Of the many statues at the Charles Bridge, what caught my eye was the statues of "Saints John of Matha, Felix of Valois, and Ivan" because I remembered that this was where the clue was hidden on one of the episodes of Amazing Race Asia Season 2. 

After crossing the bridge towards the Lesser Town Area, we walked up the hill towards Prague Castle which is a large-scale composition of palaces and ecclesiastical buildings of various architectural styles. Here are some snapshots of the castle grounds.

I saw one of the castle guards standing like a frozen popsicle. Haha! Look at his face!

Also in the castle complex is St. Vitus Cathedral, which is the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Marek shared that this cathedral is special because it contains the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors.

Prague: Day 2

Day 2.

Our host Katerina and her boyfriend offered us to stay in their flat for the weekend. The lovely couple even volunteered to show us around the city on our second day in Prague. It was a sunny, albeit cold day. Snow has begun to fall the night before, so it was quite slippery to walk everywhere. Throughout the day, their cute dog, Charlie, was with us! So adorable! First, we went to the Benedictine-run Emmaus Monastery sitting south of Karlovo Námestí. It was one of Charles IV's gifts to the city of Prague. 

 

We then walked about 10 minutes towards the Vyšehrad Castle. Local legend holds that this area was the location of the first settlement which would later become Prague. The main attraction in the area is the Neo-Gothic Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. I find this particular door in the Basilica very pretty!

 

Just beside the Basilica is the Vyšehrad Cemetery, the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. I felt so giddy seeing the snow all over the castle grounds. 

 

From the castle grounds, we were able to see a panoramic view of the entire city. 

It was completely a day of leisure. We even fed some of the birds in Vltava River overlooking the Prague Castle.

The girls wanted to go shopping so we stopped by a shopping mall called Nový Smíchov. Afterwards, we grabbed something to eat at a Czech restaurant and then continued strolling around the city.

That day, November 27, was the first day of the annual Christmas Market in the Old Town Center. I was so psyched to experience my first Christmas Market no less than in Prague. The Tyn Cathedral at the backdrop was glowing!

The Old Town Center was bustling with activities. Apart from the stalls set-up in the area, there were also some cultural presentations at the makeshift stage. 

After eating Trdelnik at the Christmas Market, we walked towards the Mexican Pub where Katerina was set to celebrate her birthday. It was fun to meet new people over some Sangria. Cheers to Katerina!

After the chatting and drinking, it was time to party! We left the Mexican pub around 11pm and proceeded to an underground club packed with people. From there, we hopped from one bar to another until we were able to go back to Katerina's flat at half past 3 in the morning! It was one hell of a party!!!

Prague: A Fairy Tale

Last November 26, I had a day off from work so I had the whole day to stroll around the City of a Thousand Spires--Prague. The city is divided into five areas: The Old Town, New Town, Jewish Quarter, Lesser Town, and the Castle District. I first passed by the Jubilee Synagogue or also known as the Jerusalem Synagogue. 

Further down the road, I arrived at the Gothic-designed Powder Tower, which is said to be one of Prague's 13 original city gates. Later, I finally arrived at the Old Town Square. The first thing I saw was the Romanesque turned Gothic-designed Tyn Cathedral. 

  

       

Then of course, the Old Town Hall, a complex of buildings from various historical periods and a tower with the famous astronomical clock. The Astronomical Clock is very popular among tourists. It was created to show the presumed rotation of the sun and the moon around the earth. The clock also shows the movement of the sun and the moon in relation to the signs of zodiac.

Another colossal structure in the center was St. Nicholas' Church which is decorated with sculptures by Antonín Braun.

I strolled along Pařížská or Paris Avenue, one of the city's most prestigious address, which is lined up with upscale boutiques from Louis Vuitton to Prada. It is a sharp contrast to the gloommy Jewish ghetto that existed in this avenue many years ago. 

On the bank of River Vitava stood the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra or Rudolfinum. This neo-renaissance designed music auditorium in Prague is known for hosting varied programme of classical music.

It was already way past my lunch time, so I decided to grab something to eat... something traditional. I walked back towards the Old Town Center because there were more restaurant choices there. I got a little lost along the way and voila... I found this row of colorful buildings!

Finally, I was back at the Old Town Center! I passed by lots of cafes and restaurants! Which one to choose??! 

Later on, I saw a man giving out flyers for a Czech Restaurant with an accompanying 10% discount. I settled for it! The interiors were not so attractive but the waiters were very accommodating. They gave me some warm cheese bread for starters and then I ordered a schnitzel with potatoes and a glass of iced tea. Yummy goodness!

After lunch, I decided to go to the other side of town, the Lesser Town Area. I had to cross the historic Charles Bridge, one of the most touristic sights in Prague. There were numerous baroque statues of patron saints erected on the bridge. At the other end of Charles Bridge is a medieval-ish tower gate.

 

At the Lesser Town Area, I did not only see lots of souvenir shops but also several offices of foreign embassies. I had a quick stop at Starbucks and then I began my tiring uphill walk to see the entire view of the city.

Here is the majestic city of Prague from up above the hill.

Just minutes after I got down the hill, the sun began to set and then Prague became even more beautiful. This is the same tower gate at the Charles Bridge that leads back to the Old Town.

From Charles Bridge, I saw the awe-inspiring Prague Castle, said to be the most significant Czech monument and one of the most important cultural institutions in the Czech Republic.

After walking the entire day, I decided to go inside Palladium Mall, said to be Prague's largest mall. The exterior of the mall was all festive with Christmas lights and decorations.

I did some window shopping. While going around the mall, a curly-haired shop assistant from Nevo Dead Spa lured me to try out their products. He was good because I ended up buying some of his products after. I shall blog about this next time. When I went out of the mall, it started snowing! Ohhhh winter is finally here!