-
Barcelona: Catalan Grace
Our stop in Spain personally is a bittersweet one. On one hand, it feels sad that the trip has reached its end, although we will have to return for a few hours in London and a couple more days again in the US before flying back to the Philippines. On the other hand, few places…
-
Corfu: Ionian Beauty
The ship’s final port of call was at Corfu, an island off mainland Greece’s northwestern coast and situated tantalizingly close to the Albanian coast. Locally known as Kerkyra, Corfu is the second largest of the Ionian Islands and its most popular, having had roles in the works and lives of literary giants — whether it…
-
Santorini: Oh, Blue
Appearing in countless postcards and glossy editorials, Santorini lives up to the hype and manages to take away the breath of first-time visitors and returning travelers alike. The island provides an otherworldly spectacle, with cobalt-blue waters coming face-to-face with the caldera’s black sand, and whitewashed houses contrasting with the azure sky. It’s a charismatic piece…
-
Ephesus: Biblical Turkey
Turkey is an interesting study in dichotomy. Long poised at the junction of Europe and the Middle East, the country has played roles in shaping civilizations, as well as soaking up on influences from both regions. Once a stronghold of the mighty Byzantines, it was eventually placed under the Ottoman Empire, whose reign stretched as…
-
Dubrovnik: A Glimpse of Croatia
The word’s out: Croatia is one of the hottest destinations in the world. A boomerang-shaped nation tucked between the Adriatic Sea and the fringes of the Balkans, the country has emerged from its bloody past and has grown into a beautiful teenager who knows how to throw a party without totally leaving its storied past…
-
Vatican City: Inside, Barely
Geographically and from a traveler’s perspective, the Vatican City has always been a part of Rome, but thanks to the 1929 Lateran Treaty, this tiny enclave within the Italian capital became the world’s smallest sovereign state. The Vatican City has its own postal stamp, its own radio station, and an army of Swiss guards. But…
-
A Whirlwind Trip Around Italy
After an hour’s flight from Vienna, we landed at the Rome International Airport early morning of June 9. This time, pooped from the grind of backpacking, we hired a private van to take us to our hostel east of Termini. The hostel didn’t have airconditioning units or electric fans, which exacerbated the already stifling summer…
-
Budapest: A Buffet in Hungary
Hungary is a hard nation to pin down. Like its people — the fiercely proud Magyars — this East (or is it Central?) European country defies conventional associations tagged in the region, easily dodging the stereotypes thrown into this “other side” of the continent. Sure, it’s a member of the European Union, the NATO, and…
-
Vienna: Guten Tag, Österreich
The hills are alive with the sound of music… not quite. With limited time on our hands and piles of laundry in our bags, the trip to Austria took to a different dimension. There were no Salzburg and Linz, but there was Mauthausen. There was no Stephansdom, but there was Schloss Schönbrunn. And there weren’t…
-
Prague: Czechs and the City
It’s freezing and the hastily bought umbrella from a Jewish Quarter store is no use to the increasingly strong rains. The group — our group, plus a young American couple, another American middle-aged man, and a Swedish dude — tries very hard to raise the resolute commitment our Puerto Rican tour guide has. It’s one…
The Tourist Gaze
A Traveling Outsider Looking In
The Tourist Gaze 