Down Under with Gusto (Part VIII)

The travel to Auckland took up most of the day. I was dreading this flight. I flew Virgin Atlantic because it offered the cheapest fare but I noticed during the booking process that the system didn’t ask me for my preferred baggage allowance. I looked for an option to add baggage after booking but, upon closer inspection of the fine print, discovered that my fare rate did not allow for checked luggage. This should have been made more apparent during the booking process! Travelocity, never again. I ended up paying $200 for my checked luggage at the airport.



I took the Airbus to the city and got off at the last stop at the Ferry Terminal. I was booked at the Sofitel Viaduct Harbour, which is a short walk but seemed longer because I was unsure of the way and it was cold and windy even if the sun was out. I was jubilant when I reached the hotel, especially upon seeing how pretty it was and well located.



I didn’t have the courage to go out again with the wind blowing so hard so I had dinner at the hotel and went to bed early.



I headed out before lunch the next day and stopped by at the first nice restaurant I saw called Jones, drawn by the clean downtown hip design and chalkboard menu. I wasn’t crazy about the food but the ingredients were fresh and organic. It was a charming neighborhood restaurant, a place you’d like to go for a quiet afternoon to nurse a cappuccino.



What I didn’t know then was that, if I had just walked a little farther and not let my hunger lead the way, I would have discovered better options at Market Square. I made a mental note to have dinner there.



I went in to Champions of the World, a store selling mostly All Blacks sports outfits, and bought a sweater for Joaki. The Ferry Terminal was nearby and I was able to catch the last Hop On, Hop Off bus for the day.


Auckland is a small, scenic city that is more laid-back than many of the cities I have visited, including Hawaii. We finished the inner and outer loops of the tour in less than two hours.

There was something beautiful everywhere I looked.



During the bus ride, I learned that Auckland has the most number of boat owners in the world. You can tell that just by looking.








When the tour was done, I was craving for sushi and, by luck, I chanced upon a sushi train on my way back to the hotel. I am craving for sushi again as I’m writing this.



I rested a bit as I had a migraine, but I was well come dinner so Market Square it was. I had a hard time deciding which restaurant to try but finally settled at Degree. The food was good. The specialty was stone-grilled steak but I opted for the curry and buffalo wings.



Weird combination but certain cravings had to be sated.

Down Under with Gusto (Part VII)

I am not much of a wine drinker but I am very much into vineyard views and growing things off the earth. And Australia being a famous wine-growing country, I made a last-minute decision to join this tour.

Meeting point was at the back of Fed Square. I knew where Fed Square was but I wasn’t sure which was front or back. I called the travel agent to make sure. I found the spot at the corner of Flinders and Russell. I made sure to arrive early so there was still time to grab a coffee and muffin from a nearby café.



Our first stop was for morning tea at a lush forest with towering trees. We were served Billy tea, which was so strong it tasted more like coffee. It came with a plate of lamingtons, a sponge cake with chocolate icing and a sprinkling of grated coconut. I’ve been buying these from pastry shops in Hong Kong but didn’t know what they were called. Out of curiosity, I also tried vegemite spread on some crackers. Bleh.



We then drove to the train station to ride Puffing Billy, the oldest steam train in Australia. It was originally built to allow settlers in the Dandenong mountain ranges to access Melbourne markets to sell their produce. It started being used for tourist excursions in the early 20th century. A car had been reserved for our group. Children and some teenagers rode with their legs hanging out the carriage sides. We went past thick canopies of trees and quiet homes in the forest.



The morning activities were just a prelude to the whole point of the tour, which was the wine tasting in Yarra Valley. Lunch was at the lovely glass-walled Rochford Winery. I ordered braised beef cheek, which was tender and flavorful. There’s a wine room at the back for some tasting but I skipped that.



At Rochford

The next stop was at Dominique Portet whose wines I really enjoyed because they were mild-bodied and not overly sweet. I also really liked our guide, Valentine, whose love of wine and her job was apparent.



Valentine (above)



A perfect afternoon at Dominique Portet

Our last stop was at Domaine Chandon, maker of Moet et Chandon. I’ve been to their vineyard in Napa Valley so I’m quite familiar with their history but I still picked up interesting new information (e. g. the riddling process, first introduced by Veuve Clicqout).









At the tasting hall, we were seated at a long table and served hors d’oeuvres while enjoying the view of the vineyard through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Among the wines served (all rosé), the one I liked the most was the non-vintage Brut Rose.

Down Under with Gusto (Part VI)

This was the crazy weather edition of my trip. The sky was so fickle; it kept switching from sunny to pouring and varying degrees of overcast. But it was invariably windy. The weather threw my itinerary (and my sinuses) out of whack but I learned to roll with it.



From my bus exploration the day before, I earmarked the locations I wanted to get to know better–Queen Victoria Market and Lygon Street. My other had the good sense of buying a myKi card at 7-11, which allowed us to hop on and off to any bus in the city as often as we liked for a day pass fee of AU$6. Nice.

We grabbed a muffin and coffee at a nearby café while waiting for the bank to open at 9 a.m. but when we got to the bank, we saw a posting saying that the new opening time will be 9:30. We decided to postpone the currency exchange and took the bus to Queen Victoria market.



It was a blustery walk to the bus station and my nose was dripping from hay fever but I forgot all that when we arrived at the market. We entered the deli area and were welcomed by cheese of every predilection! I fought the urge to buy because I was starting to worry about my baggage allowance to Auckland.



We walked towards the open stalls selling bottled items and fresh flowers but I caught a whiff of a pollen-loaded breeze and started to sneeze like crazy. My throat began to constrict so I ran indoors, bought a bottled water and took an antihistamine. We cut short our QV market tour then and decided to proceed to Lygon.

After having some money changed at Commonwealth Bank, we rode the free city tram to Lygon. The stop was a short walk to Lygon Street, but when we got there, most of the restaurants were still closed. We agreed to check out the University of Melbourne to kill time. It began to rain so we took our jackets out but we were able to advance just a few meters before it started to pour. We took shelter under one of the buildings. Just as we were preparing to abandon our UM visit, the sun showed up so we proceeded.

We went inside the visitor center to ask if they had a gift shop. They had two, the main located at the heart of the campus. It’s been years since I visited a university campus so I felt very nostalgic. It didn’t take much to recall how I felt as a college student–the future held so much promise.

We saw some nice items at the UM gift shop but some of the sizes were off so we just got a UM hoodie and a mug.



Lygon was coming to life when we got back. We couldn’t decide where to eat so we  judged the restaurants based on the size of the crowd it attracted. One stood out–Caffe Noturnno. We loved it. The pizza and Rigatoni Matriciana at Caffe Noturnno were just amazing. And while I’m not a lover of cheesecake, theirs was superb.


After lunch, we rode a bus from the UM stop and got off one stop too early, right at the heart of the shopping district where we saw these street artists.



Since this was our only free day to visit St. Kilda, we braved the fickle weather and went there after a short rest at our hotel. It wasn’t the best day to go because the wind was invariably strong. It was almost too cold for us but we sucked it up and ran to the nearest coffeeshop we could find. The boardwalk was empty and most of the stores were closed but we were amazed to see people from the adjacent indoor pool running to the beach for a quick dip in the water. Maybe it was therapeutic?



Back at the CBD, we had dinner at Rare, a highly rated steak place in Tripadvisor. We wanted our Angus because this was Australia, but, to be honest, I’ve tasted better steaks back home (or maybe, my taste is simply too Pinoy). After dinner, it began to rain again. Thankfully, the restaurant was near our hotel so we made a dash for it.

Online Shopping

I dallied on my Christmas shopping because, up until the end of November, I had no intentions of giving gifts. It didn’t feel right to be spending on wants when there were still so many people barely meeting their needs. But the December air brought something with it. A sudden surge of generosity, a positive vibe. It was Christmas magic. I felt I had to express in very concrete terms how I grateful I was to the people who made 2013 such a great year for me.

The spell of generosity, however, could not compensate for my fear of the traffic. I ended up doing most of my shopping online.

Amazon.com was my first stop. I made plenty of purchases here, including a One Direction doll and a mockingjay pin for Julia.
I had to check out various online gift lists for others on my list. Chuvaness.com wrote about Herschel bags in her blog. They looked like the kind of bags I’d like for myself if I were in high school today so I decided to buy them for our teenagers, JM and Joaki (for his birthday in December). I got them from Urban Outfitters.


For JM (above)


For Joaki (above)

I had both my Amazon and Urban Outfitters purchases shipped to Johnny Air in San Francisco (c/o Harry Jules Banzon) with instructions to the latter to send my packages to their SM Megamall branch for pickup. Just to give you an idea how much you could save this way—a clutch bag that was being sold for P8,500 at the Michael Kors store in Powerplant can be bought for less than $100 online. If you have it shipped to Manila through Johnny Air, you can get it for just a little over 5K inclusive of the shipping fee. Aside from the savings, you have access to a better selection of products if you order online.



I had most of my purchases shipped through Johnny Air with the exception of the item from Mr. Porter (the male counterpart of Net-a-Porter), which had a free international shipping holiday promo. Imagine, zero shipping cost to the Philippines! My order arrived in less than a week!

While browsing, I discovered that a number of local brick and mortar shops are already online. I bought a bag from Aranaz and had it shipped to my office for a minimal fee. It arrived in a beautiful fuchsia box that required no additional gift-wrapping.

It took until the week before Christmas for me to decide that I wanted to give my dad a Kindle Paperwhite. He is a voracious reader and I knew the Kindle is something that even a non-techie like him could learn to use. I looked for local sources and found GadgetPinas.ph, which offered gadgets at very reasonable prices. You can order online and have it shipped to you but I was worried that the item would not arrive on time. I had it picked up instead.

For my brother and nephew, who have been hankering for Nike Jordans, I opted to buy from a friend, who is a reseller and knows where to buy all the authentic stuff at reasonable prices (relatively, because those shoes don’t come cheap).


And for myself, the above. Because I have been good, Santa. Really, I’ve been.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, do it.“

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”

Neil Gaiman (Thanks, Tina)

Always In Season

*Published in Mabuhay Magazine




When a staff offered me, “a glass of OMG, Ma’am,” I didn’t realize that she was also handing out the acronym of the day. I took a sip of the deliciously cooling concoction made of oranges, mango syrup and grenadine, and mechanically repeated after her, OMG.  Then she gave me a plate of crinkles and fudgy bar cookies, followed by a serving of churros with two dips – caramel and chocolate. OMG.





A few minutes later, I keyed in to my room, excitedly swept my gaze across the king-size bed, iPod dock, and flat-screen TV, then opened the sliding glass door to my private wooden deck with its own Jacuzzi. OMG.



And for the knockout punch, I stepped into the bathroom and took a hot shower under the wide rainfall showerhead. As a curtain of warm water deliciously cosseted me from the cares of the world, I continued my mantra, OMG. This was exactly how I needed to feel. Coddled. And Two Seasons in Coron certainly knows how it’s done.



I had my adventures earlier in the day. I revisited Cayangan Lake, a consistent winner in the Philippines’ cleanest lakes competition that it had been elevated to the hall of fame. I snorkeled my way to the Twin Lagoon and fed fish at the Skeleton Wreck, where we parked our boat for a lunch feast onboard.



With all that excitement and the equal thrill of a choppy boat ride to the resort, I crawled my way to bed after my shower and had one of the best siestas of my life.



By the time I got up, the sun was hanging low on the horizon. I joined friends at the Sulu Restaurant for cocktails and a pizza, which I hardly partook of, as I was nursing my appetite for dinner, which had crabs on the menu. We moved to an al fresco table for a better view of the full moon and indulged on a gourmet dinner prepared by chefs trained by Gene Gonzalez of Café Ysabel. The Crab Maritess didn’t disappoint. It even came with a melted butter dip. Why not? A vacation is never complete without an extra serving of fat. For good measure, we rounded the meal with an order of panna cotta.

I meant to wake up at 8 a.m. but my body clock decided to ring in at 9:30. I could hear the wind hissing outside and I feared that the drizzle the night before had turned into a storm. So I gingerly drew the drapes and rubbed the sleep off my eyes. My vision slowly adjusted to the Technicolor sight of gradient blue seas slipping from lapis lazuli to azure. My Jacuzzi was bubbling. The wind was gale-force. And my stomach was calling for breakfast. Bacon and eggs, please.





When I had my fill, I changed to my bathing suit and took a dip in the Jacuzzi until the sun was high enough to give my skin a sharper color. Nothing feels like a vacation than a lazy morning. The laziness spilled into the afternoon as I listened to Michael Learns To Rock ditties and other sleepy ballads while checking my email at the restaurant. My succulent grilled pork belly lunch didn’t help stir me up either, so I decided to squeeze in an afternoon activity lest I slip into another long siesta.

I wanted to try paddle boarding but the wind wouldn’t permit so I opted for the bubble hop, also known as a scuba bike. It is similar to helmet diving, but better because your helmet isn’t attached to a rope. The machine is motorized so you are free to move around. I slipped my head into the helmet attached to the machine and rode it like a motorcycle, controlling my speed and direction using the handlebar lever. I didn’t realize how rich with marine life the shore reef was until I went under. A school of fish with longitudinal black stripes passed by. Another with yellow fins swarmed around me and nipped me with their tickle-y snout. Every direction I took, took me to more fish.



I needed a good knead before the day ended so I scheduled a massage just before dinner. By the time it was finished, I needed very little else to complete my day so I just had soup and a small serving of paella. Cookies and fudgy bars were at my beverage counter when I turned in, both of which I could not resist. Still, I managed to sleep early, and wake up early for my morning flight.

While taking my shower before dawn, I opened the blinds and saw a very pregnant moon casting a silvery light on the water. It was another OMG moment, and perhaps a fitting end to a sublime Two Seasons experience.

2013: The Year That Was

In spite of the November disaster that cut though our core as individuals and as a nation, I still feel deeply overwhelmed by the blessings that the previous year has brought. I feel so grateful that I am able to enjoy the richness of experience that this magical world has to offer.

My year started with a trip to Bangkok in January with some members of my family. We had a great time bonding over food and shopping at Chatuchak and Paragon.

In keeping with the theme of the month, my February was filled with love, no elaboration needed. It was also then that I finally learned how to ride a bike. An unexpected adventure came by way of a trip to Coron and a stay at the Two Seasons.

I finally set foot on the Great Wall of China in March. I didn’t expect to enjoy Beijing as much as I did.

It was a summer to remember as I made it a point to spend more time with the kids during their break. The highlight of it was my brother’s appointment as RTC Judge in Pasig. For me, this may well be the best news I had received in 2013.

During the summer, I rode the bike with the kids and took them to Ace Water Spa and to Sip & Gogh to get them to try their hand at painting. They also spent a good amount of time in Pampanga learning tennis and attending dance fitness classes.

I managed to squeeze in enough Me Time with weekend trips to Sonya’s Garden. At Sonya’s, I completely slow down, spend hours of conversation over lunch, take long walks in the garden, have Dorn alignment or a massage before bed and just rest and do nothing in between.

In May, my mom had a successful laser cataract surgery at American Eye. Dra. Ana Lisa Yu-Mateo took very good care of her.

Something special happened in August, which has no place in this blog ;-)

In September, I went to Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. One of my best trips ever in my book.

In October, I celebrated my 40th birthday! I invited some of my closest friends for dinner at home, catered by Alba’s (must mention because I was so happy with the service). My family finally got to meet the people who are dearest to my heart, including my long-lost Ateneo college friends. A few days later, I flew to Bali with friends to relax in one of my most favorite places in the world.

I am amazed that I managed to do all of the above, while managing my team. I even found time to edit a new book that’s coming out in February. More than managing time, I managed my energy by working when I felt I could be most productive. Of course, credit should also go to new technology, which allows me to be productive wherever I may be.

So much happened in 2013 but I think it was just a bwelo year. The real breakthrough is in 2014. May the Universe prove me right. Happe New Year!