Crepe...my fave!

I first fell in love with Crepe when I was in Germany. After office, I would go to Christmas Market to buy one (and sometimes two). I love Nutella Crepe...just plain and simple Crepe with Nutella, no bananas...no strawberries or anything...Just Nutella and it's really to die for. They sell it at EUR 3.00 per servings.

But I must admit, the yummiest was from Mannheim. They are serving it with crispy wafer. It's hot and it's just so perfect with the cold weather. Afterwards, I have never tasted a crepe at par to that of Mannheim's. I could say, it's simply the best crepe ever!

Waffles at the street.

Generous pieces of belgian waffles are being sold at the chocolate street in Brussels...with Nutella, with creams, with strawberries or bananas...yummy to look at and even to nibble. By the looks of it...i already got full. It is just fascinating to see that they could really be sold outside the window and at the side of streets.

Once in a Chocolate Street...

Definitely going gaga with all those chocolates. It was like a chocolate village where every turns I made, all I could see were chocolates. I felt like a child. I got confused which one to pick.

In every store you'll get a generous free taste of chocolates of all sort...pralines, truffles, milk chocolates, dark chocolates...and the likes. By the time I moved to the second store, I could no longer figure out the difference. It was as if my taste buds waived its privilege.

Below is where I bought all my pralines and truffles for my family and friends. I got them at a promo price. :))

Below is a picture of a huge chocolate mannequin...i almost wanted to bite it haha!! :))

As they say, Chocolates are natural anti-depressant. It has serotonin which stimulates endorphin production, which creates feelings of happiness and pleasure. Making chocolate in the mouth produces feelings of pleasure longer than passionate kissing. And so I wonder how the people in Belgium feel everyday haha!! :) I guess, they must be very Happy! :))

Hotel De Milan

I know it's funny that Hotel de Milan is actually in France....shouldnt it be at Italy? hehe

That was actually my first reaction too.

I was not able to get a picture of the hotel...too bad. (i'll try to google it one of these days..)

It's just a small hotel/inn...at the price of EUR 90.00 (that wasnt cheap come to think of it) with free breakfast (not bad) and with a very accommodating hotel owner.

I stayed there with my good friend Marlon. We shared a bed to save money.

**Marlon is harmless, just for emphasis because his interest is just like mine hehehe.

We literally, rent the place for sleep for we had to utilize our limited time in Paris. When we checked in, we just left our bags and went straight ahead to Eiffel Tower. The next day, we just had our breakfast and went to Louvre Museum, had our shopping...then off to eurail to go back to Frankfurt.

The place isnt comparable with our five star hotel...it is far away from that. It is too small, just plain bed and restroom...but with a fascinating view from the window.

You'd see the unique architecture of Paris.

For me looking at the window was enough to tell myself..."Im out somewhere...Im in my dream!"

...coming to strength

It is only when you let loose from your self-made security, you will be able to see what you are capable of [doing and having].

Sometimes, we need to let go of the things that makes us secured...we need to take a step farther from our comfort zone...not to go against ourselves...but to go after to our so called 'Growth'.

Taking a risk is both a personal and spiritual journey, because as we risk, we dont only trust ourselves that things will be better than yesterday....but we are also putting our trust to the Lord.

You are each day courageous than you were before. You are each day becoming positive in the way you perceive life...than you were the other day.

Singapore

It was past 11pm when my friend based in Singapore
found a place where I could stay, since my friend who's supposed to go with me backed out.

So I was packing my things until 3am in the morning. That was the first time I packed a very light luggage, coz I didn't intend to check in any bags at all.

Though, it wasn't my first time to take the plane alone (as did that lot of times in the past so I was kinda confident and enjoying the flight), it was my first time to explore another country all by myself.
At 5pm, I touched down Changi airport...that was after few minutes rechecking of my bag by the immigration officers..because they're seeing something from their device....only to find out it was just a ref magnet from China given to me by a friend which I just put inside my pouch and apparently forgot about it.

The place was a small room in a small residential unit in Tampines St. In a room there were 3 double decks, all occupants were filipino ladies working in Singapore and some were looking for jobs at that time.
Since I didn't have the means to afford hotel I took the space. Luckily, my roommates were all kind, not to mention the owner (Auntie Suzie) as well.

First Day:

I met up with my college batchmate, Judy. I took the metro going to Tanjong pagar where Judy resides.

There's this food outlet very famous in Singapore that caters very affordable price but good food --Hawkers.

It was my first time to try Sing's local food for a cheap price of 2 sgd. Well that's my first and last cheap meal.

We went to holland village area, central, Clark quay, Merlion's, Marina Bay, Chimes etc...and had coffee at Starbucks courtesy of Judy.

The funny thing was that i forgot to bring a camera. So I had to bear with the resolution of my phone...plus the fact that it was running out of battery that time! This was all because I chose to bring my laptop, my itouch and my books!!!!

On my way home I met few filipinos who were also roaming around. So we exchanged contacts, in case I wanted to join them the next day.

I reached the unit around past 11pm. I took the mrt then cab.

Second Day:

I woke up past 9am with achy bone, maybe because I got tried from walking with my heavy big bag.

I had a short chitchats with the ladies and free coffee in the morning.

I took the bus this time going to mrt.

Singapore is very much like Philippines, because of the weather. But I must admit that (in my opinion) it's a lot cleaner and more safe (in terms of crimes...like theft and the like).

I appreciate and admire their transportation system. It is very much European (same thing I like much about the European countries I was blessed to visit).

One thing I've noticed in their MRT, is that they have this glass door that serves as a wall. Impressive because they dont need to remind passengers to stay away from the yellow tiles, for instance in our country, for safety....because they already secured the safety to begin with. The glass wall has sliding doors that opens only once the train door opens. So it's really very safe.

Singapore is an open country so you could really see alot of nationalities there, Malays, Indians, Filipinos, Chinese, Western and (even) European tourist...apart from the Singaporean Nationals.

I had my lunch at Bugis Mall...all because I was starving already and I have no patience to explore for some restaurant so I just thought of stopping over the nearest mall I could see.

When i gathered my strength, I went to the Mall near Intercon....then Bugis Market. The latter was like Philippines' "Quiapo or Divisoria or Binondo"...and since I'm always fascinated with anything oriental/chinese this caused me huge smile...and I guess my feet were happy too.

I bought jelly watches and foods for pasalubongs...I bought Metallic plate souveniers to add in my travel collections.

There were so many Durians in Bugis...I was having this feeling that it stuck in my skin.

They have this tricycle that looks like ancient times chinese carriage...oh I love it! I even asked the driver to take a picture of me. I found out later that the driver was a Cebuano.

Then I walked further, trying to look for preserved foods for pasalubong when I saw the way to the temple. There's this big Buddha outside before getting the vicinity of the temple...so I asked passer by to take a picture of me.

As I explore further I've noticed that infront the Buddhist's temple there were lots of fortune tellers. I chose the two Indian ladies at the side of the temple...

Indians are Hindus so it got my curiousity how they perform fortune telling....plus the fact that a week before I went to Singapore I had a weird dream that I was in India and having fortune telling with Indian ladies.

They have a bird with them...looks like a parrot, that will choose a card for you. They will pray with insense and let the smoke go to you. (So imagine how I smell that day...Durian plus Market odor...plus the odor from the passengers in mrt...then insense.)

The Indian lady will read the message and the other Indian lady will interpret or translate it in english.

For 3 sgd i had a very positive and motivating reading.

I didnt have the chance to go further inside the temple because the security saw me taking pictures...he said it's not allowed.

I didnt want to waste time so I really told myself that I would utilize it...so hello Harborfront! :)

On my way to Harborfront I met two filipino nurses who coincidentally would also go to the Sentosa beach. So I joined them....few chitchats and pictures.

I left earlier because I wanted to go to Universal Studios as well...given that I have very few hours left before I met up with my commitment.

I managed to have lots of pictures by asking passersby.

Thereafter, I went to Orchard to meet up with Judy and Jen. Im thankful that they took the time to be with me despite their busy schedules.

We went to Marina Bay and had our dinner.

Second day, it feels like I've been there for such a long time since I've already memorized the stations. Singapore is a small country so I had no difficulty in doing so.

Third Day/Last Day:

I went to China Town. I met this lady while I was having my lunch...Madame Monika. I asked her where's the chinese fortune teller, she was blunt in saying "Dont believe in fortune telling, believe in yourself." Sounds like not so Asian...i told myself.

She's a Singaporean but based in Germany. After exchanges of thoughts and personal background..I found myself a friend. She gave me her contacts. We had picture together...and upto now we still drop messages.

I love Singapore's chinatown...I love the people there...and the goods were the cheapest.

I went to Hindu Temple...and took picture with Indian nationals.

I met up with my friend Ting after at the Riverside. We had dinner together and drinks after at Cafe Iguana.

My flight was at 1am...and i reached the unit at 12:30am. I was really rushing! I couldnt afford to miss the flight.

Good thing I was even earlier. I took a cab.

Straight from the airport I went straight ahead to the school....with thoughts to myself.."I should travel more!"

Not an accident..

"God doesnt play dice in our lives. Everything that is happening in this world. happens for a purpose."

Two weeks ago, Sunday afternoon, and I was at school. The whole day I was anxious...I couldnt contain all the worries that eating me up that day. I was present but my mind was somewhere. It crossed my mind not to attend my last subject, but I brushed it off immediately as I was reminded by myself that I quit my job not to miss my class. So guilt crawled in...and so I went inside the room, wishing at the back of my mind for an earlier dismissal so I could go to church.

My Sunday class was supposed to end at 7pm...but it was only quarter to 5pm when my professor adjourned it. Too early!!!

Smiled flashed on my face! "Yes! I could go to church!".

I hurried myself to catch the 5pm christian service and took the cab all the way to Makati, Church of God.

When I got there, the place was no longer occupied by the Church of God fellowship. The new occupant informed us that the fellowship has moved to a new place.

In my eagerness to hear service, I asked the cab driver to help me search the new place.

And so we asked around. When I was about to give up...I told "manong"driver to just take me to Greenbelt church if we still couldnt find the new place of Church of God. But "manong" was so persistent and positive that we could find it. When he was about to turn right towards the parking area of an office building, I told him it couldnt be there because that's an offfice establishment. He stopped for a while and called the security to verify.

There was no signage or anything that could tell me at purview. But the security guard, who was at that time engage in a cellphone convo, hand-signed us to go straight ahead.

Yes! We found it----I told myself and I couldnt even believe it!

The place is so hidden that makes it special that you're able to find it.

At the door, I asked a lady if that's the Church of God. She told me, " It's a Community of praise fellowship".

Oh no! ----yes I went to a different fellowship. Not the church of God,which I was trying to find at that time.

But because I had this urge to feed my soul with words of God, I nevertheless, went inside.

It was a small group compared to the previous Christian fellowship I had the occasion to attend to. So when I got inside, I was easily noticed by the people. I took the third row and seated beside an old lady. I took my first gut and brushed my shyness away.

It was already in the preaching session when I arrived.

It was so cleared to me ....that I was there because God wanted me to hear the preaching. I guess that's the message He wanted to tell me...

Let me share some vivid preaching I was able to absorb;

"You are precious and your life matters to God."

"Operate in His resources" (He will provide, do not be afraid to ask...even the impossible)

"He will mess your plan but He will never mess your life"

"God is likened to a retainer, that no matter how crooked your life is if God is there...He can turn it straight.."

I was close to crying...these are the words I know I needed to hear that time.

When the pastor called those who wanted to be prayed...I had the urge to come in front. But since I was just new in the group, I was hesitant. But the pastor was very persistent in asking because according to him he felt that there's someone who wanted and needed the prayer that time.

Few more ask from the pastor...few more wish there would be someone who'd take the first step so I could follow.

When I saw a lady coming in front...I took the guts and went there as well. That time that's what I really needed.

Upto now Im still so proud I took the courage.

Pastor come over and put his hand on top of my head. I closed my eyes...and he started to pray.

I couldnt contain the emotions that wanted to burst out from my inside....

and so I let out fountain of tears.

At that time I felt that God was talking to me through the Pastor...I felt God consoling me...and assuring me that I'm never alone.

God has His plans and visions for me....and I was reminded that moment.

I was crying because in my mind, I know I became oblivious about it again. I have been through some rocky and crooked roads...I had asked and bargained second chance to God, He gave it to me....but I have forgotten to value that again.

I was crying because I felt God's love...that He took the effort to remind me....to save me again....and to give me another chance.

Our God is a God that never get tired. He never given up on me...on us.

I went home with new friends....

I went home with a refreshed soul...with a new Spirit....and revised Hope.

There was no Accident...I was there because God wanted me to be there....

I was there because God knows that's the best way to save my soul...

That He wanted to remind me how beautiful my life is...how promising His plans for me....and how abundant my blessings are.

...and most importantly That I am Loved by Him.

Good is so good.