Post card from Venice: Post card-perfect view

THE FACADE of San Geremia church and Palazzo Labia, a view right outside Hotel San Geremia and Casa Alloggi Gerotto and Calderan. Sestiere Cannaregio, Venice.

How about waking up to a view like this, as in literally?

Venice is replete with post card-perfect, photogenic places that often remind me of dream sequences. Photoholics will never run out of subjects to snap on!

As for this one, this is the view from a small, well-managed Hotel San Geremia & Casa Alloggi Gerotto & Calderan, located at the heart of Campo San Geremia in the sestiere Cannaregio of the beautiful, iconic city of Venice. The place is just a few minutes walk from the S. Lucia train station, the same station where trips from other parts of Italy stop in Venice.

The day starts quite late in Venice. Streets are not yet abuzz at around 7am, not really a good time to take photos of Venecians going about their lives amid the frenzy of excited tourists.

And so I contented myself with this view from my window, of San Geremia Church and Palazzo Labia.

Compared to the typical big cathedrals in Venice and Italy for that matter, San Geremia church is considerably simple for an edifice built sometime in the 11th century.

World wide web has it that this church is famous for St. Lucy of Syracuse, whose remains rest inside. And also compared to other Italian churches, the interiors of the church is rather sober that I did not bother taking pictures of.

Right beside it is the Palazzio Labia, which I also didn't bother looking into, only to discover that it is one of the iconic edifices in Venice with a beautiful frescoed ballroom. It's open to the public by appointment. I didn't bother because entry to most buildings in Venice charge fees which are not at all cheap given that this place is always packed with tourists. But lesson learned, there's no harm in asking for information.

Read More

Manila airport has a new lounge

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport, for years tagged as world's worst airport, is slowly making some strides to make traveling easier, comfortable, and much more enjoyable for passengers.

Manila airport authorities have recently launched a facility that will surely make vagabonds and frequent travellers jump for joy -- it's The Wings Transient Lounge.

Located at the fourth floor of the NAIA terminal 3, the airport lounge features sleeping and shower facilities for the harried and weary traveller.

It has sleeping capsules meant for solo or adventurous travelers, similar to those in Japan. There are also bunk beds for twin sharing, groups of three, and a family of four.

Sleeping capsules at the NAIA lounge.

To those who are curious, this is how the sleeping capsules look like. Not really for those with claustrophobia but highly recommended for adventurous souls.

There aren't really rooms for couples. Rooms for two look like this.

There are common shower areas for travellers who want to freshen up before, after, or in between flights.

Shower facilities at The Wings Transit Lounge have heaters.

Guests who want to be pampered can have a massage, a mani, or a pedi. They can also opt to have a hair cut, too, at the lounge!

If you are in dire need of a massage, massage rooms at The Wings Transit Lounge are, should I say, above average. Price is also competitive compared to those outside the airport!

The lounge isn't free though, but I'd say it's relatively cheaper compared to other airports and similar facilities that I've been to.

Want a mani or pedi in between flights? Or just want to lounge around?

Services ans room rates and are as follows:

CAPSULE
5 hours (inclusive of light meal) - P880
8 hours (inclusive of light meal and shower) - P1,000
Extension per hour - P200

TWIN ROOM
5 hours (inclusive of light meal) - P1,600 per room or P800 per person
8 hours (inclusive of light meal and shower) - P1,800 per room or P900 per person
Extension per hour - P350 per room

BUNK ROOM (for 3 people)
5 hours (inclusive of light meal) - P2,100 per room or P700 per person
8 hours (inclusive of light meal and shower) - P2,600 per room or P880 per person
Extension per hour - P450

FAMILY ROOM
5 hours (inclusive of light meal) - P2,600 per room or P650 per person
8 hours (inclusive of light meal and shower) - P3,200 per room or P800 per person
Extension per hour - P530

LOUNGE PACKAGES
5 hours - P500 or P700 (inclusive of finger foods)
2 hours - P300 or P500 (inclusive of finger foods)
Extension per hour - P175

SHOWER FACILITIES
Shower - P300
Shower with additional services - P250

HAND AND FOOT SERVICES
Manicure - P300
Pedicure - P300
Foot scrub - P600
Package - P1,000

MASSAGE SERVICES
Massage (1 hour) - P675

The Wings Transit Lounge is located at the 4th floor of NAIA Terminal 3. It is still part of the public areas of the airport so the place is practically open even to non-passengers.

The place is being managed by the Jipang Group, the same Japan-based group that manages Networld Hotel.

Read More

Post card from Barcelona: Inside La Pedrera

A view from the bottom of the courtyard of Casa Milà, or more popularly known as La Pedrera.

It was around nine in the evening, when the sun has just set in this part of the world celebrating the onset of summer, when I arrived in Barcelona.

I can still remember that it was nine, as I've missed the paella party organized by the hostel that I booked for my four-day sojourn to the capital of Spain's Catalunya region.

After a short plane ride from Rome's Ciampino Airport, a two-hour bus ride from Gerona, and two Metro rides, I made it to what seemed to me the heart of Barcelona. 

It was quite a welcome for me, not because I discovered that my wallet was missing (did I lose it in Rome or just here?), but more because of the colorfully lit, odd-looking building that revealed itself after I emerged from the Passeig de Gràcia station of the Barcelona Metro.

I later on confirmed that this structure is the Casa Batlló, that is without a doubt, one of the many works of the great Antoni Gaudi that littered the city. And great works at that.

This is a must visit, I told myself, as I came to Barcelona not for the parties, not for the shopping, not for the paella (oh come on, I was still headed to Madrid, Granada, and Cordoba so definitely I'll have some other chances to sample the Spanish fare), but more because of the modern art and architecture.

But fate has it that while Casa Batlló is the one closest to my hostel, I met Gaudí -- quite up close and personal -- in another popular work of his: Casa Milà also known as La Pedrera (the quarry, as it looked like one during construction).

Built between 1905-1912, La Pedrera is Gaudí's last civil work specifically for businessman Pere Milà i Camps and his wealthy wife Roser Segimon i Artells.

The building was in a way intended to make Milà a standout among the well-heeled in Barcelona. And a standout he became considering how the design of the structure imposed itself upon the city: not your usul box-type edificio but a building that looks like an open pit quarry with unusual curvy facade, ornate wrought iron balconies, and chimneys with mosaic tiles that are considerably works of art by themselves.

The courtyard is picture-perfect (sans the hordes of tourists, har har) with its uneven walls and interiors that is typically Gaudí -- asymmetrical, colorful, wavy/curvy.

A visit to La Pedrera -- particularly on the floor where the flat of the Milàs was as well as the apartments on the upper floors -- would give one a glimpse at how the bourgeois lived in the mid-1900s as evidenced on the kind of furniture and other belongings on display.

Then at the attic is where an exhibition shows the basics of Gaudì's aesthetics. This is where I learned that aside from religious themes and modernism, his choice of nature as his inspiration best explains what a Gaudì structure is all about, which is not simply avant garde or moderne, if not odd to the uninitiated. Here I found honeycombs that served as inspiration for peepholes, ferns or dried leaves for door knobs and handles, tree trunks for pillars, canopy of leaves for ceilings and naves, and even human bones for various building elements.

Casa Batllo in Barcelona. Notice how the pillars resemble human bones. The balconies look like pelvic bones, don't you think?

The rooftop will pass as a theme park on its own, with chimneys decorated with tiles and sculpted as works of art, making it hard to believe that this was where building residents' used to hang their clothes to dry.

The chimneys at the rooftop of Casa Mila or La Pedrera. These are not merely chimneys but works of art!

The verdict? Casa Mila is a must in your itinerary to Barcelona. A visit to Barcelona is not complete without the photo ops at the rooftop of Casa Mila. A visit to Barcelona is not complete without knowing Gaudi through this one important work of his. La Pedrera, after all, will not be declared a Unesco World Heritage Site for nothing.

Tip sheet:

- Entrance to La Pedrera costs €20 for adults.

- La Pedrera is accessible through Diagonal station of the Metro.

Read More

Post card from Singapore: Jurong Bird Park

Swans are a-swimming in one of the man-made lagoons inside the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore. They look so graceful and seem so harmless; but I have a different story to tell.

I will always tell this (mis) adventure of mine in this part of Singapore, which happened during my first visit to the city-state and on my first ever trip outside the Philippines.

I only fancied visiting the bird park because my parents seemed to have had a grand time there during their visit sometime in the mid-1990s. They seemed to have enjoyed the park, at least based on their pictures. 

"It's nice there," my mom told me when I asked for some sort of confirmation.

And so I decided that a trip to the bird park would be part of my five-day itinerary.

But I have to tell you one thing: I am afraid of birds. Ornithophobia, as they call it. "Abnormal, irrational fear of birds," according to Wikipedia. I was like this ever since I was I kid, which has become a subject of laughter among my friends while wondering how that happened.

"You must have been a worm in a past life," said a friend, who I think is not really a friend because of this remark. Toinks!

So anyone who knows me would think a visit to a bird park would be a crazy idea. 

But I thought going to this bird park is what a tourist is supposed to do to maximize the Singapore experience.

This is the time to conquer my fear, so I thought.

And so I went to the bird park all by myself, as my Singapore-based cousin was too adamant to take me there given the two-bus and two-train rides required to get me there from where we were staying. 

And she didn't want mo to go there given the fact that I have ornithophobia.

It took me a few dollars for the bus and train rides and S$20 for the entrance (now its S$28 for adults), which already included a ride in a monorail that meanders through the park. 

The first few aviaries that I went into were pretty nice despite the fact that huge birds really scare me. 

Fowls with colorful feathers and little birds chirping, they all looked harmless as they were all in huge cages where visitors can't touch them.

All sorts of large eagles? Bring it on! They're on a leash, anyway.

Big pelicans, flamingos,kingfishers, and various species of ducks swimming on the lake? The poor creatures can't even get out of the fences!

I chanced on free-flying birds that looked like humming birds or bee-eaters at the African Waterfall Aviary, but they all seemed harmless. And besides, a view of one of the largest man-made falls -- the Jurong Falls -- did not disappoint.

But what caused my palpitations was the large aviary called Lory Loft. As the name suggests, it contained almost every species of parrots, lorikeets, and macaws. 

But as soon as I passed by the barrier made of plastic chains, I was so surprised to see all of them flying around freely inside the huge aviary. 

And then I stepped out. To breathe. To collect myself. To regain my composure.

And I was reminded of my mission: to conquer my fear. 

So I stepped in again, only to find several bright red and yellow macaws perched on the head and shoulders of what seemed to me was a caretaker. And large birds swarming on God knows who he is!

I stepped out again, with a firm resolve to run away from the aviary.

And to cap off my visit to Jurong Bird Park, I went to an auditorium to see a large hawk show off antics at the aviary. It was for free but still a bad decision for the ornithophobic, I thought, as the show had a portion where the bird will fly from the guy onstage to one of the kids in the audience! To save myself from humiliation, I had to move away from the eager-beaver kids who wanted to experience the bird up close and personal!

As for the ornithophobic me, was it a good decision to travel that far (and spend that much) for what could easily be considered as a tourist trap?

Well, the ornithophobic thinks it's a waste of S$20.

But for bird lovers, bird watchers, or simply all of you out there who aren't afraid of birds, by all means, go and enjoy yourselves!

Photo above was taken using Nikon FG powered by Fuji 400 film. The author aimed to take a beautiful picture of pink flamingos, only that palpitations due to his fear of these beautiful creatures prevented him from doing so. 

Read More