December 8. ♥

My baby’s cappuccino!

Mango cake! Yum!

Caramel macchiato!

It was finally the weekend once again and as usual, I went out with Carlos where we celebrated our monthsary. Haha! We walked around Macau and the tiny little shops. I couldn’t really walk properly though because I had a hard time walking in my boots. I began to think that it was a bad idea for me to have bought those, but I couldn’t help it! They were really cute when I saw them in the UK. Haha Anyway, we went to this place called “Akasaka Cafe” and from the sound of that, we thought they served Japanese dishes like sushi and stuff, but we were wrong. They did have some ramen, Japanese rice, tempura, etc. though, but aside from those, they also had macaroons! Yes, macaroons, just like those of Paris! Of course they can’t be compared to Lauduree’s, but anyway, we decided to just have coffee and a piece of cake since I didn’t really feel like eating rice or noodles.

On a side note, it wasn’t really that cold on that day so I just put on a shirt and cardigan, jeans, booties and I was off to go! Below are the photos of what I wore but since we didn’t have the SLR on that day, we just used my baby’s phone…

My outfit on that day!

The boots that gave me a hard time in walking…

What I wore: | Top: Marks & Spencer | Cardigan: Marks & Spencer | Booties: New Look | Red Skinny Jeans: Stradivarius | Bag: Nessa

Hong Kong! We meet again! XD

I spent the weekend in Hong Kong a couple of days ago to see my aunt off due to the fact that she’s leaving for the UK in a couple of days… And despite the fact that I have so much to do, I still had time to enjoy myself.  My mom told me a week before that she had booked the hotel and everything so I was forced to go.  Not that I didn’t want to, it’s just I had so much on my plate and that when I got back I had so little time for my assignments and projects.  Not to mention, I didn’t even get to study for my Spanish oral exam but I guess it was fine.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos below. 😀

my mommy dear! 😀

un petit dejeuner (blueberry muffin @ Delifrance)

Snack time!

Meet my cousin, Kuya Mick! 🙂

MUJI!

Have a slice of Paisano’s Pizza! XD

Good morning sunshine! 🙂

Indonesian soup for lunch!

coconut!

Fried stuff.

Don’t know what it’s called but it was yummy!

Goreng noodles topped with chicken and veggies.

Gadu gadu! Indo salad!

Our room. XD

Honestly, we did nothing but window shop, eat and wander around some more.  On the first day, I bought goodies from MUJI!  Man, I love Muji, especially their stationery and yummy treats! Oh and I got to try the pizza from Paisano’s and it was unbelievably huge!!!  I even had to share one slice with both my mom and aunt!  Not that I couldn’t finish one but whatever.

On the next day, my mom went to get a hair cut so I wandered around Central and Causeway Bay with my dearest godmother.  Haha!  Reminded me of our time in the UK…  I shall miss her!!  She’s a cool aunt and an awesome shopping buddy!

We had Indonesian for lunch where we met up with my mom and cousin in Causeway Bay.  I was soooo hungry so I couldn’t wait to eat and so we ordered a lot because my cousin had invited his friends too sooo voila!  After that, we went back to the hotel to get our stuff and went to the ferry harbour to go back to Macau.  I had a fun weekend even though I know I do not deserve it. Hahaha!  Anyway, stay tuned for my next post. XD

Treats from Muji! muahaha Love these! 🙂

Abercrombie & Fitch!

New beanie! 🙂

Oh and Happy anniversary to my parents! It was their anniversary when we got back so yay! 😛

 

 

Beautiful York.

Meet my brother! 🙂 Oh no you’ve met him already! 😛

Moi! 🙂

My mom and relatives! 😀

Little brother’s all grown up! 🙂

Our view from the restaurant/cafe.

Muy bonita! 😉

Enjoyed myself here. Lots of History!

So here’s a little bit about the city of York.  I didn’t know what to expect at first but I heard that this city is quite popular among tourists.  I thought it was a little similar to Monmartre in Paris since there were a lot of local artists and you could even get your portrait drawn there.  I wish we had more time to explore the city because there was just so much to see and everything was just awesome so, go figure.  I would love to come back here again someday, hopefully with my family and my love, Carlos! 🙂  By the way, when we went to York, the weather was really “co-operated” and I’m just really thankful for God made it possible for us to visit this wonderful city.

I have a lot more pictures that I took, but I’d probably only be able to upload it in my next posts, so stay tuned for more!

Inside the museum! 🙂

He got sentenced to jail! 😛
Good luck getting out of there! haha

What? You gonna shoot me?

Looks like mommy’s enjoying herself being in the guillotine.

All about Fashion.

Carousel! Magical!

York Minster! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Stop: Meadowhall! Reunited with mom and bro!

Meadowhall!!

Tita and Mommy. 🙂

Loved the ambience there.

Yummmm!!! 🙂

Aaaah Food!

And of course, my brother’s dish has got to be the biggest one among the three.

I woke up pretty early thanks to my aunt who was so excited about my mom and brother’s arrival.  She had the day planned out for us where she took us to Meadowhall to shop our asses off.  However, before any of that happened , I first took a shower the moment I got up and got dressed.  After that, I was very excited and at the same time experiencing mixed emotions because my mom and brother were going to be here anytime and when I saw the car of uncle Dave approaching through the window upstairs, I just knew I had to hide somewhere because I wanted to pull a prank on them.  I had my aunt cover for me but it was an epic fail because they found me anyway.  Both my mom and brother wanted to sleep since they just came from the airport and a 14 hour flight.  Of course, I knew how they were feeling but we couldn’t just put this day to waste which is why we went to Meadowhall, the biggest shopping mall I’ve ever been in (I should say even bigger than the Mall of Asia in the Philippines) but then again, that’s just me.  Anyway, Uncle Dave dropped us off there before going to work and the first thing we looked for was a place to eat.  There were lots of restaurants, so many choices but we decided to eat at this place where we were able to get unlimited salad and drinks.  The food was okay though I must say, the portions were quite smaller from what I was expecting.  I saw a lot of shops I wanted to go into and just grab everything I saw but it was my mom’s time to do some shopping so I got accessories instead and a pack of cards from Urban Outfitters.  Hell yea!  Oh and by the way, this mall is where I’ve seen the biggest Marks and Spencer store ever!  It was just huge and it was difficult to choose and actually buy stuff because everything was just so pretty.  In the end, I wasn’t able to get anything though because my mom saw my luggage when she arrived and she didn’t want me to keep buying more stuff.  After walking around, my aunt and mother decided that they wanted to go home but before doing so, we stopped for Krispy Kreme doughnuts!  Yummmm!!  My favorite doughnut shop.  We all took the bus home instead of the train because they wanted to experience how it’s like to be in a bus in the UK. Haha.

Meet my brother 🙂

Mommy and Tita Rose.

My brother, le model.

Pretending to be a model. haha

Inside the bus.

View from inside the bus.

Yay!! Fish and chips from their shop!! YUMMMM!!!

All mine!! haha

We had dinner at home where Uncle Dave brought Fish and Chips from their shop after work and I ate most of them.  I really can’t blame myself.  They just taste so delish!!!  I can really live here.

Off to Sheffield!

Off to Sheffield!

On the trainnnn!!! chooo choooo!

While on the train…

Voilaa! In Sheffield!!

First thing I did was ask my aunt to snap a photo of mee…

We’re heeeeere!!!

Walking walking walking

So colourful…

Ads!

If there are dollar stores in the U.S., there are these kinds of stores in the UK! 🙂

All I’ve been doing these past few days was go to “town” or stay at home watching the telly, but today, my aunt brought me to Sheffield where we took the train and walked around the place.  Sheffield is a city near Leeds, I think and well since my aunt is not very familiar with the place, we just walked around the shops she knew like “Debenhams”  and all those tiny little shops.  Before we went window shopping, we stopped by at KFC where I had that yummy boneless banquet meal of theirs.  After being satisfied and full with what I had, we started walking around Debenhams and tried some of their pretty pieces of clothing.  However, I am on a tight budget until my mom gets here so until then, I’m not spending too much though of course, I’m not the kind of person who goes home empty handed.  HAHA!!  Yup!  I got a sweater from Miss Selfridge.  After that, we didn’t really see any more reason to stay there since I got something and all my aunt wanted to do was to go home so we did.  Funny thing, however, is that we did not know how to go back the way we came from, so in other words, we got lost and had to ask for directions from locals for the nearest train station.  Don’t worry.  We got home which is why I’m here blogging about it.  I’m having mixed emotions about seeing my mom and brother again after a month.  Teeheee!  Stay tuned for more as I explore some other parts of the UK.  🙂

Boneless banquet from KFC plus a Maltesers shake.
Pure love!

Passed by a university.

Such a cool building!

Ooooh lala

Debenhams!

Haha! Can’t ever go home empty handed!

Lalala loving the view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spent the day in Bakewell.

In the back seat. 😛

Breathtaking scenery

Uncle Dave

Double decker! 🙂

Nature is beautiful!

The title of this post is a bit of an overstatement since I woke up pretty late and got ready at around noon till my aunt and uncle took me to Bakewell.  On the way there, we stopped for a bit because the scenery was breathtaking and my uncle wanted to give me the chance to capture some shots.  It’s the first time I’ve ever been to the countryside and I’m thankful that I was given the chance to experience living here even if it’ll just be for a couple of weeks.  However, there are advantages and disadvantages of living in the countryside.  The advantage is that, you’re surrounded by nature, plants, trees, etc. that you can appreciate.  However, the thing is, everything is so far away that you have to drive for an hour or more.  In fact, today, I experienced being so hungry before lunch that I wanted to throw up.  I thought it would just be a couple of minutes by car, but I was wrong.  It took us more than an hour to reach our destination just to have lunch in a pub.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.  However, next time I think I ought to bring some snacks everywhere we go.  Oh and another thing is that, I got myself a sim card with an “all-I-can-eat” internet usage.  How awesome is that?  Back home, I have to have a contract and everything.  Bloody hell!  Anyway,  I am oh-so-happy because now I get to text my baby 24/7.  Muahaha!

Bakewell is known for their pies and “empanadas” or whatever they’re called.  They smell really good and in fact, my aunt and uncle got me one but I only took a bite since I didn’t really like the taste.  How ironic is that?  We didn’t really get to go around Bakewell since they were in a hurry to go grocery shopping since shops in the countryside close pretty early which I find really weird considering the fact that it doesn’t get dark till around 9pm.  Oh well!  So, we went grocery shopping and I got loads of junk food and cupcakes.  I don’t care if I’ve already gained a lot of weight in Paris, it’s not going to stop me from pigging out here.  I enjoyed myself and my time earlier but we got home pretty early which I am soooo not used to doing because I wanted to explore the place a lot more.  I guess I’ll have to get used to the fact that my aunt and uncle’s lifestyle is based on their daily routines.  Can’t do anything about that.

Just lovely!!

Prettyyyy!!

My uncle was able to lure these donkeys with his “charm”! haha kidding!

Yea! I was able to touch them too! haha They’re harmless!

They reminded me of “Donkey” from Shrek!

Llamas! First time I’ve ever seen real live llamas!

A beautiful swan!

More swans!

The Union Jack!

Pretty pretty pretty scene!

🙂

Le menu!

Had English Breakfast!!!

Taking photos here is the best thing ever!!!

Bought “pies”! Apparently, they sell the best!!! :))

Fish and chips!!!

Can’t get enough of these breathtaking sceneries!!

Here’s another one 🙂

Meeee, myself and I!

Duckie!

On the road again…

Grocery shopping at Morrisons.

Postman Pat! lol

It’s been a month since I last had a home cooked meal! Thank you titaaa!

Photo overload.  Sorry about that, but I just had to put them all here since they were all soooo nice.  I love the fact that everything I see here is pretty and lovely!  Being in the countryside is not at all that bad though I’m not used to the “quietness” around here yet.  I love the United Kingdom and I love Barnsley.  My aunt and uncle has a lovely home and oh my, I could just live here!  Yes!  And I do mean it!  I would love to live here someday.  Perhaps, in London but we’ll see.  I hope you enjoy the photos! 🙂

Montmartre Parte Un.

Bonjour Profesor Caroline! 🙂

Our professor and Stef.

Our classroom! 🙂

View from the ninth floor of the university.

I never thought attending classes in Paris would come to an end and I am so overwhelmed with great emotion that I wish I could stay a little bit longer.  I’ve been having so much fun, I forgot that I was only here for a short time.  Anyway, today was obviously our last class which we ended by having a final exam in French.  It was all good since I did study the night before though the listening part was rather difficult in my opinion.  Enough about that.  I really never thought it would come to an end.  I keep repeating it, but I just really find it hard to believe.  I was really happy though because we got to go on our last school trip to Montmartre.  It was just beautiful and since it’s located really high up, there’s an overlooking view of Paris and it was just like in the movie, Amelie.  I’ve never seen the movie before, but I’ve seen the trailer sooo yeaah.  You get the idea.  I thought it would be a waste of time to go there the second time, but it really wasn’t since I was able to spend more time with my girls.  It’s honestly been really fun and it was sad to know that we only had a day left to be together.  The thing I hate about myself is that I get too attached to people, things and places too easily that it’d take time for me to adapt to things again.

Say “I Love You” in 300 different languages.

Random shot.

Fruits and more fruits!!!

I just thought the illustration was nice. 🙂

The cafe from the movie, Amelie! 🙂

Gotta love those yummy treats!

Montmartre!

The colours caught my eye.

🙂

I have a lot of photos regarding this trip as it was the last one and it was a guided one too!  Yeah!  Despite the fact that we studied there for a month, we still didn’t know about a lot of places in Paris.  Moreover, I’m the kind of person who loves to take pictures of whatever catches my eye while walking.

A poster of Amelie!!

This reminded me of the “drinking fountain” in Macau. Check out the details, the sculpture, etc.

Nature.

The Seine River.

On our way to catch a boat ride. woooohooo!

The Tower at the top! :]

Le blue sky behind just amazes moi. :]

One of the Bridges along the Seine River.

Snacking on a savory crepe before sailing…

The Eiffel Tower once again!

So, last couple of days in Paris and I wanted to make sure that my friends and I could make the most out of them and do something we haven’t done.  Therefore, right after class at 6pm, to be exact, I called two of my closest buddies Paris and Jenny and asked if we could get on a boat and see all the wonderful tourist spots while sailing on the Seine River and of course, they agreed.  Love them to bits!  I went back to our room, got changed, took the Metro, met up with them and voila, purchased our tickets to ride the boat.  I was just so excited to get on it since it was Paris for crying out loud!!!  Everything in Paris amazes me so yeaa.  Before we got on, we went to buy some savory crepes though I must say, they sucked!  Big time!  It was so unusual since most of the crepes I’ve had was really good and satisfying to my belly.  Oh well, allow me to say that I was caught of guard by that one.  Anyway, we got on the boat and we sailed away… Hooraaay!!!  I sat alone and in front of Paris and Jenny since I wanted to sit where I could get a view of the river without heads blocking it.  A little girl sat next to me and at first I didn’t want to talk to her or anything but then she suddenly said “hi” so I smiled back and we started talking and asking questions about each other.  She is from the Netherlands and was on a tour with her family.  She was really friendly and I guess she was the only one among her siblings who could speak English since I could not understand a word they were saying.  They were really nice though and we even took pictures together.  Moreover, her parents were nice too and her mom even snapped a photo for us.  That’s what I love about travelling.  You get to meet new people from different parts of the world!  However, I’m sad to say that I forgot her name.  I’ll never forget her though…  She’ll always be the friendly little girl I sat next to on the boat in Paris.

We headed back home right after that since we have to study for our Final exam tomorrow!!! Oh well, wish us luck!  Had a great day!!!

On the boat!!!

Paris and Jenny pigging out! haha

I love Paris!!!!!

Loving the blue sky!!!!

I know my hair’s a mess but I don’t care!!! 😛

awwww!

With the friendly little girl 🙂

Notre Dame!!

Can’t get enough of the mesmerizing view!

Them! ❤

This kid was super duper cute and she would always pose like a model whenever I snapped a photo of her.

The boat ride took an hour so it was night time when it finished.
The Eiffel tower is just really pretty at night especially when it shimmers!!! 🙂

 

The boat we rode on.

Hanging out with my childhood friend in Paris ♥

Paris, as I have mentioned so many times in my previous posts is just the Perfect place to be in when you want to chill, catch up with friends, wander around and take awesome photos.  I’m not sure whether the Parisians would agree with me when I say that, but then again, it’s just from my own perspective.  Enough about that.  A couple of weeks ago, my friend who moved to London years ago to study told me that she was going to be in Paris for a couple of days with her family and since then, I have been waiting for this day.  I was excited because I haven’t seen her in a while and we were in a totally different environment.  I mean, come on!  It’s not everyday we get to hang out in one of the world’s most spectacular cities, right?  So, anyway, I waited for her to ring me, but could not wait so I called her instead asking if she already arrived.  However, she told me that they just arrived and was about to look for their hotel.  So, what I did was hang out with Stef, Paris and Jenny at the mall and I got a bunch of stuff I wanted from HnM and headed back to our dorm.  Man, the life of being away from my parents just overwhelms me with joy since I can go out anytime I want.

I changed into my red skinny jeans and headed out again since Jessmym (childhood friend) told me to meet up with her near the Opera, which was near Galeries Lafayette.  Luckily, I knew the place since we’ve been going there a lot.  Not to mention, I’ve gotten used to taking the Metro on my own though it was pretty scary at first, getting lost and not being able to communicate.  Anyway, I was told to wait at Galeries Lafayette and when I saw her, I couldn’t help myself from running to her.  I was such a kiddo, but hey, there’s really nothing you can do when excitement takes over your whole body.  I was so overwhelmed with joy and even we, ourselves could not believe it.  It just felt surreal!

So, then we went to look for a place we could sit at and just catch up on things, but it took us a while so we got to take a couple of snapshots until we found a place that sells crepes.  It was a cute little shop that had tables and chairs and after a while we went to Galeries Lafayette to look around, and more importantly to use the “les toilettes”.  We bumped into her parents so we asked one of them to take a decent photo for us and it turned out to be pretty good.  We didn’t get to do much after that since I know they were on a pretty tight schedule, but I am so glad I got to hang out with her because she’s one of my best friends and I love talking to her about life.

I have survived! — A week in Paris.

It’s been a week since I came here. Lately, I’ve been feeling a little homesick even though I’m in one of the world’s most spectacular cities and most of my tweets have been about my boyfriend and how I wish he could have been here with me. It might be unbearable for people I know to keep hearing or listening to me whine about life here. I mean it’s great but it’s been a real challenge for me as it’s the first time I’ve been away from home for a long time.

Our professors here tend to say that French people have an attitude that make people feel unwelcome and that they are proud people, but so far I have not encountered anyone like that yet. I have to say that they are such nice and friendly people with such a good taste for fashion and clothing considering this is where the biggest fashion industries began. However, I’m still thinking whether I’d ever live here in the future though I might come back with my boyfriend of course. As I mentioned earlier, it’s been a challenge, I have to do my own laundry and at some points we have had to cook our own meals. Moreover, we had to do our own research on how to get to places as people here do not speak much English.

I am proud to say that I was able to survive the week with the help of my parents, my siblings, my friends and of course my boyfriend. I’ve been skyping and chatting with them more often so it made me feel like we were just next to each other and I cannot wait to be reunited with them.

Life in Paris has been fun though I wish most of my loved ones were here to enjoy the pretty sights with me. It’s just not the same to be without them though I have to learn to be independent. I have learnt more about the people here and though everyone here seem to be expected to have such a high living standard, I’m sad to say that I’ve seen beggars in the malls which is pretty shocking too. In addition, living here alone has made me realize that I shouldn’t take my life for granted back home and that I should cherish every moment here. It has taught me to be mature, but I no longer want to restrain myself from singing at the top of my lungs when I’m in the shower. Oh well, guess my roomie has to bear with me for awhile. HAHA!