V is for Veni Vidi Vici

I came, I saw, I conquered. This was the first of nearly a dozen trips to Manila where I felt I really enjoyed the whole experience. Likely because we stayed with Canadian friends that totally took care of us.

U is for Unplanned and Unprecedented

This whole trip we just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Holy week and Easter weekend at an Anglican church, the princess's 60th in Thailand, 30th birthday party of a friend, a Ceilidh and now a live production of "Into the Woods" at one of our NGO's partner schools. I can't wait to see what unplanned thing happens next week!

T is for Towers and Traffic

Towers and traffic. This is Manila. Technically this photo is of Ortigas centre. Same same.

S is for Sandwiches on a Plane

We got sandwiches for take away from the same place as the pasta yesterday. Beats paying for crappy airline food.

R is for Roquefort

Roquefort cheese and walnut pasta. So tasty!

Q is for Quest for the Black Pearl

My mom has been super supportive of me working for an NGO so when she gives me a wish list of items to bring back from my travels I relish the quest to check them all off. 
The last item was checked off today when I found the black pearl earrings she wanted to match the necklace she got from this same kiosk over two years ago.

P is for Party

It's a Ceilidh! (Pronounced 'kay lee') We just happened to be around during an Irish - Scottish dance party. My first one and it's in the Philippines. There is much craziness. The live band is great. Lots of merriment making. :)

O is for Open Office

Not Open Office the software but being able to open up the windows to the fresh air. Can't do that in Winnipeg most of the year!

N is for Noodles

Noodles at the company potluck.

Did lots of other fun things today but N. C'est la vie. Looking forward to Saturday. P will be better. Promise. Pun intended. Double pun.

M is for Miller time

Not the beer. The family. We have friends here that are fellow Canadians and we enjoy spending time with them.

I forgot to take any pictures today when we were out and about so here is a mango...

L is for Love

L is for lots of things! Some letters are easier than others. Today has been filled with the people, places and things we love in Davao.

We had lunch at the Banana Leaf at SM Lanang. Then we went for a luxurious massage in the afternoon. The evening ends with dinner at our favourite restaurant in town (Bon Apetit) that is run by a lovely couple, where we dined with beloved friends.

And then there was this mesmerising mechanical lion.

K is for Kaon

Kaon is Cebuano for food. Today was our friend's 30th birthday so we got to celebrate with him! I had a personal pan paella. That crab was about 2-3 inches across. There was chocolate cake and halo-halo for dessert.

J is for Juice of the young coconut

Buko on the beach!

I is for Island life

Palm trees every where. Hot, humid weather. Fresh tropical fruit. And right now, 2 days with no running water. You win some, you lose some. :)

Btw, that's an Air Asia plane over my shoulder.

H is for Holiday

Happy Day of Valour Philippines! Happy Vimy Ridge Day Canada!

This explains why there is no one else in the office today. True story.

G is for Giving back with Gourmet burgers

You know it is a gourmet burger when they ask how you would like your patty done. Besides serving delicious food, "Burger Chef" in Davao donates money to a food bank in a nearby town. It's win-win!

F is for Filipino traffic

Jeepneys are super Filipino! As is the kind of traffic we were in today.

E is for Easter?

The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country and they LOOOOOOOOOVE Christmas like nobody's business. So I was planning to grab a fun Easter shot for today. This is the closest sign of the holiday I've seen so far.

13 in 2013

I'm a bad blogger. I've done the A to Z challenge twice where you have to blog every day for the month of April but then I go months in a row without posting anything. It's the beginning of a new year so it's time for a quick review. I'm still planning to write some blogs on travel we did this past autumn once I find the time...

Coincidentally, I read 13 books and visited 13 countries in this past year of 2013. So that's how my review is going to go this year. In chronological order (note that the Philippines has been our temporary residence and all trips came and went from here this year):


1. The Philippines (The Street Lawyer by John Grisham) - I live in the Philippines right now so it seems an injustice to try to summarize it but here goes: It's really hot and the people are really nice. Done. Grisham is classic and my husband said this book changed the course of his life when he was in school so there.

Announcement: I've Started Running

For some of you out there in Internet land, running is no big deal. Lots of bloggers write about fitness and the amazing things they do. I tend to write about travel and cookies and movies. I've never been known for my athletic abilities. To this day, my greatest physical feat was that time I served the winning point at the finals in junior high volleyball.

Here is why I've started running:

You see those mountains in the distance? I'm going to climb one. Mt. Apo. The highest peak in the Philippines. This is the view of my goal from my running path. It is a pretty sweet motivator.