Bikes and more

Posted by gmirage1 on Aug 30, 2010 in travel | Comments Off

I was browsing ebay earlier looking for a bicycle trailer. Hubby and I long wanted to get one so we can bring the little boy along with us when we bike around the city. Along with my searches thule racks would often appear, I got curious what those are, if they might be related to mounting the trailer to the bike and so I clicked. Turns out they are racks for the car…those that gets attached on top of the car so bikes can be steadily held on transport.

Well, I’m not in need of this item yet since we don’t have a car. But I sure know now what to look for in case we would need one.

Incoming search terms:

• taal vista hotel
• taal vista

Rentals

Posted by gmirage1 on Feb 8, 2010 in tips, travel | Comments Off

Have you settled down into a hotel room for a vacation and just on your first day you realize it was the wrong hotel for you? It happened once to us, because I did not specifically told the agent that we are ok with bigger rooms, she got us a cheap package deal with very small rooms and no extra amenities and services (pool, fitness room, game room and so). It was actually fine since it’s common that guests stay there to sleep, take a bath and eat in the mornings. However, a game room for kids (and kids at heart) and  a pool would be nice too.

This is why we now prefer home vacation rentals over hotels. This is a photo of our neighboring apartments during last summer’s Italy vacation. We had a pool shared and the place was a few minutes walk to the beach. (We stayed here for a week.) The flat has 2 bedrooms, a fully functional kitchen, a big bathroom and furnished living room as well as a big terrace. This is vacationing compatible to a big family like ours. Having a home-like atmosphere, made the experience of traveling with children so much more comfortable. Rather than being crammed into one hotel room, we enjoyed having separate bedrooms and space. It also saved us so much money on dining since we could avoid the high prices of restaurants and we get to cook fresh fish we bought from the market.

Now see the new vacation rental commercial from Vacation Rental.org. Below is a sneak peek of the commercial (lol). The man has a point, rentals are far cheaper so don’t let the man in a unitard find you cramped up in a hotel room!  Have a rental, it’s cheaper and more convenient!

Singapore – Weekend Snapshot

Posted by gmirage1 on Jul 5, 2009 in home comfort zone, home stories, stay at home mom, travel, Weekend Snapshot | 10 comments

Dr. Jose Rizal once said  “Ang hindi lumingon sa pinaggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.” (He who does not look back at where he came from will not reach his destination.) Reason why I thought it important that my kids learn about their paternal grandfather’s (and aunts) as well as their dad’s second home, Singapore. It was also to somehow help me and my mom feel better about the loss of my dad. We did enjoy our trip then though I forgot to take a photo of sis in law.

The Singapore Flyer, drive by shot.

—

Outside Vivo City, biggest (or one of) shopping malls in Singapore.

—

By Images of Singapore near the Sky Tower, Sentosa.

—

Butterfly Park….actually where the birds are.

—

Looking at cable cars.

—

Merlion at Night.

—–

Steps – Unique Exposures

Posted by gmirage1 on May 4, 2009 in stock photos, travel, Unique's Photo Challenge | 3 comments

Step onto one of Venice’s 400 bridges, turn left or right and let’s see where you end up then. This week’s themes were somehow related (almost)…Walking, Steps and my below post is also a photo of  walking kids!

A post for Unique Exposures.

Sakura and Okinawa

Posted by gmirage1 on Apr 3, 2009 in stock photos, travel | 2 comments

I have many times blogged about my fondness for cherry blossoms, for its beauty, its symbolical meaning in japanese literature and songs related to it.

In this time of the year, spring in particular, Hanami is observed all-over Japan. It is a tradition of observing and enjoying flowers, most of the time Sakura or cherry blossoms and Ume or plum blossoms. This tradition was brought over by locals to Germany and I sometimes do observe them here too as you see in these photos but the best place to see them of course is none other than Japan, where hubby and I would love to visit soon!

Tokyo and Chiba would be our first stop but Okinawa appears interesting too. Being located southwest of Japan and surrounded of course by the Pacific, I am quite sure that sushi would be the freshest here. Also being subtropical, the flowers bloom all year round.

Okinawa is consisted of small beautiful Islands, with white-sand beaches that are either easy to find or hidden and hard to reach, depending on your preferences, there is surely one you’d find perfect for having bbq parties or just watching the beautiful sun! Japan is afterall called Nihon, meaning origin of the sun (also nicknamed Land of the Rising Sun).

I can go on and on about the many beautiful things in Okinawa, but why not find out for yourself what is interesting in this land where Karate originated? For more information please visit http://www.okinawa-information.com – Okinawa Travel Guide, a comprehensive guide to Okinawa including pictures, blogs, news, hotel recommendations and a discussion forum of visitors for reference of people who are interested to visit. See you there!