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Archive for the ‘European trip’ Category

10 Feb

My Last Day in Paris

Posted by renxkyoko in European trip, France, Louvre Museum, my life, Paris, Random thoughts. Tagged: Hillary forPresident, my life, Paris, random thoughts. 60 comments

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Hi, there ! ! Just photos this time. I won’t write much because it’s Monday, and Mondays s*ck. Before anything else, those who are interested in reading my manga/anime site, check it out HERE.

Here are some photos of my last day in Paris…. in fact, the last day of my 30 day tour of Europe.

I had liver pate ( I love liver ), and escargot ( fancy name for snail ).

I need to say this , though….. tipping in Europe is massive.. We had to tip those serenaders, the waiters, the tour manager, the bus driver. If you bought a tour package for a certain amount, never , ever think that’s all you’re gonna spend. Some dinners aren’t free. You can opt out and not join the group, and eat at McDonald’s , or pay $ 75 each for a lousy dinner in Monaco , or $ 70 in Rome. Since my cousin and I didn’t really have money , my mother had to shoulder everything , for herself, for me and my 14 year old cousin. For the tour manager and bus driver, it was $ 14 tip each day from one tourist, and since it was a 30 – day tour, the amount totaled $ 420 each person, and since there were 3 of us ( Mom, myself and cousin ), we had to pay $ 1,260. Take note…. there were 50 of us in the group. Good thing credit card was accepted. If dinner was at the hotel we were staying in, then it was free. Unfortunately, the group always ate out , in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Switzerland, Venice. Even some tours weren’t free, like the Rheine River cruise, etc. So, be sure to bring plenty of cash. One thing though, we drank wine like it was water, one bottle per person, I kid you not. Every night was Happy Hour.

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And one more thing, before Paris, I had this impression the Mona Lisa painting was huge. Guess what, it’s small, about a foot and a half long

DSCN2023 I have tons of pics taken at the Louvre Museum. The Louvre was the residence of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XIV. The ostentatiousness was breathtaking. ” They don’t have bread ? Let them eat cake. ” , said Marie, in response to massive hunger and poverty at that time. No wonder she got her head cut off.

Alright, this is it for now. Peace .

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My sister , Mom , and I just signed up to work for Hillary. I walk my talk.

5 Oct

MY EURO TOUR Part 26 Paris, France

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, France, Paris, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, France, my life, Paris, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 86 comments

Hi there ! !

I was hoping I could publish at least 3 posts in September, but I just didn’t have the time. All my blogging time was spent reading a backlog of unread subscriptions. At this moment , I’m scared to check out my email folder. ” So, why are you scared, Ren? It doesn’t make sense. Just delete.” Problem is, I don’t delete unread subscriptions. I read all of them, every single word. Heck, I even click the links if they say click HERE, and watch all the videos. This time , I think I will. I can actually delete everything in one click, but then, I get to delete even the ones I want to preserve for eternity. Maybe I can keep them somewhere, I know there’s a place for them . As of 2 days ago, my unread emails number is …. 0_0″…….. 25,000. Have mercy.

And by the way, these humungous emails make my reading soooooooooo slow. It takes about a minute to get one email deleted. Sometimes it doesn;t even delete and I have to click again, and wait another minute.

I am already overwhelmed. So please let me to start over again from zero. Oh, and these are getting in the way of blogging. I need to read them, too. ( ~_~)”

Oh, yeah, those too. Ha ha ha. You know what they say… all work and no play makes Jill whatever. Reading comics and mangas entertain me. Yep, Spiderman, and Walking Dead, the original. You do know this TV show is based on the comics, right? Oh, and lookit ! The new Spiderman is a Black teenager ! Cool ! ! * You do know Parker, the original Spiderman died, right ? *

*ponders*

Are you aware there’s something big going on here in the US ? The Federal government had been shut down, and to date, it’s still closed. Normally, I’d be ranting , huffing and puffing and what have you, here on WP, but I’ve decided to keep my lips zipped. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. . The issue is affordable care act ( ACA ) or what we call Obamacare. I just wish for everyone to have access to affordable health insurance. People shouldn’t die because they are poor.

It’s funny that the republicans also opposed mandated Social Security contributions and Medicare and Medicaid when they were first taken up and later implemented by Democrats half a century ago. They said it was a socialist/communistic policy that had no place in a democratic and free society . And now, 98 % of retired seniors have only their Social Security pension and Medicare to depend on. Republicans seem to abhor anything that will provide assistance to the poor, even a health insurance that’s not even free, just made affordable for everyone, including the poor. Heck , they hate anything that regulates potentially abusive business practices and laissez faire economy. One more thing, we were mandated to have all vehicles insured, why not our health ? There’s something seriously wrong with the mindset, I tell you. Hey, it’s for the common good, folks. Get over it. Even if you’re still young and healthy now you’d thank Obamacare when you get prostrate or breast cancer later in life. Enroll now and be secure.

Alright, I said enough. Zip. Peace. Miss Pollyana isn’t looking for a fight here.

So, anyway, as promised…. my Paris tour.

Shown here is the famous Notre Dame Cathedral and additional photos of the Eiffel Tower taken on our second day in Paris. We were there on our first day. And guess what, we came back on the third day.

Notre Dame Cathedral by Seine River.

.The girl in the pic is my cousin. The senior man is part of tour group, from Australia.

aaaargh ! Good thing , Paris fashion police didn’t arrest me. What the heck is that outfit . Sheer black blouse and a white undershirt. It’s an abomination. Who wears that? He hehe…. Take note, this photo was taken the day before the last day of our Euro tour… we;d run out of clothes to wear ! We were allowed one luggage each with specific dimension, not big enough for a one – month tour. Oh, we brought enough unmentionables, so perish the thought. We wore a fresh one everyday. ( though I wore the same blue jeans for one week. Ha ha ha )

The Photos taken inside Notre Dame are bad because we were not allowed to use flash. The originals are totally dark, like the photo below.

.Do you see that mini-balcony in the photo ? That’s the pulpit. That’s where the priests used to deliver their ” sermons”. Modern churches don’t have this anymore.

.The outfit ! Bwahahaha ! Whatever, I’m in the picture. ~(^_^~) (~^_^)~

Well, this is it for now. My next post will be the last of my Euro tour, I hope. Oh, I did say I was going to have a countdown to my next trip to Asia in summer of 2014, just like what I did before my Euro tour . Well, it’s 9 months to go ! ! !

.Good day to all. Be good, be nice, and PEACE ! ! !

14 Aug

My Euro Tour Part 25 Paris, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Boracay Island Philippines, European travel, European trip, France, my life, Paris, Random thoughts. Tagged: Boracay Island, European tour, European travel, France, my life, Paris France, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 130 comments

Hi, Renxkyoko Iglesias here. * waves *

I wrote about the beach house my family is building on Boracay Island, Philippines. If you haven’t read it, it’s here. We’ve been calling our aunt in the Philippines to check on the progress of construction. As of last week, the foundation had been dug and they had already put the rebars , etc. The original plan was just a one -story duplex, one unit for rent, and one for the family. We’ve since altered the plan. Now it’s a two-story house with 6 bedrooms and 4 toilet/baths. I/m worried my parents and aunt have bitten off more than they could chew, but I trust they can do this. They have supervised construction of several properties, after all..However, though they are all rentals too, this is the first time they’re going into this kind of business… We classify it as Vacation House for Rent by Owner and we’re going to advertise it as such. Locals and foreigners can reserve the house at VRBO.com ( Vacation Rental By Owner ) by February, 2014. It’s 7,000 Philippines pesos a day ( USD150). That’s cheap, considering that the cheapest room at nearby Shangrila Hotel is USD300. Ours is the whole house that can accomodate at least 12 persons. During low season, we’ll rent out individual rooms for $30 /day. We’re still figuring out how this can be done. Oh, and the most important thing is to have it advertised in South Korea and Japan in their own language, especially South Korea.

Speaking of which…….

There was a joke that went around in the Philippines during the North Korea crisis. They say the South Koreans are not worried about North Korea because half of the population of S.Korea are already residing in the Philippines. Ha ha . J/k

Currently, dozens of US Embassies in the Middle East, and North Africa have been closed indefinitely, or on high alert. Americans are warned not to travel to these countries. Well, you can travel to the Philippines. Two days ago, Chris Matthews on Hardball announced a list of top 5 countries that view The US most favorably. # 5 is Kenya ( Pres. Obama’;s father was from there) and guess what is # 1. Tadaaaa ! The Philippines. 86% of the country view the US favorably. I expected England and Japan to be # 1 …. surprisingly, no. So, fellow Americans, we’re welcome there, very much so.

Okay, enough of self-promotion.On to my Paris tour, as promised.

The following are photos of Paris street scenes and fine architecture.

The Seine River , Notre Dame Cathedral is nearby. By the way, it’s pronounced No-truh Dahm ( the “o ” in No is like the “o” in hot ) . TV hosts , especially sportcasters are perpetuating this Noter Deym pronunciation. Well, there’s nothing we can do to correct Los Angeles. But it’s pronounced Los An-he-les. Sorry for nitpicking. lol

.City dwellers should drive this smart car here in the US. It doesn’t occupy too much space, and doesn’t consume too much gasoline. It’s green. This was actually the very first thing I noticed in Europe. The cars were small, especially in Italy and the Netherlands.

*ponders*

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed that there are countries where the word “The ” is placed before the name of the country. Ex: the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, and , oh, yeah, the Philippines. In fact, these are the only countries that I know of that have ” THE ” before the name. We don’t say, in the Japan, in the Indonesia, in the England, in the China , in the Italy, etc. It does sound awkward, doesn;t it?

.This is the avenue going to the famous Arc de Triomphe

.The building of this arch was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon to honor those who died during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It’s located on the right bank of the Seine River.

This is all for now, folks. Next posts will feature The Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and yes, the Mona Lisa.

Good day to all. Be nice, be good, stay cool, and PEACE !

7 Jul

My Euro Tour Part 24, Paris, France

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, France, my life, Paris, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: anime/mangas, European tour, European travel, France, manga, my life, Paris, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 165 comments

Hi, there ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

It’s time to post about my Paris tour, so I’ll cut my chatting short. ( Like that’s gonna happen, but I’ll try. He he he…. I know, I’m so chatty. )

Three days ago, I fainted at my workplace due to heatstroke. It was more like a black-out. You see, for almost a week now, we’ve been getting 3 digit temperatures here in our neck of the woods. Yesterday, the 4th of July, the temperature was 108F. ( ~ 42 C ). On the day I blacked out, the temp was 110F . Driving to work was worse for me because the A/C in my car was not working… and well, you know how it is, the temp in the car is usually 10 degrees higher initially. Opening the windows didn’t help at all. It was a tortuous 30 minute drive to my workplace. Anyway, as soon as I got out of the car, I felt a bit woozy, then as I was walking to the store, I knew I was about to black out. First, my vision turned greenish- orangy, then in slow motion, it turned grayish. It was thru sheer will power that I managed not to collapse on the pavement. As soon as I reached the store entrance , I let go and keeled over. My co-workers called 911. The paramedics came and easily revived me. When I came to, the paramedic asked if I had breakfast before I came to work. I said ” Yes, I ate a big Sio-Pao.” They all laughed. He he…. I thought that was funny too. I mean, I could have just said, ” Yes, I did “, or just nodded . I’m sure they didn’t even know what a Sio-Pao is. Well, that’s a meatbun.

When the paramedics left, I just had to ask my co-workers, ” Guys, was my nouth open? Did I drool? Did the cute paramedic see something inappropriate?” ( I was wearing a stretch hip -hugging mini skirt ) Anyway, that was actually the 3rd time something like this happened to me, so I knew what was coming. Oh, well, tough luck. I’m one of those who are prone to heatstrokes.

But honestly, it wasn’t just my sensitiveness ( or is it sensitivity ? ) to heat that I blacked out. That day, I didn’t get to sleep at all….. not a wink. Why, you ask. Well, I was reading a manga but I didn’t like where the story was going and got really p*ssed at and agitated by the main guy’s douchebaggery . Pardon the language but I was like this after reading…..

And I thought ” I need a spoiler ! A spoiler !!!! I wanna know what happens ! I need to find the rawssssss!!!! ! ” I did find the raws but , of course it was in Japanese. Normally I get the story just by looking at the drawings, but this time, I wanted to know what they’re saying. So I looked for another language that I could Google translate to English, and found one in French..

I translated at least 5 volumes the whole night, til 7 AM.. Hey, it wasn’t easy.

Oh, Sweet revenge ! It was so satisfying to know that the main guy gets his comeuppance later in the story. But of course , he still gets a happy ending with the main girl. Boooo !

So, on to gay Paree !!
I don’t think Paris and the Eiffel Tower need an introduction. So I’ll just post pictures if that’s okay with you.

Above is the famous Seine River, just a few meters from the tower.

You know, I don’t know if this is true all over Europe but I noticed something in France. Most of the outdoor cafes have chairs facing the street. I wonder if this is for people- watching.

This is the Monpartnasse area, located on the Left bank of the Seine River. Montpartnasse used to be the meeting ground of artists from all over the world, mostly penniless, but they all thrived happily in poverty…. Picasso, Chagall, Ernest Hemingway,Degas, Salvador Dali, Diego Rivera, henri Rousseau, James Joyce, Modigliani. The artists/painters used to sell their paintings for a few francs for food. Now their works are worth millions of Euros.

This was our first day in Paris. We arrived in the afternoon, walked around Montpartnasse, had coffee and petit fours at a sidewalk cafe, checked out the outdoor artists’ market, ( most of the shops were closed… it was a Sunday afternoon ), after which we went to see The Eiffel Tower. We’d go to the tower three times during our stay in Paris, which was 3 days.

Alright, this is all for now. Good day to all, and PEACE.

Stay cool.
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12 Jun

My Euro Tour, Part 23, Bordeaux, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Bordeaux, European travel, European trip, France, Genetically modified organisms, Monsanto, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: Bordeaux, European tour, European travel, France, French kiss, genetically modified organisms, monsanto, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 152 comments

Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

It’s my summer vacation . Yay ! Well, it’s June 9 today. Last year , June 9, 2012, was the day we flew to Europe for our 30 day tour. I was really hoping I could end my travelogue post today, the anniversary of our trip, but I guess not. * sets aside the fireworks, disappointed* You’d think I’d have more time to blog, read other people’s blogs, more time for stuff I’d like to do, which is to play video games, read books, read mangas, watch TV, etc. and oh, yeah, post more often, but no, my employer had the temerity to promote me to a managerial position. Now, don’t get impressed with the title. It just means I work longer hours supervising 3 hapless sales clerks, I keep the keys, and handle some confidential store stuff. It’s a high end clothes store, though. A simple women’s Tshirt that sells for $ 5 at walMart, we sell for over $100.00. We have walk -in customers, and we have clients. Clients come by appintments, and they’re usually businessmen from overseas who choose the clothes themselves. ( We wear each dress and show it off to the client. I happen to be the favorite of Asian shoppers , the big spenders from Indonesia,Shanghai, HongKong, Malaysia, Singapore , and Japan. I have the body size of an Asian girl, ( I’m size 1 ) so I’m the one who gets to show off the dresses. If I’m lucky, I get a free dress. * blows my own horn * . I get the highest sales every month,too. * beats drum*

And well, that’s not the only job I have. I have another one…. I work at an ice cream parlor, scooping ice cream at Baskin and Robbins…. my very, very first job. I’m loyal to Kamal, my boss, even if she hasn’t given me a raise for years. ( So, okay , I got one teeny raise…. 25 cents an hour….. Booooo ! ! ) But, I’m the only one she trusts to handle money, and my work hours are flexible. I’m grateful to her for the work she gives me, at my own convenience.
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One reader asked me about Monsanto. I’ve heard of it, but don’t know anything about it. I read up , but gave up trying to know. This corporation is huge ! ! First off, what is Monsanto? According to Wikipedia, Monsanto is a ” publicly traded American multinational biotechnology corporation and is the leading producer of genetically engineered seed ( GE) and now known as GMO ( genetically modified organism).” It is considered by purists to be an ” evil” corporation that breeds modified seeds that are detrimental to humanity’s health.

I’m an environmentalist, a tree- hugger, if you will, but I’m not sure if I can totally side with the anti-GMOs . I have to be honest…… my sister, a microbiologist, had applied for a job at Monsanto. She didn’t get it, but will apply again when a position opens. She currently works for an establishment that does chemical anlysis of food products, fresh produce and manufactured ones.( Department of Analytical Chemistry ) I’m majoring in Molecular Microbiology, and when I graduate , hopefully this school year, I hope to follow my sister’s career.

There;s a research facilty in the Philippines, the IRRI ( International Rice Research Institute ) that is based in the Philippines, at the University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna. According to Wikipedia, the main goal of IRRI is ” to find sustainable ways to improve the well-being of rice farmers and consumers, as well as the environment.” The IRRI is a pioneer in genetic diversification and breeding of rice to improve yield, and grow more resistant to drought and pests , and breeds that are less likely to ” fall over”. While Monsanto started in the 90’s, IRRI was launched much earlier, in late 60’s. According to Wikepedia, ” 60% of the world’s rice area is planted to IRRI -bred rice varieties or their progenies.” The difference between IRRI and Monsanto is that IRRI is non-profit. Seeds have been distributed at no cost to rice farmers all over Asia. Since then, farmers in Asia have been planting high yielding varieties of rice. This helps feed the growing population of Asia, and so far, we have not seen anyone who has grown a horn or two heads. This is the reason why I cannot make a judgement on what Monsanto is doing. Not all of these biotech researches are bad, as long as they don’t make something like Soylent Green. What is Soylent Green, you ask. Soylent Green is a 1973 science fiction film that depicts an overpopulated earth, not much food, and available food is rationed, produced by Soylent Corporation, and whose product, Soylent Green, is advertised as high energy plankton. However, they discover that Soylent Green foods are made up of human remains. They are people.

Oh, by the way, Monsanto sells seeds to practically every farmer in America. It has captured the market, and worse, the seeds are ” copyrighted and patented” . In other words, the farmer cannot save seeds for next planting. He has to buy new ones.

* ponders*
If I were a reader of this post, I’d get bored and stop reading halfway. Oh, well. Better get back to the main topic of this post…. my tour of Bordeaux, France. Actually, I don’t have much material ( photos) of Bordeaux. We merely stopped for lunch there and lingered for about 4 hours.

Although I saw very little of Bordeaux, what I did see was impressive. <a
Bordeaux is the major wine capital of the world. No wine can be labeled as Bordeaux wine unless it’s actually produced in Bordeaux..Bordeaux wine has come to mean red wine as 90% of Bordeaux wines are red. Claret is English red wine. Excusez- moi, but I’m not a wine aficionado so I’m as clueless as the peon beside me.

There’s a flea market going on in this photo.

Porte Cailhau
Below photo is the Place de la Bourse

Below is the Place de la Bourse at night

Bordeaux has one of Europe’s biggest 18th century urban areas, with buildings still intact, and all the buildings that you see here are in one area. The buildings are impressive.

In case you haven’t noticed, the architectural designs of the 18th century buildings shown here are almost identical.

These buildings must have looked awesome to a person from a small town in the 1700’s.

Above is the column of the Girondins on the Esplanade des Quinconces. It is the largest square in Europe.

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Holy s*it! Look, Ma, a couple kissing ! Oooops, pardon my French.

Anyway, above photo is Rue Sainte-Catherine, one of the longest pedestrian only shopping street in Europe. ( I’ve seen this kind of shopping mall in Barcelona and Madrid )

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The photo below was our group’s meeting place….. a toilet at the carpark….. a nice place to end our tour of Bordeaux.

*ponders*

I wonder why we call a kiss a French Kiss. It was supposed to have originated in the 1920’s (after WW1) when American soldiers came home and showed their wives and girlfriends how the French kissed. I guess, when Americans kissed before that time, they only locked their dry lips together. Then they found exchanging saliva and slipping their tongues into each other’s mouths more erotic. I bet they also brought home French lingeries for their wives. Throw away the bloomers and cotton panties , honey, and wear this…Ooooh, French lace! .

Aaaah, this post is so moi. I talked about my boring job, genetically modified organisms, food made of people, Bordeaux, France, wines, toilet, underwears, and French kiss…. all packed in one post. Good job, Ren., good job. You did it again.

This is all for now. Good day to all, and stay cool ! PEACE !

26 May

My thoughts on Syria and the Muslims

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, Muslims, my life, random musings, Random thoughts, Syria. Tagged: European tour, European travel, Just my thoughts today, musings, Muslims, my life, postaweek2011, random political musing, random thoughts, Syria. 124 comments

Hi ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

I’m seriously running out of topic to talk about. I’m thinking of something mundane that I can somehow make interesting for my smart , intelligent readers…..like say, how to boil an egg.

So, okay, I can talk about current issues, like that horrible killing in London. You’ve all heard about that, I presume? So, what do I think about that? Seriously, you don’t wanna know.. I’m afraid I’ve become an isolationist. I want the US to get out of some country’s business and deal with so many pending problems here at home. . How about Syria, you ask? Well, what about it? What do they want the US to do? You know, I was on my way to school the other day, listening to NPR ( National Public Radio…. darn, I should be listening to Adele, instead), then , I heard this interview ( by BBC ) of a Syrian victim of poison gas that the government had allegedly used on its citizens. The interview was held at the hospital, and I could hear some people crying Obama, Obama, Obama. What do they want Obama to do? Why can’t they ask other Arab countries for help? Come to think of it, why don’t other Arab countries help? What are Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and all the other rich Arab countries doing for their fellow Muslims?. Aren’t they supposed to be each other’s ” keeper “? Another interview by BBC was with Syrian widows at the refugee camps in Jordan who have started selling their daughters ( aged 12 to 16, that’s the range) to rich Arabs for sex, and , after having their way with these kids, they are returned to their mothers. Where’s the outcry here?
*ponders*
Regarding the use of chemical weapons…… I feel horrified with the thought that the US had used chemical weapons , too, napalm, is what it’s called, most effectively and extensively in Vietnam. ” Ah, I love the smell of napalm in the morning. ”

Damn ! It’s the children. It’s always the children.

Chris Matthews ( talk show host of MSNBC’s Hardball ) said, and he said this several times on his show… ” I’d prefer to watch Syrians killing Syrians on international news, rather than Americans killing Syrians. ” I admit that’s harsh and cold, and rather surprising, since these words came from the mouth of a bleeding heart liberal. But his words went right into the core of the problem. It’s a lose-lose situation for the US. Damn if you do, damn if you don’t. But when in doubt ,err on the side of reason and caution . And what exactly does it mean? It means, don’t meddle, militarily. Send food, medicine, but do not send anything that kills. Have I truly become a peacenik? Nope, I want to blow Kim Il Sung to smitheereens if he threatens South Korea, Japan and the US again.

The US is still at war, with Al-Queada, but not with Assad. The US is also at war with lone wolves, like the Boston marathon bombers and those murderers in London. How do Syrian ” rebels” expect the US to help when it’s an open secret Al_Queada terrorists are effectively assisiting them? It would be like, a person picking up a rock and hitting himself with that rock , on his own head. How can the US kill idealogy and religious fanaticism/ extremism? ? That’s what Americans have to deal with from hereon , unless Muslim communities help in thwarting extremism in their midst. As it is, anger, resentment and hatred are spreading in England and across Europe….. most especially in London , where majority of 3 million Muslims live. Most Londoners now fear Islamification of their city. This murder and past bombings in London perpetrated by Muslims have fueled this fear.

So , now you ask, am I an Islamophobe ? My answer is No. I’m just voicing out honestly what my concerns are about what’s happening around me. In fact, I’m more concerned about the garden variety all -American hate groups, and politicians who spew hatred , stupidities and invectives towards anyone who is not white, straight, and Christian.

Also, my very best friend since forever, a guy, is a Muslim….. from Bosnia-Herzegovena, a European Muslim. We liked each other before, but we had decided not to pursue that path. One day, he burst out he wouldn’t convert, and I was like, who told you to convert, ha ha ha. This guy has never done any shopping without me. But…..

Aaaargh. I should have gone with him and chosen the gift myself. The necklace is like something Cleopatra would wear thousnads of years ago. I’ll wear it, “I”, promise ! ~(^_^~)(~^_^)~

Speaking of which, I did promise to post about my Bordeux, France tour. But, I think I’ve been too chatty here. Next post then, okay?

This is all for now. Good day and PEACE !

Don’t hate.

I’m conflicted.. My thoughts evolved as I was writing this post. It’s weird. I think it was the photo of the Vietnamese children that got me.I don’t know what to think anymore.
.

13 May

My Euro tour Part 22 Amboise, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Amboise France, European travel, European trip, France, my life. Tagged: Amboise France, Bordeaux France, Botdeaux France, European tour, European travel, France, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 123 comments

Renxkyoko Iglesias here. Hi there !

I won’t be chatty on this post, although I don’t know what not being chatty means to yours truly…..less than 1000 words, I guess.Besides, it’s either my computer or WordPress itself is whacked, but writing a post now is so annoying. I don’t know how to fix this coz I’m technically -challenged.

I got a letter and Certificate of Appreciation from the Southern Poverty Law Center. It states. ” This certificate is presented to Ren Iglesias in recognition of your contribution to the ongoing fight againts hatred and intolerance in America. The name shown above will be added to the Wall of Tolerance in Montgomery, Alabama, to provide inspiration to all those who chose to take a stand againts hatred. Thank you for taking a stand. Morris Dees, Founder …. Southern Poverty Law Centre.”

SPLC was founded by Morris Dees and Josepj Levin, Jr. as a legal firm to handle anti-discrimination cases and has now become a nonprofit civil rights organization that deals and monitors the activities of hate groups such as the Klu Klux Klan, neo-Nazi white supremacist groups, or any group that assault or discriminate againts groups of people, like colored people, gays, immigrants, and the like. I consider myself a colored immigrant. I’m a double whammy.

The main headquarters of SPLC in Montgomery, Alabama.

Oh, I haven’t told ypu that I also got a Christmas card from the White House. I’m sure, million others got the same exact card… with a picture of their dog Bo frolicking in the snow, and the White House as backround.

To be honest, I don’t think I deserve to have my name added to the Wall of Tolerance, because you know what, I’m intolerant…. intolerant of injustice, wastefullness…. in fact, I can list dozens of things I cannot tolerate. Everytime I see, for example, Michelle Bachmann or Rush Limbaugh, Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, Glen Beck and any of these nutjobs, I cannot tolerate to see their faces. I believe they’re evil. I even rejected a hot guy who thought climate change was a hoax. So, yeh, I’m quite intolerant.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. To all the mothers of the world, Happy Mother’s day ! !Below is my mother. I was told she was pretty popular in college, one of the campus’ beauties in her time. Pity I don’t look like her. I look like Dad. +_+”

My Mom

So, here’s my tour of Amboise , France.

Amboise ( pronounced Abwaz), located in central France. It is a small market town, but used to be a French royal court, and lies on the banks of Loire River.\

This is how I envision A French town should look like.

That house is carved into the rock mountain. It’s a little unexpected to see that in France .

The photo avove is the house where Leonardo da Vinci actually lived and died.

I thought I could include Bordeaux , France, but I have enough materials for Amboise. In fact, I have dozens more, but they are redundant, and I think the ones I posted are representative of the place.

This is all for now. Bordeaux, France is next. Paris will be my last travel post. The thought that it’s almost the end makes me teary eyed and sad. But I’m sure to go back and see those beautiful places again. I will start to save up for a second trip and it starts NOW.

Have a good day and PEACE !

8 Apr

My European tour part 21, Poitiers, France

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, France, my life, Poitiers France, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, France, Just my thoughts today, Kamala Harris, my life, Poitiers France, postaweek2011, random political musing, random thoughts. 79 comments

Hello there !

Where do I start ? I’ve got tons of disorganized random thoughts swirling on my mind right now. But I finally figured out how to make sense of them….. make them current. That’s right.

So to start off and without much further ado…..

Yesterday, Pres. Obama complimented California’s attorney general, Kamala Harris, for her good looks. But that was after saying nice things about her brilliant work as an attorney-general.

.There was an ” uproar” among feminists. Oh, from just a few critics but boy, were they loud. They said it was sexist and inappropriate. C’mon. It was said at a fund raising event where jokes were tossed around and bandied about among friends and allies. I’ve always been with you , sisters, but not this time. Your outrage is silly and over the top, and it makes you look like some bitter Ms. goody two shoes with this holier than thou attitude. It’s nasty and it won’t advance your cause. Thank goodness this is just a one-day wonder. Lighten up, ladies. The glass ceiling is going to finally break in 2016. . Save your energy. The fight is about to commence. Who’s with me?

.We have a bunch of Hilarry stickers like the picture above left over from her 2008 Primary run againts Pres. Obama. I couldn’t even vote yet when Mom dragged me along as volunteers for Hillary’s campaign. At their headquarters, I worked the phones for a while, but I really couldn’t stand getting yelled at by obvious Obama supporters at the end of the line….. And we weren’t supposed to argue, nor contradict, nor be contentious, we just explained things nicely , stuck to written guidelines, then got the heck off the phone fast . Ha ha. That was NASTY ! When I whined about it, I was given the task of posting on different fora. My “favorites ” were DailyKos and Huffington Post. At first , I was polite and meek, but it didn’t work on DailyKos, so I took off my mask and gave as good as I got, blow by blow, tit for tat, to the point that I was almost banned from the forum. He he he. Oh, the adrenaline ! ! I was the goddess of Rock ! ! Good thing there were a few nice posters who defended me … it was like, ” Look, guys, we’re all Democrats here. We have to unite at one point behind one candidate . We’ve heard of Hillary supporters threatening to sit out this election if things turn out even more contentious than this. ” And the poster was right. My parents left the names for President blank. Mom said she was so pissed she voted for McCain. No, she didn’t, ( though I’m not sure ) but we did go into sulk mode. It took us maybe a year to warm up to Obama. Yay, Obama ! ( We still don’t like Bill Richardson and that b*tch what’s – her- face from CNN. )

Enough of my chitty chatty and let’s get down to the nitty gritty……my trip to France.

Here’s my problem though…… I forgot the name of the first French town we visited and stayed the night in. ( 6__6) I remember the hotel was Ibis. So , any one from France who gets to read this, can you please tell me what town this is? It’s a small, charming postcard pretty town, and the street sign here says , Limoges Chateuroux, Bessac, CHU de Poitiers. Could it be Poitiers, France? I’m not sure.

.The ubiquitous Chinese restaurant

.The photo is blurry…. posted this just to show you we had coffee at the public square or esplanade.

There was no guided tour of the town. We just walked around within the vicinity of the hotel, had coffee and cakes and people watched.

Our dinner at the hotel…. an entree of chevre ( goat cheese ) on toast and veggie salad

.Turkey meat with delicious gravy…..

.Bon appetit !

Well, this is it for now. Amboise and Bordeux, France are next.

Bonne journee. La paix. Au revoir.

20 Mar

My Euro Tour Part 20 Spain

Posted by renxkyoko in Barcelona, European travel, European trip, Flamenco, mangas/animes, my life, Random thoughts, Spain. Tagged: anime/mangas, European tour, European travel, Flamenco, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts, Spain. 95 comments

Hello ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here !

I’ve been hella busy these past weeks……… exams, work, and stuff are getting in the way of blogging. As usual, there’s nothing on my mind at the moment, but then I’m always like this, right? I’m a slow starter. Funny thing is, when I get going, there’s nothing that can stop me from taking off. So, let’s see where this post goes.

My signature name here, Ren x Kyoko . It goes without saying that isn’t my real first name. The name comes from one of my most favorite mangas ( Japanese graphic novels) SKIP BEAT. Yep, I read mangas, and really, really enjoy reading them. They are drawings, cartoons, with very few words to read, and basically depend on facial expressions to convey what ‘s going on in the story. Did you get to read my Valentine’s post here ? It conveys a lot just looking at the drawings, doesn’t it, with minimum number of words, 13 short sentences, and really, the drawings say it all. Oh, I’m not rationalizing my fondness for stories with pictures. I read to entertain myself. That’s all there is to it. But, I have to admit some manga stories do lower the level of my IQ a few notches. Or, have irreversibly killed a few brain cells. ( Eh. I’m not worried about my IQ. I’ve been called a walking Encyclopedia once, and I believe I can give Jeopardy contestants a run for their money. )

The other stuff thar I read.

Quite a few mangas have scarred me for life, though. Like, what, you ask. Like Incest, that’s what. Like 2 siblings who are into forbidden love, and in the end, both comitted suicide. Or, twins who have fallen in love with each other, and have ran away to another country to be together. There are tons of forbidden love stories like these, though some are cute, especially those that involve love between two non-blood -related siblings. There are so many plotlines like these that it makes me think, is this actually a cultural thing in Japan?

Back to SKIP BEAT…… it’s a series that I’ve been reading for 6 years now, and still ongoing. It’s at Chapter 198 , to date, and the truth is, it’s been on going for 10 years already.. What’s amazing about this manga is that, the timeline of the story as of the last chapter is barely over a year . A chapter comes out every 5th of the month, and I tell you, I always get butterflies in my stomach everytime I turn on the computer to check if a new chapter has already been uploaded. That’s how addicted I am to this pure love story. It’s a comedy, too.

You know, I visualize myself already a grandma, sitting in a rocking chair, sipping hot cocoa, clucking my dentures, and still reading Skip Beat. ( *_*) For the love of God, hurry up and kiss already ! ! Gosh ! * like that’s gonna happen * (6_6 )

Oh, well. * turns off fangirl switch *

I did say I was going to post a few left-over photos of Spain. I hope a reader from Spain can recognize them. I don’t know where these pictures were taken, but I’m sure it was before our trip to Burgos, Spain. I was wearing the same dress.

.Above photo is a bullring.

Photos below are our Optional dinner at Barcelona, which cost each person $75, and includes Spanish Flamenco Dance entertainment. I think this was the best dinner in our 27 day tour……. a sumptous Spanish buffet ! The dishes were like the foods we cook at home…. estofado, paella, etc. There was even a squid soup dish that included the ink… the way we cook it at home.

Ooooh, there’s the black rice with squid ink. That’s how we cook it at home too. We saute garic, onions, lots of tomatoes, then the squid with the ink, then water…. then we eat it with rice, and the rice turns black in color because of the squid ink. Guys, it’s an acquired taste, but it really tastes good. Trust me.

There’s rabbit stew on the plate but I’m not sure which one. Rabbit estofado was delicious, it really was, but, it was difficult to swallow Roger Rabbit..

.Desserts !

I ‘m going to blog about the foods we had in Europe, something like a food critique. One thing, we had the best in Spain. And very generous portions, too. More to my taste, anyway.

After dinner, we watched a Flamenco dance group.

Oooooh, passionate dance, passionate people.

.That’s it for Spain…. the land of my ancestors. Beautiful country. Good-bye.

Peace and stay cool.

8 Mar

My Euro Travel Pt. 19, Burgos/Bilbao, Spain

Posted by renxkyoko in Bilbao Spain, Burgos Spain, European travel, European trip, my life, Random thoughts, Spain, The Vatican. Tagged: Bilbao Spain, Burgos Spain, European tour, European travel, Just my thoughts today, Philippine food, postaweek2011, random thoughts, The Vatican. 84 comments

Hola ! Renxkyoko Iglesias aqui.

This is my 19th travel post, and maybe the 3rd to the last. I really need to get this done quick because I’m starting to lose the memories. All I have left now are impressions.

By way of introduction, let me write down my random thoughts… as usual..

* sips coffee*

The abdication of the Pope……. I’m a Roman Catholic, so it’s a given I should be interested in what’s going on at the Vatican. To be honest , I’m not interested at all. What I’m really, really concerned about is the abysmally low number of young men who have the calling for priesthood. The average age of priests now is 65, and when they retire , there’s no guarantee there’s a priest who will take-over the position. There are even Catholic parishes here in the US where Episcopal priests have been tasked to ” say ” the Mass in the absence of a parish priest. Why Episcopal , you ask. Well, the Episcopalian Church is Protestant, yet Catholic. It was actually once called The American Catholic Church, and it’s Preamble states “ it’s a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic Church….”

It’s a no brainer to know the one reason why men don’t enter the priesthood….. the vow of celibacy. It’s almost unnatural to suppress the primal animal instict to mate, most especially with men. So, as a member of the Church, do I approve of married priests ? I’m a tree hugging, bleeding heart social liberal, but I’m not a solid , hard core one. Some of my views are, in fact, pretty conservative, and that includes my view on celibacy. I don’t know. Don’t hate me, but I think I would cringe at the thought of a married priest saying Mass in front of me just had a blow job or kinky sex a few hours before . * Ren, you pervert, perish the thought! * So, what’s the solution? Ordain women into priesthood. I think women can withstand life without sex .

By the way, the ” bad” priests are pedophiles , not gay or straight priests, except that Cardinal from England who had to resign … he had made numerous compromising overtures to adult seminarians…. * shakes head * The Catholic hierarchy should not cover up the crimes of these pedophiles. Sick bastards…. the pedophiles, I mean. This is just my opinion, at the moment.

Oh, wait…… I’d like to tell you something. My mother has a relative who is an ex-priest. It was the Pope who ordained him when the Pope went to the Philippines years and years ago. He became a parish priest, but then, the parish had a beautiful secretary. They fell in love. He left the priesthood and married the girl…. and now have 4 children . Lucky girl. I wish I could find an ex – monk. * sigh *

Now on to Burgos and Bilbao, Spain.

Burgos and Bilbao were our last stops in Spain. Both are located in the northern parrt of Spain. Bilbao is the capital of the province of Bilbao , and the autonomous region of the Basque country.

.Above 2 photos were taken from the hotel. In case you haven’t noticed it, all the buildings are colored orange. The only one with a different color, red, is McDonald’s. This is the newer part of Bilbao. Bilbao is a nice place but it’s not a popular tourist destination. Funny thing though, Bilbao is popular in our household. Mom always adds Chorizo de Bilbao to her Philippine dishes., such as Cocido, Pochero, spaghetti and all sorts of soups and stews.

.I wonder what they call this in Bilbao….. just Chorizo? They don’t make this in Bilbao, though. It ‘s a Philippine sausage concocted by some guy from Bilbao. He he … well, that’s true.

.Above photo is the Guggenheim Museum. The building was designed by American Frank Gehry and is made of glass, stone and titanium. We didn’t get to see what was in there. We had lunch and just walked around the vicinity .

.There’s one important thing about Bilbao and the Basque region.. It is an autonomous region of Spain… kind of separate but equal thing ……. giving an autonomous status to a place is actually the next step to independence, but of course, the Spanish government won’t allow that. Majority of the Basque people though vehemently want independence……. that leads some to engage in ” terroristic” “activities. Calling it terrorism depends on whose side you’re on, of course. And people there don’t want to be called Spaniards and to refer to the Basque region as Spain. ( like Barcelona ). In fact, we saw a loooong line of cars waiting to be inspected at the border between Spain and France.

.Dinner at the hotel

On to Burgos…..

Burgos is in the n0rthern part of Spain, and is the capital of Castille. Burgos has a lot of medieval structures that are well preserved. Burgos though is noted for it’s number one inhabitant …. EL CID, the National Hero of Spain. His war exploits , and his victories were legendary. Please google him. Oh, and there was an old movie about El Cid, starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren.

Below is the statue of El Cid. Actually , it was the Moors who called him that name, from Arabic wotd Seid, meaning ” lord”.

Oh, that’s Ruben, our tour manager.

.The Burgos Cathedral , built in 1221, and is a Unesco World Heritage site. Gothic style architecture.

Picture below is from Wikipedia.

This castle was built in 840 AD.

That’s it for Bilbao and Burgos. To be honest, I felt more history vibes in Burgos than in Bilbao. Oh, and I got to eat Spain’s famous blood sausage, Burgos Morcilla. I liked it better than the one I had in London. Also, I did write before that one of my favorite Philippine dishes was a blood dish too. It’s an acquired taste, folks.

I think I missed one place in Spain. The problem is, I have no idea where that is…. there’s a bunch of photos in the folder, and I’m sure they’re from another place in Spain. I’m so lame. I really need to hurry up and get this done. I’m even forgetting the names of places I’ve been to. Yikes !

I guess I’ll just post the photos on my next post, which is France.

This is all for now. Good day, and stay cool. PEACE !

21 Feb

My European tour, Part 18, Toledo, Spain

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, Random thoughts, Spain. Tagged: European tour, European travel, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts, Spain, Toledo. 63 comments

Hola ! Renxkyoko Iglesias aqui.

I’m almost done with my Euro travelogue. But I’m afraid after this, I won’t have anything to talk about anymore. In fact, even right now that I have a specific topic , my mind is still blank. I feel it’s travel overload. I’ve been staring at the monitor for 2 days now, y’know. Oh, but I think I had a lovely Valentine’s Day post, if I may say so myself. I ;ve been rereading it, and everytime I do, I laugh. Hahaha * cough *. It’s like I’m laughing at my own jokes. Oh, Newsflash, I actually had a date on Valentine’s Day. Heh. I wasn’t really complete zero, you know. =_= ”

Oh, and one blogger got interested in my old Valentine post, and her comment made me revisit that one. . Homigash ! It was a Valentine’s rant ! ! I’ll save you the time and just copy here a part of that stupid post. Ah. Sweet Ren ain’t so sweet , at all.

Here it is…..

I’m quite annoyed at the star rating feature here. Why do we need to be rated anyway? I don’t really want that thing on my space. On my previous blog, some reader rated my work as 1 star. I think that’s so rude. It’s like telling me my work is pure crap. Well, it is, but you , whoever you are, don’t have to rub it in. WTF ! This isn’t a grammar test, nor a writing one. These are my random thoughts , and crappy or not, this is my freakin’ blog and I can freakin’ write whatever I freakin’ feel like writing, so don’t freakin’ judge me. I’m sure you’re no freakin’ Pulitzer Prize winner either, whoever you are.

This is all for now. Not in the mood to write anything else. I have headache .

I was such a sensitive fool. I got a 1 star rating and went berserk. Anger issues much, methinks.

Oh, well. Anyway, here’s Toledo, Spain.

Toledo is located in central Spain, and is the capital of the province of Toledo and the autonomous region of Castille- La Mancha.

Ah, La Mancha ! I’d like to believe everyone reading this has at least heard of the play Man of La Mancha ? This play was originally a manuscript of author/soldier/actor/tax collector, named Miguel de Cervantes who had been imprisoned in Toledo for heresy, ( together with his manservant) , during the Spanish Inquisition . Well, no, not for heresy, but for foreclosing a monastery ! ! ! Ahahaha ! Anyway the play is about a man who has read so many books about chivalry and injustice that he loses his mind. Then, after renaming himself as Don Quixote de la Mancha, and together with his manservant, Sancho Panza, he embarks on a quest for his dream . He is the ultimate symbol of a knight in shining armor. One of the most memorable songs in the musical play, is the song The Impossible Dream. To dream, the impossible dream…..To fight, the unbeatable foe. To bear , with unbearable sorrow….. la la la. The lyrics are just so beautiful and meaningful. I watched the movie version of this ( starring Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren, in our collection of musical movies at home ) and I think , this is one of the most touching and heartfelt story that I’ve ever seen and read, a story that is simply magical and makes one believe again in the innate goodness of man and nobility of the human mind.

The man on the horse is Don Quixote with Sancho Panza, his manservant, the top middle statue is Miguel de Cervantes, the author, the two women statues on the left and right are just one character, as Dulcinea, his virgin dream maiden, the damsel in distress, and as Aldonza, actually a prostitute in a rundown inn which, he, in his addled mind, sees as a castle.

.Toledo was declared a World Heritage site. No new building can be constructed and all buildings are preserved.

The one on the right is the Alcazar ( Arabic for castle -palace ) and the one on the left is the Cathedral.

.The center of Toledo has several entrances. I don’t lknow what the name of this entrance is. Do you notice the Muslim influence on the design of the entrance? It’s kind of Arabesque, Moorish, or whatever they call that design.

Toledo was the capital of the Spanish Empire before Madrid. It was the place where Muslims, Jews and Catholics coexisted. during the Middle Ages., before the Jews and Muslims were expelled at the start of the 15th century. Below is the oldest synagogue still standing, built in 1180., called Santa Maria la Blanca, formerly Ibn Shushan Synagogue. This building is unique because it was constructed under the Catholic kingdom of Castille, by Islamic architects for Jewish use.

.Interior of the synagogue.

.The Cathedral.

Cathedral’s interior

You know what, the real thing is more jaw-dropping.

.The city of Toledo is surrounded by walls.

The photo above…. this kind of building with painted on faux windows, and doors are very common in Europe. I’ve seen this in Florence, too.

.Not sure, but I think above photo is the oldest police station in Europe.

.Random me.

.The photo above….. just showing you how narrow the streets are. It’s actually charming.

.One of the more notable citizens of Toledo who lived or were born here was EL GRECO. He was a Byzantine painter whose paintings had a modernistic feel to them .

.We went to see his paintings and there’s an interesting story behind the above photo. Our tour guide was particularly effusive in his story telling. It’s a pity I’ve forgotten what it’s all about , ha ha.

* ponders*

You know, the difference between a Protestant cross and a Catholic Cross is that the latter has an image in it and Catholics call it Crucifix. Speaking of which , I have a funny picture of a speeding Catholic driver.

.Ha ha ha… I , myself, have a Rosary hanging in my car.

It may seem boring, but , believe it or not, Toledo is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in Europe. Oh, by the way, Toledo used to be the the top sword maker in the whole of Europe since Roman times. They still make the stuff, but only ceremonial ones.. They now make handcrafted gold jewelries. We visited one such craft shop and bought several pairs of handmade gold earings and necklaces….they’re beautiful with such intricate and delicate designs.

This is all for now.

Burgos and Bilbao, Spain are next.

.With song in my heart, I say, hasta la vista… chau and Paz. La di da…..

1 Feb

My European Travel Pt. 17, Madrid, Spain

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, Filipino food, Madrid, my life, Philiipine culture, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts, Spain. Tagged: European tour, European travel, Filipino food, Madrid, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts, tapa. 102 comments

Hola ! Como estas ?

Oh, that reminds me that in the Philippines where I came from, the common greeting is Comusta. I can’t help but talk about the Philippines, too, when it comes to Spain. Much of the Philippines’ written history is closely intertwined with Spain, almost 400 years , that is, and in fact, the country was named after King Philip II. Oh, and while I’m at it, do you know that the Philippines was the only ” colony” the US ever had? American historians so far have refused to refer to it as ” colonized ” , and they weren’t wrong because the US that time did not use that term either. They were more comfortable using ” annexed”, and the “war” that lasted 2 years and left hundeds of thousands of Filipinos dead was ironically called Pacification Campaign. ” Pacification” didn’t have anything to do with Pacific Ocean where Las Islas Filipinas are located. Well, this is just a bit of historical trivia for the benefit of us American insulares.

Moving on…..

Madrid, Spain…….. I assume everyone knows about Madrid. There’s really nothing I can add that you cannot find on Google. There’s just one thing for you to ponder….. have you ever wondered how the history of the world would have turned out if the King or Queen of Spain didn’t finance the explorations of Amerigo Vespucci, Christopher Columbus, and Ferdinand Magellan ?

” The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain, la di da …. ” Spain is second to Switzerland as far as land elevation is concerned. The plain in the song from the musical My fair Lady is incorrect. The rain in Spain falls mainly in the northern mountains. Most of the plain in Spain are, in fact, elevated , some of which are, surprisingly, almost desert- like. They call it Black Desert … the land is not colored black, but the vegetation is sparse and looks dark, not green. I’m mentioning this boring topography because Spain’s scenery is in stark contrast to , let’s say Switzerland’s, which is mountaineous ,green, and idyllic. We travelled thru such scenery in Spain for hours.

Outside of central Madrid is the area with modern buildings.

..Actually, very little of medieval structures in Madrid survived. That is quite surprising because Spain was an imperial power since the 1400’s. The reason could be because the Moslems ruled most of Spain for 800 years, ( thus, no medieval structures ) until they were driven out by the Crusaders and small Christian communities in Spain that were spared of Muslim domination. The Reconquista ( Reconquest ) of Muslim strongholds in Andalucia, Granada , and Cordoba in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Spain. As an aside, the world famous Flamenco dance is of Moorish origin.

A walking tour of Madrid

.Above is the area where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived in harmony. It was like a Jewish / Muslim Quarter .

Above is the pedestrian shopping area.

.The pictures below is the center of Madrid. It;s called Plaza de la Puerta del Sol. Gateway of the Sun.. This is the place where Madrilenos congregate on any occasion. The statue of the man on the horse is Tio Pepe. Uncle Pepe. Funny that I actually have a Tio Pepe. Tio Pepe is Spain’s version of U. S. ‘s Uncle Sam, or maybe Uncle John?

Below picture is just across from the picture above.

..Above is a stone slab, in the center of the plaza, supposedly ” the point where all distances are measured.” This is the center of Spain. All roads radiate from this point. It’s Km. Zero

Europeans are so passionate about soccer. We were actually in Spain during the Championship game between Spain and Italy. Our driver, Torino, was Italian, and our tour manager, Ruben, was a Spaniard. They had a heated argument on our way to Madrid, then did not speak to each other the whole day. Torino abandoned us the next day, and Ruben franrically looked for another driver. Torino came back the next day. How childish, those two. Oh, Spain won.

Below is the Plaza Mayor, courtesy of Wikipedia.

In case you haven’t noticed, the paintings in the building below are of naked people.

There;s a person in there… must be a little kid.

Below is Madrid’s City Hall.

.After our tour of madrid, we had dinner near Plaza Mayor ( Optional dinner at $35 each ). Below is the place where we had dinner of tapa, etc. and bottomless Sangria. ( drink all you can ) Sangria is a wine punch , and is named after blood, or sangre, due to its dark red color. The place is like a dungeon, dark, and cramped, but the ambiance is nice.

..There’s the tapa and some cheese on the table. Tapa means to cover, but tapa as food means appetizers or snacks. In other words, the cheese is also a tapa. At first, Mom and I got a little confused. You see, tapa in the Philippines is a common dish for breakfast , but it is solely thinly sliced beef, and eaten with fried rice and fried egg. The beef is marinated in vinegar or lemon juice and spices, then air dried. Here in the US, we can buy already thinly sliced beef from groceries selling Philippine stuff, and the beef is called tapadera. The tapa is also an appetizer in the Philippines.

.Look, 2 pitchers of Sangria on our table.

.Happy hour ! Good job, Sangria, good job.

Wasted ? Nope, it’s a dungeon, so there are iron clamps (?) on the walls. Ahahaha.

By the way, I’d like to apologize for my flippant and rather insensitive statement re assault weapons, on my previous post. ” I need an assault weapon that can fire off 100 rounds of ammunition without reloading” , freakin’ zombies.” , was what I wrote .I am for gun control, especially assault weapons. Assault weapons are used in battlefield, war, and zombie invasion, otherwise, they should be locked up in the armory. If you’re an American, you know what I mean.

This is all for now. Toledo , Spain is next.

Que tengas un buen dia. Have a good day. PEACE !

22 Jan

My European Travel Pt. 16, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Posted by renxkyoko in Barcelona, European travel, European trip, my life, Random thoughts, Spain. Tagged: Barcelona, Catalonia, European tour, European travel, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts, Spain. 81 comments

Renxkyoko Iglesias here, HI !

Someone commented here, ” Where are you? You’re MIA ! ” Don’t worry. I’m still here, lurking. Actually, I’m on semestral vacation, and I go back to school last week of January. So, what have you been doin’, Ren? Well, 1. I have 2 jobs, and I’ve been given more work hours. 2. Playing Resident Evil 5. My brother ‘s Christmas gift is Resident Evil 6. I want to finish RE 5 first before I start with the 6th. Problem is, I ‘m bad at aiming. I need a high powered assault weapon than can fire 100 rounds of ammunition without reloading. Freakin’ zombies. 7. And, instead of reading some blogs from my email folder, which has 6, 247 unread ones already, it makes me not do anything at all… a totally complete opposite effect on me. I mean, I’m…..completely overwhelmed. It’;s a daunting task, I know, but, * shows a determined look * I vow I won’t lose to it. I’ll read up , every last post of it, and I bet all my Pokemon card collection I SHALL OVERCOME AND I WILL WIN ! ! FTW ! !

Now, where was I? Oh , yeah, Part 16 0f my European tour….. Barcelona, Spain. Ah, Spain ! The land of my ancestors . My great grandfather came from Sta. Maria la Nueva , Segovia, Spain. He went to the Philippines to work in Spain’s so – called Tobacco Monopoly in the Philippines. I don’t know the economics of that, but , it ‘s not a nice heritage , in my book. I mean, tobacco ? And to this day, our family is still involved in this business. It is , in fact, a family corporation. Well, not directly my own family here in the US., but , kind of…. we still get our share from the produce. I think our folks there should stop producing that . Diversify . Plant garlic or something , or sell off the land and stop acting like some absentee fuedal landlords or whatever they call them. Anyway, I don’t know if our Spanish relatives are still living or have disappeared . My grandmother and some relatives from the Philippines did go to Spain in 1970 to attend a grand reunion given by great – grandpa’s folks in Segovia, one of whom was a mayor of their town, named Bruno ( funny name, that ). And Senor Bruno was honest enough to inform grandma , et al, that though most of great- grandpa’s properties were sequestered by Genaralissimo Franco millions of years ago, there were some real estate left for them to claim. Ha ! So now I can say, we have some real estate pr0perty in Spain. He he he… Maybe , after subdividing it among great grandpas descendants, we’d be left with one pot of soil each. Hopefully, one square foot planted with one olive tree. That would be nice, too.

Sorry, I ‘m just musing.

Back to Barcelona.

The city of Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia. Spain has several autonomous communities, much like the US has 54 states, with its own state laws, and capitals. Catalonia though has 2 official languages, Spanish and Catalan.

.To be honest, I can’t distinguish anymore which photos are those of Barcelona’s and of Madrid’s. But the one above is definitely Barcelona. Our tour manager, Ruben, who was a Spaniard begged us to go shopping in Spain. That time, Spain had a 25% unemployment rate. So, we went shopping.

.That’s me in black tee , slippers and shorts, already carrying a shopping bag.

The place is a pedestrian mall at La Rambla. La Rambla is located in central Barcelona. It consists of a series of short streets, one of which is the pedestrian mall where the photo above was taken.

.Courtesy of Wikipedia below…… that tree- lined street is one kilometre long.

.I’m wondering how different Catalan language is from Castillian ( Spanish ) . In Catalan, it’s Placa?, in Spanish, it’s Plaza. Chair is cadira in Catalan and silla in Spanish. Clean is net in Catalan and limpio in Spanish. And do you know that Barcelonians are offended when they are referred to as Spaniards? I was told that when the 1992 Olympics was held in Barcelona, the Barcelonians wanted to let the world know the event was being held in Barcelona, not Spain. Hmmm, Spain has a political problem. And it isn’t just Barcelona. Spain is right now having a terrorist problem with the Basque region that wants to secede from Spain.

Above is the Barcelona cathedral. Gothic style.

.Architectural details.

Whoa ! I really did put on so much weight here. Chubby cheeks.

The photos below are of Sagrada Familia Church . This church has beenn under construstion since 1882, and still not done yet. It is funded by private donations, but they plan to finish it by 2026, the 100 year death anniversary of the Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi.

.The church has 3 facades: Nativity, Passion and Glory. The one above is Nativity.

.The Passion facade

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Above is supposed to be the miniature model of the church. To be honest, I don’t like it. To me, it’s just a massive oddity, or to be blunt, a massive monstrosity, and to think, it’s a house of God. Oh, well, there’s no accounting for taste. Each to his her own, y’know? No offence to those who like it.

There were other places we went to, like places where some 1992 Olympics events were held. They were on top of a hill and following photos were the views of the city of Barcelona from there. The Olympic structures were, uhm, just buildings.

.Oh, by the way, Barcelona faces the Mediterreanean Sea.

Photos below are some random places and buildings that I took.

.Walking tour of the city below.

.The guy looks a bit emaciated, doesn’t he? We thought the guy could use a few Euros for a dinner of tummy -filling paella. So, we dropped enough Euros into the hat.

Lovely wall !

.I don’t remember what we were gawking at, but I figure it would be interesting, too, to show our backs. To be honest, I feel I’ve become somewhat jaded at this point, about 20 days into the tour. Remember ABC ? lol! ( Another Bloody Church ) Well, there’s another one…. ROB ( Random Old Building) Don’t get me wrong. I loved Europe. It’s such a marvelous and magnificent place. And I hope I can go back , and see more of Europe, especially the ones less travelled. I want to see Pompeii. I want to go to Naples. I want to see Eastern European countries, like Hungary.

There we are, waiting for our motorcoach to take us back to our hotel.

.That’s it for Barcelona.

Oh, wait…. right now, I’m watching Pres. Obama’s Inaugural Ball. The First Couple are dancing right now. * Ah I’m ,so in love with you … la la la , I love this song. And It’s so cool to be First Lady. Can I dare dream about that? Be First Lady, I mean ?

Oh, another thing, I hope you can check out this blog. It’s about science-based life and I assure it’s so educational and interesting.

http://sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com

Next is Madrid. Good day to all , PEACE , and yes, Let’s Stay Together !

7 Jan

Happy 2013 ! Random Thoughts and Foodie

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, Filipino food, my life, Philippine Heritage, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, Filipino food, holiday musing, musings, my life, my thoughts, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 105 comments

May you all have a prosperous and fruitful 2013 !

Hello ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

My European tour made 2012 quite an eventful year , and I’m glad I get to share it with you. It was also quite an experience to be given an opportunity to help re-elect Pres. Obama. My sister and I and several thousand Californians went as far as Nevada, Iowa, Colorado, and Wisconsin as part of Pres. Obama’ s ground campaign. ( Just Reno for me, though… specifically Washoe County, the poor part of Nevada , totally Republican, dirt roads, trailer parks, all white * don’t they know they will be thrown under the bus by Romney, he he he, someone on a truck yelled Eff you at us , it was scary…… Anyway, it was difficult , but we managed to turn Nevada into a Blue state. ) But then, if not for those 2 above, 2012 would be same-o, same-o… school, work, home, study, check out if there are any manga updates of my favorite shojou romance, daydream or rant, sleep, go to school again… yep, story of my life. I must have sinned in my past life.

Well, we all got a love letter from WordPress, right? My stats are modest, but I ‘m happy . I get a fair amount of comments, and to me, that’s more important. To be honest, I don’t know if those who click LIKE really like my post. He he he…. One time, I was online when I heard a ping on my Messenger. That means, there was a reader who just clicked LIKE. But surprise, surprise, I heard 4 pings , one after another, in 3 seconds duration. Gotcha ! lol ! ! The blogger couldn’t have read my post in 3 seconds flat, could he/she? As for me, rest assured I read your post word for word. This is also the reason why I have 5,471 unread emails , to date. I don’t delete. I read all, but……. my fellow bloggers, I cannot cope anymore. I have 50 subscriptions, and each day that I don’t get to open my email folder adds about 200 emails. I kid you not.

According to WordPress, I had 24 posts in 2012. That’s 2 a month. And the blogger with the most comments is 35andupcynicismonhold. What is most interesting is the post that got the most number of views …… it also got the most number of comments, 139 I think? WordPress also says that it has the most ” staying power”. I posted All About Nothing , as usual in February, 2012, and believe it or not, I still get at least 10 views a day from that post for almost a year now. WordPress didn’t give the total number of views, but I’m sure it must be in the thousands already. Happy Valentine’s Day comes second. OMgosh, I was so pathetic here ! ! Well, I’m still pathetic.

There is one post in 2011 and one in 2010 that also got tons of views. I mean, I still get so many views from these old posts. WordPress suggests I should consider writing about these topics again. Uhm, not really, except this one….. HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2012 ! ! ! I like the foodie post myself. When I reread this, I was surprised to see the paella and the empanada that I cooked that year. Yeah, I cooked those ! Here are the pictures…..

Paella

.Empanada….. by the way, I made a mistake with the dough. I used a fluffy dough. It was store dough, ready made…. I don’t know how to make a dough, haha. I’m intimidated.

Empanada dough should look like this.

.I mentioned these two because the best food I had eaten by far in Europe were Spanish empanadas and the paella in Spain, Both are very common foods in the Philippines. In the Philippines, Paella is sometimes called Arroz a la Valenciana. Philippine dishes are basically of Spanish origin. The Philippines was under Spanish rule for almost 400 years, so the similar palate shouldn’t come as a surprise….. for example, Filipinos eat pig’s blood too. In Spain, it’s called Morcilla. I had Morcilla in Burgos and it was good. The blood sausage in London wasn’t that good though. Well, I love pig’s blood. It’s one of my favorite Filipino dish. It’s an acquired taste, so don’t hate, lol. I’ll talk about this soon. ( Filipino stores here in the US sell pig’s blood )

Below are some photos of our New Year spread. Not much this year, though. It was just family, all 6 of us.

Hmmmm, I notice the program on TV… it was The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Eh. We were watching a political talk show during New Year’s Day lunch.

Noodles

Stewed beef we call Pochero. It’s made of beef, cabbage, garbanzos, long, green beans, potatoes, garlic, onions, tomato sauce.

Lumpia… just ground pork and shrimps, watercress, carrots, etc, wrapped in egg wrapper, then fried… eaten with sweet – sour sauce. The one on the right is roast pork dip made up of soy sauce, vinegar and fried tofu.

Roasted spare ribs, we call Lechon. This one will give us a massive coronary, but it tastes so good, especially the crunchy skin. Oh, my. . The dip is the one with tofu, but I prefer liver sauce. You can see the liver sauce bottle in the pic.

The one above is one of my favorite desserts. It’s pandan flavoured agar-agar ( similar to Jello) and lychees . Pandan essence comes from the leaves of Pandanus plant, which is very common in SouthEast Asia. Sometimes, we add pandan leaves when cooking rice to give that great aroma. ( The leaves are sold in Asian stores here in the US. )

Fruit salad…. A mainstay Philippine dessert. It’s just a mixture of fruit cocktail, cream, nata de coco, and sweetened palm fruits. The last two are ” must “ingredients in any Philippine fruit salad. Nata de coco is Spanish for cream of coconut. According to Wikipedia, nata is a chewy, translucent jelly-like product produced by fermentation of coconut water by Acetobacter xylinus, a bacteria introduced into coconut water, the fermentation of which produces this jelly -like substance. The process originated in the Philippines.

Cubed colored nata gels. The white nata has the original color. Nata is very, very delicious. There is also nata de pina….. cream of pineapple.

Above is fish with sweet sour sauce . We call the dish Escabeche. Escabeche is Spanish for pickled… the fish is not really pickled, just covered with vinegar- sugar sauce and soy sauce.

We call the juice Sago Cooler. It’s made up of caramel ( boiled brown sugar with banana essence or almond essence ) and sago pearls.

We use a tall glass with long teaspoon to scoop out the sago pearls. Guys, you should try this. It’s very good, If there’s no sago at the Asian store near you, you can float gelatin, jello, or whatever. Be sure to add banana or almond essence, that’s all.

By the way, you can see 2 more desserts with the Sago Cooler photos. The black colored dish is Biko, some sort of rice cake. Mom used deep purple rice, almost black rice. ( we also use white, sweet , glutinous rice, available at Asian stores… it’s different from regular rice). The other dish in the photo , the one in red dish is cassava cake. Cassava or yuca comes from the root and do you know it’s one of the most dangerous food in the world, if not prepared properly? lol

UBE, ( pronounced oo- beh )or purple yam, one of the Philippines’ favorite dessert. It’s used as ice cream flavor, in cakes, bread fillings, or as is, like the photo above. It’s a mixture of condensed milk, butter and grated yam. We use the Philippine variety, because the purple yam grown in other countries does not have the desired taste and consistency. In fact , that ube in the photo isn’t the real thing, and Mom got so pissed that she almost threw it away. It got saved when we added a Philippine variety that we found in the freezer. The store where we bought it ran out of ube and what we found were purple yams from another country, which we suspected were not really purple yam, just ordinary yam with purple food coloring. It was gooey and tasted weird.

Aaaargh, holiday food ! ! It ‘s always a problem to lose weight after pigging out on all that goodness.

I definitely won’t fit into my newly acquired Runway dress shown below.

I need to exercise again.

To be honest, I want to make another WP account that will have food and fashion as my theme. Or , another account where I can write about animes and mangas. ( I know, I know ! I confess ! I’m an anime manga fan. Don’t hate ! )

So, anyway, I’m almost done with my European travelogue. Spain and France are next. Paris was our last stop. From there , we flew back to good ol’ US of A. \

This is all for now. Barcelona and Madrid are next in my travelogue ! Good day to all and Peace ! !

28 Dec

My European Trip Pt.15. Avignon , Carcassone, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Avignon, Carcassone, European travel, European trip, France, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: Avignon, Carcassone, European tour, European travel, France, holiday musing, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 86 comments

Hello ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here ! I greet you all a Happy Christmas and peace and goodwill to all, no matter what your religions are.

And here’s my humble wish list…. oh, please change the ’54 Covertible to a brand new Beemer, 2 door.

. I’m not jumping for joy this Christmas. I’m remembering those 20 kids who were massacred in Connecticut, and what effect their deaths are on their families. I wonder what the parents are feeling now. I wonder what the other 6 year old twin is feeling now that her sibling is gone. I wonder what the parents are thinking as they go over their dead child’s stuff… their clothes, shoes, toys, and the change of clothes before they went to school and never came home. . I’m not a parent, but I feel the pain so much. My tears have not dried up.

________________________

.To be honest, Christmas always makes me feel nostalgic and long for all the happier Christmases past.

________________________

So, anyway, this post is about my trip to Avignon and Carcassone. Avignon and Carcassone were mere side trips, although we did stay overnight in Carcassone.

Avignon is also called ” The city of Popes” because the Popes made Avignon their residence for over 100 years. This happened during the Papacy’s schism when there were 2 rival Popes who assumed the papacy, one residing in Rome, the other in Avignon.

The population of Avignon is 100,000, and about 12,000 live within the ancient town centre that is enclosed by medieval ramparts or defensive walls

Below is the enclosed medieval town center, courtesy of Wikepedia.

.Photos below are the only ones I have of Avignon. It was raining very hard , and we stayed for 4 hours or so. We had lunch there and I also had “lavander” gelato ( ice cream). Growing lavander flowers ( for the essential oils) is one of Avignon’s main produce.

Do you see that red hood at right hand corner? That’s yours truly, ha ha. This time , that’s the only thing you see of me, he he he… No Monaco – like stuff.

.The photo below is the panoramic view of the center, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Next is Carcassone..

Carcassone consists of 2 areas, the upper part which is heavily fortified, surrounded by 2 outer walls ( double ramparts) of concentric design. The fortress that time was considered impregnable. The lower part is the area outside the fortress. There are 53 towers, one of which is called The Inquisition Tower. It was used during the Catholic Inquisition. ( I don’t like to talk about the Catholic Inquistion. Suffice it to say that the Inquisitors did indeed use torture to break the will of those they considered heretics ) I saw one original torture equipment employed by the Catholic Church . It ain’t pretty.

Below are photos of the fortress , courtesy of Wikepedia.

.Above is the view from my hotel room. Super, huh.

.Above photo is a medieval bridge going to the fort.

Another old bridge…..

.So that’s it for Avignon and Carcassone.

I was supposed to post this before Christmas but I was so busy with holiday activities. At work, there were so many late holiday shoppers. The best one was on Christmas Eve when a Hongkong businessman came in, a regular client, who bought all the clothes I showed him, mostly Runway clothes. Runway meaning, clothes that have been designed for a runway show of the designer. I wore each design and showed it to him. So happy that he bought the designs, all sizes. I got a free Runway blouse for a job well done. I’m sure I’m going to get another silver circle.

So, here’s my new blouse. That’s a Runway blouse, okay? * happy dance*

Of course we knew the businessman was coming, so I had to wear a 4 inch heels, put on makeup, do my hair, etc. I got 2 more free runway dresses this december. Almost all our big time clients are Asians ( Japanese, Chinese, Singaporean, Indonesians, Koreans )…. I’m Asian, so I;m the one who gets to wear and show off the clothes. I have the body build of an Asian , petite, small boned, etc. They want to see how each dress looks on an Asian girl. So, yeah, that’s part of my job. And I always get something free, right off the bat. Like that red blouse. My manager told me not to take it off anymore. It’s mine.

This is all for now. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL ! !

« Older Entries

renxkyoko's space Just another WordPress.com site

Archive for the ‘European trip’ Category

My Last Day in Paris

MY EURO TOUR Part 26 Paris, France

My Euro Tour Part 25 Paris, France

My Euro Tour Part 24, Paris, France

My Euro Tour, Part 23, Bordeaux, France

My thoughts on Syria and the Muslims

My Euro tour Part 22 Amboise, France

My European tour part 21, Poitiers, France

My Euro Tour Part 20 Spain

My Euro Travel Pt. 19, Burgos/Bilbao, Spain

My European tour, Part 18, Toledo, Spain

My European Travel Pt. 17, Madrid, Spain

My European Travel Pt. 16, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Happy 2013 ! Random Thoughts and Foodie

My European Trip Pt.15. Avignon , Carcassone, France

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