2016 - The Year I Made My Childhood Dream Come True
I think everyone will agree when I say that 2016 is one of those years that we all want to forget because of all the crazy sh*t that happened in this world.
Personally, my year didn’t start off right when I spent the second week of January confined in the hospital for 4 days for facial cellulitis. Ironically, it’s also when I found out I got the big project I was waiting for which kept me busy the whole month of February.
In March, my mom and I went back to Hong Kong and Macau where we enjoyed 13-degree weather even though it was already supposed to be spring.
We went back to Disneyland, the happiest place in the world, but skipped the other tourist sites. It was the first time in 4 years that we traveled again after her second breast cancer ordeal, so I wanted the trip to be as relaxed as possible.
Unfortunately, weather wasn’t on our side on our way to Macau. The fog was so thick there was zero visibility. We were stuck at sea for about an hour before we were allowed to dock at the ferry terminal.
Similarly, our flight to Manila the next day was cancelled because of the fog.
Within 24 hours, we went from sleeping in a 5-star hotel to sleeping on the floor of Macau International Airport. But my mom was such a trooper. I’m so proud of her. 😀
April and May were months of canceled trips to Palawan and Cebu, respectively, but at least we still got to squeeze in a little family outing at South Forbes before summer ended.
June to September was crazy! I had to juggle a full-time job and 4 side projects because I decided, you know what, it’s high time I go to Europe! Work hard, travel harder, ika nga!
I honestly didn’t keep my hopes high of getting a Schengen visa, but I guess the travel gods love me after all. haha I couldn’t believe I’m finally going to fulfill a childhood dream!
A day after my birthday, I flew to Europe. 🙂
Nag-trabaho. Nag-ipon. Nag-Europe. Ganern!
This Euro trip was the second time I traveled solo. Sure, I feel resfeber prior to embarking on one, but I never feel alone, lonely or afraid when I’m already on the road by myself.
Anyway, my first stop was Prague, the capital of Czech Republic.
I couldn’t have picked a better jumping-off point. I was totally smitten! It was everything I imagined Europe to be (and more).
The city is brimming with beautiful structures, lively squares, and each neighborhood has so much history the world know so little of.
And did I mention it’s pretty affordable too?
Next stop was Vienna, Austria.
I tried to soak in some culture, so I joined a guided tour of the Schönbrunn Palace.
More than the impressive rooms of the palace, I learned a lot about the House of Habsburg – one of the most powerful royal houses of Europe of their time. I’m not even a museum kind of girl, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Also met Vins and Yosh of The Poor Traveler because we coincidentally stayed at the same hostel!
After a few days of gloomy weather, Mr. Sun finally came out when I went to Salzburg.
I didn’t have any expectations of Salzburg. All I know prior to going there was it’s Mozart’s hometown and where they filmed The Sound of Music. But man, Salzburg is gorgeous! I actually regret that I only stayed there for 2 nights.
Still, I’m grateful I got to visit one of my top dream destinations – Hallstatt! It still makes me giddy just thinking about it.
I spent a night in Zurich just to break the journey, and went to Interlaken the following day.
On the train to Interlaken, I met two Pinay nurses who work in Saudi Arabia who were also traveling around Europe. We planned on going to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen together the next day, but we didn’t see each other at the Interlaken Ost Station at the time we agreed and the train was about to leave, so I hopped on without them.
It rained the whole time I was in Switzerland, but that didn’t stop me from exploring. I think it even made me a pluviophile (at least while I was there).
Swiss people are some of the jolliest and nicest people I’ve met. Good vibes lang sila lagi!
Yes, Switzerland is ridiculously expensive, but it’s worth every damn centavo IMO.
Finally, I spent the last leg of my Euro trip in Italy.
My first stop was Florence – capital of the Tuscan Region, and often referred to as the cradle of the Renaissance.
Florence and I started on the wrong foot when a bus inspector tried to extort €50 from me, so we had an altercation. I demanded to be taken to the police station to which he sheepishly said “No. No. No polizia.” He must have been bummed I didn’t fall for his modus operandi. Laking third world ‘to, huy!
As a result, I missed the earlier train I was trying to catch so that I could go to both Pisa and Cinque Terre on the same day. Oh well!
Another item ticked off my bucket list was Cinque Terre – the 5 colorful fishing villages along the Italian Riviera.
It was crowded, as expected, but tolerable.
Of course I didn’t pass up the chance to eat the quintessential seafood spaghetti in Vernazza while watching people frolic in the beach.
Finally, no trip to Italy is complete without going to the eternal city of Rome!
I love how most of Rome’s famous landmarks are kind of close to each other, but man, I’ve never seen as many tourist per attraction as in Rome. It was crazy! Hindi uso off season sa Rome, bes. Eternal city kaya eternal rin ang pila. hahaha Even though I bought my tickets to the Colosseum and to the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel online, I still had to line up to go inside.
And the food…oh my goodness, Italian food! Grazie mille for contributing to my ever expanding waistline. LOL If you’ve seen Eat Pray Love, the part where Julia Roberts had to buy a new pair of jeans just because she couldn’t fit in her old ones anymore, yup, pretty much the story of my life. haha
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So that’s it! That pretty much sums up my 2016.
I’ve been vitamin sea-deficient this year, so I’ll probably focus more on beach trips and local destinations next year. I also hope to explore more of East Asia.
Happy Holidays, everyone! See you on the road and cheers to more adventures! 😀
This is my contribution to the Pinoy Travel Bloggers’ 2016 Year End Blog Carnival. The compilation will be hosted by Mervin of Pinoy Adventurista.
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