Wednesday, November 23, 2011

COSTA LUMINOSA CRUISE: BARCELONA (LEG 1)

After our well-spent day in Palma de Mallorca and our unfortunate Ajaccio incident, Barcelona was the last port of call of our Costa Luminosa cruise.

We knew there are lots of must-see places in Barcelona so it’s very important that we spend our precious 7 hours wisely.  Our priority was to see as much sites as we can in 7 hours.  No shopping, no unnecessary stops, no petiks or banjing moments...  Just pure culture!  We agreed that we’d maximize our short visit, starting it by disembarking as early as possible.

Okay maybe we wasted a few minutes taking photos in our cabin because Karol is wearing the same outfit as Chuppy, our wind-up pet penguin.  How could we not take photos of this? Haha.

Fine.  We lied.  We actually spent more than just 'a few minutes'.

Both of us were wearing light clothing and heeled shoes at that time (which was a relief because that means we will be walking at the same pace).  As we were about to leave the boat, the weather felt colder than expected so we hurriedly went back to our cabin to change.  Karol ended up wearing her flat tall boots instead of her 2-inch booties.

All aboard, the shuttle took us from the port to the city center. 

Barcelona Leg 1

Important sites in Barcelona aren't far apart enough from each other for one to take a taxi, but aren't close enough either to be effortlessly explored by foot (at least for us Filipinos who are not used to too much walking).  So it’s actually up to you how you want to go around the city.  As for us, we decided to walk so we could see the beautiful little details that make up Barcelona.

Allow us to show you how far we've walked.


Friday, November 18, 2011

COSTA LUMINOSA CRUISE: AJACCIO

Aside from Palma de Mallorca, Ajaccio in France is another one of the three stops for our Costa Luminosa Cruise.

We didn't know much about Ajaccio except the fact that it's in the island of Corsica.  We didn't know what to expect either, but after a few Google searches about the place, we saw these pics of Angelina Jolie and her daughter Shiloh spending one summer morning shopping in the island capital.  
photo from JustJared

Hmmm, this must be a soshal summer spot for celebs! Haha! 

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

COSTA LUMINOSA CRUISE: PALMA DE MALLORCA

Last year, we joined the Costa Luminosa cruise and one of our 3 ports of call was Palma de Mallorca in Spain.
Costa Luminosa

Palma is in the island of Majorca, which is one of the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean Sea.  Macy was in charge of the itinerary and this is what she came up with (we better not translate it into English. Haha *wink*).
our itinerary, thanks to Macy!

With only 9 hours in the city, including embarkation and disembarkation from the cruise ship, this was how we spent our day:

We decided to take a cab from the cruise port instead of riding the Hop-on-Hop-off Bus (which is also a good option if you really really want to maximize your stay in Palma).
 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

SAIGON SHOPPING: MISS NHI

by: Karol 

Macy and I used to think that shopping in Vietnam is non-existent.  (Safe place unlike Santorini!)  When we went there last year, all we were able to buy were little trinkets and souvenirs (not counted!!).
Vietnamese Eggshell Lacquerware

We didn't consider Ben Thanh Market as a good shopping spot because... well, believe it or not, we actually hate haggling and it's pretty much how everything works there.  Even after successfully haggling down the price of something, it gives us an uneasy feeling because we'd still wonder if we got a good deal or if we've been deceived.  Haha.  Like what we always say, "Why can't they just tell us how much it really is?  We like it (which is why we asked about it in the first place) and if we can afford it, we'll buy it naman.  Shopping should be as simple as that!".  We don't like it when vendors overprice their goods and try to get away with it.  Or when they give huge unbelievable discounts and expect us to believe we got great bargains.  Who are they kidding!

Aside from that, we didn't find the local standalone stores interesting.  Their fashion is..."like no others".

To add, even their high-end boutiques' display windows look outdated and funny (that's me being nice).

BUT.

During my last Vietnam trip, I was surprised to find myself so entertained while browsing through the shops in Saigon.