Holy Week (April 6, 2012)

After we spent the night at Alfonso hotel in a tiny room where 7 people somehow managed to squeeze themselves, we all had daing na bangus (it was Good Friday, after all!) for breakfast.



Then while the rest were taking showers in the bathroom, we decided to check out the premises. D always looks very fresh since he hardly breaks into a sweat. Not fair!



I tend to travel light so I hardly have space for my hair dryer and hair iron. So here I am with curly wet hair (which will be knotted into a bun once dry) and already sweating as we walked around the area.



5th Church in our Visita Iglesia: Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine in Taal Batangas





The main altar of our Lady of Caysasay Shrine



The magnificent painting at the interior dome of the church



A beautifully carved arch was constructed over the spring near the church known as "the Wells of Santa Lucia". It is believed that an image of the Virgin Mary was reflected in this spring so the water is said to be miraculous.



6th stop: Basilica of St Martin de Tours also in Taal, Batangas



The Taal Basilica is identified as the largest Catholic Church in Asia



Its long and wide aisle is very imposing. Its interiors was quite spacious.



Its Doric style main altar was a sight to behold



Another important feature of Taal Basilica is its bell which is considered as one of the largest bell in the country. This massive instrument is 19 feet (5.8 m) in circumference at the lip, 9.33 feet (2.84 m) around the crown and 6.42 feet (1.96 m) in height




There were magnificent paintings all over, this is on top of the organ/choir section.



You can climb all the way to the roof top of church. I was too coward to do so but D wasn't!



This was the great view he caught of the city of Taal



After taking tons of pictures, it was time to leave the scenic town of Taal and head to our next destination.

Our 7th church: Caleruega in Nasugbu, Batangas



The Transfiguration Chapel is such a solemnly serene place of worship



The administration building of Caleruega



It was such a long day, I was terribly exhausted so I just parked myself on a bench and took pictures of the sun as it set for the day :)

Walking

The best exercise for weight lost is walking. My father who is 75 years old walks every day. He didn't have to join any gym, nor buy expensive sporting attire to get his cardio workout going. Garbed in a comfy tee, a pair of walking shorts and good rubber shoes, it doesn't really take much. He has been telling me for the longest time that walking is how to lose weight fast.

Well I may not do it daily but believe me our recent Holy Week trip to visit churches was one tough exercise. We walked all over, went up and down stairs, sweated my jeans off because it was really scorching hot. Actually it was my mistake to wear jeans and blouses for the trip. My conservative self prevailed, I didn't want to enter churches dressed in shorts and tank tops. I was under the impression we would just go in, say our prayers then leave for the next place of worship. I was wrong. Next time I will be better prepared! :D

Holy Week (April 5, 2012)

My sister let me use her digicam even though silently I knew she was pouting inside. The thing is she demands I spend every single minute with her whenever she is in town. Quite reasonable, if you ask me but she understood we already had plans. So D & I went through with the Visita Iglesia trip with our friends.

Holy Thursday, we shoved off at 6:30am. Our destination was to cover as many churches possible in the province of Batangas. After enduring heavy traffic on the SLEX, we reached our first church.


Santissima Trinidad church in Batangas City



The Stations of the Cross were displayed in beautiful stained glasses


2nd church: The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Batangas City


It had huge murals and colorful paintings depicting biblical events


3rd church: The Immaculate Conception Parish in Bauan, Batangas


The main altar of the Bauan Church


The marker at the Immaculate Conception Parish church, Bauan


We had bulalo for lunch with a fantastic view of Taal Lake and Volcano


4th church: Our Lady of Monte Maria Oratory, Alfonso Cavite


This is the temporary structure which houses an altar and plastic chairs are readily available whenever Father Suarez performs his healing masses.


The Piety statue is very much like the one found at the Vatican in Rome


Life size Stations of the Cross


The vast expanse of the grounds is perfect for a solemn reflection at the Stations of the Cross


The statue of Our Lady of Monte Maria


D & D at the Our Lady of Monte Maria Oratory in Alfonso, Cavite


After a very hot and tiring day, we made our way to the Alfonso hotel for the night

Ngong Ping (December 31, 2011)

It is difficult to be without internet access for a couple of days let alone 2 weeks. I now have a big back log of online activities that all need my attention! This terrible sizzling hot weather isn't helping as I multitask with beads of sweat pouring down my back even though I just took a shower. Ugh!

I realized as I was (still) uploading tons of pictures from our Hong Kong trip that I haven't blogged about a marvelous place there. I tend to blog about places/events in chronological order, so indulge me as I write about this outing first before I start on my Holy Week adventures and my sister bonding moments.

It was New Year's Eve, I was still feeling weak from getting sick after our Macau day trip but I put on my happy trooper hat and was game to explore Ngong Ping 360.

It is located on Lantau Island (same area of the HK International airport), we took a bus, a long MTR ride and a very scenic 25 minutes cable car ride to reach it.









Once you reach NP360, you explore the Ngong Ping village, a wide expanse with recreational establishments like souvenir shops, restaurants and live shows theaters. The Bodhi path is a long alley where there are 12 statues of "heavenly" generals who each represent the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.















But the main attraction is the Tian Tan Buddha. It is the world's largest, seated, outdoor Bronze statue of Buddha who sits on a giant lotus flower. There are roughly 245 steps to climb before you reach it.









It is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues known as "The offering of the Six Devas" and are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary to enter into nirvana.













You can't stop taking pictures even though your feet is starting to ache, the cold breeze is numbing your fingers and all of the cameras you brought along are now running low on battery!













By the time we were done exploring Ngong Ping, it was already (a chilly) evening. The queue to the cable car terminal was really long but I didn't mind because the cold weather was embracing little tired me. It was a very cold cable car ride back to the MTR station but we truly cherished our very memorable experience at NP360 on the last day of the year 2011.

Making your Maxi dress look good on you

Women who do not have time to visit a tailor and have a dress fitted are advised to consider purchasing a maxi dress. Buying a dress is different from having a tailor make one for you because a tailor will make a dress that fits your exact shape. These dresses are known to fit all the different women shapes. It will fit very well in your body whether you are pear shaped, apple shaped, hourglass shaped or even boy shaped. Before settling on this type of dresses you should know that special attention must be paid to match the dress you have chosen to your body shape. This is done in order to make sure you look elegant for the occasion. Although this dress type can suit any body shape you still have size consideration to make. You cannot wear a dress that is excessively tight and again you cannot go for a dress that is too baggy. You need to make a selection that will have heads turning your way in appreciation.

Knowing you body shape is very important because that is the only way you can be able to choose a dress that will make you look good and feel good too. Whether you have heavier tops or a heavier bottom you should find a dress that balances your upper and lower sections. With this type of dress you are not really restricted to any undergarment.

Some women prefer crochet shorts to go with their dresses making them feel sexy and comfortable. The shorts also increase the bottom area making your look shapelier. If you choose to draw attention away from your neckline then you should make your hip area more noticeable and vice versa. There are so many ways to do this and all you need to do is that which works for you.

Holy Week 2012

The Our Lady of Monte Maria parish was one of the churches we (D & I along with our friends) visited for Holy Week, this year.

I will elaborate more once I'm back in Q.C.

This is just a preview. :D

My blog was getting lonely without any entries.

Or it certainly felt that way.

Be back soon!

Until then, keep cool during these scorching summer days.